CHAPTER 6

"Son of a bitch! " came an irate voice from Emily's office. JJ, Luke, Matt and Tara were in the bullpen. Tara and Luke were packing their bags ready to head out to the prison. JJ and Matt were huddled together over some notes at Reid's desk. JJ had insisted on sitting there to feel closer to him. The team looked up to the source of the shouting. Through the slats of the blinds, they could see Emily pacing her office with her phone in her hand. Rossi exited his office and took the few short steps needed to reach Emily's office. He curled his hand into a fist, his gold medallion ring glinting in the fluorescent lights as he knocked on the door.

"Come in," came the exasperated voice from inside. Rossi gently opened the door but left it open for the others to hear.

"You okay, Em?" Emily shook her head, her dark hair swaying. She sighed and sat down behind her desk, slinging her phone on top of the files that seemed to have multiplied. She pressed a hand to her forehead.

"I just got word that Calvin Shaw has escaped from prison. Apparently his prison transfer vehicle was hijacked en route to FCI Milan about two weeks ago."

"Why are we only just finding out about this now?"

"Michigan PD didn't think it was an FBI case. I just tried to arrange a visit with Shaw to find out he's no longer at the prison Reid was in, nor did he make it to Milan. The transporting guards are dead and there's no sign of Shaw."

"He's going to come after the kid. We know that Reid poisoned the drugs he was being made to move in there, but we didn't know that Shaw knew about it. If he manages to get his hands on Reid, there's no telling what he'll do. After all, he's a former FBI agent."

"That's what I'm afraid of Dave," responded Emily quietly. She looked up to see that the rest of the team has silently ascended the stairs and were stood behind Rossi.

"Shaw escaped?" asked Luke incredulously. Emily slowly nodded, "Shit! He'll kill Reid. We need to find out what happened." Emily put on her best stoic Unit Chief mask as she rose to her feet.

"Rossi, you, Luke and I are heading to Michigan. The rest of you will remain here in case Reid's kidnapper gets back in touch. Wheels up in thirty." The team nodded, all parting ways to their new tasks. Luke and Rossi went to collect their go bags, whilst Matt, Tara and JJ returned to Reid's desk. Emily put her hands on her head in despair, her elbows crumbling papers on her desk as she tightly gripped her hair.

Reid's head bobbed on his neck as he tried to bring himself to. He eventually managed to wrench his eyes open and slowly raise his head, his neck aching. He noted that it was much darker in the room, indicating that night had fallen. A small gas lamp was burning on the table, casting an orange glow on the wooden walls. His feet and ankles were throbbing. He unconsciously shivered as a bitter breeze whistled through a small crack in a square glass pane of the whitewashed window. His brown curls clung to his forehead amongst the congealed blood and sweat. Reid breathed as deeply as he could through his broken nose. He tested his bonds and felt blood escape down his hands from his wrists, but the zip ties did not give.

Reid could not see Sanchez, but could hear the muffled sound of snoring from the bedroom behind him. He took the opportunity of being alone to try and make sense of his surroundings. A sliver of moonlight came through the window and cast a small triangle on the wooden floor. Shadows of swaying tree branches moved back and forth through the light. They had travelled for roughly an hour and fifteen minutes, so they had to be somewhere in Maryland or still in Virginia. Being in the woods made it difficult to truly pinpoint where he was. Reid sighed into the tape over his mouth. He flexed his fingers to try and regain some feeling in his hands. His stomach churned at the thoughts of Shaw. He'll kill me... How will the team find me?... I've no fucking idea where I am and no means of contacting them out here... If I don't know where the hell l am, how are they supposed to know?... They're profilers, Reid, just like you. They'll profile Shaw and his associates... Reid's head pounded with thoughts buzzing around his mind. He closed his eyes, trying to will away the pressure building behind them.

A sound of shuffling to his left startled Reid, causing him to jump slightly in his chair. With his head bowed, he glanced to the side to see Sanchez in a white t-shirt and pale blue boxer shorts standing barefoot with a glass of water in his hand. His hair was messy now and sticking up in all kinds of directions. Reid turned his head back so that his eyes were fixed to the floor. The shuffling moved away back to the bedroom, leaving Reid with only his thoughts and the whistling through the window.

Emily, Luke and Rossi had long departed from Quantico and were en route to Michigan. Tara, JJ and Matt were still huddled around Reid's desk. As hard as she tried, JJ couldn't focus. She stared morosely at the books lined up neatly and in alphabetical order beside his computer. Tara and Matt were deep in conversation.

"The UnSub has to be in his late thirties or early forties," commented Tara.

"He has to be well built to be able to pick up Reid and carry him single-handedly from the station. I mean, Reid's clearly been working out since prison so he's filled out a little, even if he is still a little on the thin side," responded Matt.

"You got anything to contribute to this, Jayje?" asked Tara. JJ quickly snapped out of her thoughts and turned to see Matt and Tara staring at her. Tears brimmed at her eyelashes.

"I'm sorry," she managed to utter before darting for the ladies toilets. Tara and Matt stared after her. JJ quickly entered a cubicle and locked the door behind her. She pressed her back to the side of the cubicle and slid down until she was sat on the floor with her knees bent. Unable to hold it in any longer, JJ folded her arms on her knees, lowered her head and sobbed.

Tara and Matt were scribbling down notes when a security guard entered the bullpen. He carried a beige envelope in his hand. He approached the desk where the only two remaining agents were seated and dropped it onto the paperwork in front of them. Tara raised an eyebrow and looked up at him, taking in his plump, ageing features- the lines around his eyes and mouth. His grey hair was slicked back. A bushy moustache adorned his top lip.

"Sorry guys. This was dropped off at the security desk by a Mexican looking fellow. He said it was urgent," shrugged the security guard as he turned and made his way back out of the bullpen. Tara turned back to the envelope. Matt was carefully opening the envelope with a knife. He peered inside, then tipped it upside down. Another memory card fell onto the paperwork with a soft thud. Tara closed her eyes and let out a small whistle.

"Best get this to Garcia," sighed Matt as he dropped the memory card back into the envelope and came to his feet.

Matt and Tara knocked at the door to Garcia's office. The chirpy sound of Garcia's "Come in!" sounded. Tara closed her fingers around the door handle and opened it before stepping inside. Multiple monitors were spread across the desks and walls. Garcia was focussed intently on one screen as she typed rapidly, her pink fingernails tapping furiously on the keys, a pink fluffy topped pen between the fingers of her left hand. An array of bright and colourful toys were scattered across the desk. Garcia stopped typing and spun in her chair so that she was facing her visitors.

"What can the oracle of all-seeing do for my doves?" she asked with a small smile. Mascara lines still tracked down her cheeks, though were now dried.

"Another memory card just got dropped off," replied Matt as he stepped forward and handed the envelope to Garcia.

"No, no, no..." uttered Garcia as her hands trembled, fishing the memory card out of the envelope and turning back to her screens. She slipped the memory card into the reader and watched as a black window with a play arrow appeared in the middle of the screen, "Oh my god, it's another video." Garcia pressed a hand to her mouth as fresh tears streaked her mascara down her face.

"I'll call Emily..." replied Tara as she dug her phone out of her pocket.