Chapter Three – Profilers' Game

Once he was gone, the agents glanced at each other. Emily was the first one to speak.

"Wow. He's… something else."

Hotch ignored her and focused his dark gaze on Olivia. She certainly had fire and no fear. By this point though he could only assume she was a victim like his team. Not that he liked to think of himself as a victim.

"Why did you purposefully goad him?"

"I listened before, when I was alone. Being kind to him hadn't worked. Neither had probing for any real answers. I figured I would try to push him and see how far he would let me go so I knew for later. Plus, if he got pissed off, he might slip up. Once he brought you in, it became even more important for me to push him. I figured it would be better if he only targeted one of us. If he's focused on me, you'll have a chance."

Whether that was a chance to get free or a chance to not get hurt as badly she didn't say.

"What surprises me is the fact that he didn't seem bothered. He just seemed to think it was funny," Rossi pointed out.

"Like it's all a game," JJ confirmed.

"We're the game pieces he gets a kick out of playing with. Great," Morgan grumbled before turning away from the group to inspect the wall. He knew there was no chance of getting the cuffs off his wrist or ankle, but maybe the link to the wall was loose. He wasn't hopeful, but he had to check anyway.

"This guy needs us alive," Emily pointed out as she sat back down on the cold floor. "If we're dead, we're no good to him."

"So what does he really want from this drug? To be able to mentally break someone down?" JJ asked in confusion.

"Maybe, or it could simply be a power trip. Anyone can change your waking hours to what they want, but nobody has control over your dreams," Rossi concluded.

"The reason why he wants it could be nearly anything," Hotch confirmed. "Meant for one specific person or simply for use on anyone."

"He doesn't seem like the type of guy looking for revenge," Emily added.

"So no revenge then, which leaves us with what?" JJ asked. "For fun? Just to see people's reactions?"

"He's a scientist," Hotch reasoned. "All of this could simply be academic."

"Academic? You mean you think he's doing this just to experiment and see if he can make it work?" Morgan demanded a bit disgusted at the thought.

Hotch simply nodded in confirmation. He didn't like the idea either, but it was a definite possibility that they couldn't disregard.

"It does seem to fit," Rossi agreed. "He said he needed even numbers of men and women which makes sense in a controlled experiment."

"Controlled experiment? That's what we are?" Morgan snapped in furious anger.

"We could really use Reid on this," JJ murmured.

"We make do," Rossi responded. "The question is, if this is an experiment then there has to be some way to monitor it. What is that way?"

"Video cameras?" Emily suggested.

There didn't seem to be any equipment in the room that could be used to monitor things, but cameras were small. One could easily be hidden somewhere in the room. In fact, she wouldn't be surprised if there was more than one.

"Possible. I'm sure he has a plan. Experiments mean a lot of trials. There's no way this is his first time," Rossi continued.

"So we've got a sadistic scientist who has been abducting people for awhile," Morgan growled.

"Yes, and in large numbers too. Part of experiments and statistics is having a large sample size. Plus, he's at the point now where he's started abducting high risk people that better suit his needs," Hotch answered.

"So what do we have in terms of a profile?" JJ asked.

"He's organized," Emily began. "He has to be to abduct six people at once. This is well planned out. His personality seems disorganized, but we know genius types can be… Reidesque."

A slight smile twitched JJ's lips. Yes, they did know that geniuses could be socially awkward, a little off, and a bit eccentric at times. That didn't mean they couldn't be incredibly organized in their own way though.

"Sadistic, yet only in a scientific way. He's not out to cause physical pain. The enjoyment comes from successfully completing the experiment," Rossi continued.

"This guy has to have some sort of charisma too," JJ mused. "There have to be people working for him."

"JJ's right. He's either good enough at convincing people to join him or he has something on them. I'm guessing it's more the first option. I figure there are more than three, but even if that's it three against one isn't good odds for the unsub," Morgan explained.

"Maybe, maybe not," Hotch countered. "He doesn't seem outwardly dangerous. More comical than anything, but that could put someone off their guard. He showed us with the detective that he's easily able to toss around casual threats."

Olivia blinked at the sudden mention of herself in the conversation. She'd been listening intently the entire time and couldn't help being impressed. Not only had they been analyzing this man like Huang did with sexual offenders, they'd also used her rank, which hadn't been mentioned. The only thing that had been said was that she was NYPD.

"How did you know that I'm a detective? How did you know any of that? Who are you guys?"

Hotch shifted his attention over to her and met her eyes evenly before he began to explain.

"It wasn't hard to know you were a detective. Regular officers aren't a member of a sexually based crime unit. Besides, a regular cop wouldn't have responded the way you did with the reasons you gave. I'd considered the fact that you could be a sergeant, but there are more detectives working an investigation squad."

Olivia shook her head, still in shock over how easily he had read her. Everything he had said made sense, but she knew she never would have been able to put it together the way he had. The way they all had.

"It's what we do for a living. Read people's behavior to determine who they are and what makes them tick," Morgan explained. "We're profilers."

"That's like knowing the exact words to say when interrogating someone before you even walk into the room."

"Definitely comes in handy," Morgan agreed.

"And it might come in handy a little bit later," Rossi interrupted, "but right now it might be better to focus on what we can expect to happen while we're his honored guests."

He finished the last two words with more derision than necessary.

"Considering there's no way we're breaking these chains, I'd say we're in for hell," Morgan grumbled.