Chapter Twelve – Put A Rush On It

The door slamming into the wall jerked everyone into wakefulness the next morning. Emily had shot to her feet right away, and it was only Hotch's quick reflexes that prevented her from panicking completely in her heightened and adrenalized state. He held her arm firmly, letting his grip be her anchor to the present. Morgan and Olivia were on their feet as well, tense and ready. The door had never slammed open like that before. It could hardly be a good sign.

Rossi was a little slower on the uptake, but JJ covered for him. She was on the end of her chain hovering near him. There wasn't much she would actually be able to do, but she stood ready regardless.

Bill stormed into the room, obviously irritated. The profilers immediately noted the change in behavior and became more wary. While not a profiler, Olivia had picked up on the behavior shift as well. Her eyes narrowed a bit. Something had obviously happened, and it probably wasn't something good for them.

"They're going to ruin the entire experiment!" the unsub raved. "Ruin it!"

He started pacing around the room, careful to stay out of his prisoners' reach. His face was twisted in agitation and fury, and he continued to clench and unclench his hands.

"Peace and quiet for so long and now… now…"

Bill threw his hands up in frustration, unable to voice the thought. He hadn't planned on any of the previous test subjects being found. It was all over the news and putting a major cramp in his plans. Irritating indeed! Well, he was just going to have to rush things a little bit. It shouldn't alter his data too much. If it did, well, there were always more test subjects. A scientist's work was never done!

He nodded in approval of his own plan. This was still going to work out.

"Okay then!" he cheered, once more his usual excited self. "Let's get started shall we? There's no time to lose."

Clapping his hands in excitement, he bounded out the door to go prepare. When the door clicked shut again, the BAU agents and Olivia could only look at each other in surprise.

"What the hell is up with him? He some fast acting version of bi-polar or something?" Morgan demanded.

"I doubt it," JJ replied. "Did you see him while he was pacing? The look on his face made me think that he was trying to figure something out."

"It worked too," Rossi returned.

"Something very specific set him off," Hotch confirmed as he considered everything that had happened. "And he seems to have found a way to overcome it."

"Overcome what?" Olivia asked.

"Something that's getting in the way of his experiment," Morgan informed her. "Whatever happened isn't letting him work the way he wants to anymore."

"Like construction? He said there was no more peace and quiet…" she mused.

"Maybe. Or a boss from above putting pressure on him."

Emily shook her head, disagreeing with Morgan. The discussion into their unsub's profile had given her something to focus on besides the dream, and she'd jumped in with a vengeance.

"I can't see this guy working for someone else. He's running the show the way he wants to run it. I know we haven't seen any of them, but people have to be doing his bidding."

"They are," Olivia confirmed. "They brought you all down here."

Hotch jumped on the new information, immediately probing for more details.

"How many?"

"One for each of you. Bill was directing them every step of the way."

"And they obeyed?"

Olivia nodded. "Every word without question. It didn't seem like they were being threatened or coerced at all. Some of them even looked to him for more direction."

"That's a lot of control," Rossi pointed out.

"Either they fear him to the point of complete submission…" JJ began.

"Or they have full belief in his plan," Emily finished.

Hotch agreed with them and considered everything they knew once more.

"What about Reid?" Hotch asked. "Could he have something to do with the unsub's mood shift?"

"You think he put something together?" Emily asked curiously.

"If he was on the right track to finding us it would definitely upset the unsub," Rossi agreed.

"If that's the case, let's hope whatever he found seems as on track to Reid as it does to our unsub," Morgan responded.

They were about to continue into the possibilities of what Reid could have found when the door opened again. The unsub bustled in whistling happily to himself. He ignored all of the eyes on him and continued to make his way over to Emily and Hotch before kneeling to dig in his bag.

As usual, Hotch's face gave nothing away. Despite everything she'd been through, Emily barely showed him any expression either. When Bill finally looked up at the two of them he frowned.

"There's no reason to be so serious! Smiles and laughter make everything~ better. You really should try it some time."

"You want us to try to smile and laugh while you're attempting to show us our worst nightmares?" Emily asked incredulously.

Bill visibly thought about that for a moment and then beamed down at her.

"That's exactly what I'm saying! For you at least. I'm done with you, so now would be a fine time for you to test something else!"

"If Emily and I aren't needed any more, why don't you let us go? It would be less of a hassle for you if we weren't here, and you'd have more time for everyone else," Rossi explained.

"Oh no, no, no, no! That wouldn't work! Then I would have to spend all~ that time planning~ where you should end up. It takes a lot of time you know. So many details."

Their plan to get one of them out to bring rescue to the others wasn't going to work. Bill had no intention of freeing or killing any of them until he was done with the experiment.

"Nope!" Bill sang, drawing Rossi's thoughts out of other negotiation strategies to try. "You're all staying here with me! So smile and get used to it."

He used his fingers to pull his own lips up into a smile to demonstrate for Rossi before turning back to Hotch and Emily.

"Are you ready for round two, Miss Prentiss?"

Emily stared at him in shock, all color drained from her face. "Wh-what?"

Bill just smiled at her response for a moment before breaking into hysterical laughter and waved his hand at her.

"I'm kidding you silly goose! You're all done. I'm here for your team leader I believe he's called."

"If you're here for me then stop targeting Prentiss and get on with it."

Hotch's dark eyes bored into Bill's conveying clearly that he wasn't afraid. Bill could bring on whatever he wanted; Hotch was ready. The unsub watched Hotch for a moment longer before turning to Emily with a laugh.

"Is he always~ so impatient~?"

"Only when dealing with people who think they're better than they are," Olivia piped up from across the room.

Emily looked strained, and Olivia wanted to get the attention off of her. Besides, being antagonistic was the role she played. Bill just chuckled, unconcerned.

"Cocky little thing aren't you? Don't worry. We'll take care of that soon enough~. But first!"

He swung back toward Hotch and grinned a wide, Cheshire smile down at him.

"Let's get you ready to go to dream land, shall we? It's like Disney World only better. More memorable you could say. Don't worry! The trip is short, but the time spent there is much longer~. You'll have a fantastic time!"