PANOPLY OF FEAR
Chapter 9
Fading Hopes

"Never give up; never surrender." – Commander Peter Quincy Taggart

"There hasn't been anything particularly unusual ordered from biochemical suppliers in the last month, except this one." Garcia said. She was on the laptop talking to Morgan. "Animal cages, ordered from Biochem Supplies three weeks ago."

"Why is this unusual, Baby Girl?" Morgan asked. "Isn't that a normal purchase?"

"These were a duplicate order. They had already delivered the same order to CDC in Atlanta. Then an identical order came through, not invoiced, but paid for in person with cash."

"And where was the delivery for?"

"That was the other odd aspect. It was a private house."

"Let me guess." Morgan said grimly. And he reeled off the address of the smouldering ruins he had visited earlier. "Damn. That gets us precisely no-where."

"What can I do now?"

"Rental labs or disused places where Fair could be working." He answered. "See if you can come up with anything."

"On it, Honey-Bun." And she was gone.

-0-0-0-

Emily pulled up outside the scruffy little building that was a lifeline for so many families. Already there were little kids in the playground, and harassed parents running off to work. She rang the bell on the security gate, and a pleasant looking middle aged lady came out and asked who she was.

"I know it's official, 'cos you don't have a kid with you." She said, not unpleasantly.

"Emily Prentiss, FBI. I'm investigating the death of one of your children."

"Ah yes. Little Tish." She said, opening the gate. "Such a shame. Lovely kid."

Emily went in and the gate was locked behind her. "You have a helper here, Chloe Fair. Was she close to Tisha?"'

"Well, not usually, except the last few times she came, they seemed to develop a bond."

"Is that not normal in a place like this?" Emily said, surprised.

"For most workers here, I'd say yes." She said. "But Chloe, although she worked hard, I thought at first she was ...erm... well, racist."

"Why did you think that?"

"Well, she wouldn't touch the children, even if they tried to hug her. A lot of these kids are deprived at the most basic level you know. She pushed them away, physically, as well as mentally. Then suddenly it changed, and she sought Tisha out for special attention."

"Is Chloe in today?" Emily asked.

"No. She hasn't been back since Tisha died."

"And what were her duties here?"

"Mostly in the kitchens. She helped to prep the snacks and drinks for the kids. Come on, let me show you."

Emily followed her into the building.

-0-0-0-

Morgan called Dave, but his phone rang and rang, eventually going to voicemail. He was surprised that Dave hadn't called him yet, and thought he might be in a meeting with someone. But he wasn't convinced. He had a nasty feeling about it. Rossi always answered his phone, once he learned how to. He called the head teacher, Mr Adejua. This time the call was answered.

"I am trying to locate Agent Rossi. He was coming to the school to try to restore order."

"He did." Adejua said. "He's got everyone organised. He's amazing."

"He is also missing. He's not answering his phone. Would you mind looking for him please?"

"Yes certainly. I have your number, I'll call you back."

Morgan put the phone down. He was feeling very... well, almost scared. Three agents missing now. He looked at the phone, willing to ring. When it did, he almost jumped out of his skin. He snatched the receiver up.

"Morgan!"

"Hey, Cool Angel. Got a list of those labs for you. Faxing them over now to the hotel fax... Are you ok?"

"Yeah, Babes. Thank you." He put down the handset with a sigh.

"What was all that about?" Emily said. She had just got back from the kids club.

"Dave's not answering his phone."

"Oh no!" She sank into the nearest chair.

-0-0-0-

Reid could hear Aaron's bubbly breathing and horrible coughing. After each coughing fit his breathing seemed weaker. Spence knew what symptoms would show up next. He heard a shuddering gasp from his friend, and he fought harder to free himself.

Blood was running from Aaron's mouth and nose, splashing thickly into the pool of vomit and fluids he was kneeling in. He could feel his life draining away with each drop of blood as if his life itself was pouring out. He opened his eyes and turned his head. The bright light in the lab shone on the blood that was running from the corners of his eyes.

"Good bye, Spence... love you..." and his head dropped forward, and he was still.

Oh god...oh god...oh god...

"No!" Reid screamed! "No Aaron!...Wake up!" and Spencer's anguished cries echoed around the brightly lit lab.

-0-0-0-

Adejua went to the hall and onto the stage. He saw the chair that the Agent had been sitting on, and the drops of blood leading towards the stage door. He went to the door and opened it and turned the light on.

Dave was lying towards the bottom of the stairs, prone, with his head against the door to the corridor. Adejua ran down to him. He was out cold, but he thought there was a pulse. Without moving him, he opened the door and went to his office. On the PA system, he called a medic, then he called Morgan back.

Morgan was relieved that Dave wasn't another abductee, but upset that he was now hurt. Adejua told him that there was a lot of blood, which news didn't quell Morgan's anxiety.

"We have medics here, Agent. I'm not sure that they will allow Agent Rossi out of the school now."

"We think we have found the source of the infection, Mr Adejua. And it's not in the school. Please tell Agent Rossi as soon as you can."

"You don't know how relieved that makes me." Adejua said.

"I have an idea!"said Morgan

"I must go now, and take over what your agent started. May I announce the news about the source of the outbreak?"

"Give us a little longer, please, but you can tell them there will be news by the end of the day."

"Marvellous!" Adejua said. "I will speak to you soon when I have news on your Agent." Adejua put down the phone and went back out of his office.

Two medics were carrying an unconscious Rossi out into the corridor. "We'll take him to the first aid room rather than the gym." One said to Adejua. "It will be quieter in there."

One of the medics' pagers bleeped. "We have to go." He said, and they carried Dave into the first aid room.

-0-0-0-

"Aaron, please!" but he knew there would be no response. The bleeding had started. Spencer pulled himself up onto his feet, and frantically rubbed the tie against the pillar. He could feel the plastic weakening, and with a final tug, it snapped, and Reid fell forwards onto the floor.

He crawled to Aaron, ignoring the bloody hand prints he was leaving in his wake. His wrists were bleeding, but it wasn't arterial, so it didn't matter.

He reached the cage.

"I'm here, Aaron. I am going to get you out f there."

He stood up and began searching the lab. He found a pair of scissors and a wire cutter. He returned to his friend.

"Aaron, I am going to take out the IV's. I will try not to hurt you."

Very carefully, he slid the needles from his elbows. Aaron didn't flinch.

"I am cutting the ties."

"Go away, Reid... I order... you... to go..."

His faint words were punctuated with coughing and groans of pain and failure. Reid ignored him and cut the ties. Aaron's arms fell away from the top of the Cage and he cried out as the muscles protested.

"Aaron, I am going to get you out of there." He said. "I have some cutters here; I am going to remove the top of the cage."

Slowly and carefully, he snipped the metal where the sides were welded to the base. The wire cutters weren't really strong enough, but using all his strength, and some extra that he called up from deep within him, he cut along the edge, freeing the base from the top. When this was done, he carefully slid the cage off Aaron's cramped body and threw it to one side

Then he wrapped his arms around Aaron and held him.

Aaron couldn't move. The only sign of life was the thick bloody cough. Aaron was still in the same position, and he weakly tried to pull away.

"Don't... t-touch me... Reid go ..."

Reid held him harder, and ran his fingers through Aaron's thick dark hair.

"Aaron, I need to find a phone. Please, I have to lay you down."

Tenderly, gently, Spencer laid Aaron down on his side. He still hadn't moved from the position he had been forced into over two days ago. Reid looked around for something to cover him with. His body was cold and clammy, but he was sweating profusely. He saw Aaron's jacket thrown in the corner. He picked it up, and there was a phone in his pocket. He tried switching it on. There was barely enough battery left to light the screen.

He wrote a text message for Morgan.

morgan this is reid on hotch's phone please come quickly will activate gps battery low

He pressed 'send' and checked that the GPS was enabled, and took the jacket back to Aaron.

Carefully, Reid pulled him to himself, his arms around his shaking bloody body. He noticed almost black blood from his ears now, and his eyes were crying tears of blood. Aaron tried to pull away, but it was a feeble gesture, and one which Spencer ignored. He felt the warmth of Aaron's blood under his hands, and as their blood mixed on his wrists, Spencer knew that he would be next to die.

But to leave Aaron to die alone, and not hold him and show him how much he was loved would have been far worse.

"Don't try to push me away, Aaron, because I won't leave you. Don't waist your energy.

Aaron's legs were still folded under him. Spencer saw that along his shins from his knees to the tops of his feet, there were sores, inflamed and weeping, where he had been kneeling in his own mess for two days. He wondered if they would leave scars. He still would not believe that Aaron was going to die. He remembered the statistics: Just over ninety percent fatal. That meant almost ten percent survival.

He clung to this hope, that Aaron might be of the ten percent. His immune system was possibly enhanced by the antibodies from Maureen.

Spencer looked up at the monkey. He hadn't heard the creature chattering for a while.

The monkey was lying along the front edge of her cage, eyes open and covered with a misty film. The animal was dead. In reaction, he pulled Aaron closer.

"Morgan's on his way, Aaron. Keep breathing.

He nuzzled Aaron's hair, the smell of blood now dominant over the smell of shampoo and after shave. Reid felt his own tears mix with Aaron's bloody ones, as Reid gently rocked him, and hummed softly.

-0-0-0

"Baby, we are following Hotch's GPS signal." Morgan said. "Please, follow it too, just in case. Emily will call you, so stay in touch. This could be our last chance to find them."

"I'll be with you every step, don't worry."

Emily and Morgan hurried down to the car park to an SUV. Emily held both her phone and Morgan's. Hers was connected to Garcia, on speaker, and Morgan's showed the GPS leading them to Aaron and Spencer. They drove up the ramp into the traffic, leaving rubber on the tarmac. Morgan drove like a maniac through the streets. It was nine am, and the roads were busy with the tail end of the rush hour traffic. The signal on the GPS was strong, and leading them out of town, south towards Fredericksburg. Just past the forest park, they turned right off the main road.

And the GPS stopped.

"Where's the signal, Garcia? What happened?"

"Something has happened at their end, Emily. Thier phone has either run out of battery or it's been destroyed. I cannot tell you where to go now. I have no idea."

Morgan stopped the car and put his head on the steering wheel.

Not so many miles away, Spencer looked at the smashed phone on the floor, and felt his hopes for Aaron fade as the signal died.

He gripped him tighter, and continued to rock him, and tried not to communicate his despair to the dying man.