So I realized when I started writing this chapter that there were a few inconsistencies with the layout of the house. When I started writing about George Stanley's house the living room could be seen from the stairs but in the layout I ultimately ended up using the staircase is at the front of the house and the living room is at the back, so there you go. I don't know if anyone else noticed but its been bothering me all day. Also in case you are confused by this chapter Morgan did call JJ to let her know what was going on it just didn't fit into the action in the last chapter. Finally I promise that as of next chapter the unidentified man will no longer be thinking of Reid as "the agent." It's starting to get on my nerves even but I promise it was necessary.

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds, nor do I own any of the Criminal Minds characters. I do own Detective Stanfield, George Stanley and the unidentified man.

Glancing around the room the man grabbed the handcuffs from where they had landed in the corner. He then proceeded to grab the agent and shoved him roughly. When the young man was lying on his stomach his captor yanked his arms behind him and slapped the cuffs on his wrists, making sure they were as tight as possible. The man flashed a grin at the unconscious agent and reveled in the irony that the young man was now secured with his partner's cuffs. The moment passed quickly though and then it was back to business.

"George!". The man had to repeat the name several times before he caught the other man's attention. "Help me carry this agent to the car." the man ordered when George finally looked at him.

Between the two of them they were able to carry the agent out to the car easily. Although he was over 6 feet tall, the young man didn't weigh much and they soon had him in the trunk of a car. The man grabbed a role of duct tape from inside the trunk and bound the agent's legs first before slapping a piece of tape over his mouth. Glancing at his watch the man figured he had another hour or so before the drug released its hold on the agent but he wasn't taking any chances. With one last look at the captive man he slammed the trunk shut.

"George I'm heading out. I'm trusting you to take care of the girl. Can you do that?"

George nodded eagerly and if any of the team had seen the smile on his face at that moment they would have been even more worried for their friend.

-PTTR-PTTR-PTTR-

It took everything Morgan had to hide his surprise at the man's words. Somewhere his mind had registered the fact that there was only one body but he hadn't considered what that really meant. He couldn't let his mind go there. Maybe some part of him thought that his team was safe now because they had the bad guy. He had never even considered the possibility of finding only one teammate at the house.

His team leader remained stoic as ever. "I don't want to shoot you George, but I will if I have to. We don't even have a hostage to worry about."

Morgan watched as a grin spread slowly over the suspect's face. George glanced down at the body on the floor behind him. "Are you sure about that?"

Morgan felt his entire body relax as relief flooded through him. It appeared that, at least as far as George knew, both agents were still alive. He burned to know who was lying on the floor in front of them but he kept his gun pointed squarely at the suspect. I hope its Reid. Morgan instantly felt guilty for the thought, even though he knew it stemmed from his certainty that Elle could take care of herself.

Beside him, Hotch tried once again to reason with the Unsub. "If you come with us we can talk about this. We can make sure people get a chance to see your artwork." Morgan knew his boss was taking a gamble, but it was a pretty good one given their preliminary profile.

Unfortunately the gamble failed as Hotch's words had the exact opposite effect of what he indented. George became visibly agitated as soon as the artwork was mentioned and started ranting and raving. "You think I'm crazy, just like everyone else. You don't see the beauty in my art. Nobody sees the beauty of my art. He just had to go and ruin it, trying to break art down to a science."

"Who ruined what?" asked Hotch, hoping to calm George down. George started waving the gun he held around in the air instead, the knife in his other hand seemingly forgotten.

-PTTR-PTTR-PTTR-

The first thing Reid noticed as he slowly rejoined the world of the living was a stiff pain in his shoulders. Struggling to get into a more comfortable position he realized that he couldn't move his arms which were stuck high above his head for some reason. With his returning awareness came the realization that his entire body ached. Reid attempted to call up a memory of what had happened but his mind was still too fuzzy so he decided to take stock of his faculties instead.

Starting with his toes he moved his muscles one by one, checking that everything still worked. Finding no permanent damage he struggled to open his eyes. He felt his eyelids flutter once, twice before he finally wrenched them open.

Blinking rapidly he realized that he was in complete, impenetrable darkness. Even as his mind registered the thought he felt his breathing speed up as his heart began to race. A wave of anxiety washed over him.

Reid soon began to feel lightheaded as he struggled to control his breathing. Before panic could overtake him completely he recalled some deep breathing exercises he had recently read about. Breath in from the diaphragm. Hold for a count of ten. Breath out to a count of ten. Repeating the exercise over and over, he gradually regained control.

"Hello?" he called out when his anxiety had been reduced to a tolerable level. He cringed inwardly at how weak his voice sounded. Reid nearly jumped out of his skin when his call was answered by a moan. He figured that whoever had made the sound was nearby so he tried again. "Are you okay?" His voice sounded steadier this time.

The reply, when it came, was so faint that Reid nearly missed it. "No."

Reid was trying to think of something comforting to say when he heard the sound of a door opening somewhere above him. Whoever else was with him clearly heard it too as Reid heard whimpering somewhere nearby.

The sound of the door opening was soon followed by heavy footsteps on a staircase. Less than 30 seconds later Reid heard a click and light flooded the room. Reid cringed and his eyelids slammed shut as the harsh light stung his eyes. After a count of ten, Reid slowly reopened his eyes, blinking rapidly as he adjusted to the light.

When his sight cleared and he could finally see again his FBI training took over and he quickly surveyed his surroundings. The first thing he saw in front of him was a handsome, dark-haired man who looked vaguely familiar though Reid couldn't immediately place him. Beyond the man a young woman stood almost hanging from a hook above her. From the bruises and cuts all over her body it was clear that she had been beaten and tortured. Glancing around the room he saw dozens of hooks similar to the one he assumed he himself was hanging from.

Speaking of hanging, Reid realized that his wrists were beginning to ache. Feeling cold metal he figured that he had been handcuffed, though far more tightly then protocol dictated. He couldn't have been handcuffed for that long though, or else the man had removed the cuffs at some point, because Reid's fingers were only just beginning to feel numb from the restricted circulation.

After staring at Reid for a minute the man walked over to the woman and began to unhook her arms. As soon as the man came near her the woman's whimpering became louder and she began to struggle against her bonds. "Take me instead." Reid heard himself say, surprised by the assertiveness in his voice.

The man half turned towards Reid and smiled at him, yet it was a smile that promised nothing good. "Oh your time will come Dr. Reid" he said before turning back to his ministrations. Dragging the woman upstairs he took moment to flick off the light, plunging the doctor once again into darkness.

-PTTR-PTTR-PTTR-

"He ruined it. HE did." George continued ranting. Morgan followed his gaze to the floor where Reid's discarded messenger bag lay. As soon as George pointed the gun towards the bag for emphasis Morgan saw his opportunity and took it. Moving as fast as lightning Morgan tackled the man to the ground, using his left arm to push the man's knife hand out to the side so that he wouldn't end up with the knife impaled in his chest.

When the two of them hit the ground George's gun went flying while Morgan managed to hold onto his weapon. Repositioning himself so his knee was in the suspects chest, Morgan squeezed the man's left hand until the man dropped the knife, the gun in his own right hand trained on the suspect's face all the while. He grabbed the knife in his left hand and tossed it to the side, out of the suspect's reach.

When Detective Stanfield came forward and trained his weapon on the man Morgan pushed himself up dragging the suspect with him and turning him around in the process. Pushing George up against the wall Morgan yanked the man's hands behind his back and cuffed them there. Morgan rapidly searched the suspect's pockets for other weapons before handing him off to the uniformed officers. He hadn't even noticed the officers had joined them until that moment.

While Morgan followed the officers in escorting Mr. Stanley to the police cruiser, Hotch ran up to the body. It was Elle. Aside from a bloody gash on her head he couldn't see any obvious signs of injury. Putting two fingers on her neck he checked her pulse: It was steady. "She's still alive! I need a medic" he yelled into the mic secured to the inside of his wrist.

Pulling out his cell phone he rapidly dialed a familiar number. "We found Elle but she's injured. We're waiting on the medics right now. Morgan and I have to go back to the station but I need you to go to the hospital."

"Right. On it." JJ replied before hanging up.

-PTTR-PTTR-PTTR-

Dragging the woman behind him he ignored the posts this time, choosing instead to shove her down on the love seat in front of the TV. Grabbing a knife off a tray that stood in the corner he sat down next to her. The woman tried to move herself as far away from him as possible but the couch was small and he just moved closer until he was pressed up right against her and there was nowhere else for her to go.

He began to talk to her. "You are a lucky girl." the man informed her. "I was going to kill you yesterday but then that call came in. I was going to kill you today but I've changed my mind. You see we have a game to play." He said all this with a sickly sweet voice and a smile that betrayed his less than sweet intentions.

He had fully intended to kill her today. He meant to kill her before he even taking anyone else but HE had changed his mind. When the doctor had tried to stick up for this woman he didn't even know the man had realized that he could have a lot more fun by leaving her alive.

In fact the man the man decided against even harming her for the moment, figuring it would be better to save her strength. He got up and returned the knife to the silver tray before sitting back down next to her. The psychological torture of being near him was enough for the moment. She would live... for now.

-PTTR-PTTR-PTTR-

The medics had finally arrived. Morgan led them inside to the back of the house where Elle lay, still unconscious. After checking her vitals the paramedics transferred her onto the stretcher and wheeled her out to the ambulance.

After watching the paramedics take their unconscious teammate away Morgan turned back to Hotch, a somber look on his face. "The officers finished searching the house. Reid's not here."

Arriving at the emergency room JJ had flashed her badge and ordered the nurse on duty to alert her as soon as Elle was brought in. Elle had been brought in on a stretcher 20 minutes after she talked to the nurse but that was the last JJ had heard.

Checking her watch she figured about an hour had passed since they brought Elle in. She was eager to hear news of her friend and even more eager to get back to the station and find out what had happened. She was about to step out and call Hotch when a doctor entered the waiting room and called out "Elle Greenaway."

JJ hurried up to the man and flashed her credentials. "Special Agent Jennifer Jareau with the Behavioral Analysis Unit. Elle Greenaway is one of our agents."

The doctor eyed the FBI badge before answering. "I know. Agent Greenaway is awake now and has been asking for her team. She's just down the hall in room 118. You can go ahead and see her."

JJ hurried down the hall and knocked on the door to room 118. "Come in" she heard Elle call from within. JJ let herself in.

"How are you feeling?" she asked the other woman.

"Like I've been run over by a truck." Elle replied. Despite her pain she gave a small smile which JJ returned.

"Do you know when you'll get out of here?"

Before Elle could reply the doctor JJ had talked to earlier walked in. "Agent Greenaway we have the last of your test results. If your friend would give us some privacy– "

"No. It's all right if she stays." Elle quickly interrupted him. After everything that had gone on she didn't really want to be left alone with a man she didn't know.

"Well as you know we stitched up a gash on your head. You don't appear to have a concussion but you may experience a mild headache over the next couple of days. We also bandaged a burn on your back. It looks like you were hit with a taser but there should be no lasting damage. Your blood tests came back clean except for trace amounts of propofol. As soon as you sign the discharge papers you're free to go."

"Thank you doctor. " Elle replied. Getting up from the bed she headed for the administration desk. JJ trailed after her. They were both eager to get back to the station and find out what had happened.

-PTTR-PTTR-PTTR-

Hotch stood at the viewing window watching as they left George Stanley to sit and stew. The man was calm. Far too calm for a man possibly facing multiple murder counts and definitely facing two counts of abducting a federal agent. As much as he desperately wanted to be out there searching for his missing agent he knew that George Stanley was Reid's best chance.

He turned away from the glass when Morgan walked in carrying a file. "What more do we have on George Stanley." he asked.

"Garcia began digging as soon as she realized the GPS coordinates on Elle's phone matched the location of George Stanley's house." Morgan informed his boss. "Turns out George Stanley has a brother who lives in the area. Local PD are bringing him in now."

"Why didn't this turn up in the earlier background check?"

"Because it turns out the younger brother was taken by child services and placed with a foster family when George was about 10. The foster family eventually adopted him so Richard Stanley became Richard Astor. "

"Anything else?"

"Yah. Garcia called. She's waiting on the line in the conference room." Morgan led the way into the conference room where they had set up shop. After getting the OK from Hotch he pressed the button bringing the call off hold. "Hey babygirl, tell us what you've got."

"You first. Tell me you found them. Tell me my family is safe." Garcia sounded almost frantic on the phone. Morgan regretted not telling her more when he answered the call.

"Elle's safe. She's getting checked out at the hospital right now but JJ's with her. She was stable when the medics– "

"What about Reid" Garcia interrupted. They two men could almost hear the quirky technical analyst blush when she realized she had interrupted her boss.

"He wasn't at the house but we think George Stanley knows where he is. The best thing you can do for him right now is tell us what you found."

"Right sir. Sorry sir." They could still hear the worry in Garcia's voice. "It seems our boy George fancies himself an artist. I found some articles in the local paper about him from around 10 years ago. People seemed to think he was pretty talented but something happened and he took a turn for the crazy. When he started using human blood as a medium interest in his work dried up and people sort of forgot about him."

"Thanks Garcia" Hotch replied. "Do some more digging and see if you can find out what triggered the change in his art."

"On it, sir. Just bring my baby boy home safe. Garcia out." With those last words the technical analyst disconnected the call. There was something ominous about the dial tone that followed.

Morgan turned to face his boss. "You know Hotch there's something that has been bugging me about this guy. He didn't say he had Reid. He specifically said he knew where Reid was. Hotch, I think he might have a partner. I think the partner has Reid."

Morgan gave the younger profiler a somber look. "Morgan, I need to make a call. I think we need Gideon."

So the unidentified man did know both agents names the entire time. I just didn't want him to think of Reid in more intimate terms until after he had addressed him by name. And I know that Elle would most likely have a concussion from being knocked out by the unsub (he was crazy and his partner took all the drugs) but I couldn't in good conscious allow her into the field with a concussion and I still need her. And Gideon will be joining this story next chapter because there is no way that the team would not call him in and that he would not come if Reid is in trouble. Anyways thanks for reading and please take the time to review!