Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter out. A combination of real life issues and quiet contemplation of the UNSUBS game delayed the writing of this chapter. It may also be a while before the next chapter comes out as I'm busy this weekend and the final version of the report I vaguely remembering mentioning before the last update is due on Wednesday. I hope this update is worth it. I tried to mainly focus on Reid and the UNSUB in this chapter. I also want to warn you ahead of time that I'm going to be giving JJ a bigger role in this story than she actually had in Season 1. As Ed Bernardo pointed out during one of the season 2 commentaries, JJ didn't really do much in Season 1. I hope you will forgive me. I've also gone through and made a list of questions to be answered in upcoming chapters so enjoy!

Warning: Mentions of torture, mild language

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds, nor the Criminal Minds characters. All original characters and mistakes are my own.

There was a moment of confusion as Reid slowly regained consciousness, an experience he was becoming all-too-familiar with, but it passed quickly. His memory of earlier events was quite clear which surprised the young genius. He clearly remembered the feeling of a syringe being jabbed into his neck and he shuddered at the thought of anybody forcing some unknown drug into his system.

Opening his eyes he found himself once again in complete darkness. Reid struggled to find some sort of consistency in the man's actions. He branded her. Why doesn't he want to show me his handiwork? Last time he had tortured the girl in front of Reid he had left the light on so the agent could see the 'consequences' of his actions. Now the UNSUB was leaving Reid in the dark, both literally and figuratively.

Reid had no idea how long he had been hanging there in the darkness when he heard the sound of the door being opened. Reid's eyes automatically slammed shut so when the flood of light from the overheads came he was prepared. His vision cleared much quicker this time but before he could even glance at the woman the UNSUB was right there in front of him.

As the UNSUB unhooked the ever-present handcuffs from the hook above him, Reid's legs collapsed beneath his full weight, too weak to support him. The UNSUB frowned at the agent on the ground. Counting the days he realized it had probably been a couple of days since the agent had eaten anything. He would have to deal with that later.

Grabbing the young man around the shoulders he pretty much hauled him up the stairs. Since the UNSUB had left the blindfold off, Reid got his first good look at the stairs. Looking down as he was manhandled, the agent realized it was a miracle he hadn't tripped and broken his neck. The stairs were open slats such that you could see the basement floor underneath them. All it took was catching a foot under the bottom of a step and he would have been sent tumbling.

Reid was soon once again strapped into the all-too-familiar chair and watched as the UNSUB dragged the woman over to the posts and bound her there. He cringed when he spotted the word "Liar" burned into her flesh. From the shine of the skin it appeared the man had at least covered the brand in some sort of ointment. When the woman was secured the man walked over to a corner of the room, drawing Reid's attention to the video camera mounted there.

The man turned to face his captive before turning on the camera. When he spotted Reid's gaze on the camera a grin slowly spread over his face. "I wonder how your colleagues are enjoying the video I sent them." he said right before he turned on the camera.

Reid was surprised by the UNSUB's admission but filed the information away for later. He didn't have time to dwell on it right now. The UNSUB wanted to play.

-PTTR-PTTR-PTTR-

Hotch had finally gotten around to looking through the reports prepared by the forensic pathologist. The documentation of the men's injuries provided a very clear picture of the level of violence the UNSUB was capable of.

The first victim had been stabbed 37 times in the chest and abdomen. The victim's arms and legs had been littered with so many cuts that the pathologist was unable to count them all. Bruises on the torso were consistent with a bare knuckle beating. Some of the wounds had started to heal indicating the UNSUB had tortured the victim over many days. Stomach and bowels completely empty but no overt signs of starvation. Just over two pints of blood left in the body.

The second victim had been stabbed 52 times in the chest, abdomen, arms and legs. Welts on the back consistent with being lashed with a belt. Bruises consistent with a bare-knuckle attack. Some sort of blunt object used to completely obliterate the face. Partially healed wounds and less than a pint of blood left in the body.

Samples of the victims' DNA had been shipped to Quantico but they were still waiting on the results. Hotch had no doubt that the victims' DNA would match samples taken from the first two crime scenes. The autopsy indicated that both bodies had been frozen for less than a week. In fact the forensic pathologist hadn't been able to complete the report on the second victim because the body was still partially frozen.

Neither victims' fingerprints were in the system. The chief medical examiner had called in a forensic dentist to try and make an identification based on dental records but that would take some time. Time they didn't really have.

Hotch closed the file and pushed the report off to the side in frustration. Aside from the medical knowledge needed to carry out the crime, the first two bodies hadn't really provided them with much. They didn't have nearly enough for a profile. Hotch was starting to understand what drove Morgan's urge to hit something.

He desperately hoped Morgan would manage to get something useful out of the suspect they already had in custody.

-PTTR-PTTR-PTTR-

Reid felt his eyes go wide as the UNSUB approached with a large knife in his hand. He struggled for a minute against his bonds but his struggles ceased as the knife drew close to his chest. Reid fought the urge to look away as the knife closed the remaining 1-inch gap.

Reid was surprised but relieved when the man merely used the knife to cut away both his sweater vest and the button-down shirt underneath rather than using it on Reid himself. With his shirt and vest gone Reid's chest was completely bare leaving the young man feeling self-conscious and exposed.

His discomfort only increased when the man approached and attached what appeared to be electrodes to Reid's bared chest. He felt himself swallow involuntarily when the man inadvertently brushed his skin, raising goose bumps on his exposed flesh.

After attaching the electrodes to the doctor the man went and repeated the process with the woman, omitting the part where he cut off her shirt since she was already in her underclothes.

When he was done the man backed up and smiled at his captives. He then began to explain the rules of the game. "Now this game is simple Dr. Reid. I'll ask you a question and it's your job to answer. After 30 seconds you will experience an electric shock every 10 seconds until you answer. You can ask for a hint but if you do the woman will receive a shock. Get a question wrong and you both get shocked. The intensity will increase with each shock until such time as it proves fatal. Do you understand Dr. Reid?"

Reid nodded at the man, his expression unreadable.

"Good, then let us begin" said the man. And then he started to read off a riddle:

As I was going to St. Ives
I met a man with seven wives
The seven wives had seven sacks
The seven sacks had seven cats
The seven cats had seven kits
Kits, cats, sacks and wives
How many were going to St. Ives?

Reid remained silent, deep in thought. He had heard the riddle before and so he knew the answer before the man even finished the question but he didn't answer right away. The UNSUB had proved last time that he wouldn't hesitate to ask questions that even a genius couldn't possibly answer. In fact some people would argue that this particular riddle actually had two possible answers. He also seemed to enjoy taking the time to torture his victims so Reid figured the man was bluffing when he said he would increase the intensity of the shock until it was fatal...

Reid's train of thought was interrupted by a mildly painful shock. It seemed like his 30 seconds was up. It was okay though, since Reid had decided to call the UNSUB's bluff and simply remained silent.

-PTTR-PTTR-PTTR-

Morgan sat across the table from George Stanley just as he had during the initial interview. The folder in front of him held the picture of Reid from the second body along with a couple of images Garcia had pulled from the video.

"I know you didn't kill Dr. Reid." One by one Morgan removed the images in the file and laid them out before the suspect. He did so without really looking at the pictures, intent as he was on watching the suspect's face for any sign of a reaction.

Morgan was not disappointed. A wave of emotions washed over George Stanley's face as he stared at the images: surprise, delight and... sorrow? The experienced profiler was surprised by that last emotion. It had only lasted a second so he couldn't be sure but it might be a way in; a way to break the guy. Morgan chanced a quick glance at the two-way glass in hope that his boss was watching.

Behind the mirror, Hotch was watching the interrogation and he has seen it, that flash of remorse. As soon as he saw Morgan glance at the mirror, Hotch tapped once on the glass before returning to the conference room to call Garcia.

Assured by that single tap that his boss was on it, Morgan pulled out a second file folder that had been sitting underneath that containing the images of Reid. "What I'm more interested in at the moment..." Morgan paused to remove a couple of photographs from the file. "... is your work" he finished, laying the pictures out to cover the photographs of his teammate.

Garcia had managed to dig up photographs someone had taken of some of George Stanley's work right around the time when he had started using blood as a medium. Those photographs now lay before him and he sat staring at them, drinking them in.

"I've got some more photographs to show that you might be interested in, " Morgan told him, "if you tell me where my agent is."

Though the man's eyes betrayed his interest he chose to remain silent.

-PTTR-PTTR-PTTR-

The man had set up a computer program to automatically administer the shocks while his captive was thinking. He had also programmed the computer so that the shocks wouldn't actually reach a dangerous level but there was no way the agent could know that. So it frustrated him immensely when the young man refused to answer.

The man knew it was an outright refusal since he had specifically chosen an old classic riddle and the FBI agent before him was a certified genius. As the intensity of the shocks, and by correlation the amount of pain they caused, increased the man couldn't help but be slightly impressed with the young Dr. Reid as he remained silent despite the pain he faced. Both impressed and frustrated at the same time, the UNSUB typed something into the computer and the pain suddenly ceased.

Truth be told the games had begun to bore him. Torturing the woman in front of the agent had begun to bore him. Or maybe it was just the woman herself who had begun to bore him. Whatever the reason he decided then and there she had outlived her usefulness. Turning around he stabbed the knife he was carrying into her gut in one swift motion. Appearing entirely calm he sat down in front of the TV leaving Spencer to watch her slowly bleed out.

Despite the camera Reid couldn't keep the look of shock from his face. The UNSUB's attack had seemed completely random and judging from the location of the wound she was going to bleed out in the most painful way possible unless she received medical attention. Watching the UNSUB calmly walk away the young doctor somehow knew that the man wasn't going to give her any medical attention, not this time. All he could do was try to keep her killer from hearing his sobs as he watched her die.

A minute later Reid heard the television come on in another part of the room.

And now for our top story. It's been almost two days since the abduction of Special Agent Dr. Spencer Reid. Dr. Reid was one of a group of FBI profilers with the behavioral analysis unit called in to help investigate a series of possible homicides in the region. The FBI has confirmed the 24 year old agent was investigating a lead at the time of his abduction and sources inside the department speculate...

The UNSUB switched the station before Reid could hear anymore. Has it really been two days? Reid briefly wondered if his team had made any progress. Speaking of the team... Elle!

As quickly as it had come all thoughts of his partner that night were pushed from his mind by the sound of the woman coughing up blood, forcing him back to the present. Reid struggled in the chair, testing each of his bonds but the leather straps held strong. Helpless to save her, Reid desperately wished he could at least provide the dying woman with some measure of comfort. "My team will find us." he whispered though he had no idea if the woman actually heard him.

As he watched the blood seep from the wound images of the attack played over and over again in his head. As the images replayed Reid thought he spotted something his subconscious mind had picked up even as his conscious mind was occupied. Closing his eyes to block out everything else, Reid fell into the memory.

The man is staring straight at Reid, ignoring the sobbing woman behind him. Reid can tell by the slightly glazed look in his eye that the man isn't really looking at him. He appears to be deep in thought. Suddenly he spins around and stabs the knife into the woman's abdomen, his muscles never betraying his intentions. The way Reid's chair is positioned, diagonal to the woman, he sees the look of complete calm on the UNSUBs face as the knife slides into her body. Reid plays through the actual stabbing again, mentally slowing down the attack. This time he sees it. A look of pure rage before the man's mask of complete calm snaps back into place.

When Reid opened his eyes he half-expected to find the UNSUB right in front of him. Turning his head as much as he could, Reid could just make out the UNSUB in the corner of his eye. The man still sat on the couch engaged by whatever he was watching on television. "Suppressed rage. So suppressed I don't even think he realizes he's experiencing it." Reid stared straight at the camera and kept his voice low. He prayed that the UNSUB would decide to send his team another video.

A commercial came on and the UNSUB realized that the girl was simply taking far too long to die this way. He decided he would speed things up but he didn't want the agent to know. Walking over to the young man he pulled out the blindfold he had stowed in his back pocket and tied it over his captives eyes before Reid could even protest.

Blindfolded, Reid waited for the man to take him back downstairs. Unable to see, he was completely unprepared for the first blow as the UNSUB's fist made contact with the agent's already bruised jaw.

-PTTR-PTTR-PTTR-

Gideon stood staring up at the masts that towered above the harbor. While the schooner wasn't nearly as large as some of the private yachts docked elsewhere in the bay, the Mary May was impressive none-the-less.

"Detective Stanfield is waiting to meet us on board" said Hotch as he came up behind Gideon, startling the older man out of his reverie.

The noise Gideon made in reply was little more than a grunt but Aaron Hotchner had worked with the man long enough to understood what it meant. Leaving the man to his thoughts, he made his way up the short gangplank alone. Jason would follow when he was ready.

An officer standing on the deck of the ship directed Hotch through a door and down to the cabins below deck. Despite the size of the ship the hallways were narrow and cramped. He found the actual room easy enough. It was hard to get lost when there were people standing around outside the cabin door.

Upon noticing the profiler, Detective Stanfield made quick introductions. "Agent Hotchner meet Captain Jim Brody. Captain Jim this is Supervisor Special Agent Aaron Hotchner with the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit."

"Pleasure to meet you" said Hotch, shaking the man's hand. The rough calluses on the captain's hands told him the title was not just for show.

With the pleasantries out of the way, Detective Stanfield got down to updating Hotch on the situation. "The Mary May was supposed to be setting out on a 6 day cruise of Penobscot Bay at first light tomorrow. The captain finished his last checks of the ship and cabins this morning. The ship remained empty until passengers began to board this evening and someone found a surprise waiting in their cabin. "

"What's the significance of the ship? If he was looking for attention why didn't he choose one of the expensive pleasure ships?" asked Gideon who had joined them during the detective's explanation.

"Maine has a huge Windjammer fleet. Lots of islands and protected coves for them to anchor at. The town's annual windjammer festival is one of the biggest events of the summer." explained the Captain.

"So he chose a dump site that's symbolic to the town." Gideon was talking more to himself then the men around him at that moment. That alone wasn't significant but maybe if they took a closer look at the previous two locations they might get somewhere.

In the meantime, it was time for them to get a look at the body. The detective and the captain both took a step backwards giving the profilers room to enter the cabin.

Both men were surprised to see the face of the victim was virtually untouched. The way the sheets were pulled up on the victim he might have been sleeping if it were not for the pallor caused by the massive blood loss.

"Has anyone touched the scene yet?" asked Gideon.

"I did try to take his pulse" Captain Jim answered. "But as soon as I felt how cold he was I knew he was gone and called the cops."

Hotch pulled on a pair of blue examination gloves as he moved up next to the bed. Pulling up the sheets to take a peek at the victim's body, what he saw made the seasoned profiler look away.

"What is it Hotch?" Gideon asked when he saw his colleagues reaction.

"No stab wounds but the victim was completely eviscerated. " Hotch informed him.

Gideon walked over and lifted the sheet to take a look for himself. "Completely different MO. Either we are dealing with an entirely different killer or we are looking at one of our UNSUB's first kills."

I know this chapter wasn't quite as long as chapter 7 or 8 but I didn't want to take away from the scenes between Reid and the UNSUB so I didn't want to add to much information. If you are disappointed with how little there was about Reid's reaction to the pain, I promise there will be more about it in the next chapter. Take the time to review and feel free to PM me any suggestions on directions you want this story to go.