So this chapter took an... interesting turn to say the least. I blame partially the fog-filled walk down by the haunted, abandoned institution I ended up taking the other night. When the UNSUB is whistling in this chapter I was actually trying to capture something I was whistling when walking through the rain. The end result was that some of the content originally planned for this chapter was bumped to the next chapter. I promise that there will be more interaction between Reid and the UNSUB in the next chapter. I've got this amazing scene planned out where... well you'll just have to read it.

Warning: References to torture

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

"You know Elle, something's been bothering me about this case. Why did the UNSUB only abduct Reid?" JJ asked. She and Elle were sitting together in the conference room going through victimology again since more victims had been identified.

"Maybe I wasn't his type?" Elle guessed.

"DNA from the first crime scene shows that he kills both men and women, even if we've only found male bodies so far. And Reid doesn't exactly match his type physically."

Elle scanned over images of the victims laid out before her on the conference room table. "You're right. Although their ages vary, these men were all physically fit, well-muscled men. Aside from working in law enforcement, Reid isn't exactly what most people would consider masculine and working in law enforcement could be seen as overcompensating."

"Elle do you really want to get into the psychology of men in law enforcement right now?" asked JJ, one eyebrow raised.

Elle glanced out the open conference room door to where Morgan appeared deep in discussion with an officer. "No, not really. All I'm really saying is that Morgan seems more his type then Reid."

Upon hearing his name Morgan broke off his conversation with the officer and returned to the conference room. "What about me?"

JJ was quick to cover for her friend. "I was just wondering why the UNSUB took Reid but not Elle. Especially when he had no guarantee she wouldn't wake up and remember everything."

"So? Maybe he left his partner to take care of her." Morgan's eyes instantly swiveled to his teammate. "Sorry Elle."

"No, it's all right. It's a possibility I've considered myself... except that George Stanley doesn't seem like the type of person you'd leave something that important to..."

"...unless getting away with Reid was worth the risk of leaving a witness." Morgan completed the thought. "The UNSUB couldn't have known how long he had until someone went looking for them."

"Guys what if Reid was a target all along?" suggested JJ, rapidly dialing a familiar number on her phone.

"Tell me what you need," greeted the familiar voice of the technical analyst.

"Garcia, I need everything you can find on the victims, and I mean everything."

"All right Jayje. If someone got a detention in the 3rd grade you'll know about it."

"Thanks Garcia.". Hanging up the phone JJ addressed her teammates. "These victims are connected in some other way, we just haven't found it yet."

-PTTR-PTTR-PTTR-

The man whistled to himself as he worked on the agent. Daa-da-da-daa-daa da-da-da-da-daa-daa. He removed his captives wrists from the restraints. Daa-da-da-daa-daa da-da-da-da-daa-daa. Almost tenderly the man slathered ointment on Dr. Reid's wrists, rubbed raw from the handcuffs. Daa-da-da-daa-daa da-da-da-da-daa-daa. Done with his work on the wrists he cuffed them in front of the man.

His song grew more rapid, more frantic as he continued his ministrations. With deft hands he inserted an IV into a vein near the agent's elbow joint. His work done his whistling suddenly ceased. "Sleep well Dr. Reid."

-PTTR-PTTR-PTTR-

"All right Morgan, Elle start from the beginning." Hotch ordered. He and Gideon had returned from the dump site to find things in the conference room in full swing.

"Actually it was JJ who made the initial suggestion." said Morgan.

Hotch quirked an eyebrow before turning to address the communications liaison. "All right, start from the beginning JJ."

JJ blushed slightly but recovered quickly. "Well Reid's abduction was bothering me because he didn't really fit the UNSUBs physical type with regards to male victims. So I figured there might be more to it. I called Garcia and had her dig into every aspect of the victims lives."

Pausing for a breath, JJ walked over to the evidence board where she had pinned up photos of the victim's families. After a quick glance at the map Reid had pinned there two days ago she hardened herself and started pointing to the individual circled in each family photo. "Garcia dug up each of these family photos and I took the liberty of circling our vic in each photo. What do you notice?"

Hotch and Gideon both stared at the pictures. Morgan and Elle already knew the answer but they remained silent, giving the more experienced profilers a chance to reach the same conclusion they had.

Gideon stumbled onto the answer before Hotch did. "Each of them appears to be the youngest in the photo."

Morgan stepped in at that point. "As far as Garcia can tell birth records confirm that each victim was the youngest in his family. All had older siblings."

Hotch quickly spotted a problem with the theory. "That still doesn't explain how Reid fits in. He's an only child."

"He didn't at first" answered Elle. "Not until we started to consider that the UNSUB might see us as a family. If we're Reid's family... that makes Reid the youngest."

"We may need more evidence to confirm but we can run with this as a working theory for now, along with the theory that Reid was targeted intentionally. " said Hotch. "But that still leaves us with one big unanswered question."

"Why is this UNSUB going after the youngest." said Gideon.

-PTTR-PTTR-PTTR-

He's strapped down tight to the chair. He can feel the electricity running through his body, sending waves of pain through him. He can feel the electrodes burning his skin at the point of contact. He tries to scream but he can't even open his mouth. Helpless, he can feel the tears streaming down his face and silently pleads for death...

Gasping, Reid woke from his nightmare, a nightmare in which he had been reliving the pain from earlier that day. Or was it from the night before. Reid had no idea how long it had gone on before the UNSUB had cut the power. The last thought Reid had before slipping back into unconsciousness was about the difference between nightmares and reality. In his nightmare he had been unable to scream. In reality he had been helpless to stop the scream that was ripped from his throat.

-PTTR-PTTR-PTTR-

The team had finally returned to the hotel just after 3 am, when Hotch ordered them to get some rest. When JJ had tried to protest Hotch had pointed out that they were no good to Reid if they weren't at their best both mentally and physically. Nobody wanted to mention the fact that he had been missing for more than 72 hours.

While his team returned to the hotel for some much-needed rest Hotch was hard put to follow his own advice. Instead he parked himself in front of the laptop in the conference room, replaying the video of Reid over and over. Every time he saw the fear and guilt reflected on his agent's face he felt something inside of him break. With everything their resident genius knew it was so easy for Hotch to forget how young Reid actually was. If Reid didn't make it through this... no he couldn't think like that.

When Gideon returned to the station just after 7 a.m. Monday morning he found Hotch asleep in front of the computer at the conference room table. Spotting the video player still on screen, the older man just shook his head. As much as he wanted to let the man sleep, it was obvious he had gotten little, they had work to do. "Hotch" he called.

Agent Hotchner woke with a start upon hearing his name. His head swiveled from side to side as he oriented himself. Spotting Gideon he looked sheepish at having fallen asleep on the job. "Sorry." he said.

"No need to apologize. This past year I've spent so many sleepless nights wondering if there was something I could have done differently." Gideon replied.

Over the next half hour the rest of the team filed in, grabbing bad cop-shop coffee from the break room as they did so. Nobody had slept more than a couple of hours and they needed all the extra energy they could get.

They were sitting around discussing the profile when Detective Stanfield entered the conference room carrying a parcel. "This was delivered with the morning post. It's addressed to the BAU."

The entire team just stared at the parcel when Stanfield set it down on the conference room table. They had a pretty good guess about what the parcel contained and yet they were afraid to be proved right.

Finally, Hotch gloved up and pulled the parcel towards him. Opening it carefully, he found a box identical to the first they had received. He felt his agent's collectively holding their breath as he flipped up the lid on the box.

There, nestled in velvet, sat the very thing they had been dreading: another DVD.

Popping open the drive, Hotch exchanged one home-burned DVD for another. As soon as he popped the disk into the drive a video connection appeared on screen.

Before anyone could so much as gasp in surprise the familiar face of their technical analyst appeared on screen.

Hotch frowned at the woman. "Garcia... what did you do."

"I may have installed something on your laptop that alerted me as soon as you loaded an unknown disc." Seeing the look on her boss's face Garcia rushed to defend herself. "I got tired of hearing things second hand. Morgan tried so hard to convince you not to let me see the last video, I was afraid you might actually listen this time."

Sighing, Hotch forgave the woman. "It's all right Garcia. Just play the video."

They heard the clack of keys and within seconds a video player filled the screen as the tech analyst's image retreated to a small picture-in-picture box in the corner. A few seconds more and an image of their missing colleague appeared on screen.

Hotch saw right away the toll captivity was taking on his youngest agent. There were dark circles under his eyes and worry lines on his face. With his unwashed hair sticking every which way he had appeared to have aged 10 years in just 3 days.

When the man cut off his agent's shirt he saw a vulnerability reflected in the young man's eyes that he had never realized was there before. Reid's reaction to being touched by the man concerned him more than anything else the profiler had seen.

The UNSUB hadn't taken the time to edit his voice out of this video so the agents heard everything he said to Reid. When the UNSUB mentioned a woman, Reid's actions in the previous video began to make a lot more sense.

The UNSUB recited a riddle of some sorts and then the countdown started. Hotch was surprised when that first shock came. He had expected Reid to solve the riddle right away.

"Why isn't he saying anything" Morgan growled when he realized their resident genius was deliberately refusing to solve the riddle.

"Calm down Morgan. He must know something we don't. Something that has him believing this is the only way to protect whoever else the UNSUB is holding captive." said Gideon.

"Damn" was the only reply.

Though Reid was obviously trying hard not to give the UNSUB the satisfaction, with each shock Hotch could see the increase in pain reflected in Reid's face. By the 5th shock he could no longer hold back his screams. By the 10th the young man seemed to be on the verge of losing consciousness.

Then, as suddenly as they began, the electric shocks stopped. He must be getting bored. Seconds later a look of shock crossed Reid's face followed immediately by grief.

Hotch was puzzled when he heard what sounded like a television in the background.

The profilers all sat staring at the screen trying to figure out why the UNSUB left the camera rolling. It was Elle who figured it out first. "I think he left her to die slowly... and he's making Reid watch."

It was Gideon who spoke next. "I hope he knows it's not his fault. That threat with the electric shocks combined with how long he usually spends with each victim... he clearly wasn't done with Reid yet. He was going to kill her no matter–."

"I think Reid's trying to tell us something." JJ interrupted. She had left the conference room just before the video started playing but had evidently returned at some point.

"Garcia, can you separate the layers of audio and enhance what Reid is saying" ordered Hotch.

"On it boss." Even as the video still played on screen they watched Garcia work her magic. Before she could complete her task though they saw movement from the UNSUB onscreen. Hotch was puzzled when the UNSUB pulled out a blindfold. He was even more puzzled by the flash of fear in Reid's eyes when the young man saw the blindfold.

When the UNSUBS right hook made contact with Reid's jaw all thoughts of blindfolds were banished.

With each blow the UNSUB landed on Reid's head and torso the profiler's winced. At least they now had a clear idea where the bruises on the previous victims' bodies had come from. By the time the UNSUB finished his brutal beating Reid had mercifully lost consciousness. They saw the UNSUB approach the camera, his face masked as before, and then the video ended.

The team stood staring for a moment before Garcia interrupted the silence. "I've managed to isolate what Reid was saying even though he was barely speaking above a whisper." Garcia played the clip for them.

" Suppressed rage. So suppressed I don't even think he realizes he's experiencing it"

-PTTR-PTTR-PTTR-

It was only upon awakening for the second time that Reid realized he was still strapped to the chair. At least his legs were. Looking down he not only saw his hands cuffed in front of him but he also spotted the IV trailing out of his arm. As he started to squirm in an effort to dislodge it he heard the voice of the man, the voice of his nightmares, coming from somewhere behind him.

"Good morning Dr. Reid." the man said. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Why not". Reid's voice once again rasped when he attempted to talk but this time he wouldn't be accepting any water from the UNSUB, no matter how thirsty he was.

"Because that IV is the only thing providing you with the nutrients you so desperately need." replied the man.

Reid had no idea if the man was telling the truth. Given his past behaviour either possibility seemed equally likely. He took a moment to consider how he felt, physically. Aside from the bouts of unconsciousness, the pain in his muscles from the electrical shocks and the bruises from the beating, Reid felt fine, so he decided he probably wasn't being drugged through the IV. At least not at the moment. After considering everything he decided to chance asking the UNSUB a question. "Why bother?"

To his surprise the man actually answered the question. "Well you said it yourself, I'm a sadist. No point in torturing someone who's too weak to scream."

Reid felt a shiver run through his spine at the mention of torture. From the condition Jane had been in when he killed her, what the agent had experienced so far was only the tip of the iceberg. Jane as in Jane Doe. Reid was ashamed when he realized that in all their time together he had never bothered to find out her name.

As he stared at the liquid flowing into his vein, his eyes wept silent tears.

-PTTR-PTTR-PTTR-

" Suppressed rage. So suppressed I don't even think he realizes he's experiencing it"

The ominous words had barely finished playing when Detective Stanfield let himself into the conference room. "How many?" asked Hotch. The detective didn't even need to use words anymore as they all easily recognized the look on his face.

"Two in the park. One of them is still warm." replied the detective.

Hotch quickly scanned the room trying to get a feel for the mental state of his agents. "Morgan you're with me. I want the rest of you to stay here and see what you can get off the video." Hotch ordered.

He left the station with Morgan and within 10 minutes they were at the newest dump site. This really is a small town. Getting out of the car they followed Stanfield over to a statue in the middle of the park. A uniformed officer was waiting at the scene with a young couple dressed in running gear. The man stood with one arm wrapped protectively around the woman's shoulders.

"Detective, Agents." the officer greeted the men. "Mr. and Mrs. Bath were going for their morning jog through the park around 7:30 when they found the bodies and called police."

"Was there anyone else around when you entered the park this morning." the detective asked.

Mr. Bath was the one who answered. "No, the park has been completely empty since we got here. If there's nothing else, I would like to take my wife home."

"Just one more question Mr. Bath and then you can go. Is jogging through the park part of your usual morning routine?" asked Hotch.

Mr. Bath lifted his free hand to scratch his face. "Well, yah we run through here almost every morning."

"Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Bath. That will be all for now." said Hotch. He watched as the officer escorted the couple away from the scene.

"If it was common knowledge they ran this way each morning then the killer may have wanted the bodies found quickly." he told the other two men when the couple was out of ear shot.

"Assuming the UNSUB lives in town and is familiar enough with its residents to know that sort of thing." countered Morgan.

Detective Stanfield settled the argument. "I think it's fairly common knowledge around these parts now. There was a piece in the local paper about the Baths last month when they were training for a marathon."

"Anything else about the park other than that?" asked Hotch.

"Well it is where townsfolk gather each summer for the 4th of July fireworks." Stanfield explained.

With the discussion of the site coming to an end the profilers turned their attention to the bodies themselves. One male, one female. While the male victim's body appeared bloodless like the previous victim's, the female victim's body still had some color to it. The injuries on the male victim appeared similar to the other victim's apart from the obvious increase in the number of stab wounds. The victim's face had also been removed. The male body had been dumped just like the others.

The female victim on the other hand had been posed so that she was sitting up against the statue. Despite the brutality on the rest of her body, the female victim's face was relatively untouched making it easy for the Hotch to follow her gaze to the male victim. He also noted a stab wound to the victim's abdomen, clearly visible due to the victim's state of undress.

While Hotch focused his attention on the victim's face, Morgan's attention was drawn to her hand. She appeared to be gripping something tightly in her left fist. Drawing on a pair of gloves, Morgan bent down to examine her fist, hoping to extract whatever she was gripping before rigor mortis set in.

Using his own fingers Morgan carefully pried open the woman's closed fist, keeping his other hand underneath. When he got the woman's fingers opened half way something fell out of her hand and into Morgan's waiting palm. Disengaging himself he withdrew his hand and stared down at the object on his palm.

It was a pinky finger.

Sorry that cliffhanger was just too juicy to pass up. Thanks for reading and please take the time to review.

P.S. When I say Reid screams DO NOT imagine his reaction in Revelations which the Closed Captioning so graciously described as "Reid squeals."