Morgan jumped when he heard the door open. It had been a while since Miranda had left him and he hadn't moved from his spot on the floor. He was glad that he hadn't been strapped back into the chair; the zip ties had cut deeply into his wrists during his struggle to get free. He wondered what Chester's next move would be.

Turning his head slowly toward the door he saw the little boys rush to him grabbing him around his neck and holding on for dear life. His heart leapt to see them in one piece unharmed. He wrapped his arms around them and closed his eyes grateful that it wasn't a dream.

"You have five minutes!" Chester growled.

The door slammed shut and the lock shifted in place. He pulled the two away from his body and examined them closely. Tears and fear in their wide eyes broke his heart but he was grateful to the beast who'd brought them here for a moment of compassion. He hugged them close to his body again before remembering that time was passing. He sat the boys on either side of him.

"Are you guys okay?"

The two shook their heads, yes.

"Uncle Derek, why did the bad men and lady bring us here?"

"I don't know, Jack." He began. "But, I'm going to get you home to your parents, okay?"

"I scared…" Henry said softly his lip trembling.

"I know you are, little man."

"What happened to your face? What's the red stuff on your shirt?"

"I had an accident but I'm fine, don't worry."

Jack continued to stare wondering if he should accept his uncle's answer.

"Listen, I need you both to help me."

Both boys perked up looking into his eyes with curiosity.

"Jack, remember when you helped your Dad on a case?"

"Yes!"

"Good. Well, it looks like we are on a case."

"All of us?" Henry piped in.

"Yes, all three of us."

"Jack I need you to show Henry how to work the case, okay?"

"Okay, Uncle Derek."

"No matter what the bad guys and lady say, your mommy and daddies are looking for us. We know that they will find us soon because that's what they do, right?"

"Yup!" The boys said in unison.

"Okay, so when I say the secret password, then you go and work the case, okay?"

"What's the secret password?" Jack asked.

"I'll say, 'it's time.' "

The two shook their heads, affirmatively.

"How long?"

"What, Jack?"

"How long do we work the case?"

"Until me or your mommy or daddies come looking for you."

"Okay, we work the case!" Henry spoke up.

Time was up. The lock shifted and the door swung open. Two of Chester's men stepped in the room. Morgan grabbed both boys and hugged them close to his body and whispered in their ears.

"I love you both! Don't be afraid, okay. We'll be going home soon, I promise!"

Each man roughly grabbed one of the boys and began carrying them toward the door. Jack and Henry kicked and screamed at the top of their lungs.

"Hey, you didn't have to do that! Please don't scare them! Don't hurt them!"

"Uncle Derek! Uncle Derek!"

"It's okay, guys! We're going to work the case, okay?"

The door slammed shut and the lock slid in place. Derek closed his eyes and placed his hands tightly over his ears to block the sound of the boys' screams.

BAU Headquarters – 8 hours remaining -

All of them were aware of the time. They'd combed cyberspace and dozens of files still nothing led them to the location of Morgan and the boys; even the local PD who'd virtually gone door-to-door in Morgan's neighborhood hadn't found a thing.

The video that they had received earlier was branded into their memories keeping them silent as they continued to work feverishly. Morgan was strong and resilient he'd endured a lot of physical pain but the beating he'd taken at the hands of Barker and his men was something he couldn't continue to survive.

"How can they just disappear?" Garcia asked. "I've run every search I can think of and nothing!"

"Yeah, and these files are no help either." JJ added.

"Then we'll have to let Barker tell us where they are."

"What do you mean, Hotch?" Will asked.

"The video!" Reid interrupted.

"Exactly. If we've received one video it's a good chance we'll get another and we'll have to hope we can learn something from them."

"Or maybe Morgan can somehow send us a message." Added Rossi.

Location Unknown – 7 hours remaining -

Morgan was happy that Barker's men had not turned off the light when they left and he was able to see Jack and Henry in the other room. They were quiet staying close to each other as they sat in the farthest corner of the room. He remembered how a game that Hotch and his son had played together had ended up saving Jack from George Foyet.

Hotch had been working at home one day when he heard noise from a trunk that sat next to his desk. Upon opening it, he saw Jack hiding gleefully. After being asked why he was there, the little boy answered, "I'm working the case, Daddy." At the time it was cute and funny evoking a rare smile from the senior profiler. Later, as Foyet held his family hostage ready to end their lives, their private game prompted Hotch to ask Jack to help work the case and so, once again, Jack hid, which kept Foyet from killing him. As Morgan watched the two little boys, he prayed the game would save him again.

The door sprung open and his body tensed as Chester Barker entered stopping in front of him. All four of the other men entered creating a small circle around him. Barker nodded prompting the two men closest to him to yank him to his feet. The one to his left grabbed him above his wrists while the other cuffed his hands together with zip ties. His wrists were still raw from the last time they had been bound and he grimaced in pain. After he was cuffed, Barker began pacing the room eventually stopping in front of the window.

The door of the boys' room opened and Miranda walked in carrying a box filled with toys.

"Children are so amazing aren't they, Agent Morgan?"

Morgan's eyes focused on the woman as she pulled out a soccer ball and placed it in the reluctant hands of Henry.

"You don't have to do this, man."

"I so miss my children; they were everything to me."

"Let them go…do whatever you want to me but please let them go."

"Oh, I plan to make you pay for what you did but first I need something from you."

"What?"

"I want you to convince me, Agent, that you are truly sorry for causing the deaths of my family."

"I've already told you I was sorry for your loss! What more can I say?"

"You're a smart man, I'm sure you can think of something. The lives of those two boys in that room depend on you convincing me that you are truly sorry! Every time you fail to convince me, you'll be punished."

"Please man don't hurt them…they've done nothing to you!"

Barker nodded at one of his men and smiled. Without a word, the man slammed his fist into Morgan's gut causing him to double over in pain struggling to catch his breath.

"As I said earlier, you've let other children down too haven't you?"

"No." He gasped.

Without warning Morgan was blindsided by a fist to his jaw sending blood flying from his mouth. He struggled to stay on his feet and he was seeing stars now.

"I'm sure James Barfield and Rodney Harris wouldn't agree and that's just two of Carl Buford's dozens of victims; Many of them suffering at his hands because you kept your mouth shut!"

A blow to his lower back sent him to his knees.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

"Sorry! That's not good enough agent!

He couldn't hold the scream of pain as one of the men pressed something to the back of his neck sending an intense pulse of energy through his body. His legs went numb and he dropped limply to the floor.

"Why did you let that man kill my family?"

Morgan rolled on his side trying to recover but a large boot met him landing squarely on his ribs. Obviously he hadn't answered fast enough to satisfy the man.

"Why…Did…You…Let…That…Man…Kill…My…Family!" He yelled at the top of his lungs.

Before he could even answer he was hit with the taser again, which sent his body into an uncontrolled spasm. The five men watched him convulse and writhe on the floor.

"I'm still waiting on my answer, Agent!"

"I didn't mean…to…"

"Wrong answer!"

Again he was kicked…again and again and no matter how hard he tried to dodge the kicks he met another booted foot to his body. He was fading into the darkness he didn't want to but he was being pulled into the abyss. He had to stay awake no matter what Barker and his men did to him. He had to protect Jack and Henry…he had to.

The five men had exhausted themselves they stood over the injured man as he lay still on the floor. The four waited for instructions from Barker as they looked down on their captive.

"That's enough for now. We'll come back later. Let's' go check on our little guests in the next room."

Morgan struggled to move at Barker's words he needed to distract him and to keep him away from the boys.

"Thank you."

Barker and the other four turned back and looked down puzzled.

"What?"

"Thank you." He whispered. "Thank you for allowing me to see the boys earlier."

The four exchanged amused looks.

"We talked…and played a game. You want to know what we played?"

Their chuckles got louder.

"He's delusional." The taller of the five said.

"We pretended we were on a case. Jack, the older one likes to work cases with his dad. He's going to teach Henry. We're working the case… we're working…they liked that…it made them happy…"

The five shook their heads and walked toward the door.

"Let's get out of here." Barker ordered still snickering.

BAU Headquarters – 5 hours remaining -

"We just got another video!" Garcia announced.

She quickly took a seat next to Reid as she clicked the play button. The screen in front of them lit up and this video made them even sicker than the previous one. The five men seemed to take pleasure in brutalizing their defenseless friend. Hotch stared at the screen his face red with rage. Rossi ran his hand through his hair and looked away for a moment trying to comprehend what he was seeing. Will refused to look as he stood and turned his back on the screen. Garcia and JJ both allowed their tears to fall freely; JJ's feelings of guilt were overwhelming.

"They're going to kill him!" JJ said.

"He can't take much more of this!" Garcia added.

The video began playing again and they sat hypnotized.

"Stop!" Reid shouted.

The video came to and end.

"No! No! Play it back!

"Reid, how can you keep watching…" Garcia began.

"That's not what I mean! Listen rewind it back to the last ten seconds! He says something…a message!"

"We pretended we were on a case. Jack, the older one likes to work cases with his dad. He's going to teach Henry. We're working the case… we're working…they liked that…it made them happy…"

"Hotch! You were right! He's sending us a message!" Reid said in delight.

"You're right, Reid." Rossi began. "Back it up further! When he thanks Barker for letting him see the boys!"

"He's letting us know that the boys are alright." JJ noted.

"He talks about Jack working the case. That's a private thing between Jack and I."

"What does it mean?" Garcia asked.

"It means that he's going to make a move and if he's successful, Jack will know to hide until we find them."

"Then we better find them." Will added.

Location Unknown – 4 hours remaining -

Miranda waited in the hallway until she couldn't listen to them beating the poor man any longer. She owed Chester Barker her life and she had vowed to do whatever it took to pay him back. She was a runaway living on the streets when their paths crossed. She was afraid and alone trying to survive and failing miserably.

She was sick and hungry and thought it would be easy to steal from a local grocery store during a busy time of day, so she walked in filled her backpack and proceeded toward the front door. Unfortunately, the owner had been watching her all the time and grabbed her just before she reached the door. Barker had witnessed the young inexperienced girl. Just as the owner was dialing the police, he stepped forward and offered to pay for the stolen items in exchange for the owner not turning her in.

With no questions asked he took her in, got her healthy and protected her. Now it was payback time and she would willingly anything for him for taking care of her the last three years. Now, what he was asking was too much; she couldn't bear listening to them beat the man mercilessly. The little boys were so sweet and they kept crying for their mommy and daddies. She wasn't sure how much more she could do to help Barker…she owed him her life…he'd saved her, taken care of her.

She placed her hand on the nob turning it slowly and opened the door. She saw him bloody and still on the floor. She didn't see how he deserved this, how the children deserved being snatched from their home and being scared out of their minds.

She knelt down close to him watching to see if he was still breathing. She exhaled as she saw his body moving ever so slightly inhaling and exhaling. Then his eyes opened and he looked her in the face.

"Help us!"