A/N: A shortie, but a goodie. ´Beta read, bunny-enhanced and partially written by the Gublerific editor frog!
Reid sat motionless in his dark prison. He was terrified - not just of the dark; he was getting used to that - but of losing even the slim hope that he might see actual daylight and breathe in fresh air.
The cell was warm again; not boiling, but enough for him to consider taking off his blanket. He really didn't like the idea of doing so, though - it left him exposed; much too exposed for his liking.
Why would the unsub want to make me take off my clothes one at a time? he thought. Why not just make me do it all at once?
Even before he could finish his thought, he already had the answer. It's about control. The unsub has it; I don't. Making me strip one article of clothing at a time only reinforces this concept - I end up trading a bit of myself for even the most basic needs.
Reid was taking shallow breaths; the clogged toilet was now beginning to overpower his sense of smell. He tried to put the pungent odor out of his mind, but it still lingered like an unwelcome stray cat.
What's worse is that there's nothing I can do to fix it, he thought. Someone put me in this position on purpose; made me little more than a tool to exact revenge on another person.
At this thought Reid briefly thought of Gideon. I hope he's figured out who might want to do something like this. I don't know how much more I can take …
He continued his motionless vigil, hoping with every last fiber in his being that doing so would allow him a chance to escape this horrible dungeon.
----
Gideon and Hotch returned to the Saginaw police station after recieving a call from JJ, saying there was another clue to solve. Walking into the conference room, they were greeted by JJ and Emily who sat at the computer, staring at the laptop. They were playing the YouTube-video over and over again, trying to solve the riddle.
"Garcia said it was easy, but I just don't see it." JJ leaned on her elbows. "A child's riddle, my butt."
Gideon leaned over Emily to get a closer look at the riddle. When it finished, he straightened up again and released a sigh.
"Well?" Emily turned to her older colleague. "Did you get it?"
"Nothing."
"See, he doesn't get it either." JJ shook her head. "We're never gonna get this one."
"It's nothing. The answer is 'Nothing'." Giden sat down beside Emily. "Nothing preceded God, nothing is greater than God, nothing is more evil than the devil, all poor people have nothing, wealthy people need nothing and if you eat nothing – you will die."
The women looked at Gideon. Emily shook her head. "I hate riddles."
"Do we have a hook-up to the live feed website?" Hotch had gone to stand behind JJ by the computer.
"Yeah, I'll pull it up." JJ clicked a few keys and the black screen containing only a timer and a textbox returned. The timer was down to nine minuts.
Typing in the answer 'nothing' into the textbox and pressing ENTER, JJ and the entire team waited anxiously to see how accurate their guess had been. Not ten seconds later, a message showed up on the screen.
Correct.
A sigh of relief escaped Hotch's lips as he nearly knocked Morgan over, leaning to get a closer look at what he hoped would be Reid in the cell.
And sure enough, moments later, the live feed webcam image showed up on the screen. The night vision was still on, and the room had turned an eerie shade of green. The team could see Reid sitting on the floor of the cell, absolutely motionless, staring straight into the camera. The laceration on his cheek made JJ wince and let out a small whimper in despair. She couldn't believe she was seeing this. Spence... Oh, Christ...
The young man in front of the camera didn't move a muscle. His eyes had an empty look to them and they seemed to have lost all hope. It pained Gideon to see his friend this way; especially since this was all because of him. He squeezed the armrest of the chair until his knuckles were white, clenching his teeth until his jaw hurt.
They watched the screen in utter silence until it went black once again. The total time elapsed was no more than two minutes, but it felt like an eternity to the people watching. Pained and distraught, they said nothing as the feed ended, but returned to their seats around the oak table. Hotch closed his eyes as he leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. Gideon simply rested his head on his hand, leaning on the armrest.
Morgan left the room. The others could hear him yelling barely restrained profanities as he slammed his fists against lockers and other things in his way as he made his way out the front door.
JJ wiped a tear from her cheek, turning away from the others. Biting down on her lip, she tried to keep herself from crying any harder. Emily noticed her younger colleague struggling, and in a motherly fashion placed her arm around her, stroking her back.
Pain ravaged Emily's inside as well, but she refused to let her own feelings intervene with her work. She would be damned if any outbreak of emotions caused her youngest colleague any more suffering.
"All right." Hotch opened his eyes and leaned forwards in his chair. "We have to keep our minds clear. I know it's hard, knowing that Reid is being held captive by these UnSubs, but we have to."
"Hotch's right", Emily chimed in. "We have to stay focused. We have to find out where Sienna is holding Reid."
JJ wiped away her last tear and cleared her throat before turning towards her colleagues. "Garcia is working Cate's computer and the chat logs. If there's anything there, we'll know soon enough."
Gideon rose and slowly walked to the window. As he watched the cars going by on the street below, his stomach twisted into a painful knot as he remembered a crucial piece of information that he had previously repressed. "I told her."
Hotch turned to his older co-worker. "You told who what?"
"Sienna. I told her about Reid."
"Why would you do that?" Emily furrowed her brow as she tried to understand what Gideon was saying.
"She wrote me a letter about two years ago telling me how she was doing well in therapy and in school. She said she had been visiting her father at the institution and had a hard time dealing with not having a male role model in her life. I wrote her a letter back trying to reassure her, and I told her about Reid. I told her how he also lacked a father during most of his childhood but how he was doing much better since we met. I assured her that one day she would find someone to lean on and hold just as close as I hold Reid. My God..."
Gideon suddenly realized that not only was he responsible for Reid's abduction, but he had also been the one who gave the UnSub the information on who to kidnap to hurt him the most. He had unwittingly placed his protégé in grave danger because of his own actions. The older agent closed his eyes and leaned his forehead on the glass before him.
This really was his fault.