A/N: Yeah, so- *ducks rotten flying food* HEY! I suck, I know- two months worth of suck! I'm sorry. And it's not good enough, I know- but I'll make it up to yall- I swear! That is to say, I'll make it up to those of yall who are still reading this. You guys rule! XD
Okay, so last shot to through something at me. . . (thunk)-OW! Okay, we're done. Are you happy now?
Moving on!
Haha! So- OVERSITE! I forgot Rossi. *shame-face* DER! (encase you have no f-ing clue what I'm talking about perhaps you should take a moment to go back and re-read or skim last chapter to remind you what the hell is going on since I took so fucking long to post. Ahem. Sorry. ;)p )
Fail.
But being so awesome (TOOT, TOOT!), I figured out a sneaky way to make it all seem like it was on purpose. But now that I told you, you know that it wasn't really on purpose so- whatever. By the way, thanks to WallofWeird and morgo7kc for pointing out my der-der in a non-"you-suck" fashion. Cyber Hugs!
ANYWAY . . . !
I've gotten a boat load of oober awesome reviews concerning the bad guys (Richard, Ian *ish*) and how they are crazy unpredictable, and you'll see more of that this chapter, and I agree but you will understand thoroughly in time. And does anyone else get the strange feeling that Richard is kind of "The Joker"-Esq? I do, but maybe that's just me and his psycho mood swings. ;)
Now where was I . . . ? Oh, that's right!
SOLO SHOUT OUT WINNER: Donttouch! (Again, if you remember) ;)
Congrats! The quote: "Press the button, Stamper!" was indeed from ARMEGEDON. (I know I don't need the caps but the movie is just so epic I couldn't resist.) The rest of you- GET NOTHING!
MUWHA-HA-HAAA-HAAA-HAAAAAAAAA! HA-HAAA! HAA-HAAAA! HAA! HA! Ha.
Ha.
*cough*
"Does everybody know what time it is?" - (Tool Time!) ;)
No.
IT's SHOUTOUTS: MissdaVinci77, danicalif80, purplerayz, PinkHimeLacus, RavenParadox, morgo7kc, 1xadzy3dgftw1xLSNx3dg1xMGG, DanceSetsMeFree, It'sTimeToDance, donttouch, Leel' -Leelee-, lovablevampire, PheonixTearsHP, WallofWeird, fallfromreality, kateadams, Nicole1995, Elvenlaughter, CherryBerryB, TheSundayBlues, Squee-bunny, Sarahloulabellx, jesusfreak100percent, xoxSamlAmxox, Shibuya Kazuya, vickimaloof, Maria Rianki, Loose Screw, Aeryn Lavanthia, BaNdGeEk4EvEr, Feathered Filly, nessie88, 92, RavenParadox, Fairytopia, Spark Shark, HarryPotterObsessed44, Miss FHorn, AnglesHaveThePhoneBox, Feathered Filly, , piowpiow, bau-is-my-dream4278, and Kam3910. You guys keep my email full and give me an excuse to not do my homework! :D
So- like, isn't this some kind of story or something?
Oh, yeah.
It was no surprise to anyone that Garcia was the first one to come clicking down the hall in her vibrant heals to the conference room, ready to find her baby.
It too, was no surprise to anyone that when they all approached, they saw that Gideon had his head down on the round table and only lifted it as they approached. It was no surprise that he hadn't left the room, and it was no surprise that he felt the way he did. Hotch made a mental note not to leave him alone again. Who knows what he might do if. . . No! Damn it! The sooner they thought about this rationally and logically like any other case they had to solve, the sooner they would find Reid!
That being the case, no sooner did Morgan come in the room, with rather good timing, and shut the door than did Hotch burst out in spoken thought encouraging the others to figure this out.
"What do we know?"
Emily answered first, seeming somewhat twitchy and agitated. "There are eight of them."
"I thought we said four." JJ interjected, slightly downhearted.
"At least." Emily corrected.
"Garcia, can you bring up a frame of the unSubs?" Gideon asked quietly, his hands folded in front of his chin not even looking at her. Garcia fiddled on her unmoved computer from before and near immediately, a still frame of eight masked people towering over their beaten brother was on the screen. Garcia seemed to understandably be averting her eyes.
"Look! One of them's a woman!" Emily gasped to the others, pointing to the screen and at the figure directly behind the one sitting in the chair and to the right, having not noticed her originally due to having been focus solely on Reid.
"You're right." Hotch muttered taking in the curving, thin shape of the figure and the slightly protruding chest and narrow head.
"Look at how they're standing." Morgan muttered seeming to be thinking aloud. "They're all stiff and . . . defensive." Morgan finished confused be his own observations.
"What?" JJ asked worriedly confused at her lack of understanding. "Couldn't they just be trying to intimidate?"
"Maybe. But there's not really a point. Reid can't see them and we're where they can't do anything to us and they don't even want to. They want Gideon." Morgan said matter-of-factly, and continued on, staring at the screen seeming to not notice the strange stiffness that overcame all of them at the mention of the captures' desire.
"Look at them. It's more like- they don't seem to trust each other." Morgan said slowly worried and intrigued by his revelation.
"What do you mean?" Hotch asked concerned, looking Morgan dead on, inviting elaboration.
"See how they're all standing apart from each other?" Morgan asked rhetorically and went on. "They all have their feet apart, arms crossed, straight backed. It's like they don't know each other." Morgan said still confused unsure of where even he was going.
"Except those two." Emily put in, pointing to two figures on the far left standing close together and somewhat back to back. "They're closer together and seem to be protecting each other." Emily mulled.
"Okay so, if they don't know each other how did they all come to be involved in this together?" JJ asked, looking for answers to basic necessary questions.
"Maybe we were right about recruitment." Morgan suggested.
BANG!
"Guys!" Rossi shouted as he burst through the door, interrupting Hotch as he opened his mouth to respond to Morgan but in mid thought changed to answer to Rossi's intrusion. Hotch hadn't even noticed that he wasn't there when they started.
"Dave? What's wrong?" Hotch asked horrified at what else they all could take in one day.
"I ran down to the lab to get the results from the stain in the burnt van Morgan, Emily, and JJ checked out this morning!" Rossi gasped, breathing heavily to catch his breath. He must not have been lying about actually running down to the lab, and undoubtedly back.
"And?" Morgan asked slightly irritated at Rossi's hesitation.
"It's blood." Rossi sighed. "And it's Reid's."
The room was suddenly radiating intensity as it tingled through the air stabbing at everyone with the promise of hope that they fought so hard not to allow themselves.
"How can they be sure? The van was barely a frame by the time we got there?" JJ argued- she couldn't handle false hope. Not right now- most likely, not ever.
"They said the test only had 87 percent accuracy because of potential damage from the fire." Rossi replied, reciting from memory a conversation he soon would never forget. He had run straight to the lab, not 3 floors below once Hotch had given them their ten minutes to gather themselves. Rossi's best way to gather himself was to involve himself in any way possible into the case. He couldn't just take ten minutes and do nothing. He used his ten minutes to find Reid.
"Garcia! Get me everything on that van." Hotch practically yelled at her in his near giddiness at some lead. They had a lead. Finally. He just hoped it would be enough. No sooner had Hotch said her name then Garcia was already edging towards the door.
"If we're right about the recruitment, then it's possible that the owner is involved." Hotch rushed out spilling over his own words in his excitement. No sooner were they out of his mouth, than Garcia was out the door calling back to them.
"I'll run the serial, see what I can find." Was all they made out before she was at the stairs and could no longer be heard.
Rossi silently shut the door knowing what else this realization meant, as did Hotch.
"If we're right out the recruitment and the unSub got all these people together against Gideon, it also mean that one of the unSubs has access to files, specifically case files involving cases Gideon worked and one way or another went ere. Basically, this furthers the probability of someone here that is involved in all of this." Hotch fumed lowering his voice as he spoke.
"Rossi? Does anyone know about this?" Hotch asked, knowing the answer but still needing to be sure.
"Not that I told." Rossi said simply understanding Hotch's need to ask leaving him unoffended.
"I know I don't need to tell you all how careful we need to be, but I cannot stress it enough." Hotch continued quietly, addressing them all. They silently nodded their heads in comprehension, and being unable to speak from their furry at the fact that someone they had worked with was practically confirmed in being involved in the kidnapping and torture of their friend, their brother.
It was silent for only a moment longer while everyone mulled over the likely hood of an FBI agent's involvement until Hotch broke the silence eager to not let the team fester in their hate and put any thoughts into action. The only action they need to take right now, was action to find Reid.
"Alright. So this head guy, he's obviously the leader." He began, pausing as an invitation to the others to put up their own two cents.
"He's cocky, controlling, paranoid-" Emily began but was interrupted.
"How can you tell?" JJ asked, worried to get something wrong.
"See how much care he takes to make sure everything's right?" Emily said looking towards the screen and, Rossi took the hint to let it play and pressed the button. "He looks behind him at the others to make sure they look perfect. He makes sure to have the chair Reid's in angled just right, so that no matter what we can always see him." Hotch nodding his understanding at what he had notice before as she continued.
"This man sets up the scene so that, to him, everything is perfect and he's in total control. The way he talks- strong and demanding but casual at other times is to make it shown that he is the one in control. He is probably the recruiter and the brains of everything but without the information and the means." Emily finished, crestfallen at what it all meant.
"Nine." Gideon sighed letting his hands wash over his face.
"God." JJ muttered at the sheer expanse of how many were involved and one of their own as well- it was just overwhelming.
"He's a sadist." Morgan cut through the silence, angrily.
"What?" Hotch pushed, not positive he understood the reasoning.
"Think about it. He's in charge, right?" Morgan asked rhetorically and a little heated at the mere subject matter.
No one answered.
"He could have anyone one of his men be the one to beat the crap out of Reid, and not get his hands dirty. But he did it himself! Why?" Morgan fumed, again rhetorically. Morgan shook his head slightly as he fought the urge to scream and stay calm and further explain his reasoning.
"There are two types of torture. Functional- for a purpose like getting information or punishment, and then there's sadistic torture. This whole situation should only functional, but it's not. It's both." Morgan ranted. "He's doing this to make a point and punish Gideon, but he's enjoying it! He laughed at Reid and he's mocking us!" Morgan finished huffing slightly from is barely controlled anger.
"What does that mean?" JJ asked quietly.
"It means this isn't to get Gideon to come out of hiding- it's to punish him for whatever they think is his fault and get him to come to them to completely get whatever their twisted idea of revenge is." Hotch growled from next to Gideon with his arms crossed.
"But I don't understand. Why make it seem like they were torturing Reid just to get Gideon out if hiding if they knew where he was the whole time? Why 'Marco?'" Emily listed from next to a radiating Morgan, completely confused.
"I don't know. Perhaps he's lying to the others. Maybe it's part of the game." Hotch nearly yelled in his frustration, tossing his hand up exasperatedly as he turn round in his lost thought.
"This is not a game."
Morgan had been so quiet they had barely heard him. His voice was constricted and broken as he fought his emotion and overwhelming urge to tackle Hotch and his uncaring words.
Everyone was deathly silent and still, horrified at it all. The choice of words, the emotions, the situation and worse what it still had yet to lead to.
"I didn't mean that." Hotch spoke softly and slowly- as a cross between both an apology and warning. It did not go unnoticed by Morgan and the others. Rossi broke the heavy thick silence finally.
"Why the three days?"
"What?" JJ asked, getting thoroughly annoyed with her lack of understanding of most of what was going on. Not thinking about Reid was hard enough.
"The leader said he would tell us in three days where to meet and he would give back Reid. He's going to keep him for three days. Why?" Rossi pressed.
"There has to be some significance to him." Morgan put in, anxious to get somewhere.
"Wouldn't it be something significant to all of them?" JJ asked trying not to miss anything.
"Not necessarily." Emily soothed. "If he is lying to the others about Gideon coming out of hiding, there's nothing to say he would lie to them about some excuse for this. And he's in control; they may just be following him not matter what as long as they get their revenge." Emily finished quietly at the awkwardness. Gideon hadn't said anything in quite some time.
"So the connection is because they all hate Gideon." Hotch picked up the discussion clearly to slowed by the awkwardness of a colleague's potential death, recapping their learnings. "This head man is likely the recruiter though not the one with information, meaning in some way he is connected to a FBI agent in this office." Hotch stated, again angry. Rossi in turn picked up the declining conversation.
"The man's a sadist and is going to hold Reid for three days until he tells us where to meet him." Rossi spoke normally like any other case but chose his words with great care.
"Me."
Gideon's voice was husky with emotion and muffled as his hands were on his face.
"What?" Rossi asked, politely- as if he were truly confused but all too well knew what Gideon meant and what his plans were and that they were already set in stone. This would be a challenge.
"Until he tells me where to meet him." Gideon corrected again, quietly.
"Gideon, you can't be ser-" Emily began. She just couldn't believe that Gideon, the Jason Gideon, would give up so easily. Not the Gideon she knew- or used to know.
"'You will be alone. You will be unwired. You will be unarmed. You will be on time.'" Gideon recited Spencer's capture's demands, blank faced.
"Gideon, I agree that we should try to get Reid back as safely as possible but not at the loss of someone else. There are other ways to do this." Hotch spoke to Gideon, concerned.
"Like what?" Morgan fired at Hotch, challenging him, seemingly to believe it perfectly expectable to sacrifice the old man that had abandoned his son. All that mattered was getting Reid back.
"We will figure something out." Hotch said slowly the warning back in his voice and etched with concern at his subordinate's immediate acceptance of Gideon's sacrifice.
"We can't wait three days. Reid can't wait three days!" Morgan fumed his boss.
"Until we have something, we're going to have to." Rossi replied matter-of-factly, slightly angry himself, not at Morgan's acceptance of Gideon going to the slaughter (he understood that himself) but at Morgan's own anger at Hotch for his position. He only spoke the truth- fact and logic, something Morgan seemed to refuse to accept.
"We cannot allow a civilian go into a situation alone, unhooked, and unarmed to trade himself for an agent." Hotch spoke calmly trying to enforce logic.
"Then what are we supposed to do? Hmm?" Morgan argued back, full out shouting now. They couldn't just not do anything! "Are we supposed to sit here, do nothing and wait while this bastard tortures Reid again and again?" Morgan was choking on his words, fumbling over them as he fought his emotions from going into action- the hate, the fear, the loss. Hotch simply stared on coldly as he watched Morgan yell. He needed this, he knew that, but he was still mad at Morgan's resilience to accept the facts. Their only option- at this point- was to wait. So Hotch would make sure he knew it.
"Yes."
Morgan was silenced. His mouth was open and he stood with a look of horror on his face. It was as if he had seen Reid beaten all over again but impossibly worse. How could this man who Reid considered a friend, almost like a father, tell him that they weren't going to do anything? How could he just expect them all to just sit there and wait? Wait while they knew that their friend- their brother was being tortured and they weren't doing anything to stop it.
"What?" Morgan deathly whispered.
"We aren't going to do anything because there is nothing we can do." Hotch said simply though still strong and loud from his dying angry embers. "The one lead we have is being followed and until something comes of it- we have nothing."
It was a dagger in the heart- ice cold and coated with salt, scratching against their already deep wounds, insulting them all with their unwavering helplessness. Knowing it was one thing, accepting it another- but to hear it, to hear it come from the mouth of your leader was something else entirely. To hear it come from a man you trusted your life with and to know he was right- that it was true? That was what was the pain. Fact. Solid, steadfast, rooted fact- and nothing could change it.
"Right now, our best option is once we get the location, we go there and raid once we're certain that Reid is there." Rossi spoke up from the abyss.
"We go in there guns blazing and Reid's there, we could kill him." Morgan argued back, grabbing at anything, trying his damnedest to deny the truth of it all- of Hotch's words, Rossi's understanding.
"The second those people have their hands on Gideon, Reid is dead!" Rossi retorted angrily, knowing exactly what Morgan had been insinuating. He needed to accept the fact that if he didn't get his shit together and think logically, or did something stupid, or even if he didn't- they might not be getting Reid back. And surely not the same Reid that was taken from them.
"Reid is just a means to an end to these people. Just and pawn!" Rossi continued, fighting for Morgan to come to terms with everything. If he didn't do it now and the worse came about . . . well he didn't really want to think that far.
Emily jumped in then anxious to shed some light in the conversation on something good- something good?
"It's almost the end of the first day, and we all know how strong he is. He'll make it." She said forcefully believing it a fact. Morgan did not seem very assuaged. "And the blindfold!" Emily nearly shouted, almost . . . giddy?
"What?" Morgan barked, clearly over his head as Hotch muttered "Maybe."
"Reid's still wearing the blindfold! And the unSubs are wearing masks!" Emily continued still excited, not trying to fight her hope any more.
"So?" Morgan pushed still lost.
"We can't ID them and neither can Reid! It's very possible that they will let Reid go!" Emily wanted to bounce up and down.
"Only in exchange for Gideon." Morgan said darkly, effectively bursting that bubble, glaring back towards Hotch.
"I am not choosing Gideon over Reid, Morgan." Hotch said softly, finally understanding Morgan's hate.
"Then let me go to them, Hotch." Gideon pleaded, standing up to face Hotch. "It's my fault. Please, let me save him."
Hotch ignored Gideon's guilty that would take far too long to dissolve at this moment.
"Gideon, I told you there were limitations." Hotch said softly again, not wanting to argue with a man he once greatly respected least of all in front of the team he abandoned.
"I can take care of myself."
"Not if you're giving yourself up for Reid. This isn't political bullshit. It's not about civilian vs. agent. It's about choosing a friend to die. And I'm not choosing Reid over you, either. I'm not choosing." Hotch said determined.
"Reid chose. Once." Gideon whispered. Still everyone had heard. "He did what he had to, to survive. We couldn't help him then, and we still can't. How many times can you expect someone to save themselves?"Gideon finished with a bite in his hushed tones as he strode from the room, and away from the others, a strange familiar clicking sound preceding him. Hotch closed his eyes aware that again, Gideon had not budged.
It was silent once again. Everyone understood, though excepting was something else. Even Morgan was finished. He shoulders were hunched over as he rested his hands on the table and leaned into them with his head bowed.
Rossi stood in the same defensive and bold stance that he was in when he argued with Morgan but now the feeling behind it gone, was awkwardly trying to figure out how to move out of it when he was frozen from the shock of Gideon's quiet outburst.
Emily was stiff, arm across her stomach and the other up with her hand against her mouth as she made her mouth stay shut so she didn't say something she would regret. She was pissed. This was their only "good" option but it wasn't good enough- not even close. She stared off seemingly distantly, not at looking anyone, though taking in everything around her as she remain completely still- like a child having forced conversation with a parent that they knew was still mad from an earlier argument and was wary of what could happen if re-angered.
JJ was near the corner in a similar pose, with red rimmed eyes. As a tear feel down her check, she pushed it away angrily as if it were something disgusting. Finally, Emily shattered the gelatinous thickness that was the air of radiating emotions that was around them.
"Are you sure it's wise to let him leave? In this state?" Emily asked of Hotch, her own voice heavy and constricted with repressed rage.
"I have someone one him." Hotch sighed.
"Someone you trust?" Morgan asked, slightly harsher than he meant to as he lifted his head from looking and the grain of the table.
"With my life."
Morgan nodded and Hotch's forceful, challenging statement. He trusted him, though he didn't like his decision, Morgan trusted him. Eventually, he knew Gideon would realize that too.
"I'm going to help Garcia."
Morgan knew that there was absolutely nothing he could help Penelope with and that if he actually tried to, he more than likely would just be in the way. But he needed to be were something was being done- even if he wasn't the one doing it, to see it with his own eyes that Reid wasn't being left for dead would be just enough to keep him here instead of running off to manually search every warehouse that Garcia had listed to them.
A/N: Well, there you go. Sorry for the semi-cliffy but you know how it is. ;)p And sorry it took a bit longer (massive roll of eyes) than usual, but I hope my other ficlet held yall over 'til this. BTW- if you did read my other story please let it be noted that I AM going to continue it. :D However, posts for Home, Sweet Home will be few and far between until I finish THIS story. ;) Don't want to get too far ahead of myself. But seeing as how I already blew my punctuality for this fic, I'm gonna post a chappy for Home, Sweet Home next. That and there is one wonderfully dedicated fan, PinkHimeLacus, who isn't pushy but just extremely loving and helpful when it comes to furthering the plot of Home, Sweet Home as well as actually posting updates. I love you, and the next chappy is for you! :D
But fear not, you will not have to wait too long. I now have very free weekend mornings to do nothing but write now that I have moved up to Chicago and am going to school- which is pretty much THE reason for being so terribly unpunctual with this latest update. What with packing, planning and driving over 20 hrs to get here, and of course the actual learning of the courses, things were and have been pretty hectic.
So, yeah. This chapter was very team-y and not so much Reid-y, but yall needed to know the info and how the case was going. There'll be more team-y investigation stuff next chappy. And by "team-y" I mean lack of action and very factual- not team involvement and emotion but there is that too but there always will be. ;)p BUT I can say with certainty that next chapter will also be more Reid-y. ;)p
Oh- quick question. I'm considering having Elle pop in at some point just for a quick little fluffy cameo. Thoughts? Love to hear from yall.
I was originally planning on having this chapter WAAAAAY longer (about 2.5 times longer) BUT it would have been an overload on both the investigation data/fact stuff and the eyes. And if I wasn't going to end it in the spot I was originally going to this was the only spot I would both accept and kinda like so it was a bit shorter than typical- plus I was DYING to update! And I know there's no Reid in this chapter at all but trust me, there is SO much more to come. I really enjoyed writing all the team's fighting and hope it was believable and yall liked it. If I didn't quite get it right and something's confusing, let me know and I'll help ya out although everything of course always becomes clearer as we go along.
Ok so again- SORRY I SUCK SO MUCH! But like I promised in my very first post: "I would rather shoot myself in the foot than not finish a story" so PLEASE, just stick with me! And I swear, I will never ever ever EVER not post for so long again, unless say- I DIE! (in which case I will have my sister log on and say so.) ;)p
So, I bet you didn't know this but I can read minds. Right now, half of you are thinking about tacos and the other half is thinking about pushing that little button shaped like a speech bubble. Come on! Who can resist a button? ;)p
GOD, I'M GLAD TO BE BACK! XD