Strauss' interruption added a new level of tension to the team. Garcia stands half way between the stairs as she waits for the meeting to be over. She had made it five minutes in her office before she started to feel claustrophobic. It no longer felt like her cozy net of safety. The walls were closing in on her, and without having any direction to lead her she could not distract her with busy computer work. So, she waits impatiently, but in a wider space.

The first to leave is Hotch. The look on his face makes Garcia cringe. He looks beyond his normal expression of stoic determination; he is straight pissed off. It's enough for her to decide to wait a moment before asking any questions. She waits for Derek, her safest bet for information.

"I was going to warn you about Strauss," she says as Derek joins her on the stairs. "I just didn't know if it would be okay to text you guys during a meeting or-."

"Don't worry about it, baby girl. It was alright."

"Uh, judging by the look on Hotch's face it was not alright."

"He's worried," Derek says. "We all are."

"I know." Garcia twirls a shining gold ring on her pointer finger. There are questions she wants to ask, but the answers may not be something she wants to know. "How bad was it? The video?"

Derek shakes his head. "Not good."

"What did they do? Is he going to be alright?"

"Penelope-."

"Derek, I know that I said I didn't want to see, but I have to know if my baby is going to be alright."

"Maybe," Derek replies truthfully. "He was hurt bad."

"How?"

"Penelope, you don't want to know. Trust me."

"I have to," Garcia says. Her voice breaks, but she tries to keep her composure. "I have to know so I can be prepared to help him later. When it's over."

Morgan looks at her, unsure of what to tell her.

"Derek! You have to tell me! I'm going to find out sooner or later!"

He sighs. "They hit him. He, the unsub," Morgan corrects himself. "The unsub beat him and… he raped him. Reid. He raped Reid."

"What?" Garcia says in disbelief. "B-but… No! He can't do that to Reid! He's too… Oh, Derek!" Penelope falls forward and clings to her friend for comfort. Derek wraps her arms around her tightly. It is a gesture meant to bring her support, but it helps him as well.

"My poor baby," Garcia says as she wipes away tears. "My poor, sweet little baby. How could anyone do that to him?"

"I don't know."

"We need to get him back. Before it happens again. I-I don't want him to go through that again."

"I know. We will," Morgan says. His voice holds more confidence than he has, but this not the time to second guess himself. "We're going to get Reid back. I swear it."

Garcia sniffles. "Good. And kill that sick bastard. I don't care what Strauss or anyone says. Please just make sure he suffers."

"I will. He's not getting away with this."

This is the first time that both Hotch and Rossi has been to Reid's apartment. They enter the building feeling unsure of what they were going to find. Morgan had said earlier that there no amount of gore, let alone any signs of a struggle. It was something small to be grateful for, but at the same time was a cause for frustration. They need something to go off of and right now it feels like they have nothing.

"Have either of you been here before?" Hotch asks as they search the living room.

"A few times," JJ says. She carefully removes a book from the shelf and leafs through the pages. Her eyes train on the pages, looking for any sort of little slip of paper that may have been left behind.

"Does it always look this boring?" Rossi asks.

"I don't think Reid is much of a decorator." JJ sets the book back in its place knowing that Reid would not appreciate the order being messed up and takes another. "He's too laid back."

"I wish there was something more here. Even if it was just a clue of what he was doing before he was taken," Rossi says. "You know, I have spent hours upon hours with Reid at work and I still have no idea what that kid does in his free time."

"He's quiet about his private life," Hotch says as he crawls slowly across the floor, searching underneath the sofa. "I don't blame him, but it would be nice to have something to go off of. From what both Prentiss and Morgan said, this room seems to be the most likely where the abduction took place. This or the kitchen."

"But how would he even get Reid out?" JJ asks.

"He could have been threatened or knocked out."

"It would be difficult to move him if he was unconscious," Rossi says. "It would take a lot of work to take out a grown man and move him to a new location with just one person."

"Are we sure it's just him?"

"I don't think he's the type of person to work with others. This is all about him and what he wants. I don't think he would want to share in the glory of taking me down."

"No one is going to take you down, Dave."

Rossi scoffs. "Maybe. We'll see at the end of this."

Hotch and JJ exchange looks. "You know this isn't your fault," JJ says. "Reid's going to be okay."

"He's already not okay. Even if we do get there in time, he is still going to have a lot of problems."

"Reid is stronger than he looks," Hotch says. "He's already been through a lot. He can handle this."

"That doesn't mean he needs to go through any more."

Hotch suppresses a sigh. He knows that Dave is right. The healing process for Reid and the whole team will take a long time. Reid had taken hits before on several occasions, but this was the worst yet. Still, he would be fine, Hotch told himself. They have no other option but to believe that now.

"Did Morgan and Prentiss get the chance to talk to any of the neighbors?" Hotch asks. "Whether Reid was taken out of here by force or on his own will, someone may have saw something."

"No. I don't think so," JJ says."

"JJ, since you know the apartment better you can stay here and continue the investigation. Rossi and I will start talking to the neighbors."

Professor Ronald Lastine has locked himself away in his office for the day. He had come in the early afternoon to begin grading papers and has not stopped. The office is the only place he can get work done. There is always some sort of chaotic event going on at home with a grown daughter and a toddler grandson running around with addition to his wife always finding some small thing to nag about. It is never ending noise added to a never ending workload. The office was much quieter with the exception of the one or two students stopping by for some help. But there was nothing wrong with that. Ronald Lastine is always ready and willing to help his young students.

There is a knock at the door. "Come in!" Lastine calls out without looking up from his papers. He hears the door creak open, but whoever has yet to say a word. Lastine turns around to see who has entered. There stands a man and a woman, both rather young but too old to be any students of his.

"Can I help you?"

"I'm special agent Derek Morgan and this is special agent Emily Prentiss. We have a few questions we would like to ask you."

"FBI? Do you know David Rossi? I just had him as a guest speaker last week!"

"That's actually the reason why we're here," Emily says.

"Why? Is there something wrong?"

"Do you remember the young man he had with him?"

"Doctor Reid? Of course! He's wonderful. I've been meaning to email him some stuff I have been working on, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Is he alright? Nothing has happened to him, has it?"

"Why don't you tell us," Derek says as he folds his arms across his chest.

Lastine frowns slightly in confusion. "What? I wouldn't know anything. I haven't seen or spoken to Spencer since the lecture."

"Spencer," Emily echoes back. "That's a little personal."

"Well, we are on friendly terms."

"What do you mean by friendly?" Derek asks.

"Friends," Lastine answers shortly. "Spencer Reid and I are just on friendly terms. I talked to him a bit after the lecture and that's it. Why does it matter to you?"

"See, we heard that it may be a little more."

"Who?" Lastine stops himself from further speaking before he says something he will regret saying to FBI agents. "I don't know what you are talking about. I am a married man. A happily married man. And even if I wasn't, there is nothing wrong with looking."

"So you may have been looking at Doctor Reid in a, you know," Emily says, "more than friendly way."

"There is nothing wrong with looking," Lastine says. "I can't help it if there are attractive people who-."

"How old are you?" Derek asks suddenly. Emily shoots him a look, but says nothing more to stop him."Fifty? Sixty? He has to be at least half your age."

Lastine scowls. "My age is no concern of yours, and it doesn't make a difference. Spencer is not a child, right? There was nothing illegal or perverted going on."

"Maybe not illegal-."

"We're sorry," Emily says, cutting Derek off. "Earlier this morning agent Rossi received some disturbing messages, and it appears that someone has taken Spencer as some sort of revenge."

"Taken? And you think I have something to do with it?"

"Your name was brought up."

"I would never do anything to hurt Spencer. Or anyone," Lastine quickly adds. "That is ridiculous!"

"Look," Emily says. "It will be easier for all of us if you just answered some questions so we can clear you and let you get back to work."

"For what? I already told you I have nothing to do with this! Who even gave you my name? It was David Rossi, wasn't it? God, I got the vibe that the man didn't like me, but I don't know what I did that made him think I would ever do something as terrible as assault Doctor Reid."

"Who said anything about an assault?" Derek asks.

"I-i, w-well," Lastine stutters. "No one, but you certainly implied it! But I swear to God that I would never-."

"Professor, I think it's best if you just come with us now," Emily says. She reaches for a pair of shining handcuffs. Lastine sighs. He is running out of options.

"Fine, but you don't have to handcuff me. I'll go on my own."

Lastine was lead out to the black SUV without being cuffed. He tried his best to keep up a casual front, but it failed him more than he knew. He walked between the two stone faced agents, smiling and nervously greeting his colleagues as they went by. They smiled back, looking both confused and concerned by his escorts.

Derek half shoves the professor into the back of the car and slams the door shut. He and Emily walk around to the front of the car so Lastine won't hear them. "What do you think?" Emily asks.

"He's definitely a creep," Derek says. "He showed some interest in Reid, but I don't think enough to kidnap him. I doubt that's even part of what this is all about."

"Yeah." Emily looks into the window, back at the professor. Lastine sits with his head down and arms folded tightly into his body. "He doesn't look capable of it. Poor Spence, always attracting the weird guys."

Derek smiles. "He probably didn't even notice when Lastine was talking to him."

"Apparently Rossi did."

"He was probably looking out for him. I would have liked to see Rossi's reaction, especially if it was anything like that time we went to that at that Chinese restaurant in L.A."

"Yeah," Emily says, smiling. "Spencer didn't realize it even after we broke it down for him. He seems so clueless about that stuff that it makes you wonder if he's ever done-." Emily stops herself. The smile is gone. Her mind is back to the video, back to watching her friend suffer. "I hope that wasn't his first sexual experience." The word sexual comes out strange. It doesn't seem to fit with Reid, not in this context. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know," Derek says truthfully. "We're just going to have to be there for him in whatever way he needs."

"Do you think we'll make it in time?"

"Of course! Don't even doubt it. By this time tomorrow we'll have Spencer back with us, safe and sound. He's going to be okay."

"Yeah." But even as the word leaves her mouth, Emily doesn't believe it. "I wonder what he's thinking now."

Spencer Reid spends a lot of time in his head. It could very well be a likely fact that he has spent a good majority of his past twenty nine years living in his head rather that what most people consider reality. The reason for that is simple: books are easy. People are not. Books could be read and understood in a matter of minutes while people took more time. Books were solid, filled with words and numbers he can rely on. People are not always so reliable. They come and go out his life, some of them forever; like his father, who had abandoned him when Reid needed him the most. Now he must rely and wait on his team to come save him. They will not abandon him, though. At least that is what Reid hopes.

As he waits, Reid thinks about all of the books he has read, most of them going as far back as childhood. He imagines himself reading to his mother, once again reciting those stories he would read to her on those days when they stayed in bed. He knows them well, and despite their dark origins he finds comfort in the words. They help him concentrate on keeping out all of what his kidnapper said earlier. Some of it Reid knew to be true; how his social inability drove Rossi and the rest of his teammates crazy. There were many times when they would be out in public where he would say something wrong or not quite understand what was going on. They would laugh and roll their eyes.

But that's why they love him. They had said so before on several random occasions that gave Reid a sense of hope and acceptance that he never believed he would feel. They do love and miss him. They will do everything they can to get Reid back.

And if they don't?

Reid is a man of logic. He knows there is a very good chance that he can die, and after what the man has already put him through Reid does not doubt his ability. Reid means nothing to him. He is so easily disposable, just as he has been to many others. He could die here in the darkness and that would be the end of it.

As much as he tries to stray from the thought, Reid wonders about his own funeral. Who would show up? Who would cry? Who would speak and who would just stand quietly? During Emily's funeral there had been many tears, his included. To think that his team may have to go through another loss devastated Reid, and this time there would be no resurrection.

His captor has left the room again after performing another assault on Reid's body. At least this time it was not recorded for all of the team to see. How he would look at them, knowing that each and every one of them witnessed the humiliating abuse was beyond him. Reid thinks of Derek then and how he didn't want anyone to about what happened to him when he was young. Maybe he can talk to Derek. If he wants to talk about it.

The door opens, and Reid flinches. His brief moment of peace is over. The man strolls across the room, casually humming an indefinable tune to himself. The first that Reid notices is that he is no longer wearing a mask. The lack of lighting in the room made it more difficult for him to make out features but what could be gathered was immediately logged into Reid's memory. The man appears to be middle aged most likely being somewhere around his mid to late 40's. A thick mass of hair clung to his forehead with sweat that had been created during their previous activity. The best word to describe the colour is brown; nothing more or nothing less. There was little remarkable about this man. His face was bland, so much so that it almost seemed unnaturally undefined. His eyes were small and around, perhaps spaced a little too far apart. His lips were somewhat full, and could be considered to be one of his better features if they were not always pulled into a scowl. The only thing about him that could be considered above average was his height. He was a tall man, taller than Reid by an inch or so. His posture is slightly hunched likely due to a deep seeded, unacknowledged lack of security. He was stronger than he looked, as Reid knew very well by now, and hid it well behind dark, ill fitting clothing. But despite all that Reid was able to gather, he could not put a name to the face.

"Hello there, kiddo!" the man says brightly. Reid flinches as he draws closer. His kidnapper sits down by him again and frowns. "Your socks don't match."

He leans in to get a better look at the profiler's feet. "I didn't even notice before. Why on Earth did you do that?"

"I always do."

"But why?" He runs a hand across Reid's foot and grabs a hold of his ankle. A grin splits across his face once he feels the agent shiver. "What's wrong, kiddo? Do you not like it when I touch you? Oh, sweetheart, how are we supposed to have any fun if you're going to be so shy?"

Reid focuses his sight onto the shadowy wall in front of him. He has already been through this twice now. How many more times can this happen again before his team saves him?

"We don't have to do it now," the man says. "We can save it for later. I'm sure there are more fun things we can do to pass the rest of our time together! What do you want to do?"

"I want to talk to my friends," Reid says with little emotion.

"We can do that!"

Reid turns his attention towards him. He must be lying, Reid tells himself. There is no way he would allow this to happen. "Really?" Despite his best efforts to mask his emotions, a small ray of hope comes through.

The man smiles. Yes, hope. He recognizes it right away. Hope is a wonderful thing, especially to crush. "Of course, kiddo!" he exclaims. "I've been planning to check in. It's getting late now; almost one in the morning. We can see if any of them are still awake, but I doubt it."

"They will be," Reid tries to assure him. "They'll still be working."

"Yeah sure, kid. Let me go find a proper phone for us to use. I'm sure they'll love hearing from you."

Once his captor has left, Reid smiles. Soon he will be able to talk to his team mates. He knows full well it could very well be a cruel prank or turn into another version of the video recording, but in the moment the idea of being able to hear loving voices is something he can hold on to. There is hope, Reid tells himself. There is always hope.

Done! We are getting closer to the end, and with sooner updates! I hope to have this finished in two or three more chapters. If I'm lucky it will be before school starts. Thank you to all of those who read and review! I know I say it pretty much every time, but it does mean a lot.