Chapter Two: Saving Spencer
Damien stares down at his hands to avoid the eyes of the shocked BAU team members as they digested the information he had given them.
"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Hotch, who is the first to recover, demands with a frown.
"I tried," the boy answers helplessly, "but no one believed me. I even gave the sheriff his name and a description, but he thought I was making it up so I wouldn't get in trouble."
Morgan and Hotch exchange glances at this information; they'd have to have words with the sheriff after they solved this case.
"What's his name, sweetie?" JJ coaxes gently, looking at the dark-haired teen sympathetically.
Damien takes a deep, shuddering breath and exhales slowly. "His name is Gary Leemack. He approached me about a modeling job, but I turned him down. Then he hit me over the head and dragged me off."
"You really think he used his real name when he offered you the job?" Morgan asks incredulously. "He's way too cautious for that.
"No. He used the pseudonym 'Leonard Miller,'" Damien explains. "I recognized him from when I bought my red mustang convertible. He was the manager of the dealership."
"You're sure," Hotch presses, staring into the boys anxious blue eyes. "If you're wrong..." He trails off, knowing he doesn't need to detail the repercussions for such a grievous mistake.
"I'm sure," Damien states firmly. "That's why I turned the job down. I thought it was pretty suspicious for him to use a fake name, you know?"
"Do you know where he is now?" Rossi inquires urgently, leaning forward and bracing his arms on the table. "We need any information about his whereabouts we can get, no matter how insignificant it may seem."
"He still works at the same dealership," Damien informs them. "I don't know his address, though. I'm really sorry." He bows his head, examining his battered black converse to avoid the gazes of the six people surrounding him.
"C'mon kid, don't beat yourself up over this. You really helped our investigation," Morgan assures him. "You could help put that man behind bars for good."
Damien shrugs, looking uncomfortable. "Do you think he's still alive?" he asks, so quietly the agent almost didn't hear him.
Morgan looks at the kid in front of him and sighs. "I wish I knew, kid. I wish I knew." And he does. He wishes he could tell the scared teenager in front of him that everything would be alright; that they would find the sick son-of-a-bitch that had ruined his childhood; that they would find the boy that had saved his life, but he can't. Because he honestly doesn't know.
"If you find him, will you let me know? I need to talk to him, if he'll allow it."
"Of course." This time it is JJ who speaks, and she stands to offer a hand to Damien. "I can walk you out if you'd like."
Damien takes the proffered hand and stands as well. JJ leads him out of the conference room and down the long corridor of the police station.
Morgan sighs and picks up his phone, having decided to call Garcia for Leemack's address.
"Hello, Chocolate Thunder," she answers the phone cheerfully. "How can my genius be of assistance today, sugar?"
"Hey Baby girl," he responds, a smile breaking out across his face. "I need the latest known address on a Gary Leemack, and any dirt you can dig up on him."
"Piece of cake," she scoffs, typing rapidly into her computer. "Gary Leemack, manager of a small car dealership in Cullman, Alabama. His last known address, along with his background check, is being forwarded to you...now."
"Thanks Mama," he says gratefully, smirking at her cheerful "anytime, sugar." He hangs up and opens the email sent to him. "Guys, we've got an address," he says as he skims through the information. He forwards the email to the team, then turns his attention to Hotch.
"We're gonna need a warrant, man." Hotch nods and clenches his jaw.
"I know. JJ, I need you to go talk to the judge about getting one. The rest of us are going to stay here and have a look at this guy's past."
JJ nods her understand and and flits out of the room.
"This guy is clean," Emily says after a moment. "Almost too clean."
"He always pays his taxes, his bills are on time, he has a steady job, always shows up to work, and has no run-ins with the law. Hell, he doesn't even have any speeding tickets."
Hotch nods his agreement, a frown splitting his face. "It's like he's trying to stay under the radar."
"He donates to charities and does volunteer work," Rossi chimes in. "He's either a model citizen, or he's hiding something."
"His record only goes back ten years," Emily adds. "That, based on Damien's information, should be enough to get us a warrant."
"Call JJ," Hotch orders. "Tell her about our developments."
Two hours later, the BAU find themselves speeding down the dirt driveway leading to Gary Leemack's home. They have an armed SWAT team following after them and a warrant from Judge Garrison for Leemack's arrest.
The SUV jolts to a stop and Morgan gets out of the dark vehicle. He draws his gun and moves swiftly through the lawn to the door, carefully observing his surroundings.
"Gary Leemack, this is the FBI!" he yells through the door. After he gets no response, he ploughs his foot through the wooden door, causing the hinges to break and the door to collapse. He walks into the isolated house carefully, his team and four SWAT members behind him, and searches the small front room for Leemack.
Morgan lowers his weapon, but keeps it at the ready. "Emily, Derek, take the back. Dave and I have the front." Morgan nods curtly and walks cautiously down the hallway, followed by Prentiss and two SWAT officers.
Derek raises his weapon again as he goes around a corner into the next room, where he finds a staircase. He walks down slowly, keeping on his guard, and finds a cellar door locked tight with chains. "Hey Hotch, I got something down here," he says into the wires he wears, and steps closer to the door to examine it.
He hears footsteps as Hotch, Rossi, and the other two SWAT team members enter the room.
The dark-skinned agent gestures to the door. Hotch nods his consent, so he opens the cellar door and raises his gun as be finds himself walking down another staircase.
At the bottom of the stairs was a heavy metal door, bolted shut. The SWAT officers behind him swept forward, and one pulled a set bolt cutters* out of his belt and cut through the lock on the door.
They pushed forward and swept into the room, weapons raised. Morgan rushed in right after them, followed by the rest of the team.
In the center of the room lay a boy, completely naked and covered in bruises. His hair is long and matted, his skin dirty; he is curled up in a tight ball and fastened to the wall by a thick leash. Derek lowers his gun and drops to his knees beside him.
The boy jumps and scrambles back, trying to get as far away from the unrecognizable man as possible.
"Shhh, baby boy, I've got you," Morgan coos gently, and reaches out to unfasten the leash from the collar the boy wears. Derek looks into the boy's wide brown eyes, filled with terror, just as they roll back into his head and he faints.
Morgan gently removes the leash and collar, then takes off his jacket to wrap around the emaciated boy's naked body. "It's okay," he whispers. "I've got you."
A/N: I'm so sorry, it's been forever. I'm not trying to make excuses, because it's my fault for procrastinating, but I've been really busy lately. Anyway, here's the new chapter, even though I wrote it in a night and it feels super rushed. I hope this one is longer than the previous chapters, but I really have no idea. I write them on notebook paper, so they always seem longer than they are.
Thanks for the reviews, I always appreciate those ;).
My tablet has been fixed! Yay! No more stealing my brothers laptop.
I want to start a question and answer kind of thing. I'll ask a question at the beginning of each chapter, and you comment your answer. Then, at the beginning of the next chapter, I'll answer the previous question as well. So, this chapter's question is: who is your favorite Criminal Minds character?
I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I bid you all a fond farewell :).