Avenger of Blood
Chapter
5
Hostage
"Neither dead nor alive, the hostage is suspended by an incalculable outcome. It is not his destiny that awaits for him, nor his own death, but anonymous chance, which can only seem to him something absolutely arbitrary. He is in a state of radical emergency, of virtual extermination." – Jean Baudrillard
Aaron didn't see the sudden light shine in his prison. He was unconscious, his body trying to fight the effects of two gunshot wounds to his leg. He floated at the very edge of awareness, groping for life, desperately hanging on.
As bright sunlight poured into the basement, the man came to a decision.
'I have two hostages down here.' the man shouted at the rescuers. 'I will kill one of them if you come any closer. I want to speak to the man in charge.' He shot the gun through the hole, and the rescuer jumped back out of the way.
Morgan heard the gunshot and looked up from where he and Reid were digging. He got up and clambered across the debris to the rescuer who was sitting where he had fallen in his hurry to get away from the gunshot.
'Are you ok?' he asked.
'I'm fine, but there's someone in the basement. He said he has two hostages and he wants the person in charge.'
Morgan crawled to the top of the hole that the rescuer had dug.
'What do you want?' he shouted.
'I want to get away from here with my life.' he said. 'I want a car and someone to drive it. I will release one hostage when I get the car. If in one hour I don't have a car, I will kill them both.'
-0-0-0-
The man sat on his block and waited. There was no movement from one of the hostages, but the younger one showed signs of waking up. It would be him then that he would take into the car with him. The other he would leave behind. Dead or alive – probably dead. The bang on the head seemed to do a lot of damage – he hadn't moved since.
'We have a car for you.' a voice said from above, 'and a driver.'
Aaron had his eyes open although there was little recognition in them. His trouser leg was saturated with blood, and he was still bleeding. He looked up at the sound of the voice. It sounded like Morgan, but he couldn't be sure.
The man pulled him up by the front of his tee shirt and held him under the arms and across the chest. He held a gun to his side under his left arm, ready to fire if something went wrong. He dragged Aaron up the pile of rubble into the daylight. It looked like it was early morning from the length of the shadows, and he realised they had been trapped for almost an entire day.
He climbed awkwardly down the pile of debris to the waiting car, all the while holding his hostage like a shield between himself and the police sharp shooters who all had their guns trained on him. He backed towards the car, dragging Aaron along with him. When he got to the car he opened the back door and got in, pulling Aaron in after him.
he let Aaron fall to the floor of the car. He put his foot against Hotch's leg, just in case he tried anything and he pressed a gun into the back of the neck of the driver.
'Just drive.' he said, and the car pulled away from the kerb and along the road past the road block.
-0-0-0-
As soon as the car was out of sight, Morgan went down into the basement. There seemed to be blood everywhere. Dave was lying on his back against the wall at the opposite end of the room. Dave ran to him, followed closely by the medics.
At first Morgan thought that Dave was dead. He wasn't moving and his eyes were slightly open. But he found a pulse, and stood back gratefully and let the medical team do their work. Dave groaned as they moved him, and to Morgan it was a good sound.
The hostage taker had been true to his word and had freed one of his hostages. But from what he had seen, Hotch had looked like he was in a bad way. He followed the medics out of the basement, but he didn't go to the ambulance with him. He knew Dave was safe now. His thoughts now were of Reid and Hotch.
-0-0-0-
Reid was driving. His foot hurt, but he ignored the pain, and concentrated on the job. Morgan had wanted to take the car, but it had to be Reid. The UnSub already knew Morgan's voice, and that only left Reid. Neither wanted to leave Aaron's life in the hands of cops they didn't know.
He had taken the bandage off his foot and the car was an automatic, so it wasn't too difficult to drive. Morgan had told him to keep his cell phone on so that they could track him. He felt the weight of it in his pocket.
'Where do you want to go?' he asked.
The man had not made up his mind. He didn't really thing he'd be safe where ever he went. He pressed down on Aaron's leg as he began to move, as the fresh air reached his lungs. Aaron moaned in pain, and Reid's stomach clenched at the sound. He had no idea how he was going to do it, but he had somehow to get this man away from Aaron, so that he could recover.
'What is your name?' the UnSub asked Reid.
'I'm Spencer Reid.' he said. 'I work in security.'
Suddenly the man had an idea. Just outside town there was a row of half built houses, where the builder had run out of money before he could finish them. That would be their destination.
But first they had to swap cars. He wasn't stupid, and the car had to be bugged.
There was a small SUV up in front of them. The man gave the order for Reid to cut it off. Reid passed the car and turned sharp right. The small car stopped just short of hitting them.
'Get the driver out, and take her place.' the man said, 'and remember I have a hostage back here.' and as if to prove the point, he stamped down on Aaron's leg, and he cried out in pain.
Reid got out and pulled the startled woman out of the car.
'Go.' he said to her. 'The other guy has a gun.'
She didn't need to be told twice, and she ran over the grass verge and into the field next to the cars. The man dragged Aaron from the car and pushed him into the back seat again. There wasn't room for him in the foot well, so he sat slumped in the seat behind the passenger's seat. The man got in behind Reid, and resumed holding the gun to his neck.
'Now drive along here and take the next left.' he said. He knew exactly where he was going now.
-0-0-0-
'The vehicle has stopped outside town.'
'Damn. He's probably switched cars.' Morgan said. 'Get over there and find out. If he carjacked someone, we'll know the car at least. We can find it and follow it by helicopter. There's no hope of following by car. Not along that road.'
They didn't need to go anywhere. The woman whose car had been taken had called to report it. They had the make and licence plate. No all they had to do was find it.
-0-0-0-
Reid drove round to the back of the half built houses and parked where he was told.
'Now get out slowly. I don't need two hostages, so you had better do as I say.'
He got out, holding the gun on Reid. He was playing this by ear and he had no idea what he was doing. He expected to die in the blast, but suddenly living seemed like a better option. He led Reid into the house, leaving Aaron slumped unconscious on the back seat. He was going no where.
He didn't know what to do now. He couldn't sit with the gun on him indefinitely, he needed time to think, and he couldn't do that while he was holding a hostage. He would have to kill him or incapacitate him. But first he would make him carry the other hostage into the house.
Reid knew the odds of getting out of here alive were pretty slim. He had the figures on the tip of his tongue. He felt sick for Aaron, terrified that he was lying dead in the car. When the man ordered him to go outside and bring him in, he was relieved. At least he would be able to help him in his pain.
If he was still alive.......
'Now I said! Get out there now and bring him in. Remember I have the gun trained on you.'
Reid went outside to the car. The man watched him through the glassless window, holding the gun steady. Reid opened the car door and leaned in to Aaron. He was horrified at the amount of blood on the seat. It was as if his body from the hips down were bathed in blood. He noticed the belt around his thigh, and he loosened it for a second or two. Aaron groaned with pain as blood flowed into his limb. Then Reid tightened it, and slipped his hands under Aaron's body and pulled him our of the car as gently as he could. Aaron instinctively put his arms around Reid's neck and hung on. Reid carried him carefully back into the dark house, and laid him on the floor as gently as he could.
-0-0-0-
Emily was told that Dave was in the hospital, and as soon as he was out of surgery, she insisted on being taken to see him. They wheeled her from her ward, two floors up to the high dependency unit, where she was surprised to see JJ already there. She had a bandage on her arm and butterfly clips on a gash on her forehead.
'Are you ok JJ?' Emily asked. JJ smiled at her. 'I'm fine.' she said. 'I just thought that it would be nice if Rossi didn't wake up alone.'
'My thoughts too.' said Emily, smiling back. She wheeled herself to the opposite side of the bed.'Do we know how he is?' she asked.
'He had lost quite a lot of blood.' JJ said. 'He had been shot in the hip, and the surgeons removed the bullet ok. There was a head injury to, but that doesn't seem to be too serious. It's just a matter of him waking up now.'
'Reid was here earlier, but he signed himself out.' Emily said. 'He went back to the blast site to help get Rossi and Hotch out. I don't know what has happened, but Hotch isn't here.'
'I guess we'll have to wait until Morgan get's back.' JJ said, a worried timbre to her voice.
Emily took Rossi's hand and squeezed gently, hoping for a reaction.
-0-0-0-
Reid knelt on the floor beside Aaron, ignoring the gun that was pointing unwaveringly at his head.
'Aaron, Hotch, wake up. It's me, Spencer. Don't leave me now.'
Aaron heard the voice and it was like a warm ray in the cold darkness where he was. He tried to lift his hand, the movement was noticed by Reid and he took hold of it. He tried to turn his head but he was too weak. He opened his eyes a little and stared at the ceiling of the room.
'Is he waking up?' the man said.
'I .... I think so.' Reid answered. 'Please, let me get him to hospital. No one has died yet. If this man dies, it becomes murder. Please.'
'I don't believe you. The bomb would have killed some people.'
'It didn't. They all got out alive. If you want to get out alive, call an ambulance for him.'
Reid held Aaron's hand tight, and he felt the fingers move in response.
Reid had a cell phone in his pocket. If he could just switch it on........
Reid slipped his hand into his pocket where his cell phone was. He carefully hit a speed dial number, hoping he hit the right one without looking. If his phone was active, Garcia would be able to find them. As he slipped his hand out of his pocket, the man saw.
'What have you got in your pocket!' he yelled.
'N-nothing.....'
The man crossed to Reid, and pulled the cell phone out of his pocket and threw it on the floor.
Then he raised the gun and fired........