This is it everyone, the final showdown! Who wins? Only I know! Well, I'm sure you guys can guess, but ah-ha!-there is a twist! Also, don't forget about my holiday contest! Warning: Psychological studies were Googled.

White Light-Chapter 15

In the Dark

Spencer Reid glared at the smiling man in front of him, trying his best to think of a way to get out of the situation he was in. He tried backing away from him as he grew closer to him, but the ropes tied around him kept him securely in his place. He struggled against Liales as he crouched down next to him and stroked his cheek. "I regret letting you get away, Nick. I shouldn't have let them take you away from me," he whispered.

"My name isn't Nick," Spencer hissed. Liales frowned before turning violent again. He slapped Spencer's cheek as hard as he could before pulling away. He dragged Spencer by his feet closer to a goal post, his eyes red with anger.

"Don't lie to me! I know who my own brother is!" he fumed

Spencer's mind went into overdrive after processing the new bit of information. It made sense, actually, that the man had become delusional. A broken family with a father that most likely sexually abused his children, turning into a child molester himself, his brother most likely dying, working around children all day- it all made more sense now. Most likely, Nick was killed by either him or his father, and his mind made him feel guilty, tricking him into thinking of himself as his father. In more severe cases, it would be called DID.

"How are you still here?" he suddenly asked.

"What do you mean...?" Spencer questioned cautiously.

Liales paced around Spencer, dabbing sweat from his forehead. "No…No…You can't be here! You can't! I killed you- I killed him!" He started mumbling incoherently as he walked in circles around Spencer. Spencer gulped, knowing that if Liales got desperate, he could snap at any second. He silently prayed his team would find him, because it wasn't' a matter of if Liales would breakdown now, it was a matter of when. And whenever that did happen, he didn't want to be alone in the field with him.

~* WL *~

"Greg, Prentiss; did you find anything?" Hotch asked over the radio signals. Hotch was currently with Asiley and Rossi at the school, while Prentiss and Greg were at the UnSub's house with Morgan and another officer.

"No sir, but there is something rather suspicious," Greg called back.

"What is it?" This time, Greg recognized the voice as Asiley's. He cringed, an action that didn't go unnoticed by Morgan and Prentiss.

"It's a name, Asiley," Prentiss replied, obviously making sure that their bosses knew she had Greg's back on the theory. "It says Nick L. on a photograph of Liales when he was younger- due to the dating, probably around eleven. The boy, I'm assuming Nick L., looks just like him, but he appears to be a few years younger. Do you think he could've had a brother?"

"It's possible," Hotch answered. "We'll have Garcia look into it. Call us if you find anything else that we could use."

"Yes sirs," Greg sighed. The line was cut off with static, and Greg dismounted his radio before rejoining the group. Morgan and Prentiss offered sympathetic looks, but Greg just shook his head and went back to searching.

Greg shuffled through documents opened on Liales' desk, and a frown formed on his face. He quickly skimmed over the paperwork before deeming it nothing more than old work documents. Just as he was about to abandon the desk, a glossy piece of paper sticking out of a cabinet caught his eye. "Hey guys, I think I found something."

"What is it Greg?" the other officer asked.

"Well, it could be nothing, but if I could just get this damn drawer open..." he muttered as he leaned all his weight into the locked drawer. Seeing it was pointless, he glanced up and beckoned Morgan over. "I'm sure there's a key somewhere, but it'd be so much quicker if you just man-handled it open." Greg shrugged when he saw Prentiss smiling behind Morgan's oh-so athletic figure, knowing exactly what she was thinking.

"Never heard it worded quite like that, but what works..." Morgan paused as he effortlessly leaned into the drawer and pushed up, sliding it open promptly, "works," he finished with a smile. Rolling her eyes, Prentiss moved closer to the files and photos.

"Damn," she sighed. "This is definitely our guy." Morgan leaned over to see the photos before sighing to himself. They were of boys ranging from what appeared to be ages ten to fifteen. Most of them were younger, but there were a handful of teens as well. The pictures were obviously taken without the boys' acknowledgement, as most of them were of them swimming, working out, or god help them, of them changing in the locker room. The amount of photos and different styles, like color and how close they were, made it obvious that he had first progressed from thin, dark-haired teenagers, to younger children of the same common physical traits.

"Guys, this is definitely something that could help us," Greg called from another pile of folders. "Look here, this is a death certificate of a Nick Liales, age seven. Says here that child services suspected foul play on behalf of the father, but nothing ever came of the investigation. I'm pretty sure this is our trigger," he quickly explained.

"Where did he die?" Morgan asked quickly, an idea obviously forming in his mind.

"At the Las Vegas Public High School. Apparently he had been raped on the football field, and when a witness called the police, the unknown man shot the kid and ran. The witness' psychical description matched the description of Nick's father, but for some reason, the police stopped looking," Greg replied. He paused before turning away from the document, a confused look on his face. "Spencer's obviously not here, so are you thinking...?"

"Go back to the original crime scene," Prentiss nodded. "It's pretty common in cases like this, actually."

"I'm calling Hotch; he's at the school now, so he should have spotted them," Morgan said, but he stopped when Greg started shaking his head. "What is it?"

"The original field used up until '88 was a few miles away from the school. They hadn't gotten a grant to make their own at the time," the other officer supplied.

"Yeah, it was at the Las Vegas Public Park, which is literally up the road from the school," Greg nodded.

"Then he went the original field," Prentiss agreed. "I'll call Hotch on our way there." With a nod from Morgan, the four left the house, running as they made their way to the SUVs parked outside.

~* WL *~

"You don't look all that different, you know," Liales suddenly said. He turned to Spencer and examined his features. "I always liked younger boys, though, as I'm sure you remember."

"So it wasn't your father who raped Nick?" Spencer asked, trying to get some sort of information out of Liales.

"No, but he wanted to," Liales smiled. "I stopped him, of course, but no one was there to stop him from getting to me. I'm sorry I lost control, honestly; I never wanted to hurt you, but I just couldn't stop myself," he sighed.

'Damn it,' Spencer thought. 'We did figure out that Edward had been raped, but we never knew about a brother.'

"You grew up nicely, though. So pretty..." he moaned. "I promised myself I wouldn't hurt you or anyone else like that again, though. Those other kids, getting them to kill themselves, that helped; but you were still on my mind. Now that I have you, I don't know what to do, though. I know what I want to do, but I made a promise, and I'm trying my best to keep that promise." Liales turned around and crouched near bag he had set to the side. He tossed the bag at Spencer and told him to look inside. "I'm giving you the option. Which one Nick, which one?"

Spencer didn't have to look inside the bag to know what was in it. A rope, a knife, a gun. That was all Liales needed at the moment. Still, something seemed wrong, and Spencer pressed on. "What did I chose last time?"

"Rape...but I killed you anyways. The cops- they were coming, and they just couldn't know," he sighed.

"What was the name of the kid before me, Edward?" Liales raised his eyebrows, taken aback by the question. "I'm just curious, is all."

"His name was Jackson Peterson," Liales finally answered.

Spencer closed his eyes; they hadn't known about Jackson, which gave Spencer the smallest bit of hope that he hadn't received the letter yet. Trying his best to keep calm, he just nodded his head.

"So which will it be?" Liales asked.

Spencer gulped, unsure of how to answer. He knew he had to stall for time, but he also knew how little of it he had left. Suddenly, something caught the corner of his eye, and he squinted into the wooded area behind him. It was a short and small shape, and he could just barely make out the figure's moving hands as they wrapped around something shiny. The sound of a bullet clicking into its spot was unmistakable though, even if he was a few feet away. 'Jackson,' his mind sighed.

"Well, what will it be?" Liales repeated. Spencer didn't have to answer though, because within seconds, three black SUVs were pulling up behind them, and six figures in Kevlar vests were running out of the cars with loaded guns pointed in their general direction. The law enforcers inched forward, and Liales automatically turned violent again. He loaded his gun and shot a test fire in the sky, screaming at them to get back. He forced his arm around Spencer's neck and dragged him to his feet. Well aware of the fact that he couldn't move with Spencer, Liales made a bold move and aimed the gun at Spencer's forehead. Spencer's eyes quickly darted back to the field where he had seen Jackson. The boy had seemed to freeze, not moving an inch. Greg caught Spencer's gaze and nodded his head. With an approval nod from Hotch and Asiley, he made his way to the back of the field. He needed to stop the boy, and besides, he was a horrible shot.

"Edward Liales, we know what happened here," Hotch started. "We know you raped your brother on this field and then killed him when you saw the cops. We know what you did to those other children as well, and I think we both know that you need to put that gun down and let him go."

"No! You don't know anything!" he hissed back. "He HAS to die!"

"No he doesn't Edward. This man's done nothing wrong," Prentiss shouted back. Her eyes locked on Spencer for a moment, and he nodded. Prentiss cautiously walked closer to them, dropping her gun to the ground.

"What are you doing?" Liales screamed. Prentiss didn't respond, though. Instead, she took a picture from her pocket and threw it on the floor. Liales peered down to see what it was, and he frowned as he saw it. "Where'd you get that? It's mine!"

"We know that your friend there was Nick, your brother. He was seven years old in that picture, wasn't he?" Prentiss pressed on.

"Yeah, he was. We...We were at the state fair. There were so many kids, so many little kids..." Liales shivered, whether it was from fear or pleasure Prentiss wasn't sure, but she knew it was more than likely the latter.

"We know where all your other pictures are. In fact, that man right there has them in his suitcase. If you don't let this man go, then we're going to burn them," she said. She motioned for Morgan to walk forward and drop the suitcase. His eyes also met Spencer's, and they scanned over him to make sure he wasn't badly hurt. Seeming some-what satisfied the kid wasn't about to die or pass out on them, he reluctantly walked away again. "They're all in this case right here, and we know he precious they are to you. We'll make you a deal. Let him go, and we'll give them back-"

"Yeah, and be thrown in jail!" Liales spat.

"Yes, but we can say that you fully cooperated, and they'll take at least two years off your jail time. And even if you don't take the deal, killing him will only add to your jail time, maybe even put you with life without parole, and you'll never be able to see these photographs again," Prentiss bargained. She knew the man was currently delusional, and even now he was swaying to and fro. Everyone knew that he was about to pass out; most likely from accidentally taking some of the drug he gave Spencer. When he woke up again, he wouldn't remember anything that happened on the field, so they could afford to play as many bluffs as they felt deemed necessary.

Suddenly, as if on cue, Liales went down. Spencer fell to the ground opposite of him, and the four agents rushed over to the scene.

"He accidentally took the drug he gave you after the poisoning wore off. He'll be back in a few hours," Prentiss quickly explained as she undid his binds.

"Thanks," Spencer sighed. "And I figured as much." He looked around and frowned, noticing that Hotch and Asiley were currently missing. "Did they go after Greg?" he guessed.

"Yeah, they found Jackson's picture in the drawer," Prentiss nodded. Seeing the incontent look in Spencer's eyes, she sighed. "I know I shouldn't let you do this, but do you want to follow them?" Spencer didn't need to respond, and Prentiss didn't need spoken words to know that he was going to take her up on the offer. She followed the younger agent down the field as he ran toward the back forests. Within seconds, they were in the field, where they found a little back-haired boy crying and Greg grimacing on the floor.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he kept sobbing.

"It's okay Sweetie, it's not your fault," the other police officer shushed.

"I shouldn't have taken the gun! I should've known I would chicken out, anyways! And now...now, when I tried to..." he started crying harshly again before he could finish.

"Hold on Greg; the ambulance is on the way," Asiley frowned.

"What happened?" Prentiss asked.

"Greg talked Jackson down, but when he was about to pass the gun to him, he accidentally pulled the trigger. It would've his Jackson's stomach if Greg hasn't pushed him out of the way," Rossi explained.

"I couldn't let another kid die on my watch," Greg said through gritted teeth. "Not again."

Spencer frowned, and as he tried to bend to sit next to Greg, who had been shot in the arm, he groaned in pain. His stomach was killing him, as was his head, and he was getting more dizzy by the second.

"Sit down Pretty Boy; you probably have a concussion or something," Morgan suggested. Morgan helped Spencer lower himself to the floor so he could rest, and he closed his eyes. "You know you can't fall to sleep yet," he warned.

"There are new studies out debating sleeping while having a concussion. Guess what? They've proved that it's just a myth and that you won't go into a coma if it happens. And even if it was still accurate, I wasn't falling to sleep. I was merely resting my eyes," Spencer mumbled.

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that, kid," Morgan smiled.

"Guys, I see them," Asiley announced. Not even a minute later, two ambulances pulled up on the grass with two gurneys on-hand. Greg was pulled up first, followed shortly by Spencer. The child was escorted toward the front for a check-up, and the remaining people were given instructions toward the hospital. Before being pulled into the ambulance, Spencer turned toward Greg, who smiled at him. He was going to ask him a question that had been bugging him, but before he could form the words, his eyes fell shut again.

~* WL *~

So not the epic fight scene I had been expecting, but there's still at least one 'in your face' moment left. Next up: interrogations, hospital visits, and a conversation between Spencey and his oh-so wonderous 'daddy'. Oh, and we revisit the whole 'i wont let another kid die' thing with Greggo. Crap, I have indeed ripped off CSI, havent I? :) PS, I was going to call this A Shot in the Dark, but it was too spoiler-ish