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Reid gripped the edge of the porcelain toilet seat, his eyes watering as his body forced the food from his stomach. Finished, he leaned back against the opposite wall, panting. He then heard Garcia announce that the video feed was here and, unable to control himself, he doubled over the toilet seat again. Only this time, he felt a small hand rub circles on his back. He finished and found the hand belonged to JJ.
"Thanks." Reid mumbled, pushing himself up and flushing the toilet.
JJ watched worriedly as he washed his hands and rinsed his mouth.
"JJ, I'm fine."
JJ sighed. "Spence…"
"I said I'm fine!" He exclaimed, startling the blonde. Seeing the hurt expression on her face, he backtracked. "JJ, I didn't mean to…"
She cut him off. "You don't always need to be fine, Spencer. You have every right to be upset about this whole thing. We all are. Just let me know, I want to help you."
"You can't help with this though." He mumbled, sounding defeated.
"No, but I can be there for you. Don't leave me in the dark, Spence."
Spencer finally met her eyes. "I'm sorry." His voice shook. "I just…"
JJ grabbed him and pulled him into a hug. "I know. Me too."
-:-
Minutes later, JJ brought Reid back to the room where most the team was gathered around one of Garcia's screens. Garcia herself, however, was typing furiously at another laptop, tears pouring down her cheeks, but focused as ever.
She saw Reid walk in. "Hey. Better?"
Reid shook his head. She just gave a knowing nod and continued. Reid and JJ pushed their way through the little group around the other computer and stole a glance at the screen. There was Bella and Andrew, both knocked out, strapped to chairs in the same big room he had seen two other teenagers get murdered just hours ago. "Has he done anything yet?" Reid asked, afraid of the answer.
Morgan sighed. "No. The stupid son of a bitch hasn't even showed up on screen yet. Garcia?" He asked.
She looked up from her screen. "Yeah, um, the Todd Rivers whose info you gave me is in the hospital. He has been there for twelve years."
"What?" Morgan replied.
"I know. But I think I know who our real guy is. It's his son, Malcolm. The Rivers were a wealthy family. Their mother died when he was car accident when Malcolm was sixteen. His father, little twin siblings and Malcolm were all in the car, but everyone no one else was hurt. After the accident, the twins and Malcolm often missed school. CPS went to investigate. When they arrived, the twins were shot dead and Malcolm had stabbed the father multiple times. He said it was self defense. He claimed his father went on rampage when he heard CPS was coming. CPS then put him in a foster home for two years, because the father went into a coma."
"Why would the father try to kill the kids?" Emily questioned.
"Well, when they examined the bodies of the twins it showed both kids were heavily abused. Broken bones, bruises and, get this, severe burns, branding and scraped knees with glass shards in them. He probably panicked."
"What about Malcolm?"
"Physically, Malcolm was fine. It says he underwent much therapy and finished off school…then nothing." She announced quietly.
"Nothing?" Rossi asked.
"Yeah. After he finished school, there's nothing else. No credit cards, no license, nothing on him since then. However, the father's credit card is still in use."
"But isn't the father in a coma?" Hotch asked.
"Well, not anymore. He woke up, paralyzed…two weeks ago. But he's hospitalized. But still, it looks like Malcolm has been using his dad's credit card up." She confirmed, typing away.
Just then, a yelp came from the other computer screen. Everyone turned to see the man in a red hood press a long piece of metal with a white tip to Andrew's wrist. He woke and immediately groaned, squirming and crying. The team watched in horror as he tried to pull away. Finally, he took it off of him. Andrew panted, his eyes closed.
The man laughed and turned to Bella. Andrew opened his eyes.
"Wait!" Andrew yelled weakly. "Please don't. Please. Don't hurt her."
"What the hell is wrong with you, boy?" He sneered, grabbing Bella's hand and jamming the metal to it. Bella jerked, but didn't open her eyes or make a sound. When he finally released her hand, it fell limp on her lap.
-:-
I awoke to the sound of slap. I grunted and tried to open my eyes. It wasn't working. I waited a minute before blinking again. Things came into view. I was in a big room. It was wooden and large and smelled like…hay? It was a barn. I tried to focus. Yep. It was definitely a big, old barn. Half of it was dimly lit and the other part faded into a thick blackness. I heard another ripping sound. I forced my head to look left. I saw Andrew, tied to a chair. His hands were in his lap and the man was standing in front of him, his dirty face inches from Andrew's. Even with my eyes blurry, I could see that Andrew awake. His eyes were hard and he glared right back at the man, seemingly fearless. It all came rushing back, like a movie on fast forward. The poker game, the man, the suitcases, the needle. I looked down at myself. I was also bound to a chair. Then, I felt pain of a thousand knives being stuck in my wrist.
"Ah!" I yelled weakly, my hand burning. The man tore his face away from Andrew's.
"Hello. Burns doesn't it?" He growled, grinning and walking over to me.
I tried to think but my arm just kept burning. I moaned again, unable to help it.
"Why?" I asked, trying to form sentences with the pain pulsing through my veins.
"Oh, you don't know? Let me show you." The man said, walking around to the back of my chair. He untied my hands and plopped them on my lap, making the pain worsen. "Take a look." He teased. I used my right hand to pick up my burning left one, so I could examine it close up. There, burned right into my wrist, was a sideways eight. The infinity sign. It was currently pale white and burning like it was still on fire. "Like it?" He asked, running his finger across the back of my neck, making me shiver. "I do." He whispered. He glanced at his watch. "Oh, time to check the stream!" He exclaimed before sprinting across the room, into the dark.
"Bells?" I heard Andrew say. I looked at him then glanced back to where the man had disappeared. "It's okay. It takes him a little while to come back. You can talk." He reassured.
I lifted my hands. "Do you have one?" I asked, knowing the answer but hoping it wasn't true.
"Yeah, don't think about it though. It helps." He said.
"How long have you been up?" I questioned, still feeling the sharp pain in my wrist.
"A while. Don't worry, he didn't do much. He leaves every now and then. He won't be back for a bit." He informed.
"What's he checking?" I wondered, confused.
"I don't know… He answered, shrugging, then wincing.
"I'm sorry." I whispered, crying.
"Hey now. There is no need for that. Bells, listen to me. I know you're upset, but you need to just forget about it and focus if we want to get out of here." Andrew said.
"Forget about it? How the hell am I supposed to forget that this is my fault? I have made way too much trouble for the team and I've put my best friend's life on the line. Why would me focusing even help? I can't do anything to save us, I got us here to begin with. We might as well not bother."
Andrew smiled, despite the situation. "I'm your best friend?" He asked, smirking.
"This is not the time!" I scolded. Then I thought about how we might die. "But yes. You are."
"You know, this isn't your fault." Andrew tried to convince her.
"Can you stop? It is. I made you leave the room." I countered, feeling a tad bit dizzy.
The sound of heavy footsteps echoed through the barn and suddenly he appeared from the dark area of the barn, his fists clenched and eyes burning with rage.
"Get up!" He yelled, spit flying out of his mouth. He reached my chair and grabbed the tape from my midsection, ripping it off. He then grabbed my shoulders and pulled me to a standing position. I wobbled and struggled to stand on my hurt leg. Keeping one hand clenched tightly around me arm, he removed the tape from Andrew as well. Gripping our arms he guided us to the large pile of broken glass bottles on the floor. He stopped at the edge of the pile and looked into the darkness.
"This is just for you." He said before pushing down on the our shoulders, forcing us to kneel on the pile.
I immediately cried out, the pain unbearable. My knee was still throbbing. Andrew winced when the glass pierced his skin.
He turned towards the kids. "Sit on your knees. And stay there. Make one move and I'll kill you both. Got it?" He explained, his face blank.
I nodded. He turned to Andrew. "And you?" He asked.
Andrew just stared at him.
"Andrew. Agree." I urged softly, not sure what he was doing.
After a moment Andrew responded in a voice so confident, I wasn't sure where it was coming from. "Why should I?"
"Andrew..." I began.
Andrew cut me off. "No, Bells. He can't control me. And he shouldn't be able to control you either."
"You're right."
The man laughed. "Oh. Andrew. We have ways of controlling you." He growled, walking over to me. He pulled a gun from his back pocket and placed it to my temple. Andrew's eyes grew. "Not so tough now, huh?"
Andrew opened his mouth to respond, but I spoke up.
"Don't Andrew. You don't have to agree." I exclaimed, trying to not flinch at the gun to my head.
"I'm not taking the chance." Andrew said to me. He looked up at the man. "Fine. We agree."
"That's what I thought." He stated, lowering the gun.
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