Chapter 11-The Nightmare Begins

"He who has faith has…an inward reservoir of courage, hope, confidence, calmness, and assuring trust that all will come out well - even though to the world it may appear to come out badly." - B.C. Forbes

Hotch couldn't relax much less sleep. As his mind was clearer now, it was working overtime trying to figure a way to free himself from his restraints and escape from Armitage, or at least let his team know where he was being held as soon as he knew himself. Glancing to his right he noticed a small window with horizontal bars and signs of evening were present or at least seemed like it. He wasn't sure right now as he had no idea how long he'd been unconscious due to the Phenobarbital. But it was apparent to him from what little he had been exposed to that Armitage had planned for this moment for a long time and had apparently thought of everything. But Hotch refused to believe that Armitage hadn't overlooked something, anything, that might lead his team to where he was holding him. Think, Aaron, think!

Lifting his head, Hotch again glanced around the room he was in to see if there was anything he perhaps had missed earlier. Unfortunately, the only thing he noticed that he had missed earlier was a thirteen-inch television set sitting on a small table against the wall facing the bed. There was also a smaller door in the far corner which Hotch suspected might be a bathroom, and he realized then he did have to go. If he could convince Armitage to untie him thus allowing him to use the bathroom, he could perhaps overpower him. But first he had to get him into his room.

"Armitage! I need to speak with you!" Hotch shouted. "It's important! Armitage!"

It was a good five minutes before Armitage opened the door to Hotch's room and stared at the agent. "What can I do for you, Aaron? Want some company?" he smirked.

"No. I need to use the bathroom, but I can't tied up like this," Hotch said calmly keeping any hostility out of his voice.

After a minute, Armitage shrugged his shoulders. "No problem. Just give me a minute. I'll be right back." He turned and walked out the room leaving the door open, only to return a short time later holding two items in his hands both of which Hotch immediately recognized causing him to inwardly shudder; one was a stun belt and the other a remote control for it. He had seen them before and knew the pain one could inflict on a person. Armitage grinned wickedly as he held up the belt while approaching the bed. "I see you recognize it. Like it? I managed to have a fellow inmate obtain it for me. Never asked how he got it though. In fact, you knew him. Shane Cooper. He wore one of these during his trial I believe. He hated you too. In exchange for getting me this, all he asked is that since he knew I was planning on escaping, was that I take him with me so he could help me get revenge on you. So, I did. Only thing he didn't know was once everything was set up, I had no further need of him. I wasn't willing to share you with anybody. So I killed him. In fact, he's buried in the basement of this house. But you have to answer the call of nature and I'm stopping you, aren't I? So, once I have you all secure, I'll release you." Standing beside the bed, Armitage pulled Hotch's shirt from inside his trousers and proceeded to slide the thick black waistband with the battery attached to the back under Hotch's body until he was sure the battery rested against the kidney area of his lower back, and fastened it in a way so the device could not be unfastened or removed. (1) Once he was satisfied, Armitage undid the buckle of the strap across Hotch's chest and one of the wrist cuffs. Then, he stepped back well out of the agent's reach. "You can undo the other buckles yourself and then go to the bathroom. But you'll leave the door open so I can make sure you don't try anything. When you're done, you will return to the bed and lay back down again. Got it?"

Hotch's eyes never strayed from his captor as he proceeded to unbuckle the other restraints. He saw Armitage smile as he held the remote control device where he could see it. The agent slowly swung his legs over the edge of the bed and put his feet on the floor, then just as slowly pushed himself up from the bed and shakily walked in the direction of the smaller room. He hated the thought of having to have such a private moment as using the bathroom witnessed by another person as he unzipped his fly, but now was not the time to antagonize his captor. As he emptied his bladder, he ever so slightly turned his head to see Armitage leaning against the wall near the open door of the outer room with a smirk and his arms crossed.

When he was finished, Hotch zipped his pants, flushed the toilet, and moving to the sink, washed his hands; his mind still racing. The only thing he could think of was to make a rush at Armitage at the last moment hopefully catching him off-guard before he could activate the remote. After drying his hands on a small towel, Hotch slowly exited the bathroom, his eyes on his captor the entire time.

"I know what you're thinking, Aaron, and I wouldn't if I were you," Armitage said.

As Hotch started to pass Armitage, he suddenly lunged at the man but having been drugged twice slowed his reflexes just a bit, and as his fingers were about to touch the man, Hotch suddenly reached for his lower back gritting his teeth from the electrical shock as he collapsed, incapacitated, to the floor. Armitage knew he had to move quickly as incapacitation would only last for a few seconds before severe pain would set in for about eight additional seconds. He quickly dragged Hotch over to the bed and laid his upper body on it quickly buckling one wrist cuff. Hotch gritted his teeth in agony as he felt his legs being tossed up onto the bed and the strap across his check being buckled. By the time the pain began to subside, Hotch was completely restrained again. The agent kept taking deep breaths hoping to ease the pain.

"I warned you, Aaron," Armitage said calmly as he sat on the edge of the bed. "You received an electrical shock of fifty-thousand volts above your left kidney which then entered your body. First you become incapacitated for 3 or 4 seconds, and then 8 seconds of severe agony, but you already know that. How'd you enjoy it?"

"Bastard!" Hotch whispered through still gritted teeth as the pain was slowly lessening until reduced to a throbbing in the area of his left kidney.

Armitage chuckled and got to his feet. "I have some errands to do in order to prepare for when the time comes to kill you. And uh, you won't be able to go anywhere, trust me. I won't be gone long." Walking to the door leading out of the room, he looked back at his captive and turned on the television. "Why don't you watch some television while I'm gone? Who knows. There might even be something about you on the news." He walked out of the room closing the door behind him leaving Hotch alone with a television set for company.

With the exception of JJ, the other members of Hotch's team walked into the bullpen determined to go over everything they had and come up with a way to find and rescue their Unit Chief and friend before it was too late. They were sitting around the conference table when Rossi's cell rang. The older agent answered the cell after seeing who it was.

"JJ, wait a minute while I put you on speaker." Rossi pressed a button on his phone and sat it on the table. "Go ahead."

"I had the lab put a rush on things. There was definitely Phenobarbital in the syringe and as far as the latex gloves are concerned, there's good news and bad news depending on how you look at it."

"What's the good news?" asked Reid twirling a pencil in his hands.

"There was a fingerprint of a index finger found in one of the latex gloves and when they ran it against AFIS they found a match for a Jason Armitage."

Rossi held his breath sensing the shoe was about to drop. "And the bad news?"

There was a moment of silence before JJ spoke again. "Jason Armitage was one of three escapees from prison more than a week ago who were convicted by Hotch when he was a prosecutor. He committed suicide rather than be re-arrested. Also, he wasn't a big fan of Hotch's. In fact, he hated him."

The agents all exchanged puzzled looks. How could somebody who died more than a week ago leave a fingerprint at a recent crime scene?

"Do they know how Armitage committed suicide, JJ?" asked Morgan.

"Yeah, they do. Apparently when the police got into his home, he was found in the bedroom with most of his face obliterated from a shotgun blast with the weapon found near the body. His wife's body was found nearby with her throat cut. They believe he killed his wife then killed himself."

Rossi let out a deep breath of frustration while Reid appeared lost in thought. "How soon can you be back here?"

"I should be there within the hour."

"Okay," Rossi said. "Soon as you get back come and join us. We'll still be here in the conference room."

"Okay."

Reid suddenly leaned forward. "JJ, wait a minute. You said Armitage's body was found with most of his face obliterated by a shotgun blast. Did they do an autopsy on the body to confirm his identity?"

"You know, now that you ask, no they didn't. There was no dental record check because of the shotgun blast damage. But they did check fingerprints and there was an exact match. Why?"

Reid seemed surprised. "I find that really strange. Weird in fact."

"I see what you mean, Spence," JJ said. "If Armitage's fingerprints match those of the body found in his home over a week ago, how could his fingerprint show up on a pair of latex gloves a few short days ago?"

"Exactly," Reid replied.

"See you when you get here, JJ," Rossi said before disconnecting the call. He pocketed the cell before folding his hands atop the table and exchanging looks with the others before landing on Reid. "Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?"

Reid shrugged. "I don't know. What are you thinking?"

"That Armitage may have faked his own death," said the older agent. He noticed the younger man give him a small smile.

"But how does Shane Cooper fit into this?" asked Prentiss, puzzled. "We know Hotch was held at Cooper's house for a short time. But why there? Could they be working together? I mean, both of them hated Hotch."

Rossi stroked his beard for a long minute. "We need to speak with Brandon Cooper again and this time apply pressure. I don't care what he told us before. If he could help his brother somehow I think he would even if his brother wanted nothing to do with him."

"Want me to talk with him tomorrow?" asked Morgan looking at the older agent.

"Yeah," Rossi replied having gotten up and was pacing slowly back and forth. He didn't want anyone to see how afraid he was for his best friend and what he could be enduring right now providing he was still alive.

"You know," Prentiss began, "Something's been bothering me for awhile."

"What's that?" asked Morgan leaning back in his chair as he studied her.

"Well, if you remember, Hotch said when he came to work that day, he found an envelope on his desk in his office with no return address on it, just his name."

"So?" Morgan asked not understanding what she was getting at.

"So how did the envelope get there to begin with if there was no return address on it, no nothing except Hotch's name?" Prentiss continued.

Morgan waved his hands. "It was probably delivered by whoever delivers the mail to the various units."

Prentiss shook her head. "What I'm saying is how did it get through the mail with no address at all?"

Morgan suddenly comprehended what Prentiss was saying. "Somebody had to slip it into the mail cart! Whoever delivers the mail once it's in the cart wouldn't think twice about a plain envelope with Hotch's name on it. He would just deliver it."

Rossi stopped pacing. "We need to speak to the person who delivered the mail the day Hotch got that first letter." He checked his watch and then looked at Prentiss. " They may still be sorting the mail downstairs in the mail room. Go down there now and see if whoever delivered the mail that day is still there. We need to know if he or she accepted a plain envelope from anybody for Hotch."

As Prentiss got to her feet, JJ walked into the room, her blond hair tied back in a ponytail, a Styrofoam coffee cup in her hand. She and Prentiss exchanged smiles as they passed each other. She quickly sat down at the conference table, placing her coffee in front of her, a puzzled look on her face. "I just had the strangest conversation in the deli downstairs," she said looking at Rossi.

"What happened?" the older agent asked leaning forward, palms face down on the table.

"When I arrived, I stopped at the deli to get a cup of coffee before coming up here and Todd was there alone cleaning up. I asked him where Jerry was as he usually cleans up before closing and he said Jerry quit a few days ago."

"I don't understand," Rossi said. "What's so strange about that?"

JJ looked directly at Rossi. "From what he said, Jerry quit the day we left for Alexandria regarding the murders."

Hotch finally let out a deep breath as the pain he had earlier felt was now reduced to a dull ache. He glanced at the television screen trying to keep his mind off the pain knowing that if he got another chance to overpower his captor, he would have to be quicker than last time; but first he'd have to find a way to let his team know where he was. The only trouble was that he didn't even know where he was right now except that from what he remembered. He recalled Armitage had said something about them leaving Alexandria and since he had been unconscious, he had no idea where or how long the journey had been. Then something on the television screen caught his attention.

It was a newscaster preparing to deliver the news. "Good evening," he said. "And here's the news of the day in Fairfax, Virginia."

Fairfax! If there was some way to let the team know he was in Fairfax, Virginia, Hotch didn't know what it was right now. He tugged again at the restraints but they wouldn't budge. "Damn!" he muttered in frustration.

"Bad news, Aaron?" a voice quipped.

Shifting his eyes, Hotch spotted Armitage standing in the doorway with an amused smirk on his face. Hotch glared at the man. "Are we in Fairfax?" he asked tersely.

"We are," Armitage replied calmly. "Not that it matters to you." He chuckled as he folded his arms; Hotch was beginning to despise this arrogant, smug bastard but also knew he had to be careful. "Did you miss me?" the man asked.

Hotch returned a smirk of his own. "If I said yes you'd know I was lying, so I won't say it."

"I'm going to miss you after you're gone, Aaron. But where you'll be going I wouldn't want to be anyway."

Hotch arched an eyebrow. "And where am I supposedly going?"

"To hell where you belong. I'm sure there will be people there who can't wait for you to show up."

Hotch's anger started to get the better of him. "And what makes you think you won't be joining me, Armitage? Hmm? You're nothing but a murdering, lying coward who killed a man and your wife both in cold blood."

Armitage's face suddenly became dark; his eyes flashed angrily. "I'd watch my mouth if I were you, Aaron. Or I just might forget the torture and go straight to killing you." His eyes suddenly narrowed. "How did you know I killed my wife? I told you she committed suicide after I was sentenced."

Hotch shook his head. "No she didn't. I know you killed her because a man like you who fakes his own death couldn't let the one person who could possibly expose him live. You had to kill her. I don't doubt you loved her; that much was evident at your trial, and it pained you to have to kill her. But I believe you saw how much she was suffering after the death of your child and figured instead of putting her through the additional trauma of having to deal with that on her own as well as having to deal with you faking your death, you killed her."

Armitage gritted his teeth. "She. Committed. Suicide." He accented each word separately.

"You killed her to spare her. It was your way of showing her how much you loved her. But you'd rather tell yourself she committed suicide because that way you can blame me for her death as well. It's something else to fuel your hatred of me."

Armitage stepped further into the room. Hotch could see the anger on his face. "You shut up!" he snarled.

"Tell me something, Jason. Did your wife know you planned to kill her all along? Or did you let her think you were taking her with you when you disappeared?"

Armitage suddenly lunged at Hotch and wrapped both hands tightly around the agent's throat and began to strangle him. Hotch couldn't breathe and wondered if he had pushed things too far too soon. "You are to blame, you bastard!" Armitage hissed as he tightened his grip even more and just as suddenly released the agent. "Very good, Agent Hotchner. You baited me, but no. I won't kill you at least not yet." Reaching into his pocket he carefully removed a pocket knife and exposed the blade. "But I will do this instead." That said, he gripped Hotch's jaw and held his head still, and with the other, drew a line down his left cheek from just under his eye to his jaw leaving a thin line of red in its wake. Then he repeated what he did on Hotch's right cheek but instead of a line he made an 'X'. Hotch gritted his teeth with each cut, squeezing his eyes shut. Smirking again, Armitage stood up and admired his work. "I wonder if your wife would find you so attractive if she saw you now; or if how you look would frighten your son?"

Hotch slowly opened his eyes and took a deep breath as his face hurt and the cuts burned.

"Just so you know, Aaron; I didn't cut deep at all. I wouldn't want you to bleed to death on me. But, they might get infected. Just have to wait and see I guess." He tilted his head a bit. "See what you made me do before I was ready? You made me do this before time." He sighed tiredly. "You might be in pain right now, and it may be difficult, but I do suggest you rest because in a few hours the real fun begins. And by that I mean what I just did will seem like nothing compared to what I will do." He abruptly turned and stormed out of the room pulling the door closed behind him.

Hotch took several breaths which did not do much to ease the pain in his face. In fact, despite what happened, the agent was grateful for one thing and that was that Armitage didn't use the remote to activate the stun belt again. He thought it was strange he thought of that instead of how to get out of this mess. Reid would call it weird, Hotch thought. For some strange reason he found that amusing and allowed a small smile to appear but immediately grimaced from the motion. Closing his eyes, he let his mind drift to Haley and Jack in order to give himself the strength not to give up but to fight and survive.

(1) The stun belt could be fastened around the subject's waist, leg or arm and carries a battery and control pack and contains features to stop the subject from being able to unfasten or remove it. It is activated by remote control. It is used to control inmates in prison and some defendants who were known to disrupt court proceedings. Is also believed to be used to psychologically threaten, humiliate and degrade a prisoner.