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A confused Reid looked up from his position on the floor and clutched his throbbing jaw. His head was pounding because it hit the bathtub ledge on his way down. What the hell?
"I told you to call me Sir," was the only answer he received.
Understanding dawned on the genius while he sat on the floor processing the situation. Damn, this man was infuriating. He seemed to be looking for Reid to mess up in any way possible just to punish him. Reid shuddered to think about what would have happened if he lost control of his bladder on the floor. With that thought in mind he decided it was time to get up off the floor and find out what this day had in store for him.
He shuffled out into the main living space saw John sitting at the kitchen table tying his shoes.
"Fix my breakfast boy," John bellowed.
Reid gulped and stepped quickly into the kitchen, "It's going to take a while for the stove to heat up…sir."
A rumble issued forth from John's lips, "Damn it! Just make me some cereal. And you need to fix both of us bag lunches."
"Yes, sir," Reid said quickly and rushed to do the crazy man's bidding. He set some Cherrios in front of John and started making the lunches. While making some ham sandwiches Reid couldn't help but think that John might be taking him out on the boat today. Maybe he would be able to push John off the boat and leave him in the swamp. Or perhaps he could strand him on an island while he retrieves some of his traps. Reid's anticipation of the day was bubbling up inside of him. He almost couldn't contain a girlish squeal from escaping his lips. The future looked so much brighter.
"I don't know what you're so happy about boy. You've got a lot of yard work ahead of you today," John said while crunching his cereal. "Make sure you eat something. You're going to need the fuel."
And just like that Reid's hopes for escape were dashed against the wall. His eagerness immediately deflated out of his body like an unfortunate balloon at a child's birthday party. Why did he have to prepare his own lunch if he was just staying here? Wouldn't he be able to come back in and make it when needed?
Once he had made and bagged the sandwiches with chips on the side, Reid decided to nibble on a piece of bread and wash it down with milk. The measly breakfast made him long for his daily dose of coffee. He knew a caffeine headache wouldn't be far off in his future. He got one every time he was denied his personal wake-up juice.
John left his dishes on the table for Reid to clean up while he walked out the door to prepare his boat. Curious about what John was doing Reid sneaked over to window the cage was under and watched. He saw John load a cooler and a tool box onto the boat. After that John went around the back of the house and grabbed a gas can to top off the fuel tank. Reid scurried away from the window the moment it looked like John was headed back into the house.
John quickly stomped back into the house and grabbed the brown bags. He looked Reid up and down and snorted.
"Ya need to change clothes. Ya can't do yard work in those," he stated.
"I…I don't have any other clothes to wear…uh sir," Reid muttered with his eyes downcast.
"Hold on," John said as he started to raid his dresser. He came back with a pair of drawstring sweats and a t-shirt. He threw them at Reid and waited expectantly for him to change.
Reid scooted his way over to the bathroom and closed the door. He changed his pants but then had to stop when he realized that he couldn't take his shirt off unless John released his hands from the manacles.
He opened the bathroom door and emerged to find a smirking John.
"Need my help don't you?" John asked with amusement in his voice.
Reid just nodded and held out his hands.
John unlocked the chains around his wrists and they swung in front of Reid's chest still attached to the collar. Reid turned to go back into the bathroom but was stopped by John's tsking.
"Just change out here, boy. I don't need you trying to hit me in the head with those," John said gesturing at the swinging chains.
Reid went and retrieved the shirt from the counter in the bathroom and came back out. He changed faster than lightning, not wanting to give the man a longer show than necessary. Unfortunately, John was all over him the moment his arms materialized from the shirt sleeves in order to refasten the restraints.
"Follow me," John simply said and walked out the door.
It was pushing sunrise on the second day of Reid's captivity. The pink and orange hues were streaking through the cypress trees on the eastern side of the island. It was going to be a hot humid sunny day down on the bayou. Reid was thankful that the sun was coming up because he quivered thinking about having to work outside in a dark spooky swamp.
The minute Reid stepped out of the cabin John locked the door, ensuring Reid couldn't get back inside without him.
"Don't want you lying about the house all day," he said as he nudged Reid's back in the direction he wanted him to go.
They walked around to the back of the cabin and stopped by the tool shed. John opened it up and took Reid inside.
"All the tools you'll need today are in here. Look around ya. Everything has a place, and it will be back in its place when I come home. Don't think about pulling another trick like you did with the knife. Now you need to weed the garden, mow the lawn, chop some wood, and do the laundry. I left the basket of dirty clothes down by the water with some detergent. The logs are over there piled by the tree stump with the axe, and I think you can figure out the rest," John explained.
Reid just nodded knowing a verbal response was not needed. He was panicking a little on the inside knowing that all of this work was not going to help is still aching back. In fact it almost seemed like John planned the chores to purposefully inflame the bruised skin. How was he going to get all of this done while enduring his back pain?
Maybe he could try to swim away from here. Well, he would have to dog paddle due to the restraints. On a positive note though, John is leaving him outside without supervision. It's possible he could get through the trees and find a place to hide. Then, when John got home and was busy searching the island for his missing storyteller, Reid could commandeer the boat and take off.
Again the agent's glimmer of hope was put out like a candle in the wind when John grabbed his arm and steered him over to the backside of the house. There was a large coil of chain resting on the ground with a combination lock hanging open on the last link. John wasted no time fastening it to the back of Reid's collar and said, "I want you sitting here waiting for me when I get back."
"Why do you need to lock me up? It's not like I can go anywhere," Reid tried to get the man to change his mind and shook his chains as a reminder.
"Ha…you wouldn't be the first person to try to swim away. I decided this is the best way to avoid that asinine behavior. Anyways, after what you pulled last night I wouldn't put it past you to try something foolish like swimming with alligators," John said as he placed two bottles of water and Reid's lunch bag next to him. "I'll be back late tonight so I'll pick up something for dinner. You're going to be too exhausted to make me a decent meal anyhow."
Reid plopped down in the dirt outside the house and wallowed in his misery. Why did it seem like every plan he devised was spoiled before it got off the ground? Now he was stuck here doing a god-awful amount of back-breaking chores and all the while he was chained to the house like a dog. Reid pulled at the chain knowing it wasn't going to break. This thing was going to get in the way all day too!
He wondered what would happen if he didn't do any of the work John had left for him. After thinking on it for a few minutes he decided he didn't want to find out. So he shoved himself up off the ground and wandered on down to the laundry. He might as well take advantage of the cooler temperatures and shade before the sun made its complete appearance.
"Nothing, we've got absolutely nothing," Morgan said with frustration bright and early the next morning.
"Yeah, I feel like we've hit a dead end," JJ agreed.
"Look, I know that it seems like the trail has gone cold, but there are still things we can do," Hotch said trying to rally the troops and reverse the negative attitude that was threatening to take ahold of them.
"Like what? We've already looked at the suspected abduction sites, you've toured the bayou, Maybell and John really didn't add any information, and the ME examination only gave insight to the unsub not where he is located," Morgan shot back.
"The minute we stop trying is the minute we give up on Reid," Blake tried to argue with Morgan, "and I for one do not plan on giving up."
"I'm not suggesting we give up. I just don't know what else we can do," Morgan said.
"Well, let's start talking about where we think this unsub is holding his victims," Rossi started.
"Are you saying that we are merging Reid's case with the girls?" JJ asked.
"At this point, I'm thinking they're one and the same," Rossi explained.
"Fine by me," Morgan said, "I was thinking that all along anyways. It makes more sense for us all to be focusing our strengths on the same thing."
"So I repeat, what type of location would this unsub prefer?" Rossi asked again.
"Well, he wouldn't want anyone to hear the girls' screams. So, I would focus on isolated areas," Blake said.
"That doesn't help much. This whole place is isolated," JJ stated. "Oh, sorry," she added when she saw the disconcerting look Blake gave her after that statement.
"Don't worry about it. We're all worried about him," she replied soothingly.
"Okay, focus. The girls were all found in alligators that were caught as game. Perhaps the unsub lives out in the bayou," Hotch said redirecting the group.
"You could be right. And, I think it's safe to assume that he has a boat for transportation. How else would he know every twist and turn?" JJ picked up excitedly.
"Yeah, if he's out on the water he could easily conceal the bodies to transport them. Hell, he could even be using them as bait. I think we need to take a serious look at all of the fisherman that frequent this area," Morgan said getting excited that they were finally on to something.
"We're still waiting on Mr. Brookins to get us that map of all of his preferred places to trap. Once we get it we can take it around to the other hunters and have them mark their spots. Then we can get out on the swamp and start looking around for any evidence," Rossi added.
"What type of evidence do you think we'll find at the fishing locations? I mean it's not like we're going to find Rei…a body hanging from a tree as bait," Morgan asked. "Maybe we should ask them to mark dwellings or shelters that are being utilized."
"You've got a point. Okay, here's what we're going to do. You three will split up and take maps around to the locals that are familiar with the swamp. Rossi and I will start with the sheriff and his officers, and then we'll go down to the docks and try to catch some of the workers. We'll all have them mark any buildings that they know of out on the swamp. Afterwards come back and we'll condense all our findings onto one map, and start the physical search from there. Morgan, call Garcia and have her make a list of known structures in the area for us to reference. Tell her to also make a list of all the commercial companies that work in these parts. We may need to interview their workers in addition to the local independent fisherman. It's going to be a long day, but I have a feeling that this work will pay off," Hotch explained before setting off with Rossi.
Doing the laundry took up most of his morning. First of all, he had to overcome the disgust he had when the initial item he picked up to clean was a pair of John's underwear. Honestly, the man should clean his own boxers and spare Reid the revulsion of touching another man's dirty unmentionables. Then, he had to figure out how to use a washboard. Once that was taken care of he set to work on the basket full of laundry. Reid was surprised at how long it actually took to clean the clothes; it always looked easier on the pioneer documentaries he watched. From there he hung up the clothes up to dry on the line not far from the shed.
The day wore on and the blistering humid heat had Reid soaked with sweat well before lunchtime. The sore agent had stopped when the sun was high in the sky to eat the sandwich and drink a whole bottle of water. He had tried to ration the water so he could have one bottle at lunch and one later on in the heat of the day. He was definitely going to tell John that two bottles aren't nearly enough to keep hydrated on a day like today.
After his lunch and a brief break to help his back cope with the work he decided to hit up the gardens. The vegetable garden was at the far end of the island. John must have figured out the length of the chain exactly because Reid wasn't able to go further than the last row of veggies. It took about an hour to pick through the plants and remove the unwanted weeds. All the while he was on his knees bent over, irritating his sores. Maybe once he got away from this psychopath he would let the girls take him to get a massage. He smiled at the idea of hanging out with his friends, and he let it comfort him for a bit.
Once he finished the garden he went and worked on the front flower beds. He had an easier time weeding it because he could sit on the wood that bordered the beds. After about a half hour he declared his work up front done and wandered into the backyard again.
Looking up at the sun he estimated that it was around two. At that point he was dying of thirst and feeling a bit dizzy from the relentless tasks. He polished off the second bottle of water not thinking to save some for later. Then out of desperation Reid went down to the water and waded in as far as the chain would let him. He splashed some of the murky water on his face to relieve the sunburn he could feel blistering on his skin. He wiped his face on his shirt and could feel irritation prickling where he upset the burn. Luckily, the cooling effect of the swamp helped to bring his body temperature down a few degrees and refreshed him enough to continue.
Walking back to the shed Reid looked down at his exposed arms and knew that he was going to have a rough night tonight. It always took a good hour after being in the sun for the full sunburn to emerge and he knew that he was going to be lobster like on all exposed areas.
Begrudgingly he decided to cut the lawn next, clearly avoiding the task of chopping wood. The mower was a simple gas powered model that started after he pulled the cord a few times.
Mowing the lawn turned out to be more of pain that he realized it would be. The chain kept getting in the way. He had to constantly stop to remove the obstruction. At first he got the idea to run over the chain to see if it would break, but realized he had a better chance of breaking the lawn mower than the chain. To make matters worse, there were a ton of obstacles to mow around too which added more time spent on the task.
By the end of the mowing Reid was utterly exhausted and dying of thirst. He knew that he wouldn't be able to make a dent in the wood pile. It didn't matter anyways, how was he supposed to swing an axe with restrained hands? Reid chose to collapse against the side of the house and curl up in the shade to take a nap.
He must have fallen asleep because a clap of thunder jolted him awake a while later. He scrambled off the ground and looked up to the sky. The atmosphere had gone dark and there were thunderheads rolling over the top of the house. A streak of lightning crashed down from the clouds and Reid counted the seconds until the thunder sounded. He estimated that the storm was about five miles off so he started to make his way to the tool shed for shelter.
Reid was cursing John for not getting back yet. What was taking him so long? Now he had to endure a thunderstorm in a dark unstable shelter filled to the brim with sharp tools. The genius was so lost in in his tirade against his captor that half way to the shed he tripped over a portion of the chain that he hadn't bothered to wind up earlier.
He tried to throw his hands out to break his fall but it didn't really work. Instead he scolded himself for being inattentive and groaned at his world renowned clumsiness. All of a sudden he heard loud rumble but it wasn't thunder. Reid forced his head up and found himself looking right into the open jaws of an alligator.
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