Sorry it's taking me so long to update... Just bear with poor old me. Thanks again for reading and reviewing.
ENJOY!
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Chapter IV
UPWARD ELEVATORS
SSA Emily Prentiss and SSA David Rossi pulled up their SUV at the Upward Elevators offices. They were there to find out if the UNSUB was working in the premises. They didn't have too much time and they needed the help of the people who may have had been in contact with the person who was tormenting their lives putting innocent civilians and their friend's lives at risk.
Miss Janey Jacobs greeted them and guided them to her Human Resources office.
"Miss Jacobs," started Rossi, "I believe you know why we're here. We need your help to find out who is behind all this."
"Like I told you on the phone, I've checked all the employees' files, but none of them seems to fit the description you've already given me" explained the tall brunette woman in front of them.
"How about someone working as a freelance computer technician?" asked Prentiss. "This is someone who wouldn't have time to work a 9 to 5 job. He needs time in his hands to pull something like this. Maybe someone who moved here from Florida recently?"
"I have a list here of all the freelance technicians we subcontract, but it's a long list and it would take a long time to go over it" offered the Human Resources employee. "And we don't have too much time information on them. We just send them the data; they do their job and send us the invoice."
"Could you give us the list? Our computer analyst can go over it in no time and she may find more information" said Rossi checking his watch.
"But it would be impossible to go over this list, check backgrounds and everything in such a short period of time" argued Miss Jacobs.
"Oh, you don't know Miss Garcia. For her, there's nothing impossible" explained Prentiss, already taking the disk with the information the woman was handing to her.
Prentiss and Rossi left the building and hurried to their SUV.
"Do you think we'll solve this in time?" asked Prentiss in a small voice, once she was buckled up.
"We better do it" was the only answer she received from Rossi, who hit the sirens to open his way through traffic.
Once in the BAU headquarters, they found the rest of the team working on the little information they had on the case.
"We have a list of employees and freelance technicians working for Upward Elevators" said Prentiss entering the room.
"Garcia, go over the information. Look for someone with computer knowledge, who may have lived in Florida" said Hotch.
"Ok, sir" answered Penelope, entering the parameters in her computer.
"Check for someone with family problems, any elevator related accident" added Emily.
"He knows about bombs and he's well-organized, he may have been in the military" offered Morgan.
"If the UNSUB is in this list, we should have a name in the next few minutes" said Garcia, knowing that every minute was critical.
10:40 AM
SSA Dr. Spencer Reid sat in a corner of the cursed elevator. He had been waiting to receive a phone call with good news from his team members, but nothing had come yet. He knew the odds. He didn't want to call them, knowing that they surely were busy figuring out the situation.
They had 20 minutes before the next fall. Three floors. He just wished there was something he could do inside there. He hated feeling so powerless with so many things going around his head and nothing to do to help himself and the others.
"Excuse me." He heard Linda say.
"Yes?" answered Reid. At least, now she was willing to talk to him. Maybe a little bit of conversation could take their minds off the fact that the elevator would drop again in the next few minutes.
"You're an FBI agent, right?"
"Yes, I am."
"Have you ever been in this kind of situation?" The terror was palpable in her voice and Reid felt sorry for her. She was too young to die. They all were.
"I've been in difficult situations, yeah. But don't worry, some of the best minds in the FBI are working on this." Reid gave a small smile and added, "I'm confident that they'll take us out of here." He was now talking to the camera above, knowing that his friends were on the other side.
"But I don't get it. Why would someone do something like this?" asked the blonde girl.
"Control. Maybe this is someone who doesn't have control over his own life and feels the need to control others. This is his weapon of choice," offered Reid, in his profiler voice.
"So he's a coward. He doesn't have the guts to kill someone in person and chooses to hide himself behind an elevator." Linda said raising her voice and almost yelling.
"You could say that" whispered Spencer, unaware of the fact that all words spoken in the elevator were being heard by an angry man with the power of blowing them up in any second.
10:45 AM
"So, I'm a coward? I'll show them not to talk about me like that" said the UNSUB in an angry voice filled with hatred.
He then started entering something in his computer which was next to the TV with the image of the elevator's interior.
10:50 AM
Reid's phone started ringing. Finally. The doctor closed his eyes and answered wishing to heat that the nightmare would soon be over.
"Reid."
"Hey, kid. How are you?" asked a worried Morgan.
"Fine, just bored. Is there any news?" As much as he trusted his team, he knew they couldn't solve a case in an hour. He'd just have to keep waiting and keep hoping for the best.
"Garcia is checking something to see if we can find this son of a bitch." Morgan clenched his jaw to try to remain calm.
Then he continued: "Reid, we've learned that this guy is listening to everything you say in there."
"Oh, so, he already knows I am..." The younger FBI agent didn't have to finish the question.
"Yeah, he knows you're one of us," answered Derek.
Spencer opened his eyes and something caught his attention. The light in the display of the floor number had started to flicker. That was something new. Reid had already studied every bit of the elevator and he was sure that hadn't happened before.
Morgan noticed his friend's reaction to something inside the confined space he was in.
"Reid? What's wrong?"
"There's a red light flickering in the display. I don't know what that is" explained Reid, frowning.
Hotch, paying attention to the image and his two subordinates' conversation, said: "We still have some minutes before the next---"
Suddenly, the elevator started its way down once again into a long black shaft. The three unlucky passengers in the interior of the enclosed capsule were caught off guard. None of them was prepared for the dropping.
With the abruptness of the downfall, Linda's voice boomed crazily from somewhere inside. Reid's body was plummeted downward and he then felt he was flying. He could feel it was free falling. As it passed each floor, it would make a terrifying grinding noise, till it finally jolted to a stop.
SSA Dr. Spencer Reid's body and those of his two companions crashed into the floor ending up in a crumpled heap.
That's it for now. Not very wordy today, sorry.
Thanks for reading...