Escalation
Chapter 2
Connections

"Disobedience brings its own problems." Howard Bansill

'I think I have found a link between the victims.' Reid said. Hotch was looking over his shoulder at the screen on his laptop. 'The trouble is, the last man to go missing, Mr Peter Bridle, does not fit into the pattern.

'It is possible that Bridle is unconnected.' Hotch said. 'What have you found?'

'Well, it's not the victims that are connected, but their place of work. All three companies employ the same cleaning crew.'

'I'll send Rossi and Prentiss to talk to Hanna. Meanwhile, see what names come up if you cross reference them. Get Garcia to help you.'

-0-0-0-

'We don't have any premises yet.' Hanna said. Her eyes were red through crying and she had a tissue in her hand that she was tearing to pieces. 'Pete does all the work in his workshop at the moment. We were hoping.... '

Hanna started to cry again. Prentiss leaned across and took her hand.

'I know this is difficult for you, Mrs Bridle,' she said gently, 'but the more information that you can give us, the more likely we will find your husband.'

Hanna blinked back the tears and looked straight at Emily, gaining strength from her.

'I have a cleaner who comes here twice a week though, if that's any help.' she said.

'It could be.' Rossi said. 'What is her name?'

'It's a man and his name is Curtis. He didn't come this week though. He called to say he was sick. I have an address.'

Dave and Emily rushed back to the BAU with this new information, just as Reid came up with the same name on his cross reference check with Garcia.

'So there's the connection.' Hotch said. 'Let's pay Curtis a visit.'

-0-0-0-

They parked the car at the end of the road where Curtis was reported as living. It was a run down neighbourhood with wheel-less cars propped up on bricks in some of the yards. Some had made an effort to make their homes nicer, and a few sorry looking flowers grew in one or two of the front gardens.

Not in number twenty six though. Prentiss and Reid went to the back of the row of houses, and Morgan skirted around the house. Hotch and Rossi knocked on the front door.

'FBI!' Hotch said. 'Open up.'

There was no sign of movement in the house, and Hotch tried the door. It was not locked, and he pushed it open. Rossi went in after Hotch, and out of the periphery of his vision, he saw something or someone move.

'Freeze!'

There was a man at the end of the hall, standing in the shadows. He made a run for the back door and ran straight into Morgan, who tackled him to the ground.

'Matthew Curtis,' he said, clicking the cuffs on his wrists, 'you are under arrest for kidnapping and murder.'

-0-0-0-

'It is in your best interests to co operate with us.' Morgan said. 'If we find Peter Bridle alive through your co operation, it will look good for you in court.'

'I don't know what you are talking about. Who is Peter Bridle?'

Morgan banged his fist on the table, making Curtis jump. 'Now I know that you are lying!' he said. 'You clean his house twice a week.'

'Oh is that his name?' Curtis said with a smirk. 'The one with the hot wife.'

Morgan wanted to punch his lights out. He left the room to cool off, and joined Hotch and Rossi in the viewing room next door.

'Leave him to think about it for an hour or two, then go back in. Turn the heating down. Let's make him uncomfortable, and see how that affects him.' Hotch said.

The three agents stood and watched Curtis for a few minutes, and then Hotch left and called Garcia, who was checking out the other names on the list of the cleaning crew.

'Curtis is the only name that comes up.' she said. 'But I have the address of the employer.'

'That's good work, Penelope. I'll send Prentiss and see what she can find out about Curtis.' Hotch said. 'Especially time off in the last three months.' He cut the connection and went to talk to Emily

'This is the address of the employer in charge of the cleaning crew.' he said, handing her the address. 'Get over there and see what you can find out about Curtis, especially time off. Take Morgan with you.'

Hotch sat alone at the table, looking at the evidence board. At first glance there didn't seem to be any correlation between the snatch sites and the victim dumps. If they could just see a pattern, they could predict where Bridle would be thrown when they had had enough. There had been no press conference, so they were hoping that the victim was still alive.

As he went over the case in his mind, the leading detective came across with a telephone.

'I think it might be a lead, Agent Hotchner. He asked specifically for you.'

Hotch frowned as he took the phone from him. How did they get his name?

'Hotchner.' he said.

'I have some information, Mr Hotchner, but I will only give it to you. Meet me at the Montford Motel on highway ten in thirty five minutes. Come alone otherwise I won't talk to you.' and the line went dead.

He looked at the handset for a second, and then he called Garcia again.

'I need the address of the Montford Motel, highway ten, as quickly as you can.'

He heard a few taps of the keys, and she said, 'Sending it to your PDA now.

This was too good an opportunity to miss. The informant had said to come alone, but Hotch wasn't stupid. He decided to take Reid, and he could drop him off a short distance from the Motel. He needed the back up.

-0-0-0-

'Did the informant give any clue as to what the information was?' Reid asked, as they got into the SUV.

'Nothing. I am suspicious that it could be a trap, but I can't ignore the possibility that it's genuine. I'll need you to back me up when we get there.'

Reid settled himself into the passengers' seat. 'How far out is the Motel?'

'Garcia said it is fifteen miles along highway ten.' Hotch said. He looked at his wristwatch. 'We have twenty minutes to get there. I am going to have to drive fast.'

The sun was going down as the SUV pulled out of the parking lot and hit the traffic. Highway ten was left at the lights and then right. Hotch took the corner and drove out of town.

Highway ten was a bit of a misnomer. The road skirted the mountains that surrounded the city on three sides, but it was seldom used, and went down to two lanes within a mile of leaving the city limits. Hotch drove south along the road, keeping away from the edge of the road that was built on a precipice. It was dark now, and his headlights picked out the road ahead, winding around the contours of the hill.

'This doesn't feel right.' Hotch said.

'I agree with you. It seems like a strange place to set up a meeting.' Reid said. 'Why so far out of town?'

'Maybe he's scared.' Hotch said doubtfully.

They rounded another corner, and there was a fallen tree blocking the road. Hotch slewed sideways and stopped short of the branches.

'Damn it. Now what?'

Reid was about to get out of the SUV when a van with its lights turned off followed them around the corner.

'It's going to hit us!Get out, Hotch!' Reid shouted, but before Hotch could open his door the van hit the side of their car and bent the door inwards. Hotch was thrown sideways across onto Reid, as he tried to open his door.

Hotch tried to steer the SUV back towards the side of the hill, but the van didn't stop, and inexorably pushed the SUV closer and closer to the drop at the side of the road.

'Reid get out!' Hotch yelled over the sound of crushing metal and the smell of burning rubber.

Reid fought with the handle of the car.

'It won't open!' he shouted.

The car tilted on the edge of the precipice, and for a split second it didn't move. Then the van pushed one more time and the car slid over the side and down the mountain.

The sounds of the car crashing through the short scrub, and the car rolled and came up short against a tree.

Then there was silence, except for the dripping sound of escaped fuel and blood.

Two men stood at the top on the road and looked down.

'That was the easy bit.' one said. 'The hard bit is going to be getting Hotchner out of the car.'

'I'm sure there were two people in the car.' the other said, making a start at climbing down towards the smashed up SUV.

It didn't take them long to reach the car; the furrow that the car had made in the ground made the climb easy.

'There are two men.' one said as he reached the car.

The air bags had deployed, but they were spattered with blood. The second man in the car was sitting awkwardly in his seat, his head bleeding where it had hit the pillar. He wasn't moving. Hotchner was sitting back in the seat, bleeding head on one side, eyes closed

'Get out of the car, Hotchner.' the man said through the smashed window. Hotch opened his eyes slowly as the man reached through the window and unclipped his seat belt.

'You were told to come alone.' he said, removing his gun from his hip.

Hotch looked at him, blood running down his face. 'I need to check on my partner.' he said, not understanding what was going on. 'Call nine one one.' he said. 'I think Reid needs to be cut out.'

'Reid can stay where he is.' the man said, and pulled open Hotch's door. The two men gripped him under the arms and pulled. Hotch screamed as the twisted metal dug deeply into his trapped ankle.

'We are taking you out of the car with or without your foot.' the man said. Hotch was half out of the car, lying on the rocky mountain side, He reached back into the car to try to release his foot. He twisted it side ways, and slick with blood, it slid out of the foot well. The second he was free, the two men pulled him clear of the car, and began to drag him back up the slope.

'Please!' Hotch begged, confused. 'Don't leave Reid there alone. Call for help for him.'

His begging earned him a smack in the mouth. 'You were told to come alone. This is what happens when you are disobedient.'

There was a car waiting at the top on the road. The trunk was open, and Hotch was pushed towards it.

'Get in.' he was ordered. His second gun was strapped around his injured ankle. one of the men reached down to remove it. He kicked the man in the face and tried to get out of the way, but he couldn't stand, and a punch to the face knocked him onto his back. He was lifted off the ground and dropped into the trunk of the car. He fell sideways awkwardly, and the trunk was closed over him.

He lay where he had landed, blood still running down his face from the head wound. He was dazed, unable to think straight.

He heard sounds of the van getting pushed over the edge through the lid of the trunk.

It hurtled down the slope into the remains of the SUV. The van came up against the car, and dislodged it from the tree where it had stopped. The two vehicles slid a further fifty yards, and came to rest against a boulder. Reid was still strapped into the seat, and he wasn't moving. Blood ran from his head wound onto his lap, and he slumped forwards against the blood spattered air bag.

The only sound was of the car driving away.