Escalation
Chapter
6
Communication
A/N Warning AH/OMC noncon
"Communication – the lifeblood of any relationship." – from a pamphlet on Family Life
Dave's cell phone rang. It was Abrams.
'We have had communication from the UnSubs.' he said. 'I think you need to see it as soon as possible.'
Dave closed his phone. 'We need to get back.' he said to Emily and Morgan. 'The UnSubs have made contact again.'
'I'll leave my card at the nurses' station for the doctor to contact us when Reid is out of surgery.' Emily said, quickly leaving the room.
'It's bad, isn't it?' Morgan said as they hurried to the SUV.
Dave nodded grimly. 'I think so, Derek. I think this is bad news.'
-0-0-0-
They sat around the screen and watched the dvd that the UnSub had sent. They watched in horror as Hotch was beaten, raped and force fed. Then at the end a short message.
"We want our man back."
Emily turned her back to the screen as it played through again, unable to watch what was happening to the best man she knew. As they tried to make sense of the torture that they were watching, Abrams came up to them.
'Bridle's body has been found'
Dave sat with his eyes closed trying to think. 'Get the dvd to Garcia.' he said. 'There must be some clues on it to where it was filmed. This could be their first mistake.'
-0-0-0-
Hotch was on his feet again. Even if they beat him down to his knees, he was determined to begin on his feet facing his assailants. He couldn't lean against the wall because of the whipping, and the deep lacerations it had left on his back. So he stood away from the wall waiting for them to come back. He was hungry now as well as thirsty, but even thinking of the stuff they were feeding him made him gag.
They didn't leave him any water the last time they fed him. He hoped they would give him some soon. He was staring to feel the effects of dehydration, and his mouth was burnt by stomach acids. He longed to sleep, to sit down in the corner and drift off, but he could be sure that as soon as he did that, they would be back to hurt him some more.
He guessed now that they knew that the prisoner exchange wasn't going to work, and he wondered how long they were going to keep him alive like this. Apart from the beatings, his life wasn't really in danger unless they got carried away and beat him to death. He didn't think that was their purpose for him though. He thought that the rapes were closer to what they wanted him for, and that could go on indefinitely.
He looked across at the door as it opened again, wondering what they were going to do to him this time.
-0-0-0-
Garcia was crying.
'I can't watch it again, Derek. Please don't ask me to.'
'I know this is difficult, Princess. But anything you can find on the images that will get us a location will go towards stopping this torture.' Morgan said. He put his arm around her and rested his forehead on hers. Garcia was holding his hand. 'I'll stay with you. Try to look at the background, and turn off the sound.'
'I can still hear it, Derek. I think I always will be able to.' she sobbed.
Gently Morgan turned her chair so that she was facing the screen again. Then he pressed play, and he and Garcia watched the dvd again; watched Hotch tortured and raped, but they concentrated on any clues there might be as to where it was taking place. Garcia watched it through a mist of tears.
-0-0-0-
'Get on your knees, scum.'
The four men stood in front of him. They didn't carry weapons this time, so they were either going to beat him with their fists or rape him. Hotch stood his ground, swaying slightly as he faced off his tormentors.
He didn't move. One of the men stepped forwards to hit him, fist already clenched. Hotch swung his hands in a double fist and caught his assailant off guard, sending him to the ground. He knew he had no chance against four men, particularly in the beaten state he was in, but he was not going to simply submit to them. He bent his knees ready to fight whoever came at him.
Two came at him at once, and held his elbows to his side. He struggled in their grip, but it was to no avail, as the man he had hit got up off the floor and punched him hard on the face. Hotch heard rather than felt his nose crunch, and he tasted blood as it poured out of his smashed nose onto his lips. He stared at the man who hit him, even then with a defiant shine to his eyes, which just seemed to enrage the other. He hit him again, jerking his head back, and Hotch felt his knees give way, and he would have fallen if it wasn't for the two men holding him up. Then the two men worked him over, fists to the face and chest, and finally his groin. He bent his knees up in a vain effort to protect himself, but still they didn't let him drop.
One of the men went round to his back and kicked him in the kidneys. Hotch arched his back and cried out as he felt something inside him tear. then the two of them looked at him.
'Now let's see you defy us, you pathetic piece of work.'
With a nod to the other two, Hotch was released, and he crumpled to the floor. He had no chance of resisting as they turned him on his back and bent his legs up. Again they took turns at defiling him, staring into his eyes as they tore into him, his own blood spurting and running over his bruised skin. He didn't scream, but he bit down on his lip to prevent it, and the grinning masque of the rapist looked down into his tear filled eyes, hungry for satisfaction from the helpless man.
The physical pain Hotch was going through was like burning from deep inside him. Every thrust, every tearing force ripped him apart and Hotch felt his mouth fill with blood as his teeth punctured his lip. The rough concrete floor tore into his lacerated back, ripping at the skin.
But the mental anguish and distress was tearing apart his inner strength, pulling away the facade he had built to save his sanity. As one man finished, sated and spent , the next took his place, he tried to kick out at the man as he gripped his leg, but it was feeble and powerless, drawing peals of laughter from his captors.
This man was the man he hit, and in recompense, he ripped into him, clutching his matted dark hair in his hands as leverage. This time Hotch screamed, the pain was so bad, he couldn't prevent it. He closed his eyes to the face looking down at him, and he felt himself weaken. As the man pushed finally, the burning sensation engulfed him, and with an agonised cry, he fainted.
The last two men abused him, but this time he couldn't feel it.
-0-0-0-
Reid fluttered open his eyes and looked around him. It looked as if he was in hospital, but he had no memory of how he got there. He turned his head slowly. His head throbbed with a rhythm that seemed to correspond with his heart beat. He had drips in both wrists, and there was a cage in the bed, holding the covers off his feet. He tried to remember what had happened. He remembered Hotch driving to meet an informant, but the rest was a blank. He looked over to the next bed, expecting to see Hotch there, but of course he wasn't. There was a buzzer on a wire next to his hand. He pressed the buzzer. Someone had to tell him what was going on.
'Where am I? Where's Hotch? What happened?' he blurted out as soon as someone came in the door.
'Well Doctor Reid, just calm down and I will let you know what has happened!'
The nurse sat on the chair next to Reid's bed and began to explain things. How he had been found in a car wreck, and his legs had been trapped, and how he was brought to the hospital where the surgeons had battled to save his legs.
Reid wasn't really listening. As the nurse described the accident, Memories began to flicker through Reid's mind.
'Hotch! Hotch was driving. Where is he?'
'There was no one else in the car with you, Doctor Reid. Your friends found you, and they were waiting for you to come round, but they had to leave.' She paused. Reid could tell that she had some bad news, but was unsure how to say it.
'What has happened?' Reid asked. 'Is it my legs?'
'Your legs are fine. But there was some necrosis in the toes of the right foot, and the surgeon had to remove the front part of your right foot. They will be able to explain more fully what they have done, but rest assured, you will be able to walk, maybe even without a limp.'
Reid didn't say anything for a full minute as if he was trying to come to terms with the bad news. Then he said, 'But where is Hotch?'
-0-0-0-
Hotch was lying on the floor of the wine cellar, trying to breathe. His nose was a mess, and he was breathing through his mouth, thinking of Reid. He could remember clearly his colleague had been trapped in the car, and looked as if he could be dead. But he couldn't believe that. He had to hold on to the assumption that the team had found him and he was recovering somewhere. He clung to that thought.
He was still in the middle of the room. When they had finished with him this time, they had just left him where he was. Carefully he rolled onto his front and dragged himself over to his corner. Somehow the corner gave him a sense of security. He backed up to the wall and curled up on his side, his bound arms around his knees. It was dark outside, but he had lost count of how many days he had been there. He thought three, but he had spent some of the time unconscious, so he couldn't be sure.
The door opened again, and he wondered if he would survive another attack. Usually they gave him time to recover.
But this time they pulled him to his feet and across the room towards the steps. He couldn't walk, and they dragged him through the blood and mess on the floor. When they got to the steps, they pulled him up, cracking his shins on the concrete. To his surprise he was taken outside to a car, and like before, locked in the trunk.
Hotch relished the warmth and comfort of the car trunk. After three or more days lying on rough cold concrete, it felt wonderful. The car began to drive away from the building. Hotch huddled in the corner of the trunk, and closed his eyes.
-0-0-0-
'Derek, I think I recognise the type of building he is in.' Garcia said with a shaky voice. They had sat through the awful dvd as it played three times, and now Garcia was sure. 'It looks like a wine cellar.'
'What, like under a house?' Morgan said.
'A big house, otherwise a storage depot. It is disused now. All the racking is gone. It's old.' she said. 'I'll search for places that it could be. There can't be that many places like that around here. I'll go out ten miles?'
'Yes! Run with it!' Morgan said. 'I'll tell Emily and Dave. You know Baby Doll, this is the first break in the case.'
Garcia managed a weak smile. If it meant getting her boss back, it would have been worth watching the dvd over and over again. But she prayed that she would never have to watch it again.