Sorry that this chapter is so short, but it's going to act as a bridge between events, so, here's chapter 3!

"Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad."

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"Reid, if there's something you want, you need to tell us," Hotch said. "You know we can get it to you."

"I want it to stop," Reid responded. "I want it to stop," he repeated softly.

"Great, but what the hell is 'it?'" Morgan asked Hotch. Hotch shot the younger man a glare that would make a Marine officer tremble in his combat boots.

"I said for you two to shut up!" Reid shouted at the two. His hand was on the gun that lay in its holster on his hip. Morgan and Hotch instinctively reached for their own weapons, seeming to have forgotten that they were on the floor in front of Reid.

"It slipped, sorry," Morgan apologized. He tried to remain calm. The last thing any of them needed was for someone to panic. Panic never accomplished anything. He wondered what the hell was taking SWAT so long to show up. But then again, they were probably already surrounding the building. They most likely did not want to risk Reid blowing everyone up.

Suddenly, the phone rang. Reid glared at the device, but walked over to it anyway. He had a strong feeling that it would be someone trying to get him to let the three agents go. Hotch tried to will him to answer it, knowing it could be their shot at getting out of there. When he picked up the phone, Hotch, Morgan, and Rossi began conversing quietly, keeping their voices low so that Reid wouldn't hear them.

"So they got a negotiator then?" Morgan guessed.

Hotch nodded slightly. "Most likely, but the new question is whether or not he'll listen, let alone cooperate…" he sighed in frustration. The whole situation was like walking through a field covered in land mines. One wrong move by any party, be it them or those outside, would bring the building down. "JJ, Elle, and Garcia are down there. They would make sure that it was someone Reid would actually listen to."

"Yeah, but I'd say the only one he'd even consider listening to would be Morgan," Rossi sighed. "And he's standing across from us."

"He'd listen to Gideon," Morgan said certainly. Reid had held so much respect for their former unit chief, had almost worshipped the ground he had walked on. But that wouldn't do much help. Gideon had left the BAU. But still, if he had gotten wind of the situation, he would have stepped in to help, wouldn't he?

Reid abruptly slammed the phone back down into its cradle. "I said stop talking!" he shouted at the group huddled together a semi-safe distance away from him.

"We're trying to figure out what 'it' is," Rossi spoke up. "That's all. It would make things a hell of a lot easier if you would just tell us."

"Don't act like you don't know!" Reid responded harshly. "You're one of them! You know what it is…" he trailed off as he looked between the three. "You all know what it is. You're working for them. You know…" he kept repeating himself quietly.

"You never did say why you're going to this extreme," Rossi said calmly. "What is killing the three of us and yourself going to accomplish? Do you really want to be remembered as the suicide bomber that destroyed a federal building and took three agents with him?"

"I have to do it, now shut up!" Reid snapped.

"So who did they have call you?" Morgan asked, trying to direct some hostility away from Rossi.

"None of your business!" Reid responded.

"Yeah, it actually is, considering we're the ones stuck in here!" Morgan froze when he saw Reid's pistol aimed at him. He took a few breaths to calm down. "I'm sorry," he apologized, knowing he'd pushed the young man too far. "I shouldn't have asked. Now will you put that thing away?"

Reid shook his head. "Not when you three won't be quiet… Too many voices…" he trailed off. "Talk again, and I'll shoot."

Hotch watched the scene carefully. He expected Morgan to go a bit too far at some point, just not that soon. Now they not only had the threat of the bombing, they had the threat of being shot. And knowing Reid, the youngest member of the team wouldn't shoot to kill. He would shoot to injure.

Still though, the outburst had happened so quickly. It seemed different than the previous ones. Something other than extreme paranoia and probable schizophrenia was going on. Hotch was certain of that. He also couldn't help but notice that Reid's breathing had spiked and that he was sweating. He remembered seeing similar symptoms a few years prior. He discreetly passed a note over to Morgan. 'Does it seem like he's in withdrawal to you?' the note read.

Morgan frowned when he saw what Hotch had written. He studied Reid for a moment before writing back. 'You think he started shooting up again to block out any hallucinations?'

'That would be my guess,' Hotch wrote back. He motioned for Morgan to pocket the note when he saw Reid start to turn back toward them. Morgan nodded. He quickly folded up the piece of paper and placed it in his back pocket.

Hotch wondered if the situation could go any further against their favor. It was bad enough dealing with a schizophrenic who believed that they were out to get him, but with withdrawal on top of it… Anything could be the theoretical straw that breaks the camel's back. They had to be extra careful from then on out. He was beginning to think it would be easier to get Reid in front of a window so that a sniper could get him. But he would only suggest that if the situation became desperate. He didn't think he could handle seeing Reid die in front of him.

"I have absolutely no pleasure in the stimulants in which I sometimes so madly indulge. It has not been in the pursuit of pleasure that I have periled life and reputation and reason. It has been the desperate attempt to escape from torturing memories, from a sense of insupportable loneliness, and a dread of some strange impending doom."

-Edgar Allan Poe