This is my Last Resort (chapter two) by Lexikal
Spoilers: None, really, but there is a brief mention of Tobias Hankel but no spoilers for that episode.
Warnings: Chapter two, we're getting a bit darker now, people.
Summary: Spencer Reid, third season-ish, is taken hostage and abused along with a host of other "unwanted" children. Please read the first chapter for the full summary and author's notes...
I never realized I was spread too thin/ Till it was too late and I was empty within/ Hungry/ Feeding on Chaos/ And Living in Sin...- "This is my Last Resort" by Papa Roach
"Yeah, that's definitely the guy I saw... I...oh my god," the man, Richard Barker, shut his eyes closed. "The guy with me told me he was just diabetic. I never thought..."
"Of course you didn't, sir," Hotch interjected smoothly. One piece of the puzzle solved; how one of the UNSUB's had managed to get Reid out of the park without being noticed. Make Reid look sick and ask a passer-by for help.
"He's not diabetic then?" the man asked anxiously, looking back up at Hotch, then over at Rossi. Rossi shook his head. "Oh my god, what did I do..."
"You didn't do anything wrong, sir," Hotch tried again, but the man was clearly distressed. "You hear about little kids going missing, being taken, but this wasn't a kid, you know? It never occurred to me... you just don't think..."
Hotch nodded and thanked the man for his time. The door clicked open and Hotch heard JJ talking to Barker, offering him water, coffee. The door closed again and they were alone.
"What do you think?" Rossi asked, sighing heavily.
"He's smarter than we originally gave him credit for. Or they. Although Barker didn't remember a woman."
"Someone has to stay at home to take care of the kids..." Rossi said darkly.
"Reid's been gone..." Hotch checked his watch, "What, 58 hours now?"
Rossi nodded again.
"That's nearing three days."
"They kept Lise Miller for three years. And Barker said he saw a teenage boy that looked like Connor in the passenger seat, which means that... if that boy was Connor, they've kept him alive over six months..."
"Yeah, but Reid isn't a minor... Connor would be fifteen now, the oldest. Reid's 27. What's the connection?"
"They're all Caucasian, all come from dysfunctional or broken homes- past histories of abuse, divorce, neglect, domestic violence, parental mental illness, removal from the family..."
"That's still too huge an angle," Hotch said, grinding the words out. "I'm going to get some coffee. You want some?"
Rossi shook his head no. His heart was already racing too fast.
"Elle?" Reid croaked, letting Julie pull him deeper into what she'd called the "dungeon".
"She's over here, Spencer," Julie mumbled, pronouncing his name SPEN-serrrr. Reid followed her. Elle was lying in a claw-footed tub, floating in water, pale face bobbing right at the surface.
Reid didn't stop to think. He let go of Julie and immediately grabbed at the child, lifting her out of the water. The water was freezing. Elle's face was stark white, her lips tinged purple. It was a wonder she hadn't drowned.
"Elle?" Reid squeaked, removing her soaking jacket, wringing it out. The 6 year old lay still on the floor. Reid felt for a pulse on the neck, found one, shallow and fast.
"Why isn't she moving?" Julie asked worriedly, voice beginning to shake.
"She... She's just unconscious. Just... that's like sleeping."
"She alive?"
Reid glanced over at the little girl and smiled, nodded. "Yeah, she's still alive."
He stared back at the bathtub, full of icy water. Approached it and cupped some in his hands.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the voice was male, young, wary. Reid flipped the flashlight beam in the direction of the voice. A young boy was sitting on one of the wooden tables, one of his wrists held awkwardly in a vice clamp. Aside from the vice, which he could apparently remove, he wasn't tied down. In fact, he was kicking his legs back and forth over the edge of the table.
"Who... who are you?" Reid stammered.
"They call me Mark, here, but..."
"You're 12, right?" Reid asked softly. If he knew the kid's age, he knew the kid. There were only so many possibilities. The boy nodded. Duncan Marshall. He'd been missing for a little over 2 months.
"Why... why shouldn't I drink the water?" Reid breathed heavily.
"That's punishment water. That's why Elle was put in it... for trying to get you water. You think it's just ordinary water?"
Reid aimed the flashlight beam at the bathtub again, at the water. It looked clear. He sniffed it. It smelled okay.
"I don't know," Reid said uncertainly. "He...he doesn't even know I am untied. Why would he do anything to the water?"
"I don't know," the boy said flatly, almost sullenly. "I don't even know why I don't take this vice off my wrist. Or why I am here to begin with. But I just don't think it's a very good idea..."
Reid shook his head in amazement. He had been here less than 3 days by his estimate, and already he was scared of drinking water without permission from an UNSUB. He returned to the bathtub, scooped some water back into his hands and took a careful sip. Waited. Nothing. No burning.
"If it's poisoned, you might not know until it's too late," the boy sitting on the table informed bleakly. Reid knew that. He nodded.
"Happened to this other kid who was here. This boy. He wasn't supposed to eat until he was told. He did anyway, ate food that was left out for some other kid. Small bites, like you're taking small sips right now. Thought it was safe because it was for some other kid... didn't think it would be poisoned or have razors or something inside..."
"What happened?" Reid asked, still pouring water into his mouth, drinking as fast as he could. He was pretty sure, statistically, that the water was safe. The game, for him, hadn't begun yet. He was fairly sure of that. After all, he hadn't been told, directly, not to drink the water. There was no power-play in this act; he wasn't disobeying because he hadn't been given any instructions yet, any rules to obey or disobey.
"He ate the food. I don't know what happened, exactly. He was fine, and then all of a sudden, it was like he started screaming. Started spitting up blood, and then he went white and clawed at his throat. Then he was dead." The boy now-called-Mark stopped swinging his legs and stared down at his wrist in the vice. Reid approached the boy slowly, cautiously, so as not to spook him.
The kid's wrist was purple and swollen, the circulation almost entirely cut off.
"How long has that vice been on your wrist?" Reid asked, trying to keep the concern out of his voice. The kid was already spooked, he didn't need Reid's worry adding to his torture.
"I dunno. A few days maybe." Mark's voice sounded bland. "It doesn't hurt anymore, and so far I haven't gotten in trouble. When I get tired I can lie back on the table and sleep, and he brings me water to drink. No food yet, but this is a punishment..."
"Punishment for what?" Reid ventured. He put his hand on the vice, and without asking, began to unscrew it.
"What are you doing?" Mark pulled away as if he'd been physically shocked, expression terrified. "He'll know!"
"You can't leave that on like that, Duncan," Reid said, trying to meet the boy's eyes. "You'll lose your hand. Do you understand me?"
"Better than my life. You better put it back on right now! And call me Mark, got it? If he finds out..." the boy reached out and shoved at Reid, and then scrambled off the table and into the darkness.
"Mark, come back. Come here."
He could hear the panting in the ink black cavern, but it seemed to be coming from all directions. He swung the flashlight beam around, playing the beam over the walls, the multitude of tools. Saw a few small heads. Julie. Duncan. Another small head scurried away from the beam of light too fast for Reid to really make out any detail. Elle was still lying on the cement ground, but her color was coming back to normal. Reid bent down next to her again. Shook her.
She felt warmer now.
"Elle, wake up," Reid implored, chewing worriedly on his lower lips. She'd been here the longest. Besides Julie, she seemed to be the youngest, but also the most aware of how the UNSUBs operated. It was Elle he needed to really talk to if any of them had a chance of escaping on their own.
"Elle!"
A pair of small, blue eyes slit open. The little girl let out a long exhale, stared at Reid dazedly, and then something in her mind seemed to connect, some horrible piece of the puzzle. She sat up, alarmed, pushing Reid away from her as if he was a rabid animal.
"What are you doing up here? Why aren't you in the oubliette?" Her voice was a shrill shriek, edging on hysteria.
Reid shook his head. Put his hands out in front of him, a universal, non-threatening gesture.
"It's okay. I wriggled free. It's okay,"
"Liar! My dad tied you up, and nobody can get out of his knots. Nobody..." the small blonde head whipped around furiously. "Where's Julie? You made her cut you out of your binds, right?"
"Elle, calm down. I can protect you now..." Reid's voice cut off sharply when he saw the tears in the little girl's eyes. Desperate tears.
"No, you can't... you can't! Nobody can! The other police man couldn't, and he had a gun... you don't even have a..."She was sobbing now, face hidden in her hands.
Reid recoiled at the disclosure. Other police man? What?
"Elle, this is important. You have to talk to me, okay. What other police man? What are you talking about?"
"Young police man. Like you," for the first time since Spencer Reid had met the child, she seemed smaller than her age, younger. "Young. He tried to make us safe, didn't listen and didn't want to be our big brother. He managed to pretend for a while though, then one day he got one of Daddy's guns, but Daddy knew somehow... and then Daddy came down and killed Edgar and Paula. Killed him too. Just as a warning."
Reid exhaled loudly. Tried to think. Was this even true? Had Elle been told, coached, to tell this story? Was this part of the game... had he been wrong? Had the game, for him, already started or...?
Only, the child had been unconscious and floating in ice water. That suggested that she wasn't toying with him, was as confused as he was.
But before Reid could try and figure out anything else, there was the sound of a buzz. The metal door above them was opening. Reid clicked his flashlight off and ducked under the work tables, heart hammering.
"Oh, Children..." The voice was playful, disturbingly melodic. Reid heard a switch being flipped and then a buzzing noise. The room was awash in buzzing, fluorescent lights. A set of heavy footsteps began to pound down the stairs. Reid stayed still, barely daring to move. Elle had crawled under the table directly across from him and was staring at Reid with terror-stricken eyes.
"Ohhhh, Ellllllle...somebody's not in their bath like a good litttttle girl..."
Elle choked out a sob and scrambled out from under the table. She was still wet, but no longer dripping. She approached the UnSub, head bowed. Reid tried to see, but he couldn't and still stay hidden from view. And if the UnSub decided to explore the room she would clearly find Reid cowering under the table, free. She.
It was the first time Reid had thought of it. The UnSub in the car had been a male, a grown man. Daddy. This was an adult woman's voice, middle-aged or older. Treacly on the surface, sinister underneath. Mommy.
The sound of Mommy's voice made Reid's blood feel like it was curdling. He bit his lip harder, till he tasted blood. He could hear Elle's breathing starting to hitch with fear.
"I fell asleep and then woke up coughing, and then passed out. I thought if I passed out..."
"You know we expect you to obey our orders... we expect you to be a good child."
"Yes, Mommy," Elle said softly, dumbly, without expression. Reid ground his teeth together. If they managed to escape, if any of them managed to live through this, this kid in particular was going to need a life-time of therapy... and even then...
"How's Spencer? Did he admit to being a dirty little liar?"
The room was quiet.
"He...he won't wake up..." Elle said timidly, and Reid could almost hear the terror in her voice. She was lying. Reid instantly put the pieces together. Elle lying about him could only mean she was lying for him. For them all.
"He won't wake up, huh? Well, I guess we'll just have to go wake him up then..." Reid scuttled backward as he heard the pair approach his part of the "dungeon". He saw Elle's shoes and small legs pass by his table, saw stockier, older legs with white nurse's shoes follow shortly behind.
Heard the door to the oubliette being opened.
"Here, take this..." Mark had scuttled under the tables towards Reid and was holding what looked like a meat cleaver out to the young agent, a demented little smile on his face. His voice was a low susurrus "Blitz attack!" the boy whispered, nodding at the meat cleaver with shining eyes. Reid nodded blankly, trying to imagine how long it had taken the boy before him to transform from terrified kidnap victim to desensitized killer.
"Make sure you smash her really hard in the head. So her brains come out. No chances..." Mark trailed.
There was a howl from the oubliette, and Reid scuttled out from under the table, meat cleaver swinging in his right hand. He could hear Elle being beaten, begging. What sounded like choking.
"Where is he? You were in charge of him!"
"I don't know!"
"Where is he?"
"Stop it!" Reid's voice sounded more confident than he felt, almost as if someone else was speaking through him. The woman- "Mommy"- gazed over at him. He walked over to her, weapon behind his back, footing steady.
"What's behind your back, son?" Mommy inquired in a low drawl as Reid approached. Reid shook his head. Nothing. There was nothing behind his back.
"I know there is something," and before Reid could react, the UnSub had a revolver aimed at Elle's head. Elle flinched, and stared up at Spencer Reid.
"Now, you show Mommy what you have for her, and you tell Mommy how you got out of your bonds, and maybe your little sister here won't...well...you know... a big strong boy like you that's worked for the Eff...beee...eyyyyeee...you know what can happen..."
Reid nodded dully. Slowly, carefully, he pulled the meat cleaver from behind his back and tilted it back and forth.
"Oh, how nice. A present for Mommy." The UnSub cooed, eyes sparkling with tears. Reid gulped. His team had long since suspected that the subservient partner was psychotic. Mommy, apparently.
"Why don't you put Mommy's gift down in the hay, there, sonny. And kick it over here. Hmmm?"
The revolver was still flush with Elle's temple. Elle had her eyes closed, but her mouth was opening and closing, sounding out silent words. It took Reid a few startled seconds to realize the little girl was saying "hail mary's". Reid nodded and slowly let the cleaver drop to the ground. He kicked it in the general direction of the pair,, watching intently as "Mommy" stopped to reach down and retrieve the cleaver. She picked it up, inspected it, and smiled again.
"That was very thoughtful, Spencer. Mommy has a gift for you too," Reid nodded slowly, eyes wide. Just as long as Elle didn't pay for his stupid mistake... There was a sudden loud burst, and then a bolt of radiating pain in his chest. His vision began to gray, but he was dimly aware of sinking to his knees, and falling into the hay. There was another shot, then, and what sounded distantly like a smaller, lighter body crumpling to the floor.
And then Spencer Reid lost consciousness entirely.
I wanted to make this chapter about 10 kb longer, but I am not sure when I will upload next, so for those eager to read the next instalment, I thought I would just upload this. Take care. Chapter 3 WILL come.
-Lexikal