This is my Last Resort (Chapter Fourteen) by Lexikal
Spoilers: None.
Warnings: Dark themes; violence; missing children/implied child abuse, lots of Reid angst...
Summary: Spencer Reid, third season-ish (2008-ish), is kidnapped/taken hostage and abused/terrorized along with a host of other "unwanted" children. Please see chapter one for more info.
Author's Note: Yes, I realize that Elle's escape seems unbelievable, but it is still possible and more will be explained in this chapter. Also, the kid took a lot of risks trying to escape and part of her actions were probably just for the adrenaline rush...she was willing to risk it. Even if she hadn't managed to get away, she was still willing to risk it. As for the security guard who wheeled her to the morgue, the guy was/is young and new to the job, and who really expects a "dead" six year old to escape? I think most people wouldn't think twice about a small child who was declared dead and is unmoving, well, escaping. I know I certainly wouldn't ever think that could happen in that situation, and that's part of what makes Elle so devious. More will be explained in this chapter, and yes, as a reviewer mentioned bodies are generally "wrapped" (put in body bags) before being moved to the morgue, but all of that will be explained. Even so, it wouldn't have stopped her at the point. The kid is nuts, and more than that, she is terrified of the hospital and being interviewed. Her actions were horrendous, true, but they were fuelled by fear, so it's important to remember that this killing wasn't for the "fun" of it, it was a means to an end.
Hotch and Rossi had gone to the hospital and were interviewing the security guard who had taken "Samantha Adams" to the morgue. The young man was named Devon Cross and was very, very upset.
"Look, I didn't do anything wrong. They said the kid was dead. They told me to move her to the morgue. I checked the bracelet; it was the right one, the kid wasn't moving..."
"Did you check for a pulse?" Rossi asked.
"No. But we usually don't check pulses when someone is declared dead. And this was a little...a little kid." His voice was shaking. "She wasn't moving at all. I saw her. No movement."
"Isn't it typical for the body to be put in a body bag before it's taken downstairs?" Rossi asked. He was mad- not really at the 22 year old security guard- just at the entire situation. The guard was just a kid, new to the job, working the night shift.
"Yeah, I asked them. They said it was a kid, just take her. There was another kid in the room sleeping, so I just put the sheet on... I was going to come back and bag her, but honestly..." He lowered his voice. "I've only been working in hospitals, moving stiffs, for less than a week. Before that I patrolled the outside of court houses at night. Generally one of the other guards helps me with bagging and boarding..."
"Boarding?" Hotch asked, raising his eyebrows a little bit, just the tiniest degree.
"Putting them...you know...in a drawer. And yes, before you ask, the hand was sort of warm, but the child had just bitten the dust...of course she'd still be warm." His voice was shaking. "I didn't mess up. I went to find Davis- the other guard I know- to ask about the bag, help me with her. I've only moved a few bodies, like two, before this kid, and never moved an actual kid before." Devon reached out and grabbed his coffee and took a few swigs. His hands were shaking.
"I-I know this is very serious. I know. But would you expect a child that you honestly believe is dead to get up off the gurney and leave the morgue? When I came back and saw that there was no corpse on the gurney, I thought Davis had already bagged and boarded her, until I asked him later, and then...then we knew. But that was about 12:30 or so. I mean, you don't expect a dead child to escape. There is a reason the morgue only locks from the outside." Devon shook his head in exasperation.
"Nobody is blaming you for not doing your job properly." Hotch said. Devon snorted tiredly.
"No? Then why is this kid missing? I already know the kid I should've wheeled down was found dead, so...the kid I wheeled off was a little psycho. Right?"
Hotch and Rossi exchanged glances. The official story was that Elle had been kidnapped from the hospital and that Dolores White might have her.
"About that... for the sake of this case, Devon, we are telling the public this child was kidnapped."
"But she wasn't!" Devon said. "If she murdered that other kid... and at the very least she dragged another child's corpse out of her bed and propped it up in her own...then shouldn't the public know what she is capable of?"
"Right now that isn't the best course of action." Rossi said simply. He sighed. "Look, we brought our computer tech. She seized the hospital security footage. We want you to go through it with us, just so we can get a time-line for last night's events. Can you do that?"
Devon nodded solemnly. Hotch stood up and left the room and came back with Garcia, who looked a little more worried and a lot less bubbly than usual. Introductions were brief. They were stationed in one of the hospital's conference rooms. Devon had been kept on night-shift all night, and then called back from home to meet with the FBI. His eyes were red-rimmed and haunted. The young man would probably never, ever see "dead" bodies the same way again.
There was a Television and VCR on a stand in the room and Garcia pushed the VHS tape into the VCR and pressed play. She already had the scenes she thought related to last night's events, but they needed Devon there to be sure. The film was grainy and they couldn't allow anything to potentially be overlooked... not anything at this point.
There weren't video cameras in individual hospital rooms, but there were in the halls and the elevators, and there was one in the morgue. And there were several in the parking lots.
The video footage read 11:23 pm. A young man was pushing a white stretcher down a hallway in the children's ICU.
"Yeah, that's me...and see? No movement. See?"
Garcia nodded. Hotch and Rossi were both staring hard at the screen, looking for anything, anything at all. Anything that could be found. They saw Devon wheel the gurney onto the elevator and because he was looking down, they couldn't really see the young guard's face, but the sheet on the gurney was completely still. No movement at all, nothing that registered on the film. Elle was apparently very good at staying still. The elevator descended and then they were on the lowest floor and the young man on the television screen wheeled the gurney through the hallways, head bent down. Still no movement from the gurney. He stopped in front of a door and took a ring of keys from his pocket, keys attached to a chain and flipped through them, until he found the right one. The morgue was unlocked then, he pushed her inside and put the brakes on the gurney. They saw him stare at the gurney for a moment, make the sign of the cross- none of them said anything in response to this- and then he left, looking depressed.
Obviously, Devon Cross had thought she was dead. And from the quick snatch of his face they had seen on the film, he looked upset. He left the morgue and there was nothing, no movement. They watched the seconds flicker by on the corner of the screen. At the two minute and 36 second mark there was the tiniest movement. The sheet near "Samantha's" head moved just a bit, just enough for the child to see. A few more seconds passed and then the sheet was hastily pushed aside. The child- clearly Elle on screen- clambered off the gurney. They saw her wince, and then look around. She glanced up, saw the video camera and then...smiled.
"She knew we'd see this," Rossi murmured. Garcia was silent. She'd already seen this footage, and it was more than a little disturbing to her. "She knew we'd see this sooner or later...that smile was meant for us." Rossi repeated.
The child on the screen walked closer to the video camera and craned her head up. The video footage was in black and white but they could see black starting to spread on the front of her pyjamas- she'd clearly ripped her stitches with all that strenuous activity. And gauging from the footage was bleeding quite a bit. She stared at the camera for a moment longer and smiled wider.
"You think you're so smart," the child on the screen said in a rasp, and coughed. Her voice was tinged with pain, but also excitement. "But I escaped, and now you're screwed, aren't you? I'm not going to give you a chance to kill me."
"She definitely meant for us to watch this," Hotch agreed glumly.
"That last part though...about killing her...look at her eyes. She looks angry. She...do you think she believes we'd physically harm her?" Rossi asked. They seemed to have forgotten Devon Cross was still in the room. When they looked over at him, the young man's face had drained of colour.
Rossi stood up and extended a hand. "Thank you for your time. Please remember what we told you...as far as the public knows, this child was kidnapped."
"They should know." Devon said sharply, staring at the three federal agents in front of him. "They need to know we have a little psycho running around."
"That would stir up panic." Hotch said simply. "We can count on you to help keep this part of our investigation secure?" Hotch asked. Devon looked back at the screen and shuddered, but finally nodded.
"Yeah. Just catch the bad seed, there... and...Yeah." And he left then, muttering under his breath.
"Garcia, would you rewind that last part?" Hotch asked. Garcia nodded and pressed rewind on the remote.
"I'm not going to give you a chance to kill me," Elle said on the security footage. "And now the deal is off." This was followed by a rather colourful series of expletives.
"She didn't learn to talk like that watching Sesame Street..." Garcia trailed. Both Hotch and Rossi ignored the comment. Elle stared around the morgue, eyes wide, grin still in place, and then finally shuffled to the door and pulled it open. The watched her and then she stepped into the hall. Garcia had split the footage. They saw her in the hall. She glanced in the direction she had just been wheeled, towards the elevators, and then reconsidered. She glanced to the right and quickly- as fast as she probably could- hobbled towards what looked like a fire-escape. She pulled the door open and the footage cut to the stairwell. She climbed stairs and got off at P2, entered the parking lot. They lost track of her a few times now.
"That's how she got away, in all likelihood. She broke into a car, or found one unlocked." Rossi muttered.
"Garcia, you checked all the footage? Couldn't find one of this child getting into any vehicle?" Hotch pressed.
Garcia shook her head miserably.
The time on the video tape read 11:35 pm.
"Garcia," Hotch said, looking over at their tech. "I want you to find out who was parked in P2 between 11:35 pm last night and when she was found missing, a little after one. There should be a video camera at the exit and entrances to the parking lot, right?"
"Almost certainly, sir."
"I want to know who left here between that time span, and if possible, a make and model of any vehicles, and if you can see it on film, the license plates. Elle is smart. She'd probably look for some vehicle large enough to hide in..."
"Like a pick-up truck?"
"Exactly. And given that this is an urban centre, any pick-ups should stand out, but look at all the vehicles. It was late so there shouldn't have been that many leaving."
"Got it," Garcia said.
"Garcia, when I said look at all vehicles, I meant it. At this point, I wouldn't put it past this child to hotwire a car and drive out of the parking lot herself."
Garcia nodded. Left the room.
Hotch looked over at Rossi. They were alone now.
"David, we underestimated this child from the beginning. Yes, she was abducted at three, but we thought White was the dominant and his wife was subservient, then later realized we might have had those roles reversed- that is wife, while psychotic, may have been the one telling her husband what to do and he may have been operating out of fear- and then, when we started really looking at Elle's involvement it was always as a child who had been coaxed or had Stockholm. But..."
"What if they just took Elle and every other child... every other abduction...was her idea? She was the dominant one and controlling two killers the entire time?"
"I don't know what to think anymore," Hotch said. "The abductions started fairly soon after she was abducted herself and I doubt she was this damaged at that point. And yet, she shows a level of planning and intelligence we never suspected. This escape was risky, true, but it was also very clever. Part of the reason it worked was that Elle is a child and she knew nobody would suspect anything...at least not right away."
"What are you saying, Aaron?" Rossi pressed. He had some idea, but he still wanted to know what his colleague was thinking.
"This child's intelligence is clearly in the superior range, no matter how risky her behaviour last night was. It was risky, but it was also an extremely clever plan. And it was a plan she must have devised fairly quickly because she had no way of knowing a child around her age that looked similar to her would be admitted to the same ward and would need a room. That meant she thought it up on the spur of the moment, more or less, which makes it probably riskier in execution than it would have been if she had had time to really plan something over a longer course of time. What if she didn't simply take Reid because he was an adult or a man or a law enforcement officer? What if she took Reid because he is a genius?"
"You think Elle is a genius?" Rossi asked.
"I think it's more than possible. And I think it is more than a coincidence that out of everyone in the park that day, she selected Reid, the most intelligent of us all..."
"Reid assumed it was because she had a preference, age-wise."
"This other police officer that Reid mentioned Elle speaking about... what if his name wasn't actually David? What if he wasn't actually 21? Or even a police officer?"
"You want Garcia to check for missing males in 2006 in the genius range in Virginia?"
"Yes," Hotch said. "And considering that an IQ of 130 on the WAIS is considered the top 2 percent of the population and Elle, in all likelihood is probably several standard deviations above that at the very least, if I had to guess, and Reid himself has an IQ of 187... It will narrow the search down quite a bit. If she is selecting the men for their intelligence, she'd probably want someone of similar intelligence, IQ-wise. Too high and they'd outsmart her and make her feel inferior, too far beneath her and they wouldn't be challenging enough."
"Are you honestly telling me that you think Elle is close to Reid, in terms of intelligence?" Rossi asked, sounding surprised.
"I think she played us. I think she played stupid. And she fooled us, David. I don't know what her IQ is, but I think this is an angle we need to look at..."
David Rossi was silent. Absorbing.
"It might be wise, then, to talk to Elle's- Lise Miller's- extended family. Find out if they can tell us anything about what she was like for the first three and a half years of her life. That will tell us a lot more."
Hotch nodded.
Hotch, Rossi and Garcia got back to the team at 1:30 pm. Reid was just coming back, apparently, from the doctor. He looked shaky and pale. Hotch leaned over to Morgan.
"You didn't tell him about Elle, did you?"
"No." Morgan said quickly. "No one did."
Hotch nodded and walked over to his youngest agent. "Reid, let's go talk in my office."
"Yeah..." Reid said softly, looking highly disturbed. Hotch softly closed the door and Reid took a seat, sighing heavily.
"Apparently flashbacks and hallucinations are common in people who have taken hallucinogens, even once. The persistent feeling of unreality and brain fog- for lack of a better term- might be something called HPPD. Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder. It's continual and can include auras, visual hallucinations, trails, feelings of unreality... if I have it... it might leave in a few weeks, or months, or years... or possibly never. It's an actual diagnosis in the DSM-4, and I'd heard about it before but never really paid it much attention..." Reid fell silent. He looked almost ready to cry.
Hotch wanted to say something comforting, but he knew Reid needed to hear this.
"Reid, I...I am sorry. I really am. But you need to know...something has happened."
Reid instantly perked up, looking even more worried.
"What's wrong? Is it my Mom? Is she okay?"
"Your mother is fine, Reid."
"What is it?" Reid asked uncertainly.
"Elle escaped from the hospital last night."
"What? How? Her room was guarded and..."
"Another child was put in her room, and we think Elle may have killed the child- we are still waiting on the autopsy results, but right now we're assuming her room-mate was smothered- and then Elle hopped a ride on the gurney down to the morgue and escaped when the guard left her unattended. I can brief you in more detail later."
"God..." Reid breathed. He looked about ready to faint. Hotch watched him carefully.
"Her method of escape, obviously, was extremely high-risk, but also very... it shows a great deal of intelligence. We haven't spoken to Lise Miller's extended family up until now because we wanted to solve the case first before potentially re-traumatizing these people, but we're going to phone them now. We need to know what they remember of this child, what she was like for the first 3 and a half years of her life."
Reid nodded sullenly. "Yeah. That makes sense."
"There is something else. We have underestimated this child's deviance from the beginning, but also her intelligence. She may not have taken you because you are a man or law enforcement or for any of those reasons. She may have taken you because, in terms of intelligence, you would have been a challenge. You may have been seen as a worthy opponent."
Reid lifted his head slowly, awareness dawning.
"Then...the police officer she told me about...might just be some random male with a high IQ from this area and...?"
Hotch nodded. "Possibly. Or not. So far every time we think we have this case pinned down it seems to slip out from beneath us."
"Yeah."
"The team is waiting in the briefing room. We're set to call Lise Miller's maternal uncle and his wife- they knew her the best. Lise's father was an only child and his parents died before she was born, and Lise's maternal grandfather is dead and her grandmother has Alzheimer's..."
"Let's hope they can tell us something."
Hotch nodded and got up for the briefing room, Reid following behind him. He stopped at the door.
"And Reid? I am...I am sorry about...I'm sorry about what you're going through right now."
Reid nodded dully. He was sorry, too.
That's it for chapter 14, I have a few tricks up my sleeve for the plot and I think quite a few of you will be surprised very soon. Please review!