Sunday, November 18th, 2012 4:47 PM
BAU Headquarters, Quantico, VA

"Domonick? Domonick? DOMONICK?!"

Hotch sighed as he removed the phone from his ear. He had heard a scream, the sound of metal crunching, glass breaking, tires squealing, then nothing. No dial tone, no footsteps, no voices. Nothing but silence.

"Hotch?" Prentiss asked, looking at him with concern written on her face.

"What happened?" Morgan asked.

Hotch sighed again. "Bad news. Reid and Domonick escaped at Amy's insistence. She created a diversion to distract Stan and therefore stayed behind. Domonick called me from the road, Reid learned they were just leaving Keyser, West Virginia, and then Domonick noticed Stan was on their tail. Stan called Reid's phone, and you heard most of that conversation. When I put the phone back to my ear, Domonick tried to talk Stan out of hurting them, they went into a wild pursuit that ended in a crash. The line went dead afterward."

Danielle was in tears, as was Eloïse. Eloïse finally cried, "Do we have any idea where they are?"

Hotch sighed. "Vaguely. All we know is they're near Keyser. Nothing more."

Suddenly Eloïse's cell phone rang. She hurried to answer it. "Eloïse Reid. Spencer?! Oh thank goodness you called! I- what? What's that mean? Spencer? Spencer?!" Her hand fell from her ear, her phone gripped tightly as she ended the call. "He...he simply said, 'El, it's Spencer. Wendy Vigil 4SQ-147.' Then nothing." Eloïse burst into tears again. Danielle bit her lip and wrapped her arms around her friend.

Morgan pursed his lips. "So I take it we're headed to Keyser?"

Hotch nodded. "We leave now."

Sunday, November 18th, 6:59 PM
Potomac Valley Hospital, Keyser, WV

Hotch walked up to the doctor who called him as he was driving with the team over to Keyser. He claimed he had a Dr. Spencer Reid and a Domonick Nickhoales admitted by ambulance, and the agent had Hotch listed as a next-of-kin. The doctor was an older man with grey hair and relatively fair skin. His blue eyes focused on the agent as Hotch strode over quickly.

The doctor tucked his clipboard under his arm and extended his right hand. "Agent Hotchner?"

Hotch nodded, taking the doctor's hand. "Agent Aaron Hotchner."

The doctor nodded. "I'm Dr. Leigh Rawlings. I took over the care of Dr. Reid and Domonick Nickhoales. I have been trying to reach Domonick's listed next-of-kin as well as his family, but no one has answered, and Dr. Reid is in no shape to make any necessary medical decisions."

Hotch sighed. "Domonick's family, save for his sister, are all dead. The last was killed a little over ten-eleven months ago. We're all he has."

Dr. Rawlings nodded. "As I suspected. The name Nickhoales isn't very popular, so I had my suspicions but... I didn't want to make any assumptions."

Hotch suddenly was curious. "Who is Domonick's listed next-of-kin?"

Dr. Rawlings flipped through papers on his clipboard. "Dr. Spencer Reid and a...Stan Fields."

Hotch raised his eyebrows. "He hasn't updated this in a while, has he? I mean, despite the fact that Dr. Reid is a recent friend."

"Probably not, considering Stan Fields is dead."

Hotch shook his head. "He's the one who caused this medical mess."

Dr. Rawlings raised his eyebrows. "Really now? So he's the one who left the scene carrying that girl and a gun?"

"Girl and a gun?" Hotch asked, intrigued.

"Yeah, witnesses claim that the man in the other car, the tan Camry, the one that caused the collision, was seen fleeing the scene with a young and somewhat injured and unconscious girl," Dr. Rawlings claimed.

"Interesting. That's very...interesting information," Hotch said, narrowing his eyes in thought. "My team is headed to the scene and following the likely routes taken. More important, though, is how are Dr. Reid and Domonick?"

Dr. Rawlings sighed. "Let me take you over to Dr. Reid and I'll explain on the way."

The two walked through the electric doors and headed for the ER rooms. "Agent Hotchner, Dr. Reid has a sprained wrist and a small fracture in his ankle. He also has a concussion from his fall, a few broken ribs, and we also found rope burn around his wrists, same with Domonick. Domonick is in a worse state. He angered an old leg injury, has a somewhat severe concussion, a very severe head wound that required stitches, a broken wrist, a dislocated knee - which we relocated - as well as glass fragments that are still being removed. Both men are currently unconscious, Domonick when EMS got to the scene and Dr. Reid after making a quick phone call."

Hotch was rather shocked. "Stan...didn't even torture them. I'm slightly amazed and slightly concerned."

"Excuse me if I'm incorrect about this, but how long were they missing or held captive?" Dr. Rawlings asked as he led Hotch into Reid's room.

"Only yesterday and today, I believe. I'd have to ask them about that," Hotch replied, taking in Reid's unconscious form. He had an oxygen mask on, but it hardly covered the bruising on his face from the airbag (or so Hotch hoped), nor did it cover the brace on his left wrist or the bandages that were being wrapped around his torso. It also didn't cover the glass fragments being pulled from his right hand and arm, no doubt the one closest to the shattered windshield.

"An EMT had to stop him from pulling out Domonick," Dr. Rawlings said. "We believe he got those glass fragments in his right arm and hand while he was originally getting him out of the car. Most of the shattered windshield broke on Domonick's side."

Hotch nodded. "And Domonick?"

Dr. Rawlings sighed. "I can't let you see him just yet."

Hotch nodded, understanding. "Just wondering." He looked at his watch. "I have to call the team and fill them in."

Dr. Rawlings nodded and smiled. "You can use my office if you need to."

Hotch nodded. "That would be wonderful, thank you."

Dr. Rawlings simply smiled and nodded, leading him down the hall to his office. Once the doctor left, Hotch took out his cell phone and dialed for Rossi.

Two rings later, Rossi picked up. "Rossi."

"It's Hotch."

"How are Reid and Domonick?"

Hotch sighed. "Not too good. Both are unconscious with concussions and rope burn on their wrists. Reid has a sprained left wrist, a small fracture in his ankle, and a few broken ribs. Of course there's also facial bruising I'm sincerely hoping was only from the airbag, but there are no signs of previous torture. Domonick has a severe head wound, he angered his gunshot wound, has a somewhat severe concussion, a broken wrist, a dislocated knee, and glass fragments that are still being removed."

Rossi didn't answer for a minute. When he finally did, he sighed. "At least they're alive and there was no physical torture."

Hotch sighed. "At least. What are you guys finding?"

"Lots of blood and shattered glass. Both cars are definitely totaled. No sign of Stan or Amy, but we did find blood on the passenger seat and the backseat of the Camry. We're trying to see if that on the passenger seat is splatter from Stan or if Amy had actually been sitting in the passenger seat and was sent flying into the backseat at the collision."

Hotch suddenly remembered something. "Domonick screamed Amy's name at one point. She also had screamed just before that. Maybe that blood was from before the collision, and Stan had hit her to shut her up."

"Maybe," Rossi said. "That would only make sense. We have another problem."

"We do?" Hotch asked.

Rossi seemed to nod. "Mmhm. Stan's out on the road. A woman came up to us saying her car had been stolen by a man with a pistol."

Hotch closed his eyes. "He fled. Again."

"And by the amount of blood in the car," Rossi added, "He isn't in the best of shape."