Chapter 3

Within seconds of entering the woods, Hotch slowed for a moment quickly scanning the area; the light from the moon allowing him to just see Ezral racing through the trees ahead of him, Hotch quickly followed as the moon was swallowed up by the clouds once more.

While searching Ezral's belongings for clues, after hearing Rossi shout his name, Morgan froze for a split second glancing at Reid and Prentiss then tore out of the house, gun already in his hand. With a quick look at the empty deck his gaze turned to the woods just in time to see Rossi disappearing through the trees.

Prentiss raced after Morgan, some of the officers in the home following behind her.

"Reid…Reid, what's happening?"

Reid turned to the phone in his hand; Garcia was still on the line.

"I'll call you back!" he shouted, then shut the phone off and ran for the woods and his team.

Hotch raced dangerously forward in the dark woods, the blood rushing in his ears as he ran, one hand holding his gun, the other hand held his small flashlight high which he tried to aim ahead as he continually swept at any branches in his way. The light barely broke through the darkness so he was relying more on sound than sight, so when Rossi's voice echoed through his earpiece, he yanked it off; he couldn't afford even one distraction as he listened for which way Ezral was going. He kept moving forward, stumbling dangerously but picking up his pace at the sound of dried branches snapping up ahead ; this was one Unsub he wasn't about to let slip out of his hands.

Knowing the woods as he did, Mason had kept moving purposely not in a straight path, angling left and right...deeper and deeper into the woods. He wanted the man in his singular purpose to outrun his teammates who most likely were following him; what was going to happen was between him and The Agent. Mason wanted him so deep into the woods with no idea of how far in he actually was; a smile grew as he knew Hotchner would not stop chasing after him no matter what.

Soon enough Mason finally arrived at where he was running to, a large tree near a rocky drop off leading down to where the woods continued below. When he was done with his nemesis he would toss his body off the drop for his people to find.

He scaled the tree quickly and waited; he liked being up there, waiting to pounce on his prey. He didn't have to wait long; as the moon once again moved from behind the clouds. Like a stage curtain opening, sure enough suddenly there he was; Mr. Serious one-helluva-tracker Agent slowly moving under him just past the tree, his breathing loud but steady in the quiet of the woods, his attention totally focused on the path ahead.

Most likely trying to listen to which way I went. smirked Mason to himself.

Gripping his knife, he leapt from the tree knocking Hotch face down to the ground, his gun flying from his grip into the darkness and smashing against a nearby tree; the flashlight following suit, bouncing off something hard and sputtering out.

Mason raised his arm, ready to slam the knife into Hotch's back, when the Agent surprised him by bucking suddenly and twisting to the side. Mason lost ground slipping off and he scrambled to his feet, Hotchner suddenly in front of him punching him.

Shocked, he lost the grip on his knife and it fell to the ground; his anger escalated and Mason growled punching back.

Their fight was a silent one, two silhouettes in the moonlit woods, the only sound the smack of fist against flesh and the heavy grunts of both men, neither of whom would stand down.

Blocking one of Hotch's punches, Mason kneed him in the groin, and as Hotch instinctively bent forward, Mason barreled into him shoving the Agent away and to the ground. Keeping one eye on the downed man, he looked around quickly, searching for his knife. He caught the silver glimmer of his blade nearby and grabbed it, turning his full attention to Hotch and ran at him.

This was a moment he'd relish.

Moments earlier, Hotch had gasped as he pulled himself into a fetal position, tears forming at the side of his eyes; the sharpness of the pain he was feeling blurring everything else around him.

Breathe!…breathe!...he urged himself.

Rossi's face flickered into his mind and Hotch cursed himself for removing his ear piece; it lay squished behind his neck and the cold ground. He struggled to locate it in the darkness he needed to put it back on…he needed to tell Rossi…he needed his team...he needed…

The rush of crunching twigs snapped him into sudden awareness all blurriness gone; Hotch's eyes flashed.

He's coming…

Just as Mason reached the agent, the man suddenly turned onto his back and lifted one leg using Mason's momentum against him shoving his foot against Mason's chest and grabbing onto the wrist of his knife hand, hoping to pull the man forward and over him to the ground. In that split second, Mason with his free hand clamped down hard on Hotch's shoulder and both men's eyes widened gasping simultaneously as they realized that in the heat of their fight they had gotten too close to the drop; in one fluid moment they both rolled off the edge.

With no chance of gaining their footing, they experienced free-fall for a moment and then suddenly the rocky ground smashed into them; their bodies smacking heavily against it. Pulled apart by gravity, they half rolled half bounced down the slope until coming to a rest at the bottom, neither of them moving.

The only sound came from the cool night breeze making its way through the treetops.

Slowly, Mason shifted raising his head; disoriented, he could feel blood trickling down the side of his face. With a groan he pulled himself up into a sitting position and looked around, a smile forming on his bloodied face when he saw the unmoving body of the Agent a few feet away.

Mason slowly made his way over and dropped to his knees next to the man, his smile widening even more as he stared at the side of the lifeless man's head which was covered in blood, blood that looked black in the moonlight.

"Ding-dong...you're dead." he whispered with a smile that suddenly dropped from his mouth as he heard a soft groan as the lifeless man suddenly started to move, his body twitching.

Muttering a long slow curse Mason looked around for his knife, not finding it, he glanced a fist sized rock that was in reach and with no hesitation he grabbed it smashing it against Hotch's head; the agent's body immediately going still.

He raised the rock once more ready to beat the older man to death with it when he suddenly stopped. In the cool moonlit darkness of the night, looking at the man beneath him he realized that he wasn't finished with him yet. This death was too easy, he wanted him to suffer, he wanted him to be aware of what was happening.

Mason wanted him to pay; wanted to wipe the all-knowing look off the man's face; because of this man's persistence he had almost been caught. He dropped the rock and ripped away the bloody earpiece he noticed resting near the man's head then quickly rummaged through Hotch's pockets until he found his wallet and credentials, throwing everything including the agent's phone which he turned off then smashed into the hard ground, as far as he could into the brush; then he grabbed Hotch's limp body, hefted him up and over his shoulder scowling at the pain from the wounds on his own body and with one last scan for his missing knife headed towards a hidden path less than a mile away that he had kept camouflaged in case he had to make a quick get away without being seen.

He smiled to himself. He was way smarter than Agent Aaron Hotchner and before he killed him, he was going to make sure the man knew that.

TBC