"Bound to your side, I'm trapped in silence. Just a possession. Is this sex or only violence that feeds your obsession?" Apocalyptica feat. Cristina Scabbia- 'SOS (Anything but Love)'.
Lila was disappointed in herself for losing control so easily. She glanced down at the bloodied and unconscious man at her feet. She hadn't anticipated that he would try to fight back. The cricket bat hung down by her leg. His knee was twisted the wrong way. She carelessly slung the bat to the side and used all of her strength to pull the chair into an upright position. Spencer was out cold. Pressing two fingers to the side of his neck, she was relieved to feel a strong pulse. The wound on his temple continued to ooze, sliding down his skin from under the blindfold. Guilt wracked her stomach. His left wrist had doubled in size. Lila turned on a dime to her kitchen. She tugged open the freezer door and retrieved several ice packs. She gently placed one between his cuffed wrists. Another two were tucked into the sides of his knee. She pressed another one to his head.
"I'm so sorry, Spencer."
Spencer bucked as he came to. The pain that spread throughout his entire body was intense. He had lost the sensation in his broken wrist. Median nerve injury following fracture of the distal radius is a common complication in 2-7% of cases... His knee throbbed. His head was pounding. He felt like he was one giant bruise. He could feel the bitter cold from the ice packs around his knee and his wrist. He whimpered. Spencer hated showing signs of weakness. This woman had completely lost control, subjecting him to a savage beating with a wooden bat. She held an ice pack to his head. He remained still and silent; not that he had permission to speak with the tape over his mouth.
"I'm sorry, Spencer. I didn't mean to lose control like that. Why did you fight me? Don't you want to be with me?" Spencer twisted his head away, "Why? I-I thought you liked me? Don't you love me?" Spencer grunted and shook his head, a new wave of pain blossoming in his skull. Lila planted a fist into his face, whipping his head back. Blood slithered out of his left nostril and down over the tape. "I know you shouldn't sleep with a concussion, but I need some time away from you." Spencer was too weak to fight her as she grabbed a handful of his hair and yanked his head to the side to expose the vein in his neck. She plunged a needle into his already battered flesh. Spencer's head fell limply against his chest. The blood dripped steadily from his nose onto his shirt.
JJ had never felt more ready to take someone down in her life as she did at that very moment. They had reached Lila Archer's residence in record time. She tightly strapped on her Kevlar vest and swept her golden ponytail out from underneath. The others were poised, ready to go. JJ glanced up at the six story building in front of her. It was a dark and dilapidated building that looked more akin to a drug den than somewhere a former actress lived. Emily approached, tucking her ear piece over the top of her ear.
"Jayje? Your focus is finding Spence. Take Dave and Tara. I'll take Matt and Luke and we'll get Lila." JJ nodded in understanding, her pools of blue focussed on a window on the sixth floor. I'm coming to get you, Spence... JJ withdrew her glock and held it in both hands. She slowly climbed the stairs. Six floors, two flights of stairs per floor. Twelve flights of stairs to reach her best friend. It felt like a lifetime to reach the sixth floor. Matt tugged a small tool out of his pocket as pushed it into the lock on the front door of the targeted apartment. He gave the tool a few squeezes, then nodded a silent indication that the door was unlocked. The group crept through the dark hallway. Emily used two fingers to indicate to the corridor to the left. She flicked on her flashlight and disappeared into the shadows with Matt and Luke on her tail. JJ continued forward. She froze at the sight before her. Blood was splattered all over the floor. Spencer was unconscious in the chair, his breaths shallow. She heard yells and a crashing from the direction that Emily had gone. Spencer's trousers pulled tight over his swollen knee. Fresh puncture marks in his neck bled steadily. His face was coated with dried blood. She dropped to her knees and pressed two fingers to the side of his neck. Her heart skipped a beat at the slow pulse beneath her fingertips. She gently tapped him on the cheek.
"Spence? It's JJ. Please, wake up." She received no response. Tara grabbed her microphone hooked to her vest.
"This is SSA Dr Tara Lewis with the BAU. I need medics to apartment 6C Randall Court. We have an agent down." She turned back. JJ reached around Spencer's head and fumbled with the knot of the blindfold. The material fell away from Spencer's face. JJ gasped at the purple hues forming around his right eye. Tara knelt down at his feet and picked the locks of the cuffs around his ankles. JJ gently peeled the tape off her best friend's mouth. His lips were chapped and bleeding. David moved around behind Spencer.
"JJ? You might want to get ready to catch him," instructed David as he crouched down to unlock the handcuffs. JJ gathered Spencer into a hug, her arms wrapped around his chest and his head resting on her shoulder. The first loop clicked free. Spencer's bloody right hand fell limply to his side. "I'm gonna have to be careful with this one. I think his wrist is broken." David slowly unlocked the final cuff and eased it open from the surrounding swelling. He supported the injured wrist and Spencer slumped forward. JJ shuffled back on her knees, dragging Spencer with her. David and Tara helped her manoeuvre the unconscious man to the floor.
A pair of medics bustled into the room and encouraged JJ away. They immediately got to work, placing an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth, hooking it over his hair. His slow breaths lightly listed the clear plastic. They unbuttoned his shirt and pressed electrodes to his chest. The machine beeped in time with his slow but steady heart beat. The lifted Spencer's left arm and looped a blood pressure cuff around the upper portion.
"BP is at seventy systolic. We need some fluids going wide open. We're going to need to strap up this wrist and knee." The female medic ripped open some packets and slung the rubbish to the floor. She tightly tied a tourniquet around his bloody wrist and swatted the back of his hand until a vein bulged. She slowly slid a cannula into the back of his hand until she saw a flash of blood. She taped the cannula down and connected a bag of clear fluids The male medic frowned.
"His breathing is shallow. I think he's going to go into respiratory arrest. Looks like a benzo OD. He's not responding to anything," he muttered, dragging his red backpack closer. He roughly squeezed Spencer's shoulders, "Hello? Sir? Can you hear me?" There was no reaction to the pain. He glanced up at his colleague who eyed him warily, awaiting instruction, "This isn't good. He also has blunt force trauma to the back of his head and temple. I suspect he has a moderate concussion. I'm gonna have to intubate." He gripped Spencer's jaw and pulled it towards him, forcing the doctor's mouth to fall open. With one hand supporting his jaw, the medic tugged the mask off. He dug around in his bag with one hand until he found the object he was looking for. He slid the laryngoscope out of the bag and hooked it into Spencer's mouth, coming to rest at the back of his tongue. He turned to JJ who watched desperately, "Could you open that little orange packet for me and pass it over?" JJ swallowed hard and nodded, tearing open the packet and handing over the long, clear tube. It had a small balloon at one end and a large plastic connector at the other end. Her heart dropped into her stomach. The medic guided the tube slowly and carefully past the scope and down Spencer's throat. JJ felt bile creeping up her gullet. Her mouth watered. The female medic dragged her stethoscope from around her neck and pressed the disc to Spencer's bare chest.
"You're in," she said, draping the stethoscope back around her neck. She turned to Tara and David, "Could you guys give me a hand please? I need to get some equipment from the ambulance." The pair nodded and followed her out of the apartment.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" asked JJ, her voice shaking. The medic clipped a silicone bag to the end of the tube and squeezed it.
"If you can take over this while I secure the tube, that would be great." JJ kept squeezing the bag as the medic wound some white ribbon several times around the tube and then tied it in the crook of Spencer's neck. He connected a syringe to the port on the tube. Footsteps followed a short time later. Tara and David had returned with the female medic, all of them laden with equipment. The female medic took the white plastic collar and carefully slid it under Spencer's neck with minimal amount of movement. She fastened it securely under his jaw, holding his head up. She turned to David and Tara.
"Could you help us roll him? We need to get him on a back board." David nodded and knelt down beside Spencer's legs. The male medic supported Spencer's head with his hands. Tara knelt alongside David. David gently held Spencer's legs whilst Tara held his upper body. The female medic grabbed the hard plastic back board.
"On my count, we're gonna roll him. 1... 2... 3... Roll." Spencer was rolled onto his right side and the board tucked in behind him, "Bringing him back. Nice and steady. 1... 2... 3... And down." Spencer was brought to rest with his back flat on the board. Foam blocks were placed either side of his head. The straps crossed his chin and forehead to keep his head perfectly still. The medics cut up Spencer's trouser leg to reveal a swollen, bruised and deformed knee, then used more foam blocks to stabilise his broken wrist and knee. Straps were brought across his chest and legs to secure him to the board.
"Okay, let's get him loaded up into the gurney and get him out of here."