UPDATE! WOOP! Okay, I have to admit. I'm not entirely convinced by this chapter. I don't want to let that put you off, but I do feel perhaps I could have done more with it. Maybe you will disagree, I don't know (hopefully). It has been written in pretty much one sitting so apologies for any mistakes. I hope you enjoy though! And thank you for all your lovely reviews. As usual, I love receiving them :)
WARNINGS: Violence, swearing, things of a sexual nature etc etc... If you don't know by now, you really need to read it properly ;)
Morgan and Prentiss left the gymnasium, heading straight for the SUV. Jumping in, they quickly fastened their seat belts and Morgan started the engine.
"Garcia said the place isn't scheduled for demolition 'til late this year." Morgan informed his colleague.
"That kind of building would be the perfect place to take someone. Especially if you knew you were likely to be left alone for long periods of time. If they're not scheduled to demolish it for a good few months, the chances of anyone being on site is unlikely." Prentiss felt positive about this location.
"We need to call Hotch. Tell him we're going to the location." Morgan reminded.
Prentiss nodded, taking out her phone. She dialled Hotch and put him on speaker.
"Emily, anything?" Hotch answered.
"We might just have a possible location. A disused building scheduled for demolition later in the year." Prentiss spoke loud and clearly.
"It used to house the gym that Jason goes to. Apparently he knows the place like the back of his hand." Morgan continued.
"Yeah, he's helped out with all sorts of events." Prentiss added.
"Good." Hotch went quiet for a few moments. "We'll need to meet you back at the BAU, we're about twenty minutes away."
"What? Hotch? No!" Morgan shouted, shocked. "If Reid is there we can't waste any time! We gotta get in there, man."
"That may be so, but our profile has changed. We need to discuss how we are going to handle this. We also need all the man power we can get. We do not go near the place without SWAT teams."
"Fine, well we'll meet you there." Morgan said defiantly.
"You will meet us back at the BAU and that is an order. Under no circumstances do you go near that building with only two of you." Hotch awaited a response. Morgan was seething, he was so desperate to find out whether Reid was in the building. "Morgan?" Hotch asked firmly.
"We'll be there, sir." Prentiss intervened. "See you in twenty." And she put down the phone. She turned to Morgan, concerned. "Derek, what are you doing?"
"Can you believe him, Emily? We have a possible location but we can't go near it!" Morgan hit his steering wheel with his fist. "It's just ridiculous!"
"Morgan, stop the car." Emily said gently. When he ignored her, she tried again more firmly. "Stop the car!" Morgan turned his gaze to Prentiss then surrendered, pulling quickly and aggressively into a side lane. He eyed Prentiss for a couple of seconds, then looked out of his side window.
"I know what you're gonna say." He said, sighing.
"Well if you know, then I don't have to tell you." Prentiss was kind, but firm.
"But you're gonna tell me anyway." Morgan turned to her, an irritated look dancing in his eyes.
"You can't do this, Derek. You know how important it is that we get this right. If Reid is in there, we need to be fully prepared. That means fully armed – not just with weapons but with our profile. If we go in there now waving our guns about on an incorrect profile, we could get seriously hurt, or worse... Reid could." Morgan looked at her, his eyes softening.
"I just wanna get him back, Emily. And I hate the fact that we are wasting valuable time going back to the BAU when there are two of us ready and waiting to make a move."
"But it's what we do, Morgan. You would be the first to tell me that. We use our profile. Otherwise, we'd just be like every other cop. Then where would we be?"
"We'd be makin' a fuckin' move, right now. That's where we'd be." Morgan was so frustrated by the limitations of their jobs. Tears welled up in his eyes slightly, as he thought of what might be happening to Reid at that moment.
"I know..." She smiled sadly. "Sometimes this job sucks."
"Amen to that." Morgan sighed. He sat quietly for a couple of moments, then started up the engine again, and drove back to the BAU.
After sitting and waiting patiently in the BAU conference room, Prentiss finally spotted Hotch and Rossi entering the bullpen.
"They're here." She pointed out to the rest of her colleagues.
"About time." Morgan stated angrily. Prentiss had already kept his anger in check many times and she threw him another look.
"What Emily? He's right." JJ started, equally frustrated. "We should have met each other there."
"I'm not starting back on that one again." Prentiss rolled her eyes.
"Guys, tearing each other apart isn't helping." Garcia said, sadly. "They're here now. Can we not just focus on getting our baby back?"
They all looked to each other, by means of apology. They all knew Garcia was right, they shouldn't have been taking it out on each other. This was about Reid, first and foremost.
Hotch shook Lewis' hand and brought him into the conference room with him, Rossi followed closely behind, shutting the door.
"Thanks for waiting." Rossi commented when he came in, sensing the tension.
The whole team was stood, aside from Garcia. They felt that need to be in control. And sitting seemed too calm an action to be doing at a time like this.
"I won't waste any more time." Hotch started. "We need to discuss the profile."
"It turns out the revenge profile we were discussing earlier was actually rather accurate. Stephen's father paid the Psychiatrist to keep the medical records out of the courts so Jason would be sent down." Rossi started to explain.
"Why would he do that?" JJ looked shocked.
"He was at the top of a corporate empire that his son was being groomed to inherit, he was too embarrassed to admit that he was a schizophrenic." Rossi explained further.
"So Jason was implicated for a crime he didn't commit." Prentiss cut in.
"And now he's looking for revenge." Morgan added.
"Yes, which means we have to be very careful about how we approach this." Hotch warned.
"Revenge crimes are often driven by compulsion, particularly in cases like this where the revenge has been meticulously planned and perfected." Rossi carried on.
"But why the focus on Reid, Rossi? I don't get it. Revenge crimes often aren't this need based. Obviously the need is to get revenge, but why the..." Morgan's breath caught. "Why the sexual angle on this?"
"Well it was a sexual accusation, so the need for a sexual revenge seems to go hand in hand." Hotch explained.
"I see what Morgan's getting at." Prentiss nodded her head in understanding. "Okay, there's the need to get revenge in the same manner, yes. But why the obsession with Reid in particular? Surely he is just a means to an end? But the obsessive stalking and photography suggests not. It suggests that the revenge is now a secondary motive and the primary motive is now possessing Reid."
"Which is why we think he was going to attack Stephen Thompson before he committed suicide." Rossi chipped in.
"So we're looking at a guy who was a potential sex offender, getting accused of rape before he could actually commit the crime. Who then planned his attack on the very person who accused him, but again is stopped in his tracks by the potential victim's suicide. So then he goes for 15 years, never finding the need to attack anyone again? I don't get it." Morgan looked confused.
"Until he saw Reid. Reid reminded him of Stephen and it brought it all back. He felt angry and the old familiar feelings of revenge began to stir. But with Reid, something changed and he began to become obsessed with him. The need for power and control overtook the need for revenge. Chances are, if he had been given enough time to plan Stephen's attack, this exact same behaviour would have emerged, but it was never given chance to manifest itself." Rossi spoke quickly and confidently.
"But surely there must have been other victims somewhere?" JJ asked, rubbing her head. "This kind of guy doesn't just stop attacking people."
"No, but the fact is, he never started." Hotch replied. "The desire was there, but after Stephen's death, he started working again. His mind was occupied and the object of his desires was out of the picture. But then on seeing Reid, the old feelings emerged."
"So he kept himself going for that long without any kind of violent sexual tendencies? That's rare." Prentiss questioned, amazed.
"Okay, this is super icky, but I've been looking through Jason's laptop for the last hour and he has stuff hidden all up in here. All sorts of awful pornographic images, videos... you name it, he's got it." Garcia said, bringing some images up on his laptop screen.
They all looked away disgusted.
"And that's all just... there?" Lewis asked. "For anyone to see?"
"Oh hell no." Garcia replied. "It has taken some almighty finding, this guy is good at his work. But not as good as me. He has had this stuff hidden in the deepest, darkest depths of his system. Probably in case people like us come looking." She pushed her glasses back up her nose with her pen, then suddenly froze. A horrified look on her face.
"Garcia, what's wrong?" Hotch looked at her with sudden concern.
"It's just sunk in... that this is the guy that's got Reid." She slammed the laptop shut and pushed away from the table, heading over to window, tears welling up. "Oh god!" She moaned. Morgan followed her to the window. Putting an arm around her. JJ stood solemnly, arms crossed tightly across her stomach.
"So how do we do this?" She asked, seriously.
"We try to catch him off guard. We go in with back up and plenty of it. He's not going to give up Reid easily. We know how that usually ends." Hotch prompted.
"Suicide by cop." Rossi spoke dryly.
"No way in hell I'm killin' him." Morgan spoke up. "We bring him back here alive. Death is too good for that bastard."
"Morgan, let's not get ahead of ourselves. One thing at a time." Hotch ordered.
"Just one thing, Aaron." Lewis spoke up suddenly. "Do you not think the location has been found a little too easily?"
The team all looked at him, curious as to what he had to say.
"What do you mean?" Prentiss spoke up.
"Well, for a technical analyst who works for the BAU, do you not think that it has all been a little too easy to track him down? I mean, obviously there's no guarantee that he's actually there. But if he is, do you not think he's made a lot of mistakes?"
"You mean it's like a set up?" Rossi questioned.
Garcia turned around thoughtfully, wiping a tear from her face. Suddenly the cogs started turning again.
"Well, yeah. I see what you mean. If I were to do anything like this, which I wouldn't, obviously, but say I did. I would pay for everything in cash, which Jason clearly does. Apart from the gym? I mean, he pays as he goes, why the need to pay on card? He manages to pay for everything with cash, aside from those transactions at the gym and the Coffee Stop."
Hotch nodded.
"He wanted us to find those transactions."
"Which means he wanted us to talk to the people in those places." Prentiss continued.
"Which means he wants us to find him. Why?" Morgan furrowed his brows.
"Do you think the place is rigged?" JJ asked, not quite believing she was asking this question when she knew Reid might be inside.
"That just doesn't fit." Rossi said thoughtfully. "He wouldn't want to kill everyone, that doesn't fit with the original revenge plan."
They all stood in silence for a good ten seconds, each trying to figure out in their own heads the missing piece to the puzzle.
Suddenly Lewis spoke up.
"If we look at the effects Stephen's lies had on Jason, then surely they would be mirrored in what Jason wants to achieve with Dr. Reid."
"He wants him to feel embarrassed." Rossi nodded his head.
"He lost his job, so maybe unwanted." JJ threw it out there.
"He wants the big show." Hotch said simply. They all looked to him. "He wants us to see it all. Everything he has done. And he wants to watch our reactions. Like he watched everyone's reactions towards him when he was accused by Stephen."
"And that's our missing puzzle piece." Rossi stated, satisfied.
"So what now?" Morgan asked.
"Rossi, Lewis and Prentiss, you will enter the building with me. It's safe to assume they are most likely in the basement, but Morgan and JJ you will secure the rest of the building with some of the SWATs. Those with me, we will go down to the basement. If he's there, then we do our best to bring him in without anyone getting hurt. Jason included."
"Oh hell no, Hotch! You gotta be kidding me! You're excluding me from this?" Morgan shouted angrily. He was incredibly frustrated and almost squared up to Hotch.
"You are too emotionally involved, Morgan. All Jason will do is play on that. Not to mention the fact that he clearly has issues with your friendship with Reid. If he focuses on that, it isn't going to help Reid. I need to take people in with me who are going to keep their emotions in check."
"And you think I can't do that?" Morgan asked, offended.
"I wouldn't ask you to." Hotch simply answered.
"And what about you, JJ? How do you feel about this?" Morgan turned for some moral support.
"If I would have to go in there, not knowing what I was going to see. I don't think I could do that." Her eyes started to water up. "I would rather be there for him once he's safe, where I can actually give him some comfort. I can't see him in the same room as that man. Knowing..." Garcia put an arm around her as JJ broke down and took her into an embrace.
"We can't show any emotion to this guy." Rossi spoke to all of them now. "No matter what he does. No matter what he says. No matter what Reid is saying or doing. Nothing. We can show nothing. The last thing we want to do is give the man the satisfaction he is craving. If you don't feel you can do that, then you wait outside for the go ahead."
Prentiss nodded, swallowing. She didn't want to do this, but she knew she could. She had said it before and she would say it again. Compartmentalising was her thing. Hotch just looked serious, as always. His face barely registered on an emotional level as it was. Rossi had no doubt, Hotch would be capable of this. He himself, however, had his doubts about his own abilities to keep calm. Reid was somebody he deeply respected and one of the few people in life he wholeheartedly liked. He could find few faults in Reid, which made it difficult to judge how he might react in this situation. He told himself his negotiation skills would serve him well and left it at that.
"I don't think I can do that." Lewis spoke up. "I'm so god damn angry at him right now. I don't think I would be able to contain myself. I'm sorry."
Hotch nodded in understanding.
"It's okay. I'd much rather you say."
"I'm coming." Morgan cut in.
"Derek." Rossi warned.
"I can keep my emotions under control, trust me. If it's Reid's life on the line, I will do whatever it takes to get him back safe... You have my word."
Hotch eyed him carefully, for a few moments, then nodded.
"Okay... But if I have any doubts about your state of mind, you're out." Hotch ordered leaving his eye contact lingering as an extra warning, Morgan simply nodded. Hotch then turned to the group. "Let's get moving."
Jason was still sat in the corner of the room with the lights off. He had drank a quarter of his bottle of whisky then decided enough was enough. He placed the bottle down on the floor. He could still hear Reid's slightly panicked breathing, but he had to give him his due. He'd calmed down a lot over the last half an hour. Given what Garcia had told him about how bad his phobia was, Jason thought he was coping fairly well. He thought back to the time he had spent with Spencer so far. He had thoroughly enjoyed every moment. It had far surpassed any of his expectations. As had Spencer. Jason felt himself getting aroused again. He was so very tempted to open the door and let Spencer out, just so he could have him again. The feelings stirred in his groin and he found himself standing up to switch on the light.
Reid had been in the hole in the ground now for forty minutes. All he could see out of the window was darkness. He was sure he had probably hyperventilated for half of those minutes. He was now feeling much calmer. Mostly because he refused to move. Whenever he did and he felt the walls surrounding him, it would send him into a panic. So he chose not to move. He had slowed his breathing down considerably using this method, so he figured it worked well. His whole body ached, he felt sick and tired. He couldn't even bring himself to come to terms with what had just happened to him. It was like a nightmare. But at least it was over now.
In some ways he wished that the hole was a coffin and he was actually dead. If the team weren't going to find him, then he'd rather not survive. Anything was preferable to becoming a sex object for Jason. His leg throbbed dreadfully from where he had been stabbed and his arm was stinging like crazy. He moved it, trying to relieve some of the pain but found himself touching the wall to the right of him. For no logical reason, he then felt his body moving just to remind him of what a small space he was in. He stretched his legs and arms outwards, then felt the panic rising again. He told himself he was being stupid, and that it was his own fault for insisting on reacquainting himself with the walls, but he couldn't help it. The urge was too strong. He really didn't know what he expected to find. Whether he thought the walls would suddenly be gone, he didn't know. He didn't know anything any more except misery and panic. He had stopped trying to profile the man when basic survival skills became more important. Keeping his mind from being flooded with pain was his primary function. The secondary was trying to survive. Last came the profile. And what was he trying to prove with that? The profile only showed him how truly doomed he was. Without people looking for him, he really had no options.
Jason had already told him that the team weren't looking. The people he considered his dearest and most loyal friends, no, his family, weren't even looking for him. He almost laughed at the irony. He worked with some of the best minds in the country, but he goes missing and they don't even notice. It was laughable. He thought about what the team would say to him. Rossi would be passionate, telling him to keep strong and not to let anything drag him down. Garcia would be sweet and soft, no doubt giving him cookies and too much fuss. JJ would be quietly emotional, but supportive. Making sure he knew exactly what he meant to everyone. Prentiss, she would be strong, no nonsense, but soft in her own way. Morgan, his closest friend, his most trusted colleague, would no doubt be heaping on the advice from his not inconsiderable life experience. Morgan to Reid was like the older brother he never had. And Hotch, would simply be diamond, strong to the core. Reid got lost in his thoughts for a few minutes, thinking about how much had changed, and how the people he cared so deeply for had let him down so terribly. He couldn't blame them for this, but in the end, they could have helped. They could have listened, and they didn't. And because of that he was stuck here. Feeling tears creeping up into his eyes again as he thought of the life he had lost, he took deep breaths to stop himself from crying. It was all he seemed to do now.
Suddenly his eyes were forced to squint as bright lights assaulted his eyes. He stared up through the glass, once again able to see the ceiling. Seeing that made him desperately want to be free. Hoping beyond hope that the lock might have been taken off, he pushed at the door. But nothing happened. He pushed harder and harder, pressing his back into the stone, but still to no avail. He hit hard at the door in frustration, wincing as pain lanced through his knuckles. Trying to calm himself before he injured himself further, he took some more deep breaths. His hot breath reflected back onto his face, reminding him of just how close that glass panel was. He knew he couldn't carry on like this for much longer, his body could only take so much. He would either die through blood loss or if his body endured much more stress, a heart attack was sounding more and more likely.
"Jason?" He called out weakly. He had to try. "Are you there?" Feeling incredibly sorry for himself, a small sob escaped his lips when no one came to answer his call. "Jason?" He called out quietly, in a broken plea. Then a tall body stood over the glass, looking down at him. It was Jason. Reid's heart leapt.
Jason stared down at Reid as he stood over the glass panel. He smirked at how desperate Reid looked at that moment. He was like a child screaming for his mother. The relief in his victim's face almost made him laugh. He walked away from the glass and out of Reid's view. Reid started calling him again.
"Jason?" He said softly, clearly in the hope that Jason would have some sympathy. When the man didn't return, Reid started shouting again and banging on the door. "JASON!... Jason, please!..." His breathing started picking up again. Jason walked to the chair where there was a square black piece of wood standing behind. He picked it up and made his way back over to the glass panel. Reid was still shouting him.
"Sshhh... I'm here." He said soothingly. Reid was breathing in hitching gasps now. He was clearly distraught.
"Please... Jason... I... I.. can't... breathe..." He continued breathing in this panicked fashion, his chest was too tight to talk properly.
"I know, I know." Jason spoke slowly and softly. "Calm down, take some deep breaths and I will let you out." Reid looked up into his eyes and Jason talked him through breathing slowly. Eventually, his breathing slowed down to a fairly normal rate. "Good, very good." Jason said, in a patronising manner. Then stood up and moved towards the lock, but instead of unlocking it, he picked up the piece of black wood. "Okay, Spence. Well, I've gotta go now for a bit. I'll just cover this up so the light doesn't bother you."
Reid's eyes opened wide as a black panel was put over the glass.
"NO! No, no, Jason! Please! Let me out."
Jason sat silently next to the hole smiling at Reid's pathetic attempts to speak to someone he didn't even know was there. Jason was on a complete control high. The more Reid suffered, the more he wanted him to suffer.
Suddenly he heard footsteps coming from upstairs. They were moving fast. Jason realised his time might just be up. He quickly moved to his chair, took his gun from the concealed storage facility within and ran back to unlock the box containing Reid. Reid pushed the door open with all his might, completely surprised that it actually opened. He was desperately breathing in the cool air that was suddenly surrounding him. Still deep in the midst of a panic attack. All of a sudden he was hauled to his feet by an arm around his throat. Jason didn't have time to even pull him out of the hole before four armed agents entered the room followed by three members of the SWAT team.
"FBI! Drop your weapon!" Hotch shouted.
Jason pushed the gun to Reid's cheek.
"Don't move a fucking muscle." He ordered. They were in a stand off.
Hotch, Prentiss, Morgan and Rossi all had their guns pointed directly at the two men. All attention was focused on the fact that Jason had his gun pointing at Reid's face. Reid was obviously in a complete mess, his clothes were torn, he also had blood caked all over his hands, face, arm and leg. They tried to ignore the hole that Reid was stood in, and how coffin-like it looked. They also tried to ignore the fact that Reid was so desperately scared by something that he couldn't calm his breathing down. Jason had obviously been in the middle of something when they arrived. They all assessed this without letting one emotion pass their face.
"Jason Turner. Drop your weapon now." Hotch ordered.
"Or else what?" He mocked, stroking the gun against Reid's cheek. Reid's eyes darted between his colleagues. Begging one of them to look at him and give him reassurance, but not one of them did. Their faces were all emotionless.
"Or else we will be forced to shoot you." Rossi spoke calmly.
"Well then you'd better have a clear head shot Agent Rossi." He smiled, knowing that none of them did. Reid was in the way of all of them. "Looks like the only one in a position to kill here, is me." He smiled a self-satisfied smile, baiting them for a reaction. He received none.
"We have seven people in here with guns trained on you right now, Jason. Do you really wanna take that bet?" Morgan chipped in.
Reid's breathing was starting to slow down, he was managing to stand on his own weight a lot easier now. He couldn't believe that the team was there. He felt like he was hallucinating. He thought they didn't know.
Jason, noticing that Reid was standing now, released the grip from around his neck but didn't move his arm.
"Well let's test that shall we?" Jason smiled. "If any of you have a shot on me, then you will, of course, take me out before I can do this." His hand moved down Reid's chest. Reid turned bright red and moved his hands to grab Jason's. The gun was then forcefully moved to under his chin. "Get off!" Jason shouted down his ear, making him wince. His hands automatically moved out of Jason's way.
Morgan wanted to throttle Jason. The look on Reid's face was killing him. He just wanted to help him, but he knew from the look in Reid's eyes, they were already too late. He kept his focus on Jason, trying to keep his face completely straight.
"You think that bothers us?" Rossi spoke.
"Doesn't it?" Jason moved his hand down to Reid's thigh then started stroking upwards towards his groin. Reid closed his eyes, deeply embarrassed.
"No... Why would it?" Rossi stared at him calmly. Reid opened his eyes slightly to look at Rossi, he looked hurt. Rossi ignored it. Whereas Jason was starting to look confused.
"So you wouldn't mind if I do this then?" He pulled his hand up to Reid's groin and squeezed. Reid shifted uncomfortably, his face flushing again. He looked desperately to Morgan, then Prentiss then Hotch, for someone to say something. But none of them did.
"Nope, go ahead." Rossi said casually.
"We're paid to be here." Hotch said in an equally carefree tone. "Otherwise, we wouldn't be here."
"Get your kicks while you can." Prentiss said, smiling slightly. She hated herself.
Reid looked to them, brows furrowed.
"Well what about you, Derek?" He licked Reid's ear. "You don't mind if I..." His hand moved to Reid's button on his trousers and started unfastening them.
"No." Reid whispered. "Please."
"Sshhh... Spence. This doesn't involve you." He reached his hand inside the trousers. Reid could feel Jason's hardness pressing up against him and his head quickly took him to being strapped to the bed. He shook away the thought.
Morgan could feel his heart pounding, he was trying his hardest to stop his gun from shaking, to stop his eyes from showing how he truly felt. He was doing well, but he knew he had to speak. And that would most likely give him away. He looked away from Reid's distressed eyes and into Jason's smug ones.
"Do what you want. The kid's no concern of mine." He said coldly.
Jason's eyes flickered for a second. He was clearly confused, but a flicker of desperation told the team they were doing the right thing.
He started rubbing at Reid's groin now, making his victim gasp.
"Morgan, please." His begged in his soft high pitched voice. He then looked to Hotch, desperately wanting someone to help him. "Hotch, help me." He whispered, his eyes wide and pleading.
"No one is going to help you, Spence." Reid moved his hands back to pull at Jason's, but the gun was pushed further into his flesh. "Get the fuck off." He hissed. Reid then broke into a sob. He didn't know what else to do. He was so embarrassed. He just wanted to die. Jason paused, tensely. "I said, get the fuck off!" Jason shouted down his ear. Reid closed his eyes in a surreal moment of calm.
Suddenly he turned himself round in Jason's grip and grabbed his hand with the gun and pushed it up against his own chin again. Now he was facing a shocked Jason. He stared him straight in the eyes and shouted.
"Shoot me!" He screamed, his voice hoarse. "Fucking shoot me!"
Jason looked at Reid completely shocked, his mouth dropped open at the sudden act from his victim. The team were equally shocked, Morgan and Hotch had suddenly called out to Reid in the heat of the moment and now they were stood watching their colleague ordering a man to shoot him.
Jason made no move, it was clear he wasn't going to shoot him. Reid's anger suddenly dissipated as he realised Jason was never actually going to kill him. What had everything been for? If Jason was never going to kill him, how on earth did he end up letting him do what he wanted? Then, all the anger and frustration he had felt since he had been taken away from his life came flooding back and he gave Jason an almighty shove, grabbing the gun from him as he did so. Jason fell backwards against the far wall and was left in a sitting position.
"Reid! No!" Hotch shouted as Reid pointed the gun at the man's head.
Hotch dropped his gun and ran towards Reid in what almost felt like slow motion. He leapt at the young agent. Their bodies collided just as Reid pulled the trigger. Reid toppled to the floor as Hotch landed on him, tripping up over the edge of the hole. His painful leg screamed at him as Hotch crushed him to the floor and the breath escaped from his lungs.
The gunshot missed Jason's head, catching him in the shoulder. The man cried out as waves of pain radiated from the bullet wound. Morgan and Rossi were then upon him.
"We need a medic in here!" Hotch shouted.
"Get up!" Morgan yelled. Tugging Jason up onto his feet.
"You're fucking hurting me!" Jason shouted at him.
"Good." Rossi stated simply.
Morgan roughly cuffed Jason's wrists.
Lewis entered with JJ and another of his team members. They had come purely to take Jason back to the BAU. They knew the team needed to be with Reid.
"Get him out of here." Morgan shoved him towards his old colleagues.
"Gladly." Lewis said, his voice full of venom.
"No!" Jason shouted pulling against the two agents. "No, you can't take him away from me!" He fought to get back to Reid. He was lay on the floor next to Hotch, who was trying to calm his breathing with a hand on his back. "Get the fuck off him!" Jason shouted. Then he was pulled out of the room.
Morgan and Rossi stood looking out after Jason for a few moments, in a complete daze. They were brought back to the present by the entrance of the medics who promptly moved Hotch out of the way.
"He's hyperventilating, he needs some O2." The younger man said.
"It's okay, son. Calm down." An older man was trying his best to hold Reid still whilst they put a mask on him and examined his injuries.
"Look at his arm." The younger man said in shock.
"Careful, careful!" The older man was trying to stop Reid from hitting out at them. Reid was trying his best to get the men away from him, he just wanted two minutes of space. Something he felt like he hadn't had for an eternity.
"Hold on!" Prentiss said, pushing in. "Just give him a minute!" She shooed away the paramedics. She knelt down next to her younger colleague. His breathing was going ten to the dozen, he pulled his mask off in a desperate attempt to have some space. "Can you here me, Reid?" No response, his eyes were tightly shut. "Reid?" She touched his arm and he flinched. "REID! It's me! Emily!" Suddenly he froze, opening his eyes, daring to look. When he saw her face, he visibly relaxed. Hotch's tackle had obviously scared the life out of him. But it needed to be done. His breathing slowed down considerably once he was more aware of his surroundings. "Reid?" She spoke softly, looking to her colleagues who were all looking at Reid sadly. JJ's had tears rolling down her face. Morgan looked desperate to help in some way and Hotch and Rossi had similar seriously concerned faces. "You need to go to the hospital. These guys are going to help you. But I will stay with you if you want, okay?"
Reid simply nodded his head, too exhausted to say anything else.
Prentiss slipped the mask back onto his face and then moved behind Reid to help him sit up. His hair fell in front of his face. He looked terrible.
"What's your name, son?" The older medic asked.
"Spencer." Prentiss answered.
"Okay, Spencer, can you stand up?"
"No... Reid." He breathed out.
"What did he say?" The younger medic looked to Prentiss. She furrowed her brows.
"I think he wants you to call him Reid."
"Okay, can you stand up, Reid?" The older medic asked.
Reid simply nodded.
"Okay, we're gonna get you onto a gurney, but we need you to stand up. Okay?"
"After three Reid." Prentiss instructed, she nodded to the older man on the other side of him to take some of his weight. "One, two, three!"
They pulled Reid up to standing, he winced as his weight accidentally went to his injured leg. Morgan looked to Rossi and Hotch, shaking his head at the condition his youngest colleague was in. Reid limped his way over to the gurney and collapsed onto it, with help from Prentiss and the paramedic, he managed to lie down.
"Okay, we need to get him into the ambulance, he needs IV fluids and some analgesics."
Reid's tired eyes opened wide suddenly, trying to abruptly sit up.
"No narcotics, no narcotics." He said, looking desperately from Prentiss to the paramedic.
The paramedics looked to the team to make sure Reid wasn't delusional.
"You do what he says, man." Morgan shrugged. They all exchanged glances. Saddened to think that Tobias Hankel was still having an impact on his life. Morgan couldn't help but wonder for how long Jason would be a part of Reid's life now.
When the paramedics were just getting Reid ready to be moved out, the team approached their youngest colleague.
"Hey kid." Morgan smiled. A sad look in his eyes.
Reid's eyes were tired, it was clear that he wasn't fully focused. His mind was obviously exhausted. Once the adrenaline had left his body, it was clear there wasn't much else left. He glanced up at Morgan, a soft expression in his eyes.
"Hey." He said quietly. He looked to the other members of his team, stood around his gurney. Thinking about how he thought he'd never see them again. "I didn't think you knew." He spoke from behind the mask, had he spoken any quieter they would have missed it.
"We knew." Rossi said, smiling. "Who do you take us for?"
Reid managed a small split second smile. It never reached his eyes.
"We're sorry for what we said just now." Hotch said in his official tone. "You know that was just for the profile don't you. He needed to see us upset to complete his fantasy."
Reid closed his eyes, nodding. Pushing away the nasty words they had said. He still had Jason's voice in his head telling him that they wanted rid of him, but he ignored it. For the moment.
They all just stood for a few moments, taking in the sight of their colleague. So grateful that they actually managed to find him.
"Okay, we've gotta move him out now. Who's riding?" The younger man asked.
The team looked at each other, all deep down wanting to go with him, but none willing to push the others out.
"I vote JJ." Prentiss said. "You can call Garcia and get her to meet you there." She then muted her voice so Reid couldn't hear. "I think a woman might be the best idea right now."
Hotch nodded, lowering his eyes to the ground.
"That okay, JJ?" He turned to her.
She unfolded her arms, surprised to be going. But completely relieved, not only was she glad to be with Reid, but she was glad to be leaving the 'crime scene'. She couldn't deal with that and she did not envy the rest of her team.
"Yes, of course." She half smiled, then turned to the paramedics. "Let's go." She followed Reid and the paramedics up the stairs and out of the room.
"Call us!" Morgan shouted after her. The team stood in silence for a good minute just surveying the scene. "My god." Morgan said, shaking his head.
"Did you see his arm?" Prentiss said, in somewhat of a trance. "That had obviously been done with some sort of knife. It looked as though it said something."
"Mine." They turned to look at Rossi. "It said 'MINE'"
They all stared at him, not knowing what to say. Hotch then pulled his gaze to the floor desperate to change the subject. The coffin shaped hole lay before him. Reid's blood staining the floor and the door from where he had cut up his hands through banging.
He knelt down, not touching anything as he knew the CSI's would be there soon.
"He must have locked him in here." He looked at the square black piece of wood. "And used this to block out his light."
"That was probably what he'd been doing when we entered. Reid was still stood in that hole." Rossi added.
"His two worst fears, enclosed spaces and the dark." Morgan shook his head in disgust.
Hotch looked up to the chair in the corner and the bottle of whisky that resided next to it. Prentiss followed his gaze.
"He'd been drinking." Prentiss said.
"And clearly wasn't in a good mood." Rossi pointed to the pieces of broken glass on the floor. Obviously from some sort of drinking glass.
This brought him to the bed. He had to close his eyes for a moment to compose himself. He had seen some awful things in his time, some crime scenes much more disturbing than this one. But he knew Reid. That made it all different. It was horrible on a completely different level.
When he opened his eyes, Hotch was next to him.
"You okay, Dave?" He said quietly.
"Yeah." Rossi was not entirely convincing, but Hotch let it go.
They all stared at the bed, all of them unable to say anything for a good minute or two. It was covered in blood from where Reid had been stabbed. The remnants of the leather straps were still evident, two at hand level, one at the midsection and two at thigh level. Then there were two chains attached to the top of the bed and two at the bottom.
Seeing how despondent everyone was looking, Prentiss felt the need to say something to fill the silence.
"We don't know that he used all this stuff guys." She said, knowing it was not her best attempt at being positive.
"I gotta go. I can't do this." Morgan said all of a sudden. Quickly turning away from the bed and leaving the room.
"He really wanted to dominate, didn't he." Rossi said, it was more a statement than a question.
Hotch couldn't take the sickened look off his face. He couldn't believe he'd let this happen to Reid. He was the youngest member of the team, that meant they should all have been looking out for him. Even though Hotch knew he wasn't a child, he was still young for his age. He needed support and once again, Hotch had failed him.
For the first time since Haley's death, Rossi turned to see tears in Hotch's eyes.
He looked across to Prentiss who had also lowered her gaze and was deep in thought. The next moment, she looked up and excused herself from the room.
"You okay, Aaron?" Rossi asked. Hotch simply shook his head. "I know it's hard, but you can't blame yourself."
"This is the second time something like this has happened to Reid whilst I've been in charge. Not to mention the fact that he has also been held hostage and contracted Anthrax. I'm obviously doing something wrong." Hotch looked at the straps on the bed, they turned his stomach.
"No, Aaron. Sometimes people are just unlucky."
"Yeah, well it's about time his luck changed." Hotch said moodily. "I mean, look at this Dave." He gestured to the bed. "If Jason has done all he set out to do, then how is Reid ever going to get over that? He's not exactly trusting as it is."
"We'll deal with it." Rossi said confidently. The CSI's then started to filter into the room.
"Has anything been moved?" A female investigator asked.
"No, it's as it was." Hotch answered.
"Let's get out of here." Rossi tried to draw Hotch's attention away from the room. As Hotch turned to follow him, something in the corner of the room caught his eye.
"Wait." He said suddenly. Rossi turned around, curiously watching Hotch squint his eyes, moving over to the corner of the room. He was looking up at something. Hotch suddenly knocked on the wall. It was hollow. "This is made out of wood." He glanced up to a well concealed gap in the corner. "What is that?"
Taking a standing a few steps behind Hotch, Rossi stood on his tip toes and the light caught the object at the right angle. His eyes were suddenly apprehensive.
"It's a camera." Hotch turned to look at him in horror.