Ooooh! Next chapter is up! A lot quicker than I expected to be honest ;) Just got on a bit of a roll! Please don't kill me for this chapter. I did say the roller coaster hadn't ended, I do still have some more tricks up my sleeve, and a very VERY emotional chapter coming up (most likely chapter 18). Thank you so much for all of the reviews for my last chapter. I'm so pleased with how much you all liked it, I wasn't sure about it, but since reading your reviews, it has really grown on me. So thanks! You are great confidence builders! Anyway, ENJOY chapter 17!
P.S. If you are concerned about how this story is going to progress, there is something of a little spoiler on my profile – at least as to how it won't end anyway. So please, only look if you really really want to.
They had sat for some time after Hotch had switched off the tape. No one saying a word. There wasn't anything they could say to make any of it better. Watching Reid struggling to keep his body under control at the hands of a sexual sadist was one of the cruellest things they thought they would ever watch. And now it was burned into their memories for an eternity.
Hotch didn't know whether switching off the tape was a good idea. Jason had just thrown Reid down onto the bed and chained him up. Opening his mouth preparing him for another assault, Hotch had switched off the tape. But now, the vision of Jason forcing Reid's mouth open and the not knowing what happened next was swimming round in Hotch's head. As if it was on loop. At least if he'd watched it 'til the end, then they could say he was finished. But now, Hotch felt like Reid was stuck in limbo. As irrational as that sounded.
He shook the thoughts from his head. The only person who had left the room was Garcia. She quickly escaped the heavy mood and retreated to her sanctuary. Seemingly more determined than ever to find Jason and make him pay for what he'd done.
Hotch could only hope she'd found something.
"Anything that'll help, Garcia?" Hotch entered her office. His eyes were tired and slightly red from the hours of torturous film he had endured over the past 2 days.
"I've been looking into every area of his life and there really is nothing – but I did find something weird."
Hotch's interest piqued.
"What is it?"
"Well I've also been searching for any files that might have been tampered with or encrypted and so far, no such luck. But it's what I've not found that seems to be the important question!"
"What do you mean?" Hotch was getting slightly impatient with Garcia's cryptic clues.
"It appears that some files have been deleted." She turned with a proud smile.
"Deleted? Who would have the power do to that?"
"Well, certainly not a technical analyst." She then lowered her voice. "But if we're talking about the ability... well then, I know three people with the capabilities, one being yours truly, another yours truly's boyfriend and the third, I'm assuming is Jason."
Hotch looked at her shocked.
"You delete FBI records?"
"Hotch, there's a big difference between having the ability to do something and actually doing it."
"But you would actually be able to delete records."
"Given long enough and the inclination to do so, I could write a programme that could hack into the FBI systems undetected for long enough to delete one file, yes." Garcia said quickly. "However, unfortunately for Jason, having that ability, also makes you completely mistrusting of any records you read, and as a result, able to spot when records have been deleted."
"Can you retrieve them?" Hotch said, his face serious. This could just be the breakthrough the team need.
"It'll take a while, I would have to figure out how he accessed the system first, then write my own programme to try and retrieve the files. And of course it would require hacking into the FBI's secure network." She pulled her face, clearly not happy about it.
"Would you be able to go undetected?" Hotch asked.
"In theory, yes. If I know exactly which files I am trying to locate, then I should be able to. But there are no guarantees, I can write the programmes, but this really would be an experiment. Before the FBI caught me, I only used to snoop! Deletion of files is a completely different game. But if Jason did it, then I sure as hell am not gonna be outdone."
"Do it, Garcia. If there is any blame to be had, I will take it. We don't have the time to go through the official channels. How long will it take you?"
"I don't know, anything from thirty minutes to a few hours. I've never done this before." She said typing away already.
"Okay, let me know when you're ready." Hotch clearly had no doubts that she was capable of it. Hotch was already walking out of the room.
"Yes, sir." She said with a little more cheer. Focusing on her work was a coping mechanism for Garcia. In fact, it was for a lot of the team. She loved nothing more than chasing up complicated leads. She had long ago learned how to disconnect the information she saw on her screens from actual people. This is what was so difficult about this case. She couldn't separate the images and the records from Reid and Jason. But she still preferred to be doing what she was doing, sifting through lots of seemingly unimportant information, rather than trying to understand the mind of the man she used to call a friend.
"How is he?" Morgan sat at the table, an untouched sandwich lay in front of him. The team were all on lunch, except for Garcia. Morgan was speaking on the phone to JJ, shooting looks to the rest of his colleagues as he spoke. Nodding he gave a small hopeful smile. "Well that's something at least... Yeah... Right. Has the psychologist been in to see him yet?" Morgan went quiet again as he listened to JJ's reply. His expression suddenly dropped. "He did what?" The team all glanced at him in surprise and concern. "I am calm!" Morgan snapped slightly. "Yes, it does matter JJ... What they actually said that?" He glanced to Prentiss, shaking his head, clearly not happy about what has been going on. "But he's fine now?... Okay, good... You don't wanna know... No, really, you don't. Look, JJ, I'll speak to you about it later. Okay? Good. See you later."
He rolled his eyes as he flipped his cell phone shut. The eyes of the rest of the team were now on Morgan.
"What's been going on?" Prentiss asked, leaning forwards.
"He's doing okay apparently. He opened up to JJ a little bit so that helped him let out some of his feelings."
"That's good." Prentiss nodded, glad to hear he wasn't completely avoiding his emotions. Which would be typical Reid.
"Not before he tried to escape the ward though. Dr. Marston had to threaten him with being detained for psychological evaluation."
Prentiss just sighed.
"But he's okay now though?" She asked curiously.
"Yeah, apparently he's calmed right down. Was even smiling a bit... JJ was thrilled."
"She's got to be careful not to get her hopes up too much though." Prentiss warned, knowingly. "It's going to take a lot more than a few hours for Reid to feel better about all of this."
"You're tellin' me." Morgan quipped.
Hotch entered the room now and sat around the table, another cup of coffee in hand.
"You're turning into Reid." Rossi nodded to the caffeine laced drink.
"Well someone's got to keep the coffee machine busy." Prentiss joked. "But given that Reid's coffees are probably around 60% sugar, it's probably debatable how much coffee he actually drinks." She smiled. "You've probably beaten him already."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Rossi smiled back. Reid was renowned for living on coffee. No wonder he was so skinny.
Hotch completely ignored their light-hearted banter and stepped right in with a question.
"Right, what have we got?... If anything?"
"Nothin'." Morgan said forlornly.
""That's not entirely true. We have heard exactly how Jason spoke to Reid. If we can pick up on certain things then we might be able to figure out what it is he wants." Prentiss said confidently.
"Well he is clearly obsessed with Reid, that much we know. What else?" Hotch asked.
"He seems to have a weird obsession with us too. He really wanted Reid to think that he was alone." Prentiss continued.
"Now I'll tell you something that is strange." Morgan started. "Not once did Jason mention Stephen Thompson. Stephen is supposed to be the reason why Reid was attacked, he was supposed to be Jason's first. If Jason has waited this long to finally fulfill his desires, surely a mention of Stephen would be somewhere... right?"
"There's something else bothering me about all of this." Rossi said. His face looked troubled. The team looked to him, curiously.
"What is it, Dave?" Hotch asked.
"Lewis and Howard... Why did he kill them?"
"Because he was desperate and wanted to get away. I'm sure he knows what happens to guys like him in prison, Rossi."
"No, but no one wants to go to prison. And thousands of people are arrested everyday and most of those arrests go ahead without an issue." The team looked at him confused, he wasn't really making sense.
"What are you getting at, Dave?" Hotch furrowed his brows.
"Lewis and Howard, they're not weak guys. They were armed FBI agents and Jason used a blitz attack to kill them both, without either of them firing a shot. That sort of killing takes practise."
"So you think he's killed before?" Prentiss asked.
"How else would he be capable of killing two FBI agents?"
"But Rossi, he didn't kill Reid. He would have done if murder was his thing. Keeping Reid alive just wouldn't satisfy him enough, you know that." Morgan commented.
"Not if Reid wasn't his desired victim." Rossi said.
"But Dave, Reid clearly was his desired victim. We know that." Hotch corrected him.
"Yes, for the sexual assault. But what if he has an entirely different M.O. for the killings?"
"You can't be serious." Morgan stated in shock.
"So you're thinking that he has two entirely different victimologies? One for his rape fantasy and an entirely different one for murder? Like two different personalities?" Prentiss looked confused.
"No, not different personalities, but two different desires. That would explain why Garcia never found any victims matching Reid's description in blitz attacks. It would also explain why Dave hasn't acted on his rape fantasy until he met Reid. What if the killing took over and satisfied him, but when he met Reid, it reawakened the sexual desires and he had to attack?"
"I've never heard anything like this before, Rossi." Morgan said. "Are you crazy?"
"No. But he has to have learned how to kill people so effectively from somewhere. That was clearly not a first time attack. Their throats were cut with no hesitation. He knew what he was doing. And two mutually exclusive would explain why he didn't kill Reid when he was clearly capable of doing so."
"You do realise, if we run with this Dave and it's taking us in the wrong direction we could do a lot more harm than good." Hotch looked at him sternly. "You have to be sure."
Rossi met his younger superior's gaze.
"I'm not." He shrugged his shoulders. He addressed the rest of the group. "But if you have any other way of explaining the killings then I'd like to hear it."
"He could have practised on guys like Reid." Morgan said.
"No disrespect to Reid, but he's not exactly physically imposing. Lewis and Howard were big guys. Not easy to take down. Killing someone like Reid would not prepare you for that." Rossi suggested.
Prentiss nodded. This was all starting to sound rather logical.
"So what would we be looking for then? Physically imposing males killed in blitz attacks?"
"That would provide thousands of results!" Morgan argued.
Hotch watched all of this through narrowed eyes, not quite sure what to make of the suggestion.
"Essentially, yes. But there will be more to it. The victims will represent someone to him."
"Rossi, you realise how rare this is, don't you?" Morgan said simply.
"Yes. But clearly nothing about this is normal."
They all sat, contemplating Rossi's suggestion when Garcia came rushing into the room.
"I found it!" She said in a hurry. "I got it, I got it!"
"Got what?" Prentiss asked.
"I found Jason's records had been tampered with and a file had been deleted. I managed to hack into the network and restore it so I could take a look at what he was trying to hide."
"Okay Garcia, slow down." Hotch said.
"Sorry, sir." Garcia blushed.
"What was it?" Hotch asked gesturing for her to continue.
"It was his application for the FBI."
"Why would he want to hide that?" Prentiss furrowed her brows.
"No wait, here's the kicker. Initially, he didn't apply for the FBI as a technical analyst. Before he got his job working for the tech division, he applied to be an agent. And guess where for?... None other than the BAU."
"Seriously?" Morgan looked to Hotch.
"When was this?" Hotch asked.
"Eight years ago." She said, pleased with herself. "And guess who's down as having interviewed him?"
"Who?" Hotch asked.
"You are... you failed him on his psych eval."
"Why?" Hotch looked very confused now, how could he not remember that?
"Lack of empathy." She said simply.
"Well that's hardly surprising." Morgan rolled his eyes.
"That's not all, handsome. You're not off the hook either. You took his intake for the physical fitness test."
"I did?" Morgan looked to Hotch, equally confused.
"You also gave him a bad write up, recommending that he would be better suited to office based work. And finally... you can thank me later... the final piece of the puzzle that slots this great big mess together is.. guess who was the next member of the team to be taken on?"
"Reid." Prentiss nodded. It was all starting to make sense now.
"Bingo." Garcia said, obviously very pleased with her deductions.
"Good work, Garcia." Hotch nodded to her. "This changes everything."
"How?" Garcia asked, curiously.
"It tells us what he wants." Morgan explained.
"He wants the team to suffer." Hotch continued. "By taking Reid, attacking him, then leaving the tapes for us to find, he's telling us that he's smarter than us, and much more capable. He's enjoying the game."
"By killing two of our agents and escaping, he's keeping us on our toes." Rossi added.
"But there's clearly a connection there from him to Reid. It's obviously not just about us. Or he would have taken great delight in killing him right in front of us." Morgan questioned.
"And he will. He will eventually devolve and the two will merge into one. If he's allowed to get near Reid this time-"
"He won't." Morgan said angrily.
"IF he did." Rossi kept ploughing away. "We wouldn't get him back this time. He would almost certainly kill him. The desire to kill is obviously getting stronger and eventually he wouldn't be able to help himself."
"So you think he's killed before?" Garcia asked Rossi.
"I'm sure of it. And now we have our victim type." Rossi nodded.
"Successful males of a similar age to Jason, in a powerful job and with great influence. Physically fit and imposing, intelligent, either black or white." Prentiss reeled off the information.
"That's gonna bring up a lot of results." Garcia said, eyes wide open.
"Look only in the last 8 years. Start your search in D.C. then move it with Jason to Virginia in the last two years whilst he's been with the BAU. His rejection from the FBI must have been the push he needed to start killing." Hotch explained.
"Look for similar blitz attacks. Where victims were quickly incapacitated. Most likely with a knife." Prentiss continued.
"On it!" Garcia said, rushing quickly out of the room.
"If this is our profile, then it changes everything. Jason wanted us to find him, otherwise it was all pointless." Hotch looked to the team, clearly wanting a discussion.
"And he's not going to just disappear. That's not why he escaped. It's not about avoiding prison. It's about making us suffer." Rossi added.
"Every time he challenges us, he wins. He's getting a power trip out of this." Morgan said, his voice was clearly irritated.
"But guys, what would make us feel more powerless than anything?" Prentiss said, knowingly.
"If Reid was taken a second time." Hotch said, his eyes wide open.
"Is JJ with him?" Morgan asked quickly.
"As far as I know." Prentiss said unsurely.
"Reid is in real danger." Morgan said angrily.
"But he has protective officers outside his room." Prentiss said. "How would he get near him?... He couldn't, surely."
"Well he was surrounded by five FBI agents and Jason still found his way in." Morgan snapped.
"He's clever." Hotch said. "Cleverer than we've given him credit for. Reid isn't safe with anyone other than us. We need to get to the hospital."
"But are you guys safe?" Prentiss said, looking to Hotch and Morgan. "If he's been taking out his violence on surrogates for so long, surely it's only a matter of time before he comes after the real source of his rage. What if he's trying to draw you out into the open?"
"Emily's right." Rossi said. "You two are not safe either. Until we find out which one of you he is taking out his anger on, you should both lie low."
"No Rossi. Not a chance, man. If Reid's in danger, then I'm gonna be there by his side. Twenty-four seven. That bastards not gonna lay another finger on him. Not while I'm around."
"Well that's something we both agree on." Rossi said.
"We haven't got the time to be worrying about our safety right now. If Jason uses blitz attacks then we are most likely safe with you around. First and foremost, we need to get to the hospital."
"JJ's not answering her phone." Prentiss said.
"That's because I'm here." JJ said with a smile, entering the room. She looked around the room at all of the concerned faces. "What's happened?"
"Is Reid on his own?" Morgan asked.
"Yeah... but the officers are still outside." Hotch nodded, grabbing his cell phone.
"We need to get back to the hospital. Now."
Reid sat staring at the wall as he had since JJ left. As much as he hated to admit it after the way he'd behaved with the team earlier, he felt pangs of loneliness. But as he thought about them poking and prodding into his experiences, the irritation rose again and he found himself once again grateful that he did have some time to himself. Even though he had opened up to JJ a little. He still felt irritated by their intrusions into his life and feelings. This time to himself was important for him to deal with things. Once he got out of hospital, he knew those moments would be a rarity.
Reid could suddenly hear voices outside of his door, they were muted tones and he couldn't tell what they were saying. But they were clearly debating something. He could tell by the intonations and the gaps in the speech. After a good minute of trying to figure out whether it was anything to do with him, there was a knock on his door and it opened. Dr. Marston stood in the doorway with a young boy, around the age of 10. A look of confusion crossed Reid's face. He could have sworn he heard at least three voices, two of them male. But now there was no sign. A frown graced his features for a few short moments.
"Dr. Reid." He looked to Dr. Marston and raised his eyebrows in response. "This little boy says that he is your cousin. Is that correct?"
Reid's brows furrowed and he looked at the boy. He didn't have a cousin.
"I'm your cousin Jason... remember?" The boy said with a knowing nod.
Immediately, Reid recognised the hidden message. He stared at the boy for a few more seconds as his brain kicked into action.
A smile clumsily graced his face.
"Oh! Cousin Jason! I haven't seen you for years! Last time I saw you... you were like, six." Reid smiled. "I'm surprised you even remember me!..." He gestured for the boy to move towards him.
Dr. Marston looked satisfied enough. It had taken her a good few minutes for the police guards to even allow the child near the room, let alone inside.
"I'll leave you two alone." She smiled. Closing the door behind her.
Reid looked at the child, his eyes wide and expectant. The child merely smiled and placed an envelope onto the bed. Reid looked down, his face tensed as he saw SPENCE scrawled on the front in big black capital letters.
"I was told to bring this to you and pretend to be your cousin Jason." Was all he said.
Reid just stared at the letter.
"The... the person... who gave you this. What was he like?"
The boy looked thoughtful for a few moments.
"He was big, black hair, it was really long! He had a big beard too! He didn't look very nice but he was really friendly. He gave me ten dollars."
That didn't sound like Jason.
"Where was he?"
"He was outside the hospital, I sometimes play football on the field at the side. I always get told off by my Mom but I get bored!... Are you an FBI agent! Is it true? He said I'd meet an FBI agent if I came up here!"
Reid furrowed his brows unable to pull his gaze away from the letter that was begging to be opened. But fear stayed his hand.
"Hello?" The kid said, getting on Reid's nerves a little bit now. "Are you an FBI agent or what?"
Irritated, Reid shot his gaze up to the child.
"No. I'm not. Now go home to your mother."
The boy looked offended. He huffed walking towards the door.
"Prick." He said under his breath.
Reid's eyebrows twitched in surprise at the boy's use of the word. He watched the boy open the door and leave.
Reid picked up the envelope, his hands shaking now. Could this really be from Jason? The team had arrested him. He had seen it with his own eyes.
Turning the envelope over, he stroked a finger across the sealed flap thoughtfully. Curiosity eventually got the better of him.
He pushed his finger under the corner of the flap and pulled it across, breaking the seal. He quickly pulled out the letter before he had any second thoughts and opened it. Thick black handwriting met his eyes.
"SPENCE,
If you and your team thought you were going to get rid of me that easily, you were very much mistaken. I have killed Agents Lewis and Howard... didn't your team tell you? They seem to be making a habit of that Spencer.
I will be coming to pick you up from the car park outside the ER at 2pm. Be there. Or I can assure you, Agent Morgan will be receiving a rather nasty visitor tonight.
There are two armed police officers outside your room. Make sure they don't see you.
Jay."
Reid stared at the letter in shock. He felt sick. He looked at the clock. 2pm. That was twenty minutes away. He had killed Lewis and Howard? His hands started shaking again. He was going to kill Morgan? Or worse... No. He wouldn't do that. Reid knew he was Jason's type, Morgan wasn't. But regardless, could Reid really take that risk? If Jason had killed Lewis and Howard, they were strong men. As a pair they were much stronger than Morgan. And if Morgan was caught off guard by himself, he wouldn't stand a chance.
He sat in bed, considering his current position. There were two officers outside his room? And the team hadn't told him that Jason had escaped. Why would they keep that from him? He instantly felt angry. JJ had just sat with him, knowing full well that Jason was free . He had put his trust in her and she had lied to him, again.
Reid looked to his cell phone on the table. Should he call the team? They would come over and he could tell them exactly what has happened. But then Jason would disappear. And like the Reaper, he might come back to finish what he started. No. Reid couldn't take that risk. If it was only his life hanging in the balance, it's a chance he would take. But he wouldn't play god with Morgan's life.
No. He knew what he had to do.
The team entered the ward in a complete hurry. Dr. Marston was stood at the nurse's station, her attention was attracted the second they ran in. Morgan went straight to Reid's door and burst into his room.
"He's not here." She heard him say.
"Reid! Are you in the bathroom?" Prentiss was asking, knocking on the door. The team were obviously panicked. Prentiss pushed open the door to the bathroom only to find the room empty. "He's gone." Prentiss turned, her eyes wide open with fear.
Hotch looked at the room, the distress evident on his face.
"Where the hell is he?" Morgan shouted at the armed officers.
"What do you mean?" The older of the two asked.
Morgan grabbed him around the back of the neck and shoved him into the room.
"Morgan." Hotch warned.
"What the hell do you think I mean? He's not here! Where is he?"
The man looked completely shocked. So did his colleague. He stuttered.
"W – what? That- he- I don't understand. He was there literally ten minutes ago!" He turned to the doctor who was now stood outside the room. A look of shock plastered on her face also. "Wasn't he? You spoke to him!"
"Erm, yes." She said, her voice shaking.
JJ was pacing up and down the corridors, completely distraught. They had only just got him back, how could he be gone again?
"Well why isn't he here now?" Morgan snapped, the irritation clear in his voice. "You guys are supposed to be taking care of him!"
"I don't understand it. How has this happened?" She said in shock.
"Clearly people haven't been doing their jobs properly." Rossi said, uncharacteristically.
"That's not helpful." Hotch said plainly. "You saw him ten minutes ago?"
"Yes." Dr. Marston answered, her face dropped all of a sudden. "Oh no."
"What?" Hotch said, unnerved.
She looked to the officers and then back to Hotch.
"A small boy came into the ward asking to see him. He claimed to be Dr. Reid's cousin."
"Reid doesn't have a cousin." Morgan said sternly.
"Oh my god, I should have known." The doctor put her hand up to her head, distressed.
"What exactly did he say?" Rossi asked.
"He said that he was his cousin, Jason."
"Jason! Damn it Hotch!" Morgan snapped, hitting the door.
"Did he say anything else?"
"No. Dr. Reid looked a bit confused at first. But then he seemed to recognise the boy and said he hadn't seen him since he was about six."
"Well he would pretend that wouldn't he?" Prentiss said.
"The question is, what the hell did the boy want?" Morgan snapped again.
JJ was frantically looking around Reid's room now for any clues as to where he might have gone. She lifted up Reid's pillow and found an envelope.
"Guys." She held it up, showing them the envelope marked with thick black letters. Clearly addressed to their young colleague.
She opened it and read it aloud, quickly. The team paled.
"...I will be coming to pick you up from the car park outside the ER at 2pm. Be there. Or I can assure you, Agent Morgan will be receiving a rather nasty visitor tonight." She looked to Morgan, who was horrified.
Rossi and Prentiss automatically nodded to each other and left the ward, clearly going to the E.R. entrance in vain hope that they might catch up with them.
"Oh my god, please do not tell me he's taken himself to Jason to protect me." Morgan was distraught. Tears started welling up in his eyes. He thought he'd kill Reid himself if he got chance. "How could he be so stupid?"
"He did what he thought was right, Morgan." Hotch said quietly. This was deeply affecting him also, but he really needed to keep his head.
"How the hell could you let him out of here? You were stood outside the door." JJ snapped at the officers.
"The kid. He distracted us, only for a few moments. But it must have been all it took." The younger officer said. Pulling a face showing he was desperately sorry.
"And you!" Morgan turned to the doctor. "You knew the sort of danger he was in. How the hell could you let him just walk out of here? He's not exactly easy to miss! He's just had surgery on his leg for god's sake!"
"Agent Morgan. I do have other patients. I have done my best by Dr. Reid and I have done everything within my power to keep him safe."
"Well it wasn't enough was it?" He snapped back.
"Morgan!" Hotch warned again, but he was ignored.
"Look, Agents, like it or not, Dr. Reid has left here of his own accord. There is a reason why no one saw him go – because that's how he wanted it. You can blame me, or the officers all you want, but it doesn't change the fact that the decision to leave was made by him. I have done all I can for Dr. Reid, I have already stopped him from leaving the hospital once today and I must confess, he has not been my easiest patient. But he is also not my only patient. I understand that this is hard for you, I really do. But I cannot focus all of my attention on one patient. As much as I would like to."
Morgan huffed in a mood. He knew the doctor was right. He just didn't like to admit it.
"We understand." Hotch nodded. "It's just a lot to take in right now."
Dr. Marston's expression softened.
"I know. I can't imagine what you are going through. I only met Dr. Reid earlier today and I already understand what kind of a person he is. He's clearly a kind and gentle character and to think about what has happened to him is devastating." She looked to Morgan now. "But shouting at me, the officers and everyone around you isn't going to bring him back, is it? You need to focus on what you do best."
Morgan nodded, desperately trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall down his face.
"How did he know where he was? And that there were armed officers outside his room?" JJ asked, her brows furrowed in troubled confusion.
"He must have been in here." Hotch said slowly.
"But the officers would have recognised him, surely." JJ looked to them and they both nodded.
"Definitely." The younger one said.
"There has been no sign of him on this ward." The older man added.
"Dr. Marston, I'm going to need you to think of anyone unusual who has come into the ward today. Someone who looked out of place, who may have shown some interest in why the officers were there, or generally someone who fit into the normal routine of the hospital but you didn't know. A face you hadn't seen before. Can you recall anyone like that?"
She thought back to her day in the hospital, it had been incredibly busy and she had come across many different faces, some familiar, some entirely new – but no one stood out to her.
"Don't just think about visitors. Jason is clever, he could have masked himself as an employee. Were there any new faces you saw working today who you haven't seen before?" Hotch kept pressing.
Prentiss and Rossi returned at this moment.
"No sign." She sighed. Exhausted by the whole thing. "He's obviously long gone."
"I can't think of anyone. Sorry." The Dr. Marston looked apologetically to the team. She really wished she could help.
"Was worth a shot." Morgan patted Hotch on the back and then turned to the bed, looking for any clues that might help.
"Wait." Dr. Marston said suddenly. "There was an orderly! He came to collect some blood samples. He was definitely a new face. I hadn't seen him before. I assumed he was a new employee. He kept glancing over to Dr. Reid's room. I just figured he was familiarising himself with the hospital. Plus, he wasn't the only one to stare at the police. Pretty much everyone who has been through here today has either looked or commented on it."
"What did he look like?" Hotch said. Hopeful that this was Jason.
"He was tall. It was his appearance that surprised me actually. He was quite unkempt and I didn't think it was right that someone working in a hospital should look so messy. He had long black hair and a black beard."
"What?" JJ said suddenly. The colour had drained from her face.
"What's wrong?" Hotch asked.
"Oh my god. I saw him." She whispered in shock.
"What do you mean you saw him? JJ what the hell are you talking about?" Morgan grabbed her by the arms, turning her so she was looking straight at him.
"When I was coming into the ward earlier to see Spence. I- I walked into this guy by accident. He had a black beard and long hair. Oh my god, that was him. That was him and I let him go."
"JJ we don't know that." Prentiss said reassuringly.
"No. It was him. I just know it."
"Did he speak to you at all?" Rossi said.
"Erm, yeah. He said something like, 'it's my fault' or something because I apologised for walking into him and he told me not to. He smiled right at me and I looked him straight in the eye! Oh my god how can I have been so stupid?"
"JJ you weren't to know." Prentiss took her friend into a hug as she broke down.
"You looked him in the eye?" Morgan said, his voice dangerously low.
JJ just cried harder. Prentiss shook her head at him trying to advise him to stop.
"No Emily! This is not right. We can't keep making excuses for letting him down. We've let this guy get round us twice now!"
Nurses and patients were starting to look into the room.
"Derek. This is neither the time or the place." Rossi said gently.
"I don't fucking care! When the hell are people gonna start opening their eyes and looking out for the kid? We all say we care, but then we sit back and let him walk back into the hands of the guy who raped him! Knowing damn fine that Jason would be doing all he could to get Reid back into his grasp."
"I know it's my fault! Alright Morgan! I'm sorry!.. If anything happens to him..." JJ couldn't finish that sentence.
"Yeah, JJ. It is your fault! How the hell could you look him in the eye!"
"We don't even know it was him Morgan." Hotch said seriously.
"Yes we do Hotch. We do know. Deep down, we fucking know."
"Agent, I'm going to have to ask you to keep your voice down. Your language is upsetting some of my patients." Dr. Marston said, glancing around.
Morgan just rolled his eyes in an irritated manner and stormed out of the ward.
"Sorry. He's not normally like that." Prentiss said. She turned to the team. "We need to get back to the BAU and figure out where he might have taken Reid."
"Again." Rossi added in a frustrated tone. They couldn't believe this was happening again.
"I really hope you find him." Dr. Marston said sympathetically.
"So do we." Rossi nodded his thanks to her. He turned to Hotch. "You ready Aaron?" He was just staring into space. "Aaron?" He nudged him on the arm and Hotch shook himself, like he'd woken from deep slumber. He looked at Rossi confused. "You ready? To go back to the BAU."
"Oh... yeah." Hotch said quietly. He furrowed his brows and turned towards the door.
Rossi turned to JJ and Prentiss.
"You two go on ahead. We'll meet you out there in a minute." JJ and Prentiss acquiesced to his request. Rossi waited for them to leave the ward before turning to Hotch. "Aaron. Are you okay?"
Hotch turned to the older man. His eyes were tearing up slightly.
"I don't know how he's going to do this again, Dave." Rossi furrowed his brows and dropped his gaze. He had been thinking the same. "After what Jason has done to him already, I just don't know if he'll cope with that again. I don't think he will."
"He has no choice." Rossi said simply. "If he wants to survive, he will pull through."
Hotch shook his head.
"He's only been safe a few hours. We barely even rescued him and Jason already has him back. What does that say about us, Dave? Reid said to me once, if we can't even keep each other safe then what's the point in any of this? And I'm starting to think he was right."
"You can't give up, Aaron." Rossi put his hand on Hotch's shoulder.
"Out of all the people I've met in my life. The person who deserves this the least is Reid. And the person who wouldn't cope well with it, is Reid. He doesn't deal with things emotionally. He won't understand any of this, he won't know how to deal with it, and he's being forced to cope with sexual acts he's probably never even thought about, never mind participated in. He's too innocent for this. It'll destroy him."
Rossi felt a slight pang of irritation.
"He's not a child, Aaron. He's 29 years old. I know he doesn't deal with things like other people do, but that doesn't mean that he won't deal with it at all. He has been exposed to a lot over the years through his work. He's not completely shielded from the world, you know."
Hotch simply looked at Rossi. Did the man not know Reid at all?
"So how many relationships do you think Reid has been in, Dave?"
Rossi furrowed his brows.
"God, I don't know. And I would never think to ask! What he gets up to in his private life is his business."
Hotch raised an eyebrow.
"What does your gut tell you?"
Rossi ran a hand down his face, not comfortable with this conversation.
"I really don't know. I like to think I know him well, but that aspect of his life, I have no idea! I don't even know of any relationships."
"Then you know all there is to know then."
Rossi looked to Hotch, shocked all of a sudden.
"You can't be serious."
"I thought you knew, Dave." Hotch replied, his face deadly serious.
"Well no! I knew he was no Morgan, but I always assumed that there would at least be someone at some point. He's 29! How does he cope?" Rossi looked concerned, he couldn't imagine never having been in a proper relationship by the age of 29. Never having been intimate with someone.
"That's just it, Dave. That's what I mean. I don't even think it's something he thinks about. He's just not programmed in that way. The idea of being intimate with someone is probably more likely to freak him out than excite him."
Rossi just stared at the floor in disbelief.
"So, Jason... was his... his first time?" Hotch's jaw set. He nodded sternly. Rossi looked hard at Hotch. He now knew exactly what the man meant. Reid wasn't going to deal with this well. He wouldn't cope with it, and he certainly didn't deserve it. "We have to stay strong." Rossi said. Hotch noticed Rossi was no longer disagreeing with him.
"I know, Dave. But I can't believe we've lost him again. And you know what you said earlier. Reid won't survive this a second time. Jason is devolving and eventually when he's taken all he wants from Reid, he'll kill him. And we have no idea where he is... The thought of him dying in there, with him, after being used like a... like a... sex toy for his final hours, it just sickens me."
Rossi flinched at that. The more he thought about the situation, the more it bothered him. Reid was the most inappropriate person for Jason to have targeted. Hotch was right, there wasn't a remotely sexual bone in Reid's body. And that's probably what Jason preyed on. A youthful innocence that really shouldn't be present in someone of Reid's age, but was. Rossi had never considered it before, always putting the utmost importance on respecting Reid as an equal. But the very fact he overcompensated for that just showed, deep down, how Rossi viewed Reid. He was young, and he was innocent.
Rossi kicked himself for not placing more importance on protecting the young man. The only time he had done that was in Vegas when he was gunning for his father. The one time Rossi felt the need to protect Reid was during the hypnotherapy session. At which point he did realise, Reid's mind, however brilliant, lacked the ability to deal with emotions. He dealt in logic and facts, emotions later, If ever. The fact he had been angry at his father for so long demonstrated that. Reid would avoid emotions at all costs. He didn't understand them, and he didn't like things he couldn't quantify or explain with scientific jargon. Although, he often attempted to.
Realising that he had sent himself into a contemplative state, Rossi shook the disturbing thoughts away and looked to his younger superior who was in a similar position.
Rossi grabbed Hotch's upper arm supportively.
"Come on, Aaron. Covering old ground is doing us no good."
Hotch merely nodded and followed Rossi out of Reid's hospital room. Taking a glance back over his shoulder as he left. Wishing that his young colleague was still there.
Reid found himself stood in the middle of a room. Very similar to the room he had been kept in originally. But this time, his wrists were secured to a chain from the ceiling, keeping him stood upright in his already tired state.
His head was woozy. He just remembered going outside to the car park and everything went blank. Did he get in the car himself? Did he get knocked out? Surely someone would have seen him if Jason had attacked him in public. He must have gotten into the car himself.
He jumped suddenly as two arms wrapped around him from behind, squeezing him tightly.
"Oh Spence." He moved his way around Reid. Reid clumsily looked up through his hair. His wrists ached and his hands were sore, protesting against behind help up by the chains. "I can't believe you're back here with me."
Reid's face twitched as Jason's hand came up to trace his jaw line and then his lips.
Suddenly the fog cleared from his mind and his head lifted to find Jason staring right back at him. His heart did a little jump as the adrenaline shot through his veins. He didn't know if he could do this again.
Reid then looked to Jason's shoulder. He clearly hadn't had his gun shot wound properly seen to. Hoping that Jason might understand his pain a little more, Reid risked a question.
"Will you let me down, please? It hurts." He didn't really have to say what or where 'it' was. Jason could tell by looking at him that his body was in no fit state for punishment.
He smiled again ignoring his request, leaning close up to Reid's face.
"You came back to see me... You know why?"
Reid's now hard eyes just stared at his captor. Not really caring if he gave him the answer to his question or not.
The next thing Reid knew, Jason's hands were wrapped around his face and he was being pulled into a sloppy kiss. He squeezed his eyes shut but a hard fist to the stomach brought his attentions back. He breathed in much needed air and Jason took the opportunity to explore his mouth once again with his tongue. Jason's hands were everywhere and Reid found himself trying to pull himself away. He didn't know how he felt more vulnerable, strapped to the bed, or like this. Jason finally released Reid from the kiss and ran a hand up the back of his hospital gown, unfastening the ties.
"You came back to me because of the pleasure you felt last time, didn't you?"
"No!" Reid was then pulled close to Jason. Jason's wet lips rested on Reid's cheek, allowing him to whisper in his victims' ear.
"How did it feel, Spence? How did it feel to orgasm in my hand?"
Reid couldn't answer. He still felt far too ashamed to even argue.
Jason's hand reached down between his legs and Reid jumped at the touch, gasping and Jason once again groped all over his body.
"Please, Jason. You don't have to do this. You have an opportunity to ge- Ah!" He cried out as the man ran his hands down his front and then took hold of his most personal area.
"What's that you're saying, Spence?" Jason smiled. His hand started stroking quickly. "Keep talking to me."
Reid simply gasped and shook his head. Squeezing his eyes tightly shut, as once again, his ex-friend forced his body into an arousal clouded state.
"Talk to me." Jason said.
"Jase-" Reid was cut off by fast powerful strokes, he moaned slightly. Going completely red as he realised.
"Keep talking." Jason whispered. Reid knew he just wanted to hear the arousal in his voice. He couldn't believe this was happening again. He'd only just gotten away from Jason and now he was straight back with him again. "Talk to me." Jason said, commandingly.
"I- I can't... I can-, ah!" Reid once again was cut off with speeded up strokes. Reid's head dropped forwards and Jason took it onto his shoulder. Although a lot of Reid's weight was being supported by his wrists, from the ceiling. Reid's legs were still giving way with the combination of arousal and self-disgust. The more Jason pumped away, the more Reid leaned into the man. A thin sheen of sweat covered his victim's body and he breathed heavily as his body drew near it's climax.
Jason suddenly pulled his hand away, pushing Reid's face up so he could look into his eyes, chin rested in his palm.
"You want a treat, Spence?... I'll let this..." He licked his face, Reid tried to turn away to no avail. "Finish you off."
Reid started shaking his head, he didn't stop.
"No, Jason. Oh god." He rasped out, feeling absolutely helpless as the man got to his knees. It didn't take long for Reid to finish, he cried out in a combination of arousal and distress.
"You know what, Spence? …..I'm not sure I've forgiven you for shooting me earlier." Jason slowly stood up and stalked around Reid like he was prey. He then rested his head on the young man's shoulder so he could whisper into his ear. His hands running down Reid's chest. Reid squirmed uncomfortably. "So in return, you're gonna let me make the most of you this time." He moved round again so he was facing his victim. He breathed onto Reid's sweaty face, staring directly into Reid's hate and shamed filled eyes . "I think we both know now, neither of us are walking away from this." Reid looked at him, slightly surprised. "I'm gonna destroy you... And when I'm done, I'm gonna kill you."