Hotch stood looking at Morgan through the one-way glass of the interrogation room. Morgan looked broken. He was sat with his head in his hands, shaking his head from time to time. It was clear he was trying to figure out exactly what had happened in order to land him in custody at the BAU. Hotch felt for him. The implications of what had been found were horrific. Hotch was so tired of seeing members of his team looking so exhausted. Maloney had a lot to answer for.
Suddenly the door behind him swung open and Strauss was at his side frowning at Morgan through the glass. "So, it's true then." She shook her head and turned to him. "Aaron, what the hell is going on here? You're bringing in your own agents now?"
Hotch closed his eyes for a moment. "I know this doesn't look good-"
"Doesn't look good?!" She turned to him with fury in her eyes. "Well, that's an understatement if ever I've heard one. We have 32 bodies. An agent being stalked and terrorised. A destroyed apartment. Numerous messages written in blood. Missing trafficking victims. A man in custody who seems to be able to taunt the BAU from the confines of his cell and not a single person seems to be able to do anything to stop it. And now, we have a trusted member of your team in custody, with evidence that he has been involved all along. Right under your noses, Aaron. How could this happen?"
Hotch couldn't argue with that. She was right. The whole thing was a mess.
"I do not believe Agent Morgan has any involvement in this." Hotch said confidently.
"And what makes you so sure, Aaron?" She said skeptically.
"Because I know him. He wouldn't be involved in this."
"What? Like Jason Turner? Nick Field? Both exemplary employees with the Bureau. No one ever thought they were capable of doing the things they did. Do not let your bias towards your team lead you in the wrong direction, Agent."
Hotch frowned. "If you knew Derek like I know him, you would know he would never do this."
"You will not be conducting this interview. Agent Wilks is on his way. He will handle this." She said firmly.
Hotch's mouth dropped open.
"But ma'am-"
"No 'buts', Aaron. You have already decided that your Agent is innocent. For the sake of Dr. Reid, if no one else, I believe an unbiased stance needs to be taken on this." She looked at him challengingly. At the mention of Reid, any argument he might have had dissipated. She was right. As much as he believed Morgan couldn't possibly be involved, on the miniscule chance that he was wrong, it would be Reid who was going to suffer. And god, had Reid suffered enough. He reluctantly nodded.
"Okay. But I will be observing the interview." Hotch said strongly.
"As will I. I will be overseeing all parts of this investigation going forward, Aaron." Hotch grit his teeth. This was never something he wanted to hear. Strauss' interference was usually more obstructive than it was helpful. Hotch simply nodded. He should have expected this really. The investigation was getting nowhere and Maloney was growing bolder by the day.
"Okay. We will need to wait for the lab to finish their examination before we begin." He said simply.
"It is their top priority. It won't be long." Strauss said confidently. Hotch just nodded. He turned and left the room to find Prentiss waiting outside.
"Have you spoken to him?" She asked quickly.
"No, Strauss wants Wilks to do it to prevent any bias."
"Bias? There's nothing biased about it. This is Derek Morgan we are talking about." She said angrily.
"I know, Emily. But Strauss is right. We owe this to Reid to take it seriously after everything that has happened."
"I can't believe Reid would even think that of Morgan. Of all people." She scoffed, her disgust was clear.
"Can you blame him really? Every time he has trusted someone it hasn't exactly ended well for him, has it?"
"I know, but this is Morgan."
"Yeah, and given Reid's luck recently that would just be the icing on top of the cake for him. If anyone knows what people are truly capable of, it's him. I know you're angry, Emily. But don't blame Reid. I can only imagine how he must have felt when he found all of that. He will have been scared and confused. And god, I'm so tired of seeing him like that. Maloney is tearing his life apart piece by piece. He knows exactly what he's doing. It's no less than psychological torture."
Prentiss' gaze dropped to the floor. In her defence of Morgan, she had completely neglected to think about how Reid must have felt finding the images. Everything Maloney did was designed to humiliate and make Reid feel like nothing more than a sexual device to be used by those around him. Hotch was right, it was psychological torture designed to isolate him, place him in a state of constant helplessness and to destroy his self-image. When she looked at it that way, was it really surprising that his first reaction was to believe it? His sense of security had been completely destroyed.
"Oh man, you're right." She put her hand to her forehead. She felt terrible. She'd told Reid he should be ashamed. If she'd stopped to think, she'd have realised that Reid felt nothing but shame most of the time right now. She was guilty of exactly what she was accusing him of: not considering the situation from all angles. She chided herself for her emotional reaction. Whilst she still didn't believe for a second that Morgan was involved; if she really thought about it, she could understand how given his recent experiences Reid would jump straight to the worst. Life hadn't exactly been fair to him recently.
"Emily, don't be too hard on yourself. None of us knew how to react. It was a complete shock."
"Neither of them deserve this after everything."
"I know." Hotch sighed.
Rossi and JJ were sat with Reid in Rossi's living room. They had left the house shortly after Morgan, once law enforcement and the CSIs started arriving. They were doing a full search of the house so Rossi felt it best if they went back to his while that took place.
Rossi had encouraged him to lie down as he was clearly extremely dizzy due to his distress (and probably lack of food, Rossi mused). Rossi had made him lie down with his head on the arm rest of the couch. He was knelt down next to him resting a cool, wet cloth on his forehead.
"Does that feel better?" Reid just took a shuddering, upset breath in. "Reid?" Rossi spoke gently.
"I don't know what to think." Reid said quietly, a shudder running down his body. "Morgan... he wouldn't... would he?" Rossi closed his eyes at the sound of Reid's voice. It was so weak and confused. He sounded in such pain; it made him want to weep. He didn't know how much more the kid could take.
"No, Reid. He wouldn't." JJ said confidently. "It's Morgan. He's your best friend."
Reid's shaking hands came up to his eyes. "I feel sick."
Rossi turned over the wet cloth on his head and rubbed his arm comfortingly. "Take some deep breaths, Reid. You are in shock."
"Morgan would never do that to you, Spence." JJ said firmly, trying her best to reassure him. It just seemed to make Reid more stressed.
Rossi just looked at her and shook his head. He knew Reid wasn't capable of processing anything properly right now. She bit her lip and looked down in frustration. She just wanted all of this to go away.
"I don't want to be here anymore." Reid said sadly.
"Please don't say that, Reid." Rossi said, pulling a hand away from his eyes and squeezing it tightly.
He began to cry again and turned on his side facing away from Rossi. JJ exchanged a worried look with her older colleague.
"Spence?" JJ put a hand to his leg.
"There's no point anymore. I've lost everything." He whispered.
"No, no you haven't. You've still got all of us." JJ said passionately. "Please, Reid. Don't say stuff like that."
"If he has done it..." Reid trailed off as his hands went back to his face.
"He hasn't, Reid. I promise you!"
"Then he will never forgive me for this." Reid began to sob. "It would be better if they just killed me."
"Reid, that would not be better." Rossi said firmly, grabbing Reid's shoulder and rolling him onto his other side so he was looking at him. He took his face into his hands. Reid didn't fight him. "Don't give up, kiddo. Please don't give up. It will all be okay."
Reid closed his eyes. "Everyone keeps saying that. But it's not okay. Nothing is okay. He wants to have me as his... his personal slave." Rossi winced. "And if he doesn't get that I'm going to have nothing left." Reid's voice was merely a whisper.
Rossi stroked his face and kissed his forehead. "You will get through this, Reid. I promise." Rossi said, tears welling up in his eyes. He looked up to JJ sat with her face in her hands. She was clearly crying too. They all felt completely useless. "Reid, look at me. Please, kiddo." He still held the sides of his face. He felt like if he didn't he would lose him. Reid's eyes opened and as he met Rossi's kind gaze he sobbed again. He shuffled himself closer to him desperate for some comfort. Rossi kissed him on the forehead again. "You will stay here tonight, caro. You won't be on your own." He pulled Reid's face into his chest and rested his chin on the side of his head. He wrapped an arm around his back.
Despite everything that had happened previously, he'd never been so worried about Reid as he was right now. He was completely drowning and it was understandable. Maloney was pushing him to his absolute limit. Reid was an emotional wreck, a husk of a person. Rossi was not going to let him out of his sight all night. He was terrified about what would happen if he did.
JJ was rubbing Reid's leg giving any form of comfort and support she could.
Rossi took Reid's face in his hands again. "How about I make you a coffee? Calm your nerves a little? You can go to JJ, okay?" Reid nodded. Rossi helped him sit up and JJ sat back and opened her arms to receive him as he slumped sideways. She felt her chest tighten as he leaned right across her and into her arms, hiding his face in her stomach. She stroked his head as his emotions overwhelmed her. She held him so tightly she thought she might never let go.
"I wish it was still this morning. Things were better this morning." Reid said sadly.
"Oh, Spence. I know." A tear ran down her face and she looked to Rossi. His face was set in a deep frown and he shook his head miserably.
JJ sat and stroked Reid's head until she finally felt him drift off to sleep.
Wilks sat opposite Morgan in the interrogation room, he had the box full of evidence on the table next to him. He sat with his hands clasped together in front of him on the table. It was a posture indicating confidence and dominance, but the expression in his eyes betrayed it. He wasn't confident about this at all. Interrogating a member of the BAU was not something that had ever been on his bucket list. Especially whilst being observed by the BAU Section Chief, the BAU Unit Chief and the Director of the FBI. He knew those three pairs of eyes would be boring holes through the glass.
"Agent Morgan. Can I call you Derek?" Morgan just nodded, looking down at the table. "Derek, I need you to confirm that you have been informed of your rights and have opted not to have a lawyer present."
"I understand my rights and do not need a lawyer." Morgan confirmed.
"Okay. So can you tell me what happened today?" Wilks questioned.
Morgan sighed and ran a hand over his head. "Reid went up to have a shower-"
"By Reid you mean Doctor Spencer Reid?" Wilks asked for the sake of clarity.
"Yes." Morgan answered, irritated with the interruption. "He went upstairs to have a shower. I told him that there were some fresh towels in the cupboard in the hallway. When I went up to my bedroom I found Reid with this box. It was on the floor and the contents were all over the place. He was looking at me completely terrified, I thought he was having a flashback but it turns out it was me he was scared of." He dropped his head down and shook it.
"Is this the box, Derek?" Wilks asked, pushing the box to the centre of the table.
"Yeah, that's it."
"Does this box belong to you?"
"The box does, but the contents don't." Morgan said quickly. His eyes pleading with the man to believe him.
"So, this is your writing on top of the box?"
"Yeah. It's a box I usually keep under my desk here in the office. It has keepsakes from cases I have worked on."
"Okay. So, did you bring the box into your home?"
"No. Never. It always stays here at work." Morgan said firmly, looking Wilks dead in the eye. Wilks nodded thoughtfully. He opened the box and started removing the contents. Every photo had been bagged to preserve forensic evidence. Wilks spread some of the surveillance photographs out on the table.
"Have you seen these before?"
Morgan shook his head. "Only this morning."
"Identical photos were found in his apartment and the abandoned vehicle." Morgan just looked at him and shook his head. He had nothing to say about that. He already suspected as much. "How did you get these photos, Derek? Did someone give them to you?"
"No. I have no idea how they got into my house." Morgan stated categorically. Wilks pushed one of the photos towards him and flipped it over.
"'For you. Enjoy'. What does that mean?"
"I don't know. It's obviously some perverted attempt to make it seem like I enjoy looking at Reid."
"And do you? There's a lot of pictures here, Derek."
"No! I don't!" Morgan said, he shook his head on disgust.
"You've gotten yourself very close to him, haven't you. Dr. Reid lives with you, doesn't he?"
"I know what you are implying and it's not like that. He's my colleague and I'm taking care of him because of what's happened to him." Morgan's jaw tightened. His stomach muscles clenched nervously.
"Do you find him attractive, Derek?"
"What? No!"
"Well, he's a good-looking young man, in a vulnerable position. I would think he is quite dependent on you right now, yes?" Morgan looked horrified. All he could do was shake his head. "If I was obsessed with someone, having them be completely dependent on me would be the ideal scenario to act out any fantasies I might have." Wilks said thoughtfully.
"That is sick. I would never do that to Reid... or anyone for that matter." Morgan said, his eyes watering up slightly.
Wilks pulled out the three screenshots from the video and placed them on the table in front of Morgan.
"Are these the sort of fantasies you have, Derek?" Morgan barely looked at the pictures, he turned his face away in disgust. "I don't know why you're looking so disgusted. They were found in your box, in your closet, in your home."
"That does not mean they are mine."
"Of course. I often have boxes full of other people's belongings in my home." Wilks said sarcastically.
"I have been set up. I never wanted to see those images ever again in my life."
"Ever again? So, you have seen them before?" Wilks asked curiously.
"I saw them on the tape when Reid had been taken by Jason. With other members of the BAU. Not in some private viewing, before you go making any insinuations."
"These images are from this DVD?" Wilks pulled out the DVD and place it in front of Morgan.
"Yes!" Morgan snapped a little.
"So, you have watched this DVD." He stated simply.
Morgan stammered a little. "W-well, I don't know for sure. But it's safe to assume what that DVD contains. I know what Maloney is like."
"Takes one to know one, right?" Wilks said with a knowing smile.
Morgan's mouth dropped open. "That is not what I meant-"
"And this." He pulled out the bottle of lube. "What's this for?"
"I have never seen that before today."
"And yet, you have an identical bottle in your bedside table." Wilks pulled out his phone and showed Morgan a photo of his drawer. Morgan's jaw clenched in embarrassment. They were routing through his private life and it felt invasive. "Must be a good brand." Wilks said dryly.
"If I had one in my bedside table, why would I need another one?" Morgan said pointedly, recovering from his embarrassment quickly.
Wilks didn't have an answer for that so he skipped over it. "The DVD, did you watch it?"
"No, only with the team months ago."
"And did you enjoy it?"
Morgan looked at the man like he was insane. "No! It was the single most horrifying and sickening thing I have ever watched in my life."
"And yet, you have a copy of it right here. For your own personal viewing pleasure." Wilks held it up. Now he pulled out the letter. "'I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I do'... 'from your friend, John'." Wilks looked at him with stern eyes. He was not going easy on him, despite his doubts. "Who is John?"
"I think we both know that 'John' is Maloney." Morgan said dryly.
"What does he mean by 'thank you for your loyalty'?"
"He is trying to make it look like I am working with him."
"And are you?"
"No." Morgan was tiring of this now.
"He seems to be under the impression that this DVD would be something you'd enjoy. Why would he think that, Derek?"
"Because he's a psychopath who wants to pull apart everything and anything in Reid's life and I'm someone who is in the way. So, what better way of torturing him than making him think that I have been involved all along?"
"Or perhaps he's jealous that his friend gets to spend so much time with his 'fuck toy?" Wilks said casually.
Morgan clenched his teeth. "Don't call him that."
"Why not? It's clearly a pet name between you and John." He gestured to the DVD.
"Oh, come on, man! You saw me at the detention centre with him! Did it look like we were the best of friends?!" Morgan slammed his hand down on the table now. He knew the man was pushing him to get him to confess but the technique was getting frustrating now.
"As we have learned, Derek, when people are hiding parts of themselves, they become very good actors." His gaze went back to the video. "How many times did you watch this DVD?"
"What? Never! I've. Never. Seen. It. Before!" Morgan emphasised his words in frustration.
He pushed forward the screenshots now. "I haven't seen it. Are these the best bits?" Morgan dropped his head down and put his hand to his forehead in distress. "Can't look at them, Derek? They are yours. This is your friend. This is someone who trusts you. Well, trusted you." Morgan was starting to break down. "Look at them, Derek!" Wilks ordered firmly; his voice tainted with disgust. He clearly felt he was onto something.
"I can't." Morgan shook his head, turning away.
"You wouldn't be the first person to be embarrassed by his fantasies." Wilks pointed to Jason in the pictures. "Do you imagine that's you?" Morgan's eyes closed and he shook his head. "Do these images turn you on, Derek?"
"Don't." Morgan warned. "Don't even suggest it."
"Well, what am I supposed to think? You tell me what this looks like." He picked up the lube and put it next to the photos.
"I know what it looks like. But it's not true! None of that stuff is mine! I've never seen it before this morning!"
"So, then you tell me, Derek. How did it get into your house?"
"I don't know!"
"Oh, come on, Derek! You expect me to believe it just suddenly appeared in your closet?" Wilks said skeptically.
"I don't know how it got there! All I know is that it isn't fucking mine!" Morgan was getting angry now.
Wilks stared him down for a few moments. He still wasn't sure that the man in front of him was guilty. But he was certainly starting to get a reaction. If there was any confession to be had, he was getting closer to it.
"Let me tell you what I think. After Jason, you put yourself in a position of power within Dr. Reid's life and you have been using that power ever since to assist Maloney in tormenting him. I mean, who would know better than you what would scare him? You live with him, you 'comfort' him, you get close to him, then he won't question anything you do because you're his 'protector', his 'best friend'. I bet you take advantage when he's vulnerable don't you? Have you touched him when he's not known? When he's been too distressed to realise what you're doing to him?" Morgan looked at the man completely horrified, his hand to his mouth. "I think this is the ultimate fantasy." He pushed the screenshots towards him again. "To have him under your complete control and you can both share him. Because you're just as sick as he is."
"STOP!" Morgan slammed his fist down on the table and stood up threateningly towards Wilks. He pointed in his face. "Don't you fucking dare! I would never do this to Reid. I would never touch him, I would never take advantage! I have been fucking devastated by what these sick fucks have done to him and you are accusing me of wanting to do the same? And you think I'm the sick one?" Wilks went to speak but was cut off. "ENOUGH! I'm done fucking talking to you! If you're gonna charge me then fucking charge me, but I can't listen to any more of this!" He turned his back to the man rubbing his hands down his face, completely stressed.
A quiet knock at the door made them both turn and Prentiss entered the room. Her face was set in a sad frown. She quietly approached the table and sat down next to Wilks.
"Derek, sit down." She said gently.
Morgan paced the room back and forth now. "I can't, Emily. I'm done with this. I can't take any more."
"Derek. Sit. Down." She said firmly. Her voice was detached but her eyes were kind. Morgan stopped pacing and sighed, moving himself back to his chair. He slumped down like he had given up.
"Can you tell me which of these items you touched this morning?"
Morgan sighed again and pushed the screenshots in her direction. "Definitely these. There were some others as well."
"Show me." She pushed a pile of photographs towards him.
Morgan picked them up and huffed as he flicked through them. He picked out four photos. "These, I think. They were just the ones on the top so I flicked through them. I'm not completely sure but these are familiar."
"Okay. And what about the other items?"
"I didn't touch anything else."
"Are you sure?" Prentiss pushed.
"Yeah. Oh, aside from the letter." He quickly corrected himself.
"So, the letter as well. What about the envelope?"
"No, Reid dropped the letter on the stairs. I didn't see an envelope." Morgan said rubbing his eyes with his hand.
Prentiss took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay, that's all for now. Agent Wilks." She turned to him, nodding towards the door indicating she needed to speak with him.
Wilks stood, disregarding Morgan completely and went to leave the room. Prentiss followed him, giving a reassuring glance to Morgan as she did. He looked completely jaded.
"Can I get you coffee or something?" She asked formally, trying her best to keep any kindness out of her voice for the benefit of her superiors.
"You got anything stronger?" Morgan said humourlessly dropping his head into his hands again. Prentiss just gave a tight smile.
"I'll get you a coffee." She said coolly, then left the room closing the door behind her.
She took a deep breath out as she turned to meet the gazes of Hotch, Strauss and Fickler.
"His story matches the forensic evidence. He picked out every item with his prints on them."
Wilks looked to Fickler. "The forensics are back?"
"Yes. His prints aren't on the DVD, the lube or the majority of the pictures. Or the envelope. His story checks out." He said shaking his head.
Wilks closed his eyes. "Jeez, I just completely destroyed that guy."
Strauss shook her head. "You were doing your job. You got under his skin, which is what we wanted."
A frantic knock at the door drew their attention and Garcia suddenly rushed in. "Sir, Sir! There has been a DNA match from the hair found at Reid's apartment! It's an Adam McCabe. He's 37, lives in Virginia. Get this, he works for a security installations company who are contractors for the FBI. The same company who were contracted to do the installation at Morgan's house! I don't know if he was working that day, I would need to speak to the manager of the company but what I can tell you is that he signed into the BAU floor two days ago to fix a faulty security camera in one of the conference rooms!"
Hotch looked to Strauss and Fickler. "Which would have given him access to Morgan's desk."
"Bingo! I took the liberty of checking security footage from that date and look what I found."
She handed screenshots to Hotch, who then passed them around the room. He breathed a sigh of relief. The screenshots clearly showed a blonde, curly haired man in the vicinity of Morgan's desk. At one point he is knelt underneath it, in the exact spot that Morgan claimed to keep the box. In the final image the man is walking away with it.
"He must have been able to gain access to Morgan's home after the installation. If he programmed a fob for himself, he'd be able to turn off the whole security system from right outside. I bet if we were to look at the footage from Morgan's house there would be a gap in the footage where the system was deactivated." Garcia said passionately. She looked to Morgan through the glass. "You can let him go now, right?" she asked hopefully. She just wanted to reach out and hug him.
Fickler furrowed his brows. "No." He said firmly. The others looked at him in surprise. "Until we have this Adam McCabe in custody and can categorically prove that Agent Morgan was not involved in this, he's going nowhere."
"But, Sir-"
"Garcia." Hotch cut her off, shaking his head.
"Just because this man collected the box from here, doesn't mean Agent Morgan is innocent. He could be associated with him."
"But Sir, the forensic evidence shows that Morgan hasn't even touched most of the items in there."
"Does it show that Adam McCabe touched them either?" He received no answer other than Prentiss' gaze dropping to the floor. "No. An FBI agent has in-depth knowledge of forensic countermeasures. We take no chances with this. We are not being outwitted again. We bring in McCabe and we take it from there." He turned to Wilks expectantly.
"Sir." He nodded and looked to Hotch. "Shall we?"
"Let's go."
Rossi's phone rang and he looked to JJ. Reid was currently asleep on the couch, tucked under a heavy blanket. Rossi stood, taking himself across the room away from Reid. JJ stood and followed.
"Aaron." Rossi answered quietly. He nodded a few times then looked to JJ with relief in his face. She raised her eyebrows desperate to know what was being discussed. "Oh thank god... He hasn't?" Rossi kept nodding; he was now frowning. "Well, I suppose that makes sense." He kept listening down the phone. "Uh huh... No, no I won't." He hummed a couple more responses. "Really?... Well, that is some good news finally." As the call continued, JJ was getting more and more impatient, trying to make eye contact with her older colleague to figure out what was going on. She understood why he hadn't put it on speakerphone but that didn't help her patience any. "Okay, well keep me updated..." He glanced to Reid. "He's... terrible. He's given up, Aaron. He pretty much said he'd rather be dead... Yeah... No... I will. Thanks... Yeah, speak later." He ended the call and looked to JJ.
"What's happened?" She asked urgently.
"Wilks has torn a strip off, Morgan but didn't get anywhere."
"Oh god." JJ shook her head sadly.
"They have a match on the hair found at Reid's apartment. They've got someone in custody now. An Adam McCabe."
"Oh." JJ breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Reid will be so relieved."
"I doubt it. He works for a security company contracted to FBI jobs. He was part of the team installing the security system at Morgan's house and he was in the BAU two days ago. Garcia has footage of him taking the box from under Morgan's desk. They suspect he managed to deactivate the security system to gain access to the home but they can't be sure."
"Oh my god, is nothing safe? He could have done anything."
"I know." Rossi nodded stoically. He looked to Reid. "We can't tell him, not yet. Fickler is still keeping Morgan in custody until this McCabe has been interviewed. He's taking no risks."
"What? So, they aren't releasing him?" JJ said, completely horrified.
"Not yet, no." Rossi said darkly. "Fickler obviously thinks there must be something in it."
"That's because he doesn't know Morgan like we do."
"Well, either way, we have some good news. At least for Morgan. And hopefully it will shed some light on Maloney's operation."
"I really hope so." She looked to Reid. "I don't think Reid can take any more of this torture." She said sadly.
Rossi looked at her knowingly and patted her arm then made his way into the kitchen to make some coffee.
The arrest had gone smoothly. Hotch, Prentiss and Wilks had entered the premises of Freesight Security and were directed towards McCabe by his manager, Russell. The manager had confirmed that McCabe had indeed been involved in the installation at Morgan's house. Russell had described Adam as a quiet character who usually just came to work, kept to himself and did a thorough job. He seemed genuinely surprised that he was a person of interest to the FBI.
When Hotch moved in to make the arrest, the man did not resist. He simply smiled. The man hadn't said a word since he had been taken into custody.
Hotch had spent the last half an hour in the interrogation room with little success. The man had refused a lawyer but had not spoken since then.
Fickler knocked on the door drawing Hotch's attention. He nodded to him, indicating for him to leave the room. Hotch stood and came out as per his order.
"It's not going well." He said grimly, having closed the door behind him.
"We can see that." Fickler said dryly. "I think we should give Wilks a shot. I'll go in with him."
Strauss looked at him curiously. "Why would you go in there?"
"Well, it can't hurt."
"Is it really wise to show that them that their antics have attracted the attention of the FBI's Director?" She said with concern.
"Trust me. We'll get him talking." Fickler said confidently. He nodded to Wilks and he opened the door for them to enter.
McCabe took in the two men entering and sat back in his seat, looking at them curiously.
Fickler spoke first. "This is Agent Wilks and I am Jack Fickler, Director of the FBI."
The man raised his eyebrows.
"Director, huh? I'm that important, am I?" He smirked.
"Don't flatter yourself. The Agent you are tormenting is important. You, however, are just a pawn in a bigger game aren't you." Fickler sat down, nodding to the man.
The man eyed him carefully for a few moments and then sat forward.
Hotch furrowed his brows and looked to Strauss. The switch in the man was uncanny. He hadn't pegged him as a narcissist who would be flattered by FBI interest.
Wilks spoke now. "Let's just start from the beginning, shall we? You work for Freesight Security, is that correct?" McCabe looked between the two men, his eyes lingered on Fickler for a few moments, then he sighed.
"That's right."
Wilks pushed the images of McCabe from the BAU security cameras towards him. He looked at them and then looked away. A cocky smile on his face.
"So, you found me then."
"Yes. Yes, we did." Wilks leaned towards the man curiously. "So, you admit this is you?"
"Is there any point in not admitting it?" He looked between the pair again. "I'm right there, aren't I?"
Wilks cleared his throat, picking out the photos of him at Morgan's desk.
"What do you know about an Agent Derek Morgan?"
"Derek Morgan? Doesn't ring a bell." He shrugged.
"What were you doing at his desk?" He pushed the photo towards him.
"I don't remember." He smiled. Wilks pulled out another picture.
"Surely you can remember what you were doing? You removed items from a box under his desk and put them in his bottom drawer. Why?"
"I've no idea. I must have been dissociating." He smirked.
"Enough." Fickler said harshly. "You are in a lot of trouble here Mr McCabe. There have been 32 people murdered and right now you are looking like the only potential suspect." McCabe just tilted his head and looked at Fickler. "So, it would be in your best interest to cooperate with us if you don't want to spend the rest of your life in prison."
"That's how it is then?" He stared hard at Fickler. "Fine. Derek Morgan? Yeah, that name is familiar." He turned to Wilks and smiled casually.
Wilks rolled his eyes and pointed to the photos again. "What were you doing here?"
"I was setting him up." He said simply.
"Setting him up how?" Wilks asked.
"Taking the box full of tasty little images and putting it in his house."
"You admit to putting the box and the images in Agent Morgan's house?"
"Yeah. I do."
"And who told you to do it?"
"Now that is a secret." He looked hard at Wilks, the smile dropping from his face.
Wilks smiled a little. "Is the name Dr. Spencer Reid familiar to you?"
"Oh yes. Now he is VERY familiar. I've seen a lot of him." He gave a sickening smile. He reminded Wilks of Maloney in that moment. "Had a few good movie nights, thanks to him. He's quite the performer."
"We found one of your hairs in his apartment."
"Oops." McCabe said sarcastically, looking completely unfazed.
Wilks pulled out photographs now from Reid's apartment. There were photos of the damage to his possessions, the photographs plastering the walls and the mannequin on the bed, along with the words written in the bedroom.
"Dr. Reid's apartment was broken in to. This is what we found. Now I don't believe you did all of this by yourself."
"That's very astute of you, Agent." He smiled, picking up the photo of the mannequin. "But if you think I'm going to tell you anything, you're very much mistaken."
"We already know who is responsible for all of this. And if you help us, we can say you cooperated. You might not even do any time."
McCabe tilted his head again, looking curiously at Wilks. "You know who is responsible?"
"John Maloney." Wilks said confidently. "You are just a pawn in all of this. Why protect someone who would use you to do his dirty work?"
McCabe kept staring at Wilks, almost analysing him. "You have no idea what you're dealing with, Agent. You don't know the half of it."
"Then tell me." Wilks pressed, when McCabe didn't answer he continued. "You're obviously scared of someone if you won't talk. Why don't you let me help you, Adam?" Wilks tried.
McCabe looked to Fickler again and smiled. "Help me? Oh, trust me, Agent. I'm not the one who needs help."
"What does that mean?" Wicks asked. His voice becoming slightly frustrated. McCabe just sat back and smiled.
"I do have something for you, Agent." He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket.
Wilks furrowed his brow. "1233 Kalorama Road NW... What is this?" McCabe just smiled knowingly.
Hotch and Prentiss looked to each other in complete horror.
Rossi was watching TV, sat next to Reid on the couch. He'd just managed to get Reid back to sleep after a panicked nightmare. To Rossi's disappointment, Reid had been calling out in his sleep for Morgan to stop. Maloney's games had clearly gotten into his head, as the man no doubt had planned.
Reid's mind was so easily manipulated at the moment, it was worrying.
Rossi looked away from the TV as the doorbell rang. He moved to the kitchen to check the camera at the front door. He saw two police officers on the doorstep. Frowning a little, he went to answer the door. As he opened the door, he found two large officers smiling back at him.
"Good evening, Sir."
"Evening." Rossi said curiously.
"We're sorry to disturb you but one of your neighbours has reported someone suspicious on the grounds of your property. We have been sent round to check that everything is okay."
"Someone suspicious?" Rossi quirked an eyebrow, looking around outside. His chest tightened a little. "My friend Jennifer left the property around 30 minutes ago." He suggested in case that was who the neighbour saw.
The other officer spoke now. "Your neighbour reported seeing a man walking around the outside of your property looking in through the windows."
"Looking in through the windows?" Rossi repeated, his eyebrows raising in concern.
"Yes, Sir. May we take a look around the grounds of your property?"
Rossi frowned now. This was a worrying development.
"Yes, yes, of course. I have a friend here so I will just go and see him."
"Of course. You stay inside, Sir." The officer said reassuringly.
They both took a step away from the door putting their hands to their firearms and heading around the side of the property. Rossi closed the door. His heart was beating hard in his chest. He pulled his phone out of his pocket to call Hotch. He couldn't be sure this was Maloney's doing, but intruders in his neighbourhood weren't exactly common place. The chances of it being unrelated whilst Reid just so happened to be on his couch was highly unlikely.
He went to dial Hotch's number but his phone simply beeped at him, complaining of no service. He looked at his phone in frustration. He tried turning it off and on again, but it didn't help. The phone was useless.
Sighing, he went to the house phone and picked it up. There was no dial tone. He felt butterflies fluttering into his throat. He threw the phone down and went into the living room to a sleeping Reid. He nudged him awake with a gentle hand to his shoulder. He moaned a little as he stirred from his slumber.
"Sorry, kiddo. But I need to borrow your phone." He said gently. Reid rolled onto his back and moaned again as if he didn't want to be disturbed. His face scrunched up in irritation. "Reid, your phone!" Rossi said more urgently.
Hearing the tone in his older colleague's voice, Reid quickly came round.
"W-What's wrong?"
"I just need to borrow your phone. Mine isn't working."
Frowning, Reid reached into his back pocket and pulled out his phone handing it to Rossi. Instantly, Rossi flipped it open. His eyes closed and he muttered under his breath. "Dammit."
Reid was sitting up now. "What? What is it?"
"Neither of our phones have service."
Reid widened his eyes at Rossi and shook his head. As if to say 'so what?'
"The landline isn't working either."
"Who are you trying to call?" Reid asked curiously. He wasn't understanding Rossi's concern at this moment.
"Hotch." Rossi sat down next to Reid now. "I don't want you to panic, but the police are here. A neighbour has reported a prowler outside the house looking in through the windows." Reid looked at him in shock then his gaze glanced around to the windows.
"They know I'm here." He said quickly.
"We don't know this is anything to do with Maloney. The officers are doing a sweep of the property now."
"And none of the phones are working?" Reid asked curiously.
"No." Rossi said, sullenly.
"We need to leave here." Reid said looking around again.
"Okay Reid. Don't panic. The police are here now. Just sit tight." He put a hand to his shoulder.
He took a deep breath. "Okay." He nodded. "Okay, I can do that." The words were more to convince himself than anything.
The doorbell rang again and Reid tensed. "It's okay, it's just the police." Rossi said calmly.
Rossi opened the door to the two officers again.
"Okay, Sir. We've checked around the property and haven't found anything abnormal. If there was someone here then they have gone now." The taller of the two said.
"Okay, thank you. Um, my landline doesn't appear to be working. Did you see any evidence of tampering with the phone lines?" Rossi asked.
"No, nothing." The other officer said, frowning a little. "Your landline isn't working, you say?"
"No, neither are our cell phones. They have no service."
"May we come in and take a look?" The taller officer spoke again.
Rossi took a step back. "Be my guest." He opened the door wider to let the officers in. He directed them through to the living room. "Go through, the phone is in the kitchen."
The two officers entered the living room and spotted Reid on the couch. They smiled, the shorter of the two continued through to the kitchen. The taller went to shake Reid's hand.
"Hi. I'm Officer Peters and my colleague in there is Officer Langley."
Reid uncomfortably shook his hand. "Spencer Reid." He then wrapped his arms around himself feeling very self-conscious of his appearance. It's not something he would normally think about, but he knew he'd been looking particularly rough lately. The way the officer had looked him up and down upon entry hadn't helped.
"I'm David Rossi. We're both FBI agents."
Officer Peters turned to Rossi with a surprised look. " The David Rossi? As in FBI author David Rossi?"
Rossi gave a tight smile. "The very same."
"Wow. If I'd known, I'd have brought my book with me."
Rossi gave a small, flattered laugh and invited the man to sit down on the couch. He sat next to Reid and he shifted a little further away.
Rossi sat himself down in a chair opposite.
"So, which neighbour reported the prowler?"
"It was the woman living across the road at 1232. Sandra, I think her name is."
"Ah, Sandra. What exactly did she report?"
Officer Langley now entered the room. "She said she saw a man walking around the outside of your home peering in through the downstairs windows. He moved from window to window as if he was checking if anyone was home. Your phone is definitely not working, by the way."
Reid wrapped his arms around himself tighter and looked to the windows. If they had looked in they'd have definitely seen him asleep on the couch.
"Was there a description of this man?" Rossi asked curiously.
"She said he looked to be tall, more than six feet. He was bald, wore dark clothing. That's all she could make out."
"Did she mention any weapons?" Reid asked suddenly.
"No mention of weapons. But she was looking from across the road, so it may have been hard to tell." Langley replied.
"Have you had any problems with prowlers before Mr. Rossi?" Peters asked, taking out his notepad.
"No, never." He shook his head.
"Could this be related to a case you are working on?"
Rossi shot a glance at Reid. "There's a chance it could be." He said carefully. "It's not something I can discuss."
"Does the description sound like anyone you might know?" Peters asked.
"It's really too vague to tell."
"Do you mind if I take a look around the house?" Langley asked. "Just to make sure everything is secure."
Rossi looked to Reid again, he was getting little from him other than a 'deer in the headlights' expression.
"Uh, sure. Knock yourself out." Rossi said.
Peters looked to the blanket on the couch and then to Reid. "You have been in here for a while?"
"He's not very well at the moment so he's staying here."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Peters said with a small smile. "Nothing serious I hope."
Reid looked at the man then dropped his gaze. "Just a bug." He said quietly.
"Did you see anything suspicious?" Peters asked him.
Reid shook his head. "No, sorry. I've been asleep." Peters just nodded and looked to Rossi again.
"How long ago was the call?" Rossi asked curiously.
Peters flipped through his notepad. "The call came in at 7.32pm. It took us a while to get here as we were on another call out. You said you had another friend here as well?"
"Yes. A Jennifer Jareau. She is a colleague. She has gone home now."
"And she didn't mention seeing anything unusual?"
"No. Nothing at all." Rossi looked to Reid and frowned. Reid was giving the officer a very strange look. He appeared fixated on something behind the man's ear. "Reid? You okay?"
Peters turned to look at him and furrowed his brows. "Are you alright?"
"That tattoo." Reid said. "Behind your ear. What does it mean?"
Peters touched his finger to the tattoo. "Oh this? It was a tattoo I got as a drunk teenager. My friend did it for me." He laughed a little uncomfortably.
Reid kept staring at the man like he was trying to get a read on him. Rossi watched him curiously. He hadn't seen that look on his face for a long time. It was as if the cogs in his profiler brain had suddenly kicked back into action.
"What does it mean?"
Peters smiled and shrugged. "It doesn't mean anything. It was just a drunken mistake from many years ago."
Reid's gaze dropped and he bit his lip as though he was trying to piece something together.
"Everything okay, Reid?" Rossi asked with concern. Reid just looked at him for a few moments and then nodded. Whatever thought crossed his mind had obviously drawn a blank. Rossi looked back to Peters. "I'm sorry, how rude of me. Would you like a coffee or something?"
"Thanks. A coffee would be great!" Peters said enthusiastically.
The next moment Langley came down the stairs. "Everything looks fine around the house. I didn't find any reason for your landline being out. Might be worth giving the phone company a call in the morning." He said casually, exchanging a glance with Peters.
"Thanks." Rossi called from the kitchen. "You guys take sugar?"
"One for me, none for Langley." Peters said, standing and heading towards the kitchen.
Langley then sat down on the couch next to Reid. "Your friend has a lovely home." Reid just hummed a response and nodded. "Must be nice being friends with a rich guy." He said with a slight laugh. "Probably makes you feel safe, doesn't it?"
Reid furrowed his brows and looked at the man with curiosity. It seemed an odd thing to say. He shrugged in response. "I guess."
The man turned towards the kitchen and Reid's gaze locked onto the side of his head. His eyes widened. The man had the same tattoo as his colleague: a small cross behind his ear. It wasn't a religious symbol that Reid was familiar with, or any kind of prison tattoo he had previously researched. It just looked like someone had casually drawn an 'X' behind his ear. All he knew about the tattoo is that Ellis, one of his attackers, had exactly the same one. And now there were two men in front of him with the same marking. One could be a coincidence, but two?
His chest tightened and he casually stood up. "Excuse me." He said quietly, but a hand landed on his wrist.
"Where you going, Spencer?" Langley smiled.
Reid smiled back with a tight smile, trying his best to remain calm and casual. "I was just going to see if Rossi needed a hand with the coffees."
Langley nodded but didn't let go of his wrist. "I'm sure he's fine. Come, sit."
Reid looked at him cautiously and then to the hand around his wrist. He twisted his arm slightly to release the grip but it didn't work. His heart jumped into his throat and his eyes watered. "Rossi?" He called out.
There was no answer.
"Sit down." Langley smiled, finally letting go of his wrist and hooking his fingers into the waistband of Reid's pants to pull him down to the couch again. Reid was now eyeing the man's gun on his belt, calculating if he could be quick enough to grab it. Seeing his throat process, Langley took his gun out of its holster and threw it across the floor. "Before you go getting any ideas." He smiled again. He put an arm around Reid's shoulders and sat back with him into the couch. "Now, we are going to have a little chat."
Reid's shoulders were tensed and his hands were held up by his chest, poised to defend himself if things suddenly became violent.
"Where's Rossi?" He asked firmly. Suddenly Peters entered the room dragging an unconscious David Rossi across the floor. Reid gasped and tried to lunge off the couch to his friend but was stopped by the firm arm around his shoulders. "What have you done to him?!" He asked furiously.
"Don't worry. I've just put him to sleep for a bit." Peters dropped him to the floor and stepped over him. He moved towards Reid and sat down on the coffee table in front of him, he leaned forward putting his hands to Reid's knees. He rubbed them comfortingly. It did not feel comforting. The touch felt like Reid was being burned.
"What do you want?" Reid asked, eyeing Rossi with concern.
"That's a good boy." Peters smiled. "You cooperate and this will be so much easier for you."
Langley now removed his arm from around Reid's shoulder reached into his jacket pocket. Reid caught the action in his peripheral vision.
"You're prettier in real life." Peters said with a salacious smile, now stroking a thumb across Reid's lips. "So delicate."
Reid jerked his head back in anger and tried to stand up again but he found himself shoved back down by Peters. Reid tried again, his frustrations boiling over. This time he punched Peters in the face and managed to lunge past him but Langley was straight up grabbing him by the arm. He pulled him back, handcuffing his wrists behind his back. His hand grabbed him harshly by the hair.
"You son of a bitch." Peters snapped, standing and staring Reid in the eye. He was now sporting a split lip. He punched Reid in the face in retaliation. It was much harder than Reid was capable of hitting. The pain radiated through his mouth as his lips met his teeth. Peters had made sure to return the favour. Reid was now bleeding from the mouth. He took a couple of breaths to recover from the sudden pain and then started laughing madly, his teeth bloody. His mind had broken slightly at the now so familiar sensation of pain.
"Is that the best you can do?" Reid gave the man a slightly unhinged smile and angrily spat blood in his face. Langley fiercely tightened the grip on his hair, pulling his head back and away from Peters.
Peters turned away as he wiped the spit and blood from his face; his eyes flashing with anger. He turned and punched Reid hard in the gut. A hot white pain shot through Reid's abdomen and nausea ran up into his chest as he tried to double over, prevented by Langley's grip on him. He coughed trying to recover his breath as his incision moaned at him.
"Is that better?" Peters smiled sadistically.
Langley laughed as Reid breathed through the pain. "I think so."
Peters grabbed Reid by the arm and Langley grabbed the other and they started pulling him towards the stairs. "You're coming with us, we've got a message for you."
As Reid came back to his senses, he started pulling against the men to stop them from dragging him, but they were too strong. He was soon being forced up the stairs by strong arms on either side of him.
"No, you're officers, you shouldn't be doing this." Reid said in denial, fighting them the whole way.
The two men didn't say anything as they dragged him towards Rossi's bedroom. They stopped outside and Langley got in front of Reid putting his hands to his shoulders.
"Who are you?" Reid asked, staring at the man wide eyed. He couldn't believe this was happening.
"Call us messengers. On behalf of a... higher power. We bring signs of things to come." Langley said with a satisfied smile.
Reid furrowed his brows and anger stirred in him again. He was at his wits end with being used as a pawn in this sick and twisted power game. Before he could consider whether it was wise, he head-butted Langley hard.
"Oh shit." Peters laughed a little. He clearly didn't expect it.
Langley put his hand to his head and looked at Reid furiously. "You're gonna regret that you piece of shit!" He grabbed Reid by the jaw hard. "I promise you; you will suffer."
Reid looked at the man with equally furious eyes. "You think I'm scared of you? You don't even rank top 50 in the list of psychopaths I've dealt with. You're bringing a message? Well just fucking get it over with." Reid snarled, spitting blood at the man again. Any self-preservation skills were long gone. What he said was true enough, between Jason, Maloney, Tobias and the hundreds of psychopaths he had dealt with as part of his job, it was tough to make the ranks. But in reality, he had no idea what he was dealing with here. And his words were dangerous.
"I'd believe you if you weren't shaking." Peters whispered teasingly in his ear.
Suddenly Langley's fist met his face again. Reid's head was knocked sideways, then back the other way as his other fist caught him. He punched him over and over, letting his anger out on the young man in front of him. When he finally stopped, Reid's head hung forward and blood dripped onto Rossi's floor marble floor.
Langley then pushed the door to the bedroom open and Peters slammed an arm around Reid's throat to lift his head up. He shoved him forwards into the room. Reid's eyes opened and he took in the room in front of him and his eyes widened in terror.
"No." He gasped out. "No no no no." Panic flared in him and he fought against the man behind him but it was no use. The arm tightened around his throat as Langley moved towards him again and started tearing at the front of his t-shirt.
"You and your friend are going to have some fun together."
Reid looked at him horrified. "No, Rossi. Please, don't do this."
"The FBI should have listened. Perhaps they will now." Langley smiled.
"Periculum in mora." Peters said into his ear.
Reid then felt a sharp prick in his neck. His eyes widened as he realised what it meant. Then he slumped down in the man's arm unconscious.
Strauss looked at Hotch and Prentiss. Her face was pale.
"That's Dave's address, isn't it?"
Hotch didn't answer, he was already pulling his phone out of his pocket.
Prentiss nodded; her face horrified.
The call simply beeped twice and went dead. Hotch began to pace the room as he tried again and again.
"It's dead." Hotch said, his hand running down his face.
"Try JJ!" Prentiss said. Hotch was already dialling her number. Hotch breathed a huge sigh of relief as the call rang out.
" Hey Hotch."
"JJ! Are you still at Dave's?" He asked urgently.
" No, I've just pulled up at home. I left about half an hour ago. Is everything alright?"
"McCabe has just given us his address. They know where Reid is." Hotch put his hand to his eyes.
"Oh god, I'll head back!"
"No! Don't! I will call the local PD. Do not go in there by yourself, JJ."
"Okay, Sir."
"We will meet you there. JJ, I mean it. Do not enter that property without us."
"I won't."
Hotch ended the call and began dialling another number. Once again, it simply beeped and the call failed.
"Reid's phone is dead too."
"Shit." Prentiss put her hand to her mouth.
Strauss was already on the other line to the Washington PD informing them of what was going on. She provided them with the address and advised that officers would need to be armed.
"We will meet you at the scene." She finished.
Wilks and Fickler were now out of the interrogation room. "Does that mean anything to you?"
"It's Rossi's address. Dave and Reid are there right now."
"For fuck's sake, is there anything these guys don't know?!" Wilks questioned in complete frustration.
"Washington PD are on their way." Strauss confirmed.
"We are heading over there now. Wilks, you stay here. See if you can keep him talking." Hotch said quickly, grabbing his jacket. Strauss grabbed her bag and moved to follow.
Fickler looked at her curiously. "Erin, you are going?"
She looked at him hard. "These are my agents, Jack. They are being completely terrorised by this organisation and I'm not going to stand back and watch any longer."
Fickler nodded in understanding. Prentiss smiled a little. She always knew Strauss had a soft spot for Rossi, despite her best attempts to always be at loggerheads with him. She could see the worry practically seeping out of her veins.
Hotch nodded in acceptance and headed out of the room, his eyes hard and determined with the slightest hint of fear.
Morgan was still sat in the interrogation room. He had been in there for many hours now. His forehead was resting hopelessly on the table in front of him. He was desperate to see Hotch or Prentiss. He needed to know what was going on. Wilks had been determined to wring some form of confession out of him. He'd done his absolute best to remain calm but it had proved harder than he anticipated when the sexual accusations came into play. He cursed himself for losing his temper. He knew as an interrogator, reactions like that could often indicate guilt. And naturally, Wilks had thought the same.
He knew that Prentiss had been sent in as part of a good cop/bad cop power play. But he was relieved to see in her eyes that she truly did believe him. He needed that reassurance. To be accused of targeting his best friend for sexually perverse purposes had made him feel physically sick. After taking care of him for so long, to think that there were people who believed he had been abusing him the whole time, especially when he was in a vulnerable and helpless state of mind, was horrifying.
The door to the room opened and Morgan sighed in relief.
"About time." He muttered. He sat up straight when he realised who it was. "Director." He said in surprise.
"Agent Morgan." Fickler said seriously.
"Sir, what is going on? I have been in here for hours with no updates." Morgan's face was clearly worried.
"You will be here for a while longer, Agent." Fickler said firmly.
"This is unbelievable." Morgan put his head in his hands again. "Where is Hotch? Can I speak to him?"
"No. There has been a development." Fickler said, eyeing Morgan carefully.
"A development? What's happened?"
"Some of your team may be in trouble." He said simply.
"In trouble? Who?... What's happened?" Morgan looked at the man in a panic. What more could go wrong now?
"Agent Rossi and Agent Reid." He said coolly.
"No." He gasped. "What's going on?" He asked desperately.
"We don't know. They won't be back for a while, so sit tight, Agent." Fickler stood. Despite the evidence proving otherwise, he was clearly still skeptical of Morgan's innocence. He wasn't going to do him any favours.
"Please, tell me what's going on! You can't just say that and leave me in here!" Morgan said standing up in frustration.
Fickler just looked at him with veiled disgust and left the room. Morgan stared at the door in complete disbelief. Tears were flooding his eyes now. He ran to the door and pulled, desperate to be released from the room to help his colleagues, but it was once again locked. He was trapped. He punched the wall in anger and then slumped down it in hopelessness as the tears escaped his eyes.
Hotch, Strauss and Prentiss pulled up outside Rossi's home to find it blocked off with crime scene tape. The place was crawling with officers and forensic investigators. Two ambulances were outside. Their stomachs dropped upon seeing the sight in front of them. Hotch quickly pulled up to the curb behind what he assumed was JJ's SUV.
They quickly exited their vehicle and approached the tape showing their badges as they did. An officer let them through. A man approached them as they entered the front door of the house.
"FBI?" He asked, his face was serious and concerned.
"Yes, Agents Hotchner and Prentiss and Section Chief Strauss.
"Lieutenant Paulson." He shook his hand.
"What's happened here? Are my agents alive?" Hotch asked, trying to remain calm.
"Paramedics are with them at the moment. They are both unconscious, we think they may have been drugged."
Upon hearing the voices, JJ came rushing down the stairs.
"Hotch! Rossi is in a bad way; they think he's been overdosed." Her eyes were filled with tears.
"What?" Strauss went to move up the stairs but the Lieutenant moved to stop her.
"Ma'am, please let the paramedics do what they need to do."
"What did you find here?" Prentiss asked. "Do you have anyone in custody?"
"No. When we arrived the door was open so we entered the property. We found some blood in the living room and a syringe in the kitchen. We headed upstairs and found your agents in the bedroom." His gaze dropped and he cleared his throat awkwardly.
"What? What is it?" Strauss asked, her eyes hard. JJ looked away, putting her hand to her mouth. This was obviously not something they wanted to hear.
"The younger agent has been beaten and was tied to the bed. His shirt was ripped open. We found the older agent lay across his abdomen with, um, his hand in er... the other agent's pants."
Hotch bared his teeth in disgust. He turned away from the man. Strauss' hand went up to her mouth and she gasped.
"There are hundreds of photos in the room. I have CSIs ready for when your agents are taken to hospital. Once they are done you can of course take a look. The words 'tick tock' are also written on the wall. And uh, a selection of sex toys were scattered around the room."
"For fuck's sake." Prentiss said angrily as her face paled.
"No evidence that they have been used. Obviously, they will need to be forensically examined." Lieutenant Paulson spoke, trying to be reassuring.
"Any evidence of any sexual assault?"
"Again, they will both have to be examined, but aside from the position we found them in, there was no obvious signs of sexual assault."
The team sighed in collective relief. At least that was one piece of good news. But it still didn't explain what had happened to their colleagues.
One of the paramedics quickly came down the stairs. "Agent Jareau, may I borrow you for a moment?" She turned, and quickly nodded then returned up the stairs with them. They all watched her go, desperate to know what the man could want.
"Do you have any potential suspects?" Strauss asked firmly, now trying to mask her concern.
"No. We checked the footage from a camera over the front door, but it had been wiped. I have officers canvassing the neighbourhood as we speak."
Suddenly paramedics were asking for the way to be cleared. They all took a step back and Rossi was brought out on a stretcher. He had been intubated and the paramedics were rushing him down the stairs and out of the house. They watched in horror.
JJ then emerged from the room, a look of pure anger on her face. She was flanked by another paramedic who appeared to be senior to the others. They approached the shocked group. They looked lost amongst all of the movement around them.
"Agents." He nodded in greeting. "Mr. Rossi had to be intubated as he is in respiratory distress. We suspect that he has been drugged with a sedative, possibly Ketamine but we will need to run toxicology to confirm. Dr. Reid is still unconscious. We suspect he has been drugged with the same substance but he isn't showing any signs of overdose or distress. We will be moving him to the hospital shortly."
"They tattooed them." JJ said harshly, her voice disgusted.
The paramedic frowned.
"What?" Hotch bared his teeth again. The news kept getting worse and worse.
"I brought Agent Jareau in as we found a tattoo on the side of Dr. Reid's neck that appeared fresh."
"He doesn't have any tattoos." Prentiss said strongly.
"Yeah, well, he does now." JJ spat. "It says 'Fuck toy'!"
The paramedic closed his eyes and nodded. "So, we checked Mr. Rossi and found a similar fresh tattoo on his hand."
JJ just shook her head, her expression set in a grimace.
"What does it say?" Strauss asked, a hint of dread in her voice.
"Daddy." JJ's voice choked up now.
Strauss' eyes closed as she understood the meaning of it. She had read the reports of Reid's attack.
"These men are truly evil." Strauss said shaking her head.
Hotch's jaw clenched. The torture was now extending out from only Reid to the rest of the team. First Morgan, now Rossi. None of them were safe. And once again, Maloney had planned things perfectly. The discovery of the box had led to Reid being left with another team member with less protection. Finding McCabe was likely no accident. He was ready with the message that Rossi and Reid were in trouble, meaning the hair in the apartment was likely a plant. They had been manipulated once again and led on a journey designed completely by Maloney. He had no doubt about that. They were now three agents down and Maloney was clearly winning.
God knows what they had done to Rossi and Reid. He could only hope that whatever it was, they were unconscious for most of it.
He turned to Strauss. "Do you want to go to the hospital with Dave? We will follow on with Reid."
Strauss looked at him in something of a daze and nodded. None of them had ever experienced a rollercoaster like this. They were all realising this was a fast becoming a game they were unlikely to win. Maloney was one step ahead the whole time.
"See you at the hospital." Strauss left the house and went out to the ambulance to ride with Rossi.
Hotch pulled JJ and Prentiss aside. "There is no way Maloney could organise all of this by himself. Not from within the detention centre. The access these guys have to the FBI is unprecedented. They are predicting our moves better than we know ourselves." Hotch said quietly.
"There's someone on the inside." Prentiss said simply.
Hotch grimaced. "I believe so. Someone who knows our procedures, our team, who has the power to allocate contractors to FBI jobs. We are talking someone from high up the chain of command. We need to be extremely careful."
"Is that why you sent Strauss away?" JJ asked.
"For now." Hotch said grimly.
"You don't think she is involved, do you?" Prentiss whispered.
"Strauss is many things, but this? I don't think so. But she won't be happy with what I'm implying either. So, for now, we keep this to ourselves. Be extremely careful with who you talk to. We keep all information within the team for now."
"Yes, Sir." Prentiss nodded.
The next moment the paramedics were bringing Reid down on a stretcher. His face was once again bleeding and bruised. Hotch's teeth clenched as he watched his young colleague be carried past him. He wanted to kill someone.
Come hell or high water, he would shut this down if it was the last thing he ever did.
