Tribulations

TRIBULATIONS

By hatochiisai

Disclaimer: I do not own "Criminal Minds" or any of the characters of the show.

Reidcentric

WARNING: This work includes nonconsensual homosexual intercourse.

Chapter 4

Emily walked into Garcia's office, followed by JJ and Garcia herself.

"What happened?"

"… He didn't make it." Hotchner said. "The UnSub is taking him back in." Garcia sighed and slowly sat and her desk, staring as the UnSub carried Reid into the frightening white room and laid him on the coroner's table.

"Oh my God… No no no no no…" Garcia moaned.

"It's okay, sweetheart…" Morgan said, comfortingly. "Look."

The UnSub was laying out a couple of bottles, and rolls of bandages. Slowly, he worked the FBI t shirt off of Reid, and he began to clean his injuries and bandage them up. When he was finished, he opened a cabinet and pulled out another shirt. It was another FBI t shirt, but this one was black, not navy blue like the one he had just taken off of Reid. He put the shirt on Reid, then gathered him up again.

He carried Reid down the stairs and laid him on the cot, once again positioning him on his side facing the camera and then covering him with a blanket. He stared down at Reid for a moment, then reached out and began to stroke his hair, which was still damp from the near drowning.

Hotchner noticed how hard Morgan was gripping the back of Garcia's chair. Morgan had taken to the kid straight away, as soon as Reid had joined he BAU. In fact, he seemed very much like a protective big brother. Hotchner knew that this was eating away at Morgan, seeing their youngest team member suffering and being unable to help him…

"I'm gonna fuckin' kill this son of a bitch…" Morgan hissed, shaking in anger. Hotchner laid a firm hand on Morgan's shoulder, trying to offer what comfort he could. A moment later, the UnSub turned and climbed the stairs, leaving the room.

Hotchner took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. "Meeting room. Now." He said, turning and walking out. The others blinked, then scrambled to follow. Hotch stood with his back to the room, staring at the large screen which was filled with the image of Reid in the bed.

"Okay. Let's start with victimology." Rossi said. "Why Reid."

"Why not?" Hotchner asked, turning. They looked at him. "He's the youngest member of the team. He's a poor shot with a gun. He's brilliant, yes, but physically, he's hardly imposing. He would be easy to physically over power and dominate if need be. He's young, naïve, easily intimidated with the right pressure exerted. And… we have all shown ourselves to be protective towards him. Some more than others. Anyone who knew the dynamics of this team would know that we, especially after the Hankel case, would be very emotionally involved with Reid being abducted and tortured. This UnSub knows how to hit us where it hurts."

"And in taking Reid…" JJ said, slowly. "He took one of out greatest assets away from us."

"Ummm… something has been… bothering me." Garcia said, suddenly. They all turned their attention towards her. She fidgeted. "I saw every moment of Reid's abuse that was shown on camera in the Hankel case. And I logged his report when he made it afterwards. This bastard… he… he knew things that Hankel did to Reid that… that he only could have known if he had read Reid's report. Same with the other cases. Our cases, and the cases of his other targets in the past. He knows things that he shouldn't. The things he knows… he only could have gotten from files here… from the inside."

Morgan looked at her. "This guy is in the Bureau…" He breathed in shocked horror. The others looked very disconcerted.

"For him to know the Hankel case like he does… he'd have to be. The only one who knows it better is Reid…" Garcia said, nodding.

Hotchner nodded. "Okay. Let's get a profile going. We're looking for a white male in his late twenties, early thirties. Someone who has contact with us. Someone who may have wanted to join the BAU but didn't make the cut. Look for anyone around the time when Reid was brought onto the team. Garcia, I want you to look at the video of Reid's abduction. We know how tall Reid is, check the video and find out how tall this guy is."

"Yes sir." Garcia said, turning and heading for the door. "… Section Cheif Strauss!" Everyone turned and looked at the woman standing in the doorway. She was staring with wide eyes and a grim look at the screen.

"It's true then." She said in a strained voice. "Agent Reid has been abducted." She looked at Hotchner. "I want you off of this case. I'm putting the entire bureau on this."

"No!" Morgan said, standing. "You can't."

"Excuse me?"

"You do, and he'll kill him. He said that if anyone other than the members of this team work this case, he'll kill one of us. Like the Fisher King."

"The one who shot Agent Greeneway?"

"Yes." Hotchner said, nodding.

"… This is the man who copies others' M.O's?" She asked.

"Yes." Hotchner said again.

"Well… I'll keep it quiet then." Strauss said.

"Erin…" Agent Rossi said. "We have reason to believe that the UnSub is in the Bureau."

"Excuse me?" She gasped.

"He knows too much about the cases." Garcia blurted. "Details that he only could have gotten from the FBI files."

"And he knows how this team works." JJ said, looking at the section chief. Erin Strauss frowned, looking uneasy. She looked at Garcia.

"… Is your system secure?"

"Yes ma'am." Garcia said, with a nod. "Believe me… I checked for any sign of hackers when I made this connection. I assure you, I have considered every possibility."

"There's also the fact…" JJ said, slowly, "That Dr. Reid was abducted as soon as we started working this case. The UnSub was waiting for this case to fall into our hands…" Emily's eyes widened.

"He said this case was the one that mattered… The one that would make or break him…" She sat up. "All those other victims… he was WAITING for this case to come to us… He committed those other crimes to MAKE a case that would be sent to us."

"We've been the targets the entire time." Hotchner concluded, slowly.

"Erin." Rossi said, pulling her aside. "We'll handle this. Please. I appreciate your wanting to help by putting the whole bureau on this case, but doing so will do more harm than good." She stared him in the eyes, then nodded.

"Alright. You have a good team with a lot of talent. But I want to know every step you take." And she looked back up at the screen, frowning.

"… I know what you're going to ask, Erin. And trust me when I say you don't want to see what he's been through, and what he will still go through before we find him…"

It was never actually discussed, but the team had an unspoken agreement that someone would be watching over their youngest team member every moment. All night long, Morgan sat in the meeting room, watching. Garcia was asleep on the sofa with Kevin Lynch. Hotchner was on a cot in his office, as was Rossi. Emily had gone to make some coffee.

Morgan frowned when Reid stirred. He walked to the doorway of the meeting room and shouted, "He's wakin' up!"

The others hurried in and watched as Reid slowly came to consciousness. He blinked brown eyes, then grimaced at the pain in his body. Slowly, he sat up, groaning in pain. He looked around, then looked off camera. Whimpering, he rolled off of the bed and slowly limped out of sight. They heard a door close. A moment later, they heard what sounded like a toilet flushing, and a door opening. Reid stumbled into view and collapsed onto the cot again, gasping through clenched teeth.

Morgan looked around, then reached out and hit the speed dial button on the disposable cell. Reid jumped at the ringing and looked at the camera. He looked pained for a moment, but then a look of grateful relief washed over his face and he threw himself off of the cot.

"I'm here…" He gasped.

The team sat in silence. No one knew what to say…

"… Hello?" Reid called, looking near tears at the idea that the team wasn't there to talk to him.

"Hey kid." Rossi said, finally. "How are you holding up?" Now Reid looked near tears in relief.

"… I'm alive, aren't I?" He offered weakly.

"Reid." Hotchner said, suddenly. "We think the UnSub is or was FBI."

Reid sighed, slowly sitting down before the camera, smiling slightly.

"I thought so." He said, softly. Hotch blinked. "He knows too much about my abduction… The uh… the first one, I mean... He would have to have read my report to know some of these things."

Rossi grinned. "When did you figure that out?"

"… As soon as he started burning the fish guts." Reid said with a smile.

"That's my boy." Morgan chuckled. Reid's smile broadened into a grin. "… He really messed you up." Reid's smile faded, and he looked down at his bandaged arm.

"Yeah… He uh… he did…" He sighed and began to unwind the bandages. The team watched silently… Reid was slowly relaxing. Even though no one was speaking, he seemed to be taking comfort in the fact that some way, no matter how distant, he was still with the team. The bandages came off, and Reid inspected his lacerated arm. He looked down.

"He left me a first aid kit…" Reid mumbled.

"Is there anything that could help us find you that you've noticed?" Hotchner asked as Reid cleaned up his injuries and began to rebandage his arm.

"… The phone he has here… It's like the equipment that we use." Reid offered. "Do you have a profile yet?"

"White male, late twenties, early thirties. Garcia puts him at about six foot three, after comparing him to your height in one of the videos." Reid nodded in acknowledgement. "We have reached the conclusion that he committed all those other crimes to get the BAU to work the case. He was waiting for his case to come to us… and then he made us the case by taking you."

"So he has a grudge against the team?" Reid asked.

"Possible." Hotch said. "We're looking into anyone who was looking to join the team but was turned down. Especially around the time you joined the team." Reid nodded.

"Try when Elle and Emily joined, too." Reid suggested.

"We will." Rossi assured him. "But we're considering that he may have picked you to take if he had been passed up in favor of you." Reid nodded, thinking. "Did you know any of the other candidates to join the team? Anyone who you were chosen over?"

"I… I never met any of the others…" Reid said, shaking his head and tucking his hair behind his ear. "… Hey… what time is it?"

"… almost six am." Hotchner said. Reid nodded, and his stomach growled. His eyes widened and he turned red. Morgan chuckled.

"Time for your morning Cheerios, pretty boy?"

"… No… Frosted Flakes." Reid said with a smile. Morgan grinned.

"More sugar…" He sighed, shaking his head.

"Yeah…" Reid sighed, looking down. He raised his head after a moment and looked around. "… Doesn't look like the basement of a house." He said. "There may have been a boiler in the corner, but it's been removed. There used to be a wall there, but it's been demolished. With the bathroom in the corner, this may have been used as the office of the caretaker of the property or something.

"When… when I was in that last room, I could see out the door. This facility is an underground bunker or something. I'm pretty sure it's under a hill. And it's in a forest. The trees were pretty big… I think it's under a hill on a hill, because the ground sloped down and dropped off about twenty yards from the door. I could see the horizon, but not the setting sun. It was off to the left behind the trees."

"Good." Hotch said. "That gives us something. A bunker partially up a hill in the woods, with an entrance facing approximately west. Anything else?"

"… No… I don't think so."

"Well… stay vigilant." Hotchner said. "Stay strong." Reid nodded, wincing and prodding the bump on his head where the UnSub had hit him the previous night.

"Wish I had some pain meds…" He grumbled. "Hotch…?"

"Yes?"

"… How… how much did you see last night?"

"Everything. He has cameras in every room. We can see and hear everything."

"Every room?"

"Not the bathroom, sweetie." Garcia said, grinning. Reid looked slightly better at that.

"You know…" JJ said, frowning. "Have you noticed the angles of the cameras? He's taken great pains to set them up to get the best shot. And they follow the action and change views frequently. It's like watching a TV show…" "

"But he's not doing it. Because he's tormenting Reid." Garcia pointed out.

"… He has a partner…" Emily gasped. "Someone into cinematography…"

"Garcia, look into anyone in the Bureau who has anything to do with someone in any kind of filming industry." Hotchner said.

"Good call, ladies." Rossi said with an impressed smile.

"If you boys ever bothered to join us for our movie nights you might have noticed too." Garcia teased. "Hey Reid."

"Yeah?"

"From now on, you're coming."

"… Sure thing, Garcia." Reid said, smiling.

"And shall it be "Girls' Night Out With Reid" from now on, too?" JJ asked, grinning.

"Totally." Emily snorted. "Take him to the clubs… shopping…"

"Uh… let's not get carried away." Reid stammered, eyes wide.

"Come on girls." Morgan laughed. "You know our boy doesn't like to party."

"He needs to get out more." JJ snorted, leaning back in her chair and sipping her coffee. "He's like a fat pampered house cat. Only not fat and furry."

Reid raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?" The girls burst out laughing.

"He's a skinny little kitten, if anything." Emily laughed. "He purrs when you pet him, bats at your nose, and gives the cute act whenever he gets into trouble."

"I what?" Reid blurted, and Morgan burst out laughing. "No one is PETTING me!" Reid insisted. "And I do not bat at people's noses."

"I equate that to you spouting off your statistics and acting superior." Emily teased.

"I do NOT act superior." Reid grumbled.

"Now he's pouting." JJ sang.

"Okay, so if I'm a kitten, what's Morgan?"

"Rottweiler, man." Morgan said, grinning.

"… Nah. You're a little terrier." Garcia teased. "A little yappy Yorkie."

"That is so not cool." Morgan said, glaring at Garcia, who grinned and winked back. "Man, shut up, Reid!" He snapped, glaring at the screen where Reid was seen laughing. The team spent the next two hours just talking. Sometimes it was running ideas past each other on the case, and sometimes it was small talk, goofing off and teasing each other. Hotchner allowed it. It seemed to be helping Reid's psychological state. He was calm and optimistic.

But the talking died when Reid froze, eyes wide, and went pale.

"Reid?" Rossi called. Reid slowly turned and looked towards the stairs. The door opened, and feet appeared on the stairs, walking down with slow, deliberate steps.

"We're here, kid." Morgan murmured softly, and Reid nodded slightly to let him know that he had heard him, but that it was too soft for the UnSub. "We're all here with you. And we'll be here when you get back. Stay strong."

"Reid…" Hotchner hissed, urgently. "Keep your head down and your mouth shut. Let him dominate, do NOT provoke him." Reid nodded slightly again. The UnSub reached the bottom of the stairs and turned, staring at Reid.

"… Good morning." He said. Reid gulped and stared at him. "Get up." Reid struggled to obey, whimpering at the pain wracking his body. "Let's go." The UnSub said, and Reid limped across the room. The UnSub stepped into his path and stared him down. "What shall we do today?" He asked, almost casually. Reid's eyes darted around nervously, looking anywhere but at the man…

"… You may choose." The UnSub said, suddenly. Reid blinked and looked up at that, confused. "But then… you don't like making choices." Reid shook his head slightly, trying to understand what this guy was getting at. The UnSub grabbed Reid by the elbow and dragged him up the stairs, Reid yelping in surprise before following, grimacing in pain. He was dragged down the hall, and back into what Reid now thought of as the Hankel Room…

He was shackled to the chair again, and was already feeling ill with fear… The UnSub turned and opened the lap top computers. Four images were there… web cams… Reid stared at them… He did not like where this was going.

"Choose one." The UnSub said.

"I… I'm sorry?" Reid asked, weakly.

"Choose one to die."

"Oh God…" Garcia breathed. "Not again…"

"Not again?" Rossi asked.

"Hankel showed Reid four people." Hotchner explained. "He told him to choose one to die. If he refused, then they would all die."

"What did he do?" Rossi asked, looking shocked.

"Reid ultimately chose who would LIVE." Garcia said. "Eliminated one of the victims as a target. And then Hankel chose who would die."

"He left the camera running. Reid watched the murder." Hotchner said.

"I said choose." The UnSub growled.

"… I… I can't… please…" Reid begged, looking terrified.

"You know what will happen if you do not." The UnSub said. "They all die."

Reid shook his head. "No… please… I can't… I can't condemn someone to death… I… please…"

"Then you condemn them ALL." The UnSub growled, advancing on Reid. "Choose."

"No!" Reid insisted. His eyes widened briefly before the UnSub backhanded him across the face. "AH!"

"CHOOSE!"

"… nnh… n-no… AH!"

"You're only going to make it worse on yourself."

"FINE!" Reid shouted, making the UnSub hesitate, not expecting that. "I don't care! I won't send someone to the slaughter like that!"

"As you wish." The UnSub said, then pulled out a cell phone and dialed. He held it to his ear. "Kill them all." Reid's eyes widened.

"NO!"

"Then CHOOSE!" The UnSub shouted, turning and facing Reid. Reid shook his head, and tears fells down his face.

"… Please…"

"You have five seconds, or they all die."

"… please."

"Three… two…"

"… okay. Right… the middle right screen." Reid breathed, and sagged in defeat. The UnSub turned and spoke into the phone.

"Location Three." He said, and hung up. "There now…" He stroked Reid's hair. "That wasn't so hard…"

Reid just sobbed, jerking away from the man. The UnSub snarled, and struck him across the face again.

"You can sit here and watch…" He snapped, then turned and stormed from the room. Reid just sat and cried.

"Dammit!" Morgan exploded, slamming his fist down on the table. "We have to find him! Come on, baby girl. Let's go." And he and Garcia went to her office.

"Morgan… I've run everything. I don't have a decent list of suspects OR locations…" She sighed. "I'm sorry, but… I need more."

"I just thought of something." JJ said, walking into the room behind them. "We have the guy, the dominant personality. We have the one working the cameras… but the UnSub made a phone call… to a third person."

Morgan stared. "You're right… how many of these guys are there?" He cried, and stormed out of the room and into Hotchner's office, where he was talking with Rossi. "There are THREE." He said.

"What?" Hotch asked, blinking.

"The guy on the cameras, the guy OPERATING the cameras… and the guy that our UnSub just sent to murder whoever Reid just chose." Morgan said. "This just keeps getting better and better…"

---

Please review!!!!