UNDER REVISION Silence in the Scars (A Criminal Minds Story)

Chapter 9: Day One

UPDATED: 12/14/16

Back at the police station, the rest of BAU profilers, minus Reid, stared at the evidence they had uncovered so far. They had seen the evidence a hundred times, but each agent was hoping to spot some clue that would lead them to Reid's whereabouts. Cups of cold coffee sat forgotten on the table. Stress and lack of sleep was clearly etched in every line on their haggard faces and in the slumped lines of their posture. Each agent was lost in their own thoughts, trying to sort through the evidence in their head. The sunlight shone through the window, casting a warm light into the silent room. They had spent the last several hours trying to piece together a new profile, but the stress and lack of sleep made them snappish and irritable. Eventually each agent had relapsed into quiet, silence that now filled the room.

Morgan checked his phone for what felt like the hundredth time since they had returned to the station. He wanted to do something. He wanted to hit the table or yell, anything but sitting in silence and wait for Garcia to call back. There was the deep ugly truth that this was his fault. No matter how many times JJ and Garcia would tell him that this wasn't his fault, Morgan knew that it was.

He knew he was supposed to have had Reid's back. Yet, Morgan was the one that allowed them to split up. Reid had been a trouble magnet since day one. In the time they had been working together Morgan had seen Reid nearly get himself blown up and be held hostage by both a religious cult and by a delusional UNSUB on a train. Although, Morgan thought with a small smile, Reid had volunteered for that last one. Morgan had lost track of how many times the kid had been shot at.

The shrill ring of a cell phone cut through the silence. Morgan jumped, hand flying to his phone, before he realized that it was not his that was ringing. Hotch glanced down and saw Strauss's name, biting back a groan.

"Excuse me," he said to his agents. All of them were looking at him with varying degrees of apprehension and questioning on their face. Hotch ignored them and stepped outside into the almost deserted main area of the police station. He answered the phone with his usual short, blunt greeting.

"Agent Hotchner," Strauss said. Her tone was sharp, a biting reprimand in his ears. "I've just been informed that there was an abduction during your raid of the UNSUB's house. How come I was not informed sooner.

"It slipped my mind," Hotch replied. The last thing on his mind had been looping Strauss in on the events that had occurred.

"Was it one of your agents?" Strauss asked.

"Dr. Reid," Hotch replied. He kept his tone level and stiff. No need for Strauss to think that they would get emotionally involved with the case. There was a moment of silence from her end of the phone, through the glass window Hotch could see Morgan getting a phone call from whom he could only assume was Garcia with news on what she had found.

"Agent Hotchner," Strauss's voice brought him back to the current conversation he was having. "I trust that you will call me when you find your missing agent."

"Of course," Hotch replied. The call disconnected and Hotch stood there slightly shocked. Strauss was actually going to let them stay on the case. Hotch put his phone back into his pocket and quickly went back into the room to join the others.

~

When Reid gained consciousness the second time, he reflected on how much he hated getting hit in the head with inanimate objects. His aching headache had only intensified with the second blow to the head. Reid slowly opened his eyes and was immediately assaulted by the dazzling brightness of the sun streaming in through a window somewhere. He slammed his eyes shut as the ache in his head increased. With his eyes shut, Reid took stock of his situation as best he could.

Reid was sitting in a wooden chair. His hands were handcuffed behind his back and his feet were tied to the bottom of the chair. The chain of the handcuffs was looped between the opening in the back of the chair. He was fairly certain that the handcuffs were his. The metal dug into his wrists. Reid shifted around in the chair, trying to find a position that both his back and his arms could agree with. There was dried blood on the left side of his face from the flashlight. He guessed that he at least had a concussion at this point. Reid opened his eyes slowly, wincing as the bright light once more assaulted his vision.

Reid decided to try and open his eyes to see where he was. He opened his eyes slightly and winced as bright light assaulted his vision painfully. Squinting he looked at where he was trapped for the time being. The room was small, about the size of two cubicles. The wall Reid was facing had a thick wooden door that was locked. Looking around the room, Reid could see two small grimy windows. Besides the chair he was handcuffed to, the room was completely empty.

Reid strained his ears, trying to hear something. He could hardly hear anything over the sound of his own haggard breathing and rapid heartbeat. Reid tugged on the ropes on his ankles, but to his dismay, they held. He twisted his hands in the handcuffs, but they dug into his wrists tighter. The sound of arguing voices drifted through one of the cracked windows. Reid froze, straining his ears to hear what his kidnappers were arguing about this time.

The door was thrown open with such force that it hit the wall with a loud bang causing Reid to flinch. Zoe stormed in, Tyler hot on her heels. Both of them were red in the face and looked about ready to punch something.

"I don't really give fuck what you think," Zoe said. "Go with Jack and find out how much the feds know."

Tyler crossed his arms across his chest. His glare was bordering on murderous."How do I know you won't decide to kill the doctor while Jack and I are gone?"

Zoe fixed Tyler with a piercing look. Her hand drifted unconsciously to her neck and she froze, a look of alarm crossing her face.

"What?" Tyler asked. He took a step forward, concern crossing his face.

"My necklace," Zoe replied. Her eyes were wide and her voice had an edge of panic to it. "It's missing!"

"Necklace?" Tyler asked.

"The locket that Jake gave me," Zoe snapped. The panic in her tone was replaced by anger. "Do you have anymore smart questions or are you gonna need another reminder to do what you're told?"

Tyler's eyes widened and he took several quick steps away from Zoe. He muttered something under his breath that Reid couldn't hear. A moment later he was out the door. Reid could hear the sound of a car engine being started and then the noise faded as the car drove away. Reid was still trying to build a profile in his mind. He needed to figure out the best way to talk to them and avoid being shot. Reid's racing thoughts were interrupted by Zoe cocking the gun and grinning at Reid.