𝗗𝗢𝗡'𝗧 𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗚𝗘𝗧 𝗠𝗘 | 𝘼. 𝙃𝙊𝙏𝘾𝙃𝙉𝙀𝙍

thirteen

It was dark. It was cold. Slightly coloured with blood, his shirt was torn, and his head was spinning. A constant dripping sent his mind into convulsion, thinking that it must've been a leak in his apartment. No. His apartment wasn't cold, damp or filled with the scent of decay. No, this wasn't his apartment, and the man in front of him knew that too.

'Who are you?' Hotch raised his head. He said nothing but moved to the side and clanged something against metal. A tripod was placed between the agent and his abductor and a red light blinked. This man had a particular manner about him, he was careful- too careful- as well as carefree. Hotch could see that he was rather overweight yet still looked as though he punched trees for a living. From behind, Hotchner could feel the sickly smell of sweat and a joyfully shrewd voice trickle around his neck.

'Smile,' he said and throwed the first beating at Hotch.

                       Wind was howling through JJ's hair and she brushed it off her face. Reid buttoned up his jacket and stared at the amusement park, glancing at his partner. The pair moved forward to where a scruffy looking man was rolling up tarpaulin, speeding up a little when he saw the agents.

'Excuse me, do you run this establishment?' Spencer provoked in a calm manner.

'What do you want? I ain't done nothin',' he hissed. JJ held up her badge, right in his face.

'We'd like to talk to you about somebody you hired to work here,' she paused, unfolding a copy of the sketch, 'Do you recognise this man?' she examined, letting him hold the drawing.

'Naw, never seen him before,' he pruned his bottom lip.

'You're saying that you're unaware of who you had working on the Ferris wheel two nights ago?' Reid implied, making the man a little anxious.

'I don't have to wonder. Sandy, he always works on the wheel. Never has a day off. Thinking about it, I was moving some equipment that night, and when I looked over, it wasn't Sandy working on that ride,' he paused, looking a little guilty, 'I didn't say nothin. Gotta make a living, y'know? Plus, I thought he was just sick, but I actually haven't heard from him since then...' he realised.

'Thank you, we're just going to take a look around,' JJ said authoritatively, and the unkempt man left them to it. Heading around the back of the wheel, Reid hunted for anything; he was committed to finding his chief and that meant going to any means necessary- a very unusual approach for Spencer. Waves hurled themselves towards the pier, spitting sprays of salt over the male agent; he raised his weapon after hearing a thud just before him. On the other side, JJ found nothing as she inspected the other exhibits; the park was just as innocent as it should be- or so she thought- until Reid called her name. She leaned over the fencing.

'Found something?'

'You may want to take a look at this,' he shouted, waiting for her to come down. On her arrival, he made his conclusion, 'I don't think Sandy was just sick,' he said, gesturing towards the body slumped in a store cabinet.

                   Both Morgan and Prentiss felt disgusting ransacking their boss' apartment a second time, but knew it was for the best. Stretching the blue gloves over their hands, they went in and were prepared to find anything. Derek took to emptying the stacked bookshelf whereas Emily decided to begin in the bedroom- his closet, to be precise. After ten minutes into the study of his place, they had come up with nothing. That was until Morgan departed the final book from its shelf and called for Prentiss' observation.

'Prentiss, is that- does that look like a microscopic camera to you?' he asked, moving away so it reflected almost unidentifiably in the light.

'Oh my god,' she quoted, 'Was he watching Hotch?' and they couldn't believe it. On a mission to find more than one camera, the duo looked even harder, even deeper for any other lenses and Emily found another embedded onto a cupboard door. A phone buzzed.