Categories > TV > Criminal Minds > Beneath a House, I Lay in Wait
"Aaron Hotchner speaking" Hotch answered his phone in his usual 'all business' tone.
"H-Hotch?" a weak voice answered.
"JJ?" Hotch almost gasped, completely stunned.
At the mention of their missing friend, each person in the room turned to Hotch as he swiftly put his phone on speaker.
"Yea its me" JJ whispered.
Morgan instantly pulled out his phone and messaged Garcia to trace the call.
After a moment of silence Will spoke up "JJ, are you okey?"
JJ laughed dryly "lets just say I could be worse"
"How are you calling us? Who's phone are you using?" Reid asked what everyone was thinking.
However no reply came.
"JJ are you still there?" Hotch asked, his voice thick with concern.
"I'm sorry but I must interrupt this call" an unknown male voice replied.
"Who are you?" Morgan demanded forcefully.
"Since I just love fucking with people, i'll allow you the chance to say goodbye to Jennifer here" the man said, ignoring Morgan's question.
"There isn't a point in saying goodbye" Rossi spoke confidently "we will find Agent Jareau and yourself"
The man laughed "Like iv'e already explained to Agent Jareau here, you will only be finding her decaying corpse and I am certain that you will NEVER find me" he abruptly hung up.
Garcia appeared in the door way, Henry in her arms "I got the location and have sent it to your GPS. GO! GO! GO!" she ordered loudly. Each person obeying and sprinting from the room.
"You shouldn't have done that!" Collins growled, backhanding JJ.
"Doesn't matter" JJ smiled "they're probably on their way here now"
Collins glared down at her "doesn't matter, we wont be here when they arrive" he tugged a key off from around his neck and bent to unlock the shackle from JJ's ankle. Once the rusted metal was removed he grasped JJ's arm and forcefully pulled her to her feet.
The sudden weight on her leg caused JJ to yelp in pain and fell back to the ground "in case you've forgotten I wont be able to fuckin stand!" JJ growled at him through gritted teeth.
In one swift, sudden movement Collins smashed his fist against JJ's jaw. The back of her head collided with the ground, rendering her unconscious.
Rossi, Reid and Prentiss stood in position in the back yard of what they hoped was the UNSUB's property. Waiting for the signal to enter. Hotch, Morgan and Will were at the front of the house.
"Go!" Hotch called out and both groups simultaneously entered the house.
As they searched the house the call of "clear" and the thud of their desperate steps was all that was heard. The six of them gathered in front of the door to the basement.
"He must have her down there" Prentiss muttered.
"On three" Hotch said, gripping the door handle as Morgan raised his gun.
Not wanting to waste anymore time Reid blurted 'three' and Hotch yanked open the door. Morgan instantly desended down the basement stairs, the rest of the team in tow.
The basement was poorly lit, so they relied on the dim lights of their touches to guide them about the room.
"No ones here" Will announced, clearly unhappy about the realisation.
"They have to be here!" Morgan shouted in anger.
Prentiss swiftly pulled out her phone and ordered the local police to put out road blocks.
"Great, just great!" Rossi vented "we're back at point one!"
"No" Hotch simply stated calmly "the UNSUB is probably feeling trapped, which makes him more likely to make a mistake"
"There must be something here that will help us figure out where hes going" Will mumbled, quickly surveilling the room. Stopping when he notices the cell in the far corner. At first glance it just looked like a strange storage unit "I think this is where he kept her" he strode over to the cell and peered inside.
Prentiss came up behind him "looks like it" she entered the cell and knelt next to where the rusted shakle lay abandoned "this would be the restraint he used. By the looks of it, it limited her movement quite a bit"
"Guys, do you think that he will keep his MO?" Reid questioned, his voice quivering "I mean. Hes never been even close to being caught before. What if he doesn't wait 2 more days?"
"Don't even start thinking like that Spencer!" Hotch ordered sternly "we need to stay level headed to catch him"
"Then lets catch him already" Will growled.
JJ winced at the pain in her head. She could faintly hear Collins speaking to someone. But she didn't know who. A friend of his she guessed. As her headache began to reduce itself from a sharp hammering pain, to a dull ache, she tried to focus on the voices and what they were saying.
"You can't keep her here!" The man who Collins was talking to shouted, clearly not happy with the idea of assisting a serial killer/serial abductor.
"But I have no where else to keep her!" Collins replied, sounding almost desperate "the feds are at my place right now!"
"Then kill her already" the man advised "I don't understand why you keep them for so long"
"Why I do it, is none of your business" Collins growled "I just can't kill her yet, no not yet"
"Why? If you get rid of her now, the feds wont find you!" the man tried to reason with Collins.
"Shes not like the others. I haven't broken her yet! I can't kill her till iv'e broken her!" Collins admitted.
The man chuckled "Peter, I love you like a brother and I wouldn't be telling you to do this unless it was nessicery. But you have to get rid of her. Its the only way your getting out off this mess"
"I still have a couple more days with her" Collins stated defensively.
"You can't keep her here!" the man raised his voice again "if the feds find out that your hiding her here, then i'll end up going down with you and sorry bro, but i'm to pretty for prison"
Collins snickered "you and I both"
"How about I make you a deal. You can keep her here over night. But you have to get rid of her tomorrow" the man reasoned.
JJ wondered if Collins would differ from his MO and agree to kill her tomorrow. She hoped to God that he refused.
"Alright, i'm sure that shes close to breaking. I'll just have to try a bit harder"
JJ's blood ran cold.
She had less then 24 hours till Collins killed her and the team had no idea where she was.
"H-Hotch?" a weak voice answered.
"JJ?" Hotch almost gasped, completely stunned.
At the mention of their missing friend, each person in the room turned to Hotch as he swiftly put his phone on speaker.
"Yea its me" JJ whispered.
Morgan instantly pulled out his phone and messaged Garcia to trace the call.
After a moment of silence Will spoke up "JJ, are you okey?"
JJ laughed dryly "lets just say I could be worse"
"How are you calling us? Who's phone are you using?" Reid asked what everyone was thinking.
However no reply came.
"JJ are you still there?" Hotch asked, his voice thick with concern.
"I'm sorry but I must interrupt this call" an unknown male voice replied.
"Who are you?" Morgan demanded forcefully.
"Since I just love fucking with people, i'll allow you the chance to say goodbye to Jennifer here" the man said, ignoring Morgan's question.
"There isn't a point in saying goodbye" Rossi spoke confidently "we will find Agent Jareau and yourself"
The man laughed "Like iv'e already explained to Agent Jareau here, you will only be finding her decaying corpse and I am certain that you will NEVER find me" he abruptly hung up.
Garcia appeared in the door way, Henry in her arms "I got the location and have sent it to your GPS. GO! GO! GO!" she ordered loudly. Each person obeying and sprinting from the room.
"You shouldn't have done that!" Collins growled, backhanding JJ.
"Doesn't matter" JJ smiled "they're probably on their way here now"
Collins glared down at her "doesn't matter, we wont be here when they arrive" he tugged a key off from around his neck and bent to unlock the shackle from JJ's ankle. Once the rusted metal was removed he grasped JJ's arm and forcefully pulled her to her feet.
The sudden weight on her leg caused JJ to yelp in pain and fell back to the ground "in case you've forgotten I wont be able to fuckin stand!" JJ growled at him through gritted teeth.
In one swift, sudden movement Collins smashed his fist against JJ's jaw. The back of her head collided with the ground, rendering her unconscious.
Rossi, Reid and Prentiss stood in position in the back yard of what they hoped was the UNSUB's property. Waiting for the signal to enter. Hotch, Morgan and Will were at the front of the house.
"Go!" Hotch called out and both groups simultaneously entered the house.
As they searched the house the call of "clear" and the thud of their desperate steps was all that was heard. The six of them gathered in front of the door to the basement.
"He must have her down there" Prentiss muttered.
"On three" Hotch said, gripping the door handle as Morgan raised his gun.
Not wanting to waste anymore time Reid blurted 'three' and Hotch yanked open the door. Morgan instantly desended down the basement stairs, the rest of the team in tow.
The basement was poorly lit, so they relied on the dim lights of their touches to guide them about the room.
"No ones here" Will announced, clearly unhappy about the realisation.
"They have to be here!" Morgan shouted in anger.
Prentiss swiftly pulled out her phone and ordered the local police to put out road blocks.
"Great, just great!" Rossi vented "we're back at point one!"
"No" Hotch simply stated calmly "the UNSUB is probably feeling trapped, which makes him more likely to make a mistake"
"There must be something here that will help us figure out where hes going" Will mumbled, quickly surveilling the room. Stopping when he notices the cell in the far corner. At first glance it just looked like a strange storage unit "I think this is where he kept her" he strode over to the cell and peered inside.
Prentiss came up behind him "looks like it" she entered the cell and knelt next to where the rusted shakle lay abandoned "this would be the restraint he used. By the looks of it, it limited her movement quite a bit"
"Guys, do you think that he will keep his MO?" Reid questioned, his voice quivering "I mean. Hes never been even close to being caught before. What if he doesn't wait 2 more days?"
"Don't even start thinking like that Spencer!" Hotch ordered sternly "we need to stay level headed to catch him"
"Then lets catch him already" Will growled.
JJ winced at the pain in her head. She could faintly hear Collins speaking to someone. But she didn't know who. A friend of his she guessed. As her headache began to reduce itself from a sharp hammering pain, to a dull ache, she tried to focus on the voices and what they were saying.
"You can't keep her here!" The man who Collins was talking to shouted, clearly not happy with the idea of assisting a serial killer/serial abductor.
"But I have no where else to keep her!" Collins replied, sounding almost desperate "the feds are at my place right now!"
"Then kill her already" the man advised "I don't understand why you keep them for so long"
"Why I do it, is none of your business" Collins growled "I just can't kill her yet, no not yet"
"Why? If you get rid of her now, the feds wont find you!" the man tried to reason with Collins.
"Shes not like the others. I haven't broken her yet! I can't kill her till iv'e broken her!" Collins admitted.
The man chuckled "Peter, I love you like a brother and I wouldn't be telling you to do this unless it was nessicery. But you have to get rid of her. Its the only way your getting out off this mess"
"I still have a couple more days with her" Collins stated defensively.
"You can't keep her here!" the man raised his voice again "if the feds find out that your hiding her here, then i'll end up going down with you and sorry bro, but i'm to pretty for prison"
Collins snickered "you and I both"
"How about I make you a deal. You can keep her here over night. But you have to get rid of her tomorrow" the man reasoned.
JJ wondered if Collins would differ from his MO and agree to kill her tomorrow. She hoped to God that he refused.
"Alright, i'm sure that shes close to breaking. I'll just have to try a bit harder"
JJ's blood ran cold.
She had less then 24 hours till Collins killed her and the team had no idea where she was.
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