#cafbaf

Chapter 30

Spencer sat staring at his book case for some time. The withdraws were hitting him really hard today and it was getting difficult to ignore them. He was violently shaking to the point where he couldn’t even hold his coffee cup without spilling it all over himself. The headaches were brutal to the point where he called in sick yesterday to work. His head just constantly pounded and any type of light was too much for his eyes to handle. He had taken some Excedrin but so far the hammering hadn’t let up. He exhaled a sigh and laid back on his couch, staring up at the white washed ceiling. Eventually he lulled into a dozing state of sleep.

“Spence, we need to talk.”

Spencer looked up, a stern JJ staring him down. He sat up and rubbed his eyes.

“JJ, not now, I’m very tired and have a head ache.” He closed his eyes again and shooed her away. She sat down on the edge of the couch next to him.

“No Spencer, now. We need to talk about Cat.”

“What about her? Why does it have to be now?” Spencer groaned, peeking at JJ with one eye closed. She put her hand lightly on his.

“You need to make it official, before it’s too late Spence.”

“Before it’s too late? Too late for what?”

He closed his eyes and then opened them again, and to his horror they were both covered in a pool of ruby blood. She placed the stub that used to be her arm on Spencer’s chest.

“Before it’s too late Spence.”

He screamed out and thrashed around and suddenly he sat up, wide awake on his couch, sweat pouring from his forehead. He licked his dry lips and looked around furiously. His apartment was dark and quiet.

“It was just a dream….. it was just a dream.” It was obvious to him that the guilt of losing JJ and giving in to dilaudid had jumbled up his mind and gave him some awful dreams. He stood up on shaky knees and grabbed himself a glass of water. He smoothed down his hair which already seemed to be matted down with sweat. “Actually more like a nightmare…” he said in a whisper to himself as he made his way back to his couch. Before he could sit down there was a knock on the door.

“Reid…. Are you in there?” A light and airy voice followed the few knocks and Spencer suddenly realized that it was Garcia. He stood up and opened the door, greeting a relieved Penelope. “Hi Reid! I brought you some breakfast muffins because I heard you weren’t feeling well. You’re lucky that we had a lapse in cases this week and that you could take off. How are you feeling?” Spencer threw her a weak smile motioning for her to come inside the door.

“I’ve been better Garcia. Just some headaches that won’t ease up. Decided to rest yesterday and I feel a bit better today. Thank you for the muffins, you didn’t have to do that. What kind are they?” He sorted through the basket, picking out what appeared to be a fruit filled one.

“Oh I’m so glad to hear you’re feeling better, and there are a lot of different kinds, like apple cinnamon, orange, raisin…” He listened to her rattle off the various muffins in the basket as he took a bite of the orange one. The flavor of citrus rushed into his mouth and was quite moist.

“These are great Garcia. Thank you. Did you know muffins are usually a staple food for breakfast but they are usually high in fat and carbohydrates, sometimes surpassing even a donut?” It was an awkward silence as Spencer chewed his food and Garcia twiddled her thumbs, not really sure what else to say. She had been worried about him, in fact the whole team had been worried after Emily had said something about Reid’s constant shaking.

“Well I’m glad you like them. I have to get back to work now because it’s our lunch hour and I promised the others I would report back as soon as possible on your well-being.” She stood up and Spencer laughed.

“Is Morgan super worried about me?” he laughed, thinking about Derek asking about him. Garcia smiled and nodded.

“You rest up Reid, and we’ll see you bright and early tomorrow. Tell Cat I said hi. I have to go before it’s too late.” She grabbed her things and Spencer froze mid-bite.

“What did you say Garcia?”

She stared at him, suddenly aware of the distant look in his eyes “I… I said I have to go before it’s too late. You know…. Before I’m late at getting back?” She pointed to his clock on the wall, letting him know she only had 15minutes to get back to the BAU. He finished his bite and nodded in understanding, a little freaked out at her choice of words. Soon he was left again with his basket of muffins and his thoughts.

    “And here we see a tumor pressed up against the amygdala of this 32 year old brain. A tumor is also known as neoplasm and about 20% of brain tumors are meningiomas or encased in the meninges of the brain and skull.”  Cat typed furiously on her laptop trying to get down every word her professor said. She wanted to make sure she was well prepared for their test coming up and she knew that her professor favored abnormalities of the brain. She peered over at Aislinn who raised up her eyebrow when their eyes met. Aislinn was able to just listen to a lecture and then remember it later. She was an auditory learner. Cat let out an exasperated sigh as she continued to type, as if her fingers were on fire. “Well that’s all we have time for today class. Make sure you each meet with your groups to go over the one case study you wish to present that has abnormal psychology and neuroscience implications as well. Have a good day.” The students began to pack away their things and Aislinn made her way over to Cat.

“Talk about a rough lecture. We still have to find a case study. I searched for hours last night. It’s a lot harder than you think.” Aislinn bit into her green apple as she spoke, waiting for Cat to pack her things away.

“Yeah, I know what you mean. I searched for a while too and couldn’t find anything. Maybe I’ll ask Spencer and see if he knows of any cases. I’m sure he has ran into a few. Plus I really think you guys need to officially meet and hang out. I’ve been dating him for almost over 6 months now and I don’t think you two have formally met or hung out.” Cat put on her back pack, ready to go to her next class.

Aislinn nodded but also seemed uncomfortable. “I know what you mean Cat, but it’s just awkward since it’s 3 of us. I mean, I could always invite a date but-“

“Well if you feel more comfortable that way than that’s fine but I really want my best friend to really get to know my boyfriend.” Cat looked at her pleadingly and all she could do is smile.

“Well what did you have in mind?” Aislinn threw away her apple core as they walked toward their next class, Psychology of Antisocial Behavior.

“I’ll think of something. Something different… Something fun. No more stuffy dinners for me. I’m getting fat.” Cat laughed, going over ideas she had been thinking about to do with Spencer for a while now. Suddenly her chocolate brown eyes caught sight of a brightly neon colored flyer outside their classroom door. “Hey Aislinn, how about this?” She grabbed the flyer and held it up for her to see and Aislinn’s eyes lit up.

Chapter 23

Spencer fell back upon his bed, his eyes puffy and red. His whole body ached with exhaustion and the pit of his stomach tumbled and churned with a feeling of despair. He let out a breath, feeling like he had been holding it in for hours. He ran his fingers through his messy brown hair. The service had been nice. The whole team was there, dressed in their finest. Will and JJ’s parents greeted everyone with opening arms, trying their best to keep their composure. Soft classical music had played in the background as many went up to JJ’s casket and paid their respects. She looked very peaceful, as if she was only sleeping. Her yellow blonde hair fell around her face softly onto the pillow. She was dressed in her finest clothes and her hands were placed gently on the side, the one mangled had been replaced by a prosthetic, representing the hand. The whole team had been there, dressed in suites and dresses. Garcia couldn’t stop her blubbering, stuffing tissues into her purse every chance she got. Derek consoled her as best as he could, rubbing her back and cooing her with “It’s alright baby girl, let it all out.” Hotch and Rossi stood with their respected families, silent, cold, watching, dealing with the same internal struggles that he was probably reflecting on.

His tired eyes looked upon her with a sad expression, as he fought to keep the tears at bay. He rubbed as his eyes as he greeted everyone on arrival. The service began and everyone took their seats. Every thing seemed like a blur though and he could barely think straight, which was odd for Spencer. He just… he couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t be gone. She just couldn’t be. JJ, the bubbly blonde haired girl who’s smile could light up any room. His confident, his first crush as the BAU, one of his best friends, his… his family. Now the tears fell, slowly at first and then steadily. Hotch put his hand on Reid’s shoulder and that’s when he remembered just losing it all; just sobbing uncontrollably but quietly so that he wouldn’t disrupt the service. It didn’t matter though. Her parents could barely see through the swell of tears pouring from their own eyes. No parent should ever have to bury their child. Ever.

Reid turned on his side, his puffy eyes staring at the clock that sat on his bedside table. It was only 9 pm but he was exhausted. He sat up after what seemed about 15 minutes and decided to finally kick off his dress shoes. He unbuttoned his white dress shirt and cuffs deciding he would just retire to bed early. When he had finally switched into some sweat pants and a loose t-shirt, he piled into his bed and immediately fell asleep exhaustion taking him to the deepest parts of his mind.

Garcia I have to leave. I have go to. I have to help. They found them now. I have to go and see if she’s okay. It’s my level Garcia. It’s my level. She’s hurt on my level. He ran out of the office, throwing his coat on in a hurry as he followed the coordinates he had given Hotch and team about a half hour ago. He had to make sure she was okay. It was his fault she wasn’t. He had watched horrified as she mangled herself, for him. His heart swelled with despair and anger. It was his fault. HIS FAULT. He drove as if there was a twister roaring behind his car. He sped through the darkness, only to be halted by the accident that Hotch had spoken about before. In about 20 minutes he was at the house, the SWAT and flashing lights from the police cars flashing brightly in the dark night. He opened his car door and ran toward any familiar face he could find.

“REID!”

Suddenly two large arms wrapped around him. He could smell the scent of sweat, as he struggled to break free of the bear grip. It was Morgan.

“Morgan, where is she? Where is she? Is she alright? I have to go find her!” He almost felt frantic now. He tried to look past Morgan at the scene, spotting an ambulance at the rear of the house.

“Reid… Reid…she’s gone. She’s gone Reid.” Spencer could now see tears streaming down Morgan’s face. He stared at him as if he has just been shot in the stomach. No… this couldn’t be. This couldn’t be true! She couldn’t have died. She just couldn’t have! Not JJ! Not her! A sobbed caught in his throat as he felt his knees give way, Morgan grabbing him just in time before he fell to the ground. He sobbed, Morgan holding him tightly, patting his back, tears of his own streaming down his face.

“I know Reid… I know. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“No no no…. noooo Morgan… no” He moaned between sobs. His level. She had died at his level. What had he done? What had he done?

He screamed off into the night, anger and depression coating it; the sound of such a sad song.

Spencer sat up suddenly in bed, drenched in a cold sweat. He panted, his heart beating fast against his chest. He looked over at his clock and realized it was 3 A.M. He stood up and decided to get a glass of water, his throat feeling parched. That dream. He had had that dream every night leading up until the funeral. He shuddered, suddenly feeling feverish and ill. He wiped away the sweat on his forehead and made his way back to his bed. He climbed in, taking deep breaths, a sudden thought occurring to him. His eyes became large as he sat up straight and made his way to his bathroom.

He opened up his medicine cabinet and stared at the little glass vials that sat there. Mocking him…

Chapter 22

Yes…. Yes. Things had been going as planned perfectly. She was able to complete the first two levels. She was surviving his game. What a brilliant mind Jigsaw had to have been to have constructed similar scenarios! What a brilliant mind he must be in order to create his own, continuing the legacy for Jigsaw. Wait… what’s this? A hacked connection? He furiously typed into his system, tracing the hacked connection toward his microphone. They are communicating with her! Well, that will have to end. She is to have no help. And with that he punched on his keyboard the codes required and the connection was severed.

“JJ?” Reid spoke but she didn’t acknowledge him. “Garcia did we lose our connection?” Sweat beaded on his forehead as he saw that this was his room.

“He severed our connections. He’s blocking me and rerouting over and over again. We can’t talk to her anymore.” Garcia typed as fast as she talked, trying to reestablish the microphone to no avail. Suddenly Reid’s cellphone rang.

“Go ahead Hotch, you’re on speaker.”

“We think we have a lead. Garcia I need you to search the records of Danny Samento. Emily was able to find out that just a few weeks ago he had withdrawn from his university, involuntarily. He was released under the assumption of mental illness. He continuously talked about “making people pay. He lived with his mother who also hasn’t been heard by her co-workers for weeks, and didn’t make a statement on her son’s withdraw. Also we are stuck in traffic by an accident scene that we can’t bypass. We’re going to see if we can pass through another way, but it might take more time. How is JJ holding up?”

Spencer’s stomach twisted, his head feeling feverish and foggy at the thought of JJ having to ordeal more time in this sick man’s game. Garcia listed off everything her computer could find on Danny Samento, and the team came to the conclusion that he was most likely their unsub. There was a connection to the address and that of Danny Samento. The old abandoned Victorian house had actually been his place of residence when he was younger, but as soon as his father died, the mother took her son and moved out.

JJ could see the tape recorder hanging by some sort of thread from the ceiling. She took it and pushed play.

“Sin three, Spencer Reid. Dr. Reid your constant battle to stay clean of drugs has always astounded me. How could they let a druggie on the FBI team? Your co-workers have known this whole time about your addiction, but what about your family? What about the public eye? Do they know how you still have the vials in your bathroom medicine cabinet? Do they know how you look at them with longing every day? It’s a shame, isn’t it? That now poor Jennifer will have to suffer because of your selfish addictions. As you can see above you there are small vents at the top of the wall. I have just replaced the air that you are breathing with a deadly substance that will slowly kill you from the inside out. So far I have been releasing small amounts, and now I have increased it. Notice the blood you have coughed up Jennifer? Before you, you will see a contraption, specifically designed myself. You ask what does it do? The contraption contains the syringe capable to blocking out the effects of the deadly toxins now coursing through your system. However how do you acquire this syringe? Simple really. The case to the syringe will only unlock when the amount of blood placed into the system will relinquish enough weight to release the syringe, approximately 3 liters. The human body contains approximately five to six liters of blood. It is your choice which limb you will want to sever. As soon as you place it within the contraption the saws will start to rotate, and the blood will flow. Only when you get the syringe will the next door open. You will have to place it directly into your neck if you wish to survive. You have ten minutes before the toxin compromises your system. Good luck.”

Silence

“Reid? Reid? What do I do? Spencer?” She called out, but heard nothing. Talking made her throat feel scratchy and she coughed. More blood. Should she just let the toxin compromise her system? She thought of Will and her son. She thought of her team. Could she survive losing 3 liters? She eyed the contraption. What was she to do? She coughed, more blood spilling from her lips.

“JJ don’t do it! The team will be there soon! Please!” He begged and pleaded, tears forming in his eyes. “Garcia please try and reestablish the connection so we can tell her not to do it!” He was frantic now, every minute passing by. Garcia typed as fast as she could, tears already spilling from her eyes.

“I’m sorry Spencer. I’m trying. I’m try-“ Spencer slammed his fist down, cutting her off mid speech.

“Damnit. Damnit all! Garcia call the team. Tell them! Tell them they have to hurry!”

JJ eyed the contraption. It was her only hope of survival through this whole ordeal. At least she would have more of a chance losing a limb than she would waiting for the toxin to kill her. She cried, inching toward the threatening machine.

Yes that’s right darling, inch forward and chose life. You can do it.

She placed her hand within the small opening of the machine. At once the saws began rotating, a sickening droning sound. She pulled out, stunned and surprised. Could she actually do this? She coughed more violently now. She shook her head, trying to clear her mind of the haze that was starting to set in. She took her shirt and ripped violently until she had a decent amount of thread. She stuck it between her teeth and clamped down as hard as she could. She stuck her hand in the contraption, slowly, and then forced herself to stick her arm in all the way. The saw started slicing and she cried out in pain, however continued to keep her arm in place as it became mangled. She screamed, feeling the hot blood pour from the cut as the saw continued to mangle her body. She cried out in pain, tears streaming down her face.

“NO JJ, NO NO NO!” Spencer watched the horror unfolding. Garcia had just about fainted in her chair. The blood poured, filling the contraption. What seemed like hours was only 5 minutes as the saw sliced completely through her bone, taking her arm off neatly. Suddenly the saw stopped spinning, and the top of the contraption sprung up and open, revealing the syringe so carefully placed. She slowly pulled her body away from the contraption, blood spewing from the nub that had now taken place of her arm. She slowly grabbed the syringe, her vision weak and almost black. The pain in her now missing limb was immense, and she could barely feel the pinprick in her neck as she injected the antidote to whatever poison the mastermind had thought up. She heard a loud buzz and vaguely remembered that she had to pass through to the next level. She began walking toward the door, when all became black as her body fell to the ground, blood continuing to ooze out of the wound.

  BAM

“FBI PUT YOUR HANDS UP WHERE I CAN SEE THEM!” Morgan raised his gun at the person who sat in the chair in front of his own monitors. He raised his hands slowly, as Morgan inched forward to handcuff them. He placed the handcuffs on the wrists and spun the person around, surprised to see a man, roughly early 30’s, who was wearing a gold mask and a large smile on his face. Morgan stared at that sickly smile, barely able to contain himself. “Where is she you sick asshole?! WHERE IS SHE?” And with that Morgan punched the man straight in the jaw, the smile only fading for a second.

The rest of the SWAT team, Emily, Hotch and Rossi searched the rest of the area. They had found Danny in the attic, running his little puppet show. The rest of the house was abandoned, dark and old. However when they reached the basement, there was a small trap door set in the middle of the floor, a single spotlight lamp overhead of it. The team drew their guns and dropped to the inside, suddenly entering a makeshift tunnel. The tunnel ran the length of almost a football field. It was dirt walls and dirt ceiling. Every few meters there was one slot for eyes to look through. Hotch placed his eyes at one of the slot and could see the bathroom scene that Reid had described at what had seemed hours ago.

Chapter 20

The smell of smoke hit Catherine’s nose as soon as she entered the building. It was dark and the only thing that could be heard was the loud music with the voice of someone butchering the Madonna song in karaoke. She coughed, trying not to breath too deeply. This bar was a bit more low key, more relaxed then the upscale dance club she had been to with Spencer. She smiled, this would be a good time. It was going to be a night with cheap beer, fun talks, silly singing and much more. She followed Aislinn and her friends up to the bar and ordered a Mich Ultra. She took a swig as she made her way over to the small tables that were cramped in the center of the room. Aislinn started off her evening right with a vodka and tonic, while Sarah and Natalie also took advantage of the beer specials.

“Wow, that girl is really butchering it. We should go up next and kick ass!” Aislinn laughed taking a big gulp of her drink. Catherine smiled, following suite.

“Yeah, like shit, I bet we could do a whole lot better. What song should we sing?” Natalie grabbed the karaoke book as she spoke. The girls poured over the selection, picking out Moulin Rouge. Catherine could feel the excitement bubble in her stomach as anxiety about singing in front of strangers became apparent. She took a nervous swig and tucked lose curls behind her ear. Aislinn could see her nervousness behavior and patted her on the shoulder.

“Sing your heart out Cat, loud enough for Cassandra to hear.” She smiled, touching her glass against Cat’s in a toast to Cassandra. Catherine happily obliged.

The girl finished her Madonna song and the four of them stood up to put in their request to the DJ. He looked at the slip of paper, smiled and searched for the track in the system, then he gave each of them a microphone to sing into. Cat stared out into the crowd. It was an older generation, more so at the bar than at the tables. Smoke filled the room as people lit up cigarettes and cigars left and right. Then the music started to play and each girl sang their heart out. Catherine could barely contain her excitement when it was her turn to speak, Pink’s verse. She had chosen Pink because she had a deeper vocal cord and it was easier for her to access the notes, while Aislinn was the complete opposite, grabbing Christina Aguilara’s part in the highest of them all.

Once their song was finished there was wild applause and wolf whistling. The girls giggled as they made their way to their seat, grabbing another round of drinks into a long filled night of laughter and glee.

It was 3 in the morning by the time they made their way back home. Catherine was dizzy and drunk from the effects of the alcohol. Not only did she have 4 beers but she also mixed her alcohol streak with flavored vodka, and at one point Aislinn handed her a kind of rum to try. Aislinn herself was pretty wasted, as she hung on Cat, too drunk to even sit up right in the car. Natalie was their DD so she had only had the one beer in order to drive them all home safe. Sarah slurred her words, going on and on about how they should do this more often. Catherine was barely paying attention to her.

“I…I-just like him so much, ya know?” she spoke, her own words slurred, trying to voice her opinion on Spencer. “He’s a, a uhm, a good guy, and he’s smart.” She hiccupped, leaning against Aislinn in the back seat.

“Alright Cat, we’re at your apartment. Aislinn as you going to stay with Cat. I think it’s best you two keep each other company and then that way I won’t have to drive you across to the other dorms Aislinn.” Natalie unlocked her car doors as she spoke, stopping in front of Catherine’s dark apartment.

“Yeah, I will stay with her that’s no problem.” Aislinn hiccupped, grabbing her stuff from the back seat and opening the car door so slide out, Cat following slowly behind her, trying to get her footing.

Natalie made sure they were able to open the door and make their way inside before she sped up. The warm apartment was quiet but dark. Cat sobered up a bit, remembering the first time she had found it this way after hearing about Cassandra. She stumbled her way into the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, chugging it down with sudden great thirst. She grabbed another and gave it to Aislinn who was staring at her sleepily.

“We should probably go to bed huh?” Aislinn spoke, between chugs of water. Cat nodded. The time of night suddenly weighed upon her and she felt extremely exhausted. She led Aislinn to the bedroom. As much as Cat hated to admit it, she hated when Aislinn slept in Cassandra’s old bed. It felt like she was the replacement. But at the same time she wasn’t going to make her sleep on the couch either. That would just be wrong. The two girls stripped from their flashy clothes, too drunk and too tired to even worry about each other’s naked bodies in the room. They changed into simple sleep wear, and climbed into their beds. Catherine assumed to fall asleep right away, but her thoughts kept circulating Spencer, and how, for the first time, she let her heart miss him. He hadn’t talked to her at all and she felt like it wasn’t fair that he had just disappeared into thin air. Her thoughts turned into anxiety.

“Aislinn. Can I ask you something?” Cat voiced into the quiet room. She almost half expected to have no answer, drunken sleep claiming Aislinn, but then a feeble answer replied.

“Yeah, of course, what’s up?” She could hear Aislinn shift in the bed as she spoke, her icy blue eyes upon her.

“Have you… have you ever liked someone? But you weren’t sure what to do about it?” Cat asked, her voice trembling.

She could hear a sigh, and then sudden movement as Aislinn pushed her covers away and got up, making her way over to Cat’s bed. She sat down and placed a hand on Cat’s shoulder. “Yeah. I do know what it’s like. A lot.” And with that she leaned in and kissed Catherine’s lips softly, barely brushing them. Catherine inhaled, surprised, she hadn’t even known that Aislinn was interested in the same sex, let alone her.

Aislinn pulled back, unsure of Catherine’s reaction, but when she didn’t hear an objection she kissed her full on the lips, her fingers entwining in Catherine’s brown hair. Cat could taste the liquor on her breath, as she closed her eyes and just let herself be kissed. She was honestly too drunk and too tired to even care that it wasn’t a male. It was Aislinn, one of her best friends. It felt…. Natural… normal. Right.

Chapter19

“Garcia, I need you to bring up the name Edward Quinn. Emily found a connection with him and the local video store. She said that he came in and rented all the movies of Saw and then never brought them back after repeated phone calls. I also need you to track his location and see if it’s anywhere close to the general vicinity. Did you find any leads digitally while cross referencing the information about the movies and all of what we know?” Hotch spoke into his phone as he drove toward his next stop point.

“Edward Quinn lives in the general area with his mother and sister, father died in a fatal car crash by a drunk driver three years ago. The drunk driver got off with only 5 years. Edward was admitted to the hospital for once attacking a man he thought to be the drunk driver, but was later discharged after a cleared evaluation with a psychiatrist. The only leads I found were that of the videos bought by Edward Quinn and also of a man named Joshua Lete who also purchased all of the Saw movies in a local Walmart along with a few other items that are questionable. He lives with his brother and mother and father in the area, but has no record what so ever. The only thing I could find paper trail wise was shopping history and academic awards.” Garcia typed like there was fire under her fingers, Reid twiddling his thumbs as he listened, staring at the screen where JJ paced back and forth in front of the door, waiting to see what would happen next.

“Hand me the phone Garcia.” Garcia handed over the phone as she continued to type. “Sir, you want to be looking for not a warehouse but an old style Victorian house that was either abandoned or vacant at the time. The layout of the room she is in and the style of the door is identical to old Victorian times where they spent a great detail on not only the outside of the house but the inside as well. I had Garcia look up any house deeds that resembled Victorian times and the only one we came up with as vacant was an old abandoned house on 10 Shackford Street. I’m not sure yet, but it seems to be a basement that she’s in, so the unsub must have created a patchwork of area under the house that he is using for this, and it must have taken him quite some time to put together, because this isn’t just some impulsive scenario. It’s well thought out and thorough. We need to hurry. JJ only has a limited amount of time before he unlocks the door and she must complete the tasks.”

Hotch could feel his stomach drop. “Okay, I’ll send Morgan and Emily over there to check it out.” He hung up his phone, and began dialing their numbers to send them to that address.

BUZZ

The loud buzzing sound filled the small room as it reverberated in JJ’s skull. The door was being buzzed open and now it was live or die in this madman’s game. She had no choice but to cooperate. She grabbed the door handle as soon as the buzzing stopped and stepped inside the next room, plunging herself in almost total darkness.

“Shit she just left the room.” Spencer squeezed closer to Garcia as they typed furiously to figure out how to switch the camera view. In a matter of minutes they were met with a pitch black screen, just like JJ was. The lights flickered on and JJ was extremely horrified but what she saw. On the wall, written in red was SIN 1: PENELOPE GARCIA: CHOICE

In the room sat a table with three monitors  and next to that table sat a woman who was bound and gagged, tied tightly to the chair, a contraption of sort was wrapped around her head. She stared at JJ with wild eyes. At her feet lay a recorder. Spencer turned the volume as loud as he could and listened intently. Penelope had tears in her eyes, her heart pounding, her head spinning. This was her room? This was her fault? What was this about? She could barely watch.

JJ picked up the recorder, pressing play.

“Sin one, Penelope Garcia. Dear Garcia you work feverishly behind a computer all day long while you let others risk their lives, based on your information. Little do they know that you selectively pick who lives and who dies. Have you told them about your choosing of files to be followed? Who gets precedence over who Garcia? What makes you able to play God? Now JJ will chose. What you see before you are three monitors.”  Suddenly the monitors flashed on, revealing cameras within houses.

“Garcia see if you can track the signal of those cameras.”  Reid was sweating bullets. This man was sick.

“Before you, you can see into the lives of real people. At the touch of my finger, I could end them. All three if I would choose so, but I will let you choose, my dear Jennifer. You get to choose, who lives and who dies. On the first monitor you will see a young mother, 25, with her newborn son. On the second monitor you will see a single father, with 2 girls, and on the third monitor you will see a college student, visiting at home with her family. All three have a life, a history, a future. Next to monitor 3 you see a gun. It has one bullet. You can chose to save all three lives by shooting the women next to the table. Or you can chose a screen to save them. If so the contraption around the women’s neck shall activate, decapitating her. If you try to free her, or escape it will also activate, my hand on the trigger. If you try to kill yourself the contraption will activate, all the people on the screen will die, and one of your teammates and family will be next. You have 5 minutes to make your decision. Good luck.”

And with that all 3 monitors flashed a timer, counting down from five minutes. The woman began to cry, shaking her head, begging incoherent pleas.

Garcia turned away, vomiting into the trash can. Spencer dialed Hotch giving him the recent accounts. He was getting angry that the team hadn’t solved this yet. JJ was either going to die, or many lives were going to be lost.

JJ looked from monitor to monitor and back to the woman.

Chapter 18

Catherine twirled her pasta in her bowl, her appetite decreasing with every passing minute. It wasn’t the most appetizing meal in the first place and she had so much on her mind that her friend had to come remind her to come eat with them that night. Now she sat, all dejected, her thoughts in the clouds. Chatter happened all around her in the dining area. Friends meeting up with friends, joking, laughing and eating. Catherine sighed taking a small bite.

“Cat come on! You barely touched your food. You have to eat. Come on now, no more sulking. Cassandra wouldn’t have wanted you to act this way.” Aislinn lightly tapped her friends shoulder, trying to get her to come out of her bubble. Catherine huffed.

“I know I know. I just have so much on my plate right now, and this isn’t that great to begin with.” She pushed the bowl of cold pasta away from her, grabbing instead the unhealthy fries and shoving them into her mouth. The greasy salty food made her feel a little bit better and she hadn’t eaten all day. She took another handful. “So Aislinn, what are your plans for tonight? Now that the week is over and all homework has been caught up on?” She took a sip of her soda, washing down the greasy fries. Aislinn thought for a moment, brushing her fire red hair behind her ear.

“Well, a bunch of us are going to karaoke tonight. You wanna join us? It’ll be super fun, a night on the town to relax!” Aislinn grabbed some of Cat’s fries, dipping them in her honey mustard before taking a bite. Cat thought for a minute. Aislinn had stuck by her side ever since Cassandra had died. She had comforted her, and had even spent a few nights up at the apartment so Catherine would be too lonely. They had always been close friends before, but now that Cassandra was no longer there, Aislinn tried her very best to comfort Cat, and Catherine was ever grateful to have someone. Her mom had wanted her to stay home for a week or two but Catherine refused to fall behind on her studies, even with getting the 4.0 she still wanted to prove she had what it took to not let any of this affect her. Although she turned down her mom’s offer she didn’t realize just how extremely hard it would be without Cassandra by her side.

“You know what, I will join you. That sounds great!” Cat took a bite of her sandwich and chewed happily. It would be nice to get out with friends, drink a little, sing a little, be goofy and get her mind off things, like school, Cassandra…Spencer.

Spencer                                                    

He had called her two days ago, with the weirdest question ever. She hadn’t heard from him for about a week and had assumed that he didn’t want anything more to do with her. Technically he still might not. It wasn’t like he called to chit chat. He only needed information and then he hung up. Still, her mind was on him, her thoughts constantly reliving her time with him at the dance club. She had sworn she had felt chemistry when they danced, but maybe it was only the atmosphere. In any case she tried not to think about it too much. If things were meant to be they would happen, he knew where to find her and if he wanted to he could reach out to her; if he didn’t than he wouldn’t, and she wouldn’t worry about it. She had bigger fish to fry. She finished off her meal and took it up to the dish washing area Aislinn following behind her with her tray.

“Okay great, we’ll come by at around, say 8ish to come get you from the apartment. Dress in something super cute. We’re gonna have a good night!” She winked as she walked away from Cat, leaving her with small excitement bubbling in her stomach. She left the dining area and out into the cool night. She walked along the path that lead back to the apartment complex on campus. The wind licked at her bare head and she wished she had brought a hat. She zipped up her coat a little bit tighter and hurried as fast as she could to the apartment.

With a swipe of her key card and a turn of her key she was back in the warmth of the dark apartment. She turned on many lights, flooding the dark living room with a soft glow. She kicked off her sneakers and coat and stumbled over to the couch. It was 6 so she had, give or take, two hours to get herself ready to go. She closed her eyes, just breathing in and out, letting herself just be there in the moment.

She let herself sit like that for at least 15 minutes, and then she decided that before she became too relaxed and fell asleep she had better get her butt up and moving. She headed over to the shower and turned it on, hot steam filling the room. She stripped down out of her faded jeans and shirt and hopped in, letting the warm water soak into her skin. She washed up, relaxed again, and then dried off, walking over to her closet in her towel trying to decide what outfit to wear. She eventually decided on a turquoise sequin top that hugged her curvy figure perfectly with a dark pair of skinny jeans and gold sandals. It was a bit cold for sandals but it would be warm inside the karaoke bar where they were going, so it wouldn’t be that troublesome. By the time her hair and make-up were done it was 7:45, giving her enough time to just sit on the couch and mentally prepare herself for the night ahead. Suddenly a pang of guilt overcame her.

If only Cassandra was there to join them. She would probably be running late, just getting out of the shower now, yelling at Cat for making her run late. Cat would help her pick out an outfit that would fit her perfect figure, and help her do her hair. Cassandra never really liked to do her hair because it was very long but Cat didn’t mind. Now Catherine was going to go out and “party” while Cassandra would never take another breath in her life.

Catherine shook her head. No…Cassandra wouldn’t want her to feel guilty. She would encourage her to get up and stop feeling sorry for herself, to keep moving on and continue to smile, because she had a second chance.

“That’s right Cassandra….I have a second chance and I’m going to make it worth -while.” She whispered into the empty room, almost certain if ghosts were real then Cassandra could hear her. She smiled to herself, and then her phone went off.

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