FDTD Ch 11-12
*They were back at the store in Floria, warmth and light flooding through the open doors, letting in the summer breeze. Around them was the buzzing of cheery voices and children´s laughter.
Reid smiled when Morgan ruffled his hair playfully, shooting him a toothy grin. All felt so comfortable and easy - like it was a childhood memory. Except Reid didn't have childhood memories of all his worries had being taken on by others, of when he had felt at home and as part of something bigger. He had them with the team though, with Morgan. In him he had a best friend, a brother, someone who cared for him and made him smile when he was down.
He looked at Morgan walking next to him and the man nudged his shoulder in return. It seemed like he was about to say something but then he focus seemed to be drawn to a spot over his shoulder and his expression darkened. Suddenly, all around him the world began to lose its color and sound. He blinked and it was suddenly cold and dark, a feeling of dread creeping up on him.
Scared, Reid turned around to see what he was looking at and gasped when he saw a figure lying on the ground close by. She wasn't moving but he recognized her immediately. The girl, Hazel, bloodied, violated, broken, dead…
Horrified, Reid made to run to her, only to be grabbed by his arm and held back. His head snapped around to find it was Morgan; he was about to yell at him to let go -but suddenly froze in mid motion. Morgan's dark eyes were widened as he stared at Reid and then he lifted a hand to his mouth like he was going to be sick. Reid reached out in worry just as Morgan´s body suddenly convulsed and he coughed violently, crimson spraying over his chin and fingers.
"Reid..." he croaked with bloody lips.
Reid stood frozen in horror while, Morgan motionlessly in his arms. "Morgan!" Reid cried fearfully, tears running down his cheeks. He looked around frantically for help but there was nothing but darkness.
He cried out again, shaking Morgan to keep him awake: "No, Derek, please, don´t die! Don't leave me alone here, I can't do this alone!"
"NO!"
Reid woke with a start, covered in sweat and shaking. He looked around frantically, still caught in his nightmare. It didn't take him long to realize Morgan wasn't there, that he was nowhere near the mall, and definitely nowhere near safety.
The room he was in was empty except for a girl sleeping next to him, fully clothed and with her wrists tied. Hazel…
It all came back to him quickly then, the bank, the kidnapping, the remaining threat of death…
He closed his eyes, fighting down the instant wave of nausea and panic that threatened to overcome him. It took almost a minute but eventually he managed to calm his mind by telling himself that not all was lost yet, that there was hope of them making it out of this alive…
He managed to collect himself not a second too early, because just then, the door to the bedroom opened just then and Seth and Richard Gecko walked in, their sight making Reid's stomach twist again. Both men looked at him almost suspiciously for a moment; he must have cried out in his sleep, even through the gag.
Reid sat up straight and watched them tensely, holding his breath.
Yesterday night, he had pretty much come to the conclusion that they must want him for something, and that that was why they hadn't killed him yet. That gave reason to hope.
He hoped it was ransom because that meant he had a chance of getting out of this alive - and because the one other option he could think of was that they were just waiting for the right moment to send the FBI a message by killing him before their eyes. Reid could only pray it wasn't the latter; he was well aware that if necessary he wouldn't be able to properly defend himself like this, the aching places he'd been hit and kicked and the bruises he could all but feel blossoming under his shirt a constant reminder of that -but he tried to be ready anyway.
The image of the dead girl from his dream flashed before his eyes and he shuddered, terrified at the thought that that might happen for real sometime soon. If he died…there would be no one there to protect the girl. He couldn't let that happen…but he had no idea how to prevent it.
Fortunately, for now neither brother did or said anything threatening though and Hazel kept on snoring peacefully next to him. He hoped their behavior was a good sign. It was really too early to tell and he couldn't read these men yet, find out their intentions. In lack of alternatives, Reid took a deep quiet breath, mentally readying himself for whatever lay ahead as he watched his kidnappers.
Seth looked just like he had the day before, the bright sunlight somehow unable to take away from his dangerous aura. His five o'clock shadow had darkened considerably but surprisingly he looked more energetic, optimistic almost. Maybe sensing Reid's gaze, the man met his eyes with an unreadable expression for a moment before walking over to the TV and turning it on. There, he flipped through the channels, ignoring the wary eyes on him.
Minute by minute, Reid waited tensely for any indication of what would happen today, what he had to expect but it seemed he would have to wait until Seth felt like telling him. He glanced at Richard - only to realize he was in the process of watching him intently, seemingly lost in deep thought as he stared at his legs.
He froze.
God, he had spent so much time worrying about Seth planning on hurting them when Richard clearly was the more disturbed and compulsive one…and the one with all those assault charges against him. Reid immediately felt nauseous when he saw the distant look in the man's eyes and shifted uncomfortably, wishing he could shield himself somehow.
Richard didn't miss his movement and his eyes flitted to Reid's. Instead of looking embarrassed at having been caught staring though he merely shifted his focus. Reid felt his stomach cramp as the man's eyes wandered from his mouth down to his collarbone and the bare part of his shoulder where the shirt had slid down during the night. He tensed up in dread, wishing he could use his hand to rearrange the garment. He had almost forgotten that the assault victims hadn't all been women.
Just as the tension seemed to grow unbearable, Seth turned around, his gaze falling on his brother, following his eyes. His tanned face was marred by a deep frown for a moment - then he walked over to his brother, tossing a folded back pack at him.
"There's a little convenient store nearby," he instructed him in a clipped tone, "Get us some breakfast."
Richard grumbled moodily but he looked away from the bed and the moment was over. He slowly made his way to the door, mumbling under his breath as he did so. Seth's voice stopped him just before he closed the door behind him, "And Richie? Try to remember what we said about keeping a low profile, ok?"
Richard just scoffed and left without answering.
The door fell shut behind him with a loud thud that finally woke up Hazel as well. She needed a moment to orientate herself, but then she shot up, staring at Seth with fearful eyes. He regarded her momentarily without much interest before turning back to the TV. Apparently, her waking up wasn't a cue for him to act either…it looked like they were safe for the moment…
Trying to let that deduction calm him down, Reid briefly made himself smile at her - with about as much success as the night before - and then paid attention to what Seth was watching. Right then, there was a female newscaster on the screen talking about their bank robbery. Reid's pulse quickened immediately and he leaned forward; maybe they would talk about Morgan or the investigation.
"…-sand dollars were stolen. The Gecko brothers have since then vanished again after having kidnapped bank teller Hazel Martinez, 21, and a federal investigator. Another agent who was at the bank as well was in critical condition this morning."
Reid drew in a shallow breath, feeling nauseous again. At least it seemed that Morgan had been rescued in time…still, he was in critical condition and that could mean a lot of things…
He was hoping for more information but they just went on about how investigations were going nowhere so far. Eventually, Seth turned the TV off.
"Looks like we don't have to worry about your buddies showing up here anytime soon," he declared, looking smug and relieved at the same time. He really did seem calmer, the set of his shoulders as relaxed as his facial expression with things going his way.
Reid couldn't reply gagged as he was and figured it might be best; after yesterday's fiasco, who knew what would set the man off again. He was still not over the shock of almost dying, and of almost causing Seth to shoot Hazel just because of a wrong answer he'd given.
Maybe it was best he didn't say anything, let the man be in control…He would only be able to pretend to cooperate to a certain extent of course, he was a federal agent after all, but if it worked it might make him less aggressive towards them.
Seth didn't seem content with talking to himself though; he walked over to the bed, kneeling on the mattress as he reached for Reid whose heart instinctively missed a beat from fear. He forced himself to stay still though as he felt the thief's calloused hands push his hair to the side and ghost over the back of his neck as he looked for the knot he'd tied there, ignoring his racing heart.
"There," Seth said almost jovially as he tossed the cloth to the side and straightened up again, "I trust you got a good night's sleep?"
Reid pressed his lips into a tight line to keep from saying something he might regret. By now Seth's mood change seemed more than a little off. Did he actually except them to be at ease just because he was -or was he purposefully taunting them?
Just as Reid started pondering if he might be a sadist after all, Seth kept on talking casually, "Well, mine wasn't great either, but, and that's the good news, we are officially off the radar again."
He ignored the lack of response as he walked around the bed to Hazel's side, "Alright, we have a big day ahead of us, so rise and shine, sweetie pie. Clean yourself up, then we'll get some food in you."
Hazel hurried to get up as quickly as possible without her hands. Seth pulled her up the last few inches by her upper arm, helping her regain her balance. The whole gesture wasn't nearly as rough as the day before which resulted in Hazel being a little less teary. He led her to the bathroom, closing the door behind her, "You've got ten minutes."
She disappeared and Seth leaned against the wall by the door as he waited for her, looking over to where Reid was still sitting on the bed, "You can go when she's done."
Reid nodded quietly. After a long moment of waiting for Seth to do something besides standing there he carefully pushed to his feet and stretched. Seth made no move to stop him, merely watching him with a guarded expression.
It unsettled Reid almost more than as if he'd openly threatened him again. This way, he wasn't sure where he stood. Well, whatever Seth was thinking, cleaning up, having breakfast…it seemed that at least they weren't going to die in the next few hours.
He bit his lip absentmindedly; he had to find out what Seth was planning so he could prepare himself. It certainly was a risk what with Seth's short temper, but maybe he could try and get him talking about that?
He felt slightly less anxious with Richard gone and Seth seemingly being in a better mood. He tried not to think about how fast that could change, instead trying to come up with a tactic. It proved to be difficult. There were techniques they had learned at the academy for talking to UnSubs in a situation like this, yes, but he wasn't sure enough of what drove Seth to risk setting him off with the wrong tactic.
Still, Seth in a good mood was the best he could hope for and he had to try something.
Once again, he found himself wondering what Hotch or Gideon would have done in his situation. Would they have been confrontational or complacent? He couldn't imagine the latter -no, they would have worked to get to their captor, to stand up to him even if it was just with psychological warfare. The thing was, he didn't need to test Seth's limits, he had already unwillingly done that yesterday. No, confrontation definitely wasn't the way.
He had to find another in, a soft spot maybe. He thought of how Seth had given Hazel his word yesterday, of how upset he had been in court upon being called a liar. Maybe that was a point to start? His honor? It seemed like an odd choice of words in connection to a man like him, but Reid knew it didn't really matter how he defined the word, it mattered how Seth did. If he could find a pattern there, he might be able to have something to work with...
"Can I…ask you something, Seth?" he began carefully, mouth dry.
He'd been told to shut up very clearly yesterday, and he had no idea how using the man's first name would affect him -but just now it had seemed like Seth might be more willing to let him talk and maybe even answer? No, apparently. His captor's gaze darkened for a moment, his jaw tightening and Reid was already sure he made yet another mistake, flinching.
Surprisingly though, Seth just assessed him for another long moment, before nodding curtly. Reid breathed an inaudible sigh of relief.
"I was just...wondering," he started out carefully, "...What are you going to do with us now?"
Seth raised an eyebrow at his question, luckily remaining calm though, "Isn't it obvious? You're our hostages. You'll guarantee that the cops will leave us alone."
He shrugged like that explained everything.
Reid considered this for a moment, trying to find any signs of deceit on the man's face. He seemed to mean it. Slightly encouraged that apparently this was the less awful kidnapping scenario he'd thought of earlier, he continued quickly, "Yes... But, the cops have already lost your trail, you said it yourself. I have some experience with this sort of situation and I can assure you, keeping us here is just going to attract more attention to you and keep you from disappearing completely. You needed us to get out of the bank, yes, but now? Don't you think it would be smartest to just let us go?"
He hadn't meant to say as much at once, but his inner profiler had just taken over for a moment. He immediately regretted it when Seth eyes suddenly flashed angrily, his mouth pulling into a frown. Apparently, this wasn't the kind of conversation he'd had in mind.
He took a step away from the door, ignoring the way his captive tensed up this time.
"If I thought that, Spencer, I would have already," he replied in a cold tone which was bordering on dangerous, "And I'm sure that as a profiler you know that, too. So why don't you ask me what you really wanna know while you have the chance?"
Reid felt his breath catch, his insides tangling at the sudden threatening tension, the dangerous potential of the question that had seemingly come out of nowhere. How was it that this man saw behind his tactics so easily? He sensed that he was treading on very thin ice by the way Seth reacted to having his plans questioned -but what else was there to do if he was going to accomplish anything?
He gulped, his heart pounding in his chest. There was no need to actually ask a question -they both knew what this was about, so he didn't waste any time beating around the bush.
"The BAU would never stop chasing you," he said quietly, a warning to not attract the wrath of a team full of federal agents because he'd killed one of them. Seth didn't look surprised in the least at his words, but also not impressed. Reid felt every hair on his neck stand up as he was met with a smile that was like ice.
"I think they'll find I'm very good at running."
Dread drained the color from Reid's cheeks as he stared back into those black eyes, suddenly unsure if he'd ever seen any humanity in them at all.
This wasn't his game, he had to realize, it was solely Seth's, and he felt like he was about to find out some more of the rules.
He couldn't help but flinch again when Seth took another step towards him, then another, only the last of his pride keeping him from recoiling when the man was suddenly standing right in front of him. His heart was pounding so fast he could feel it in his throat as he tried to look at him without blinking, without showing his fear - but he could tell by the man's knowing smile that he was doing a poor job of it.
A moment that seemed to last a sheer eternity passed, in which neither moved, Seth merely staring down at him and Reid expected to be grabbed or hit at any second, but neither happened. In the end, Seth's hard glare lightened somewhat, and he scoffed, shaking his head with a slight smirk brought on by a joke that was clearly about him. Disturbing, yes, but still, better than him letting his temper reign free…'Close shave…'
"Don't worry, Spencer," he finally said slowly, "I do happen to have a plan for which I need you, and need you alive."
The words sunk in only slowly -again, Seth looked annoyed but not like he was lying and Reid wanted to feel relief.
Instead he felt something cold settle in the pit of his stomach when he thought of all the different ways those words could be interpreted. They didn't have to involve anything with the police -especially with Richard in the equation. Reid felt his stomach turn as he thought of Richie's comment in the desert and the way he had looked at them this morning. No, he couldn't let that happen...
"Money," Seth's voice suddenly interrupted his unpleasant thoughts, his brows furrowing briefly, "…I'm sure they'll pay us a lot of money to get you back. So why should I give you up for free?"
There was no sign of dishonesty in his voice as he said that, yet Reid couldn't help but doubt anyway. By now he didn't have to play up being intimidated and vulnerable anymore. Despite the discomfort it had caused earlier, he made himself look into Seth's eyes again, trying to find an answer there. Seth returned his gaze evenly, his' almost neutral again, apparently awaiting a response.
"Wh…How much do you want?" Reid finally asked, unable to get what he really wanted to know past his lips. Addressing the subject of some of Richard's convictions might make everything worse, give him ideas even.
Seth shrugged again, seemingly oblivious to his thoughts, "Enough to get our asses into Mexico and never have to turn back."
"And when you have the money, you'll just let us go?"
"If your team cooperates and pays -and you haven't done anything to make me hurt you until then, yes, why not?"
Reid nodded slowly. There were regulations against making deals with criminals so he had no idea what would happen but he couldn't think about that now. The team would do all they could, he knew that. He took a breath, trying to push his unease regarding his future out of his mind.
"They'll give you more than enough," he lied quickly, nervously licking his lips, "But...as long as you have me…what do you need Hazel for?"
He knew his renewed attempt at helping the girl had gone too far before he'd finished the sentence. The anger that Seth had semi-successfully overcome just minutes ago returned full force, making him look truly frightening as he loomed over him.
"Are you saying she's useless to me?"
Reid felt his blood freeze at the hissed words. Mistake, big, glaring mistake….
But he couldn't go back now, could he?
"You don't need her, Seth," he changed tactics, trying to save what he could, "You already have total control. She's only one more person you have to watch. What's the risk of letting her go? It's not like your faces aren't nationally known already."
He had hoped appealing to the man's ego would help calm his anger, but he was wrong again. Before he could say anything more, he was suddenly grabbed by the back of his neck in a bruising grip and Seth was right in his face, scowling. He flinched away but Seth held on tightly, immobilizing him with frightening ease while his other hand freed the gun from his belt and pointing it at the closed bathroom door with Hazel behind it. The shocked no died on Reid's lips as Seth spoke.
"You're right, she's useless," he leaned forward to look him dead in the eye, as scary as every mug shot he'd very seen of him, towering over him as he pulled back the hammer of his gun, "She can die this second, or she can live another hundred years, I don't give a rat's ass. The only reason she's here is to make sure you don't do anything stupid. I thought I made that clear yesterday, but apparently you don't want to understand me."
Reid shook his head hastily, pulse thrumming in his ears, all strategy immediately abandoned and forgotten, "I won't-"
"I know you won't," Seth interrupted, "Because if you do, if you try to run, or get help, or if you keep trying to play me with that reverse psychology shit, I will kill her. Do you understand?"
His eyes bored into Reid's, the painful grip in his hair preventing him from nodding.
"Yes."
"Do you believe me?"
"Yes."
With that, Seth finally nodded. He lowered his gun but didn't take his other hand down, forcing Reid to keep looking at him.
"Perfect," his lips pulled apart in a seemingly pleasant smile while his eyes remained hard, "Then we have a solid basis for any future cooperation. You don't fuck with me, I don't fuck with you. I get my money and we all go our separate ways."
The breathless silence he received in response seemed to be enough then, because he finally let up, breaking eye contact and leaving a shaken Reid to compose himself while he walked over to the bathroom.
He loudly knocked on the bathroom door, "Time´s up, sugar!"
Seconds later, Hazel stumbled out of the door, still looking all kinds of terrified whenever she looked at Seth. Reid tried to give her an encouraging smile but it probably looked more like a grimace than anything else with the way his insides were feeling in that moment. He was still shocked by how fast the older Gecko brother's temper changed, how he could go from pleasant and sane to absolutely mad in under a second.
To make things worse, Seth wasn't just ruthless -it was becoming clearer and clearer that he was indeed highly intelligent. He had seen behind his tactic within three seconds -how was he supposed to work with that?
Reid's chest clenched in misery. What did he have left now? He was weak, couldn't even keep up the pretense of ardor. Any of the others guys would fight, would have used this opportunity to overpower Gecko -but he didn't even need to try that, it would be ridiculous to think he could take on this man. He had his intellect but even that hadn't worked.
How was he supposed to protect Hazel if he couldn't even protect himself? He couldn't just sit here like he was told to and trust in the word of a serial killer, could he?
He was pulled from his thoughts when Seth grabbed Hazel's arm, supposedly to pull her away from the door, and she whimpered fearfully. Reid tensed nervously when a flash of annoyance crossed Seth's face, but instead of lashing out the older man just sighed.
"Look," he finally said to both of them, sounding impatient, "I was in a slightly less shitty mood than yesterday when I woke up this morning, so let's all try not to ruin that, okay? We'll all just hang here till I can exchange you for cash, and in the meantime I want you to fucking relax, ok? Do as I say and nothing will happen to you."
He looked at them expectantly and when there was no answer, neither positive nor negative he threw his hands up into the air in resignation, not pressing the issue any further.
He walked over to the TV and turned it back on without a word, then motioned for them to sit down. They didn't talk anymore until Richard returned.
xxx
As they waited for Richard to return, Seth sat by the window, one leg on the sill as he smoked a cigarette and looked across the parking lot from behind closed curtains. His hostages were still sitting on the couch without speaking, naturally, after he had literally scared them into silence.
Seth sighed, annoyed for some reason he couldn't quite pinpoint. This morning he had been in a much better mood after all the stress and danger from the day before had ceased to breathe down their necks and he'd somehow managed to convince himself that everything could be handled after all, that the kidnapped FBI agent was no threat to him, neither regarding his plans nor his mental stability.
He'd started out with his resolutions from last night in mind, acting cool and detached, just like he would with anyone else.
Unfortunately, it had only worked briefly -namely, until his hostage had screwed everything up. Despite yesterday's warnings he had started talking to him again. In retrospective, Seth knew it had been his first mistake to let him, he should have known there would be a purpose to whatever the kid asked -but he had managed to look so meek and frightened while asking that he hadn't been able to help trying to reassure him.
Seth growled angrily, his fingers clenching in the curtains he was holding.
How fucking stupid was he to fall for the same trick twice? Kid probably knew all too well that his appearance inspired sympathy and made people underestimate him -in fact, nothing about his words or behavior had been in the least bit challenging or provoking and with anyone else it might have worked. As it was though, that exactly was what had made Seth angry enough to once again snap and threaten the girl's life with his gun drawn, the realization that the agent was acting like this on purpose, playing into his instincts on purpose.
For a moment, he'd panicked, sure that this Reid did remember them meeting all those years ago, that he somehow knew how hard it was for Seth to separate his hostage from a child he had once known and couldn't bear to hurt. But it couldn't be. If he did remember, he would have used his knowledge more explicitly, would probably have tried to talk to him about Richie's sickness already.
No, by fortunate circumstances, he didn't know who Seth was, which meant he was probably only acting the way he did because his profile included Seth being choleric and reacting allergic to being challenged or provoked. Not that that too wasn't bothersome, but it was much better than the alternative he supposed. This way he would only have to be on the lookout for mind games.
Seth sighed, trying to calm his mind. He guessed he was mostly angry at himself because as much as he tried he still didn't feel like himself and knew it was because of him. He probably should have expected that Reid would try to talk him out of his plan, he was a profiler after all -the fact just kept catching him off guard because until he opened his mouth he so didn't look like a cop. It wasn't even just the constant reminder of his past, he knew; even before he'd realized that something inside him had rebelled against hurting the young man. He just looked too young, too fragile, too innocent, too pretty…
He bit his lip, forcefully interrupting his thoughts as they wandered into the wrong direction. Thoughts that were distracting him, thoughts he had no use for.
He turned his head to look across the room, taking in the agent's tense posture and pale face…the high cheek bones, the soft hair...he remembered it brushing his knuckles when he'd grabbed him before, the sensation making him want to grip him even tighter, pull him closer.
Groaning inaudibly, he shook his head to clear it. Fine, he was…appealing. He could admit that and it wouldn't change a thing. Not about his conviction and not about Reid's situation. He could control himself, he wasn't Richie after all.
The thought of his brother brought another question to his mind that he'd been wondering about since the day before: Did Reid know about Richie? What he tended to do to people during his episodes besides stabbing them uncontrollably? He hadn't said anything about it when asked, but Seth suspected he knew anyway and that that was the reason he was so anxious to get the girl out of here...
Just in that moment, Richie finally returned, carrying sandwiches for all four of them. Glad for the distraction, Seth removed Hazel´s gag and made her sit down at the table, then gestured for Richie and Reid to follow suit. Reid sat tensely, obviously still shaken but trying hard not to look too glum for Hazel´s sake, all the while avoiding looking at either brother completely.
They ate in silence which was only interrupted by Richard's complaints about the motel and Seth's annoyed answers.
Afterwards, Hazel was told to sit in the bedroom. Reid looked after her warily until Richard closed the door behind her and went to stand next to his brother. "Sit," Seth gestured towards the couch, waiting for Reid to comply before he turned to his brother, "Check on the car, Richie, see if there's enough gas left."
As usually, Richie followed his brother's orders without question, leaving the room. It left the two of them alone once again, and Reid shifted nervously on the couch.
"Alright, we need to talk logistics," Seth had his arms crossed as he went to sit down as well. This time he was going to do this right, all business, no shenanigans.
Reid looked at him warily, backing up into the couch cushions somewhat. Worried probably that Seth would want more disclosed information about the team and that a refusal would make him grab him again.
Seth ignored it as best as he could; for now there was really only one thing he was interested in. "How long do you think your team's going to take to find you? How will they proceed?"
Reid looked at him quietly and for a moment Seth thought he was going to refuse to answer despite his obvious apprehension. It wouldn't come as the biggest surprise considering the last time he had encouraged him to speak it had ended with being threatened with a gun. But that had been his own fault for trying to play him; it didn't mean he would snap during every conversation now.
Luckily for him though, just as Seth was beginning to get irritated, Reid finally seemed to deem it best to cooperate and this time only offer the amount of information required. "Considering they have no more information about your whereabouts than yesterday I'm guessing they're still pretty much in the dark...unless there are new leads like security camera footage."
"You sure about that?" Seth raised an eyebrow, "I thought you were supposed to be the best profiling team the FBI had?"
"We are just that," Reid nodded, "but when a profile only says that an UnSub is likely to go into hiding, that doesn't really help much with the actual search. As far as they know, you could be anywhere along the border, in any house, any motel."
Seth nodded, satisfied with that answer. It made sense and he was pretty sure that the kid wouldn't try to play him again just minutes after the last near death experience.
"Alright," he decided, "here's the plan then. You're going to call your agency from some phone box a little off so they can't trace us and tell them we want to cut a deal. Then we go meet them and make the exchange. We'll leave as soon as I have figured out from where to make the call."
He fully expected a confirmation and frowned when he received none, the agent merely staring at his hands tensely, lips pressed into a thin line.
"Any objections?" he prompted him impatiently, a warning edge to his voice.
His change in tone finally got him the attention he wanted, even if it was in the form of a nervous stare. Reid's eyes flickered from him to the door with the girl behind it and back, eyebrows knitted and jaw tense, then he looked up at Seth with an expression that contained an surprising amount of determination considering how apprehensive he looked.
"If I…if I cooperate, help you get your money, will you promise to let Hazel go unharmed?"
Seth could see he wasn't breathing; he had that damn look in his eyes again that made him want to say yes. Familiar anger welled up in him and he felt his left eye twitch, face and voice darker yet.
"I was under the impression I had already done that," he ground out.
He was sure Reid immediately caught on to his mood shift, however, instead of falling silent, he continued in that aggravatingly calm, reasonable voice that Seth just knew was forced, "Yes, well, you'll understand I find it hard to just believe you. How do I know-"
He flinched, falling silent when Seth turned abruptly, facing him fully, his looming presence one of immediate threat. Seth ground his teeth audibly, only sheer force of will keeping him from moving further into the other's space. He balled his fist in the backrest of the couch instead, stilling it.
The gall of this kid, to challenge him again and again, to doubt and question him, to try and make demands! What did he think this was? A video game? Didn't he realize he only had one head to lose?
"You don't," he snapped, "all you have is that precious profile of yours and if were you I wouldn't bank on that too much." He looked at the young man whose back was now pressed to the couch even though he had clearly tried not to move. Not as confident as he looked, now, was he?
He scoffed derisively, leaning back a little, "After all, it said a lot of things, like me being a sadist, or a psychopath. Lucky for you that it proved to be useless I would say."
He felt slightly better getting some of his pent up anger out there, even if it was just in words, also because that very subject had been bothering him since the day before. He usually couldn't care less about labels, but he knew he wasn't a psycho. He was the sane one, the rational one -Richie was the uncontrollable nut job who killed compulsively. He was just a man who did what he had to, to protect what he cared about. He didn't know why it was important to him that Reid saw the difference, but he was glad to have set things straight now.
Until…
"Lucky?" Reid repeated, his voice sounding oddly hoarse. His hesitant resistance seemed to suddenly morph, his eyes growing cold and older somehow as the shadow of contempt flashed over his face, "Psychopathy or sociopathy are not necessarily coupled with the urge to kill or maim. It merely means that the person doesn't have any sort of empathy, that it doesn't matter to them what happens to other people as long as they get what they want. You confirmed that mindset just an hour ago. Us getting hurt would facilitate you getting the money and as if that weren't enough you have a brother who could put Ted Bundy to shame. So how exactly does that make me lucky?"
For about three seconds, Seth just stared, stunned by the response. He just couldn't believe it. Here he was, gun in hand, barely one hour after bullying the kid into fearful compliance...or so he'd thought - and now they had moved on to active rebellion? How as it that this slip of a kid was hiding all this inside of him? For a brief moment he felt something akin to respect.
Then though, his anger won over just like it always did. How dare he talk to him like that? Insult him, his honor - and Richie!
His arm whipped back, pure instinctive rage controlling the movement. Reid recoiled instantly, flinching back into the couch in expectance of a blow that would almost certainly knock him out.
He gasped, cringing, staring wide eyed when Seth's fist missed him by inches, slamming into the cushions right next to his head. They both stared at each other silently for several seconds, Reid not daring to move a muscle because despite the fact that he hadn't been hit, Seth was suddenly right in his face, black, threatening gaze feral and so full of anger it seemed like he would lash out again at any second.
Seth was breathing heavily through gritted teeth as he tried to regain control of himself. He stared into those large, unblinking eyes, suddenly so full of fright again, then at his fist, digging uselessly into the furniture.
What the hell had just happened? What was wrong with him?
He ground his teeth audibly as he glared at the agent. "I don't think you realize that things could be much worse for you than they are right now," he finally hissed, "otherwise you'd be much more careful about what you say."
He didn't know what he would do should he get yet another retort - he never found out though because in that moment the door opened and Richard walked back in. He took in their position with an odd expression somewhere between surprise and confusion and Seth pulled back quickly.
"Richie, I'm gonna go figure out from where to call the feds," he said brusquely, pushing to his feet, "You stay here and keep watch."
He didn't wait for a response before he stormed out, slamming the door shut behind him without a backward glance. He was still fuming, couldn't think clearly. He needed some air or he was surely going to bash in someone's head.
xxx
Reid stared at the TV without blinking, every nerve in his body poised to jump at the slightest noise. To the other side of the room, Richard was busying himself with something he couldn't see from his position. He didn't dare turn his head to find out, afraid to divert his attention.
He felt the hairs on his body stand up at the thought. No, Richard's attention was really the last thing he wanted, especially as long as Seth wasn't there with them.
Reid picked at his hands nervously. The older Gecko brother had been gone for almost 45 minutes now and still the remnants of their conversation had him shaking. He didn't know what had overcome him when he had talked to Seth like that. He knew he shouldn't have acted the way he did, especially after how it had ended the last time. This was no place to openly be the profiler, and Seth was definitely not the kind of person on whose bad side you wanted to be.
Provided he even had a good side of course. He still wasn't sure of that, and maybe that was part of why he had reacted the way he did. The situation, the not knowing was just so stressful and scary. Seth kept saying that nothing would happen to them, yes, but his behavior was just too inconsistent to get a good read on him. One second he was so cold and mean and plain frigthening that Reid was sure the only way their were getting out of this would be in pieces, and the next he would hesitate, and there would be this undefinable something flashing across his face, softening it, making him look so...human... that it made Reid want to hope.
Still, he should know better than to risk pushing the man. His best chance was to appear compliant and nonthreatening, he knew that. And if he hadn't before, he surely did after this morning. There'd been a number of confrontations but during the last one he had been sure that he'd gone too far, that he was going to get seriously hurt. Honestly, now that he thought about it, he had no idea why Seth hadn't hit him then. He'd been so close and he'd looked so, so furious...and then that last threat. He really needed to be careful what he did if he didn't want this whole situation to escalate...
Reid rubbed his eyes exhaustedly. The situation was just too much too handle for him. He knew he needed to be the profiler here, but what if acting like it would only get him into more trouble? He didn't know how to handle Seth, how to protect Hazel...and especially not what to expect for their furutre. Because even if he did choose to believe Seth, and the man would stay true to his words that still left one very big variable. Richard.
Reid glanced at the younger Gecko brother through his hair nervously.
Truth was, he might not be sure about Seth's intentions and general sanity, but at least it seemed like there was a chance. With Richard he was sure there wasn't though. And if Seth had told him the truth, it would really be better to be in the hands of someone who didn't care if he lived or died as opposed to someone was not only a murderer but also...
He stopped abruptly, unable to bring himself to think about that. He could only pray that it wouldn't come to that, that Seth truly just wanted the money. If Seth really only wanted to escape, he might just have a chance to get out of this alive. Of course, he might still be shot if anything went wrong during the transaction or if Strauss refused to cooperate, but there was a chance. If one or both brothers were compulsive serial killers though, they would not spare them no matter how much money they received. In that case, they would either end up with a hole in their heads or worse …like their assault victims.
Reid shuddered at the notion. He didn't even want to go there. Too vivid were the pictures of their crimes scenes before his eyes. How was he supposed to know which of those was the case and how he should react if it was the second one? How was he supposed to trust Seth?
He was interrupted in his thoughts when Richard Gecko suddenly spoke up, turning to look over at him. Reid all but jumped out his skin when the silence was suddenly broken but tried not to let it show.
Richard's voice sounded weirdly soft and polite, almost shy as he asked, "Hey, you're a doctor, right?"
tbc...