Chapter 15

Drip drip drip

What is that sound? Drip? Water? Water. I don’t remember water. Did I leave the faucet running? Am I drowning? I feel heavy again. Why do I feel so heavy? Rope. I feel rope. No, not rope. Metal… metal where? Why? Dark. Nothing but darkness. Mask. Golden mask. Golden and bright.

Drip drip drip

So strange. Thoughts all in one. Why can’t I think? Why can’t I see? Or hear? Is this what death feels like? Am I dead? Why would I be dead? If I’m dead then this is hell. To be forever alone inside of your thoughts. Alone. So alone. To be dead and alone. What a sad way to die. How did I die? Was I a hero? Was I alone? I must have been alone. Wait… wait…. I think….

JJ moaned. Her thoughts muddled, exhausting, heavy with drug. Her vision was blurry, hazed. She could feel her cold body shaking. She felt dirty, in a cold sweat. She felt drunk, sluggish and could only make out blurred objects of her room. Room, what room? Where was she? What happened? She rubbed at her eyes, trying as hard as she could to make them focus.

Drip drip drip

Pipes… .dripping. She appeared to be in some kind of bathroom. But it wasn’t a bathroom. It was run down.. old… broken…dirty. A bathtub, filled with black water. A toilet without a lid, clogged almost to the brim with dirty brown water. The reek of death was astounding and she almost had to keep herself from gagging. The white tile was stained with grit and dirt. There were no windows, and one door. She felt sore as she stood up. Her limbs felt numb and she had to steady herself against the wall, trying to get feeling into them again. She coughed, blood staining her hand.

That can’t be good.

She stretched, her hazy mind slowly clearing as she went into FBI agent mode. How did she get here? Where was she? How was she going to get out? She walked up to the door, half expecting it to be locked. It was. She shook at the handle, kicked at it a few times. It was solid. Hard.

Shit

“HELLO!? CAN ANYONE HEAR ME?” she screamed, at the door, knocking as hard as she could. She coughed again, her lungs feeling heavy.

“How did I even get…” her voice trailed off as she looked at her arm… fresh needle marks.

Shit….. this really isn’t good.

Garcia sat in front of her computer, snacking on a pint of ice cream as she worked. Hotch had called her earlier about JJ’s disappearance. Everyone was now working extra hard. Will and her son had been moved to a safety zone where they could be monitored, just in case. Her expansive computer knowledge and system searched every single network she could think of, searching for any clue or any digital evidence possibly left by JJ or someone who might have taken her. Garcia shivered, half from the ice cream, half from the thought.

Then one monitor on the right went dark.

“What…the..” Garcia started hitting keys on her keyboard. Then another screen went black. And slowly one by one the screens shut themselves off, all of her information vanishing as the whole system went from bright to black in less than 3 minutes.

Garcia picked up her phone, her fingers pressing the speed dial.

“Agent Hotchner, go ahead Garcia.”

“Sir, someone hacked my system. Completely hacked it. It’s unresponsive and hacked. I don’t know how it’s possible! I just-“ Garcia was cut short, as one by one the screens began to turn on, but this time displaying a black and white camera. Garcia squinted at the smallest screen, seeing what appeared to be a small…. What was that bathroom?

“Garcia? Garcia are you there?” Hotch spoke firmly into the phone.

“Sir…. We have a problem… I… I see JJ. She’s on my screens. Whoever took her…. She’s she’s in a bathroom.” Garcia’s voice choked, seeing JJ banging on the door, searching for a way out.

“Can you lock in on the broadcast or where it might be coming from Garcia?” Hotch’s voice was firm, but his stomach dropped. Once again another member of his team had been taken. This seemed to be happening too often.

“No sir… I can’t… I.. I think it’s the unsub who stole all of the AV equipment. Remember what I said? The type of objects he stole would be able to let him broadcast, but not show the location. I… sir… she’s alive and well, I can see that, but she’s struggling to get out. She’s in a bathroom somewhere.” Garcia fidgeted…. Oh JJ!

“Garcia we are going to need you to fly out here. Her location can’t be far if she was taken from her hotel room and then broadcasted on almost the very same day. We are going to need you and your equipment here so as to be able to view and help.”

“Yes.. yes sir.” She hung up the phone, staring at the screen. JJ at one point looked straight up into the camera, straight into Garcia’s eyes. She frowned, and then turned away back toward the door. Tears sprung to Garcia’s eyes. Oh JJ…. JJ….

Spencer and the group were briefed by Hotchner of JJ’s situation. He could feel the lump in his throat as he thought of her, held up a dingy bathroom. How could this have happened? After Spencer had been abducted, twice now, security and well awareness had stepped up. The group had to even attend a class on self-defense and safety precaution. He swallowed hard. Garcia was on their way, and they could only hope that they could buy more time before something serious happened to her. Whatever the unsub wanted, it began with JJ. He rubbed his eyes and nervously ran his fingers through his hair. Morgan noticed his distraught actions.

“Don’t worry. We’ll bring her home safe Spencer. JJ is a smart girl.” Morgan put a comforting arm on Spencer’s shoulder.

“Yeah, but why her? Why JJ? This just doesn’t make any sense. First it was the Sheant’s and now suddenly a member of our own team? I just… we’re missing something… a puzzle piece.” Spencer shook his head as he talked, going over every detail he could remember possible about the Sheant’s case.

Morgan frowned, his thoughts also clouding.

Rossi and Hotch headed to the airport in the company SUV to meet Garcia and her equipment. Emily, Morgan, and Reid worked to set up a conference room, provided by the hotel at no hesitation. The room was usually used for staff meetings, but for now it would be the center of the situation: JJ’s kidnap and survival through it.