Chapter Text
Its 2008. Two years ago was supposed to be the last time Spencer got kidnapped. This wasn’t how the case was supposed to go. It was supposed to be over. The team found the unsub. They were supposed to fly back home from California. Then, Derek and Spencer were supposed to drive back to their house. Sleep in their own bed. Next to each other.
Plans had changed. The team had found the unsub. They just didnt know there was another one. One that now had Spencer held hostage.
-
They had profiled the first unsub to be a white male in his late twenties to early thirties. He took women and tied them up, then shot them, recreating a scene of his mother getting shot that he unfortunately witnessed at a young age. He was clean. Precise. The same every time. They had no idea he was working with another person.
They figured out who the unsub was. A man by the name of Nelson Carter. Garcia found an address of an old abandoned house that used to belong to his aunt. His aunt that had adopted him after his mother’s death. The aunt that died two months before the killings started.
Emily and Spencer were the closest to the location. They were at a possible witnesses house. So, they headed over to the address, while the rest of the team was 20 minutes behind them.
When Emily and Spencer got there, it went by quickly. They walked into the house to find Nelson in the current act of tying up the girl he was about to shoot. Spencer talked him into putting the gun down. Emily cuffed him and Spencer untied the girl.
Emily walked Nelson outside of the house to wait for the police to arrive. Spencer heard a noise.
Spencer followed the noise.
Everything went black.
20 minutes was all it took. Derek was only 20 minutes away from Spencer.
—
The rest of the team shows up, along with the police. They take Nelson into the police car, and Rossi leads the victim into the fbi car to bring her back to the station.
“Let’s get back to the hotel and grab out stuff. We have a long fight.” Hotch announces.
“Guys. Where’s Reid?” Derek asks suddenly.
When Derek and Spencer are separated on cases, he's the first thing he looks for when arriving to his supposed location. Whether it’s the crime scene or a police station. He always looks for his tall lanky figure, his messy hair, his adorably complicated outfits.
He saw none of it, now.
”Spence?” JJ looks around.
Emily looks around as well, “I swear he was right here- he probably went to the car with Rossi. Cmon.”
Derek knows he didn't, because he didn't see him anywhere when he first arrived to the scene in said car.
Emily and Hotch go to the car, while JJ walks into the house. She looks around, not seeing anything, then walks to the kitchen, where there’s a door to the backyard. She walks out, and there’s Spencer’s badge.
“Guys!” She yells, kneeling down. Derek, who had already followed her into the house to look, comes immediately.
He picks it up, dread rushing through him. Stomach dropping.
“Fuck!”
”What’s wrong?” Hotch asks, walking over to them.
“His badge.” Derek holds it out. “He’s missing. He’s gone.”
Hotch kneels down and observes the dirt that looks like someone had been dragged. But not just someone. Spencer.
“Was Nelson working with another person?” Hotch asks.
“That son of a bitch!” Derek yells and runs back to where the cars were parked. He tries Spencer’s phone, but of course no answer.
The team rushes back to the station to question Nelson.
-
Spencer groans, waking up with his head pounding. His arms tied behind his back. He’s sitting in a chair. He’s tied to the chair.
“There- God! You’re awake.”
Spencer opens his eyes slowly, registering what had happened.
This man wasn’t Nelson, no. They got Nelson. Who-
“-Are you?” He manages to ask.
“Randall.” He replies. He looks stressed out, irritated. He’s holding a gun.
“You’re with Nelson.” Spencer concludes.
“Not anymore. You took him!”
“We- he was killing women. Were you helping him?”
“No! I've never killed anyone.”
Spencer believes him, oddly enough.
“Why did you take me, then? Did you work for Nelson?” Spencer’s words are quiet, his head is still pounding. He’s scared. He doesn’t know Randall. They hadn’t profiled him. Hell, they hadn’t profiled that there was more than one person. He doesn't know how to talk to him. What will work and what wont. He has to proceed with caution.
“No! Nelson is my best friend. I help him. I watch him.”
“But you don’t kill.”
“No- no. But I will if I have to. If it means not going to jail.” Randall answers, pacing back and forth.
“Who-” Spencer swallows. “Who said you’re going to jail?”
“I’m not stupid.”
“You didn't kill anyone.”
“I watched him. I let it happen. Every time. And now I’ve kidnapped a federal agent. I’m not stupid.”
“We can work something out-” Spencer starts, but is cut off with a punch in the face.
“Shut up!” Randall yells. Spencer does. It’s all he can think to do.