Mind Games
Chapter 1
New Game

"With true friendship comes true understanding" ANON

The man looked into the mirror at the unfamiliar face looking back at him. Black hair a little too long, across his forehead; dark eyes with heavy expressive brows; a weeks worth of beard growth. He rubbed at it. It didn't feel right.

Who was he? What was happening? His hand went to the metal ring around his neck – the source of discipline – and he pulled at it uselessly.

Under the ring, that hung loosely on his collar bone, was a purple blistered burn. That he could remember. Obedience was required, otherwise the ring would discipline him. He leaned forwards and looked into the eyes. The mirror, polished metal, unbreakable, was hazy, and slightly distorted.

'Who are you?' he whispered, resting his hands clenched into fists on each side of his reflection. Then he turned and looked into the lens of the ever present camera.

'Who am I?' he shouted. 'What do you want me for? Why the hell are you doing this?'

He turned back to the mirror and banged his fists against the metal.

'Let me....' His sentence was cut off mid stream by a scream as the ring around his neck administered the discipline, and the shock threw the man across the room, smacking him against the opposite wall. When the shock subsided, the voice told him, once again, that complete obedience was required, and violence would not be tolerated. The man crawled painfully back to his bed where he collapsed on the rough blanket and curled up in a protective ball.

-0-0-0-

TWO WEEKS EARLIER

Hotch walked with a stick some of the time. The gunshot to his foot had given him problems; an infection that would not clear up. But now he had been cleared for work, he walked around the house without it. He was planning to leave it behind tomorrow when he went back to work. He had not taken the stick to the medical, and had managed quite well.

He still had problems with his neck. If he moved it too quickly it would crack and that hurt like hell. There were scars behind his ear where the slip knot had tightened, and he had been hung. It didn't hurt most of the time. He didn't consider it to be a problem.

He had spoken to Dave earlier in the day and got up to date on the latest case. In fact, Dave had said they were coming to the end of the case they were on, so Hotch would be able to lead the team on the next case. He also said that his office was still his. Dave, although acting chief, had not moved offices.

'I knew you'd be coming back.' he said. 'It will always be your office.'

Hotch smiled. It was something about the team. They were loyal, and that meant a lot to him, sticking by him when he was ill and blinded, never giving up on him.

Especially Reid. Dear kind loyal Reid, who was willing to sacrifice his career for him. Few men could boast friends like that.

He picked up the phone and called him.

'I'm back at work in the morning. Care to come over and celebrate with Dave and me this evening?'

Reid thanked him but declined the invitation. Hotch smiled. He was probably up to a good bit in his graphic novel he was reading.

He checked the time. Dave was due over for a drink with him in an hour. He had time to get his suit ready for the morning – a new one to mark the occasion – and press the new white shirt he had bought. He was going to buy a new tie but all the ones in the shop had been a little too showy for his conservative taste, and he got out his blue striped one instead, to go with his navy suit.

He hung the suit on the back of the bathroom door, ready to put on in the morning after his shower, together with the shirt and tie.

He looked at the suit again. Maybe navy blue was a bit flamboyant for him. He took it down and held it against himself in front of the mirror, wishing he'd bought the dark grey one.

Ah well, he supposed no one would notice anyway!

He hung it back up, just as the doorbell rang. Rossi was early.

-0-0-0-

He and Dave spent a pleasant evening drinking cold beer and chatting about old cases. Hotch supposed that Dave was probably the best friend he had. Hotch found socialising difficult and stressful, Dave found it smooth and easy, and Dave's confidence in company rubbed off on him, and helped Hotch to be more confident himself. It was strange, he could talk to a bunch of strangers about a serial killer, but making small talk was quite beyond him.

But with Dave his defences came down, and by the end of the evening, Hotch was laughing freely at some of the things that happened in their times together.

'I must go. Aaron.' Dave laughed. 'I have a report to write tonight if it is to be on your desk in the morning. You aren't even back yet and you've got me burning the midnight oil!'

Hotch grinned. 'On my desk by six thirty!' he said in mock seriousness. 'And no typos!'

Dave called a taxi, and a few minutes later, Hotch walked to the door with Dave. 'I'll be in at six in the morning. I want to look at the case.'

'The evidence board is still up, Aaron. It was straight forward, but had some interesting aspects.' Dave said, getting into the cab. 'See you tomorrow.'

Hotch waved his friend off, and went back inside. The house suddenly felt empty and unfriendly. Hotch sighed and went upstairs to get ready for bed.

-0-0-0-

Hotch was soon asleep. He didn't hear the sound of breaking glass as someone broke into the utility room, and crept through the kitchen into the hall. Two more men followed him, and carefully they climbed the stairs to where Hotch was sleeping. The man in front took a small bottle from his pocket and poured the contents onto a cloth. Hotch's bedroom door was slightly open, and they slowly surrounded him as he slept. At a prearranged signal, two of the men grabbed Hotch's arms while the third pressed the chloroform against his mouth and nose.

Hotch's eyes snapped open, and he fought the men that were holding him down, but it only took seconds to subdue him, and he passed out.

'Get his suitcase and pack it.' one man said. 'Take his suits and some casual clothes. He's going on holiday.'

'I'll get his bathroom stuff.' another said.

'While you're doing that, I'll get his gun out of the safe, and then I'll get our friend here down to the van.'

He picked up Hotch's limp form and carried him over his shoulder down stairs to the van parked in his drive. He opened the back and rolled him into the van. Using Hotch's own handcuffs, he cuffed his wrist to the frame of the van, and closed and locked the door. The other two followed with the suit case, which was thrown into the back of the van. They went back in and made the bed again, and cleared up the glass. Then they set the alarm, locked up the house, and drove off into the night.

-0-0-0-

Dave was surprised the next morning to see Hotch's office unoccupied when he arrived to work. He glanced at his watch. Six fifteen. No one else was in yet. Well, maybe it was a bit early. But when seven o'clock came around, and Prentiss arrived, and still Aaron hadn't turned up, Dave got a bit worried.

Not that he ought to get worried. Aaron didn't have to be there until eight thirty. But still.....

He took the impeccably typed report to Hotch's office and put it on his desk.

Then he went back to his own office and called Hotch's land line.

There was no reply, and Dave was pleased. That meant he was on his way to work. Boy was he going to get some stick!

At seven thirty, Morgan and Reid came in together, followed a short time later by JJ and Garcia.

But still no Hotch.

Now Dave was more than a little worried. He called Hotch's cell, only to hear it ring and ring.

'Pick up, Aaron.' Dave said under his breath.

But it carried on ringing, then clicked to answer phone.

'No Hotch yet?' Morgan said, poking his head around Dave's door.

'No.' Dave said distractedly. 'Ask Penelope if there have been any RTA's between here and Aaron's. He could have been held up.'

But not for two hours.....

Garcia was back to him in seconds.

'All roads in and out of Quantico are clear.' she said. 'There's nothing to hold up traffic.'

'Ok, that's it. I'm going over to Hotch's to see if he's alright. He could be sick or something.' Dave said. 'Reid, with me please.'

They drove in silence to through the streets to Hotch's house. Dave drew into the drive and parked next to Aaron's car. So he was still home then.

'He must be sick.' Reid said, puzzled. Why hadn't he called to let them know?

Dave rang the bell, as he had done twelve hours previously. There was no answer. Reid found the key that Hotch had hidden in the garden, and he unlocked the door. Dave deactivated the alarm, and they entered Hotch's hall.

'Aaron!' Dave called. 'Aaron, where are you?' He unholstered his side arm, and Reid followed suit.

'I'll check upstairs, you do down here.'

Reid opened the kitchen door, and with his gun straight ahead of him, he checked the room. Nothing was out of place, but he could see through the open utility room door that there was a broken pane of glass. He checked the floor in front of the window, but there was no glass on the floor.

He went out and checked the remainder of the downstairs, but there was no sign of Hotch, and there was nothing out of place.

Dave cleared the upstairs rooms one at a time, but as with the lower floor, there didn't appear to be anything wrong.

'Reid, what do you make of this?'

Reid joined Dave in Hotch's bedroom.

'The bed hasn't been slept in.' Reid said.

'No, but look at this?' Dave was standing in front of the open wardrobe. It was empty. There was a space on the top shelf where his suitcase was kept.

'I'll check the bathroom.' Reid said. Sure enough, his razor and toiletries were gone.

'It's as if he's gone on holiday!' Reid said. 'But there's a suit hanging on the bathroom door.'

'He's not gone away.' Dave said. 'I was here yesterday evening. He was looking forward to being back at work.'

'The suit in the bathroom is new. If he was going to go away, he'd surely take the new suit with him.'

Dave looked around the room. 'I believe this is a crime scene.' he said. 'But we'd have a hard time proving it. They will say he just panicked and ran from having to come back to work. Call the others, and we'll go over this place with a fine tooth comb, and figure out what has happened.

Reid was on the phone to Emily and Morgan. He and Dave went downstairs into the garden and waited for the others.

-0-0-0-

'Hotch isn't here.' Reid told them. 'It looks as if he's done a runner.'

'But I was with him yesterday evening, and he was fine then.' Dave said. 'I don't believe he's run. This house is a crime scene. I don't believe he has gone anywhere willingly. I believe something more sinister has happened, and we owe it to him to find out what.'