"Tell them... and you can go." The Unsub repeated to Reid, this time in a terrifyingly calm voice that put the team listening on the phone on edge more than the sounds of gun cocking that had followed.

Reid didn't have to ask what it was. That had been made quite clear to him, though nobody else. He just couldn't figure out what this Unsub who didn't know him would get out of it. That! He could stall until Garcia could get his location and the rest of his team could get to him.

"Why do you want me to? Nothing in my life effects you. Why go through the trouble of kidnapping and threatening me?" If he could help it, Reid's secret would stay just that. If only he could stall.

The gun cocked again and the Unsub readjusted his stance, pressing the barrel against Reid's temple.

"I'm getting impatient." He said.

"Why don't you just tell them? Why does it have to be me? If you know, and you want to 'ruin my life' or whatever your plan is by telling them, why not do it yourself? Unless you don't know what you're threatening me for. Did you just hear somewhere that I might possibly have a secret? Is that what you're basing all of this off?" Reid was getting more hopeful as he spoke. Nobody knew. How could they?

The Unsub was stuck. Reid hadn't profiled. He didn't realise how this one would react.

"Reid?" Hotch's voice came over the phone. "Whatever it is, we can help you. Nothing you could be hiding is worth your life. If it's done trouble you're in, we can get you out of it. Hell, if it's a murder charge we could get you off. We have a loose and incomplete profile but I am sure he will kill you."

"Aaron Hotchner is right." The Unsub taunted. "And I'll give you some incentive. You have one minute until I shoot you. Fifty-nine. Fifty-eight..."

"Reid, the team is on their way but they will not be there in less than a minute. Whatever it is... just say it." Hotch gave his final words of advice.

"Fifty-one, fifty, forty-nine..." the kidnapped continued counting.

"Okay, okay. Okay." Reid resigned. The counting continued, the approaching deadline not helping his heart beating in his ears. "It's not a big deal. It's just. Just some documents." He swallowed his fear, suddenly unsure of whether he could conjure the words before his time was up.

"Thirty-nine, thirty-eight. Hurry up, Spencer. Thirty-six..."

"Come on, Reid. I'm listening. It's okay." Hotch urged.

"It's not that bad. I didn't kill anyone. I didn't do anything wrong..." Reid tried to explain.

"Thirty, twenty-nine..."

"I believe you, Reid, just tell me what it is." Hotch got the feeling that he was talking to a scared child rather than a trained government agent.

"I can't. I can't. No. I can. It's fine. I'm fine." He breathed a little harder.

"Twenty-two, you're really bad at this, twenty, I thought you were better than this, thirty-seven..."

"I..." Reid tried.

"Reid, honey, I love you, but just spit it out already before that beautiful brain of yours has a bullet in it." Garcia interjected.

Reid sucked in the breath he needed, "I... I'm sorry. I lied. I'm... I'm sixteen years old. I faked everything. I'm so sorry."

The counting stopped. That was the only indication that Reid had told the truth. There was silence on the other side of the phone for a long while. The only sound in the warehouse room was Reid's heart and breathing.

"Well now that that's settled. Goodbye." He put the phone into his mouth and shot through it up into his own skull.

Reid was left alone. He finally let his tears fall. He knew they would find out eventually. He knew it was against the law. And he knew that now he would be fired, or at least suspended for two years until he was actually a legal adult if not prosecuted.

It took a few minutes for the warehouse door to fly open and white light beams to flood the room.

"Over here!" Reid knew it probably wouldn't help speed anything up. He had to do something. Being tied up and threatened always gave him the intense need to do something.

Morgan raced up to him, ignoring the sweep. "You alright?" He asked, quickly untying the binding ropes.

"Yeah. But he's not." Reid looked to the floor where the body of that wretched man lay bleeding his brains out.

Morgan called out that Reid was safe but there was a suicide. Reid rubbed his wrists where there would surely be rope burns later. He shouldn't have fought so hard.

Morgan helped Reid up but the Doctor pushed him off, "I can walk, I'm fine. Thanks."

Morgan let him go. "Hotch called." He said.

"Of course he did." Reid tried to walk ahead but he found that his head was spinning too much for him to speed.

"Look, Reid. I'm not mad or anything. I'm just worried about you and a little confused. Why would you lie about that?"

"If you don't mind, I would rather not continue with the questioning at me at the scene of my own kidnapping and psychological torture."

"Sorry." They walked in silence until the rest of the team ran up to them.

"Please not now." Reid said before anyone could say anything.

"Let's just get you home." J.J. briefly rested a comforting hand on Reid's shoulder.

"Yeah."

"But don't think you've avoided questioning." Gideon added.

"I don't."

Morgan helped Reid into a van, to which Reid tried but failed to push him away. They sat in the back together and Gideon drove.

"Why would you go through all the trouble of faking everything for this?" Morgan asked.

"No questions right now. Look, I'm in shock. Look at my face. Shock. Ask me when I'm not in shock."

Morgan sighed and did look at Reid's face. He knew the kid was young, but man. What the hell was he doing trying to get himself definitely scarred for life and possibly killed at sixteen?

"But for the record," Reid said anyway, "I didn't do it for this job."

"Then what for?" Morgan asked.

"Shock! Later!" Reid turned away.

Morgan almost smiled at how childish it was. He would've if they hadn't been driving back from the kidnapping of their youngest-by-far team member.