Note: This took a bit longer to get out. We had some trouble deciding where exactly we wanted to take this next.

There will not be an update next week. I will be out of state for this coming week and I won't be bringing my laptop with me so I won't be writing.

A special thanks to spxxxxx, ahowell1993, Prolific Reider and badguthrie for your reviews!

Selene stood still, her eyes frosty as she surveyed the pair of them.

Then she laughed. "Oh, honey," she said. "You're adorable. Did you know that? Adorable." She drew the word out slowly. "Putting yourself at risk of my wrath to protect your little friend? It's just so wonderfully sweet and noble… there isn't anything between you two, is there?" She glanced at them coquettishly. "No? Shame. You two will have so much to bond over, assuming you survive." She paused. "Think about it though. Life and death can be sooo romantic." Her eyelids fluttered and she gave a happy sigh, expression turning dreamy.

Garcia and Reid stood frozen in her gaze. Ever so slowly, Selene brought one finger up to tap her chin. "Hmm… you know, my dears, there are two ways to go about this. I could be kind to you and let your defiance go." She spread her hands and tilted her head in a gesture of 'maybe, maybe not.'

"Or maybe I could forget about your value as hostages and end your little lives, albeit somewhat abruptly. With an axe. It won't be as fun as a slow death, of course, but it will be deliciously satisfying… for a few seconds, at least. I've always been something of an 'instant gratification' kind of woman myself, so I'm considering it perhaps a little more than I should."

Reid gulped.

Selene clucked her tongue sympathetically, coming closer. "I'm sorry, dear. Did that scare you?"

Reaching out, she stroked his sweat streaked hair away from his forehead.

Penelope bristled. "Don't touch him!"

"Oh, sweetcakes." Selene's attention returned to Garcia. "Haven't you both learned that you don't get to tell me what to do? I'd be awfully careful if I were you." Her hand trailed down to cup Spencer's cheek. "You don't want to know what I can do when I'm angry."

Selene laughed girlishly. "However, I am not, in fact, angry." She spun away from the two. "In fact, this has been the best several weeks of my life! Not only have I captured two members of the FBI, I've done so without getting caught! And I would have gotten the last one, too, if it weren't for that passerby…" her expression turned sour for a second, before her blithe smile returned. She sneaked a glance back at Garcia and Reid, unable to resist the urge to have a little fun.

She turned back slowly, examining her nails.

For now, she would bide her time.

Selene lifted her doe eyes up to meet their accusing faces with perfect childlike innocence. "At least I got my consolation," she murmured, enjoying their wary, confused reactions. "The gun went off… it wasn't my intent, you know," she lied.

She waited for their eyes to widen in realization before continuing. "She didn't seem to be breathing when I left, but… maybe she's alive?" She offered the false hope with a cruel smirk dancing on her lips.

"No! She's not dead! I saw you! You had blood on your shirt, but it was just yours! She's fine!" Garcia protested desperately.

Reid looked like he might faint, gasping for air.

Selene shrugged. "I know it's easier for you to think that, Penny dear. But surely you two know that wounds can bleed through bandages. Did it not occur to you that I would change my shirt before going to see you? Why didn't you see any dirt on the shirt as well? Only blood…" Selene shook her head. "I can see why you're not a profiler, Penelope. You're just not…" she tapped her forehead, "not that observant. It's okay. Geniuses are a dime a dozen anyway. Look how much good that brain of Spence's has done him, after all!"

Selene chuckled and turned to leave the two alone to discuss. She figured that if they were together, they would feed off of each other and make each other infinitely worse. Either that, or they would bond and get stronger…But that would only make destroying their precious friendship even more delightful when Blake got home. Regardless, it was a win-win situation.

"She's right," a whisper came from behind her.

She rounded on its cause. "What?"

Reid met her eyes. "She's right. You didn't have time to bleed through. You hadn't closed the wound. You only traveled half an hour to get from the meeting site that you forced Garcia to send to JJ, and then to get bandaged up and go see her, changing your clothes as you said… it's not enough time for a wound to bleed through. You didn't really hurt JJ, did you?"

"Are you calling me a liar?" Selene snarled.

Reid tilted his head to the side, pretending to ponder it for a second. He nodded. "Yeah. Yeah I am."

"I assure you, I've killed your precious, little Jennifer. You can't prove that she's alive."

Reid gave her a subtle, yet triumphant smile, "But you can't prove that she's dead. And until then-"

"Until then we won't stop fighting," Garcia interrupted. "You think you can win this, but why did you take us then?"

"You didn't think you could win," Reid said softly. He looked almost thoughtful. "That is why you chose us, isn't it? It's why the note said we three had to stay behind, but then you still weren't confident. So you had to take us. Is that it? You knew that with my intelligence and JJ and Garcia's combined resources… You knew that we're unstoppable. So you tried to make us stoppable. You tried to even the playing field. You called us the weak links, but you don't see us that way, do you? But you have it wrong. The team can stop you, even without us."

Selene's eyelids had narrowed to slits. "You think you have it figured out, don't you?" she said. She reached out, tracing Reid's jawline with her fingertips.

Reid jerked his head away and Selene, for once, let her hand drop back down to her waist.

"Little Spencer Reid, the boy genius," she mocked, spitting the words out in disgust, "and Penelope Garcia, the face behind the computer. And what of little Jennifer? The voice on the other end of the phone? You think you're unstoppable?" She laughed, the sound high and wild. "Darlings, it isn't you." She moved behind Garcia, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Garcia stiffened, sucking in her breath with a gasp as a cold barrel pressed into the small of her back. "The one are unstoppable? Why… it's us!" She let the barrel of the gun glide its way up Garcia's spine until it finally rested on the back of her skull. "There's always going to be another one of me. Always going to be another killer you have to stop. There's always going to be some man, woman or child who dies because you weren't fast enough to save them."

There was a click as the gun's safety switched off.

Penelope squeezed her eyes shut, her bottom lip trembling.

She didn't want to die. Not here. Not now.

Not like this.

"Selene." Reid was straining against his bonds, his eyes fixed on the two of them. He kept his voice even, trying hard not to push her any farther. "Please. You don't have to do this. Just… just put the gun down. Don't hurt her."

"You think you have me figured out?" she said, ignoring Reid. "If I'd wanted to get rid of you, if I really wanted you out of the way, then tell me… tell me, Spencer. You're so smart." She stepped back, removing the gun from Garcia's head. "Why wouldn't I have killed you then? It would have been so easy." She aimed the gun back at Garcia. "Bang." She directed the gun towards Reid. "Bang."

She brought the gun to her own temple, smiling as she did so. "And little JJ. One last bang."

Selene lowered the gun, clicking the safety back on. "So tell me, Spencer. Use that big brain of yours. Why don't you tell me why I haven't killed you then."

"I…" Reid hesitated. "You want to win. But… winning isn't enough for you if we can't see you win."

Selene stepped back, tossing her head. Her eyes flashed. "I don't need you two!" she snapped. "I don't need you two to see me win! Your team will suffice. And," she flung her arms out in a dramatic gesture, "the whole world will see the BAU fall!"

"Except we haven't failed," Reid said.

When Selene's eyes fixed on him, he licked his lips, clenching his hands behind his back. The nervous tension was almost unbearable.

"We haven't failed," he spoke, louder this time. "And you haven't won. Not yet. And you won't. People like you won't win. Not as long as there are good people willing to do something about it. You'll lose. And you won't just lose. You'll be forgotten. People won't even know your name."

"No!" Selene shrieked. She whipped around, striking Reid's cheek with the gun.

It made contact with a sickening crack!

"We won't be forgotten!" She raised the gun again.

"No!" Garcia gasped. She lunged forward,catching Selene's arm.

The movement had been automatic.

She hadn't even thought of the consequences.

Selene stared at her, practically bristling with rage.

She was panting, her shoulders heaving, as she glared at the two of them.

"We won't be forgotten. Don't you see? We're going to be remembered! We're going to live forever!"

Live forever?

Garcia watched her, speechless.

She sounded less like the dangerous woman she had come to expect and more like a spoiled child.

"So don't you ever question me again!"

Tossing her head, she turned around and marched up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

"Wha- wait, you can't just… !" Garcia called after her.

She climbed unsteadily to her feet and darted after her.

The door slammed shut with enough force that it rattled the walls.

"No!" Garcia gasped, hurrying up the stairs.

She tried the door.

The knob turned only part way.

It was locked.

"No!" She clenched her teeth, resting her head against the door. "No, no, no!"

Couldn't things for once be in their favor?

Of course it would be locked.

For a moment, she had the urge to kick the door, like a toddler giving way to her temper.

She didn't give in.

Doing so would be pointless and counterproductive.

She'd hurt herself.

Selene would come back- and who knew what she would do this time.

This time.

Garcia remembered the blow Reid had suffered and spun around, hurrying back down the steps.

"Reid!"

He was breathing hard, chin lowered almost to his chest.

The blow had split open his cheek.

Already there was blood.

"I'm okay," he said, voice strained.

"No," Garcia choked out. "No, it's not okay. It's not okay what that… that bitch is doing."

She grasped a portion of her shirt, hesitated a moment, and then tore.

Nothing happened.

She tried again.

"Damn it!" she cursed. "Why does this look easier when it's done on TV?"

"That's… how it usually is," Reid said.

In spite of herself, Garcia nearly smiled.

"Hold on," she said, stepping forward. "This might hurt a little."

She couldn't tear a piece of her shirt, but she could still use it to clean the blood of his face.

She used her sleeve, wiping as gently as she could.

Still, Reid winced, ducking his head away with a hiss.

"Sorry." Garcia pulled back with a grimace.

"You know… the chance of infection is…"

"Reid," Garcia interrupted desperately. "Please. I can't…"

Reid fell silent. Then, "Sorry." He coughed.

"I can untie you," Garcia said. "Or try to." This time, she forced a smile. "Then we can see about a real hug."

"You can have as many of those as you want," Reid joked weakly with a half-hearted smile. "I've already looked, though; she removed everything sharp before the park episode. I watched her do it. I mean, unless you want to gnaw it off with your teeth…"

"I'll pass," Garcia said, making a face.

Reid and Garcia stared at each other for a moment.

"I missed you, y'know," she said, her voice breaking.

Reid smiled wanly. "I missed you too."

There was another awkward silence, as if they weren't sure what to do with themselves. This was the first time that they had truly had any modicum of control since they had each been kidnapped.

"What do we now?" Garcia asked hesitantly.

"I guess… we wait," Reid said with a soft sigh.

He looked defeated.

"No, I won't accept that. We have the high ground for once and she doesn't even know it. She's left us together. We cannot let it go to waste. So your Wonder Boy brain had better start coming up with something, or else!"

He smiled at her again, this time with just a little more strength.

All of the sudden, a light dawned in his eyes.

"Wait a second," he started, growing more and more excited by the second. "Okay, this might be stupid, but it's an idea," he began.

"Now that's more like it!" Garcia laughed, paying eager attention to Reid as he began to outline his plan.

"Uh… sir?" A young agent poked his head through the door. He looked like a rookie, fresh out of the academy. His eyes as they roved over the team were uncertain.

In his hand, he clutched several files in a death grip.

"What is it?" Hotchner directed his attention to the young man.

"There's been a, uh," the young man tugged at his shirt collar, "Penelope Garcia's car has been reported found… sir."

JJ shot to her feet. "Where?"

Morgan frowned. "Already?" He turned to the unit chief. "Hotch, doesn't it strike you as a little strange that they found it already?"

Hotch's expression was grim. He didn't seem to like it anymore than Morgan did. "What are you suggesting?" he asked.

JJ was fidgeting with her hands. "Do you think it might be some sort of trap?"

Before Hotch could answer, Gideon spoke up. "No."

"You mean she might have gotten careless," Emily guessed.

"That's exactly what I mean." Gideon leaned back in his chair. "She has what she came for. So she's satisfied. But she failed in the last part of her mission." He looked at JJ meaningfully.

JJ bit her lip.

"So she's angry," Morgan concluded, understanding dawning in his voice. "She gets careless. She makes a mistake."

Gideon dipped his head. "Precisely."

"And that mistake might be what helps us find Garcia and Reid," Hotch added.

"We have a name." JJ sounded a little stunned. "Selene Westerly."

"And where is she?" Morgan demanded. "Tell me you have an address."

"That's the thing," JJ said. "Selene dropped off the radar ten years ago."