TWENTY NINE ; WHAT AM I?

"And you're sure you're okay to work?" Aaron Hotchner asked Derek Morgan, eying his injuries suspiciously. Lights of blue and red spun around the scene, flashing color on the roads.

An aggravated sigh left Morgan, the agent removing the cloth he had pressed to the cut upon his head. "Hotch, I'm fine," he said. "This ain't about me anymore. He took Quinn. That son of a bitch drugged me and took her!"

Hotch placed a hand on Morgan's shoulder. "I know. We're going to find her. We will." The leader caught his eye. "But I need you to calm down. I know you're upset. Morgan, believe me, I am too. But I need everyone in this. Joseph Lawrence is one of the most dangerous, unpredictable criminals we've ever worked against. I already have one member of the team unstable. I need you with us if you want to find her."

Morgan sighed once more, closing his eyes. "I'm here Hotch. I'm ready."

Aaron almost smiled. "Take your time getting back to Quantico. I'm leaving Callahan and Rossi to investigate further." Derek nodded, wiping his nose.

As Hotch went to walk away, he heard his name called from behind him. Morgan reached into his pocket, pulling out a folded piece of paper. When he handed it to his boss, his eyes darkened. "He left this," he stated, gritting his teeth. "I don't have a clue what the hell it means, but he had to have left it with me for a reason."

Hotch glanced down at the note, eyes scanning over the lengthy writing. It was in the form of a poem, riddle-like taunts etched across the paper. His eyes flashed to Morgan's.

The agent shook his head. "I don't know who Joseph Lawrence thinks he is," Morgan said, gaze meeting Hotch's. "But he's screwing with the wrong team."

-----

When Quinn Carson awoke, she was disoriented.

The ground beneath her shook. Her hands were zip-tied behind her, the plastic tight enough to dig into her skin. Duct tape stuck to her lips, preventing her ability to speak. The only sense that wasn't limited was her sight. Lawrence wanted her to see everything that was occurring.

She was in the back of a car- that much she knew. But where she was, where the car was going or what Lawrence's plan was? That was a different story.

Light flashed through the windows, highlighting the small gashes and large bruises upon Quinn's body. Her arms ached, legs screaming for relief from the three ties holding them together. She closed her eyes, not letting any tears fall from her eyes. She couldn't give him that satisfaction. Not yet.

She thought of Morgan. She thought of the last time she had seen him. Unconscious, blood dripping out of his nose and leaking out of the cut upon his forehead. This was because of her. It could have been the last time she would ever see the man and he had been attacked because of her. It seemed as though she had a habit of carrying destruction around with her in her pocket, letting it escape at the most inconvenient times.

She thought of her team. She could only pray that they had found Morgan. She knew that Lawrence had already alerted Spencer of her abduction. Quinn had heard him whisper the chess term to him through the phone.

And she thought of Spencer. One of the only people she had ever been able to trust. The man she had almost kissed. The man she was slowly falling for, feeling emotions that she hadn't truly felt for a long time.

She thought of her fate. Would he kill her immediately? Would he tease and torture her, taunting the BAU with calls and videos? Would he keep her for another seven years?

There wasn't another moment for her to think. The car stopped, the door slammed. The side door slid open. Lawrence was revealed, the sunlight hitting his back, shadowing his face. Even through the dark, she could see his smile.

He helped her stand, cutting the ties from her legs, guiding her out of the van and into the light. She squinted, grimacing as her eyes adjusted to the brightness. Lawrence removed the tape from her mouth, Quinn hissing softly as her lips stung.

In front of her was a plane. It was small. A pilot leaned on the exterior, a smirk pulled at his lips as he stared at Quinn. Her stomach churned as she recognized the face as someone she had seen years ago, assisting the Horsemen in one of their cross-country abductions.

"Pleasure to see you again, Miss Carson," he drawled, smirk forming into a sickly grin.

Quinn quickly glanced away from him, not daring to look him in the eye any longer. "You know where to take us?" Lawrence asked, gaze flashing from his former teammate to his accomplice.

"Indeed," he replied, sending a wink toward the girl. Quinn shuddered.

As the pilot returned to his seat, Lawrence pulled Quinn into the back of the plane, tying her up once again. Before the convict could tape her lips shut, Quinn looked up at him.

"How did you know that word?" she asked quietly.

Lawrence did not hide his confusion. "What word?"

"Zugzwang," she said. "How did you know it?"

A smirk twisted his lips, dark eyes lighting up. "Connections, Miss Carson," he teased. "They're important to have."

"Did we work with The Replicator?" Quinn questioned. Joseph's expression faltered, unable to mask his shock as Quinn figured it out. "I found an old case file while working," she whispered. "The word was listed by his name."

Lawrence's lips pursed. "I believe you just answered your own question."

And then he placed the tape over her mouth.

-----

"He left a note?" JJ asked as Hotch announced the developments to the rest of the team. Aaron, Jennifer, Penelope and Spencer sat around the round table, each trying to piece together the puzzle of Quinn's abduction. The genius had swiped the note to him, eyes scanning the words desperately, tears welling up as he noticed the taunting rhymes. Of course it was a puzzle. This was Joseph Lawrence- he shouldn't have expected anything less.

"He left a note," Hotch confirmed, a sigh escaping his lips after he spoke. "He attacked Morgan to make a statement. He left a note to taunt us. He wants us to find him."

"H-how do we find him?" Penelope stammered. Tears pricked her eyes.

Spencer shook his head. "We solve his riddles," he fumed, biting the inside of his cheek to conceal his anger. "We play by his rules until we figure out where she is."

Hotch's eyes flashed to Reid's warning him to take a breath. An outburst was not what they needed right now.

"Maybe if we read it out loud, we can figure it out," JJ suggested. "Maybe hearing it will be different than reading it on a piece of paper."

Spencer looked up at JJ, who nodded at him. He sighed shakily, sliding the note to Hotch to read aloud. The leader glanced down, inhaling softly before speaking.

"I am a weakness,
I am a strength;
I am at times limited,
But often have no length.

"I prosper when away,
I flourish with time;
I grow and grow and grow
Until my very last climb.

"I am broken when abused,
And rebuilt by redemption;
I am something that you often cannot shake,
No matter your intention.

"I am the thing we all need,
And work to obtain;
And some have so much of me,
It is difficult to contain.

"But those are the lucky ones,
Aren't they?
They don't know how lucky they are truly are,
Until I'm stripped away.

"I am a need, I am a want,
I am a wish, I am a desire;
I am a pain, I am a risk,
I am a danger, I am a liar.

"I am something Quinn Carson has strived for,
I am something she has fought to secure;
I am something Spencer Reid thought that he could give her,
But never could assure.

"I am something that may save the past criminal,
I am something that you all possess;
I am something that will help you find Quinn Carson.
So tell me what I am and impress.

"What am I?"

__ __ __ - __

"A dead man walking," Morgan snarled as he entered the room, shaking his head as he sat down. "Seriously, who the hell does this guy think he is?"

"A genius," JJ replied, anger bubbling in her stomach as the note finished. "That's the only reason that he would create something like this. To prove that he's smarter than all of us."

Hotch nodded. "We can't underestimate his mind, however. Lawrence is brilliant. He's showing us that this isn't going to be easy."

Morgan furrowed his brow as he saw a tear fall down Spencer's cheek. "Kid," he said carefully, "what is it?"

Spencer looked up at his team, bottom lip trembling. "The answer to the puzzle," he whispered. "I know what it is."

It seemed as though the entire team shifted toward him. Spencer didn't look any of them in the eye. He simply bit his lip and pulled the note away from his boss, filling in the spaces that Joseph Lawerence had left for the team.

L O V-E.

"It's love," he whimpered. "The answer's love."

-----

i've had that poem in my notes for literally three months and it still manages to sound like i pulled it out of my ass, i love failure

this was short and a little weird, i'm sorry:/ i've been distracted lately, apologies sent

AND THANK YOU ALL FOR 46K ON THIS STORY I DONT THINK YOU REALIZE HOW CRAZY THAT IS FOR ME- like i started this book with hopes that it would become a semi-popular cm fic, and now it's the book i get the most compliments and messages about. you guys are so fucking rad i am bursting with love for all of you.

love you all tons! (and happy holidays!)
-mags