Chapter Text
Reid pushed Hotch’s hand away and leaned back against the couch. Hotch looked proud as he stood and put the pill back. He then took the alieve out and gave Reid three then handed him the bottle of water to wash them down. The bottle shook spilling some water, but Reid managed to swallow the pills. He then lay down on the couch trying and curled up waiting for the pills to take effect. Hotch resumed his seat.
Emily spoke “Did you just offer Reid an Opioid?”
Hotch “Yes, the doctor gave them to me to give to Reid after each treatment session.”
JJ asked, “The treatment is that painful?”
“Yes” Hotch’s answer was curt clearly concealing information and trying to mask his concern.
The agents all admired Reid’s strength at enduring the treatment without resorting to heavy duty painkillers. When they landed, Hotch helped Reid off the plane and the agents all drove to the BAU.
“Reid, I’m so happy to see you. How are you feeling?” Garcia gushed enveloping Reid in a perfumy hug as soon as he stepped off the elevator.
“Garcia” Reid said reflexing taking a step back before halting and returning her hug.
“Sorry I should have asked.” Garcia said trying to break the hug but Reid grabbed her resuming the hug and releasing some of the tension of the past few days in her sisterly presence.
Garcia gently pushed him away upon seeing the looks they were getting from other agents “I got the things you asked for: Books to learn braille, technology that allows computer use with only auditory commands. It’s all ready to go.” She said taking his hand to lead him to her office. The team heard her constant chatter as she led Reid to her office as they went to their own desks and work.
At the end of the day Hotch collected Reid who was slowly going over a braille book in Garcia’s office. Joining Morgan at the elevator the three men went to Reid’s apartment. Reid gave Morgan the key, Morgan unlocked the door, on entering he nearly tripped over a pile of books. Reid followed tripped over another book that had fallen off the sofa. He thankfully landed on the sofa and not the floor.
“Pretty boy you have too many books. Why do you need so many anyway you read one and you have it memorized. “
“You can never have too many books, and a lot of these are books I haven’t read yet or were gifts.”
The two men smiled and fell to work. Morgan helped Reid collect clothes and personal effects from his room and bathroom, while Hotch collected Reid’s letter to his mother and other necessary documentation. They then drove to Morgan’s where Reid would stay until he regained his sight. As Reid was settling into Morgan’s guest room, Hotch drew Morgan into the bathroom.
“I got this.” Hotch said drawing equipment from his bag “To help Spencer take his medication.”
Morgan eyed the restrains with wary disgust “I hate this” he said “It isn’t right.”
“If you don’t want to use them, I’ll come over three times a day” Hotch offered.
“No that’s too big a sacrifice .” Morgan said taking the equipment from him.
Hotch left shortly after dinner and the two men quickly settled into a routine. Reid with clear reluctance allowed Morgan to use the restraints. Hotch gave Morgan and Reid Friday off but with the increased workload Morgan was back at the office on Monday, Rossi coming over to stay with Reid and take him to his Eye doctor appointment with Dr. Brothesil Rossi’s own personal ophthalmologist.
Dr. Brothesil after the exam confirmed the ER’s Doctor’s findings that Reid’s eyesight should return in three weeks and that the eye drops were the best method of ensuring it. He also said that Reid could reduce taking them to twice a day and then after a week to once a day. Dr. Brothesil did say that he and the ER doctor were not entirely certain what exactly Henry Elton had done but that their treatment should work. The migraines would continue, and even after he got his sight back, he would need to be careful about light exposure for at least six months.
Hotch allowed Reid back to work on Tuesday upon learning that the eye drops had been reduced to twice a day. This coupled with the fact that Reid managed to get around decently well without his sight. The cane Elton had given him gave out a slight vibration when it hit the floor that made the cane itself vibrate if something was in front of it. This allowed Reid to avoid tripping over things most of the time. He did say that Reid needed to be careful, and that if he needed a break, he was welcome to use Rossi’s office. Reid’s knowledge of Brail was good enough to allow him to read basic documents, and Garcia installed software that allowed him to use a computer. On Friday Hotch called a meeting to go over the findings on Henry Elton.
“I know it’s been almost two weeks but there has been sign of Henry Elton” Garcia said first having been trying desperately to find any sign of him “He hasn’t touched his credit cards, contacted any known associates, nothing.”
“I’ve been helping Garcia and we’ve noticed a disturbing pattern of bindings eerily similar to what happened to Reid in almost every town Elton has lived or worked in for the past decade.” JJ said
Emily continued having helped JJ compile the data. The attacks all occurred in cities Elton either worked in or visited. The same or very similar chemicals were used in all the attacks and the attacker sedated all his victims before he blinded them. The victims all had similar backgrounds: professional scientists highly respected in their chosen fields. Hotch asked them how they could be sure that it was Henry Elton.
JJ said they couldn’t be sure but that someone had called the victims after the assault and said he was glad they were recovering, said he hoped to meet soon, and asked about their eyes.
Morgan remarked that is was the exact same thing he had said to Reid. She reported nothing so far. The agents went over the case file the women had put together. The Unsub if it was the same person was evolving perfecting his craft. The earliest bindings had been crude, hasty; the earliest two victims had only partially recovered their sight. After that all the victims managed to recover, the recovery time needed to get shorter with each victim usually only lasting two weeks.
Rossi asked Reid the statistics on chemical blinding in the United States. Reid had been almost completely silent since the meeting started. Reid was going slowly through the case files which Garcia had printed in braille for him, only speaking to ask Morgan about words in the report he couldn’t decipher. When Rossi spoke, Reid started rattled of statistics about chemical blinding, victim statistics, Rossi bluntly cut him off after three minutes telling him he got it. Emily then brought up an important question if was behind these attacks why he had attacked Reid who could identify him.
“Why attack Reid though? He’s been getting away with it so far. “Garcia asked.
“It’s possible the others were practice; Reid was his ultimate goal.” Hotch said
Upon hearing this Reid went white and dropped his head into his hands. The others hastily assured Reid that they didn’t know if it was true. Reid went returned to the files, but his hands were slightly unsteady.
Hotch ordered JJ to interview the earliest victims they were the ones Elton had the strongest personal connection with. Morgan and Emily were to call the investigators of the assaults and go over the initial reports with them. Hotch and Rossi would try and work up an initial profile, on the blinder to see if it matched Elton. Everyone stood to get started except Reid who was looking at the floor. Hotch told everyone to get to work then after they left took the seat next to Reid.
“How are you doing?”
“I knew him Hotch, he was ambitious, a bit cold, but I never thought he was capable of any of this.”
“You knew him in college, people change.”
“I knew him after though, we kept in contact all these years.” Reid looked at Hotch “How could I be friends with someone capable of such cruelty.”
“People are quite good at hiding who they really are.” Hotch said taking Reid’s hand.
“If he really did this just to get to me, all those people he hurt….” Reid trailed off brokenly. Hotch took Reid’s other hand.
“Spencer, Henry Elton is responsible for his actions no one else. You didn’t cause Elton to do anything. He decided on his own to attack these people, to blind them. You are just as much a victim as they are.”
When Reid didn’t respond, Hotch gently took his arm and pulled him to his feet. Seeing the now familiar signs of a migraine and knowing that Reid needed time to process the information from the meeting, he took him to Rossi’s office and told him to rest. Rossi was not surprised he and Hotch had already decided on Monday that Reid could use the office whenever he needed it. The two men left Reid and went to Hotch’s office to discuss the case.
Reid stumbled into Hotch’s office an hour later. He looked disheveled, confused, leaning on the wall.
“Hello, is anyone in here?” He asked slightly panicked.
“Reid, is everything alright?” Hotch asked as went over and closed the door
“Hotch. We’re at Quantico right?” he asked relief in his voice
“Yes, what’s wrong?”
Rossi came over and tried to lead Reid over to the couch. Reid pulled away and went to leave. Rossi kept a gentle grip on his arm and repeated Hotch’s question.
Reid, embarrassed, admitted “I dozed off in your office, when I woke up I couldn’t quite remember where I was. I need to get back to work.”
Rossi “Kid that isn’t something to be embarrassed about.”
Reid sighed deeply “this isn’t the first time this has happened; it’s gotten to the point where Morgan has to wake me up otherwise, I start panicking. “
“Reid, this can happen, we rely on visual clues to know where we are and without those it can be hard to remember where we are.” Hotch said his voice conveying absolute certainty, but Rossi saw the doubt and worry in his face.
Reid nodded and Rossi led him back to his desk. Morgan and Emily came over asking how he was doing. Reid said he was fine, Emily brought him a cup of coffee and they resumed their work. At six Morgan dragged him out of the office. Garcia had invited them over for dinner, but Reid said he couldn’t do it. They went to Morgan’s apartment where Reid curled with a copy of Chaucer’s poetry. Thirty minutes later there was a knock on the door. Morgan answered it to find Garcia and Emily with food.
“I know you cancelled dinner, but I couldn’t let my two boys go hungry.”
“She called and asked for help in bringing things over.” Emily explained her presence.
Morgan smiled and took Garcia’s food, leading them to the kitchen. Emily noticed Reid standing in the living room, cane in hand.
“Hey Reid we brought food.”
“Emily, this was Garcia’s idea, wasn’t it?” He amusedly asked.
“Of course.”
Reid followed her into the kitchen, where the food was quickly set out. Garcia gave him a heaping plate of cut up beef, vegetables, and small potatoes. Reid ate cautiously make sure the food was well speared before he ate it. Halfway through the meal Garcia went to the bathroom, Reid made a little noise of protest. When Garcia came back she looked sad, and hugged Reid.
“My brave junior g-man.”
Emily asked what she meant, but Garcia refused to answer. Morgan went wide eyed as he realized that she saw the medical equipment they used in doing the treatments. Reid quickly finished his food and went into the living room. The others cleaned up and Emily brought in the brownies. They talked about the latest pop culture and sports, any work talk was quickly shot down. Emily and Garcia left at 8 30.
The weekend passed quietly though Hotch called Morgan every evening for information about Reid’s condition. On Wednesday morning the team gathered in the conference room to go over what they found about Elton.
“The first victim Thomas Gordon was a researcher at the university where Elton was teaching. They were both working on the same project when Gordon lost his sight. Gordon was found in the university lab unconscious. The police ruled it in an accident, the drugs in his system were his doing: The phone call later that night was just someone concerned with his wellbeing.” Emily reported first.
“Did anyone suspect Elton.” Hotch asked
“No, but Thomas Gordon insisted someone had knocked him out, and ruined his eyes. “
JJ continued “The second victim was Caroline Jones; she and Elton were working at the same pharmaceutical company they also dated for a while. She was leaving a bar when someone grabbed her and sedated her. She was found the next morning wondering around in a park, opium in her system. The police thought that it was an attempted rape but had no leads. Jones was given police protection after the phone call but the case was dropped after a month with no leads.”
“What about the other victims?” Hotch asked
JJ continued going through her report “Thomas Apple, Lillian Marin, Carter Ford, and James Con all worked in similar jobs as Elton. Mary Leek, Joanne Trek, Grey Mule, and Olin West all competed with Elton for Grants and awards. The two outliers Jane Quest, and Alex Rhoades, attended the same conventions as Elton but there’s no link between them. The one thing these two men have in common is actually with Reid in that they both have multiple science doctorates. “
Rossi “He removes the competition by blinding them. He’s practical but not a sadist, he doesn’t want to permanently injure his victims. Just get them out of the way long enough to achieve his goals. The question is how he gets his victims alone.”
Emily “The last thing the men remember is being at a bar either an actual one or one in a hotel. It would be relatively easy for a man skilled at sleight of hand to put something in their drink. Then when the sedative takes effect leads them out as if they’re drunk. The women are blitz attacked, quickly overpowered from behind and knocked out. “
Hotch “So he gets them somewhere isolated and has hours to do what he wants. The only thing he does though is blind them and inject them with a painkiller. His only goal appears to be the removal of any obstacles to his career. He even cares enough to call and inquire about their health. Maybe the painkillers are a sign of remorse. He feels the need to remove these people but doesn’t want to hurt them unduly.”
Morgan “He might give it to them, so they don’t start screaming, what he’s doing is extremely painful. The screaming would attract attention, or it might distract him from his work.”
JJ asked, “Reid are you okay?” interrupting Morgan. The others turn to see Reid rubbing his arm.
“Yes I’m fine, keep going.” Reid stopped rubbing his arm but did not remove his hand.
Morgan “The drug he uses was at first opium, then he started experimenting, trying to find something that would keep his victims drugged longer. Elton found that by using Opium as a base, combined with other drugs he was able to keep keeping his victims out for hours. “Morgan was interrupted again by Reid standing up.
“I’ve got to go, I’ve got work.” Reid said with a tremor in his voice
Reid went to leave but he tripped on a chair leg. He hit the door hard his cane flew out of his hand and he landed hard on the floor on his back. Reid lay stunned for several seconds before he moved. The others stood wanting to help but did not want to alarm him. Reid sat up and started feeling around on the floor. Garcia on the opposite side of the table had his cane from where it almost hit her in the head. Morgan took a step towards Reid, but Reid scuttled backward until he hit space the between the filing cabinet and the couch. Morgan started speaking softly and gently towards Reid but without success. He sat there breathing heavily, and then once again started feeling his surroundings. He shook his head as if trying to see than noticed the bandages. Reid’s hands came up and felt around his head. Then within seconds he was ripping them off as fast as he could. Morgan, Rossi and Emily lunged at him desperate to stop him.
“Reid stop, don’t take off the bandages, Spence don’t” This came from several voices at one time.
JJ went to turn off the lights but stopped realizing the others wouldn’t be able to see. Hotch quickly closed the blinds leading to the bullpen. Rossi grabbed his hands but Reid in utter panic tried to shove his hands away. Morgan took hold of his arms, while Emily went for his shoulders.
Hotch spoke “SSA Spencer Reid stop” in his most commanding tone.
Reid stopped, he went utterly still. Unfortunately the bandages were already in shreds, JJ quickly turned out the lights but not before Reid had let out a small scream of pain. Rossi quickly shrugged of his suit jacket and threw it over his head. Emily shut the blinds in the windows.
“Hotch your tie” Garcia demanded
Hotch quickly took it off and handed it to Morgan.
“Hey pretty boy, I need to tie this around your eyes. It’s going to make things a lot better.”
“Morgan?”
“Yeah it’s me, along with the whole team you’re safe at the BAU.”
Reid held out his hand and Morgan handed him the tie. After assessing it he handed it back and Morgan tied it around his head.
With his vision safe the team took a step back. Morgan and Rossi helped Reid to his feet and sat him on the couch. Reid still kept Rossi’s jacket over his head and kept his face down.
“What happened, why can’t I see?”
Hotch “Henry Elton you met him a week ago remember?”
“Yes my friend from college, why would he do this to me?” his voice was slightly shaky
JJ “We don’t know Spence but we’re going to figure it out.”
“Right, where’s my cane, we’re at the BAU so there must be work to do.
Garica handed him his cane and Reid tried to stand. He staggered with a low hiss of pain and almost fell. Rossi forced him back down and Morgan took his cane away.
Hotch “Reid you need to go to the emergency room, you hit your head pretty hard.”
“I’m fine just give me a minute”
Emily “Reid you are not fine, you can barely stand.”
“Just because I’m blind, in pain ninety percent of the time, have to endure torture twice a day without effective painkillers thanks to a couple of deranged psychopaths does not mean I’m not fine. “ Reid snapped