Blood and Battle | Criminal Minds (gxg)

Chapter 2

TW: mentions of sexual @ssualt/r@pe, t0rture, strangling

The police chief meets us at the door to the police station, where Hotch introduces us. "SSA Aaron Hotchner. These are SSAs Jason Gideon, Derek Morgan, Carli D'angelo, and Dr. Spencer Reid. Do you have a room where we can set up?"

"Of course, we've gotten one ready for your team. Right this way." We follow through the bull pen and down a side hall to a conference room. "Let us know if you need anything."

"Thank you," Hotch says to the man. I nod to him as he leaves the room.

After setting up, files are strewn across the table and crime scene photos hang on various boards around the room. Morgan and Gideon leave for the crime scene, and then Hotch and Reid to talk to the victim's brother.

Hotch walks out first, Reid grabbing his coat as I stand nearby, reading the file one last time before heading to the M.E.

"You okay going alone?" Reid asks.

"Reid. How many times have I done this?" I don't have to look up to know there's a blush creeping into his cheeks.

"I don't know the exact number, but–"

"A lot," I say, finally looking up at him with a smile.

"A lot," he agrees.

"I'll be fine Reid. Now go, Hotch is–" I cut myself short I as look around Reid towards Hotch.

He's talking to a woman I've never met. Her chestnut hair falls across her shoulders and down the back of her red jacket. From the way her arms rest I can tell she's wearing a shoulder holster. Despite the fact that Hotch is a good half foot taller than her, she stands confident.

"Do you know who that is?" I ask Reid.

He turns, looking in the direction I indicate. "Nope. Maybe the consultant? Anyways, you're right, I should go." He turns back to me. "Have fun."

I smile as I pull my eyes away from her and back to Reid. "You too, kid."

The woman moves away from Hotch as Reid joins him and they head towards the exit together. She turns toward the windows of the conference room and for just a moment I catch a view of her face before she walks away. Her neck rises from the collar of her jacket, exposing her collarbone. She has full, pink lips and dimples. High cheekbones. Her eyes are dark, most likely brown, her hair falling into them as she walks away. I don't realize I'm staring until she turns a corner and I lose sight of that red jacket completely.

I quickly pull my attention back to the file. Seriously, Carli? You're on a case. A woman is missing, going to be dead soon, and all you're focused on is some stranger in red.

I close the file and pull my own coat from the back of the chair, wishing I owned a thicker windbreaker.

Exiting the building, I toss the hood over my head and convince myself that the rain will wash away any hints of red left in my eyes.

────

At the M.E.'s office I toss my hood back after stepping inside. The guy behind the desk does a double take as I run my hands through my long (now wet) hair and approach the counter. I wait for him to say something as he stands there with his mouth slightly open.

"H-hi! Um, how can I help you?" He looks to be in his early twenties, a clipboard resting in his gloved hands and a doctor's coat that's too big for him drooping off his slight frame. Probably new here. He wears a lanyard instead of the usual embroidered title on the left breast pocket of the coat.

"I'm SSA D'angelo, with the FBI." His eyes finally flash away as he glances at my badge.

"Oh, of course, they told us they were sending someone. I just, uh, didn't realize–"

"I'm sorry, but we're on a clock here." I say it lightly, but he looks hurt.

"Of course, sorry. Follow me."

He leads me down the hall to the third door on the right. "Head right in, the bodies are laid out and Dr. Peterson is already in there."

"Thank you," I nod and give a small smile.

He grins foolishly and saunders back to the front counter. Laughing to myself, I step inside the room. My smile vanishes as I'm pulled back to the present.

Four bodies lay in front of me, each one more decomposed than the last. The one on the far side of the room is clearly the first victim from four months ago, the most recent just a few feet away.

Dr. Peterson walks up to me and hands me the report and a pair of gloves. I put them on and skim the data as she talks. "As you can see, they're all in different states of decomposition. The first victim was strang–"

"Strangled and stabbed, he used a belt on the other three." I look up to see the passive look on her face. Shit. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. I was just hoping to take a closer look at their other injuries from being held."

"Yes, of course. And no worries, I'm used to the cops in here not knowing too much about the victims ahead of time."

I give a slight smile at that and lean towards the closest body. I take her hand in mine, flipping it palm down and inspecting her fingers. Specifically, her nails. Cut to nearly nothing, her cuticles and fingertips ripped apart and bleeding. A quick inspection reveals that the other victims endured the same injuries. The nerves of my fingertips spark as I look back towards the M.E. She tells me the specifics of the women's injuries. All aggressively beaten and raped, bruises and cuts covering their bodies. The left eye of the second victim was swollen shut, she says, and they had to cut it open to reach the eyeball, which had been blinded. I can see the remains of the procedure from where I stand.

"Are pictures of their hands included?" I ask, flipping further through the report.

"Yes, along with the rest of their injuries."

I look back up at her. "Thank you for your help."

She nods, and I walk out the door.

As I pass through the lobby a second time, the boy behind the counter sheepishly waves goodbye. I smile before tossing my hood over my head and stepping out into the Seattle rain. It's let up a bit, but not much.

The smile quickly disappears though, replaced by images of bleeding cuticles. I think back to the quick wave of the boy, his fingernails cut neatly, the white snow caps peeking over his fingertips.

And once again to the broken bodies in the room next door, their hands ripped apart by the aggression of a man they'll never know.