Blood and Battle | Criminal Minds (gxg)

Chapter 3

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

I arrive back at the police station with a (mostly) dry M.E. report. I see the boys through the windows of the conference room and make my way to them. I resist the urge to look around for a flash of red. Luckily, I don't have to try. She's right in my line of sight, talking to an officer at a desk in the corner. She turns in my direction just as I walk past her into the conference room. I feel her eyes on my back as I open the door to the room and drop the report on the table, immediately opening it up to the pictures of the victims' hands.

I'm about to start when Gideon beats me to it. "We found some interesting things at the dump site. The unsub was ignorant with where he dumped the body. Just sitting under a bridge. Youthful arrogance, I'd place the guy in his twenties."

Morgan continues, "Yeah, and he showed signs of remorse."

"From what he did to them, I would say he isn't capable." I reply.

Morgan shrugged, "He clothed them. Showing signs of remorse, but being so careless with his dumping grounds... where does that leave us?"

"D'angelo, what'd you find?" Hotch turns the conversation my way.

I display the many photos of the victims' injuries. "All beaten nearly to death, sexually assaulted, raped without penetration–"

"Piquerism," Reid interjects.

"Yes. They were restrained with handcuffs and multiple layers of duct tape were placed over their eyes."

"Multiple? How many?" Hotch asked.

"Four, five at a time. He's paranoid they'll see him, which makes no sense because he's going to kill them anyway."

"And the hands?" Morgan picks up one of the photos before shaking his head in disgust. Reid looks at his own fingertips briefly.

"Yeah. It could mean a number of things. Still working on that." I say with a deep breath.

"Anything else?"

"That's all I got."

A silence settles over the room. I can almost hear the gears turning.

Finally, Gideon speaks up. "It's time to give the profile."

────

The five of us stand at the front of the bullpen. Officers sit in chairs, on desks, and stand around waiting. I pretend not to notice her standing off to the right of the room, her arms crossed over her chest and leaning against the wall. Instead, I look at Morgan as he bends close to my ear. "That's her. Greenaway."

I raise an eyebrow. "Has everyone met her but me?"

Morgan gives a quiet chuckle before pulling his attention back to the room.

Hotch stands on my far left, then Morgan, with Reid and Gideon to my right. I'm in the middle. I swear, they purposely put me between the two tallest guys.

Hotch clears his throat before starting. "Our unsub is white, male, in his late twenties. As you know, his modus operandi is to abduct a woman with a ruse, most recently trying to sell her a car. He holds these women hostage and tortures them for seven days, beating and raping them. He also places duct tape over their eyes, chains them, and cuts their nails to stubs. After one week, he strangles them with a belt and dumps them in a remote location."

Morgan picks up where Hotch left off. "This guy has a previous criminal record, mostly for petty crimes. He showed remorse at the dump sites and this is his first string of killings."

An officer interrupts, "How is he showing remorse?" Accusation seeks into the man's voice.

"By clothing them, he still acknowledges them as human."

Assuming we're following order, I continue. "Our unsub is an organized killer. He follows the news and police reports, has good hygiene, makes himself approachable. He's smart." I take a breath before continuing. "The difference with this case is the rape. He rapes without penetration, known as piquerism. This points to signs of erectile dysfunction and he takes his sexual energies and anger out on his victims." I risk a glance at Greenaway, knowing I've crossed into her territory of sex crimes. Maybe next time she'll be beside me helping to deliver the profile. I cringe inwardly, annoyed by my hopefulness.

Just shut up and listen. You have a job to do.

"-excessive layers of duct tape over the eyes points to a history of paranoia, most likely extending from some form of childhood trauma, such as divorce or the loss of a loved one. Mixed with the time he did for petty crimes in his past, the unsub feels persecuted and constantly watched." Reid says to the officers.

Gideon closes the profile with the last main point of our analysis. "This man blends into any crowd. He may be attractive, and he appears non-threatening towards women. Organized killers have a fascination with law enforcement. They will inject themselves into the investigation, either revisiting the scene or coming forward with information to see what the police already know. My team is certain that this department has already interviewed the unsub."

Glances were passed between the police officers. Once again, I find my eyes drifting to her, but am pulled back by a tap on my shoulder. I follow the team to the conference room.

Hotch is the last into the room and closes the door behind us. "Morgan?"

His cell phone is already in his hand and he smiles while dialing.

"Office of Supreme Genius! How are my favorite crime fighters doing?" Garcia's perky voice flows through the receiver, making me chuckle softly.

"Better after hearing your voice, Baby Girl. Can you do something for us?"

"Anything for you, chocolate thunder." I can practically hear the smirk on her face through the phone. "Give it to me!"

"White, male, late twenties, lives in the city or surrounding suburbs," Hotch starts.

"Keep it coming!"

I speak up. "He's got a record, petty crimes, probably did some time. Suffered through childhood trauma."

"He's also involved with law enforcement," Hotch says.

"And Garcia, cross check with the list of people the precinct has interviewed," I add.

"Anything, Baby Girl?"

"Just a moment... AHA! Richard Slessman, 27, lives just outside the city with his grandma, got in trouble for theft and did some time at Cascadia Prison. Lost his mom as a kid."

"He fits the profile," I say. "What's our move?"

"Sting." Hotch leaves the file on the table and turns to the map hanging on one of the crime boards. "Have an agent go in, a woman, knock on the door and ask him for help here," Hotch points to the map. "She'll say she's house sitting but found the door unlocked. He'll walk her inside and we'll take him down."

"When do we leave?" I ask.

"Not you."

I look at Hotch. "Um, what?"

"We use Agent Greenaway. She's our partner on this case and it'll give us a chance to see what she can do."

"A sting op, without me?" I feign disbelief, "Aaron, how dare you." I give a sly smile at the obvious annoyance on his face but notice the corner of his mouth turning up slightly. He hates it when I call him Aaron. I'm the only one on the team brave enough to do it.

"You have your own work to do," Gideon reminds me. "By the time we get back, I want a full analysis of their injuries."

I sigh and nod. "Yes, sir."

The team heads out as I spread the M.E.'s photos across the conference table.

There's something... off. Slessman matches the profile, but he doesn't match the injuries. Not all of them, anyway. I take a deep breath before diving in, determined to catch this killer before any more people get hurt.