Chapter Text
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller
It had been an hour into their flight with 30 minutes left which meant it was time for their usual profiling conference between everyone. Morgan and Prentiss moved over to the four seater, Prentiss on the couch while Morgan leaned on the counter with the tablet in his hand.
The group looked between each other, waiting to see who would start their hypothesizing so they could hit the ground running.
“ Hey guys, the more I look into our victims the weirder things become.” Garcia announced as she appeared on the Jet screen, “ So looking into the three victims besides the first two I can't find any way that they’re connected. Alex and Ridley were presumably hanging around the same area of town but Wallace was nowhere near that. He was across Queens instead at a party.”
“ Not to mention their victimology. Each victim had a different lifestyle. College student, bartender, and hotel receptionist. Seeing as they’re all residences in Queens and of varying social status’ it’s unlikely any of them would interact or overlap.” JJ added, flipping through some pages.
Prentiss opted to chime in saying, “ true, but they all have a similar look. Dark hair, older male. Not to mention they were all single. Possible surrogate? Anything that could link them together?”
“ I checked their purchase histories already and the only thing they seem to have in common is that they like to go to different bars around town,” Garcia answered, “ From what I can tell they’re all gay bars though so that might be something.”
“ There’s a chance they went to the same bar only using cash. Possible hate crime?” Morgan suggested, “ Not to mention there’s no ligature marks on the hands or ankles meaning they weren’t restrained or taken.They could have known the unsub personally.”
Rossi decided to interject stating, “ Can’t leave out the possibility that they were victims of opportunity. I mean, if they were coming from these bars by themselves they could have been high-risk victims.”
“ If so then why the strangulation?” Reid added on, “ The first victim didn’t have ligature marks on their neck which insinuates they were choked out by hand making it personal however the later two have those marks meaning that he used a rope or something along those lines to choke them out. ”
“ He would need incredible strength to strangle the first victim so why not continue to use it with his other ones?” Morgan added, keeping his eyes checking everyone else's reactions.
Hotch would sit back, glancing between everyone saying, “ we’ll need a more detailed discovery from the medical examiner to understand their deaths better. They should be finishing with the third victim today.”
“ Oh no, guys.” Garcia chimed up, looking rather distraught, “ The New York P.D just uncovered another one in an alleyway not far from the second victim's location. It was about 5 miles out, same MO.”
“ It’s only been about 7 hours since the last body was found.” Prentiss piped up, flipping through the images she had on her tablet, “ The unsubs moving fast.”
“ This victim is Alex Erin, 50 years old, married to his wife Alice Erin. He was a simple businessman at an insurance firm. That’s all I have on him right now.” Garcia informed them.
This caused Morgan to look a little confused saying, “ That’s strange, different victimology. The only similarity being how he looks.”
“ If he follows the victimology it’s likely he was sneaking out to gay bars behind his family's backs.” Reid suggested, looking around, “ It's likely he was committing adultery behind his wife's back.”
“ Even so, I think we need more information to put together a complete profile.” JJ explained in turn, looking towards their Unit Chief.
With that Hotch decided to regulate everyone in order to get the show on the road when they landed.
“ This’ll be something we’ll have to figure out when we get there. For now Dave and Prentiss, you two go and check out the latest crime scene. See what you can figure out from the latest victim. Morgan and Reid, you'll head to the M.E accompanied by one of their detectives. JJ and I will get situated at the station and speak with the families to see what else we can get.”
With that their assignments were set and everyone began to pack up to get ready for the landing. Reid stuffed all his items into his satchel while Hotch collected everything into his briefcase before calling the detective he was in contact with for the case. The others did the same and the team sat and seatbelted once more as they approached their landing location. As they waited, the other case that Garcia told them about popped up back into Reid’s head making him wonder.
“ Think we’ll see the man in the suit in this case? From what info they've gathered about that guy he could try to involve himself in our case.” Reid asked off-handedly, looking between everyone.
Morgan shrugged, seeming rather unconvinced by this ‘Man in the Suit’ saying, “ Well if he does show up he knows we’ll have to take him in. He may be helping people but vigilantism isn’t exactly legal.”
“ Not to mention it’s highly unlikely that he can actually help a victim before the unsub does. Seeing how long it takes us to normally figure out who an unsub is and how impulsive the kills are, it’s unlikely they can figure it out sooner than us.” Prentiss explained.
“ No matter the case, he’s not our priority at the moment,” Hotch spoke up, reeling everyone's focus back together, “ right now our focus is finding the unsub who is responsible for these killings.”
The group would nod, getting themselves comfortable in their seats for the descent into New York. To keep themselves sharp, they all went through the case in their minds so far. They needed to be on their A game to hopefully close this case on a better note than how it’s starting.
Carter gave a small sigh as she observed the room she had worked so hard to prepare. She had just finished her correspondence between SSA Hotchner and their technical analysis Garica and she hoped the room would be to their liking. She found the two agents a rather interesting duality. Hotchner matched the ideal Unit Chief leader with the picture of a professional while their tech analyst Garcia was quite the character. It wasn’t unwelcomed by any means, but with their line of work finding someone as lovely as her was rare.
“ So this is their usual setup?” She heard Fusco ask behind her as he walked in with two coffees in hand, “ Seems a little overkill don’cha think?”
Carter shrugged as he took one of the drinks and pocketed her other hand saying, “ Not my place to really say. They work differently over there at the BAU so if this’ll help us with our current case I won’t refuse the help. What did you find out about Spencer Reid from Finch?”
“ Eh, nothing we don’t already know.” Fusco sighed as he pulled out his phone, “ He’s grade A genius with a mom in Vegas. Been in the BAU since the age of 22. Had some tough cases, but he’s still here with them so that’s something. According to Finch though, he should spend most of his time here at the precinct which’ll make it easier to keep an eye on him. Think Wonderboy will find a way to get close enough without being caught?”
“ Knowing them, anything is possible. He’ll find his way in.” Carter nodded, looking around the precinct before her phone rang, “ It’s Finch.”
She would pick up the phone, checking her surroundings as she walked to a more secluded part of the building.
“ Hey Finch, what’s with the call so close to when I’m supposed to meet them?” she asked, curiously, “ They said they’d arrive any minute.”
“ Apologies Detective Carter but I thought it paramount to tell you that Mr. Reese will be joining you during this investigation.” Finch informed her as he walked around his work area, “ He’ll be playing the role of a detective that you brought in to assist in the case.”
“ Are you sure that’s a good idea?” She asked with concern, “ That means getting real close with the FBI and last time I checked their cousin bureau took a few shots at him.”
She could hear a sigh from the other side of the line, able to read just from Finch's response.
“ I understand it is not the most ideal situation, however this is the best option we currently have on ensuring Dr. Reid’s safety.”
Carter would nod along as they spoke, looking to her phone once more when she noticed a message from the BAU’s Unit Chief.
“ I’ll do what I can to cover for John, but these guys are good so you two have to be extra careful.” Carter warned, “ I just got a message that they’re five minutes out. I’ll talk to you when I get the chance.”
“ I believe in you detective.” Was Finch’s last reassuring words as Carter hung up the phone, pocketing it as she did her best to make herself look presentable.
She would walk back to where Fusco was, giving him a polite smile as she informed him of their new friends' arrivals before heading to the front door as she got a text that they arrived.
Hotch and JJ exited their SUV, heading towards what would be their headquarters for the next few days. As they approached the entrance, a detective he presumed to be the same one on the phone came out with a smile.
“ Hello, you must be Detective Carter.” Hotch began, offering her a professional smile and hand to shake, “ as you know I'm SSA Aaron Hotchner and this is SSA Jennifer Jareau.”
Carter would nod in turn, taking the hand as she looked from him to JJ saying, “ It's a pleasure to finally have the opportunity to meet you. Where's the rest of your team?”
“ They're busy following up on other leads so we can get ahead of our unsub in this case.” Hotch explained to her before gesturing to the entrance.
“ Looks like I'm not too late.” said a gruff voice to the side of them, causing the three of them to look over.
Coming to them was a man in a suit with a detective badge resting on his belt. Hotch would look over the man, taking in everything he could essentially sizing him up.
“ and you are?” Hotch asked in turn.
“ Apologies, I'm Detective Foster. The detective here invited me to help on this case.” Foster would inform them, gesturing to Carter who smiled and nodded.
“ As they say, the more help the better.” Carter agreed, starting to lead them into the precinct, “ Let me take you two to your base of operations. I set it up as you had requested. My partner Detective Fusco should be meeting up with some of your guys at the morgue for that M.E report.”
Hotch opted to focus on Carter, turning from the detective Foster as they entered the building. JJ would offer a polite smile to Foster as he held the door for her and entered last. Hotch would look around at the fairly crowded office. This seemed to be one of the more filled precincts in the area, but he wasn’t one to complain. Reese would check his phone as they entered the building, making himself look busy as he synced his phone up with Agent Hotchners.
“ So far, nothing new has come up.” Carter explained as they made their way through the office, “ I've looked at the crime scene photos more, but it seems like this unsub, as you call them, doesn't have much of a pattern aside from his M.O. The only real profile I have is that it’s likely a male in his thirties based on how organized these crime scenes are.”
“ Not a bad preliminary profile.” JJ complimented, “ Did you ever try to enroll?”
“ Oh, no. Just went to a seminar or two out of curiosity. The work you guys do is pretty astounding.” Carter replied humbly, waving off JJ’s words.
As they were speaking, an older couple along with a sobbing woman would come in followed by an officer who would call out Carter's name. The four of them would glance over, Carter looking rather deflated.
“ That's our latest victim's parents and wife. I wish there was better news to give them.” Carter lamented, “ Well, whatever you guys need, don't be afraid to ask. We're here to help you guys any way we can.”
Hotch would nod, thanking her again before saying, “ It's our privilege to offer our assistance. We'll start by talking to Alex's parents and wife.”
Hotch would turn to JJ, silently understanding what needed to be done as she went off to direct the victims' loved ones.
“ Would it be possible for you to get us physical copies of the police reports?” Hotch requested, heading into the temporary conference room, “ We work better if we have all information available, digital and physical.”
“ Of course.” Carter nodded, “ I'll be back with those as soon as possible.”
She would walk away, letting the agent get to work on putting together their profile. She would turn and look at ‘Detective Foster’ giving an unimpressed expression.
The other detective gave a playful smile, following her to where they usually keep their files.
“ Is this how you plan to keep close while laying low?” Carter effectively whisper shouted to John as they walked.
John simply kept his amused expression as they walked saying, “ Well, it's working isn't it? They don't suspect a thing.”
“ for now.” She clarified, moving to stand in front of John, “ You and I both know they're good at their job. What if they start putting their trained eyes on us? We can't risk them getting their hands on you. Not after last time.”
“ As long as we don't give them a reason to look, we'll be fine, Carter. Besides, I doubt the bureau talks to other departments.” John reassured her, picking up and handing some files to her, “ Let's help them solve this case and help Dr. Reid make it back to Quantico safe and sound.”
Carter would take a breath, seeming to be calming her nerves before nodding and taking the file back to Agent Hotchner.
Fusco sighed as he checked his watch, keeping track of the time. They were supposed to be here any minute now and he was meant to be their greeting party. Some Derek Morgan and their main guy Spencer Reid were to be there. He felt rather uncomfortable in his position considering he was essentially a dirty cop. As if on cue a fancy black SUV pulled up outside the office and Fusco got himself ready to do introductions.
“ Hey there! You must be Derek Morgan and Spencer Reid?” Fusco called out as he approached them with his hand out.
Morgan gave his polite smile, eyes hidden behind his sunglasses as he shook the detective's hand saying, “ That’s right. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Doctor Reid.” Reid interjected quickly, looking at Fusco and his outstretched hand before quickly evading it and entering the building instead with a polite smile.
This got a bit of a furrowed brow from Fusco, but he opted to let it go. Maybe the kid was just particular about stuff. He would let Morgan walk ahead of him, gesturing for them to take the lead as he followed them up from behind. As he walked, he acted as though he was checking his phone while he was doing what they normally do with their number. It took a minute but he was able to clone and connect to Reid’s device, putting it away right after.
“ So, you two part of that BAU force thing?” Fusco asked as they walked through the office and towards where the bodies were being examined.
Morgan nodded saying, “ Yea. We’re here to help you guys figure out who this killer is by trying to get into the guy's head.”
“ Yea, well, not every day you see a sick son-of-a-bitch do something like this around here.” Fusco huffed, giving a small smirk while downplaying the stuff he normally sees, “ You guys though, you do this all the time?”
“ It’s our specialty.” Morgan informed Fusco, “ We gather information based on what’s left by the unsub and create a profile so you guys along with us can find them efficiently. It’s a win-win for both of us all around.”
“ Sounds like you guys do a lot of guesswork.” Fusco criticized them in turn, as they entered the examination room, “ But it sounds like it’s worked out pretty good for you guys so I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.”
Morgan gave a polite nod to Fusco as the two then looked to Reid who was already leaning over the corpse of the latest victim discussing theories with the Medical Examiner there. With all the words Fusco heard the kid rambled with, it was no wonder he was added to the FBI.
“ So, Reid, What you got?” Morgan asked as he walked up next to his field partner, crossing his arms.
Reid would glance over to Morgan, giving a small nod before gesturing to the neck area of the corpse saying, “ Well, I was thinking back to the preliminary reports we got and looking at the bodies there’s something strange about the strangulation.”
“ And what’s that?” Fusco asked curiously, adding himself into this little lecture as he walked up beside Morgan.
“ Well, the preliminary reports said that the main cause of death was a gunshot wound to the chest in all four victims. The choking however was done postmortem on all victims except the first one.” Reid explained, essentially regurgitating the information they already covered on the jet, “ but that’s the thing, why was the first one choked before dying and not the others? Normally strangulation is a sexual fantasy for unsubs or- or used as a form of torture. So why do it after the fact with the others?”
Fusco then glanced at Morgan who seemed to be picking up after what the kid was putting down. He was fairly lost himself. He didn’t know why some sick dude would keep up a pattern like that. He wasn’t one to dwell on stuff like that too long.
“ Maybe experimentation? Could have tried strangulation and didn’t enjoy it as much as the stabbings he inflicted.” Morgan suggested, with a bit of a shrug.
“ But that doesn’t explain why he still chokes postmortem with the other victims. If he doesn’t enjoy it, why keep it up? Not to mention why switch to a rope to choke them instead of his hands?” Reid argued in turn.
Hearing the two men bounce ideas, Fusco decided to try and get himself into their good graces saying, “ What if he did it to cover something up?”
The two men looked to Fusco, seeming a bit curious as to what the detective could offer them and suddenly he felt like a deer in headlights. Perhaps injecting himself wasn’t the best idea.
“ I mean, the genius here said it himself that choking someone out is more-so for torture or something like that.” He explained, gesturing to Reid as he approached the different victims to get a look himself, “ So, what if he was trying to squeeze something out from that first victim? I mean, looking at the necks the first victim looks worse off than the others. Could be your unsub was torturing the first guy for info through strangulation and when he was done with em stabbed and shot em.”
“ That’s possible, but that means that this unsub is extremely organized and knows how to do forensic counter measures,” Reid muttered, looking rather thoughtful.
The Medical Examiner entered the room with several different clipboards of information, smiling at the men as she handed the documents over saying, “ Here’s the final breakdown of the injuries sustained on the bodies as well as chemical compounds found in their systems. I think you guys will find it rather interesting.”
Reid took the clipboard first, flipping through them like it’s nothing, causing Fusco to look rather surprised. He couldn’t believe the kid could read all that in just seconds.
“ You can read that fast genius?” Fusco asked, pointing to the clipboards.
Morgan huffed a smirk saying, “ Yea, it’s one of the things he’s good at.”
“ Was he always this good?”
“ I think so, but I also think I had a pretty good teacher.” Reid injected, finishing his reading and handing the clipboards off to Morgan, “ He, uh, got me into the BAU actually.”
“ Good on him for not missing a miracle like you.” Fusco complimented as he looked at the clipboard held by Morgan.
Reid just nodded, the comment having him thinking back to when Gideon used to be with them saying, “ Yea.”
“ Wait, is this right?” Morgan asked, looking a bit confused as he flipped through the papers, “The second victim had water in his damaged lungs while the third had acetic acid dropped into his eyes? Not to mention it looks like they all had been drugged by Rohypnol.”
“ more commonly known as a date rape drug.” Reid added to Morgan.
“ Sounds like a rough night.” Fusco commented sarcastically, “ Sounds like these guys messed with the wrong people.”
“ We’ll need to re-examine the profile.” Morgan explained with a sigh.
Fusco gave a bit of a confused look saying, “Why’s that?”
“ It’s because with the knowledge of the M.E reports, it changes the perception of how our unsub acts. It changes these attacks from what seems like a serial killer with self-loathing, to something bigger. It’s likely that the stab wounds were done periodically to extend the torture. If our unsub is torturing the victims, now we gotta figure if it was done sadistically or functionally.” Reid explained as he pulled out his phone already heading out the door, “ I’ll inform Hotch about what we found.”
“ There’s categories for torture?” Fusco scoffed, seeming rather dismayed, thinking back to his own experiences with the topic.
Morgan nodded, deciding to fill in for Reid saying, “ Functionally is like the torture used in the military to get information. Sadistically is where the unsub does the torture as a sexual release for themselves. Normally that’s followed with evidence of sexual assault but right now I don’t really see anything that suggests that.”
“ So you guys think it’s probably a professional hit then? Someone wanted to bump these guys off?” Fusco commented in turn.
Morgan nodded as he looked at Fusco saying, “ And from what it looks like he’s not done with gathering his intel. He’ll likely strike again and we need to stop him before he does.”
With that the two men said their byes to the Medical Examiner as they headed outside of the building. As they left the office doors, Reid was just finishing up his talk with Hotch. He had a smile on his face as he spoke.
“ We're essentially done here. See you when we get back, Hotch.” Reid hummed as he saw the two men exit the doors, hanging up the phone.
“ Thanks for meeting us here, Detective Fusco.” Morgan hummed, holding his hand out for Fusco to shake.
Fusco chuckled as he took the hand saying, “ Hey, the pleasure’s all mine. It’s not every day we get the nation's finest to help solve cases. I’m assuming all of us are heading back to the precinct right?”
Reid nodded, answering Fusco’s question without a word.
“ I’ll see you two around then. If you ever need help don’t be afraid to call me or my partner Carter.” Fusco reassured, handing his card to both of them, “ If you want a drink or need recommendations from a local, I got that too.”
His playful line got a smile from Morgan who nodded saying, “ See you around then detective.”
Morgan and Reid got into their SUV while Fusco got into his own car to head back to the precinct and group up with the others. Fusco sighed as he sat in his car, looking down to his phone as he was able to hear everything the two would be saying on their way back to the office.
Rossi and Prentiss carefully walked over the crime scene. The body was dumped in an alley not far off from the clubbing scene. It was isolated enough to likely not be found immediately, but it was still rather surprising no one saw anything. Their victim looked as though he was just tossed onto the floor without care. He was fully dressed except for his suit jacket which was simply missing from the scene. The white dress shirt was painted red with the evident signs of stabbing riddled in his chest.
“ It’s not a bad dumping spot.” Rossi hummed as he made his way around the body, checking the surroundings, “ pretty isolated, away from the main roads.”
“ They said the garbage boy from the club right here found it when he was taking out the trash.” Prentiss explained, making her way over to the body and crouching over it, “ Hey Rossi, look at this.”
She would go on to gesture to the chest area of the body where some blood riddled it. There were stab wounds all over as well as the signature gunshot wound in the chest. Same ligature marks on the neck as well.
“ Same M.O except, look at the wrists.” Prentiss pointed out.
“ Ligature marks. Our unsub decided to tie this guy up this time and it seems like our victim might have been thrashing around.” Rossi hummed as he let his eyes run over the victim, “ There doesn’t seem to be as much blood as the other ones. He might have been exsanguinated with some of the stab wounds coming after. ”
“ Why would he do that though?” Prentiss asked in turn, standing to look around.
“ Maybe the victim died too fast and our unsub couldn’t handle not completing his ritual?” Rossi suggested with a shrug, “ Hard to tell without a full M.E report.”
The two gloved up as they began to explore more about the crime scene to see if there was anything else left. Prentiss went to look around the scene, checking the ground for anything that could be important to collect. Rossi on the other hand went to inspect the body. He noticed that the sleeves looked roughened up. Rossi moved to carefully roll up the sleeves, his eyes widening a bit at what he found.
“ Hey, Prentiss, come look at this.” Rossi called out.
Prentiss would perk up at being called, walking over quickly and hovering behind Rossi saying, “What did you find?”
As Prentiss let her eyes wander down to where Rossi was handling, her mouth gaped open slightly. There were very thin pin pricks on the inside of the victim's elbow. There seemed to be quite a few of them and all seemed rather fresh.
“ What are the chances that this victim of ours is an addict?” Rossi asked off-handedly, turning to glance at Prentiss.
They went to check the other arm of the victim and saw similar marks. There were about the same amount on either side which was strange.
“ It's unlikely he’s an addict with those marks. They’re too even.” Prentiss pointed out, “ Addicts normally prefer one arm over the other and if they did use both, they wouldn’t be so symmetrical like this.”
“ Why inject drugs into the victim though?” Rossi asked in turn, “ He has the same pattern, but why deviate by forcing drugs into the victims system?”
Prentiss shrugged, seeming at a loss herself saying, “ I guess we won’t figure it out until we get a more thorough report from the M.E.”
“ We should tell the others.” Rossi sighed, going to stand with Prentiss as he removed his gloves and worked on getting his phone out, “ You get the garbage boy's name and number?”
“ Already done.” Prentiss nodded, going to follow Rossi back to the SUV to head back to their meeting location.
The camera clicked as it took photos, capturing Rossi and Prentiss as they headed back into their SUV. Finch pulled his camera down, keeping his eye on the agents as he quickly moved to set the device down into the passenger seat. He looked down to his phone which had successfully connected to agent Rossi’s phone allowing him full audio access.
“ Hey Hotch, the victim here looks like he was dumped just like the others, we think he might have been exsanguinated. He also has what looks to be needle marks inside both elbows.” Rossi informed Hotch as Prentiss began to drive off.
Finch moved to follow a distance behind, keeping his ears open to listen in more.
“ I see. Reid and Morgan's trip to the M.E suggests that each victim was tortured differently before being stabbed and shot to death in the same fashion. It’s likely the fourth victim suffered a similar fate.” Hotch explained from his side of the line, “ Did you guys find anything else at the scene?”
“ No, nothing.” Prentiss chimed in, “ The area was likely a dumping ground so nothing was left there.”
As the agents conversed, Finch got a call from Reese which he answered swiftly saying, “ how’s it going on your end, Mr. Reese?”
“ Nothing much besides bad coffee and staring at the same file all day.” Reese hummed in turn, doing his best to look busy as he looked over to the interrogation rooms where Hotch and JJ were with some of the families, “ They’re busy talking to the families to get information on the victims. What do you have on them, Finch?”
“ Likely as much as they do.” Finch admitted, “I’m presuming they’re looking for anything that connects the victims to each other to see if there’s a lead there. I’ve already looked and didn’t find anything there. Asides from the clubs they frequent, nothing I see leads them to have crossed paths. According to our BAU friends however, it seems like all the victims were tortured for information before they were killed.”
“ So the perpetrator looks to be a hit man then.” Reese suggested, “ If that’s the case all these guys must have something connecting them.”
“ If they did it’s likely I would have found that connection already Mr. Reese, but my search was empty.” Finch clarified, “ It’s more likely our contract killer was hired by separate people and decided to do all the jobs at once.”
“ Well, if there’s a trail I'm sure you’ll be able to find it before they do Finch.” Reese reassured casually, showing a small smirk, “ With the tools you have at your disposal you’ll get it before they do. After all, we have the experience.”
“ Thank you for the vote of confidence Mr. Reese,” Finch sarcastically replied, “ I’m currently following agents Rossi and Prentiss, but once they arrive at the precinct I'll head back and see what else I can find about the victims.”
With that Finch hung up the call, turning his focus back to the SUV a few cars in front of him. This was a dangerous game to be playing. After all he was trailing a senior agent with a background in the marines along with an agent whose parents were diplomats and likely gave their daughter the best training possible. While Finch himself was nothing more than a disabled man with an affinity for computers and major paranoia. It made him wonder why the machine gave them Reid’s number. After all, Reid is part of the FBI meaning that the machine should have considered his number for them. Not handing it off to this small group of vigilantes. Finch couldn’t place a finger on it, however everything about this felt wrong. He couldn’t focus on that however as he almost lost the SUV going around the corner.
Finch shook his head, forcing these paranoid thoughts out of the way so he could focus on what was at hand. Their current number and his survival.