"W- Hotch you can't be serious, she's a criminal!" He shifted in his seat, but his face remained impassive. "So was Garcia. She's a good person, Strauss. Give her a chance."
"Alright, so we're sure this unsub is male?" Morgan asked as we looked at the case board Spencer had pinned up.
"Positive. But there's no way we can rule out the fact that there aren't two unsubs. The officers on the scene said there was only one set of footprints but- it just doesn't make sense. Everything, in this case, points to two unsubs. The women are found with their arms crossed over their chests, so there's obvious remorse, but the way that they're killed is the complete opposite. There's zero restraint. The stab wounds are aggressive, the blood splattering on the walls indicates that a severe amount of force was used on these women, not to mention the fact that their bodies were almost unidentifiable. I say our best bet is D.I.D." Nova said, pacing the room with the file before chucking it gently on the table, rubbing her forehead with her index and middle fingers.
Rossi almost smiled at her. She had really been a great asset to the team since she had arrived, even if the way she came was unconventional. He was proud of the progress she'd made and how comfortable she was with them now.
"I agree. Plus the footprints on the scene are the same pattern and size, but the gait of the steps is completely different. I mean look, here." Emily started, pulling out a picture of muddy footprints on one of the victims' carpets. "These steps are heavy, the distance between each step is wide and the consistency of the steps don't falter. But here-" she continued, throwing another picture onto the table.
"The steps are timid, nervous and they aren't consistent in gait." JJ finished for Emily, nodding along to her theory. Hotch nodded at them in agreement. "Alright. Most unsubs with DID are unpredictable and severely unstable. We'll have to proceed with caution. Have we got any word on Garcia?" Hotch asked Morgan.
He shrugs in response, saying "She said she'd call as soon as she got any leads based on the light profile we gave her-" he was interrupted by the phone ringing. "It is I, the ruler of all things interwebby and I bring you good news." Garcia's voice filters through the phone. "As Mr. Smarty Pants boy genius over there graciously pointed out, most of these women had affiliations with the FBI or police stations within one week of each killing. So, I pulled up every male FBI employee in Quantico who has a criminal record and past psych evaluations within the ages of 20 and 35, and got you a list of 12 names." Garcia said happily, normally the list was closer to 20 or 30 people.
"Can you narrow that down with any of them having PTSD or reports of sexual or physical abuse from the ages of 4 to 19?" Spencer said from his seat next to Nova. "People with DID develop their disorder in response to traumatic events." He continued, chewing his ballpoint pen and fidgeting in his seat. He had been twitchy since the start of this case. He had a bad feeling about all of it.
"Sure can do, and we have narrowed it down to four names. James Heidel, Kris Rhodes, George Robin, and Jack Hyde.
A/N: Jack Hyde. I love it when I'm funny. This is our guy btw. Get it, Jack Hyde? DID? HAHA
"Wait, what was that last name again?" Nova asked, feeling the cogs turn in her brain.
"Uh, Jack Hyde, intern at the bureau, works on floor 3."
"Did he recently move from Richmond?" Nova asked, a slight tone of panic in her voice that Spencer immediately picked up on. He bristled slightly and immediately shuffled closer to her from his seat, letting his leg sit next to hers in a show of comfort.
"He- he moved from Richmond to Quantico 5 months ago," Garcia said, her voice considerably less cheery than it was when the call started.
"Birthmark on the left side of his neck? Wine stain, clearly identifiable?" Nova continued, waiting for Penelope's response.
"Yes."
"I know him. He went to high school with me, he was in my graduating class. I remember him being the most popular guy at school, the star player on the football team. People used to say he was a "different person" when he was out on the field." Nova said thoughtfully. The team shared looks between each other, not liking where this was going.
"Is there a possibility that he's our unsub?" Rossi asked her honestly. He trusted her instincts 100%. From the time she'd been on the team, they were always right. Nova frowned slightly before nodding. "Yes."
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Garcia was able to track Jack's phone but there was more than one address, there were three. She guessed that he used some sort of device to hide his real location in case anyone tried to track him. So, Hotch decided to split the team-up.
Nova thought it was a terrible idea. People always split up in horror movies and what happens? They die.
Emily and JJ would go to an abandoned house on 4th Avenue, Hotch and Rossi would go to the loading docks near Hill Avenue, and Morgan, Spencer, and Nova would go to a house in Kingstown.
Spencer, Nova, and Derek were currently on their way to the house. Derek made sure to not turn his sirens on to try and be discreet.
Morgan was driving, and Spencer and Nova were sitting together in the backseat, their hands entwined. Nova liked holding his hand, it was bigger than hers and it was always warm.
Spencer liked it when they held hands. They're so much smaller than his and they're so pretty. When she lets him hold them he feels special.
Neither of them was comfortable and neither of them felt alright. The mood before you caught an unsub was always tense, but this was different. This felt personal. When the car slowed and eventually stopped, they walked out.
Nova bit her lip as she felt a chill go up to her spine. She turned to Spencer and let herself breathe for a moment. He always let her breathe, from his soft eyes to his comforting demeanor, she could always breathe around Spencer.
Morgan bust down the door and they entered. Morgan immediately checked all the rooms, shouting "CLEAR" every minute or so. Nova and Spencer stuck together, their guns already out and their vests securing them from being hit anywhere vital. There was a sudden bang that echoed through the house that made Nova's blood run cold.
That was the sound of a gunshot.
"Morgan!" Nova immediately went to check on him but Spencer didn't like the idea of her walking straight into danger. "No. Stay here, I'll go check what that noise was, everything will be fine," he said to her seriously before he left to check on Morgan.
Nova wanted to cry. She wanted to go home. She wanted Spencer. She wanted to go home.
She suddenly heard sirens and tensed slightly, walking toward the window to see many police cars pull up outside. "What the hell" she muttered to herself. Her eyes suddenly widened. He was in the house, that's why they were here. No. No. No.
She turned around and was met with a large figure right behind her. She couldn't even raise her gun. A cloth was placed over her face and she kicked and tried to scream, but she made the mistake of inhaling air.
Her eyesight darkened and she couldn't see, she couldn't hear. She hoped Spencer and Morgan were okay.
