The Intelligence Control and Analysis Program

Chapter 1

He's probably waiting for Genius to start something. But Hotch gave the subject no more thought. He moved to shake Genius' hand, but Genius' backed away almost immediately.

"I don't shake hands. You're going to let me make a phone call?"

Hotch took a moment to process the jump, but he could respect the idea of getting down to business, so he dropped his hand and replied. "Yes, in exchange for your help. We—"

"Deal." Genius brushed past him and approached the stack of files on the table, grabbing the first one he came to and opening it.

Well. It begins.

Burke gave Hotch an apologetic look, which Hotch waved off, while the man behind him remained very disinterested in the whole matter. Burke then handed over a small, white bag with a red cross on the side and explained, "This is enough medication for a month, and all the instructions are in there along with a return card. Just call the number on the card when you're ready to return him."

Hotch nodded his thanks and took the offered bag, turning around just in time to catch Morgan's attempt at interaction.

"Do you want us to go over the case—"

"It's faster if I read it." Genius didn't lift his head, running his finger down the page in a matter of seconds before flipping it over and repeating the process.

Morgan's eyebrows shot up, but he shrugged it off and turned toward Burke, who hadn't yet followed his uninvolved partner out of the building.

"Is he really reading that fast?" Morgan asked.

Burke nodded once and let out a soft chuckle. "You haven't lived until you've seen this kid read War and Peace before breakfast. Trust me."

Genius muttered where he was standing, the pile of files he had already read growing steadily higher. "It's a good read..."

Hotch allowed a slight smile to pull at the corner of his mouth, but he didn't comment. Burke stuck around for another second or two, but then he startled and stepped back, as if he suddenly realized he was wearing out his welcome.

Though honestly, Hotch would have been more than fine with him staying.

"Well, I'll leave you to it. Good luck." Burke tossed a wave in their direction and walked away, leaving Hotch to close the door behind him.

"This isn't right."

Hotch walked over to Genius and looked over his shoulder to see what he was reading. "What isn't right?"

Genius answered a question with a question. "Did you have a victim in this case you thought was unusual? No, wait, rephrase." He flipped through multiple files as he spoke, medium-length, brown locks falling into his face. "If I asked you to name an outlier from this case, who would you name?"

"Sheila Taylor."

"Brittney Parrington."

Hotch glanced across the table and saw Emily had spoken in unison with him.

Morgan nodded slowly. "I would agree with that."

It took a second, but JJ and Rossi both nodded along.

"Correct." Genius held up both pictures before taping them to the center of the whiteboard. He erased everything around it before anyone had the chance to protest and grabbed a marker. "These are the most important victims. If we—"

"Woah, woah, woah." Morgan waved his hands slightly. "Slow down, pretty boy. How did you come to that conclusion?"

Genius blinked. "I have to explain?" He turned to look at Hotch, something like anxiety and frustration mixed in his otherwise soft, honey-brown eyes. "Does that cut into my call time?"