The Intelligence Control and Analysis Program

Chapter 1

Genius took a deep breath and turned back around to look at his audience, speaking faster with every passing second. "During a sniper attack, things move insanely fast. After the first shot, no one moves. Everyone is confused, and their first reaction is to look for the source of the sound. After the second shot, it takes the average person one and a half seconds to cognitively process they're in a potentially deadly situation. It takes, approximately, another .7 seconds for the physical reaction to kick in, by which time, the third shot has already been fired. Anything after the third victim of a sniper attack is a gamble. You can be certain you'll hit more people after the third, but you don't get to control who it is anymore. If you're hiding your true target in a random shooting, you have to kill them first, second, or third." Genius turned back around to look at the board and took another deep breath. "He didn't want to make his first victim important, because he knows enough about criminal investigations to know those are the victims you look at the most. So, he applied his sniping techniques to the murder, and he put the most significant kills in the middle. It's also a taunt to you." Genius jerked his head over his shoulder. "You have three victims to get the job done, and if you don't, you lose your window of opportunity, because you can't predict a random attack. This also explains the gaps between the 1992 killings and the 1996 killings; he's giving you limited time to outsmart him before he disappears again."

Hotch did his best to keep the shock off his face. Did we get a genius or a computer?

"Now, psychologically speaking, I don't know that much. I mean, I do textbook-wise, but that's hardly relevant." Genius tapped on the pictures of the two women. "They stand out physically—blonde hair, blue eyes, fair skin, slight build. Neither of them were employed, and they both filed for divorce six weeks prior to their abductions. You can confirm this for me, but I would bet they had been living off their husband's paycheck and benefits, divorced him because of his job or something job-related, and were using their circumstance to get financial help. I think the unsub had a wife he felt leeched his money while complaining about the source of said money, a conflict which ultimately lead to her leaving him and finding her way into a lot of funds through less than admirable methods. His ego couldn't abide that, so he channeled his anger into being a hero for shunted alpha males everywhere." Genius faced the group again and started to tap on his temple. "So, to recap, start by looking for a blonde woman with blue eyes who divorced a sniper in the mid-to-late eighties; find out who the husband was, and you have your unsub, more or less; may I have my phone call now?"

Hotch was barely able to follow the jump from case to request, and while his initial reaction was to ask for more information, he decided to acquiesce. He could go over the new perspective with the team while the phone call was going on, and if they didn't find anything, they would put the call on hold and rehash until they did.

"Yes, you may." It reminded him of The Music Man, and he couldn't help but feel he had condescended to the incredibly intelligent young man standing before him. "Do you know the number?"

Genius rattled it off immediately, his voice tight with excitement, and the first smile Hotch had seen from him was pulling at his mouth. "Tell them you need to speak with Diana Reid, Patient No. 381614."

"Diana Reid, 381—"

"614." Genius was practically shaking when he rushed over to Hotch, hovering nearby while the number was dialed. "I know she's there. Don't let them tell you she's not. She is."

Hotch nodded slightly, opening his mouth to tell Genius to calm down but being cut off by the receptionist.

"ICAP Sanitarium, how may I direct your call?"

"This is Agent Hotchner, with the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit. I am allowing a genius to have one phone call with Diana Reid, Patient No. 3—"

"81614."