The Intelligence Control and Analysis Program

Chapter 7

It's a process, she reminded herself. He's never been treated like an adult before. He hasn't been respected or trusted in twelve years. It's going to take time for him to understand, and as long as he isn't hurting himself, we can't be overwhelming him with all these new concepts.

It might have sent a knife through JJ's heart when Genius asked for permission for the smallest things, but it didn't hurt him at all. It came naturally, and when he was already so overwhelmed and afraid, taking away what little of the world he did understand would be cruel.

To do so just because it caused her pain would be cruel and selfish.

And JJ knew she had flaws—everyone did—but she was not selfish. She would never intentionally hurt Genius. More than that, she would do everything in her power to make sure such unintentional mistakes were never made.

'I didn't mean to,' was not a phrase in JJ's vocabulary. She knew more than anyone how impactful the slightest change in tone or terminology could be. She knew the kind of affect a simple gesture like a hug or making a cup of hot tea could have on a broken person.

"Agent Jereau! Agent Jereau! Look, look, look!"

JJ pulled herself from her thoughts with a smile. "I'm here, you can show me."

I'm always here, Spencer.

***

Hotch may have been the one to say Genius was ready for the field, but that didn't stop him from doubting himself. Thankfully, it only took them one and a half days to get a potential case, and they had been no more than twelve minutes into reviewing it when Genius blew all doubts out of the water.

Hotch could still picture the way Genius had jumped in when it looked like Hotch might refuse to visit the Kansas City police department. He had leaned forward in his chair, eyes focused, and a sudden undertone of urgency pervaded his voice.

"We profile serial killers based on patterns in behavior," Genius had argued. "Detective McGee clearly has OCD, and people with his kind of OCD pay close attention to detail. He would definitely notice any change in the patterns of his surroundings, even if that meant a lack of any behavior at all. Behavior that is consistently disrupted or missing is a pattern in its own right."

Hotch had considered interrupting at that point, but he ultimately decided he wanted to see how things played out. So, Genius had continued his rapid-fire reasoning.

"Crimes against the homeless often go unreported because homeless people are cut off from the rest of society. They have no jobs, thus no coworkers, and they are very rarely in touch with their families. On top of that, there are an estimated 64,000 illegal immigrants in Kansas, and Kansas City holds five percent of the state's legal population. Five percent of 64,000 get us 3,200 illegal immigrants in Kansas City, Kansas. Kansas City is estimated to have around 2,700 homeless people. Overlap is immediately apparent, but let's take it one more step by estimating one third of the homeless population is made up of illegals. That gives us 900 homeless illegal immigrants, which is over fourteen times the number of people Detective McGee believes are missing. It also means the unsub could grab anyone at random and have a one in three chance of taking an illegal immigrant. Combine all of that with the fact that legal citizens who are homeless are rarely reported missing, and it would be unusual if any of these missings had been reported, not the other way around."

Genius had taken a giant gulp of air and continued. "On top of that, if no official investigation has been opened, then there's no way other departments or jurisdictions are aware of the disappearances. Kansas City, Missouri has three times the population of Kansas City, Kansas; they could be missing just as many people, if not more, and we would have no way of knowing. And Agent Hotchner—"