timeless, spencer reid [ 1 ]

065. supply and demand

+++

"Do you know who did this?" Ashley asks Andi.

"I've been 2 steps behind an organization that abducts college kids throughout the U.S." Andi says.

"How long have you been tracking them?" Ashley asks.

"3 years. But this is the first time there's been an identifiable body." Andi says.

"Do you think this is their work?" Spencer asks.

"It's definitely their type." Andi says. "Stressed out, vulnerable kids."

"They're all from good families, making them low risk for abduction." Ashley says.

"Young innocents are worth more money." Spencer says.

"And they're harder to lure, so they hold on to them for a longer period of time." Hotch says.

"How many victims are they holding at once?" Ashley asks.

"That's hard to say. But from what I can tell, there's a lot of turnover." Andi says.

"Customers don't want to see the same faces twice." Hotch says.

"We don't think they travel with more than a handful of victims at one time." Andi says.

"They hunt all over the country. All they need is a car." Bedelia says.

"They might be low tech, but they're organized." Hotch says.

"And profitable." Spencer adds.

"The rumor is that they hold events for 2 days in metropolitan areas and then they disappear." Andi says.

"What kind of events?" Spencer asks.

"Where top paying customers can do things like this and worse to the victims." Andi says.

"It seems impossible to trace." Spencer says.

"We study their behavior. They're not a good breed, but they're still human. They make a few mistakes. We've also recently established an undercover unit." Andi says.

"Wait, how can you infiltrate them?" Spencer asks. "Wouldn't your agents have to commit a crime to be accepted as a customer?"

"Exactly. That's why we can't pose as buyers. The entire system is set up to protect the customers, but there's no way we can trace them from that end." Andi says.

"Your agents go in as targets." Ashley says.

"Do you have anybody under now?" Hotch asks.

"Locally a few. They're still establishing the backstories." Andi says.

"They might be able to help." Hotch says.

"I'll call." Andi grabs her phone.

+++

"This group needs space and solitude, especially if they're holding multiple victims." Hotch says.

"These two lived thousands of miles apart but were somehow both targeted." Ashley says.

"Well, they send scouts to campuses, malls, clubs." Hotch says.

"Yeah, they go with a shopping list, but rarely do they take more than one victim from a city." Andi says.

"The victims are assets. Why would the unsubs kill their profit?" Spencer asks.

"Maybe the victims are escaping, or their clients are adapting." Hotch says.

"Adapting?" Ashley asks.

"These clients are extremely depraved. When the act of sex isn't enough for them anymore, they may be demanding more forms of release." Hotch explains.