❝ ʟɪɴɢᴇʀɪɴɢ ᴜɴᴄᴇʀᴛᴀɪɴᴛʏ ɪs ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴀɴ
ɪɴᴠɪsɪʙʟᴇ ᴠᴇɪʟ ᴛʜᴀᴛ sʜʀᴏᴜᴅs ᴛʜᴇ ᴍɪɴᴅ,
sᴜғғᴏᴄᴀᴛɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛs ᴀɴᴅ ᴘʀᴇᴠᴇɴᴛɪɴɢ ᴀɴʏ ғᴏʀᴡᴀʀᴅ ᴘʀᴏɢʀᴇss ❞
~~~
🇹 🇭 🇮 🇷 🇩 🇵 🇪 🇷 🇸 🇴 🇳:
Location: Quantico, Virginia. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Behavioral Analysis Unit.
SSA Mikael Moore takes a seat in one of the leather chairs in the briefing room as he waits for his colleagues to join him. He takes a sip from his cup. Freshly brewed coffee, as bitter as an aspirin to allow the caffeine to work through efficiently. Or at least, that's what he believes to be true.
Yesterday's case, which involved the serial murder of billionaires around and in the very center of Long Island, reminded him of the cold case from four years ago.
The murder of Aurora Taylors.
Even though it didn't particularly involve billionaires, or the rich for that matter, it did remind him of her. Perhaps it was that Long Island was fifty miles from New York, but he wasn't so sure that was the reason.
The truth was, that case has never left his mind since. He wished he could open it back up and finally find the unsub, but that went against BAU rules. So he kept his mouth shut, and secretly, he would try to find clues that led to the unsub's identity from what he could remember.
His colleague and one of his closest friends, Agent Jennifer Miller, picks up a marker from the whiteboard and uncaps it, turning her attention to the room filled with her BAU team. She looks toward Agent Moore with a soft smile on her lips. She knew the information she was about to address with the team was going to make Agent Moore very happy.
“As you all can remember, four years ago, we struggled to figure out the pattern of an unsub that we believed to be a serial killer.” Agent Miller says, now facing everyone and not just Agent Moore.
“The big boss ruled it a cold case once we couldn't find a pattern because with no pattern, the murderer would just be ruled as a murderer and not a serial killer.”
This perks Agent Moore's attention. His dark eyebrows rise up his forehead as he says, “But?” His voice is filled with excitement, but he doesn't seem to want to hide it. He hasn't been this excited for a case in months.
Agent Miller smiles warmly at her friend and addresses the team as a whole. “But, I've taken it into my own hands and practically begged Chief Holden to reopen the case. He told me we have to give him a valid reason to keep it open within the next ninety six hours, or it'll be ruled as a cold case for good.”
“How is this good news? You said you had good news for us on the group chat.” Technical analyst, Logan Smith, asks as she takes a long, tired gulp of her overly sweetened coffee.
“Aren't I glad you asked, Lo.” Agent Miller says enthusiastically as she pulls a remote control from her pants pocket. She presses a button and the television that sits on a rolling stand behind her switches on. She takes a step to the side, allowing everyone a view of the screen.
On the screen, pictures of a deceased male, shot in the chest twice, are displayed for everyone to see. Agent Moore presses another button on the remote, and up pops a zoomed in picture of the man's neck, slit clean open.
“Jesus Christ, Jen. It's too early for this.” Logan moans, covering her eyes. Agent Miller removes the one picture and continues talking.
“I found it suspicious how we couldn't find a single pattern for that unsub four years ago. It creeped me out, and I've been thinking about it non-stop for years. So I decided to open a few of the files and—”
“That's against BAU rules,” Logan points out, disturbing Jennifer's discussion.
“Yes, I'm aware of the rules as much as you are, Lo, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. I couldn't eat. I couldn't sleep. Knowing that the psycho is still out there. So I took it into my own hands, and I'm damn near sure we can find this guy and lock him up for good.”
“I'm with you, Miller.” Agent Moore says with a light smile. Because he, too, felt the same way Jennifer felt. He needed this unsub to be behind bars in order to rest easy. And he was willing to do that whether it risked him getting suspended or not.
This particular unsub didn't sit right with him, and he didn't really know why, but he never questioned his gut feeling. If this is what his unconscious mind wanted, he'd do whatever was needed to get it.
Agent Miller smiles at Mikael and continues her discussion. “As I was saying, I opened the files and, after a good couple of hours, found some kind of pattern.” Agent Miller presses a button on the remote, and up comes a hand drawn diagram of words and names.
“We may not be able to find a pattern between the victims, but I did find a pattern between how each victim was killed. It may be a long shot, and I may just be desperate here, but I'm leaning toward this being the same killer.” Jennifer points toward the diagram with her remote and presses a button to zoom into the words.
“As you can see, each victim was either shot in the chest or throat. Both regions, depending on how well your aim is, can be fatal.” She presses another button, and the words move along the screen.
“I also noted the stab wounds. Slit to the throat. Stabbing straight into the chest, right into the heart every single time. I believe our unsub's MO is to kill thoroughly and quickly. No signs of hesitation. We could be dealing with someone well informed of human anatomy.”
Agent Moore takes in the information slowly, and the gears in his mind begin to turn. He gets to his feet and takes the remote from Jennifer's hand, pressing a few buttons to bring the pictures back. His eyes move along the stab wounds, the precision of each one.
He does an absent-minded motion with his hand, mimicking what he thinks the unsub must have done to get the precision of each stab.
“This is clean. Too clean.” Mikael mutters to himself, but Jennifer hears.
“Tell me what you're thinking, Moore.” Agent Moore turns around, facing the other members of the team.
“We could be dealing with someone who's been doing this for a long time. Perhaps almost all their life. The marks,” Moore gestures to the pictures behind him. “They're precise. Marks that come from years of practice. Years of studying the human body. Years of self-control. He's the kind of unsub that will be able to control his temper under any circumstances.”
“So someone around the age of thirty to forty-five?” Logan asks. Moore nods absent-mindedly, his mind still working.
“Perhaps. But I have a hunch…” Mikael trails off, turning toward Logan. “Smith, run your database for information on assassins in the twenty-first century.”
“Assassins?” Miller asks, slightly shocked.
“There's only a handful of people who are able to be this precise and work this well under pressure. It might be a long shot, but I have a feeling.”
YOU ARE READING
The Heart Wants What It Wants
Teen Fiction❝ She wanted a fresh start, He wanted normalcy, But their past had other plans. ❞ ~~~ For the majority of her life, Gabriella had to endure all the things a child should never have to experience. After nearly two years of planning to start afresh...
