HOTCH ASKED ME TO COME TO HIS OFFICE THIS MORNING. This used to scare me. I mean, he can be a pretty scary guy but, I know he was just checking up on me. He does this every so often after we have cases involving pedophiles. He makes sure to tell me not to bottle it up and to talk about it. Truth is, these cases don't affect me the way they used to. When I was first starting out, it was rough. The entire team has cases that latch on to us. For me its cases involving children.
The only people who know the truth about my father and upbringing are Hotch, Gideon and Penelope. The rest weren't working the case at the time and it was my wish they didn't know. If something happened and they did need to know, that's a different story.
The only reason Penelope knows is because when I joined the BAU, she did a background check. One that dug a little further than they normally do. She didn't tell anyone about it other than me. She does this with all new agents.
FLASHBACK
"Delia, can I speak to you for a moment?" Penelope asked me.
I smiled and followed her to her office.
This was my first week as an agent with the BAU so I am getting to know everyone. Derek has been flirting with me which I was warned about. Wait until he finds out I am a lesbian. JJ has been quiet but I think that's just her. Penelope has been the most welcoming aside from Hotch.
"Okay, I have to tell you something and I don't want you to be upset because I do it for all new agents so please don't feel singled out-" She rambled and I cut her off.
"Penelope."
"Right, whenever someone new joins the team I run a background check that goes a little deeper than Hotch's. These people are my family. I just want to know who I'm working with. I don't mean any harm by it."
"Okay?" I asked confusedly.
"When I was running yours, I found something. I just wanted to say it to you. No one else knows." She paused and looked at me solemnly. "Your real name is Delia Dawson-Parks. Not just Delia Parks. Your dad is James Dawson. O-Obviously this isn't news to you but it is to me and I just want to say I am so sorry you had to go through what you did and I am so sorry for digging it up. I know it's a bad subject-" She rambled again but I cut her off.
"Penelope, it's okay. It's just not something I'd tell my co-workers my first week on the job. Hotch and Gideon know because they worked the case and they realized who I was before I started. I passed all of the mental evaluations-" I started and then she cut me off.
"Oh no no, I wasn't saying you weren't capable of this job because of that. I think you're incredibly strong for working in this field after all you went through. In a way, it makes sense so you can save the other people that go through this." She replied. I don't know, there's something about her that makes it so I just can't be mad at her. She's so sweet.
"That's exactly why I did it." I smiled.
"Oh, come here." She smiled and pulled me into a hug. "I'm happy you joined the team."
We talked a bit longer before I went back out to my desk. Before I left I said, "Can we just keep this between us, for now?"
"Your secret is safe with me." She smiled.
PRESENT TIME
Hotch was the first one to speak. "I just wanted to check up on you. I know cases like these-"
"I'm fine, Hotch. Thank you for thinking of me, though." I let out.
"Well, I also know what time of year it is." He said. I wasn't even thinking of that. It's almost the anniversary of them catching my dad and putting him away. 8 whole years.
"I haven't even had time to think about that." I replied honestly.
"Well, if you do need to talk, I'm here." He said sincerely. He didn't show much expression but I know he means it. Since I joined the BAU, he has been more protective of me than he is with the other agents. I appreciate it. Although, sometimes he's an ass but I know he means well.
JJ peaked her head in the room, "We've got a case. It's a bad one."
With that, we made our way to the conference room.
Sometimes, I think I've seen it all. Then cases like these happen.
"Over the last few months, the L.A. field office has been tracking a series of 4 bank robberies in the L.A. metro area. It's one individual wearing a black ski mask. He's highly skilled. It's his unique M.O. that put him squarely in our court. This happened 2 days ago." JJ said and gestured to the screen.
What we watched was a man forcing the people in the bank to strip. I have never seen anything like this.
"He's making them undress?" Hotch asked, baffled.
"He takes their clothes and locks them in the vault, then he goes for the cash." JJ replied.
"Smart. Nobody's going to run after him buck-naked." Derek said.
"It's also a psychological advantage. Makes the captives feel exposed, intimidated, and much less likely to fight back." I added.
"That and the Mac-10 he's waving around. Boy's got a lot of fire power." Derek replied.
"But why is this case for us?" Elle asked.
"Because in the last robbery, 2 things changed. 1, he beat the security guard nearly senseless, and 2, after he made everyone undress, he forced 2 pairs of the victim together at gunpoint, then he made them simulate sex with each other." JJ told us.
"Whoa." I let out, eyes wide. I really have not seen this.
"It's remarkable. By utilizing your practical M.O. the unsub has stumbled on to a psychological signature. It's fascinating." Spencer said. That's one way to put it.
"He's a sex offender now." Elle said.
"Fueled by violent rage. Only our unsub doesn't know it yet. If he did, he wouldn't be robbing banks anymore." Gideon said.
"So, he's a violent sex offender in denial." Elle let out.
"And a sexual predator who's just escalated his crimes." Hotch added.
"He's a serial killer in the making." Gideon finished for us.
__
We made our way to the jet and went over this more.
"Stripping Bandit." Elle said as she read a newspaper.
"That's terrible. That makes it sound like the bandit's doing the stripping." I added.
"What would you call him?" Spencer asked.
"Pervert." I said with no hesitation.
"Scumbag." Elle added.
"I'd call him an ass-" Derek started but Hotch cut him off.
"Focus, please. We have the details of four bank robberies to learn before we get to Los Angeles."
"At this point, is he more a bank robber or a sex offender?" Spencer asked.
"Seriously, what's he going to do next, rob a bank or rape somebody?" Derek asked. This case is just so odd.
"I'd say we need to know about how he robs the banks and who he chooses to victimize." Elle replied.
"Why these banks and why these victims?" Hotch added.
"Pairing these specific people together is a fantasy. If we can figure out the nature of that fantasy, we may be able to predict his targets." Gideon said.
I was looking through the pictures and noticed something. "Hmm. In the picture from the last robbery I don't see any picture of what he actually made the victims do."
"There is a problem with this surveillance system. They're working on it." JJ told me. Convenient.
"We should hit the ground running. How should we break it down?" Hotch asked.
"There's gotta be a pattern to the banks he's hitting. We should run a geographical profile." Spencer said.
"It's yours." Hotch replied.
"And for the sexual aspects, we need to look at the specific victimology." Elle said.
"You and I can go over victim reports. See whatever surveillance footage they got." Hotch said.
"We'll need the unsub himself. We'll need his perspective." Gideon said.
"Crime scene." I replied.
—
When we landed, we all split up. Derek, Gideon and I went to the bank. The detective was filling us in. "The suspect entered around 2:00 P.M. and a witness said he saw a man on a motorcycle with a backpack speed by a few minutes after the robbery."
"Freeway's just a few blocks that way, right?" Derek said and pointed in a direction.
"Actually we're in a half-mile of 3 freeways." The detective corrected. Even better.
"This is the perfect location. He's got a bike. He'll have no trouble getting out of here." Derek said.
"Well, first he's got to get to his bike. Where's it parked?" Gideon asked.
"It's gotta be anywhere." The detective replied.
"No. No. A guy this good wouldn't risk his bike not being here when he comes out. He'd park it legally. Probably not in the parking lot, but further down the block maybe or right across the street." I said.
"We need to know if any of these places have security cameras that might have caught the bike. Ready?" Gideon said and looked at Derek and I.
"Let's go rob a bank." Derek let out and we walked in.
We started walking through that happened.
"So, he enters and walks right to this spot." Derek said and walked to the middle of the bank. "He pulls his weapon out and shoots into the ceiling. That gets everyone's attention. Let's everyone all know he's dead serious."
"Efficient." Gideon muttered.
I walked right next to Derek. "This is the best spot in the bank. I can see all the tellers, the front door, and that's the back office over there." I said and gestured to the door behind the counter.
"So, he knew exactly where to go." Gideon said.
"So, he's been here before." Derek said.
"Next." Gideon urged.
"Next he turns, aims the gun at the guard. Disarms the guard and handcuffs him to the base. So, where's the threat? The guard is disarmed and chained. How is he a threat to the unsub?" I went on.
"He isn't." Gideon said.
"Then why'd he take the time to assault him? He's got control, he's obviously got skills. The very thing that he doesn't have is time." I kept going. It doesn't make sense.
"He didn't assault the guards in the previous banks, why? What's changed? What's different about this guard?" Gideon asked.
"Maybe this guy reminded him of somebody." Derek let out.
"What were the guards in the previous robberies wearing? Uniforms?" Gideon asked.
I then looked at the pictures. "Black suits." I replied.
"Our boy's efficient. He's determined. This ain't his first picnic. He's got his trade down cold." Derek said.
"Something about a guy in uniform triggers an emotional response." I continued.
"Army?" The detective questioned.
"Army, no. Army, you're conditioned to work with people. This guy, he doesn't trust anybody. Prison." I replied. This guy served time.
"Best trade school in the country." Gideon muttered. That's for sure.
We then put down the pictures of the people he forced to have sex. One of the couples had kids.
"He know the kids are theirs?" I asked the detective.
"Well, witnesses said he checked their wallets first. He would've seen their names."
"So, of all 13 people, he puts together a woman in her 60's and a guy in his 30's. Married couple in front of their kids. Why?" Gideon asked.
"Maybe they were the most inappropriate couples he could think of." Derek said.
"He's sadistic." I said in realization.
"Would explain why he brings them here. He could've taken them behind the teller windows, he could've taken them back into the vault, but he chooses here. It's the most exposed place in the bank." Derek added.
"Like a stage." Gideon added.
"Like, it was as important for them to see what was going on as it was for him." Derek continued.
"Public humiliation." I said after.
"Robbery wasn't about money. It was about getting off on what he made these people do on the spot. Forcing others to squirm and watch." Gideon said.
"We have to know what exactly they were forced to do. We need to see the fantasy." I huffed. As much as I'd love to not watch this, I don't think I have a choice.
"Did you ever get a hold of the security videos?" Derek asked the detective.
"Yes, but they were mostly erased." The detective told us.
We need to report back to the others.
__
We made our way back to the station and talked to the others. We pulled up what was left of the footage while the detective told us about it. "That's Henderson, the bank manager. Said he was so flustered after what he had been through, that when he was gathering the tapes for us, he hit the wrong button and erased part of them."
"You believe him?" Hotch asked.
"No. I told him I thought he was embarrassed about the tapes getting out and he erased them on purpose. He denied it."
"You rule out the possibility he was in on it?" Hotch then asked.
"Why would he be involved in a robbery when he had to go through something like that?" The detective asked. People have strange motives. You can never be too careful.
"Well, maybe he didn't know it was gonna happen. Maybe he was betrayed by the unsub." Elle suggested.
"Or perhaps he was coerced. There's been many documented cases of robbers forcing bank managers to assist them with their crimes." Spencer offered.
"Yeah but none of that's consistent with the M.O.'s of the other robberies." The detective replied.
"Maybe there's a reason this last one was different from the others." I let out.
Garcia was beeping in.
"Garcia, it's Hotch." Hotch answered with.
"Are we ready for something completely weird?"
"How weird are we talking, Garcia?" I asked.
"The security footage that Hotch gave me, I ran it through my software 3 times..."
"And?"
"And there are weird height issues. I.E., the unsub in the first 3 robberies is 6'1 and the unsub in the last robbery? He's 5'10."
That is weird. That could mean there's two unsubs.
"So what? The last robbery we're dealing with a different unsub?" Derek asked.
"An unsub who is somehow able to erase tapes that show exactly what happened at that bank." Hotch said.
"An unsub who may have possibly had inside help." Spencer added.
"I think it's time we sat down with that bank manager." Gideon said.
With that, Henderson came in. Gideon and I conducted the interview with him. I love interrogating people.
"Look, I already told the other agent that I was nervous. I screwed up. I- what else do you want me to say?" Henderson went on.
I just stared at him blankly.
"It took you 9 minutes to call 911 after the robber left." I said.
"I was collecting the tapes." He replied. Bullshit.
"Before you called 911?" I asked.
He was quiet for a moment. "You think I had something to do with this? You think I'd put my family through this?" He asked, completely baffled.
"No. I don't think you'd let your family through letting those tapes get out either." Gideon replied.
"You were the only one who has access to those tapes, Mr. Henderson. Now, at best you erased them because you were embarrassed, and at worst, because you had something to do with the robbery. Now, which would you rather have us think?" I went on. My tone was very stern.
"You got to understand. We were raised baptists. It's hard for us to talk about this kind of thing."
"It's hard for all of us." Gideon replied.
"The thought about anybody seeing those tapes, even the police...no. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't think it would matter." The man cried. He wasn't involved in this.
After that, Gideon and I left the room and met up with everyone else.
"I think it's pretty clear about what this is about." I let out.
"Shame and humiliation." Gideon replied.
We all got back to work and trying to figure this out. Soon, Garcia was calling us again.
"Uh, pals, don't be ticked, but I think I may have missed the sort of glaringly obvious here. How would you make yourself taller without being a different person entirely or having some sort of weird Chinese surgery?"
"Heels." Elle replied.
"Right, sunshine, but we would have seen heels. Unless the unsub has them hidden inside his shoe. The point is, lifts." Now, that makes more sense than another unsub.
"Lifts." Derek deadpanned. I cannot believe we didn't think of that sooner.
"Lifts. Garcia here managed to dig him out."
"Thanks, girl." Derek said before hanging up.
"He's trying to throw us off, hide his real height." I let out.
"But why take the lifts out just for the last robbery?" Elle asked.
"Maybe he's getting careless." Hotch suggested. That's all we need.
"Which means he's also getting more dangerous." Spencer added.
"At least we know we're dealing with only one unsub." Derek let out.
It was time to give the profile.
"Based on the knowledge that spending a significant amount of time in prison stunts emotional growth while increasing professional skills, we can estimate this unsub went to jail between the ages of 18 and 22 and spent between 5 and 10 years inside." Hotch started.
"That puts him at the approximate age between 23 and 35." Elle added.
"This guy is much more than just a bank robber, though. What started out as a practical M.O., stripping his hostages, triggered a deep psycho-sexual response." Hotch continued.
"In other words, when he found himself in front of a bunch of naked people under his control, he snapped. Then he decided to manipulate them." Derek said.
"And his urge is getting worse. He's attacking banks earlier in the day when more and more people are present. This sounds like he's sacrificing the safety of having just a few hostages to contain, for the satisfaction of having more subjects to control." I said.
"He'll be less interested in money and more interested in sadisticially manipulating his captives." Spencer added.
"In all likelihood, he's high on drugs." Derek said.
"It'd be wrong to write this guy off as crazy. Bank robbing is an ambitious crime and it take times and planning to pull it off." I said after.
"What makes this unsub unique is his fractured psyche. On the one hand, a cold, organized bank robber. On the other, a disorganized sexual sadist full of bottled up rage. The two parts of his psyche have just begun to bleed together, and when they finally converge, we're talking about a criminal with the skills and efficiency of a master bank robber and the rage of a suicide bomber. He will explode." Gideon said.
This is a tough one. It's even worse when the unsubs do not care about anything or anyone. Not even themselves.
We were stopped when one of the cops came over to us. "Bank robbery in progress. Corner of Spelduva and Washington. Kid in the back called 911 on his cell. Said the suspect's started making people undress."
It's go time. We suited up and rushed to the cars.
Traffic was horrible. It felt like it took forever to get there. I was with Gideon and Elle. Hotch told us he's coming our way.
We were on the lookout for a motorcycle and we found one racing torward us.
"There!" I exclaimed.
We rushed after him. We were on his tail for a while. The only reason he got away is because he went through a fence and up a ramp. He did a wheelie to taunt us. We were so close.
In other news, he made plenty of mistakes. He's getting careless, so he will escalate. He won't go for another bank, though. It's clear it's not about the money.
Elle and I went back to the station to meet Spencer and JJ. We needed to go through things. They had some files.
"So, you're sure this is it?" Elle asked.
"Yeah, based on the parameters, age, armed robbery charge, time spent in prison, approximate location of home address based on geographical profile. It's about 360 names." JJ told us. With the four of us looking through this and Garcia checking the names, we can do this.
"These guys aren't sweethearts but there's only a handful with sex crimes on their rap sheets and none are sexual sadists." Elle replied.
"That's not surprising. Bank robbers and gun nuts aren't typically sex offenders. That's what makes this one so unique." Spencer went on.
I found something interesting.
"What about a pimp? Roland Lynch, 32 years old." I suggested.
"Pimps are characteristically sociopathic and in many cases sadistic." Spencer said.
"Helps control their employees. This one started out robbing convenience stores before working his way into pimping." I said.
"That's unusual. Pimps typically violate by proxy, forcing others to do the work for them, whereas, bank robbers usually operate in pairs or alone." Spencer told us.
"So, he's sexually sadistic and has experience with armed robbery." Elle said.
"Along with fitting all other parameters of the profile." I said and turned to JJ who nodded.
"Alright. I'll get in touch with his parole officer." She said and walked away.
__
As they were bringing Roland in, there was an incident somewhere else. I was literally on the phone with Derek when JJ told me. He was telling me he was a "hardcore punk"
"Hey, we just got another call, resturant in the South Bay. Guy came in in a ski mask, started making people undress. He just shot a 14 year old kid." JJ said. My eyes went wide.
"When?" I asked.
"10 minutes ago."
"What'd she say?" Derek asked.
"Hardcore or not, you've got the wrong pervert." I huffed. This is great.
We all made our way to the restaurant and watched the footage.
"According to the witness', he came in and fired into the ceiling. Then he separated all the kids from their parents."
"Then?" I asked. Do I want to know?
We watched a little boy punch his mom.
"He's forcing the sons to hit their mothers." Spencer said. I didn't want to know.
"He started to. When he tried to get the first one to hit his mother harder, he refused, and when he refused.." The detective told us. He trailed off as we watched the footage. He shot the little boy.
"It doesn't make sense. They're children." Hotch mumbled.
"He's playing out a fantasy." Gideon said.
"Yeah, but it's his fantasy and someone else's children." Hotch added.
"They're surrogates of some kind." Derek said.
"No, you don't do this to get off. You don't do this to someone else's children. You just don't." Hotch huffed and walked away. He's been off today.
Later on, we found out something essential to the case. He forced the kids to have sex with their parents, too. I don't know how any family gets over something like that.
I guess at the end, the unsub apologized. That was odd.
"He apologized." Derek deadpanned.
"Sadists don't apologize. They gloat, maybe, but they don't apologize." Elle let out.
"Our guys' not a sadist. We got that part of the profile wrong." Gideon added.
"He doesn't drive any sadistic pleasure from these fantasies, they're more like a compulsion." I said.
"Compulsion is literally life or death. I mean, if anyone interferes, he kills them. It's like he's compelled to direct these fantasies using these people as actors." Spencer said.
"Actors on a stage, it's a play." Derek said.
That's what it is. It's been bothering me this entire time. I couldn't figure it out.
"It's a psychodrama." I said in realization.
"What's that?" JJ asked.
"It's a form of psychotherapy whereby actors serve as surrogates for actual people in the patient's life." Spencer added.
"It incorporates many elements of theatre, including an audience." I continued.
"There's a very famous pilot program at the San Luis Obispo County Jail in the mid-nineties." Spencer said.
"Isn't that just a few hours away from here?" JJ asked.
"Let's go over the suspect list and see how many of them did time in San Luis Obispo." Hotch said.
We relayed this information to Penelope and she worked her magic.
"The answer is 4."
"Come on, tell me you narrowed it down more than that." Derek encouraged.
"Only 2 live in the state, but only one live in L.A. Caleb Dale Shepard, last known address 236 Harbor Lane, Inglewood."
God, I love her.
"Thanks, mama." Derek replied and hung up.
"That's only 1.6 miles from the last restaurant he hit." Spencer said. I don't know how he knows the things he does. We all stared at him in awe. "I've been studying a lot of L.A. maps."
"If he's attacking that close to home, he's given up any interest in protecting his identity." Hotch said. He could be close to his endgame.
"We need to all go down there and split up, half to his address, half patrol around the restaurant in case he's on the hunt." Gideon ordered.
With that, we left. I was in the patrolling group of the area.
We found out where he actually lived so Elle, Morgan and I went to his apartment. We went to the lobby window. Elle and Derek held up their badges and I held up a picture of Caleb. She wordlessly gave us a key. We took it and went to the unit.
Derek banged on the door and yelled, "Shepard, FBI!"
"Key." I offered.
"No, I got one." He replied and kicked down the door.
We went in with our guns raised and searched the apartment. He had to have just left.
On his bed was a map and pictures.
As I was looking around the room, I saw drugs on his dresser.
"Derek, Elle, crystal meth." I huffed.
"Oh, he's got to be halfway out of his mind by now." Derek replied.
"Which would explain why he left this behind." Elle said and held up his ski mask.
I went over to the window and saw his bike. "Well, it looks like he's on foot. Here's his bike."
"I'll call Hotch." Derek said.
Come to find out, he made his way to a children's birthday party. He was holding a knife to a little boy's throat so Hotch shot him. He deserved it.
Justice was served today.
With that, we made our way to the jet and fell into a deep sleep.
Until tomorrow.