"Sometimes to be seen is the same thing as being saved"
-Mary Rakow-
"Garcia wants us ASAP" Maya informs as she steps into Derek's office. Maya and Derek make it into round table where Garcia explains that a principal was killed by a bomb modeled after the one from the horrific incident that took place a decade ago.
Turns out, Hotch and Rossi both worked on the case together. "A kid named Randy Slade shot 3 students and then set off an I.E.D. in the cafeteria via cell phone, killing himself and 13 kids total but not before posting all of his plans online. It was one of those 'Where Were You' events" JJ explains as everyone listens in.
"Last night, the principal. Principal Givens was killed by a bomb modeled exactly like the old one" Garcia informs and Maya widens her eyes as she flips through the photos sent to her in her tablet. "So, it's a copycat?" Maya asks while Derek shrugs. "It feels like the unsub wants to attack the man who kept the school together after the bombing. It's a pretty symbolic target" Derek explains while Maya starts to look over the case file seeing all of the kids who were left alive after the explosion.
"Could it be one of the students? Maybe they were upset that everyone forgot about it. Like nobody cared who died" Maya suggests. "This school held multiple memorials and set up counseling and spoke with almost every kid individually after the event. They definitely cared" JJ reflects and Maya feels she's run out of ideas.
"Whoever did this, wants to relive it," says Hotch of the killer.
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"Perpetrators of school violence are often sophisticated with their weapons. Randy carried his bomb in his backpack. This guy hid his in Givens' clock radio" Reid observes. "Each one tries to top the body count of the previous. It's like a sequel of a movie" Maya states as she sits next to Derek on the jet.
The team digs deeper and learns more about the old killer Randy Slade who was A plus student and did very well in school. He did wrestle and was even in the varsity team. This guy wasn't a loner at all, not with his social status," Rossi, who worked the case with Hotch, explains that the killer died in the attacks, but he always suspected that there might have been a silent partner.
"Slade was too much of a narcissist to share credit. But he was also an impulsive teen, which is what bothers me about this unsub" Hotch states. "His sense of control?" Emily asks, already know the answer. "And the end game that he's working towards. Scalded pathology revolved around the big kill. This unsub could've done the same if he waited for the candlelight vigil" Hotch explains as looks around at the team who listen carefully trying to learn more and more about this case.
"Which means there no blaze of glory fantasy here. This unsub has more bombs made, and he's savoring the anticipation of his next attack" Rossi concludes.
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The team has arrived at Boise. Where the killing of Principal Givens took place. "I always wondered. Why do you have your own office?" Maya asks as she walks side by side with Derek. "Long story" Derek says before clearing his throat and looking away from Maya awkwardly.
"If you don't want to tell me that's fine" Maya declares as she narrows her eyes in his direction. "No, no. I just do a lot of paperwork" Derek answers and Maya tilts her head slightly. "We all do" Maya says. "I do more and for the right reason" Derek says. Maya couldn't help but hear the demanding tone in his voice. So, she just decided to back off.
The team learns from Garcia that Randy Slade had a younger brother, Brandon Slade. He was 7 when the event happened so he wasn't much help to the police. But as of now, Brandon is a senior at the same high school where the tragic event happened.
"Well, it looks like we're not the only ones interested in Brandon" Derek says as the team arrives at Brandon Slade's home to find the press swarming the home of the infamous killer's younger brother. "Ugh, I really don't need to push a reporter out of the way today" Maya mumbles as she unbuckles her seat belt as Hotch parks the SUV.
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I'm SSA David Rossi of the FBI. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask them now" Rossi states as he stands in-front of the reporters. Maya and Emily move past the crowd and walk up to the front porch and ring the doorbell. The door creaks open and Ms. Slade opens the door slightly.
"I'm Emily Prentiss with the FBI. This is Maya Regan-" Emily tries to introduce but Ms. Slade isn't in the mood to talk. "Go through my lawyer" She demands and Maya sighs. "We can do that, but we'll just be back later to bother you. So, you can either let us in now or we'll just be back in 20 minutes" Maya states as she looks back at the crowd that stands on her front lawn.
"What do you want?" Martha Slade asks annoyingly. "To catch the man who killed Principal Givens'" Emily answers. "Then go catch him but it wasn't my son" Martha argues and Maya tilts her head to the side while looking to Martha through the screen door.
"We don't think it is. Let us in and we can prove that for you and the rest of the world" Maya states, trying to negotiate with Ms. Slade.
After a few moments, Ms. Slade opens the door but only if Rossi was able to interview Brandon since he befriended the kid a while back. Now, Rossi questions the high school senior to see if he was involved in the recent murder. "I already told the police, I was watching movies on my computer," Brandon says. It soon becomes clear that Brandon found a "kill list" that his brother once made.
Maya takes the last set of books of Brandon's bookshelf and looks through them not finding any trace of a kill list. "It's clean" Maya says as Emily searches through the empty bookshelf for some sort of hiding spot but find nothing. "Empty" Emily answers as she cleans off the dust from her surgical gloves.
"I love dating readers, hate profiling them" Emily voices making Maya furrow her eyes brows in confusion while Derek also searches a part of the room. "Readers always make their dating life about the things they read. It's exhausting trying to live up to those expectations" Maya states making Emily chuckle softly at her statement.
"You don't like the chase?" Emily asks as she looks to Derek who eyes Maya, waiting for her answer. "I don't chase. If I want you, I'll get you" Maya states as she starts to sort through the books. Emily looks to Derek who smirks slightly at Mayas answer. His expression brings a smile on Emily's face as she feels she figured Morgan out.
"Why are you sorting them like that?" Derek asks as Maya continues sorting the books in a certain order. "Brandon was 7 when the event happened so he wouldn't have read any of these large books" Maya states as she points to the large set of books that a teenager would read. "These are smaller books like comic books or just simple books that you can read at 7 years old. I think if Randy confided in Brandon about the list, Brandon hid the list in something he read when he was seven" Maya explains and Derek smiles as he pats her on the back for her great observation.
The three of them go through the smaller books and soon Emily is the one that finds a piece of paper resting in one of the books. She opens it and it's a listen of names. Emily stands in between both Derek and Maya and they all observe the list.
"Hotch! We found it!" Maya shouts before she looks back down at the paper.
"Principal Givens is on this list," Emily observes. J.J. calls: another alum, Chelsea Grant, has been found murdered and she, too, is on the list.
_____
Back at police station, the team presents its theory to the other officers and detectives. The original killer had a silent partner, someone so inconsequential in the high-school social scene that he would have never stood out. "This unsub was the outcast that the outcasts rejected," Reid explains.
Later, the team examines the kill list and discovers that two distinct "types" of students such as the popular kids and the burnouts. Turns out, Chelsea Grant was on the burnout list. So, each partner added his own names. "What if Slade targeted them because they disgusted him?" Maya wonders as she rests her arms on the table looking to JJ, Reid and Hotch. "But they didn't threaten Slade's sense of superiority. He wouldn't have even cared about them" Hotch observes.
"Maybe it was the partner that put her on the list. They'd be closer to his social status that Slade's" JJ states and as Reid tries to speak his phone continues to ring. "Why would the unsub list kid that he fit in with?" Reid wonders.
"That's how this clique worked. The kids in it were meaner to each other than kids on the outside" Hotch explains before having Garcia run a search for students who were failing out but didn't appear on the list and only one person was identified. Lewis Ramsey.
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At a local bar, Maya walks in, her boots clicking with every step. As she walks in, men stare, and jaws drop but she wasn't there for them. She was there for one person and one person only. She walked up behind Lewis Ramsey who sat a table by himself with a drink in his hand. Except, he didn't drink it. He stared at it like it was the last thing he wanted.
"How's your drink?" Maya asks as she walks around the table and stares Lewis in his eyes. He swallows harshly before slowly setting the drink down. "It's great" He answers nervously before Maya reaches over and slides the glass on her side of the table. "Really? Looks like you haven't even touched it" Maya observes before she pulls out her gun and cocks it back. Derek does the same as he comes up behind him.
"Lewis Ramsey. FBI" Maya introduces as Lewis looks to her and then over at Derek who stands behind him. "You're coming with us" Derek demands and Lewis lets out a sigh of desperation as Derek walks over and places him in handcuffs.
"I'm telling you. I didn't kill her" Lewis declares as he stares at Derek, Maya and Hotch who look to them with their tough demeanor eyes, not even breaking eye contact which had a huge effect on Lewis's emotions. "How do you explain your fingerprints in her room?" Maya asks referring Chelsea, the recent victim.
"Ok, I saw her last night, but I wouldn't- She's my friend" Lewis states and Maya narrows her eyes in his direction. "You're very convincing, Lewis. But you were convincing 10 years ago, too" Hotch declares.
"So, what was your excuse for not being in the cafeteria?" Morgan asks as he looks down at Lewis. "Oh, that's right. You were smoking in the back parking lot, right?" Maya asks as she circles around the table, trying to intimidate Lewis and give him more things to worry about to possibly get him to spill the truth.
While still being under questioning, Lewis admits that he helped the school shooter made a list of "loser" names, but that he didn't have anything to do with the actual killings. Later, Reid examines the note and notices that losers is spelled "LoSeRs."
LSR is Lewis Ramsey's initials. So, Lewis IS the long-ago partner, but he still might not be the current killer.
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Later that night, the team finds Jerry has been beaten to death in the high school hallway. "Jerry Holtz?" Emily asks as she walks up to JJ and Maya. "Yeah, did you interview him?" Maya asks which Emily nods her head.
"Security guard heard the commotion, but the unsub was already gone" JJ says, resting her hands on her hips exhaustingly.
"The only people who knew we were doing the cognitive interviews were the other survivors" Emily states and Maya raises her eyebrows. "The unsub must be part of that group" She declares.
"This unsub doesn't feel pain," Reid theorizes, noting that the mystery man punched through a glass display case before savagely beating Jerry. Hotch theorizes that the unsub never developed a sense of empathy because he has never felt pain.
"It's most likely caused by an external factor" Reid says. "Like a bomb going off next to him," Maya adds.
A bomb like the one the original killer set off to kill himself.
J.J. then examines the old yearbook and tries to connect the people on the "kill list." She has a revelation: each survivor on the list is a person, specifically selected by the principal, to do media interviews and visit schools after the killings. So, the unsub, already an outcast in high school, is super angry that he survived only to be shunned again and not chosen to be a sort of ambassador of the tragedy and that's why the principal was killed first.
Garcia does a search of survivors and only Robert Adams matches the profile. Turns out he just used his credit card at a local restaurant.
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At the restaurant, a bomb explodes. Sure enough, Robert soon emerges to confront the special survivor clique that has gathered for a dinner. He is, of course, armed. The cops, including the BAU team, gather outside watching the security footage seeing Robert hold a gun to his old classmates' heads.
"There's two entrances- The front, the kitchen" One of the officers informs. "He's nowhere near the window, so there's no line of sight" Maya observes as she watches the security footage. "Why would he take them hostage at all? If this is a vendetta, why not kill them now?" Rossi wonders as he looks around at the team.
"I think I know what he wants to be recognized for," Emily tells her coworkers. Moments later, Emily, Maya and Derek enter the restaurant to find Robert holding a gun to a woman's head.
"We just want to talk to you" Emily declares as her, Maya and Derek continue to enter the restaurant slowly. "You better drop those guns if you just want to talk" Robert states and Maya looks to Emily and Derek who continue to hold their guns up.
"Fine, fine" Maya breathes out as she slowly puts away her gun and raises her hand, but Derek and Emily keep their guns raised. "We know why you're doing this, Bob" Maya says as she steps forward, hearing the glass crack beneath her boots.
"Before tonight, they didn't know my name!" Robert rages. As it turns out, Robert was actually the one who looked the original killer in the eye- a story for which Jerry had taken credit for the past decade.
"Nobody got to find out that Bob Adams was a good kid, a brave kid," Emily says as she holds her gun up. "We can give you back your story, but you have to drop the gun" Derek demands and Maya notices Roberts movements and knows he's not going down with a fight. He wants to be remembered weather he's dead or alive.
Robert then throws down the woman and sprints toward the boiler room. Maya makes a run for him as Derek catcher the woman before she hits the ground. "Maya!" Derek shouts as Emily rushes to the other hostages, trying to get them out before they could possibly get hurt.
Maya raises her gun as she enters the kitchen of the restaurant where she has lost track of Robert. Maya looks through every corner making sure she doesn't get blitz attacked. She makes it into a storage area where it's dark, so she turns on the flashlight on her gun and enters slowly.
"Ahh!" Robert yells as he pushes Maya up against the wall. Maya fires two shots but they miss Robert completely. "Mother-" Maya grunts as she elbows Robert in the face and ducks as he pulls the trigger of his gun, making his bullet hit the wall.
"You were just a loner!" Maya shouts as she pushes Robert up against the storage shelves. "You are a scared little boy who didn't get his time to shine!" Maya shouts as Robert swings his arm in her direction trying to pistol whip her but Maya grabs ahold of his arm and twist his hand, pointing the gun in his hand towards his stomach.
"You bitch" Robert cried out. "You're an even bigger one" Maya mumbles before Robert pulls the trigger of his gun which was pointing at his stomach. Maya watched as Roberts eyes widen. He knew he was never getting out of this. He made his choice. Maya let out a breath of relief before Derek entered the storage room with his gun raised.
He seen Maya slowly back away and watch as the blood-filled Roberts shirt. "Are you okay?" Derek asks as he rushes to Maya who has a slight bruise forming on her forehead. "I'm fine" Maya says as she wraps her arm around Derek and allows him to help her up. Case closed but not the day.
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Later, on the plane ride, Maya takes a seat across of Derek who was listening to music but removed his headphones just to have a conversation with Maya. "Who knew Agent Regan could whoop some ass?" Derek asks and Maya chuckles as she rest in her seat. "I think everyone knew that" Maya declares making Derek laugh slightly. Emily was reading a magazine when she looked over at Derek and Maya next to her.
"You really don't like the chase?" Derek asks as he looks down at his head phones. Maya furrows her eyebrows in confusion before remembering her and Emily's conversation earlier. "Like I said, If I want you, I'll get you" Maya says before Derek smiles slightly and raises his head to look at Maya.
"What if you already have me?" Derek asks and Mayas facial expression softens. Her strong demeanor turned into a soft one. Derek Morgan had that affect on her. "Shut up" Maya mumbles jokingly as she gently kicks Derek's leg before standing to feet and walking away, not sure what to say or do. Derek sighs and looks down at his hands awkwardly, not sure what to say... or do.
"I could be perfect and it still wouldn't be good enough"
-TheRandomVibes-