❛ 𝑪𝑶𝑳𝑫 𝑨𝑺 𝑰𝑪𝑬 ❜
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•☽.⭒✻❙ 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 ❙✻⭒.☾•
𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒓
❝ 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐟𝐮𝐧. ❞
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𝑨𝑺 𝑰𝑻 𝑾𝑨𝑺
𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒚𝒍𝒆𝒔
❛ in this world, it's just us ❜
𝑉𝐴𝐿𝐸𝑁𝑇𝐼𝑁𝐴 𝐻𝐴𝐷 𝑆𝑃𝐸𝑁𝑇 𝐴𝐿𝐿 morning preparing things for Spencer's birthday, she even woke up early, which she never does. Valentina had baked him a cake and had gotten him a present a few days ago, but she only wrapped it this morning.
She and Spencer have an obvious and mildly forced rivalry, them being the two youngest and practically geniuses, but that meant that they could relate with each other. Both knew how difficult it was to make it in this job at their age, and for Valentina, being a woman. There was an unspoken care between them, they knew how the other felt. Valentina also loves teasing Spencer and he's not completely opposed to it.
Spencer was peacefully working at his desk, completely unbothered until Valentina had walked in the building. She put her hands in front of Spencer's eyes while she was standing behind him. "Guess who?"
"Gee, I wonder." Spencer spoke with sarcasm. "I love when you're sarcastic. I also love when you talk about numbers and I love when your wear sweater vests and I love when you-"
"I get it, Valentina." Spencer interrupted with a small laugh in his speech. Valentina took her hands away and stepped back as Spencer spun in his chair to face her. She had a huge smile on her face and seemed much more excited about Spencer's birthday than he did. "Happy birthday!"
"Thanks." Spencer thanked with a small smile forming on his lips.
"I got you a present, and you're going to love it!" Valentina informed as she handed him the large box that was neatly wrapped.
"Valentina, you didn't have to." Spencer wasn't exactly uncomfortable with her level of admiration, it was clear that Valentina was definitely a people person, but he wasn't expecting to receive gifts and so much attention from his coworkers. "Yes, I did. Because you're my best friend."
"We are not best friends." Spencer commented. He was much more hesitant to actually have a genuine friendship with Valentina than she was, but her eccentric behavior made her unforgettable. "Once you accept this, you will find peace."
"You're very unique." Valentina wasn't quite sure if that was meant to be an insult or a compliment, but she took is as a positive thing. "Thank you. Now open your present!"
Valentina leaned on his desk as Spencer began to open his gift. It wasn't wrapped complicatedly, it was only a lid he had to take off. There, he found a folded sweater vest that seemed to be handmade. Spencer took it out to look at it and a small smile appeared. "Wow. Did you make this yourself?"
"Yeah. I've been knitting since I was a little girl." Valentina's smile had never left her face. She could see that, despite attempting to hide it, Spencer was clearly happy that he was being showered with admiration. Valentina could tell that he wasn't used to it. "It's really good. Thank you."
"Of course. But there's more." People started to filter around them, their attention being grabbed by the gift. Morgan, Elle, JJ and Garcia had all gathered around Spencer's desk as they watched him take out the silly birthday cake hat that sat underneath the tissue paper.
"Do you love it?" Valentina asked, still with a smile on her face. "I think I like the sweater better."
"Oh, please. You'll look fantastic in anything." Valentina complimented as she put the hat on Spencer's head. A few people laughed, but in a friendly way. They all found it amusing that Valentina, who hadn't even been here a month, was somehow breaking Spencer out of his shell so much. He would never have accepted a gift nevertheless where a ridiculous hat for someone else's benefit.
"I feel like I'm being ganged up on." Spencer commented as he fixed the hat on his head.
"We just want to wish you happy birthday, Reid." JJ comforted, everyone else saying happy birthday to him as well. "Thanks, guys."
"Oh, Tina. I got you your candles." Morgan reminded as he handed the girl a container with blue candles. Valentina had taken a plate with a cover she had with her and put it on the desk in front of Spencer. She took the top off, and there was the cake she had made. Spencer pinched the bridge of his nose, slightly trying to hide his smile. "You really didn't have to go through all this trouble."
"Yes, I did. You deserve the world and more, Spence. And as a special gift, I won't say I'm smarter than you all day, even if it's true." Valentina promised as Elle and Garcia set up the candles for him. "Make a wish."
Spencer blew out the candles, but they reignited. He kept trying to blow out the candles, but nothing seemed to work. Valentina caught on to what Derek had done pretty quickly, so she wacked his arm. "I told you to get real ones."
"I'm sorry, I couldn't resist!" Derek defended himself as he laughed. Valentina put a hand on Spencer's shoulder and explained, "They're trick candles, Spence. They're going to come back on every time."
Spencer had finally given up and let Valentina's glare toward Derek speak for itself. JJ and Valentina began to take the candles out of the cake and cut it while Spencer had gone over to Gideon, who was standing just a few meters away. "Having fun?"
"Yes. Definitely. I am definitely having fun." The look and tone that Spencer had that said he wasn't really having fun. All this attention was never really something he enjoyed, but Valentina clearly put a lot of work into making sure he'd have a good day, so he didn't want to ruin that for her.
"Did you make a wish?" Gideon asked. "Can I take this hat off?"
"I wouldn't." Spencer nodded his head when all of a sudden, he was called over by Valentina. "Hey, Spence. Birthday boy gets the first piece."
Spencer was just about to walk over, but he stopped himself to tell Gideon something he found amusing. "You know, she's the only person in the whole world who calls me Spence."
Spencer had gone back to the group, where he was given his piece of cake. They really only had a few seconds of joy before Hotch had broken up the little party. "Sorry, guys. Party's over. Can we all meet in the conference room in about five minutes? JJ."
Hotch and JJ had walked off, clearly to talk about a case that had just come to light. Everyone dispersed to collect their things and get ready for a briefing. Spencer just stayed at his desk while Valentina went over to hers, which was right across from his.
There was silence, everyone was busy gathering their necessities for the meeting. Valentina wanted to break that silence since everyone was distracted and she was right near Spencer. "I know you don't like all that attention."
Spencer looked over at the girl, slightly intrigued by her spot on guess. "Well, why did you give me all that attention, then?"
"I wanted to you to know I care. And that you need to have a little fun sometimes."
"I have fun." Spencer defended himself, which only caused Valentina to laugh. "Looking at random statistics is not fun. Take a leap of faith, ask out a girl, dye your hair blue, wear a dumb hat."
Realizing that he still had the cake hat on his head, he quickly took it off. Valentina smirked. The hat was just a taunt, but she found it amusing that he went along with it for so long.
Spencer, Valentina, Elle, JJ, Morgan, Gideon and Hotch all met in the conference room, everyone sitting around the table. Hotch got right into, starting with the most general information: where they're going. "We're going to San Diego."
"But not for the surfing, huh?" Morgan commented just as JJ handed out all of the files to everyone around the table. "They're calling him the Tommy Killer. Six women raped and murdered in their homes in the last three weeks."
"Six in three weeks? That's...fast." Valentina responded shocked. It usually took much longer for unsubs to commit that many horrific crimes, but this one seemed to have a short fuse.
"The first two were eight days apart, then the next four in two weeks." JJ explained, Elle adding her wonder to the brainstorm. "Rapid escalation. You think he's regressing to a psychopathic frenzy?"
"No, he's too controlled for that." Spencer argued, having already read over the entire file. It wasn't too shocking he had done so.
"See you on the plane." Hotch bid farewell as he began to leave the room, seeing as how they had covered everything they needed to, but Morgan caught his attention. "Why the Tommy killer?"
"You know the rock opera?" Hotch questioned, Morgan nodding his head. "Well, this unsub glues his victims' eyes wide open."
"He wants them to see him."
"And feel him."
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The BAU team had gotten onto the jet and were headed for San Diego. Everyone was sat near each other, in sort of a circle all facing each other, but Spencer and Valentina were in their own little world. They were slightly away from everyone else, but still an effective part of the conversation.
"Brenda Samma was found yesterday by her children when they got home from school. She had been strangled with a thin ligature, possibly a wire. No weapon left at the scene." Hotch explained as he sat down across from Elle.
"Residue on the wrists and mouth mean that there was duct tape used, but then removed. It wasn't found at the crime scene, so he brought it with him, took it with him." Valentina explained, she having familiarized herself with the case as well.
Hotch added onto her analysis. "He also started leaving messages at the fourth scene, this was on the mirrors. 'Fair lady, throw those costly robes aside. No longer may you glory in your pride. Take leave of all your carnal vain delight-'"
Hotch was suddenly cut off by both Spencer and Valentina finishing his quote, recognizing the literature. "I've come to summon you away this night."
Spencer and Valentina shared a look, both caught off guard that the other person knew this. Everyone else had a look of shock or bewilderment as Valentina lightly hit Spencer's arm. "Well, aren't we in sync? It's almost like we're perfect for each other."
"Whatever you must tell yourself." Spencer pitied before turning his attention back to the case. "It's a ballad from the late sixteen hundreds. A Dialogue Betwixt Death and a Lady."
"A seventeenth century ballad?" Morgan asked, completely baffled that both of the seeming geniuses somehow knew this complete random piece of information. Valentina's mind wasn't even completely as complex as Spencer's, she doesn't even have an eidetic memory, she just simply knows a lot of random information and has mimicked and analyzed so many people that certain things stick with her.
"Yeah, essentially a woman begging Death to live." Spencer explained, Elle having productive questions rather than a tease that Morgan was clearly trying to think of. "What kind of person knows this ballad? Are we looking for a literature professor?"
"Well, anyone with an internet connection, actually. You should see what comes in when you type the word 'death' into a search engine." Spencer spoke with just a little too much joy. Although, Morgan had finally come up with his taunt. "Reid, no wonder you can't get a date."
Spencer's head lowered just slightly, but they all got back on track. Valentina did, however, pat his knee as comfort. He only sent her a thankful smile. Despite all the teasing she did, Valentina and Spencer were practically the same. She had his back.
"Reid, Valentina, you two stay on the messages. See if there's a deeper meaning." Hotch ordered, the two having no problem with analyzing the messages together.
"Well, it definitely looks like he ransacked the crime scene pretty well. A lot of damage, nothing taken." Elle pointed out as she looked through the file of the case. Morgan had more to add on. "Well, the eyes are the thing. The signature. The behavior that isn't necessary for the murder, but necessary for the emotional release. That's what he's there for."
"There was a widely held belief that the eyes record a snapshot of the last thing someone sees before they die." Valentina explained, Morgan agreeing. "Yeah, that's right. People used to right poems about talking to Death."
"Ballads." Spencer corrected.
"Whatever."
"You think they'll ever run out of new things to do to their victims?" Elle wondered, really hoping that the answer was no, but she knew that wasn't true. There will always be sick and demented people out in the world. Evil will never truly die.
"Well, finding new ways to hurt each other is what were good at." Gideon spoke the truth. They had all been doing this job long enough or have familiarized themselves with this job to know that they are going to run into the worst people to have ever walked this earth. There will never be an instance where the BAU believes that their jobs are truly over.
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The BAU had arrived at the San Diego police department and everyone immediately went to their designated part of where they'd be analyzing. Hotch and JJ were talking to the lead detective on the case while Spencer and Valentina had gone straight towards the ballads that had been posted on an evidence board.
Spencer and Valentina began to quickly read over it, just skimming it for the base details. Spencer was mumbling under his breath as he read them, it was helping him process the information more. "You may as well be mute, there is no time..."
"This is so creepy." Valentina pointed out the obvious, but Spencer had a very different approach. "Actually, conversations between Death and his victims was a fairly popular literary and artistic theme throughout the Renaissance."
"Spence, it will take a very special woman to fall in love with you, I hope you know that." Spencer's eyes moved from the girl and went right back to looking over the ballads, which immediately made Valentina feel bad. "Oh, Spence. I was kidding, please don't do your sad puppy eyes. It breaks my heart."
"I wasn't offended." Spence responded, his eyes never leaving the words in front of him.
Valentina felt slightly bad that she teases him so much, but she saw them as friends and he had never said anything. She just never wanted to take it to far or hurt Spencer in anyway. "You know, if my jokes ever hurt you or anything-"
"They don't." Spencer cut off. "I mean, just based on the jokes you make, it tells me that you have half the mind I do, so it never bothers me."
A smile made its way to Valentina's face, realizing that Spencer had just done what she does constantly. Tease. "I like you like this, Spence."
"What? When I'm mean to you?" He asked with a laugh of disbelief. "No. When you act like a regular human. But don't worry, I like when you're a complete dork too."
"Well, 'dork' me thinks we're thinking about the same thing regarding these messages." Spencer pointed out, knowing that their minds were similar enough that they could see what was obvious in these messages, at least to the two of them. "Oh, I know we are, I figured we would be thinking similarly. I just like hearing your beautiful voice that makes flowers grow. I'll go let Hotch know."
Spencer was left slightly lost and confused by that compliment, but that always seemed to be the case whenever him and Valentina spoke. She always had such unique compliments rather than just calling him handsome or saying he's smart. Valentina felt the need to shower Spencer with compliments, mostly because she could tell that that almost never happened to him. Valentina didn't mean to profile him, sometimes she just sees things and understands it without wanting to. She knew Spencer deserved to have some sort of over positive person in his life. He needed someone to make him feel happy.
Valentina had gone over to Hotch and JJ who were speaking together and joined in. Hotch greeted her as soon as he caught sight of the girl. "You've got something from the messages?"
"Yeah. It looks like what he's written at the scenes are most of the first three verses of the same ballad." Valentina explained. "Most of?"
"It's only one part of the conversation. Death speaks, but the lady never answers." Valentina informed, JJ have a curiosity about that. "Maybe he feels like their bodies are answer enough."
"Good work, Valentina." Hotch complimented. "Thank you, Hotch."
Before Valentina could walk back to Spencer, Hotch had brought her right back. "Valentina."
She turned back to face him, noticing that his expression seemed slightly hesitant. "Are you going to be alright to work with Reid for the majority of this case?"
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Valentina questioned, confused by his concern since she had no issues with Spencer. It was JJ who was there to explain Hotch's worry since she was aware of it too. "Well, you and Reid tend to...butt heads."
"That's because we're the two youngest people here that have gone through the system the same way. And we're not really butting heads, we're more helping each other. I mean, by hiring me, you basically got a second Spencer Reid that specializes in what the BAU does specifically. Besides, if I get to stare at that man's perfect face, I'm happy."
"Alright, I just wanted to make sure. You two seemed to have a small rivalry, that was all." Hotch informed. "I tease him, but how can I not? He's such a dork and it's very adorable. Oh my god! Adorkable. I need to tell him that immediately."
Valentina rushed back to Spencer, leaving JJ and Hotch slightly concerned. JJ looked over at her boss as she said, "I think they'll be okay."
"As long as she doesn't drive him insane." Everyone had noticed the very different relationship that they had, solely because they're practically the same person. Spencer constantly seemed either annoyed or on the verge of going crazy, but Hotch had seen that Spencer had been working better rather than when Valentina wasn't in the BAU. She challenged him, so it made them both work harder.
The team had dispersed. Hotch and Elle were staying in the station to go over some of the case details with the officers, Gideon and Morgan had gone to the crime scene to get some insight and Spencer and Valentina were looking over the messages.
Spencer and Valentina were both working quietly, both of their minds running a mile a minute. They were just reading over the messages to try and depict if there was any part of the messages in which the lady was speaking instead of Death.
"Valentina." A voice suddenly spoke. She looked over and saw Elle walking towards her. "You have experience in psychology and therapy, right?"
"I'm a licensed therapist, why?" Valentina wondered and Elle explained, "There was another attack. Hotch wants you to come with us to speak to the victim. We think you could probably get some information without startling her since it was pretty recent."
"I think I could do that." Valentina grabbed her blazer and put it on just before turning back to Spencer. "You're gonna be fine by yourself?"
"I did this job for years before you got here, I think I'll be fine." Spencer spoke without looking away from the message he was reading. Valentina ruffled his hair as she said, "Alright, smartass. I was just asking."
Spencer immediately began to fix his hair as Valentina followed Elle out of the station. They met up with Hotch and took a car over to the Gordon's house where the attack took place. Every agent was able to interrogate and question victims calmly and make sure that they didn't feel as though they were actually being interrogated. The only reason they were bringing Valentina with them was because of her unique people skills. Because this attack had just happened, the victim's experience was still going to be fresh, so they needed someone nonthreatening.
Once Elle, Hotch and Valentina had arrived at the crime scene where a man and his wife were sitting on the couch, the woman trembling. Valentina immediately felt sorry for her. The look on the woman's face made her heart break. No one ever deserved to go through what these victims do.
"You're absolutely sure about that, Mr. Gordon?" They heard on of the officers second guess. They watched on as this interaction escalated, just to get the base line of what this situation was. "He was black and six feet tall. I watched him run out that back door."
"Interracial serial sex crimes are extremely rare." Valentina commented to the lead detective that had gone over to them. "Are they impossible?"
"Nothing's impossible when it comes to criminals." Valentina explained, but this man seemed to have a short fuse. "Then what's your point?"
"That he could have been wearing a mask and he's most likely a white male. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go help a woman not completely lose it." Valentina spoke just before she walked past the officer, leaving him slightly shocked. "She's eccentric."
"That she is, but she's helpful." Hotch defended the girl, but the officer still seemed slightly suspicious. "How? We've already interviewed the victim and her husband."
"Trust me, she'll get more than you and your officers did." Elle comforted. "What makes you so sure?"
"Because she's not calling that woman a victim."
Valentina had taken Mrs. Gordon outside so that they could talk without so many men around. Valentina and Elle were the only women in her home, but Valentina always had a comforting presence. She drew people in. She didn't know if it was because of the fact that she knew exactly how to act around specific types of people, or if it was her natural eccentric behavior or maybe she's just likable.
Valentina and Mrs. Gordon were sitting across from each other in the chairs outside. The woman was clearly in distress and understandably so. "You know, I really don't know that much about him."
"That's alright. You don't have to. All you have to do is tell me what happened, what you saw, how you felt, but only when you're ready." Valentina comforted. She was really trying to not pressure this woman since she's been through enough, but because of Valentina's calm approach, she felt like she could trust the FBI agent. "I think I can do it."
"Whenever you're ready." The woman took a deep breath, her eyes already starting to well up just because of the memories, but she was able to fight through it. "I didn't even know he was in the house. Is that common?"
"Extremely." Valentina responded.
"He slapped me from behind, and pulled me down on the floor. I tried to scratch him and bite him, but he was so strong. And then my husband came home from work. He screamed, and the man ran out the door." Mrs. Gordon explained, but there was one thing that was still up in the air. "Was he a black man?"
"Bill was sure of it, but I...I only remember his eyes. When we were fighting, I kept staring him right in the eyes. I remember thinking, if he's going to kill me, then he's going to have to look at me while he does. And he just kept staring back at me through the ski mask." The woman spoke as tears began to fall from her eyes.
"It's alright. You did good. Just take a deep breath." Valentina comforted as she held the woman's hands in hers. Mrs. Gordon took a deep breath and wiped her eyes with a tissue she had in her hand from before. "Mrs. Gordon, you are a very strong woman and you've really helped us today."
"Really?"
"Yes, you've really done a lot. Just remember that you made an impact. This world needs more strong women like you."
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Hotch, Elle and Valentina had gotten back to the station. They needed to meet with Gideon and Morgan when they get back and Valentina went right back over to help Spencer. She had some information from Mrs. Gordon that could be of help to him, and besides, she was meant to be helping Spencer anyway.
"Spence." Valentina called out to him, him turning to look at her. "Mrs. Gordon told me that she stared her attacker dead in the eyes and he didn't look away. There's signs of arrogance."
"Well, there aren't really any in the messages." Spencer explained. "What about when they were given? Weren't there no notes at the first three scenes?"
"He could've been making a signature instead of it being an impulse. Like a taunt to the police. Make sure they know that it's him." Suddenly, Morgan and Gideon had walked in. Both duos of Hotch and Elle and Spencer and Valentina walked over to them, Gideon's attention immediately going to Spencer and Valentina since they had minimal hope of finding something, but with their minds on the case, it was likely that they'd be able to spot something significant. "Found something?"
"I found the full text. He's pretty much following it to a tee, at least the Death side of the conversation, but he didn't leave them at the first three murders." Spencer explained, Valentina continuing on. "This ballad is ten verses long, just on the Death side, so this unsub has a lot to work with, but it's not part of his signature. He's not doing it for an emotional reason, we think it might be a taunt or a purposeful signature. Something for the cops to know that it's him."
"JJ, find out when the press ran the first story on this unsub." Gideon demanded, but there was some confusion up in the air. "When?"
"After which victim." Gideon clarified, JJ getting right on it. "So you guys are thinking that he wasn't getting enough attention?"
"Police departments sometimes don't even realize they're looking at a pattern." Spencer explained, Morgan adding on. "Yeah, until somebody tells them."
"The first story ran the morning after the fourth victim was found. The increased patrols didn't begin until after the fourth victim either." JJ suddenly spoke up, having found the information Gideon asked for. Morgan simplified and clarified. "So the police didn't realize what was happening. He write his verse..."
"Everyone knows that he was there." Gideon finished his thought. Now Hotch had something to add on that was very crucial to what they were talking about. "The offender in this new attempt is a black male."
"Black male? Cross racial? That doesn't happen." Morgan pointed out, but of course, Spencer had some random, out of pocket fact that countered his point. "How about Herbert Mullin? He killed fourteen different people on completely varying ages, races and creeds."
"But there was no sexual component to Mullin's crimes." Valentina argued, Elle adding on. "And he wore a ski mask. This attacker wore a ski mask."
Gideon's eyes moved to the evidence board, his focus shifted from different points. They all watched in confusion as they could hear the gears turning in Gideon's head. "Tell them we're ready."
"For a profile?" Morgan questioned, suspicious of how quickly he figured that out. "And to make Tommy contact us."
Hotch had gone to talk to the lead detective on the case to gather all of his men so that the BAU could give the profile. As per usual, the BAU team stood in front of the room full of cops while they all prepared to give their profile. They all went over it amongst themselves quickly to ensure that they were on the same page. Gideon was the one to begin the profile. "The unsub brought his weapons with him. Tape, glue, wire. He did not leave them at the scene. He took them when he left. He has a kind of killing kit that he carries."
Hotch then took over. "Organized killers have a skilled job, likely technology related, which may involve the use of the hands. The crime scenes are far enough apart that he needs a vehicle. This will be well-kept, obsessively clean, as will be his home. He's diurnal, the attacks occur during the day so the vehicle may be related to his work, possibly a company car or truck."
"We believe he watches the victims for a time, learns the rhythms of the home, knows his time frame." Morgan added on with Hotch continuing straight after. "You're not going to catch him accidentally."
"This unsub destroys any symbols of wealth in people's homes. Jewelry, expensive clothing, art that appears to have value. He harbors envy of and hatred towards people that have a higher social class. He feels invisible around them, overlooked as well." Valentina explained with Spencer speaking up after the fact. "Class is the theme of the poem which he left at the various crime scenes. At one point in the poem, the woman attempts to bribe Death, but he doesn't accept it. He says this is the one moment when riches mean nothing. When Death comes, poor and the rich are exactly alike."
"So he's poor?" One of the officers guessed, Hotch slightly correcting him. "Probably middle class. A decidedly lower class person would stick out in a highly patrolled neighborhood. This guy appears to belong there. He blends in."
"Why does he glue the eyes open?" Another officer asked, Elle now being the one to respond what with her background in sex crimes. "The unsub is an exploitative rapist. Most rape victims close their eyes during the attack, turn their heads. For some rapists, this ruins the fantasy. For this type of rapist, the goal is more related to the victim watching him than the act itself."
"The verses, the staging, the aggressive language, 'I am death.' This is a guy who, while being in control at the crime scene, almost certainly feels inadequate in the rest of his life." Hotch explained, Valentina continuing on. "That's why he couldn't wait for the police to figure out what he had done. He needed to make sure all his crimes were counted, to make sure his victims were counted."
"They represent whatever it is that's controlling him, and he wants that control back. He is under the thumb of a powerful woman who frightens him. And a final point, he is white." Gideon corrected the police's assumption of the man's race, which the lead detective immediately questioned. "We have witnesses that identify him as a black male."
"The attacker was black. He is not the Tommy Killer." Gideon drilled it into their minds, Hotch explaining this correction further. "Mrs. Gordon's husband came home at the same time that he always does. The Tommy Killer would have known that."
"And Mrs. Gordon's attacker wore a ski mask." Elle began. "The unsub knows when he walks into a house, he's going to kill the woman who lives there. If you're not leaving any witnesses, why wear a ski mask?"
"And he wants the victim to see him anyway." Morgan added on, Valentina doing the same. "The attempted rapist is a garden variety, disorganized young man. Usually, as the victim's age goes up, the attacker's age goes down. Mrs. Gordon is about sixty, which puts her rapist at about twenty."
"And it takes years to develop the level of calm and sophistication that Tommy displays at a crime scene. And the rapist is far too young for that." Gideon spoke, Valentina following with information she had gotten from Mrs. Gordon. "Mrs. Gordon told me that there's a young man who delivers groceries to their home. He fits a lot of what we're describing."
"Great. So we're back to zero on Tommy." The detective sighed, crushing the spirits of a lot of the police officers. Hotch knew that people couldn't lose hope. "Not at all. May I see you in your office for a moment?"
Hotch and the lead detective had stepped into his office while everyone else dispersed. All they could do was wait for the unsub to call them so that Garcia could trace it and find a location, but that meant waiting for probably a while.
Everyone had sat at some desks all near each other so that they could talk about the case if they needed to, but also take a small break. Spencer was sitting in one of the desk chairs while Valentina was sitting on top of the desk with her legs crossed. Spencer was solving a rubix cube that an officer had given him to solve since he's been labelled as the smart one while Valentina was working on her small puzzle book.
"Spence, what's a nine letter word that means wandering?" Valentina asked since it was her last word for her crossword puzzle. Without missing a beat, he answered, "Itinerant."
"Thank you, brilliant mind." Valentina thanked as she wrote the last word in her puzzle.
There was silence between the two. Some of the other BAU agents were having conversations, but Spencer and Valentina were keeping their minds busy. Spencer was still working on the rubix cube and he was clearly stuck. Valentina let a small smile form as she watched him struggle. She found it amusing that a genius was struggling to solve a box with colours on it.
"Spence." Valentina caught his attention. He looked up at her and saw her hand held out. He knew what it meant and gave Valentina the rubix cube, who began to solve it.
"Can I ask you something?" Spencer spoke as Valentina's focus stayed on the rubix cube. "Sure."
"Do you think it's weird that I knew that ballad?" Valentina shook her head. "I knew it too."
"I know that, but I mean, if you weren't how you were. If you didn't know the amount that we know, would you think it's weird?" Spencer asked again. Valentina moved her focus away and looked over at Spencer. "If I wasn't this smart, personally, I'd think it's pretty cool. But I used to do extensive research on moths when I was a kid, so my expectation of what's cool is vastly different than other people's. Like motorcycles are overrated. They're not cool, it just screams 'I'm a douchebag'."
"I think the reason I know so much is why I can't get a date."
"I highly doubt that." Valentina commented as she finished solving the rubix cube and tossed it to Spencer, who caught it. He stared at the cube with bewilderment, shocked that Valentina could solve it, but he couldn't. "Have you ever asked anyone out?"
"No."
"That's why you can't get a date." Spencer averted his gaze, realizing that she was right. "Is there anyone you'd want to go on a date with?"
"Maybe one person." Spencer mumbled. "Then find out what she likes and find a way to relate to it. Like if she's into astrology, take her to a planetarium and mesmerize her with your extensive knowledge of space."
"You really think that would work?" Spencer asked, slightly skeptical, but Valentina seemed to know a lot more than he did on this subject, so he was willing to take her word for it. "Yeah, it'll work. You're a nice guy and you look good, you're just a dork."
"Adorkable." Spencer quoted her from before. Valentina let out a small laugh. "Exactly."
"Could I ask you something else?" Spencer spoke almost immediately. He was clearly getting more comfortable around Valentina considering there was no one else that ever knew how he felt being the youngest around.
"I thought you knew everything, why are you so full of questions?" Valentina joked as she fiddled with the end of her pant leg. Spencer allowed a small smile to form on his lips, finding it amusing, but continued on with his question. "Is it okay if I call you Val?"
Valentina's eyes moved to Spencer's. She's never had any nicknames other than the one Morgan has for her, but since it was Spencer, it felt special. He wasn't one to be that close with someone, but Valentina was glad he was. "No one's ever called me Val."
"If you don't want me to, I-" Spencer began to nervously ramble, but Valentina cut him off. "I like it."
Spencer's faint smile quickly resurfaced, but before either of them could say anything else, the phone that was designated to the unsub began to ring. They all rushed over to it and listened carefully as JJ got Garcia on the tracing job. "Line six, Penelope. Line six."
The voice began to speak and it was clearly agitated. "You stupid, incompetent sons of bitches! I don't make mistakes! I am death! You hear me? I am death! You'll see now. Tomorrow. Mark my words, you will see! And while I'm taking her, I'm going to be thinking of you!"
The phone then hung up. They immediately rushed to check JJ's phone to see if Garcia had gotten a trace. "Anything?"
"Are you kidding me? I...Look, I don't know how this is possible, because there was definitely enough time for me to get a location, but I got nothing. I got absolutely nothing. Let me work on this." Garcia hung up the phone and they're hope was slowly starting to slip away. "So we got nothing."
"We missed him."
•☽.⭒✻════◅∘≼↜.◦◦.↝≽∘▻════✻⭒.☾•
The next day, they were all planning to be stationed out near the victim's houses to see if there would be any activity or to see if they could catch the specific car the unsub could be driving.
Everyone was being separated into duos so they could cover the most ground, but still be as safe as possible. JJ was going to stay at the station while Morgan went with Valentina, Spencer went with Hotch and Elle went with Gideon.
Morgan and Valentina got along very well, they had a lot of fun teasing Spencer. They never really got the chance to work together, however, since Valentina's always stationed with Spencer for her mind or with Hotch so he could watch over her. Morgan was usually in the field, she isn't.
Morgan and Valentina hadn't seen anyone else from the force today since they were instructed to immediately go out to their post. The two now were sitting in an undercover car together, surveying the area for anyone that stood out to them. Morgan was already incredibly impatient, they had been waiting there for an hour, to be fair, but Valentina seemed fine. "It's ten-thirty already."
"He just said tomorrow, he didn't say the morning." Valentina pointed out, but Morgan had a counter point. "Tina, this guy's got to spend a lot of time in that house. A lot. He needs it to be morning."
"You could be right, but are we sure this is a good spot?" Valentina was decently skeptical of where they were, but she's constantly over-analyzing everything. "Three of the victims lived within a block of this street. It's the main artery through the neighborhood."
"True, but having three victims in the same block means it's unlikely to continue. He could be done with the area." Valentina explained, Morgan having more to add on. "Or that he's really familiar with it."
"And comfortable in it."
"But then on the other hand, the other victims lived more than a mile in either direction." Valentina nodded, knowing that he was right in this case.
Silence fell between the two, both of them just scouting the area, taking a quick look around. There was still nothing that was seriously standing out to them. "God, I hate not having a plan. We're looking for a needle in a haystack here."
"It's more like we're looking for a needle in a pile of needles." Valentina corrected, which only caused Morgan to slowly look over at her, slightly confused. "A needle would stand out in a haystack, but we're looking for one particular needle in a pile of needles."
"We already have one Reid, we don't need another." Morgan joked. "Well, I am the bridge between Spence's mind and the normal world."
"And thank god you are." Before anyone else could get a word in, Morgan's phone began to ring. He picked it up since it was Gideon and put it on speaker. "Yeah?"
"Morgan, Valentina, we got Hotch and Reid on the line too. Elle and I got something." Gideon quickly explained, them all immediately prepared. "What you got?"
"He's a phone technician. The police are looking for someone walking around a neighborhood in broad daylight. Who notices a phone guy up on a pole?"
"You're right. He can watch everything." Valentina confirmed as Hotch furthered the validity of her point. "He can watch for husbands leaving for work, watch for police patrols, know when the neighborhood's quiet."
"He knows when we will have plenty of time. He can even tap into a phone line to make sure someone's home. How about routing a call through twenty-five substations? Backyard, hey, he's just looking for a pole. Got tape? Of course he does. Wire? He's a repairman." Gideon explained, him sounding completely right, which Hotch complimented. "Sounds right, Jason."
"It is right. And we have his name. Morgan, Valentina, get Garcia to fill you in on the closest technicians in the area and look for a Franklin Graney." Gideon ordered. "We're on it."
Morgan hung up the phone and Valentina immediately got onto calling Garcia. "Garcia, we need to know where the closest technicians would be in the area of the crime scenes."
"I'm on it, beautiful soul." Garcia complimented before quickly getting the information. Valentina smirked and looked over at Morgan with a taunt. "She called me beautiful."
"I feel slightly betrayed." Immediately after Morgan's joking response, Garcia had gotten it fairly quickly, which wasn't shocking. "I've got it, I'm sending you guys the location through your GPS."
"Thanks, Garcia. You are a gift to this world." Valentina complimented before hanging up the phone. Morgan quickly started the car up and began to drive to the location they had been sent. He didn't have sirens due to it not being an official police vehicle, but they got there quick.
As soon as they were outside the building, they wasted no time in quickly getting out the car and practically crashing through the doors. The receptionist was immediately startled by the sudden entrance. "FBI, I need to know where one of your technicians is."
"FBI?" The man questioned with skepticism. Valentina quickly pulled out and showed her credentials before asking, "Where are your technicians?"
"They're all out in the field." He informed. "Listen, I need Franklin Graney, right now!"
Morgan was really stressing this point since there was nothing much that him and Valentina other than get the unsub's location. It was an extremely helpful part of the investigation, but they couldn't go find him physically since the unsub seemed to be far away.
According to a tracker they had in the technician cars, he was in the house that Gideon and Elle were in. Hotch had met up with them while Spencer had separated from them and met up with Morgan and Valentina.
They were able to get the location to Gideon, Elle and Hotch and luckily for the next victim they were able to get there before she could be seriously hurt. They caught the unsub, Franklin Graney, who ended up being a technician. They were lucky that Gideon seemed to be such an out-of-the-box thinker or else there was a possibility that they'd never catch him.
•☽.⭒✻════◅∘≼↜.◦◦.↝≽∘▻════✻⭒.☾•
They were fairly tired from their hard work from the case and were on the plane ride back home. Everyone was minding their business, Gideon and Spencer were playing chess again. Spencer was taking into account the advice Valentina had given him before and was doing much better than before, but he still hadn't won or lost.
"Oh, I almost forgot. I have something for you." Gideon reminded himself as he went through his bag. "Oh yeah?"
"I forgot to give it to you at the party." Gideon informed as he pulled a small box out of his bag. "But you don't give birthday presents."
Gideon shrugged his shoulders as he handed the box to Spencer. The man in question opened it and was met with two football tickets he didn't actually recognize as such. "Wow. The Panthers."
"It's a VIP box." Gideon explained, hoping that this would be a nice gift to him. "Wow. Thank you so much."
"Ever been to a pro football game?" Gideon questioned, already knowing that the answer was no. "No, I honestly didn't know this was football."
"You're going to love it." Gideon comforted, but part of his wording confused Spencer. "We are. You're coming with me, right?"
"No. There's someone else on the plane who is a huge Carolina Panthers fan." Gideon informed, but Spencer had no clue. "Who?"
"The only person in the world who calls you Spence." Spencer looked behind him and straight at Valentina. She was listening to music in her earbuds while working on her small book of puzzles. Spencer looked back, slightly scared that Valentina, the most confident woman, nay person, he had ever met was the one that Gideon wanted to ask out. "Val?"
"I didn't realize you called her Val." Gideon spoke with the smallest, yet noticeable knowing smirk. Spencer went to defend himself, but he really couldn't say anything.
"But Val, is a huge Panthers fan." Gideon informed, emphasizing the name. "What should I say?"
Gideon only let his smirk grow, him not saying a word. Spencer realized that Gideon was trying to get him to do this on his own. He let out a breath, knowing that Gideon was basically making him do this. Spencer did look back at the chess game very quickly and saw a perfect opening that he would not have been able to found without the help of Valentina. He moved the chess piece and announced, "Checkmate."
Spencer let to go sit by Valentina, leaving Gideon in a shocked silence.
Valentina was completely immersed in her puzzle, trying to solve it when Spencer suddenly sat down right next to her. "Hey, Val."
"Oh, Spence. I love it when you say my name." Valentina teased as she paused her music and took her earbuds out. Spencer only let out a small laugh before getting down to why he was actually over here. "So, uh...I heard you like football."
"It's a bunch of angry, straight men throwing each other to the ground. It's my favourite thing in the world."
"Well, I have tickets to a Carolina Panthers game, if you wanted to go with me." Valentina's lips pulled into a cocky smirk and she leaned closer to Spencer. "Are you asking me out, Spence?"
Spencer hesitated for a slight second, he had to think quickly on his feet. That was the whole point of this and why Gideon had given him the tickets, he just couldn't do it. "As friends."
Valentina immediately perked up. "Best friends?!"
"Sure." Spencer spoke through a chuckle.
"Spence, how did I survive before I met you?"
❝ 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐦, 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦? ❞
- 𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒌𝒆𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒅𝒚
❘ ❙ ❚ ❚ ❙ ❘