❛ 𝑪𝑶𝑳𝑫 𝑨𝑺 𝑰𝑪𝑬 ❜
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•☽.⭒✻❙ 𝐁𝐑𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐍 𝐌𝐈𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐑 ❙✻⭒.☾•
𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒖 𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒂 𝒌𝒊𝒅𝒏𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒐'𝒔 𝒐𝒃𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒎'𝒔 𝒕𝒘𝒊𝒏
❝ 𝐢'𝐦 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐤𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝. ❞
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𝑴𝑨𝑹𝒀 𝑶𝑵 𝑨 𝑪𝑹𝑶𝑺𝑺
𝒈𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒕
❛ if you choose to run away with me ❜
𝐸𝑉𝐸𝑅𝑌𝑂𝑁𝐸 𝐾𝑁𝐸𝑊 𝑇𝐻𝐴𝑇 𝑆𝑃𝐸𝑁𝐶𝐸𝑅 had taken Valentina to a football game, which everyone was very skeptical of. They all thought that it was a date and were completely shocked that Spencer was actually able to ask a girl out, let alone it be Valentina. They weren't even sure if Morgan could properly ask her out, Valentina's incredibly confident and comfortable in her own skin. It's intimidating.
The BAU team was curious to know if something had actually happened since no one would ever think to put Spencer and Valentina together, but life works in mysterious ways.
Nothing had actually happened between the two, other than maybe them becoming better friends. Spencer was way too nervous to pursue anything and he wasn't completely sure if he wanted to and Valentina didn't see Spencer that way. She thought he looked good and that he was a nice guy, but Valentina would never like him like that.
Morgan had caught up to Spencer, who was walking in the hallway, him being the most curious one of the BAU team to figure out what had happened. "So what happened with you and Tina at the Panthers game, huh?"
"Top secret." Morgan was about to protest or try to get Spencer to tell him what happened, but a female agent in the FBI had walked up to him before he could say anything. "Derek. I put the transcript from the last prison interview on your desk."
"Okay. It wasn't classified rush. You could've sent it interoffice." Derek informed, not seeing the need for more work to be done, but the smirk and giggle that came from the woman said it all. "I could have."
It's no secret that Morgan is an incredibly attractive man, it's just a shock that he's still single. Spencer let out a small laugh, honestly not shocked that another woman was flirting with Morgan. "Must be tough, man."
"Not really."
"What do you mean? You don't do anything, and these women are throwing themselves at you." Spencer explained, completely baffled that Morgan was so nonchalant about this. "Strictly off limits, Reid."
"There's no code of conduct that says agents can't socialize." Spencer pointed out, but Morgan had another rule to live by. "Yeah, well, see, my code of survival says never mess with a woman who carries a gun."
"That's a really good rule to live by, Morgan." Valentina spoke up, having heard the ending of their conversation since the two men sat down at their desks. "I mean, would you ever cross me?"
"No, 'cause I love you, Tina. But I'm also scared of you, even when you have a knitting hook in your hand." Morgan referred to the knitting her hands. Valentina's biggest hobby was knitting since it was repetitive and calming. She enjoyed puzzles, especially the puzzle book that her brother had given her, but sewing kept her sane in the hardest time in her life.
"Why are you sewing at work?" Spencer asked as he put his bag down underneath his desk. "Because I finished filling out all of my paperwork and have literally no more work to do. I'm just waiting for the briefing."
"What are you making? Is it a love gift to Reid?" Morgan teased as he walked over and leaned on Valentina's desk. "No, you idiot. It's a sweater for my brother, Maxwell. It's his birthday soon."
"You know, speaking of Reid..." Morgan continued on, but Valentina was a little confused by the subject. "We weren't talking about Reid."
Morgan ignored her valid point and just continued on, still feeling the need to bug and decipher what had happened between the two. "What happened with you and Reid at the Panthers game?"
"You can't get information out of me, so you run to Val?" Spencer spoke with disbelief. Morgan only ignored him as well, much too invested in figuring them out. "Well, Tina would tell me anything, wouldn't she?"
"The most I will tell you is that Spence now understands football." Valentina gave away practically nothing as her eyes never left her knitting, they hadn't this entire conversation.
"I still don't understand it." Spencer countered, so Valentina corrected herself. "Spence does not now understand football, but he can do the wave."
"Wow. Big day for you, Reid." Morgan teased.
Suddenly, Hotch had walked through the bullpen, catching the attention of everyone to begin their day of work. "Everyone in the conference room, please."
Everyone quickly grabbed their essentials, Valentina putting away her knitting. They all met in the conference room, prepared to take on a new case that Hotch immediately questioned the three youngest agents, making sure they were all up to date on the new case. "Reid, Morgan, Valentina, have you all familiarized yourself with the case?"
"Yeah, before we came in." Spencer clarified, mostly just for him and Valentina since after the football game, they went over the next case just because they were already together.
"We? What, was it a long night?" Morgan teased. Spencer didn't catch onto the fact that he was doing so, but Valentina grabbed a file and hit Morgan with it. He only laughed and took his seat, Spencer just ignoring him and asking the question they all needed an answer to. "Did you get a copy from the document examiner?"
"Yeah, it says that we've got until eight tonight." Hotch responded.
Everyone was standing in front of the screen, reading along as Spencer read out loud the ransom note that had been left. It was a kidnapping case, which is a soft spot for Valentina, but she was doing everything in her power not to show how effected she was. "You will follow instructions carefully. You will do this to ensure the safety of your daughter. You will wait for the call. You will answer the call at eight p.m. You will write down the instructions and follow them to the letter."
"That gives us less than nine hours to get to Connecticut, work up victimology on Trish Davenport, and prepare her father for the ransom drop." Hotch informed, but Gideon was slightly skeptical. "How do we know the letter's real?"
"The handwriting is a match for Trish's. He dictated it to her. And they found saline on the paper." Hotch explained, Gideon now catching onto the significance. "Her tears."
"He never says 'I'. He doesn't say 'I will call.' He says 'You will answer the call.' He's distancing himself from the kidnapping. If he said 'I' he'd be taking responsibility for it." Morgan pointed out, having a good argument. He did look over to his side and notice that Valentina wasn't there. She was leaning on the table just behind everyone else, almost like she didn't want to be near this case.
"There's also another missing element." Hotch explained, Elle immediately catching on. "No mention of the police. Ransom notes almost always forbid police involvement."
Morgan kept subtly looking back to see how Valentina was reacting since she seemed incredibly displaced. He noticed Valentina fiddling with a ring on her finger, seemingly nervously, but Morgan had no idea why.
"So is he expecting law enforcement to get involved?" Hotch asked, bringing Morgan's attention back to the case. "Well, if he's expecting us, let's not disappoint him."
"I'm aware that everyone's familiarized themselves with the case already, so is everyone familiar with the father?" Hotch questioned, making sure that everyone was on the same page. Of course, Spencer had to read off the report by word considering he could remember it word for word. "Evan Davenport, U.S. Attorney, Executive Assistant, Southern District, New York. Widower. Assigned U.S. Marshals three times in the past ten years due to death threats."
"Is the protective still current?" Morgan queried, finally back into the conversation rather than focused on Valentina, whom he still had concerns for. Her behavior was off.
"Around the clock." Hotch responded. "But Trish declined protection when she turned eighteen."
"Too bad for the boyfriend." Morgan remarked before Spencer asked a question of his own. "But why kill him?"
"Well, if I wanted to kidnap someone, I know I have to take out whoever's with them." Morgan pointed out, taking on the role of the unsub, which is usually what helped him figure cases out; getting into the mind of the unsub. "Says here she's got a sister."
"Cheryl." Hotch specified. "Any problems? Were they close?"
"Yeah. They're identical twins." Spencer made clear. Everyone could see that the victim's family, especially the sister was going to be much more hysterical than usual considering the fact they're twins. It's always tough to do a job when citizens want to be as involved as possible since they usually end up getting hurt, but they always understood why it happened. People are protective of their family.
"Everyone be ready for wheels up in twenty minutes. Valentina, I'd like to see you in my office for a moment." Hotch informed. Everyone looked over at Valentina for a split second, confused by the sudden meeting, but they all walked out of the room, Hotch and Valentina doing the same.
She followed Hotch into his office, Morgan being the only one who seemed completely intrigued by what was going on. From his desk, he was looking up at Hotch's office, hoping that whatever was setting off Valentina wasn't too big of a deal.
Meanwhile, Hotch had just closed the door behind Valentina, prepared to question her on the odd mannerisms that he too had noticed in the meeting. "Valentina, are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm good." Valentina shrugged off, trying everything in her power to hide what was bugging her, but she wasn't exactly doing it too well. She may be a master at mimicking and reading people, but Valentina is a horrible liar.
"I just want to make sure since this is a case that could be quite triggering for you." Hotch was the only one on the team who knew about what had happened to Valentina. When she was in her interview and Hotch asked her why she wanted this job, Valentina told him her experience with kidnappings, her negative experience. She felt it would help her get the job, but she always wanted to stay true to herself without being ashamed.
"Hotch, I promise that I'll be alright. If I feel myself slipping, I'll pull out." Valentina reassured, which did help Hotch's subconscious. "If you need anything at all during this case, or at any point really, you know you can come to me for help."
"Yeah, I know, Hotch. Thank you. And just thank you for everything. I mean, you're the reason I have this job and the fact that I get to help people who have been in my situation is amazing. Thank you for everything that you've done for me."
•☽.⭒✻════◅∘≼↜.◦◦.↝≽∘▻════✻⭒.☾•
Once landed, Morgan and Elle had gone out to help protect the second sister since they're both young and cleared to be in the field with experience. Hotch and Gideon are both older and Spencer and Valentina have rarely or never been in the field.
Speaking of whom, Spencer, Valentina, Hotch and Gideon were all in the house to comfort and help the father. Everyone that works in the house had been checked for alibis, which all checked out.
While Hotch and Gideon spoke with the father, Spencer and Valentina were taking a quick look around to find any signs of struggle or any clues that could help them pinpoint a location or unsub. They were really looking for anything.
As they did so, Spencer too had noticed something slightly off about Valentina. Not at the meeting and not on the plane, but he saw that Valentina was being fairly quiet and wasn't taking every single opportunity she had to tease him. "Val, you've been quiet."
"And you're complaining?" Valentina rhetorically asked, assuming that Spencer would find peace in her silence, but he found her teasing funny sometimes. He'd just never admit to that.
"It's just weird to not hear your voice every second." Spencer explained, returning the taunt, but much more subtly. Valentina, despite her clear upsetting demeanor, had her charm still in tact. "Oh, admit it, you just miss my voice."
"A little actually." Valentina's eyebrows raised with surprise. "Wait, really?"
"Yeah, I miss your idiotic jokes that are direct proof that I'm smarter." Valentina could see the faint smirk Spencer wore as he hid his face, looking down at the file in his hand to conceal it, but she still caught it.
"I'm proud of you. You're becoming so much bitchier." Valentina complimented just before their attention was caught by Gideon. "Dr. Reid, Dr. Barnes. What do the statistics tell us about her safety?"
"That if you follow their instructions and give them the money, your daughter will be returned." Spencer explained as him and Valentina walked to the trio, Hotch, Gideon and the horrified father.
Other officers began to bring in tech to help with tracing where the unsub's location could be. Meanwhile, the father was still anxious to know what the next steps were. "So, what are you theories so far about this kidnapper?"
"He probably targeted you for a reason." Valentina explained, the behavior of this unsub being more up her alley. "Every line in the note starts by saying 'you' which shows that he's angry at you. He most likely feels like you owe him. And everything you own, you don't deserve."
"And from the language in the ransom, we most likely believe that he's working alone." Hotch continued on. "You're sure?"
"Yes, sir. We're sure." Valentina comforted before getting to the questioning that she and Spencer were both curious about. "Mr. Davenport, do you mind if we asked you a few questions regarding the twins?"
"Of course." The father agreed. "If you have medical records, that could help us too with a motive."
"They're just this way." Mr. Davenport lead them to the library while Hotch and Gideon went off to do some more investigating. Spencer and Valentina sat down on the leather couch once invited and Mr. Davenport had given them the medical files he had while he explained, "They're not entirely identical. They're mirror twins. Some of Trish's organs are on the right side that should be on the left. Doctors assured us that it wasn't life-threatening."
"Situs inversus." Spencer quoted the condition as he began to read. His fingers were tracing the letters he read, but it was insanely quickly, which wasn't surprising for Spencer.
"Did they have self-defense training?" Valentina asked.
"Yeah, I insisted on it. The protective detail rankled when they hit puberty and I was sure that they would refuse their bodyguards when they left for college..." Mr. Davenport began to trail off when he saw Spencer's hand moving as if he was reading a thousand words a second. "Excuse me, can you actually read that fast?"
"Our conscious minds can process sixteen bits of information per second. Our unconscious, however, can process eleven-million." When Spencer saw the distant and confused look on the man's face, he decided to dumb it down. "Yes, I can actually read this fast."
Mr. Davenport just ignored Spencer and continued on with his concern. He couldn't fathom Spencer's mind, so he chose to blow over it. "If whoever took her wants me to blow cases or suppress evidence or stand down, I-"
"Why do you think it's someone you're prosecuting?" Valentina interrupted, surprised by his sudden assumption. "Well, I have money, but I don't have millions. I mean, what else could it be?"
"In our experience, Mr. Davenport, every case is different. There are no two criminals that are the same because there are no two minds that are the same, but we can get a generalization of what's happening and we can catch the man who took your daughter with that." Valentina explained.
"You're sure you can catch him?" Mr. Davenport asked with desperation in his voice.
"We'll do anything we can to catch him."
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Elle and Morgan had gotten back from the crime scene with Cheryl, the twin who wasn't taken. The other officers had set up a tracking device so they could trace the call that the unsub was going to make to the Davenport's, also something that would help some people hear him. They usually made Spencer listen in considering his eidetic memory.
Speaking of whom, Spencer explaining the device to Mr. Davenport just before the call was scheduled to come in. "This button answers the call. This button makes everyone in the room silent. It will flash red. You'll be able to hear his side of the conversation, he won't be able to hear us."
"We'll be running the trace through the field office, Evan." The head bodyguard explained. "You're in good hands with Agent Gideon and his team."
Everyone had a little bit of time before the call was scheduled. Morgan and Elle were in the other room while the BAU team dispersed. Valentina was just in the doorway to another room. She saw the look on Mr. Davenport's face and all of these horrible memories came back to her. That look on her mother's face when Valentina was gone. That look her family had when she came home.
Valentina looked away fairly quickly since she could feel her chest getting heavy, almost like she was about to cry, but she was able to keep it down. Valentina walked into another room and leaned against the wall, trying to collect her emotions and thoughts so she could calm down. That was until Spencer appeared in front of her. "Hey."
"Hi, Spence."
"Are you okay?" Spencer asked, concerned for the girl. Everyone had begun to notice that Valentina was more tense than she normally is. No one was sure how to approach her since Valentina's always been fun loving and refuses to open up, but Spencer may have a chance.
"I'm fine, Spencer. You don't have to be so concerned for me all the time." Valentina reassured. "I know, it's just that you seem tense and we're all concerned for you. Situations like this can be overwhelming for a lot of people, especially people new to the job. No one blames you if you have this feeling of nervousness or-"
Spencer was suddenly cut off by Valentina putting her hand on his mouth. "You talk too much."
Valentina took her hand away. "I don't care if everyone sees that I'm tense or whatever, but please don't treat me differently. I don't need to be more anxious."
Spencer nodded his head. Even if it was brief, Valentina had never been that up front before. He felt that the least he could do was respect her wishes. "Alright. I can do that. Why don't we join the rest of the BAU?"
"Yeah, if we're alone too long, they might think something's happening." Valentina teased with a smirk, which immediately told Spencer that she was fine. He turned on his heels as he remarked, "You're definitely back to your old self."
Valentina smiled, happy that Spencer was able to calm her slightly. She was also proud that she seemed alright enough to be herself. This entire abduction situation was bringing back trauma that she didn't want to revisit, but that was the price she had to pay to have this job.
Spencer and Valentina made their way over to Elle and Morgan, who's conversation they overheard on their way over. "You think Cheryl's a wack job because she claims she can feel her sister's anxiety?"
"I never said wack job." Of course, Spencer had to butt in. "Actually there may be a physiological basis for it."
"Oh, here we go." Valentina muttered, knowing exactly what was going to happen. "Reversed asymmetry monozygotic eggs split late between nine to twelve days. The DNA matches right down to the very last stranded code. And there's sporadic documentation of shared physiological pain."
"And you believe it?" Morgan asked Spencer with a tone of disbelief. "Oh, I'm just saying it's possible. I don't know everything. I mean, despite the fact that you think that I do.
"I never said that. When have I ever said that?" Morgan defended himself, but Spencer spoke with a laugh, knowing it wasn't true. "Every day since I've met you."
"This morning at breakfast." Elle added on, Valentina continuing. "On the plane ride over here."
"Yesterday when he beat you at cards." Hotch intervened, having heard that part of the conversation. "We've got one minute."
"Anybody ever heard of sarcasm?" Everyone hummed sarcastically, just to get under Morgan's skin as they followed him out to the dining room where the tracing device was set up and the family and rest of the police squadron was waiting patiently. The BAU team and police all stood around Mr. Davenport, them trying to show a protective atmosphere.
"Remember, keep your voice even and calm. And agree with everything he says." Gideon informed. Mr. Davenport was clearly tense and worried, and the fact that the call was a few minutes late was making his negative emotions worse. "He's late. Just try to relax. This is a strategy. He wants you on edge."
All of a sudden, the phone began to ring. Both Spencer and Valentina put headphones on since Spencer was most likely to remember everything that was said exactly and Valentina was most likely to be able to pick up on some sort of inconsistency in the kidnapper's voice.
As everyone scrambled to get prepared, Gideon gave Mr. Davenport a few last quick pieces of advice. "Remember to repeat any important information he gives you to make sure you understand. You try to keep him talking. To reveal something about Trish or about himself."
Mr. Davenport took a deep breath before answering the call. "This is Evan Davenport."
"Hello, Mr. Davenport." The kidnapper spoke with a calm tone. "Are you the man who has my daughter, Patricia?"
"I have your daughter." The tone this man has showed absolutely no remorse. There wasn't anything notable that Valentina had picked up on, but there was something Hotch noticed. Rather than looking over at Mr. Davenport, his focus was on Valentina. Her breathing was slightly quicker than it normally is, her eyes couldn't focus on one place, they kept bouncing around the room and her right hand was shaking ever so slightly.
"Can I ask you-" Mr. Davenport was immediately cut off. "You may ask me nothing. This is not an interrogatory. You will listen only to my instructions, but I will not give them to you."
Valentina began to write down some thoughts she was having so they could go over them later. Morgan, who stood behind her, was in the same boat as Hotch. He too had been noticing something off about Valentina, but the difference between him and Hotch is that Hotch knows why Valentina is so tense.
"I don't understand." Mr. Davenport spoke with a smaller, more scared voice. "I do not want to talk to you, Mr. Davenport."
"Excuse me?"
"I want to talk to her. I want to talk to Cheryl." Everyone looked over at the twin, confused and concerned by the request. Immediately, Gideon hit the button that mutes the conversation on their side and questioned, "What's he doing?"
"What most of the offenders we catch try to do. Establish dominance." Morgan explained, Elle then having a question of her own. "How long can we keep him on hold."
"We can't put her on." Hotch spoke with a small shake of his head, but Cheryl seemed very determined. "Why not? I want to help. I'll talk to him."
"Cheryl doesn't have the authority that Davenport holds. He shouldn't want to talk to her." Morgan pointed out, but because Valentina knew this situation very well, she knew exactly why the unsub would want to speak with the victim's twin. "Because it's Cheryl he wants, she should speak with him."
"Do I need to repeat myself? I want to talk to Cheryl. Put her on the phone now." The unsub demanded from the other side of the line, puzzled by the silence. Gideon still wasn't up for it. "No."
"Valentina's right, I think she should speak to him. He wants to talk to her. The more he speaks, the more he reveals." Elle took Valentina's side, Morgan realizing that the two girl's had a point. "They are right, Gideon."
"He has my sister." Cheryl defended herself, but Gideon didn't want the unsub to have any type of pleasure from speaking to who he really wants to talk to. "No."
"I'm waiting."
"Elle." Elle sighed, knowing that she had to listen to Gideon, so she walked over to Mr. Davenport and took over. She turned the audio back on and spoke as Cheryl. "This is Cheryl."
The unsub stayed quiet. "Hello, this is Cheryl."
"I have Patricia by my side. I know her voice. Therefore, I know her sister's. Get off the phone. I want Cheryl. I'll give you sixty seconds. If you don't put her on the phone, I will hang up and you will never hear from me or Patricia again." Gideon muted the room and got everyone ready with the limited time they had. "Prep work. Come over here, please."
Cheryl did as she was told and sat between Elle and her father. Elle began to get her ready to talk to the man as he counted down on the other line. "Okay, this guy's arrogant. Let him know that he's in control, let him guide the conversation. Use your sister's name. Say 'my sister, Trish' or 'her name's Patricia'. Talk about her. Let him get to know her through you. Don't veer off topic. Agree with him. Tell him that you understand him and as hard as this sounds, empathize. Let him know that he didn't mean to hurt Trish or go this far and that he can fix that."
As Elle continued on, Morgan moved one of the sides of the headphones on Valentina's head and kneeled down so he could talk to her, but made sure to keep his voice low. "You okay?"
Valentina only nodded her head, but due to the fact she didn't verbally respond, Morgan knew that she was lying. He pointed to her handwriting which was a little more messy than it usually is. "Your handwriting is shakey."
"I'm fine, Morgan." Valentina stressed before putting the headphones back on.
The time was almost up, so Cheryl had picked up the phone and spoke. "This is Cheryl."
"Hello, Cheryl. How are you?" Valentina wrote down that his tone was slightly happier once Cheryl appeared. "I'd be a lot better if I knew that my sister...That Patricia's okay.
"I can tell you have a lot of empathy, Cheryl. You care about others." The unsub noticed. "Yes, I do. And it sounds like you understand."
"You mean that I empathize?" The kidnapper immediately said, using the exact same word that the police were using. "Yes."
"I do. Very much, I empathize. I empathize with you, Cheryl. I know you want to be with your sister."
"Yes, I want Trish back." Cheryl demanded calmly. "Good. Tell me what you want, Cheryl. I'm very interested. Tell me all about yourself. What's your favourite colour?"
Valentina immediately tensed at the personal question. She couldn't take this anymore. This situation was bringing back memories that she didn't want to remember and personal questions like that were exactly what they used to ask her. Valentina spent years feeling this tortured, feeling this lost and when small questions like that were asked, they treated her even worse.
Valentina was taken from her home when she was seven by a couple and kept in a basement until she was eleven. She was missing for four years, so abductions like this brought back horrible memories she never wished to relive. The couple that took Valentina tried to get to know her better and treat her like she was their own daughter, but Valentina's always been a fighter. She suffered more because she fought back.
Valentina was losing her ability to hold on while she was reliving her past. She tapped Morgan's arm and handed him the headphones before walking out of the room. Everyone was slightly confused by her sudden absence, but they had to focus on the case at hand.
Valentina walked out to the kitchen so she couldn't hear what was happening and no one would be able to hear her. She ran a stressed hand through her hair as her eyes began to water. Flashes of her time in that basement were flooding back and all she could picture was that couple's face. Valentina closed her eyes tightly, hoping she could block out the images, but she had no luck.
It took Valentina a few minutes to compose herself. Her breathing was steady after a while and her eyes were no longer watering. Valentina listened to a voicemail from her twin brother, Victor, which always was able to calm her down. Without his real voice, she relied on this voicemail to bring her comfort.
After a few minutes, Hotch had walked into the room and found Valentina still listening to the voicemail. "Valentina."
She quickly turned her phone off and looked towards Hotch. "Are you alright?"
"It just didn't seem real until he asked that question." Hotch knew exactly what had happened to Valentina considering he was starting in the BAU when she was finally found. He also knew because Valentina reminded him in her interview. Hotch wasn't the main agent on her case, that was Agent Rossi, who she used to write to every week, but Hotch still helped her out.
"If you need to take time off this case, I'd understand." Hotch was trying to help her any way that he could, but Valentina hated being pitied and she despised having her trauma define her, because she'd never let that happen. "No. I'm fine. I just needed a minute. What happened with the caller?"
"We weren't able to trace it since he was most likely using a disposable cell phone. He wants five-hundred-thousand dollars for Patricia, who is still alive and sounded delirious." Hotch explained.
"Could she see his face?" Valentina questioned, Hotch nodding his head. "Yes, she wasn't blindfolded."
"Then as soon as he gets the money or Cheryl, he'll kill Patricia." Hotch nodded, knowing that Valentina was exactly right. "Do you want me to get the rest of the team in here?"
"Sure." Hotch stepped out for a second to solely get the BAU team into the kitchen. They usually meet separately during these investigations anyway since they don't want the police's bias to get in the way of their profile and Valentina having a rough time was a good reason to get the BAU by themselves.
Everyone walked into the kitchen, Morgan immediately going to Valentina. "Tina, you alright?"
"She's fine." Hotch responded for her, knowing fair well that she hates being asked that and didn't need more of it since her main focus was getting Patricia back. "We need to discuss this case without the police."
"Alright, well he said he 'owed'. Used that word specifically." Gideon began the discussion, not wanting to waste any time. Spencer specified. "Five hundred thousand. His demand sounded scripted. Like he was reading it to us."
"But the rest of the conversation wasn't." Morgan pointed out, Valentina having something to add onto that. "He was his most relaxed when he was talking to Cheryl. She's most likely what he really wants and Patricia is just a scare tactic. He probably knows Cheryl already."
"How much time we got?" Morgan asked, Spencer knowing the exact time. "Six minutes."
Morgan had left the room to go get Mr. Davenport to gather the money just before the kidnapper called again. The BAU team got everything ready before the call and Hotch tried to get Valentina to stay out of the room so she'd be alright, but she insisted on helping. Valentina was their best shot at noticing differences in the kidnapper's voice, especially since Morgan hadn't heard a difference when she did. Valentina knew this would bring up some memories and it would hurt her, but she still wanted to help in any way she could.
Once the call came in, one of the officers picked up the phone and the unsub began talking without letting anyone else even get a word in. "Everything will be done by Cheryl. Cheryl will gather the money packets. Only she will touch the money. Cheryl will make the drop. If she is wired, if you use a look-alike, Patricia dies. Cheryl will get in her car. No one is to be in the car with her. No one is to follow her. No air surveillance, no car surveillance of any kind will be tolerated. I will give directions over a cell phone as Cheryl drives. She must make the drop at exactly three a.m. She will follow each instruction to the letter."
The unsub immediately hung up after. Elle, Gideon and a few other officers began to help Cheryl get everything set up while, Morgan, Reid, Valentina and Hotch spoke with the father, who was still completely terrified for both of his kids. Hotch knew procedure, however, and knew how to handle this. "We can't let her go alone."
"He said if he sees anyone-" Mr. Davenport was about to remind Hotch of the rules, but Hotch has dealt with things like this before. "I know. One car. Unmarked. Tinted windows."
Mr. Davenport let out a sigh. "If he sees one of you and Trish died...If my daughter dies..."
"We're trained for this. She'll be okay. She's strong. All you have to do is trust your kids, that's what's important." Valentina comforted, knowing that he needed something to hold onto. Mr. Davenport nodded and moved to another room with a few agents, just waiting for this whole ordeal to be over with.
Hotch and Morgan had gone out in the undercover car since they were the most likely to be able to take down the unsub if they saw him. Cheryl had gone out in her car while everyone else stayed at the house. Valentina and Spencer were sitting together in the dining room, him watching the GPS and her going over her behavioral notes.
"She's heading to an address that appears to be a rental car lot." Valentina heard Spencer say, but she wasn't really paying attention. There was something about this situation that was weird to her. She had no clue what was the cause of that, but she felt off sending Cheryl out there.
"Spencer, did he say anything of importance while I was gone?" Spencer had to do a double take, slightly confused by why he wasn't referred to as 'Spence', but he moved on and answered her question. "No, it was the same stuff you heard. He hung up almost right after you left. Why?"
"There's something weird about this." Spencer nodded his head. He couldn't quite see the same thing that Valentina seemed to see, but he too could see that Valentina was acting differently, so he didn't want to question it.
"Holy shit." Valentina suddenly breathed out. Spencer's head snapped towards her as she began to frantically dial Morgan's number. "What is it?"
Valentina ignored him, needing to get to Morgan first. He picked up fairly quickly and she didn't even give him a second to respond. "Morgan, it's a second kidnapping! Get Cheryl out of there now!"
"We're on it." Morgan trusted her judgement and knew that this could ruin the operation, but if Valentina was telling him to get Cheryl out of there, that's exactly what him and Hotch were going to do. Morgan hung up the phone, Spencer still confused. "What makes you think it's a second kidnapping?"
"He's a collector. He wants them both. He already has Patricia, now he just needs Cheryl."
•☽.⭒✻════◅∘≼↜.◦◦.↝≽∘▻════✻⭒.☾•
Morgan, Hotch and thankfully, Cheryl, had walked back into the house, Morgan easing everyone's minds. "Cheryl's alright."
Almost immediately, the phone began to ring again. Apparently there was a chase and the unsub got away, but everyone was safe. Well, everyone except for Cheryl.
On the other side of the line, the kidnapper was talking, but he had a pleasurable tone in his voice, as if he just had the time of his life. "That was fun, wasn't it? A little running around, getting our pulses racing? Are you there, Cheryl? Are you there? Tell me you didn't feel a slight tingle, a thrill run up your spine, huh? But those clever and cunning FBI agents deduced my little plan just in time. They figured it out. If they hadn't, I would have had you both. The whole set. The matching pair."
Spencer looked over at Valentina at the sound of those words. She was completely dead on with her theory. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately, it was really putting things into perspective for everyone. Valentina's specialty is the entirety of the BAU's job; she analyses people's behavior and she's damn good at it.
"Why are you doing this?" Cheryl questioned with a shakey voice. "Because you asked me to, Cheryl. You asked me with your glances. The way you talk, those little gestures."
"What are you doing?" Everyone could see that Cheryl talking to this obsessive unsub wasn't doing any good, but Morgan was the one to put a stop to it. He muted the room and demanded, "Do not answer this man."
"You asked for this. You asked for it, Cheryl." He was clearly beginning to piss off Cheryl. She lunged for the button and Morgan went to protest, but had to silence himself as soon as Cheryl hit the button. "What do you want?!"
"What do I want? You! It may not be today, it may not be tomorrow, but I promise you, we will be together." The unsub suddenly hung up the phone. Immediately, the BAU knew how to respond to this and knew what the issue was. They have been trained to tackle these sorts of things and are aware of the correct precautions. Gideon was the one to point out the main issue. "We can't let Cheryl speak with him any further."
"Why not?" She spoke, slightly offended and lost, but Spencer cleared the air. "It's only feeding his psychosis to allow your interaction. Was Trish involved in any serious relationships prior to the kidnapping?"
"With the boy that was killed. They were together for two years." Mr. Davenport informed, but there was a little more to that story that Cheryl brought to light. "Trish didn't want me to tell you. They were getting engaged."
"Well, that certainly could have been the unsub's stressor." Gideon muttered, but Mr. Davenport was still lost by the words being used and about the situation in general. "What does that mean? Will someone please tell me what we're dealing with here?"
"De Clerambault's syndrome. Otherwise known as erotomania. The belief that someone, usually of a higher social status, but not necessarily a celebrity, is in love with you." Spencer began the explanation, Valentina continuing the more behavioral aspect to it. "Erotomanics believe that the objects and people of their affection are subtly professing their love for them through looks, gestures. In your case, glances. He said, 'you asked me with your glances.'"
"The unsub truly and full-heartedly believes that Cheryl and Trish are in love with him. They don't tell him this with their voices. No, with gestures and looks. He's obsessed with them." Spencer finished the thought, but Mr. Davenport was still more than confused. "What does this mean?"
"He's the most determined kind of criminal." Gideon explained, Hotch going into further detail. "Crime of obsession, your specialty. Your lead, Morgan."
Everyone in the BAU has a special skill or specialty that makes them unique and just as helpful to the team. Gideon is one of the most generally skilled agents that have entered the FBI. Hotch has years of experiences and is one of the most focused and hardworking people that anyone could ever meet. JJ has a way with people which makes her perfect to commune with the public, everyone tends to like her. Garcia is a tech genius, there's no other way to put it. Morgan specializes with crime of obsession while Elle specializes in sex crimes. Spencer is a genius on literally everything while Valentina has three different doctorates in behavioral sciences.
"I think we should re-check everyone on Davenport's staff against the profile of a stalker." Morgan suggested, but Elle was skeptical. "Aren't stalking behaviors pretty diverse?"
"There's some overlap." Valentina defended Morgan, him adding on. "Narcissistic, inflated sense of self worth, history of bad relationships."
"What do we know so far?" Hotch questioned and Morgan was already on top of that. "He's probably white. Obviously male. Sophisticated speech patterns."
"Sophisticated yet bizarre. He rarely uses contractions. It's not 'you're', it's 'you are'." Gideon explained, Morgan still on his trail of expertise. "This guy's pretentious. He wants to sound smarter than he actually is. Whatever position of authority or level of success this guy has, he had to struggle for it."
"We also have to face the possibility at this point that Trish may already be dead." Mr. Davenport immediately tensed at that, but the BAU team was just thinking out loud. "You know, so far he's called every play. I say we apply some pressure. Make him sweat."
"Well, there's only one way to do that." Everyone knew what this tactic was, they needed to make the unsub so angry that he screws up. The question was just who was going to make him mad.
"Valentina."
Everyone's head snapped towards her while her gaze landed on Hotch, who had suggested her. "You up for it?"
Valentina took a deep breath, she really wasn't sure if she was up to speak to a kidnapper since she had no idea how it would effect her later. But Valentina took this job over much better ones to help people just like her, and that's exactly what she planned on doing. "Yeah. I can do it."
"I have full faith in you. You know how to handle this?" Hotch needed to make sure she knew the proper way to handle this situation as Valentina moved to sit in front of the device to answer the phone. "Hotch, annoying people is my specialty, just ask Spence."
Spencer pulled his lips into a tight line, trying everything in his power not to let the faint smile show in this situation. Just by the fact that she was now using his first name told him that Valentina was feeling slightly at ease.
As the phone suddenly ran, Valentina just sat there, letting it ring and ring and ring and ring. Mr. Davenport went to pick up, seeing that he assumed the conversation should start, but Valentina stopped him. "Hang on."
Valentina let it ring two more times before answering. She sat in silence and let the man on the other line take the lead. "Hello?"
Valentina then hung up the phone. Mr. Davenport was clearly getting more tense by the second, unaware of why she was purposefully making his daughter's kidnapper angry, but Valentina knew how to handle this. The phone began to ring again, this time, she answered it faster and spoke with innocence in her tone. "Hello? Who is this?"
"Tell me there was a technical issue with the line because if you actually just hung up on-" The unsub was cut off again by Valentina hanging up the phone. "What the hell are you doing?!"
The phone began to ring again, but Valentina just sat there and let it ring. Now, both Cheryl and Mr. Davenport were getting restless. "Are you gonna answer it?"
"Why is she doing this? What the...You're...You're going to drive this guy crazy. Just answer the phone." Mr. Davenport demanded, but Valentina needed him calm. "Be quiet. Please, I need quiet."
The phone just kept on ringing. Cheryl lunged forward to answer the phone, but Elle held her back. "Cheryl, she knows what she's doing."
"Somebody has to answer it!" Cheryl demanded. Now, Mr. Davenport tried to answer the phone again, but Morgan held him back. "Just answer the phone, for god's sake! Pick up the phone!"
"She knows what she's doing. Let her do her job." Valentina's eyes never left the phone. She was so incredibly prepared to piss this guy off. She was taking all of her pent up emotions towards this and taking it out on this unsub, but in an organized and responsible fashion. Valentina finally answered the phone. "Davenport residence."
"Are you out of your mind? You do realize...You do understand that I'll kill her. Do you-" He was cut off once more by Valentina hanging up the phone. Almost instantly, the phone began to ring. Mr. Davenport was still upset and getting worse by the second. Valentina was just lucky that Morgan was holding him back. "You're killing my daughter! Pick up the phone! You bitch, pick up the phone!"
"Mr. Davenport...I'm going to say this as kindly as I possibly can. Get a hold of yourself, be a man and shut the hell up." That seemed to quiet Mr. Davenport instantly. He didn't expect an FBI agent to speak to him that way, but Valentina seriously needed him quiet.
The phone rang again, but this time Valentina answered immediately. "Buddy the elf, what's your favourite colour?"
"I swear on her life, if you-" Valentina hung up once more, but yet, the unsub was insanely consistent. The phone rang again and Valentina let it ring a few times before picking up. This time, the unsub didn't let her get a word in. "She is dead! You hang up on me again and I rip her open!"
"I'm sorry, you must have the wrong number." Valentina hung up yet again. Everyone was getting slightly skeptical that she was still dragging this on. "Tina-"
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Mr. Davenport yelled, cutting off Morgan, but she responded very calmly. "I'm saving your daughter, Mr. Davenport."
The phone was ringing. Valentina didn't drag this one out, she just answered the phone after a few seconds. "Put Cheryl on the phone."
"No, you're finished talking to Cheryl." Valentina denied, but this unsub was so angry that his arrogance had resurfaced. "Listen to that tone of authority. I'm very impressed. It's fascinating to hear that arrogant quality in your voice. You are a bit of a pedant, a bit didactic?"
"I'm intrigued that you pulled that much information, yet you have no idea who I am. You seem intelligent and certainly educated, but we both know that's not true." Valentina teased, still trying to get under his skin.
"Oh, I know all about your team. The ambitious Agent Hotchner. Do you want to be the Director of the FBI someday, Agent Hotchner? Would you step on Jason Gideon to get there? I think you would. Post traumatic stress is a very good excuse. Even your sick, pregnant wife can't get you to leave your post. Jason Gideon, an expert in the criminal psyche, yet unable to diagnose the autistic leanings of the very insecure Dr. Reid. Well, maybe he can make money counting cards in Las Vegas. The lovely Elle was promoted too soon. She doesn't have what it takes to make it in the BAU boys' club. You're no threat to me. You're no threat to anyone. And token Derek Morgan wants to be taken seriously, but he is just a pumped up side of beef. I know who you are. I know how you think."
"You sure about that?" Valentina challenged, the unsub still confident. "Yes, I'm very sure."
"Then what's my name?"
The unsub went quiet. The entire room was quiet. Valentina had him backed up in a corner since he seemed to have no idea who she was. "What?"
"If you know so much, tell me my name. I mean, come on, we've been dancing around each other for the past few minutes, I'd at least like to have the comfort that you know who I am." Valentina teased, knowing that her confidence in the situation was getting under his skin. "I...I know what to do next. Do you?"
The unsub hung up the phone and Mr. Davenport was finally let go by Morgan. He sat down next to Valentina and practically begged for answers. "Why did he say that he knows what to do next? Is he going to hurt my daughter?"
"He was grandstanding, trust me. I have learnt more in the last five minutes that in the last twenty-four hours." Mr. Davenport was extremely skeptical of that. "Oh, really? Well, I don't understand. Why is he so focused on you right now?"
"Because we are interfering in his relationship with the girls." Morgan explained, but Mr. Davenport still had some counter arguments. "He said he knows all about you."
"Yes, apparently." Hotch said before Morgan narrowed their point down. "He profiled us, Mr. Davenport."
"Why would he do that?" Mr. Davenport questioned, Elle having the answer before Spencer took off with the explanation. "To show us how smart he is."
"Oftentimes, the best profilers are the unsubs themselves. They're the ones that are able to walk into an arcade full of children and pinpoint the boy or girl that can be led out quietly."
"But he made a mistake because he gave us something he didn't expect." Valentina pointed out. "Which is?"
"He told us how to find him." Valentina informed. Mr. Davenport's facial expression immediately shifted. He was hopeful, yet scared. Everything about this horrifying situation that him and his daughter was going through had a chance to end, yet no FBI agent or police officer was moving to do anything. "You said you know how to find him, that you were gonna save my daughter. Why don't you get out there and do something? What are you standing...Everybody standing around here looking..."
"Mr. Davenport-" Gideon began in a calm tone, but Mr. Davenport quickly took that as an offence. "Look, don't condescend to me. Don't patronize me."
The head security guard had to physically move Mr. Davenport away from the FBI agents since he was starting to get hysterical. All of the staff, officers and security guards began to move away and out of the room, giving the BAU space to brainstorm. As soon as the coast was clear, Morgan began the assessment. "For the suspect to know that much about us, he has to be one of us."
"But he didn't know Val." Spencer pointed out, Elle being curious about that. "How did you figure out that he didn't know who you were?"
"I was the one making him angry. He would've started or ended with profiling me, but he didn't mention me once. Which must mean that he's newer or so far from where my post is that he's never heard of me." Valentina explained, Hotch having a good idea to follow. "I'm gonna have Garcia do a search of the New Haven FBI field office. The guy we're looking for knows this house, he knows the family."
"There are seven hundred agents in New Haven and another seventy satellite officers. Davenport knows quite a few of them." Spencer gave a specific number, no one was shocked that he knew. Elle had more to continue on. "While we're narrowing the list, Cheryl can't stay here. If he's one of us, he has access, weapons, and you bet he's got a strategy."
"So who can we trust?" Morgan questioned, Hotch answering. "No one. We need to get Cheryl to a safe house."
"And limit the amount of agents she comes in contact with." Everyone began to prepare this plan. Spencer and Valentina specifically couldn't really be involved in the field because Valentina hasn't been cleared yet on account of her being a new agent and Spencer wasn't exactly the most coordinated. Gideon and Hotch were staying back as well since Elle and Morgan were going to be fine to take care of Cheryl with the help of the security guards.
Spencer and Valentina were on the phone with Elle, an earbud for each of them so they could hear the conversation, but no one else could. They were skeptical and didn't want anyone other than the people they could trust on the phone. "They did a bug sweep right when we arrived."
"Yeah, we remember." Spencer reassured. "And yet the unsub seemed to know all about us...Hey, do you guys know what non-local interaction is?"
"No, we have no clue. Please elaborate." Valentina spoke with an astronomical amount of sarcasm. "Thank you, Valentina, but that was not necessary."
"I beg to differ." Valentina muttered before Elle continued on. "How can he be holding Trish prisoner and still know exactly what we're talking about?"
"It seems like he knows what's going on here the moment that it happens." Spencer thought out loud. That specific train of thought got Valentina's mind running. She opened up a file in front of Spencer and began to look through their list of suspects that Garcia had gotten for them.
"There's gotta be a listening device." Elle pointed out, which was immediately when Valentina realized what the issue was. "Yeah, they swept the room, but then brought in their own equipment. Spence, out of this list of suspects, who went with Cheryl?"
Spencer looked at the list of names and almost immediately knew who it was. "Shyer. Elle, it's Shyer."
"I'm on it." Elle immediately hung up, clearly ready to go take down Shyer. They knew that the unsub would want to be as close to Cheryl as possible, so it made sense that the main security guard would volunteer, but it was a little too convenient.
Valentina waved over Hotch and Gideon, who immediately came over. Spencer and Valentina whispered and quickly told them who the unsub was, so they could question Mr. Davenport as soon as possible.
Turns out that Mr. Davenport knew Shyer, the head security guard, decently well. He had been at the house a few times, therefore has had interactions with both Cheryl and Patricia. He became obsessed with them.
Valentina wanted to help out in this situation more than she had, especially with it being an abduction. She knew what it was like to be tortured for what seems like forever and to have everyone forget about you. One thing was for certain that Valentina would never let an abduction case go cold for as long as she's working in the BAU.
Valentina's conscience was cleared up very quickly. They had gotten rid of Shyer and found Patricia. The family was reunited and they were bringing Patricia to the hospital since she was slightly wounded, sedated and extremely exhausted.
"You did good today, Valentina." Hotch complimented the girl he was standing beside. He knew that she needed more comfort now than ever. Valentina looked up at Hotch for a second, before her gaze landed back on her wrecked hand from her fidgeting. "Thanks, Hotch. But I could've done more."
"If you really believe that, we could assess you for field training. You could be in with the action instead of behind a desk with Reid." Hotch offered.
"Believe me, I like spending time with Spence and proving time and time again that I'm smarter, but I just felt like I should've been the one to find her. Or, I don't know. I think I could be in the field as well as do the job I was hired to do."
"I think so too. We can't let your talents go to waste. You're far too valuable of an asset, Valentina."
❝ 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐧𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐫, 𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬. ❞
- 𝒆𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒔
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