The Photographer
folder
1 through F › Criminal Minds
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
23
Views:
1,812
Reviews:
1
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
1 through F › Criminal Minds
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
23
Views:
1,812
Reviews:
1
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Criminal Minds or any of the characters, nor do I make any type of profit from this.
XII
MARRIOTT COURTYARD HOTEL
Richmond, VA
“Agent Rossi? This package arrived for you earlier today. UPS dropped it off, just like the one from before.” The clerk at the front desk handed the elder agent a brown padded envelope that had been addressed just as before. He accepted it grimly before heading to the empty hotel lobby where he knew the whole team would be as they had agreed the night before. Everyone looked at the package in Dave’s hand as he opened the door, mentally preparing themselves as best they could for what might be inside.
Rossi slid his thumb nail under the flap of the envelope and peeled it back very slowly, having already donned latex gloves to prevent damaging the evidence. There was complete silence as he pulled out the DVD that was sent to them. The team shuffled up to Derek and Spencer’s room, which had somehow been decided as the meeting room. It was decided amongst them that there was no reason to wake Garcia at the early hour just to watch Hotch go through hell.
“Hello, BAU. I know I’m changing my ‘modus operandi’ by sending you a DVD instead of pictures, but this was just too good for you not to watch.” The digitized voice spoke while the camera focused on Hotch’s prone form tied to the chair. For the first time they were able to see what the room looked like. The room was not small by any means, but it wasn’t exactly spacious. The dark, cinder block walls were bare apart from the random blood spatter that stood out like neon paint. A single dim light hung from the ceiling directly above Hotch, giving just enough light to make him visible to the camera. The room was obviously underground due to the almost foggy air that surrounded the dark haired agent which made the light look more like a yellow glow, surrounding Hotch almost angelically, a dark contrast to the rest of the room. The cold stone floor was covered in blood, just as the walls did, clearly the blood of past victims due to the brown color it had taken on. How Hotch hadn’t completely lost it in the dark and empty room was beyond them, but they had come to expect the unrivaled strength from their boss.
They couldn’t decide whether him being conscious was a good thing or not, but knew they would find out soon enough. The team was able to keep their emotions in check as their boss was forced to watch the press conference and the recording of his attack. JJ gasped in horror as the crackle of electricity was heard just before the cables made contact with Hotch’s side. Morgan punched the wall angrily as he saw Hotch’s silent screams, vowing to rip this UnSub’s head off when they found him. They all froze as the UnSub repeated the action to his other side, this time screams of pain flowing from his mouth freely as his body convulsed. Spencer clenched his fists angrily while Rossi muttered curse words under his breath. Emily just stared at the screen blankly as she tried to compartmentalize what was happening. They all sighed in sad relief as their boss lost consciousness, knowing that he was temporarily relieved of his pain. That is, until the UnSub gave Hotch a shot of adrenaline, bringing him back for more pain.
JJ ran into the bathroom, vomiting the breakfast she had just eaten when the UnSub ripped off Hotch’s toe nail. She couldn’t watch anymore. Emily went to console her as the three men watched the rest of the torturous video. Morgan’s face was etched with anger, mirroring that of both Reid and Rossi. They were relieved that the UnSub didn’t wake Hotch up after slipping in unconsciousness a second time.
As Emily and a shaking JJ reentered the room, Spencer slowly pulled a plastic baggy out of the envelope that contained ten blood toe nails that had been painfully removed from Hotch’s feet. JJ felt nauseous again, but forced herself to keep the bile down as tears streamed down her heart shaped face. Spencer’s innocent voice broke the silence. “How can someone be so sick?” He knew the statistics, the profiles, the studies… but it still didn’t justify what these UnSubs did.
Rossi placed a fatherly hand on the young doctor’s shoulder to comfort him. In all honesty, the veteran profiler had been asking himself that since his first case. He had seen some awful things, even worse than this case, but never had it been one of his peers, let alone someone he knew as well as Hotch, that was on the receiving end of things.
Morgan’s cell phone began to ring, the whole team becoming dead quiet as he put the phone on speaker. “Good morning, Baby Girl.” Derek couldn’t hide the hopelessness in his voice after seeing the video.
-- “Please tell me he just passed out… that he’s not dead.”
Derek sighed as he heard Garcia sob in the background. The UnSub must have sent the tech analyst the video. “Garcia, baby, Hotch will be ok. You know he’s tough. He’ll make it.”
-- “Damn right, because I know where this mother fucker sent the video to me from. He fucked up royally when he changed his methods. I back hacked him and found his IP address… he sent the e-mail from the Richmond Police and Fire Academy. This son of a bitch is either a cop or a fire fighter.”
Morgan leapt up from his chair and opened the folder containing the list of possible UnSubs. He continued marking off the list until there were only eight people left – five cops and three fire fighters. “Baby girl, you are a goddess!” It made sense. The UnSub was a narcissist. He would be part of the investigation.
-- “Morgan, promise me you will beat the shit out of this bastard when you catch him.”
Derek didn’t need to reply as Penelope ended the phone call. They both knew he would. He turned back to the team who had come alive with hope as they had narrowed down their suspect list. “Ok, let’s try to find our best chance… we have Sergeant Dawson of the Richmond PD. He was Officer Walters’ partner and could have easily gotten him to the lot.”
Emily shook her head, recalling the information she had gathered from Detective Neal. “He was at the jail waiting for Walters and Hotch. Both witnesses and security cameras put him there.” She marked his name off the list, moving to the next one. “What about Detective Neal? He worked both the original case and this one.”
Spencer looked at her skeptically as his eidetic memory went into overdrive. “Detective Neal received the call from the UnSub when he demanded a press conference. There are five officers to corroborate his story.” The team continued this process until they only had three suspects left.
“Ok, we have two firefighters and one police officer. Sergeant Newell and Lieutenant Fredericks of the Richmond Fire Department and Sergeant Mills of the Richmond PD.” Rossi grabbed the keys to one of the SUVs, grabbing the profiles on the two firefighters. “How do you want to do this, Derek?” Morgan adjusted his sling carefully before taking some of the weaker pain killers. “Reid and I will go talk to Mills. Rossi, you, Prentiss, and JJ go to the firehouse and talk to Newell and Fredericks. If you think you have something, call me and make the arrest. In the mean time, JJ, I want you to call Garcia and give her these three names. I want everything there is to know about these men. I know it’s going to be hard, but we have to put our emotions aside and profile better than we’ve ever profiled before.” He didn’t need to tell them to hurry. They already knew they were running out of time. The UnSub had already had Hotch for four days. They all knew that as the days went on, the torture became more brutal and the body parts her removed became more and more vital. They didn’t want to receive another piece of their boss in an unmarked package.
---
RICHMOND POLICE DEPARTMENT
Richmond, VA
“Yes, we have Sergeant Mills in interrogation room A, waiting for you. If you need anything else, just let me know.” Detective Neal shut his phone before throwing a sideways glance towards the aforementioned room. He couldn’t believe that one of his men could have committed these unspeakable acts. Neal was already kicking himself for Hotch’s kidnapping. If he had given the man a chance, he may still be with his team. Warren pushed his negative thoughts aside, knowing they’d do no good.
---
RICHMOND FIRE DEPARTMENT
Richmond, VA
“Agents, how can we help you?” Lieutenant Fredericks’ skeptical tone indicated to the experienced profilers that he still believed Hotch was somehow guilty. JJ walked up to him confidently as Rossi and Prentiss trailed behind her. “Lieutenant, is Sergeant Newell around? I have a few questions for him.” In the car it had been decided that JJ would occupy the Sergeant while Emily and Dave worked to break the higher ranking Lieutenant. Despite not technically being a profiler, Jennifer had learned enough from her colleagues, primarily Hotch, to be able to conduct an interview with an UnSub.
Fredericks nodded in affirmation as he radioed the Sergeant and asked him up to the front office. JJ led him into a private room as Rossi and Prentiss began to inconspicuously interrogate the Lieutenant. “Lieutenant, have you noticed any strange behavior from Sergeant Newell?” Emily met Frederick’s eyes as she gauged his reactions. The Lieutenant nodded before throwing a look over his shoulder towards the firefighter in the room with JJ. “We’ve had morphine go missing lately from a few different ambulances. Newell’s team has worked in all of them and when we confronted him about it, he was quick to join in the investigation and point the finger at his team. Usually, at least in this crew, we’ve got each other’s backs no matter what.” Rossi and Prentiss looked at each other as they continued walking towards the garage with the Lieutenant. Newell sounded really good for the UnSub.
---
JJ leaned across the table, smiling a warm smile at the built Sergeant across from her. “Sergeant Newell, I’m Agent Jareau. I’m with the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit.” He leaned back in his chair, looking at her skeptically. “You’re a profiler?” JJ shook her head gently, her blond hair bouncing around her face lightly. “No, I’m the media liaison. I only have a few questions, this isn’t an interrogation.” If only she were a profiler, then she may have realized the Sergeant’s paranoia had peaked.
In a flash of strength, Newell reach across the table and grabbed JJ by the collar of her shirt. She didn’t have time to react before he swung her around and slammed her against the wall he was now facing. “Who told you!?” His eyes were wild as he slammed JJ against the wall again, causing her head to make contact with the hard surface, disorienting her slightly. Jennifer brought her hands up to his face and clawed at his eyes. He backhanded the blond to the floor as he screamed in pain. JJ landed with a thud as she tried to get back up to her feet. Newell brought his foot crashing against her ribs, coaxing a shout of pain from her, causing her to drop the gun she had pulled from her belt. The two of them struggled for the gun until a shot was fired. A body lay prone on the floor as firefighters rushed into the room, followed closely by the Lieutenant and the two FBI agents. “NO!”
Richmond, VA
“Agent Rossi? This package arrived for you earlier today. UPS dropped it off, just like the one from before.” The clerk at the front desk handed the elder agent a brown padded envelope that had been addressed just as before. He accepted it grimly before heading to the empty hotel lobby where he knew the whole team would be as they had agreed the night before. Everyone looked at the package in Dave’s hand as he opened the door, mentally preparing themselves as best they could for what might be inside.
Rossi slid his thumb nail under the flap of the envelope and peeled it back very slowly, having already donned latex gloves to prevent damaging the evidence. There was complete silence as he pulled out the DVD that was sent to them. The team shuffled up to Derek and Spencer’s room, which had somehow been decided as the meeting room. It was decided amongst them that there was no reason to wake Garcia at the early hour just to watch Hotch go through hell.
“Hello, BAU. I know I’m changing my ‘modus operandi’ by sending you a DVD instead of pictures, but this was just too good for you not to watch.” The digitized voice spoke while the camera focused on Hotch’s prone form tied to the chair. For the first time they were able to see what the room looked like. The room was not small by any means, but it wasn’t exactly spacious. The dark, cinder block walls were bare apart from the random blood spatter that stood out like neon paint. A single dim light hung from the ceiling directly above Hotch, giving just enough light to make him visible to the camera. The room was obviously underground due to the almost foggy air that surrounded the dark haired agent which made the light look more like a yellow glow, surrounding Hotch almost angelically, a dark contrast to the rest of the room. The cold stone floor was covered in blood, just as the walls did, clearly the blood of past victims due to the brown color it had taken on. How Hotch hadn’t completely lost it in the dark and empty room was beyond them, but they had come to expect the unrivaled strength from their boss.
They couldn’t decide whether him being conscious was a good thing or not, but knew they would find out soon enough. The team was able to keep their emotions in check as their boss was forced to watch the press conference and the recording of his attack. JJ gasped in horror as the crackle of electricity was heard just before the cables made contact with Hotch’s side. Morgan punched the wall angrily as he saw Hotch’s silent screams, vowing to rip this UnSub’s head off when they found him. They all froze as the UnSub repeated the action to his other side, this time screams of pain flowing from his mouth freely as his body convulsed. Spencer clenched his fists angrily while Rossi muttered curse words under his breath. Emily just stared at the screen blankly as she tried to compartmentalize what was happening. They all sighed in sad relief as their boss lost consciousness, knowing that he was temporarily relieved of his pain. That is, until the UnSub gave Hotch a shot of adrenaline, bringing him back for more pain.
JJ ran into the bathroom, vomiting the breakfast she had just eaten when the UnSub ripped off Hotch’s toe nail. She couldn’t watch anymore. Emily went to console her as the three men watched the rest of the torturous video. Morgan’s face was etched with anger, mirroring that of both Reid and Rossi. They were relieved that the UnSub didn’t wake Hotch up after slipping in unconsciousness a second time.
As Emily and a shaking JJ reentered the room, Spencer slowly pulled a plastic baggy out of the envelope that contained ten blood toe nails that had been painfully removed from Hotch’s feet. JJ felt nauseous again, but forced herself to keep the bile down as tears streamed down her heart shaped face. Spencer’s innocent voice broke the silence. “How can someone be so sick?” He knew the statistics, the profiles, the studies… but it still didn’t justify what these UnSubs did.
Rossi placed a fatherly hand on the young doctor’s shoulder to comfort him. In all honesty, the veteran profiler had been asking himself that since his first case. He had seen some awful things, even worse than this case, but never had it been one of his peers, let alone someone he knew as well as Hotch, that was on the receiving end of things.
Morgan’s cell phone began to ring, the whole team becoming dead quiet as he put the phone on speaker. “Good morning, Baby Girl.” Derek couldn’t hide the hopelessness in his voice after seeing the video.
-- “Please tell me he just passed out… that he’s not dead.”
Derek sighed as he heard Garcia sob in the background. The UnSub must have sent the tech analyst the video. “Garcia, baby, Hotch will be ok. You know he’s tough. He’ll make it.”
-- “Damn right, because I know where this mother fucker sent the video to me from. He fucked up royally when he changed his methods. I back hacked him and found his IP address… he sent the e-mail from the Richmond Police and Fire Academy. This son of a bitch is either a cop or a fire fighter.”
Morgan leapt up from his chair and opened the folder containing the list of possible UnSubs. He continued marking off the list until there were only eight people left – five cops and three fire fighters. “Baby girl, you are a goddess!” It made sense. The UnSub was a narcissist. He would be part of the investigation.
-- “Morgan, promise me you will beat the shit out of this bastard when you catch him.”
Derek didn’t need to reply as Penelope ended the phone call. They both knew he would. He turned back to the team who had come alive with hope as they had narrowed down their suspect list. “Ok, let’s try to find our best chance… we have Sergeant Dawson of the Richmond PD. He was Officer Walters’ partner and could have easily gotten him to the lot.”
Emily shook her head, recalling the information she had gathered from Detective Neal. “He was at the jail waiting for Walters and Hotch. Both witnesses and security cameras put him there.” She marked his name off the list, moving to the next one. “What about Detective Neal? He worked both the original case and this one.”
Spencer looked at her skeptically as his eidetic memory went into overdrive. “Detective Neal received the call from the UnSub when he demanded a press conference. There are five officers to corroborate his story.” The team continued this process until they only had three suspects left.
“Ok, we have two firefighters and one police officer. Sergeant Newell and Lieutenant Fredericks of the Richmond Fire Department and Sergeant Mills of the Richmond PD.” Rossi grabbed the keys to one of the SUVs, grabbing the profiles on the two firefighters. “How do you want to do this, Derek?” Morgan adjusted his sling carefully before taking some of the weaker pain killers. “Reid and I will go talk to Mills. Rossi, you, Prentiss, and JJ go to the firehouse and talk to Newell and Fredericks. If you think you have something, call me and make the arrest. In the mean time, JJ, I want you to call Garcia and give her these three names. I want everything there is to know about these men. I know it’s going to be hard, but we have to put our emotions aside and profile better than we’ve ever profiled before.” He didn’t need to tell them to hurry. They already knew they were running out of time. The UnSub had already had Hotch for four days. They all knew that as the days went on, the torture became more brutal and the body parts her removed became more and more vital. They didn’t want to receive another piece of their boss in an unmarked package.
---
RICHMOND POLICE DEPARTMENT
Richmond, VA
“Yes, we have Sergeant Mills in interrogation room A, waiting for you. If you need anything else, just let me know.” Detective Neal shut his phone before throwing a sideways glance towards the aforementioned room. He couldn’t believe that one of his men could have committed these unspeakable acts. Neal was already kicking himself for Hotch’s kidnapping. If he had given the man a chance, he may still be with his team. Warren pushed his negative thoughts aside, knowing they’d do no good.
---
RICHMOND FIRE DEPARTMENT
Richmond, VA
“Agents, how can we help you?” Lieutenant Fredericks’ skeptical tone indicated to the experienced profilers that he still believed Hotch was somehow guilty. JJ walked up to him confidently as Rossi and Prentiss trailed behind her. “Lieutenant, is Sergeant Newell around? I have a few questions for him.” In the car it had been decided that JJ would occupy the Sergeant while Emily and Dave worked to break the higher ranking Lieutenant. Despite not technically being a profiler, Jennifer had learned enough from her colleagues, primarily Hotch, to be able to conduct an interview with an UnSub.
Fredericks nodded in affirmation as he radioed the Sergeant and asked him up to the front office. JJ led him into a private room as Rossi and Prentiss began to inconspicuously interrogate the Lieutenant. “Lieutenant, have you noticed any strange behavior from Sergeant Newell?” Emily met Frederick’s eyes as she gauged his reactions. The Lieutenant nodded before throwing a look over his shoulder towards the firefighter in the room with JJ. “We’ve had morphine go missing lately from a few different ambulances. Newell’s team has worked in all of them and when we confronted him about it, he was quick to join in the investigation and point the finger at his team. Usually, at least in this crew, we’ve got each other’s backs no matter what.” Rossi and Prentiss looked at each other as they continued walking towards the garage with the Lieutenant. Newell sounded really good for the UnSub.
---
JJ leaned across the table, smiling a warm smile at the built Sergeant across from her. “Sergeant Newell, I’m Agent Jareau. I’m with the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit.” He leaned back in his chair, looking at her skeptically. “You’re a profiler?” JJ shook her head gently, her blond hair bouncing around her face lightly. “No, I’m the media liaison. I only have a few questions, this isn’t an interrogation.” If only she were a profiler, then she may have realized the Sergeant’s paranoia had peaked.
In a flash of strength, Newell reach across the table and grabbed JJ by the collar of her shirt. She didn’t have time to react before he swung her around and slammed her against the wall he was now facing. “Who told you!?” His eyes were wild as he slammed JJ against the wall again, causing her head to make contact with the hard surface, disorienting her slightly. Jennifer brought her hands up to his face and clawed at his eyes. He backhanded the blond to the floor as he screamed in pain. JJ landed with a thud as she tried to get back up to her feet. Newell brought his foot crashing against her ribs, coaxing a shout of pain from her, causing her to drop the gun she had pulled from her belt. The two of them struggled for the gun until a shot was fired. A body lay prone on the floor as firefighters rushed into the room, followed closely by the Lieutenant and the two FBI agents. “NO!”