The Photographer
folder
1 through F › Criminal Minds
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
23
Views:
1,781
Reviews:
1
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Currently Reading:
0
Category:
1 through F › Criminal Minds
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
23
Views:
1,781
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.
V
CONFERENCE ROOM – POLICE HQ
Richmond, VA
“Guys, you need to turn on the news.” Emily Prentiss rushed into the room, nearly spilling her coffee everywhere in the process. Rossi grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. There was a collective gasp released from the team as the image appeared on the screen.
“FBI Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner has been taken into custody as a suspect in the Photographer copy-cat killings.”
The news reporter’s voice was the only sound in the room as the team watched in horror.
“Hotchner, who killed Michael Ferracci nine years ago as the suspected killer, was taken into custody in the police parking garage just moments ago. After Ferracci’s ex-fiancée finally acquired his medical files, she was able to provide proof to the police that Ferracci was in a mental institute during the first year of the killings, the detectives of the Richmond PD were forced to re-open the case. This raised questions about what happened between Hotchner and Ferracci nine years ago. While the police department has yet to issue a statement, we have heard rumors that Agent Hotchner was identified outside the latest victim’s home the night before she disappeared. It is currently unknown whether or not Hotchner is believed to be the original killer, but as a key component in the original case, questions are sure to be raised.”
Morgan walked in just as an image of Hotch being pulled through the media mob came up. At one point someone lobbed a bottle at the senior agent, hitting him in the back of the head. Everyone seemed so convinced that Hotch was the killer. “What the hell happened!?” The wounded agent’s voice broke the uncomfortable silence, causing the team to turn and face him. “Morgan!” JJ pulled him into a careful embrace as Reid clapped him on the back, an apologetic look on his face.
The dark skinned agent just stared at the TV with a look of fury. “How did this happen!?” Rossi stood and guided Morgan to one of the chairs at the conference table before explaining. “We put in the profile and the type of people the UnSub could be and Hotch was the first match. Garcia is still searching, but it doesn’t look good. Mr. Garrisson gave a description of the man he saw outside his home the night before his wife disappeared and Hotch matched it. Then, Grace Malone came forward with medical documents she’s been fighting to have released for the past nine years that proved Ferracci was in a mental institute up north for the first year of the murders. The killings then and now are identical; leading the police to think this isn’t a copy cat, but the real killer who’s come back. They’re questioning whether or not Hotch killed in Ferracci in self defense and are instead saying he did it to cover his tracks. This case launched Hotch’s career with the FBI nine years ago and it’s no secret that he’s been taking a lot of heat. These guys are saying that Hotch is killing these people so he can stop another ‘killer’ and get his career on the up and up again.” Morgan felt himself getting dizzy as he tried to digest all of this information, suddenly glad that he was sitting down. Rossi placed his hand on Derek’s good shoulder and locked his eyes in a serious stare. “Derek, they’re trying to pin all of this on Hotch.”
There was nothing but silence for quite a while until a ringing phone interrupted. “Morgan.” Derek stood, turning his back to the television. “Section Chief Straus… yes we’re all still here… yes, we’re cooperating…” He left out the part about attacking the arresting officer. “I will let them know… yes ma’am, I understand.” He flipped his phone shut and pinched his nose in frustration. “That was Strauss. She’s on her way here. This isn’t good. She wants us to cooperate fully with the Richmond PD.” He slammed his phone down on the table, causing the back and the battery to dislodge and fly across the room. This was really happening.
---
Hotch stretched his cuffed wrists out in front of him, trying his best to keep calm. He had been sitting in the interview room for about an hour and no one had told him what was going on. He knew this was just a tactic to unsettle him, hell, he basically wrote the book on these types of things. He forced himself to remain calm and patient as to not give the officers what they wanted. He would wait them out. His plan only took about fifteen more minutes for the police to enter the room. Detective Neal handed Hotch a porcelain mug with coffee in it. “You look tired, Agent Hotchner.” Hotch merely glanced down at the mug then back up at Neal with a look of boredom on his face. “Y’know, Warren, if you want my DNA, all you have to do is ask.” He pushed the mug of coffee back towards the agitated Detective, keeping his face emotionless. “Now are you ready to tell me what’s going on or are we going to keep playing the games I made the rules for?” The FBI Agent laced his fingers on the desk, giving the man across from him a chilling glare.
“You know, you’re a curious man Agent Hotchner. You seem to have a history of killing suspects without any witnesses and claiming it was self defense. First Ferracci… then Foyet.” He set down pictures of each man’s dead body at the crime scene in front of the agent, smiling at how mentioning Foyet made the man cringe in the slightest.
Hotch pulled his hands away from the picture of Foyet as he remembered that awful day. Haley dead. Jack in danger. He mentally shook himself from going down that path. He couldn’t afford to at the moment. “Foyet murdered my ex-wife and threatened to kill my son. I had no choice.” His voice was a growl. He shouldn’t have to explain himself to this man.
Neal shook his head and pulled the pictures back from him. “Let’s talk about what you were doing two Saturday’s ago. Go out for an evening stroll?” He leaned across the table, getting in Hotch’s face. Hotch looked at the clock behind Neal. It was a little past one in the morning. Neal was wasting his time with these questions. “I was at home. My son went to his Aunt’s house for the weekend and my paper work was done. And no, there’s no one who can corroborate my story.” Hotch gave Neal a look of annoyance before continuing. “You wanna tell me what this is all about? Or at least show me some evidence that connects me to these crimes?” The detective smiled at Hotch, more than happy to explain what was condemning the decorated agent. “Ferracci was cleared. Evidence that his psychiatrist just released proves it. You had motive, means and opportunity. The original case put you on the map for the FBI, Aaron. You killed those people then framed another man with the profile you came up with and silenced him before he could point the finger at you. Now that your career with the FBI is going downhill, you’ve decided to create another string of murders so you can play hero again. Except you just couldn’t resist coming back here and repeating your methods. You got sloppy when James Garrisson saw you outside his home just before his wife disappeared. You won’t be able to propel your career this time, Aaron. This time, you’re going down.”
Hotch just stared at the man and said nothing. There was obviously no getting through to the detective. He would have to wait for his team to prove his innocence. He just hoped it wouldn’t take too long.
---
Casey Victor ran into the station and embraced her newly released neighbor in a comforting hug. “James, is it true!? They have him? The Photographer? And he’s with the FBI!?” James Garrisson nodded and held her tighter, trying to stiffly a sob. “He won’t tell them where Linda is!” As the two ended their embrace, Hotch was taken from the interview room so he could be put back in his cell. “You BASTARD!” James ran across the room and landed a blow to Hotch’s face, busting his lower lip open. Hotch was cuffed and couldn’t defend himself from the second blow to his right eye. Before James could land a third hit, Rossi had tackled him to the ground. He looked at the two officers holding Hotch and shook his head. “Get him fixed up before you lock him up.” The officers rolled their eyes as they pushed Aaron towards the infirmary. Rossi stood James back up and shoved him. “You do that again and your ass goes behind bars.”
Reid headed over to the infirmary to check on Hotch. The two officers that had escorted him were now standing outside the door, guarding him as to prevent him from escaping. They had no intention to help a man who was accused of murdering twenty-one people in their community, leaving him to clean his own wounds with still cuffed wrists. “Hotch, let me help you with that.” The Unit Chief moved his hands out of Reid’s grasp as a response to the young doctor’s command. He didn’t want anyone’s pity and he didn’t need anyone’s help with cleaning his own cuts. “I’m fine, Reid. You guys have a case to work on.” The senior agent moved towards the mirror so he could clean the blood that was dripping down from his lip. He growled when he saw the purple tint that was already appearing around his right eye which was accompanied by a few cuts, courtesy of Mr. Garrisson. “Damn.” He wiped away the specks of blood around his eye and sat down next to Reid. “How bad is it, Spencer?” The young doctor knew he meant the implications against him, not his injuries. “Hotch, the team knows you didn’t –“ “That bad, huh?” Aaron didn’t even let Reid finish comforting him. He could tell just by looking at the doctor things were bad. “How long until Strauss is here?” Reid sighed in defeat. “About two minutes, give or take with traffic.”
Hotch straightened his tie and suit, and then did his best to fix his disheveled hair. Even when in custody Aaron was concerned with looking professional. “It would make sense she would be here so soon. She’s been waiting for this moment since Prentiss joined.” Reid looked at him inquisitively. “Her chance to fire me, Reid.”
“Hotch, she’s not going to fire you. I’m sure she knows this is a mistake.” Spencer stood as the two officers entered to take Hotch back to the interview room. That could only mean that Strauss had arrived. “Reid, follow this case like you would any other. Don’t ignore any evidence. Morgan is the Unit Chief now.” With that, he was lead out of the room, leaving Spencer to his thoughts.
Richmond, VA
“Guys, you need to turn on the news.” Emily Prentiss rushed into the room, nearly spilling her coffee everywhere in the process. Rossi grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. There was a collective gasp released from the team as the image appeared on the screen.
“FBI Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner has been taken into custody as a suspect in the Photographer copy-cat killings.”
The news reporter’s voice was the only sound in the room as the team watched in horror.
“Hotchner, who killed Michael Ferracci nine years ago as the suspected killer, was taken into custody in the police parking garage just moments ago. After Ferracci’s ex-fiancée finally acquired his medical files, she was able to provide proof to the police that Ferracci was in a mental institute during the first year of the killings, the detectives of the Richmond PD were forced to re-open the case. This raised questions about what happened between Hotchner and Ferracci nine years ago. While the police department has yet to issue a statement, we have heard rumors that Agent Hotchner was identified outside the latest victim’s home the night before she disappeared. It is currently unknown whether or not Hotchner is believed to be the original killer, but as a key component in the original case, questions are sure to be raised.”
Morgan walked in just as an image of Hotch being pulled through the media mob came up. At one point someone lobbed a bottle at the senior agent, hitting him in the back of the head. Everyone seemed so convinced that Hotch was the killer. “What the hell happened!?” The wounded agent’s voice broke the uncomfortable silence, causing the team to turn and face him. “Morgan!” JJ pulled him into a careful embrace as Reid clapped him on the back, an apologetic look on his face.
The dark skinned agent just stared at the TV with a look of fury. “How did this happen!?” Rossi stood and guided Morgan to one of the chairs at the conference table before explaining. “We put in the profile and the type of people the UnSub could be and Hotch was the first match. Garcia is still searching, but it doesn’t look good. Mr. Garrisson gave a description of the man he saw outside his home the night before his wife disappeared and Hotch matched it. Then, Grace Malone came forward with medical documents she’s been fighting to have released for the past nine years that proved Ferracci was in a mental institute up north for the first year of the murders. The killings then and now are identical; leading the police to think this isn’t a copy cat, but the real killer who’s come back. They’re questioning whether or not Hotch killed in Ferracci in self defense and are instead saying he did it to cover his tracks. This case launched Hotch’s career with the FBI nine years ago and it’s no secret that he’s been taking a lot of heat. These guys are saying that Hotch is killing these people so he can stop another ‘killer’ and get his career on the up and up again.” Morgan felt himself getting dizzy as he tried to digest all of this information, suddenly glad that he was sitting down. Rossi placed his hand on Derek’s good shoulder and locked his eyes in a serious stare. “Derek, they’re trying to pin all of this on Hotch.”
There was nothing but silence for quite a while until a ringing phone interrupted. “Morgan.” Derek stood, turning his back to the television. “Section Chief Straus… yes we’re all still here… yes, we’re cooperating…” He left out the part about attacking the arresting officer. “I will let them know… yes ma’am, I understand.” He flipped his phone shut and pinched his nose in frustration. “That was Strauss. She’s on her way here. This isn’t good. She wants us to cooperate fully with the Richmond PD.” He slammed his phone down on the table, causing the back and the battery to dislodge and fly across the room. This was really happening.
---
Hotch stretched his cuffed wrists out in front of him, trying his best to keep calm. He had been sitting in the interview room for about an hour and no one had told him what was going on. He knew this was just a tactic to unsettle him, hell, he basically wrote the book on these types of things. He forced himself to remain calm and patient as to not give the officers what they wanted. He would wait them out. His plan only took about fifteen more minutes for the police to enter the room. Detective Neal handed Hotch a porcelain mug with coffee in it. “You look tired, Agent Hotchner.” Hotch merely glanced down at the mug then back up at Neal with a look of boredom on his face. “Y’know, Warren, if you want my DNA, all you have to do is ask.” He pushed the mug of coffee back towards the agitated Detective, keeping his face emotionless. “Now are you ready to tell me what’s going on or are we going to keep playing the games I made the rules for?” The FBI Agent laced his fingers on the desk, giving the man across from him a chilling glare.
“You know, you’re a curious man Agent Hotchner. You seem to have a history of killing suspects without any witnesses and claiming it was self defense. First Ferracci… then Foyet.” He set down pictures of each man’s dead body at the crime scene in front of the agent, smiling at how mentioning Foyet made the man cringe in the slightest.
Hotch pulled his hands away from the picture of Foyet as he remembered that awful day. Haley dead. Jack in danger. He mentally shook himself from going down that path. He couldn’t afford to at the moment. “Foyet murdered my ex-wife and threatened to kill my son. I had no choice.” His voice was a growl. He shouldn’t have to explain himself to this man.
Neal shook his head and pulled the pictures back from him. “Let’s talk about what you were doing two Saturday’s ago. Go out for an evening stroll?” He leaned across the table, getting in Hotch’s face. Hotch looked at the clock behind Neal. It was a little past one in the morning. Neal was wasting his time with these questions. “I was at home. My son went to his Aunt’s house for the weekend and my paper work was done. And no, there’s no one who can corroborate my story.” Hotch gave Neal a look of annoyance before continuing. “You wanna tell me what this is all about? Or at least show me some evidence that connects me to these crimes?” The detective smiled at Hotch, more than happy to explain what was condemning the decorated agent. “Ferracci was cleared. Evidence that his psychiatrist just released proves it. You had motive, means and opportunity. The original case put you on the map for the FBI, Aaron. You killed those people then framed another man with the profile you came up with and silenced him before he could point the finger at you. Now that your career with the FBI is going downhill, you’ve decided to create another string of murders so you can play hero again. Except you just couldn’t resist coming back here and repeating your methods. You got sloppy when James Garrisson saw you outside his home just before his wife disappeared. You won’t be able to propel your career this time, Aaron. This time, you’re going down.”
Hotch just stared at the man and said nothing. There was obviously no getting through to the detective. He would have to wait for his team to prove his innocence. He just hoped it wouldn’t take too long.
---
Casey Victor ran into the station and embraced her newly released neighbor in a comforting hug. “James, is it true!? They have him? The Photographer? And he’s with the FBI!?” James Garrisson nodded and held her tighter, trying to stiffly a sob. “He won’t tell them where Linda is!” As the two ended their embrace, Hotch was taken from the interview room so he could be put back in his cell. “You BASTARD!” James ran across the room and landed a blow to Hotch’s face, busting his lower lip open. Hotch was cuffed and couldn’t defend himself from the second blow to his right eye. Before James could land a third hit, Rossi had tackled him to the ground. He looked at the two officers holding Hotch and shook his head. “Get him fixed up before you lock him up.” The officers rolled their eyes as they pushed Aaron towards the infirmary. Rossi stood James back up and shoved him. “You do that again and your ass goes behind bars.”
Reid headed over to the infirmary to check on Hotch. The two officers that had escorted him were now standing outside the door, guarding him as to prevent him from escaping. They had no intention to help a man who was accused of murdering twenty-one people in their community, leaving him to clean his own wounds with still cuffed wrists. “Hotch, let me help you with that.” The Unit Chief moved his hands out of Reid’s grasp as a response to the young doctor’s command. He didn’t want anyone’s pity and he didn’t need anyone’s help with cleaning his own cuts. “I’m fine, Reid. You guys have a case to work on.” The senior agent moved towards the mirror so he could clean the blood that was dripping down from his lip. He growled when he saw the purple tint that was already appearing around his right eye which was accompanied by a few cuts, courtesy of Mr. Garrisson. “Damn.” He wiped away the specks of blood around his eye and sat down next to Reid. “How bad is it, Spencer?” The young doctor knew he meant the implications against him, not his injuries. “Hotch, the team knows you didn’t –“ “That bad, huh?” Aaron didn’t even let Reid finish comforting him. He could tell just by looking at the doctor things were bad. “How long until Strauss is here?” Reid sighed in defeat. “About two minutes, give or take with traffic.”
Hotch straightened his tie and suit, and then did his best to fix his disheveled hair. Even when in custody Aaron was concerned with looking professional. “It would make sense she would be here so soon. She’s been waiting for this moment since Prentiss joined.” Reid looked at him inquisitively. “Her chance to fire me, Reid.”
“Hotch, she’s not going to fire you. I’m sure she knows this is a mistake.” Spencer stood as the two officers entered to take Hotch back to the interview room. That could only mean that Strauss had arrived. “Reid, follow this case like you would any other. Don’t ignore any evidence. Morgan is the Unit Chief now.” With that, he was lead out of the room, leaving Spencer to his thoughts.