The Photographer

FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION HEADQUARTERS
Quantico, VA

“Are you sure? … I understand… if we find anything out, we’ll let you know.” Erin Strauss put the corded phone back on the receiver as a look of pure hatred overcame her face. She had given Hotch a chance. She trusted him enough to lead one of the most elite FBI teams ever assembled. She should have known that a profiler would be able to cheat a psych evaluation. She should have made him stay on leave. No, she should have fired Hotch two years ago when she had the chance. “He will never get these back.” Erin dropped the former Unit Chief’s credentials into a locked drawer, intending them to never be seen again. As far as she was concerned, this was the last time Aaron Hotchner would disgrace the Bureau, guilty or not.

---

CONFERENCE ROOM – POLICE HQ
Richmond, VA

“Ok, let’s look at the profile again.” Emily pulled out the file someone with the Richmond PD had put together on Aaron Hotchner. She felt like she was invading Hotch’s privacy, but she knew it was necessary if they wanted any chance at proving his innocence. “We profiled the UnSub as being somewhere between his late twenties to early forties. Hotch is in his mid forties, so he technically doesn’t fit there.” She turned to the list she had created on the dry erase board the department had brought in for her, checking ‘no’ next to the age category. “Hotch isn’t very emotional, he works in a position of power with varying hours…” She checked off ‘yes’ on two more fields, much to her displeasure. “Hotch lost Haley and has substantial ties to the community… and in his file there are implications he may have been abused as a child… by his father.” She slowly marked yes on the rest of the list, hanging her head in defeat. “There has to be SOMETHING that alibis him!” She slammed the dry erase marker down and ran a tired hand through her hair.

JJ placed her slender hands on the brunette’s shoulders in a comforting gesture. She knew that now, more than ever, they had to support each other.

Spencer shook his head as he reviewed the autopsy reports again, this time side by side with Hotch’s old case files, looking for an alibi for at least one of the murders. So far the timelines hadn’t matched up. Reid thought he had something at one point, until Rossi pointed out Hotch could have driven from the case he was working on in Boston to Richmond to continue the torture. Of course Rossi would point out the flaw in the theory further condemning Hotch. “I’m not getting anywhere with these files. Nothing solid is matching up.” He looked up at Morgan desperately, hoping the acting Unit Chief had some good news.

“Hotch’s cell phone is still turned off, so there’s no progress in finding him. Garcia is keeping her eye out on it. In the mean time we need to be prepared for when the Richmond PD finds Hotch. They’re going to want blood for what happened to Walters and we can’t interfere.” Morgan sat down as he carefully rubbed his throbbing arm. The entire team’s stare was stuck on the station entrance. They couldn’t help but foolishly hope their colleague would walk in through the front doors with an explanation for everything.

“Reid.” Spencer’s phone had started vibrating in response to the incoming call from their Technical Analyst.

-- “Put me on speaker, Reid.”

“You’re on speaker, Garcia.”

-- Hotch’s phone just came back on. I’ve got a location.”

The whole team jumped up as Rossi grabbed the keys to the SUV, ready to move. Morgan grabbed the phone from Spencer.

“Where is he, baby girl?”

-- “Guys, according to the map, he’s right outside… across the street.”

The team looked at each other in confusion as Morgan sprinted outside and across the street. “Hotch!? HOTCH!?” He looked around desperately for the man as he fumbled for his own cell phone. He dialed Hotch’s number, scanning the crowd for the dark haired man. Derek froze as he heard the factory default ringtone that belonged to Hotch’s phone. He followed the sound towards a potted plant that was sitting outside the coffee shop across from the station. There, inside the planter, was Aaron Hotchner’s cell phone. Morgan reached for it and pulled it out of the soil angrily. As he placed the phone in his pocket, the dark skinned agent noticed the sun reflecting off of a shiny surface where the phone had been. Carefully, Derek moved the soil aside and found what had been buried there. It was a DVD with the words ‘Let the Games Begin’ written with a black sharpie. Morgan could feel his hands shake as his mind began to put the pieces together. He needed to see what was on that DVD.

---

“Garcia, are you in?” Spencer slid the DVD into the disc drive as Penelope took control of the computer remotely as to enable her to scan every bit of information that came across the screen. “I’m in, sugar. You guys ready?” The collective silence in the room indicated a hesitant yes as Garcia hit play.

The DVD started off black then slowly faded into a video of someone following a patrol car from inside his own SUV. The patrol car pulled into the empty construction building, where the SUV followed him. The officer inside the vehicle was on his cell phone, looking back at the man sitting in the back of his vehicle before continuing his conversation. The man controlling the video camera exited the SUV, the camera seemingly attached to the hood the UnSub was wearing. He revealed a gun and pointed it at the officer from the other side of the glass, motioning for him to exit the vehicle. The masked man then took the officer’s weapon and shot him twice in the back of the head.

The man’s attention shifted to Hotch, who was struggling to get out of the locked back seat of the patrol car. He pointed the gun at the agent who instantly stopped struggling, giving the attacker a stony glare.

“Get out of the car, Agent Hotchner.” The voice was completely digitized, making it unrecognizable. Hotch complied, exiting through the car door the masked man opened for him. The agent stood tall, giving the killer a defiant look. “I presume you’re the Photographer. I knew Ferracci was too smart to be such a stupid killer.” Hotch’s antagonizing words were met with a punch to his mouth, reopening the cut on his lower lip.

The darkly clothed man pulled a key from the dead officer and ordered Hotch to remove his handcuffs. As soon as Aaron let the cuffs fall to the ground the masked man brought his gun down across Hotch’s head, sending him sprawling to the ground. Hotch pushed himself up off the pavement and looked at the blood smears that had formed where his head had made contact. He had only made it halfway off the ground when his attacker grabbed him by his collar and slammed him into the patrol car, knocking the wind out of him. Hotch put his hands up to block the fist thrown at him which only angered the UnSub more as he brought his knee into the FBI agent’s stomach, the sickening crack of his ribs resonating through the empty building. Hotch’s cry of pain was quickly silenced as his attacker wrapped a cord around his throat. He held it there until Hotch stopped struggling, releasing the man just before death had him in his clutches.

The camera focused on Hotch, who was laying on the dirty ground on his back, a disoriented look on his face. The killer took the gun that belonged to the deceased officer and put it in Hotch’s left hand, making sure his prints were on it.

“Agent Hotchner, I’m tired of your incompetence. First you give credit to that low life Ferracci for my work then manage to get yourself blamed for it. Now, I’m going to kill two birds with one stone. I’m going to restore my great name by killing the infamous Aaron Hotchner while the BAU does nothing but watch.” The camera continued to focus on Hotch as he attempted to roll onto his side to get up. A sick laugh filled the speakers as the UnSub swung his foot into Hotch’s face, sending him reeling into unconsciousness.

The screen went black again, but the sick laughter continued. “Don’t worry, BAU, you’ll see him again… Piece. By. Piece.”

There was nothing but silence as the team just stared at the computer screen that had returned to the desktop, leaving no trace of the horror they had just witnessed. Morgan was the first to move, reaching for his phone. “We have to let Strauss know. Hotch is innocent, but now he’s in danger.”