HALLOWEEN
by
SANDEFUR
Disclaimer: This is fanfiction just for fun. I have no claims.
To recap…
My third season was basically Joan's war against the mad Ryan Hunter and his scheme to orchestrate his own version of Armageddon. Joan wins, but in the process she has to mature as a person and grow spiritually. This leads to her choosing to continue with God even though he gives her the opportunity to retire from being his chosen instrument. Casualties in the third season include Ryan Hunter, Detective Carlisle and Glynis. Two major characters were introduced, Dr. John Hunter (Ryan's older brother) and John's son Dylan. Dr. Hunter turns out to be an ally to Joan against Ryan, and Dylan becomes the rebound boyfriend for Joan after her breakup with Adam. The Joan/Dylan relationship fails mostly due to interference from Ryan, but Joan continues to hold tender feelings for Dylan (and he still loves Joan). Those now in on Joan's secret include Dr. Hunter, Helen Girardi and the Friedman.
Fourth season. Joan is now being trained by a tutor-angel both physically and spiritually. God has granted her a higher level of abilities in which she can read the souls of others, is highly sensitive to the presence of evil and can deal with demons. (Joan has also chosen on occasion to use an ability from the other side, sexual charisma, when she sees the need to accomplish her goals.) Joan continues to struggle with: 'does the end justify the means'? Fourth season changes include Luke and Grace now married with a child (Annie, who sees Yah-Yah just as Joan did when she was little), Kevin out of his wheelchair and walking with a cane—he is now a writer in Hollywood and living with his girlfriend, Barbara Greyson (Dr. Hunter's stepdaughter). Also, Will and Helen have had a late-in-life child, Eleanor Theresa Girardi ("E. T." or "the little alien"). E.T. was conceived through demonic influence and this has 'tainted' her. As of yet, Joan is the only one aware that her baby sister is a sociopath, but all are aware Eleanor is a very different type of baby. Joan is now at a much higher level of work, dealing with demons, terrorists, criminals, etc; Homeland Security has become aware of her unusal nature, but do not know the details. The head of covert operations, Issac B. Dunn, seeks to have Joan working for him. Meanwhile, Joan suffered a tragic loss and that temporarily led to her resigning from God's service. As the fourth season ended, Joan rejoined God's service and she was in denial of her pregnant status…
And now the fifth season begins.
10-31-07/Wednesday, Halloween.
Joan Girardi sits on the porch swing taking an occasional swig of coffee as she makes an entry into her demonology notebook. She wants to get down this morning's lecture by her tutor-angel while it is still fresh in her mind. Joan checks her watch and realizes she will have to hurry if she is to make it to her first class on time. The class is 'Vocals', which has become her favorite of the new semester. This chance to stretch her singing talents has proved enjoyable and she owes it all to Friedman, who signed her up when he was helping her with registering for this semester's classes. At first she had been annoyed, but apparently her old friend knew her better than she did herself…
The sound of a car pulling up to the curb grabs Joan's attention. Parking in front of the white Ford pickup she inherited from Jimmy Tubbs is a long black limousine with government plates. Joan sighs heavily as she recognizes the limo as the one belonging to Issac Dunn. She has been expecting this for quite a while now. 'I. B.' said he would one day call on her for government service, and it seems that today is the day. Joan slips her notebook into her backpack and heads for the limo. At least no one in the family is witnessing this. Dad has already left for work, and Mom is with E.T. in the garage-slash-art studio. A familiar man exits the front passenger side of the car. He is Agent Brown, I.B.'s personal gopher and bodyguard. He nods politely at Joan's approach…
"Miss Girardi, Director Dunn sends his regards and this message: 'Your nation calls'."
Joan shakes her head, determined to send back to the rather scary head of Homeland Security's covert operations the message to eff off. "Tell I.B. he can kiss my…"
Joan pauses as she notices the driver of the limo, who seems familiar… The chauffeur winks and Joan's memory is jogged. The first time Joan met Rich Lady God she was in the back of a chauffeur driven Rolls Royce. It is the same chauffeur.
"He can what?" Agent Brown asks with a rather bemused expression on his face.
"Uh, exactly where would we be going?"
"Quantico. Director Dunn wants you to consult with the F.B.I.'s Behavorial Analysis Unit. You should be home by this evening." Brown says as he opens the back door for her.
Joan notices Chauffeur God make a slight nod of his head and she obediently enters the car. Moments later they are on their way. The limousine quickly reaches the interstate, and with red and blue lights flashing, the large vehicle is soon exceeding the posted speed limit as they head for Virginia. Joan looks about the back of the roomy, very comfortable car. There is a full bar (much too early to drink even if she hadn't sworn off alcohol), there is a thermos of custom blended coffee and fresh pastries that look delicious (too bad she just finished breakfast), and there are even fresh cut flowers (but they only remind Joan of a funeral car). Joan decides to use the car's phone since high security shielding blocks normal cell phone use. Joan has no doubt I.B. has the ultra secure phone as bugged as the rest of the car.
"Hello?" Helen Girardi says on her cell phone.
"Hey Mom, it's me. I wanted to let you know I may be pretty late getting home tonight, so don't worry."
"Oh, is this an…"
"Mom, I really can't talk freely at the moment."
Helen hesitates, knowing Joan's secret and that she might be on an assignment for God. "Okay… Do you know how late you will be?"
"Not a clue. Make an excuse for me to Dad, like…I went to a Halloween party."
"Alright Joan, and please be careful."
"Always. Love you." Joan says as she disconnects, hearing her baby sister starting to cry in the background.
Next, Joan sends a text message to a friend in Vocals class, apologizing for not being able to be there for their scheduled duet. Since there is a long drive ahead, Joan completes her notes on her tutor's morning lecture, uses her laptop to work on a report due in sociology class on Friday and then relaxes. Less than two hours later, just as they are approaching the F.B.I. academy, Agent Brown hands Joan an I.D. badge that identifies her as J.A. Girardi, consultant with Homeland Security. It has a surprisingly good photo of herself and carries an impressively high clearance level.
After being passed through the main gate by marine guards, the limo parks in a V.I.P. lot next to the main entrance of the building. Joan exits and gratefully stretches her legs, but a moment later she ducks down behind the car. Agent Brown glances down at her, once again looking bemused.
"A problem, Miss Girardi?"
"Yes. See that middle-aged woman with the red hair just leaving the building?"
"I do."
"It would fall into the bad thing category if she spotted me. Make sure she doesn't come close."
Agent Brown hesitates. His assignment is to deliver this unusual young woman to the F.B.I., but she carries a security clearance even higher than his own. Does he dare ignore her warning? Brown calls out to the driver…
"Watch her."
The red-head is approaching the parking lot and Brown goes to position himself where he can block the unknown woman should she approach the limo. Meanwhile, Joan softly speaks to Chauffeur God…
"Okay, we only have a few moments. What's the deal here, because I do not want to be I.B.'s lapdog. I get enough assignments working for you without adding Director Dunn to the list."
"Mr. Dunn is determined to have you in his service and he has made a considerable effort to lure you into this first assignment."
"I figured, what with him sending his own personal limo and providing a security clearance only slightly lower than his own. But why here? The B.A.U. are the F.B.I.'s profilers. They deal mostly with serial killers."
"Mr. Dunn is counting on appealing to what he sees as your greatest weakness: your do-gooder nature."
"So you want me to help?"
"Think of this as an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, Joan."
Before Joan can respond, Agent Brown returns and Joan comes out of hiding…
"All clear, Miss Girardi. This way." (Joan follows Brown to the front entrance. He asks,) "Who was that woman?"
"Charlotte Bloom, a well known psychic. We've met before, and it would be beyond awkward to try to explain why I am here today."
Brown doesn't comment as he escorts Joan inside. They are met by a heavy set but very cute young blonde…
"Miss Girardi? Hi, I'm Penelope Garcia and I'll be escorting you to your meeting with Dr. Reid." Garcia says as Joan reads her I.D. badge, which identifies her as a technician.
"Goodbye, Miss Girardi." Brown says as he turns away.
"Hey, whoa. You're leaving? How am I suppose to get home?"
"The F.B.I. will provide your transportation."
Brown walks away while Garcia indicates for Joan to follow. As they travel, Joan is impressed by the modern facility that is filled with intelligent, purpose driven people. They pass through the glass doors that indicate this part of the building is the Behavorial Analysis Unit.
"Dr. Reid is waiting for you in the conference room."
"He's 'Doctor Reid'? Let me guess, he's a grey haired old fart who has been doing this forever?"
Garcia chuckles. "Not exactly."
They enter the conference room and Joan sees why Garcia was amused by her guess. The waiting man is tall, very thin and in his twenties. Everything about him proclaims: geeky super genius.
"S.S.A. Dr. Spencer Reid, this is Homeland Security consultant, J. A. Girardi."
"Thank you for coming in Miss Girardi." Reid says in a tired voice.
Garcia says, "I have to get back to my computer before she starts to miss me."
"Thank you, Garcia." Reid automatically says.
As Garcia exits, Joan inquires, "That was a lot of letters before your name. I'm a little weak in my governmentese."
"S.S.A. stands for Supervisory Special Agent."
"Wow, at your age and with a doctorate to boot? You must be really smart."
"Actually I have three doctorates as well as several other lesser degrees, Miss Girardi." Reid says with a brief smile, and then blushes because he thinks he sounds like he is bragging.
Joan notices his social awkwardness. "Please call me Joan. Do you prefer Spencer or Spence?"
"Most people just call me Reid."
"Yeah, I've noticed the federal preference for anything but first names. I'm a little more casual, Spencer. So, how many days have you spent interviewing psychics?"
"How...? Oh, is this an example of your own psychic abilities Miss...er, Joan?"
"I don't apply the term psychic to myself. But, I did see Charlotte Bloom leaving the building, and you look like you haven't had much sleep in the last few days. One plus one is two."
Reid smiles. "Of course. If I weren't so exhausted, I would have seen that. The Behavorial Analysis Unit is working a case that may overlap with Homeland Security's rather ill-defined parameters. On their insistence, we have spent two days interviewing psychics to see if they can be of any help."
"By 'we' I'd guess you mean you."
"Yes. The team is a little short handed since our most experienced profiler, Jason Gideon, has recently retired. His replacement, David Rossi, isn't due to arrive for a few more days." (Footnote.)
"And B.A.U. has never worked with psychics before?"
"No, never. If you don't consider yourself a psychic Joan, what term do you use? Because so far, you are batting a thousand."
"Maybe I just read the board of life better than most."
Reid smiles. "I like that. A clever turn of phrase."
"I give credit to my brother. You kind of remind me of him."
"A compliment?"
"Not always, but this time it is." Joan says with a smile of her own and notes Reid's renewed blush. She decides Dr. Spencer Reid is kinda cute - in a geeky, sweater vest wearing sort of way. It occurs to Joan that this is the first time she has thought this about a guy since Jimmy died.
"I'm confused...Joan. Homeland security added your name to our list of potential psychics at the last moment. If you're not actually a psychic, what are you doing here?"
"My I.D. says I'm a consultant, and I guess you could call me an outside of the box thinker. I'm not sure I can be of any use to you, but I'm willing to give it a try. That is, after you turn off the recording device."
"What do you..." Reid pauses as he sees Joan's expression. He announces to the room, "Okay Garcia, turn off the camera."
"Okay, Reid." Garcia's voice says from seemingly thin air.
"Satisfied?"
Joan shakes her head. "All of them, right now or I walk. I don't think Director Dunn would be too happy with that outcome."
Reid has a quick phone conversation with Garcia. "Okay, they're all off. You have my word."
Joan nods, knowing he is telling the truth. "What am I here to see?"
"Those three boxes on the table behind you."
Joan looks toward the table and sighs heavily, as if she were distressed about something. She leaves her backpack on a chair by the door and sits at the table. From behind her Reid adds...
"Each box contains three items sealed in evidence bags. Please don't open the bags. Otherwise you may examine them as much as you like."
Sitting at the table, with her back to Reid, Joan begins to open the boxes and remove the items inside. Joan immediately detects the stench of demonic energy and the type. It takes only a few minutes for Joan to gather all of the information she can, but she waits awhile longer to give Reid time to finish searching her backpack. Joan coughs to let Reid know she is done. He hastily joins her at the table.
"Already finished?" Reid asks.
"That depends. Are you done spying on me?"
Reid blushes furiously. "Joan, I am very sorry..."
Joan holds up a hand. "Hey, I get it. A stranger is dumped on you with a security clearance so high, you can't access my official file. I assume you had you I.T. tech run a google search on me?"
"Yes, but there wasn't much beyond your involvement in the Ryan Hunter affair. Homeland Security had that case, but they sought our help in profiling the unsub."
"Unsub?"
"Unknown Subject. Our profile was astonishingly inaccurate. If I may ask, how did you figure out it was Ryan Hunter who was behind the series of religious attacks in Arcadia?"
"Simple. He told me."
"Oh."
Joan chuckles. "You sound so disappointed. Okay, just for fun, profile me."
Reid instantly replies, "From the contents of your backpack you are a college student, pre-law, intelligent but not with spectacular grades. The coded notebook is odd, especially since I saw no discernable pattern. I have a great deal of experience with codes, but this one baffles me."
Joan smiles. The code is written and read spiritually, and only she can read it. "I'd tell you what it says, but then I'd have to kill you."
Reid pauses, looking nervous. Joan realizes his social awkwardness extends to humor...
"That was a joke, Spencer. Please continue."
"I see. Well, you are obviously an attractive young woman who wears an engagement ring, but you use no make-up and are dressed in somber clothing. You are in mourning for a lost fiance."
Joan gulps hard and her eyes glisten as this 'just for fun' exercise has gotten too serious. "Wow, that was cold."
Reid also gulps hard and guiltily says, "Joan, I am so sorry. Sometimes I intellectualize a situation so much, I forget the feelings of the people involved."
Joan sighs. "Well, you were right. I lost my fiance, a Miami cop named Jimmy Tubbs, last July when he was killed in the line of duty. Then on September first, while on a plane to Miami to settle his estate...I had a miscarriage."
Reid stares at the floor feeling a tidal wave of sympathy but unable to come up with the appropriate words. Joan knows how bad he feels for her and decides to let him off the 'guilt hook'.
"Okay, let's get to work. I take it you are looking for a serial killer, one who kills multiple victims and considering the date, he strikes on Halloween night. I've arranged the boxes in the order the crimes were committed, which I assume was one of the tests you were giving the psychics?"
"How do you know this?"
Joan ignores the question. "All of the boxes contained identical Model 92L Berettas with sequential serial numbers. Box one had a hunting knife, but two and three had camper's hatchets. Box one had a four inch house painter's brush, Box two a two inch painter's trim brush and Box three a tapered one inch artist's brush. All three brushes are heavily bloodstained. It's an obvious progression. The guns proved satisfactory in all three crimes, the hunting knife was not properly effective for your 'Unsub' and he switched to hatchets. The brushes show he has been painting something in the victims' blood, but he has not yet found a brush that meets his needs. I'll guess he was painting satanic symbols, and...were there exactly thirteen victims at each crime?"
"You must be psychic. How else could you know all of this?"
"The Model 92L Beretta is the standard sidearm for the Arcadia Police. My Dad carries one, and it has a 13 round clip."
"Yes, but the Unsub might have had a round in the chamber for a total of 14. He might have had extra clips or not have fired all of his rounds."
"The guns were left as they were found, with the chamber slide blown back and the empty clip exposed. There are no extra clips with the gun. Besides, satanic symbols and the number 13 go perfectly with the date. I don't suppose black cats and witches' brooms were involved?"
Reid smiles. "No, but you were right about the satanic symbol. A pentacle was found painted in the victims' blood at each crime scene. A pentacle is a circled pentagram with the point facing down. More properly, a pentacle should be double circled, but apparently the Unsub doesn't know that. Interestingly, the pentagram was not considered a satanic symbol until modern times. A little over a hundred years ago..."
"Spencer, stay on topic. Do you suspect a satanic cult?"
"No, satanic cults that sacrifice humans is an urban myth. When someone dies by the hand of a person involved in satanism, it most often falls into two categories. The first is usually teenaged boys who use the symbolism as an act of rebellion. Death only occurs when when their acts of vandalism and random violence get out of hand. The second type is an individual who has already reached a level of psychotic violence. He turns to satanism in order to ease his conscience with the old axiom: 'the devil made me do it'. But in fact, there has never been a proven case of ritual sacrifice by a satanic cult in this country."
"And from that you conclude satanic cults don't exist? You know, just for a topic to think about at a later time, a true satanic cult would be completely secretive. They wouldn't decorate their ritual sacrifices with bizarre symbols of dubious origins. Ninety nine percent of the time you would never find the bodies because the cultists are intelligent, successful people who know how to get away with what they are doing."
"Joan, you sound like you believe these cults are real."
"They are real, and they exist all over the world. Think of how many people go missing, especially kids, who are never heard from again. Look for the pattern and eventually you will see it."
Spencer Reid looks away, unable to meet Joan's steady, confident gaze. What sort of consultant is this? Her statements defy all known scientific evidence, and yet...he has seen some truly bizarre things since his time with the F.B.I. Reid realizes Joan is a remarkably persuasive, almost manipulative young woman, but even so, he makes a mental note to look for that pattern...
"Tell me about the crimes." Joan says.
"On October thirty-first, 2004 in San Antonio Texas, the Jabert School of Dance was attacked. A Halloween party for the students, mostly young girls taking ballet, was invaded by a man dressed in black, wearing a ski mask and armed with one of the Barettas. He immediately begins shooting and kills all eleven of the adults present."
"That much noise must have resulted in a lot of calls to 9-1-1."
"No, the Unsub uses a silencer, which he always takes with him, as well as a jamming device that blocks all cell phones. The Unsub orders the children to the far wall and then uses the hunting knife to slash the genitals of his victims. The four inch painter's brush is then used to draw a very crude pentacle on a wall. Finished, he shoots the two oldest children and exits, dropping the gun outside."
"Similar scenarios at the other crimes scenes?"
"Yes, 2005 in Albany New York at the University of Hudson River, a sorority party featuring an all night scary movie marathon is invaded by the same Unsub. He kills 13 of the 16 young women in attendance - only the three freshman present are spared. A somewhat better pentacle is drawn on a wall using the two inch trim brush. The blood he gets from his victims after chopping their breasts with the first hatchet."
"Gross. And last year?"
"Tacoma Washington. The Denmark Avenue Middle School's annual Halloween party is attacked by the same man, using the same methods. He kills 13 0f the 14 chaperones, sparing only the youngest one. This time he uses the artist's brush to paint a much better pentacle."
"He always spares the youngest ones present."
"We believe that his psychosis began during a childhood incident, and that is why he is reluctant to kill anyone younger than he must in order to meet his 'quota' of 13."
"And yet he always picks schools. More likely he is trying to cause the most long term psychological damage he can. I can see why Homeland Security has intruded into your case. This level of lethal violence approaches terrorism. And that brings us to this year - tonight. Any leads?"
"Yes, the Unsub has a pattern that we have only recently realized. The edged weapon he uses is alway bought in the city where he will strike next year. The hunting knife used in San Antonio was purchased in Albany. The hatchet used in Albany was bought in Tacoma and the hatchet from that crime was bought in Atlanta, which is where the rest of the B.A.U. team is at. Problem is, there are hundreds of Halloween parties scheduled for tonight in the Atlanta area, and we can't cover them all. Local authorities are reluctant to cause a city wide panic, even though we are certain that city is the next target."
"You think the Unsub is spelling out 'satan' with his choice of cities?"
"Exactly. 'S' for San Antonio, 'A' for Albany, 'T' for Tacoma and now 'A' for Atlanta."
Joan sighs. How can she explain what she knows? In addition to her knowledge of demonology, most of the information she has about this case is due to a very chatty ghost that has attached herself to the evidence in these crimes. Reid is barely able to consider the remote possibility of psychic phenomenon. There's no way he will listen to tales of demons and very informative ghosts. Still, she must try...
"Spencer, the edged weapons clue is what they call a red herring in mystery books. It's a deliberate mislead by the Unsub. Tonight's attack will not be in Atlanta. It will take place in my hometown at Arcadia High."
To Be Continued.
(Footnote: For the purposes of this crossover, I have played fast and loose with the timeline. Fans of Criminal Minds will recall that Agent David Rossi (Joe Mantengna) joined the B.A.U. Halloween week of 2007. This alteration keeps me from having to come up with an explantion as to why Agent Rossi looks exactly like Joan's father.)