Chapter: Firsthand Experience
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Within forty-eight hours, Octavia was walking outside of an airport building with a backpack in her right hand and her cellphone in her left. Her eyes flicker around her surroundings as she stared at people getting into rental cars, family or taxis.
"Octavia."
Turning to the left, she smiled upon seeing Rossi coming towards her with Reid along his right side.
"I guess phone calls aren't as better as in person." Octavia said as she walked toward Reid and him.
When Rossi and his team left to travel off to the state of Pennsylvania within hours Hotch had requested her guidance in the medical field. Supposedly the medical examiner isn't meeting eye to eye with Hotch; thus, he made Rossi call her in after calling Erin Strauss—the BAU Section Chief—to get approval to invite Octavia in.
"Did you get someone to watch over Annabelle?"
"Yes. Alex and her mother—my aunt—were happy to watch over Annabelle. My aunt is an elementary teacher and Alex is, as you know, going for her secondary education degree." Octavia explained as Rossi took her bag from her before she can even protest against him.
"Hello Reid."
"Hello, Octavia. I got a question for you."
"What is that?" Octavia replied to the genius of the team.
"Are you Octavia the Minor or the Major?" Reid asked while clasping his hands together, playing with his fingers.
"Minor."
"Did you know that Minor meant 'the younger?' That Octavia the Younger brother was—"
"Roman Emperor Augustus." Rossi cut him off before stepping closer to Octavia and resting his right hand against her lower back, leading her towards an all-black Chevy SUV.
Reid given up the front seat for Octavia while Rossi drove them back to the police station. Octavia stared out the passenger window, watching the scenery of woods go by them.
"So what's the case about?" Octavia turned her attention away from the passenger window to glance in the backseat to Reid before looking at Rossi. A small grin came onto her lips upon seeing him wearing the sunglasses that she brought for him.
"The UNSUB has been kidnapping woman and men around in their late thirties, brunette and they all appeared to work in a social field. All the bodies are found somewhere near water. Their throats cut and body sliced up too." Rossi explained in short summary as he continued to drive through the backroads.
"So these people work with people. Like in retail?" Octavia questioned.
"Mostly health care field." Reid said from the backseat.
"Does this UNSUB show that they have a grudge?" Octavia asked next making Reid to shake his head.
"The UNSUB also leaves their signature on the victims which is unusually small initials. We believe that this UNSUB was doing this because we think they want everyone to notice their work. Trying to make a name for themselves."
"Sounds like this UNSUB has a hand for art." Octavia blurted out making Rossi to glance at her and Reid to lean forwards with his eyebrows coming slightly together in curiosity.
"What?" Octavia looked between the two as she noticed how they are staring at her with a mixture of curiosity and thinking expression.
They pulled up to the police station to which Rossi and Reid walked on either side of Octavia. The two of them open the double doors, allowing Octavia to walk in before them and soon they were on either side of her again as they led her through the station, straight to the team.
"You guys, Octavia said something in the vehicle that had me thinking." Rossi said as they stood around in a circle.
"I did?" Octavia lowly said, glancing at Rossi with her perfectly thin trimmed eyebrows rising up.
"Our UNSUB leaves a small signature of their initials on the left hip of the victims body like an artist would do upon finishing their work." Rossi explained, glancing at Octavia as she walked towards the bulletin board to stare at the victims' bodies.
Her eyes flicker to the left hip of the victims where the initials were located. She looked back at the incision cut marks across the victims' body and she tilted her head to the side.
"Like a sculpture or sketch artist on a canvas." Octavia softly said before turning around to face everyone.
"Sculpture? Sketch artist?" Morgan questioned making Octavia to nod.
"The way that these slices are made is as if they are putting details into the bodies like slices in the abdomen muscles to make a define muscular look. Strokes of slices and the way that the blood is brushed against their body too, it looks like a thin paint brush." Octavia jabbed her thumb behind her to the bulletin board.
The others stepped forwards and tilted their heads too, not trying to closely focus on the bodies in a psychological way, but in a broader sight.
"Oh yeah, I see it." Emily pointed out.
"How did we not see this?" Morgan lowly mumbled.
"We were focus on the victimology instead of seeing the slices on the body then the way that the blood was presented and laid out. Didn't the medical examiner say anything about the way the blood was formed?" Rossi turned towards Hotch, who had gone with Emily to talk to the examiner earlier.
"No." Hotch shook his head, glaring at the board before turning away and flipping open his phone to call Garcia.
"I can go look at the bodies if you want me to." Octavia said, looking at the team with raised eyebrows.
Rossi was already not happy with bringing Octavia to their case, not wanting her to see and witness any of this, but her medical knowledge was needed. But also, a new set of eyes was good, especially with her pointing out the markings on the bodies that they completely let go over their heads. Now, she was asking to go see the bodies making him to open his mouth to say he would go with her, but Hotch stepped in.
"Reid go with Octavia."
"Right." Reid nodded before walking with Octavia back out of the police station and outside to the SUV.
"Rossi."
Rossi turned away from staring at the board to look at Hotch. Morgan, JJ, and Emily looked between the two before mumbling about going to go look at the files. JJ went to another room where one of the victim parents were to talk to them to try to gain more information. Hotch stood facing Rossi with the usual serious look, but this one seem different. This one with a hint of concern.
"What's the matter?"
"I didn't want her to get involved like this with the case." Rossi admitted while exhaling out of his mouth and glancing away from Hotch to stare at the bulletin board before looking back at Hotch.
"I understand, Dave, but look how much Octavia knows. With fresh eyes, especially one with medical knowledge, Octavia just pointed out more facts that we looked right over. I can understand that you do not want someone you are involved with seeing this line of work, but we need this Dave. It has been two days and we are up to four victims." Hotch explained as he kept staring at Rossi without blinking.
"I know, I know. But it doesn't mean that I enjoy it. I have that gut feeling." Rossi replied before turning back around to cross his arms over his chest and stare at the bulletin board.
"Something isn't right about all of this. Whoever this is has medical experience yet has an artist hand." Hotch stepped up beside Rossi as they stared at the board together, however, Hotch looked at Rossi, who was looking in between two of the victims.
"What's wrong?"
"Octavia pointed out that the jagged marks happen most likely when the person begin to wake up or the pain medication worn off. However, this latest victim slices are perfect with only a slight jerk of a mess up when the victim began to wake up."
"Are you saying we might be dealing with two UNSUBs?" Hotch questioned as he looked at the two victim photos too.
"I think we are. A young and older. The older suffering from arteritis making the slice marks to jagged. The younger learning and making precise marks. Have Garcia look up any past history of missing people that were found near water with some slice marks. But also, someone with an art background." Rossi said, walking away from the bulletin board to walk to the table where the files were while Hotch did what Rossi suggested.
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Entering the medical examiner building, Octavia and Reid met the medical examiner who was about sixty in age, but appeared strong for his age. He introduced himself as Dr. Walter Williams and led them down into the examination room.
They enter the examination room where the latest victim body was on the table. Octavia moved towards the body while Reid was glancing around the room, his eyes flickering to one of the open metal cabinets that a body would be in. However, Reid looked at the older man that was eyeing Octavia up to which made Reid to move unsteadily on his feet in an uncomfortable gesture. Reid kept his eyes on him with his hands slipped in his slack pockets.
"What is this?" Octavia whispered as she stared at one of the incision marks that the UNSUB made.
She put on rubber gloves and grabbed a pair of tweezers to pluck a thin fragment of what appeared to be a bristle to a brush.
"Do you have a microscope that I can use?"
"Right there." Dr. Williams grinned while pointing to the microscope.
Octavia walked over to it and put the small piece on a petri dish before turning the microscope on. She looked into the lens while Reid stood beside her, his eyes keep looking back at the older man.
"It looks like a fragment from a brush. What do you think, Reid?" Octavia pulled away to look at Reid's face, but see that he was staring at Dr. Williams, who was pulling the blanket back over the victim's body with shaky hands.
"Reid?" Octavia softly whispered making him to look at her and nodded.
She stepped aside to allow him to look into the microscope making her to look around and then her eyes flicker down to the counter where she sees very detailed hand drawn sketches of organs and bodies.
Her eyes flicker to the bottom to see initials that looked very familiar.
"Dr. Williams, are you in here? We have another." A young man appeared in the doorway and pushing up his glasses before looking straight at Octavia and Reid with wide eyes.
"Yes. Dr. Draco and Dr. Reid, this is my apprentice, Matthew Winks. He will be taken over this place when I retire." Dr. Williams smile widely making Reid and Octavia to stick close to one another while they nodded towards this Matthew Winks.
"Nice to meet you." Octavia waved as she stared at the young man before her eyes flicker over to Dr. Williams, who was fixing the white blanket over the victim body as if he was tucking them in.
Her eyes flicker to the steel cabinets that held bodies and her eyes went to the one that was open to see a hand. What freaked her out at that moment was that the hand moved.
"Reid, have you found anything with the fragment?" Octavia softly said as she looked back at Reid, who was looking back into the microscope. She leaned close to him to the point that her hair brushed over his shoulder.
"Whatever you do, do not freak out. Something is off about them. The sketches on the counter are the same initials designs on the body." Octavia softly whispered into Reid's ear before stepping on the other side of him, further away from the two medical examiners.
"I think they are our UNSUBS."
"Try to speed dial the team." Octavia mumbled as she pretend to fix something on the microscope.
"Is there anything we can do for you?" Matthew Winks asked, clearing his throat and fidgeting in his spot while playing with his fingers.
"You are a good artist." Reid said as his left hand was in his pocket where he was hitting buttons on his cellphone to speed dial Hotch.
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"What do you got for me, Garcia?" Hotch asked when he answered his cellphone and then put it on speaker phone for the whole team to listen in.
"Well, I had made many cross reference to get ahead of the game and I must say it was a lot to do, but you know I can handle anything and—"
"Garcia." Hotch cut her off of her rambling.
"Right, sorry sir. I did a cross reference of the victims jobs, who they mostly reported to and other cases of bodies. Well, I had found out that all the bodies that were found in the past near banks of water with slice marks. Then the victims that we have now, all of them either worked for some sort of health organization or social work in the local hospital to help families figure out a way to arrange funeral arrangements. However, all the bodies went through one medical examiner."
"Let me guess, Dr. Walter Williams."
"Yes. And he has just be diagnosed with very bad arteritis hands making him to retire early from being a medical examiner. He then taken on an apprentice, Matthew Winks, who has gotten in trouble once in school for showing disturbing behavior to the cadavers. However, Dr. Williams had given him a second chance by working for him. Matthew Winks is also a minor in visual art while Dr. Williams was known to sell paintings. Guess what the paintings usually are?" Garcia explained then questioned.
"I assume images of bodies. Thanks Garcia." Hotch said, hanging the phone up.
"Oh my god. Reid and Octavia." Emily whispered causing them to look at each other than at Rossi, who immediately begin to pull on his coat and heading towards the door.
"David, stop right there." Hotch exclaimed, pointing right at the older agent.
"We cannot waste time." Rossi turned around replying.
"We have to warn Reid and Octavia before we try to go in. We have to try not to endanger them." Hotch explained before he looked at his phone that started to ring.
"It's Reid." Hotch said before answering the phone.
"Reid…Reid are you there? Reid." Hotch kept saying, but stopped talking upon hearing talking that wasn't there.
"What is it?" Morgan asked as he notice how Hotch head slightly tilted as if he was trying to listen to something very closely.
"Reid speed dial me. I hear Dr. Williams and another person talking. Sounds like a young man." Hotch explained as he continued to listen in before he heard the voice getting louder.
"We have to move in now. My gut is telling me so." Rossi snapped making Hotch to nod.
"Get the officers ready and suit up." Hotch said as he begin walking out of the station with the team and the sheriff rounding up his men.
The team looking at Rossi as he got into the passenger seat of the SUV Hotch was driving and he had a look of determination as he strapped on his FBI bulletproof vest.
"Rossi—"
"Don't Hotch. Just don't."
"We have to make sure that Reid and Octavia do not get into any crossfire or held as hostages. We have to try to get them out as if they don't know."
"They will know that we are coming. They'll know." Rossi instantly replied making Hotch to look forwards as they sped down the back roads with Morgan up ahead and cop cars following.
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"I have a visual art minor." Matthew replied to Reid's comment about having an artistic hand.
"I see. Do you always put your initials on your work?"
Octavia knew right then and there that Reid was informing Dr. Williams and Matthew that they know that the two were the UNSUBs. Upon seeing Dr. Williams smile drop from his face and Matthew locking up the medical examination room door, Octavia came up to stand behind Reid.
"How did you figure it out?"
"You two were always the examiners assigned to the bodies. You washed the blood off the body before anyone else can take pictures or allowed authorities to look upon before they tell you to do so. And your sketches have your initials just like the bodies that were marked." Reid nodded to the papers on the countertop.
"I told you to file those." Dr. Williams snarled at the younger man, who slightly cower away from him.
"And the alive victim in that metal cabinet right there where the door is still open." Octavia pointed out making Dr. Williams to open it right up and pull the metal table out. There he put a scalpel against the throat of the person that was arousing awake.
Immediately Reid pulled out his gun and pointed it at Dr. Williams. This makes Matthew to pull out a gun and point it at Reid.
"Seems we are in a gridlock." Dr. Williams creepily smiled.
"How about we set the guns down and talk this out?" Octavia whispered as she didn't want to be in the middle of a gun fight.
Her mind instantly thinking of her little girl at home, who was just thinking that mommy was just sitting in an office going over medical files while helping out Rossi and his team. Octavia stared at the young man with the gun and took notice of something. The safety was on the gun and Matthew didn't realize it. Neither did Reid apparently. That makes Octavia to put on a brave face and took a step forwards.
"Octavia, what are you doing?" Reid said, his voice going up an octave as he couldn't believe that Octavia was taking steps towards the UNSUB with a gun that was now pointing right at her.
"I want to negotiate." Octavia said with her hands raised in the air.
The sound of sirens outside make Dr. Williams to curse underneath his breath while Matthew was slightly shaking. Dr. Williams looked at Matthew with a glare.
"Train the gun on the toothpick with a gun instead of the unarmed woman, dammit." Dr. Williams pulled the scalpel away from the person on the metal pulled table throat and begin to walk backwards towards an exit door that was present in the room.
The gun was once again trained on Reid, who wanted to train his gun on Dr. Williams, who was going to make an escape, but he kept his gun train on the man that obviously had a gun pointing at him.
"Reid go after Dr. Williams."
"But Octavia—"Reid was saying, but she waved her right hand at him.
"Go after him because Matthew can't shoot you or me." Octavia told him as she saw that Dr. Williams was opening up the exit door, but looked at Octavia with raised eyebrows upon her comment.
"Octavia I can't do that."
"Reid…" Octavia looked away from Matthew and at Reid.
"The safety is on." She finished before turning around and high kicking Matthew's gun out of his hand.
Realizing what she meant, Reid quickly chased after Dr. Williams that ran out the back exit door. While Octavia was shoved backwards. She looked up as Matthew yelled and charged her to which was his number one mistake.
As Matthew charged her with a loud angry yell, the examination room door busted open to show Morgan, Hotch and Rossi with their guns drawn. But they stopped as they watched Matthew lunge at Octavia.
"Octavia!" Rossi shouted.
"Wait, don't shoot." Hotch shouted at the cops that begin to enter the room with their guns drawn.
Grabbing Matthew's right arm that was swinging towards her, she twisted it causing a crack to ring out, she hooked her leg around his own and ripped him forwards. Turning her back to him, Octavia lifted him up over her and slammed him onto his back. Quickly, she maneuver on his body to pin his arm in an uncomfortable position with her right foot resting in between his shoulder blades.
"Reid went after Dr. Williams out that back door." Octavia shouted making Morgan to run out the back door while Hotch and Rossi came over to her.
"Buddy you made one mistake when challenging her." Rossi said as a cop came forwards to handcuff Matthew Winks once Octavia let him go.
"You messed with a three degree black belt woman in jiujutsu." Rossi finished as stood toe to toe with the young UNSUB, who was groaning in pain due to Octavia's quick submission hold.
Once the cop led the young UNSUB out of the room, Rossi placed his hand on her lower back while stepping close to her. Octavia has her eyes closed, breathing in and out of her nose, trying to relax her body from the adrenaline rush. Hotch stood before Octavia before looking towards the metal table that was slid out of one of the metal fridge cabinets to see medics around it and taking care of the person that was alive on it.
"Are you alright?" Rossi gently asked her.
Octavia open her eyes and turn her head to stare up into Rossi's eyes.
"You owe me big time."
A small grin came onto his lips as he held her close and ran his hand in a small circular motion on her lower back in a comforting manner.
"You alright, Octavia?" Hotch looked at her, ignoring the closeness of Rossi and her.
"Yeah. Reid and I suspected something was wrong when we notice the sketches on the countertops and the initials that matched on the body. Then the way Dr. Williams kept eyeing me as if I was some object. Then the fact I saw that man's body over there moving, signaling he was alive. Yeah, I knew something was wrong and Reid quickly caught on too." Octavia explained making Hotch to nod while stepping away from them and pressing his right hand to his ear where the ear piece was.
"Morgan and Reid got Dr. Williams. We got both of the UNSUBs now in custody." Hotch said making Rossi to nod while looking down at Octavia as she lets out a relief exhale.
"Let's get out of here and you home."
"You mean all of us home." Octavia said making Rossi to nod while leading her out of the building.
"You know, what you did was brave." Rossi said.
"Did you know what his true mistake was?"
"What?"
"He pointed at gun at Reid and me, but his safety was on. I got close enough to kick the gun out of his hand then took him out." Octavia told Rossi as they exit the building and got outside.
"Octavia that was a risky move." Rossi stopped walking and looked down at her.
"Yes, but it was one of those chances that you had to take." Octavia replied as she stared back up at him with green eyes that appear to really stick out as the sunlight shined down upon them.
"Just don't do that again." Rossi said as he led her towards the SUV, walking pass Emily and JJ.
"Oh, there's an again?"
"You know what I mean."
"No, no, I don't. You said an again, Rossi."
"I meant if something like this was to happen, don't let it happen again."
"Are you sure? I'm pretty sure you are saying that you like my presence in that sentence."
"Octavia, I don't want this happening to you again."
"But you said if something was to happen like this again, don't let it happen like this again."
"Why are you trying to twist my words? You know what I mean."
"No, I don't. Please explain more to me, oh great grandmaster of profiling."
"You know they will make a good couple." Emily pointed out as Octavia and Rossi kept going back and forth while trying not to smile at one another as they did so.
Soon Morgan, Reid and Hotch came up to stand with Emily and JJ as they join in on watching Octavia and Rossi still going back and forth, but this time grins were on their lips.
"Yeah, I believe they will be." Hotch said making the team to glance at their unit chief with raised eyebrows then at each other as they realized something.
If Hotch notices and said how good two people will be together then they will be just that.
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Hi Everyone,
Here's another chapter!
Decided to twist it up a bit from the show series and get Octavia involved with the team some way, somehow.
Thanks!