CHAPTER 7: Compulsion (Season 1, episode 2)
Character(s): Gideon
A/N: Spoilers for the case, mention of the unsub. And mention of Gideon's encounter with an unsub both in this episode and the one preceeding it ("Extreme Aggressor"). Rather brief, this chapter, but hopefully it captures Gideon's thoughts well enough.
Also, meant to say this before, but I would like to thank everyone who's commented/favorited/followed this series thus far. It's greatly appreciated, and I'm glad you're all liking this little series!
"By learning you will teach, by teaching you will learn." - Latin Proverb
Sometimes I think, if I were to tell about some of the unsubs I've dealt with, their motivations and methods, people would think I really had gone completely mad.
Such a strange case. A person intentionally starting fires at a school, that isn't so unusual in and of itself. But using fixed, repetitive patterns to plan the fires? Using religion, talking about "saving" people? Very odd. What is it about religion that makes people think they can do whatever they want?
Everyone else is asleep. They look exhausted. Who could blame them? They threw themselves right into their work. So quick to throw out theories – I loved seeing the team so focused, loved watching them work together. It was, for lack of a better word, exciting. Even more remarkable considering how tough certain aspects of this case were.
Morgan had to put himself in the unsub's shoes, had to go to some dark places. I know firsthand that's never easy to do. Hotch had to talk Clara down. Had to think fast, be quick on his feet, hope that what he was saying would spare us further victims.
It made sense that Reid would notice Clara's OCD. When one grows up feeling unusual themselves, it becomes easier to spot odd behaviors, quirks, in others.
And Elle. So tough, so determined. I knew my outright refusal to tell her about the Footpath Killer's stutter drove her nuts. She's never more motivated than when she's given a challenge, is denied the easy answer or solution. It was a riddle for her to solve, and she succeeded.
The killer wanted to know the answer, too. Such a frustrated, tense man. I wonder if he managed to figure it out before…
Was I crazy to taunt him, knowing he had a gun to my head? Perhaps. But I needed to do it. I needed to know I could still get into people's minds, make them unknowingly reveal themselves. I needed to know I could still do my job.
Do not think about him anymore. Do not let your mind wander to troubled places. You can't afford to go back there again. Neither can everybody else. These people are young. There's still so much to teach them, still so much they want to prove to the world.
I was that way once. And I'll be damned if I let what happened to me happen to them.
"Energy and persistence conquer all things." - Benjamin Franklin
