Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.
A/N: Shout out to tannerose5, Hippichic81, and OhSnapItsMadison for reviewing chapter 8.
Spencer was feeding Albert when Olivia came into the nursery with Spencer's work phone.
"Your work phone just went off saying that you have round table in 30 minutes, and I already alerted your father that he needs to come up here." said Olivia as she took Albert from Spencer so she could finish feeding their son.
"I will call you in the morning to let you know where I jetted off to." said Spencer as he pecked Olivia on the lips.
"Please come home safe to me." said Olivia.
A few minutes later Spencer was putting on his cardigan when his cell phone rang and he saw that it was Hotch.
"I'm going to be leaving the house in about five minutes." said Spencer as he exited the bedroom with his packed go bag.
"I'm about five minutes away from your house if you want a ride." said Hotch.
"A ride would be great since I was awake for Albert's 2 AM feeding when Olivia came into the nursery telling me that I got called in." said Spencer.
"Well I will be there in four minutes." said Hotch before hanging up.
Four minutes later Spencer got into the passenger seat of Hotch's car, and Hotch looked at him.
"Just catch up on sleep while I drive, and I don't mind if you recline a bit so you can get more comfortable." said Hotch.
"Thanks." said Spencer as he reclined the passenger seat before closing his eyes.
"A few hours ago, a lone gunman shot and killed 3 people inside a downtown Chicago diner. Then, he was taken down by a plainclothes off-duty officer who happened to be in the restaurant at the same time of the shooting." said Garcia.
"Well, it sounds like they got their guy. Why are they requesting our help?" asked Morgan.
"Because an ATM from across the street captured this image of the shooter getting out of a late-model sedan just moments before the shooting and here's a shot of his driver who then sped off." said Garcia.
"Chicago P. D. I. D.'d the shooter as 16-year-old Gavin Rossler after getting a composite match from the national center for missing and exploited children. According to the database, Gavin's been missing for nearly 4 years." said Hotch.
Spencer sighed, realizing that this case also deals with kids.
"It looks like back in 2009 when the mother filed the police report, she insisted Gavin had been abducted." said JJ.
Spencer decided to tell his teammates that they wouldn't be able to talk to Gavin's mom.
"Mom was not the most credible source. She was in and out of rehab facilities for drug and alcohol abuse, died 6 months ago of an apparent drug overdose." said Spencer.
"It says here Gavin had run away from home several times but always returned within 24 hours." said Alex.
"Which could by why local P. D. initially categorized him as a runaway rather than missing." said Rossi.
"So where's this kid been all this time, and where did he meet his partner in crime?" asked Morgan.
"Garcia, have you been able to I. D. the driver?" asked Alex.
"Negative. I'm running the image through facial recognition software right now, though." said Garcia.
"We can't rule out the possibility that the driver is the person responsible for Gavin's disappearance." said Hotch.
"If that's the case, chances are he's out looking for his next victim." said Morgan.
"How does a 12-year-old runaway turn into a cold-blooded killer?" asked Rossi.
"Wheels up in 30." said Hotch.
A few minutes late Spencer was sending Olivia a text message.
GOING TO CHICAGO, AND I HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT DAY TODAY. ~ SR
"Leah Rollins was the first victim. She was working her regular overnight shift at the diner. The second victim was Kyle Workman. He worked at a local convenience store. And the third was Violet Hartford. She was a schoolteacher." said Garcia.
"It seems like other than late-night cravings, there was no connection between the victims and Gavin." said Rossi.
"It looks as though he was born into a high-risk lifestyle. Dad's been incarcerated since Gavin was 4." said Spencer.
"On two separate occasions he was removed from his mother's custody and placed in foster care." said Hotch.
"Well, despite all that, he managed to get good grades." said Alex.
"So 4 years ago- why did he choose that day to leave?" asked JJ.
"Well, that's if he left by choice." said Alex.
"Well, the mom's boyfriend moved in a couple weeks prior. Maybe he and Gavin were bumping heads. I mean, things might have even gotten physical between the two of them." said Morgan.
"Yeah, at one point mom admitted that she and prince charming had been out on a binge for a couple of days." said Rossi.
"Which means Gavin would have been left home alone to fend for himself." said JJ.
"And I'm sure that wasn't the first time. Maybe he just had enough." said Alex.
"This kid's from Garfield Park. That's prime gang territory. If he was left unsupervised from sunup to sundown, chances are he fell in with the wrong crowd." said Morgan.
"Chicago has one of the largest gang populations, over 100,000 active members. Last year 61% of all homicides were found to be gang related." said Spencer.
"Well, it makes sense. I mean, the kid runs away from home and finds himself out on the street. Then some knucklehead gangbangers come along, recruit him, and promise him protection. Next thing you know, he's got the "family" that he never had." said Morgan.
"Garcia, we need a list of active gangs operating in the area." said Hotch.
"Copy that." said Garcia.
"We need to hit the ground running. If this is some sort of mass gang initiation, it could be the first in a series of attacks." said Hotch.
Spencer looked at Gavin's body as Morgan went through Gavin's belongings.
"Single gunshot wound to the chest. He died before paramedics arrived. Still trying to determine what caused these burns on his temple." said Doctor Taylor.
Have you gotten back the toxicology results?" asked Spencer.
"He was clean. No drugs or alcohol." said Doctor Taylor.
"Excuse me. Was this everything?" asked Morgan as he held up the clothes that Gavin wore.
"That's all he came with." said Doctor Taylor.
"Well, how many kids you know these days that don't carry a phone on them? The first thing a runaway does is pick up a disposable." said Morgan.
"Most of the time we get street kids, they'll be somewhat malnourished or have some type of correlating health issues. He didn't show any signs of either." said Doctor Taylor.
"It seems like whoever this kid was with at least made sure he was fed properly." said Morgan.
"There's multiple spiral fractures on both arms." said Spencer.
"When I took the X-rays, it was evident that his fractures hadn't healed properly." said Doctor Taylor.
"Typically you only see that in cases of abuse with toddlers and young children, not someone Gavin's age." said Spencer.
"Well, whoever did this had to have literally twisted his arms until they broke." said Morgan.
"Were you able to determine if these injuries occurred before or after he was reported missing?" asked Spencer.
"I'd say somewhere as early as 6 months ago." said Doctor Taylor.
"That rules out the mom and boyfriend." said Morgan.
"If they didn't cause them, who did?" asked Spencer.
A few minutes later Spencer and Morgan were heading to the police department and Spencer looked at Morgan.
"How is everything going with Savannah?" asked Spencer.
"I had a great night with her last night, but she ended up getting called in minutes before we got called in." said Morgan.
"I had a great evening with my dad, Olivia, and the kids, and I was feeding Albert when Olivia came into the nursery telling me that my work phone went off." said Spencer.
"How did she handle you getting called in?" asked Morgan.
"She just extracted Albert from my arms and finished feeding him while telling me that she woke up dad to let him know that she's going to need him upstairs, and I kissed her goodbye while promising that I would come home safe to her, dad, and the kids and headed off to get dressed before Hotch picked me up so I could get some extra sleep on the way to the office." said Spencer.
"I'm glad that your dad is there to help out." said Morgan.
"It isn't easy having a nearly 17 month old toddler and five month old twins in diapers, but having dad there with us helps make everything a bit easier for Livy and I." said Spencer.
A short while later Spencer and Morgan were watching some video footage.
"Go ahead, mama." said Morgan.
"I pulled this video footage from across the street from the diner. I managed to get a partial plate off the car. I'm running it now." said Garcia as Spencer and Morgan watched the footage.
"Garcia, can you pause it? Rewind it a moment just after Gavin steps out of the car." said Spencer.
Garcia followed Spencer's instructions.
"You see that? The driver didn't wait around for him to enter the diner before he drove off." said Spencer.
"Well, maybe he sensed something was up." said Morgan.
"Why not wait to make sure everything went as planned? I mean, what if something went wrong and the mission had to be aborted? How would the driver let him know inside?" asked Spencer.
"He couldn't even if he wanted to. Gavin didn't have a phone on him." said Morgan.
"Maybe that's why the driver drove off. He knew that Gavin wasn't planning on leaving the diner alive." said Spencer.
"This was a suicide mission." said Morgan.
Spencer was sitting down reading a file as Rossi stared at the clear board, causing Alex to speak up.
"I know that look. The wheels are turning." said Alex.
"I've seen this before. Muzzle-flash burns. We'd occasionally see this on POWs in Vietnam." said Rossi.
"So someone held a gun to his head and repeatedly fired blanks." said Alex.
"That's incredibly risky, especially considering the margin of error when you're holding the barrel of a gun to someone's temporal bone. The discharge alone can cause the skull to shatter." said Spencer.
"Which means not only did this person want to put the fear of God into Gavin, but he knew exactly how to do it without killing him." said Rossi.
"This poor kid was tortured." said Alex.
"Or trained." said Spencer causing Alex and Rossi to look at him, "What if whoever did this wanted to make sure if he got caught he'd never talk?"
A short while later Spencer was sitting in the conference room with JJ and Hotch.
"What have you got, Garcia?" asked Hotch.
"I was finally able to clean up that grainy mess. Here is our mystery driver." said Garcia.
JJ took a look at the picture.
"He can't be much older than Gavin." said JJ.
"They're dressed exactly the same." said Spencer.
"Which is why I ran the image through advanced facial age regression software and then I cross-referenced it with the statewide database. Our driver is 17-year-old Trevor Madison from Arlington heights." said Garcia as she showed Spencer, Hotch, and JJ some pictures of a younger Trevor.
"Another missing kid?" asked JJ.
"Yeah. This is where it goes from wack to super wack with a side of awful. Trevor went missing less than 24 hours after Gavin." said Garcia.
"And nobody made the connection?" asked Spencer.
"No. The other cases were in different jurisdictions, so there hasn't been any physical evidence linking the cases until now." said Garcia.
"These kids aren't runaways. They were abducted." said Hotch as Morgan entered the room.
"We got a hit from the APB. Trevor filled up at a gas station off the interstate a half hour ago." said Morgan.
"Sounds like someone's thinking about skipping town." said JJ.
"It's been hours since the shooting. He could have made it across state lines by now, but he stuck around. Why?" asked Spencer.
At that moment Detective Reyes came into the room.
"One of my officers has just radioed for a tow truck. The kid has barricaded himself inside the car. He's at the intersection." said Detective Reyes.
"Evacuate the area. Evacuate the area." ordered Hotch.
"It's possible we're dealing with a terrorist organization with one man at the center. We're basing our profile on his motivation." said Hotch.
"We believe these children were abducted by a preferential offender who targets prepubescent boys." said Morgan.
"Our unsub is likely a male in his 40s with some military or law enforcement training." said Alex.
"We think he has a secluded location that provides enough privacy to hold his victims captive for several years." said JJ.
"In that time he breaks these kids down and rebuilds them to be hardened soldiers." said Rossi.
"We believe they're suffering from an extreme case of Stockholm syndrome. Much like Patty Hearst, who came to view the SLA as her new family and the rest of the world as adversaries, we believe he's attempting to instill this same feeling within his army." said Spencer.
"He likely uses military torture techniques to get his victims to see his enemies as their own." said Morgan.
"He puts them through a rigorous and punishing military training regimen in order to prepare them mentally and physically for his war." said Spencer.
"Once this happens, the physical threats stop and the reprogramming begins." said Morgan.
"And now that he has their trust, he maintains this connection by bolstering them with love and affection." said JJ.
"His connection to them is important. It ensures once they're released, they will not deviate from their orders." said Rossi.
"His ultimate target has yet to be determined, but it could be as broad as American citizens." said Alex.
"These attacks have been well orchestrated, methodical, and extremely violent in order to maximize destruction and panic." said Spencer.
"Which is why we need to get ahead of him in order to prevent more bloodshed. But in order to do that, we need to identify the source of his rage." said Hotch.
Spencer approached Alex and Rossi as he was talking to Garcia on the phone.
"Guys, I think I know why the unsub targeted Gavin and Trevor. Garcia, are you still there?" asked Spencer as he put his phone onto the table.
"I have now connected 1, 2, 3, 4 missing kids to this unsub. Walk with me through the darkness if you will. Brandon Rutherford and Vincent Gamble- they disappeared within 24 hours of each other 6 months before Gavin and Trevor did, and then their bodies were found two weeks later." said Garcia.
"It's possible they were his first victims." said Spencer.
"But he killed them, so it may not be the same unsub." said Alex.
"The M. E. reports for both Brandon and Vincent were consistent with the type of torture Gavin suffered, but theirs was much more severe." said Spencer.
"These two probably rebelled against the unsub's programming, so he got rid of them." said Rossi.
"Uh, yeah, that brings us to Steven Walker and Daniel Morrison. They were 12 years old when the were abducted, again, within 24 hours of each other, and this happened two years after Gavin and Trevor disappeared. Steven Walker's body was found a year ago in a wooded area just outside the city, and his injuries were consistent with the other boys." said Garcia.
"All of these kids were high-risk targets. Gavin and Trevor, they lived in gang territory. Brandon and Vincent were street kids. Steven and Daniel both came from single-parent homes." said Rossi.
"His ruse could be as simple as showing them attention, something they may not have received at home." said Alex.
"There's something known as the magical age, between 9 and 12, when a child's psyche is more malleable. That could be why the unsub changed his victimology. Like the child soldiers being recruited by the rebels in Sudan, they lack the physical and emotional maturity to resist their captors." said Spencer.
"He realized that the younger that he went, the easier they would be to control." said Rossi.
"Brandon was taken at 15. Maybe he was too old to respond to the unsub's conditioning." said Spencer.
"And Daniel was 12 when he was abducted. So there's a possibility he's still alive." said Rossi.
"He'll be 15 now." said Alex.
"He's likely proven himself a good and cooperative soldier. That submission may have earned him a degree of freedom." said Spencer.
"What are you thinking?" asked Alex.
"Even though he's a soldier, he's still a teenager. So maybe the best way to reach him is through the media. It's possible Daniel has access to a television, maybe even the Internet." said Spencer.
"Once these boys are programmed, they're probably hard to break." said Rossi.
"Right now it's all we have." said Spencer as he looked at the photos of the young boys while thinking about Albert.
Alex looked at Spencer.
"Are you thinking about a certain baby boy who's at home with Olivia, your father, and his sisters?" asked Alex.
"Yeah." said Spencer.
"You and Olivia are great parents, Spencer." said Rossi.
"I know, but there are times that I swear that Piper is already dealing with the terrible twos even though she's going to be 17 months old on Sunday." said Spencer.
"I take it that she's getting a little bit jealous when you and Olivia are tending to Albert and Ava?" asked Alex.
"Yeah." said Spencer.
Spencer stood outside the interrogation room with Hotch and Rossi as they watched Morgan question Daniel.
"My name is Derek Morgan. I'm with the FBI. Look, I know you've been through a lot these past couple of years, but I need you to understand that everything that man told you is a lie." said Morgan.
"My name is Daniel James Morrison. I'm a soldier. 53699." said Daniel.
"Listen to me, kid. I need your help to find the person who is responsible for all of this." said Morgan.
"My name is Daniel James Morrison." "No more innocent people should die" "I'm a soldier. 53699." "Because of this man's cause." "My name is Daniel James Morrison. I'm a soldier. 53699!" shouted Daniel.
"It's all part of the training. Name, rank, and serial number." said Hotch.
"I don't know, most serial numbers have at least 9 digits. He keeps repeating the same 5, which means it has some sort of special meaning to the unsub. Maybe it's a military code of some sort?" asked Spencer.
"Garcia already checked. Came up empty." said Rossi.
"He chose today for his attack." said Hotch.
"And the only person who knows why isn't talking." said Rossi.
"Maybe JJ will have more luck." said Hotch.
Spencer pulled a chair closer to where Morgan JJ, and Alex were sitting.
"All right, let's look at victimology again." said Morgan.
"First attack, the diner. Victims across the board." said Alex.
"Second attack, car bombing. Same goal-take out as many victims as possible." said Spencer.
"Third attack, attempted mass shooting, but on a much bigger scale. God knows how many people he would have killed." said JJ.
"What if it's not about the attack itself but what happened leading up to them? Officer Clayburn entered that diner just minutes before the shooting. But the explosive was detonated just moments after the traffic cop radioed for help. And as soon as Daniel saw Reyes... His whole demeanor changed. They're targeting Chicago P. D." said Morgan.
"How did Gavin know that there would be a cop in the diner at that exact moment?" asked Rossi before he took a sip of his coffee.
"Chicago has over 13,000 police officers. That's roughly 60 per square mile. There are two precincts within a 4-block radius of the diner. My guess is it was only a matter of time before a cop walked in." said Spencer.
"And if it was his mission, he was probably prepared to wait all night if he had to." said Hotch.
"It wasn't a coincidence the attack happened shortly after the night shift ended. They learned the routines, planned ahead." said Alex.
"Well, that brings us back to square one. The list of people that have problems with law enforcement is a long one." said Rossi.
Spencer turned his head to some photos of officers that were on the wall, causing him to walk over there as Alex talked.
"We're looking at everyone from organized crime to ex-cons." said Alex.
"If it was an ex-con, the target would likely be more specific, like the arresting officer." said Hotch as Spencer looked at a certain badge.
"Guys, I think the 5-digit number Daniel's reciting is a police badge number." said Spencer.
Hotch called Garcia.
"Garcia." said Hotch.
"Talk to me." said Garcia.
"Run 53699 against a list of Chicago P. D." said Hotch.
"Running it as fast as bytes will carry. 53699... I got a hit! 53699 is the badge number to a former officer Wayne Gulino. Gulino was an Air Force sergeant. He served two tours in Iraq. When he came home he joined the Chicago P. D. 7 years ago today, he and his partner George Scotman had their badges stripped for brutally coercing confessions out of suspects. A fellow rookie officer filed a report. That led to an internal affairs investigation. And that rookie cop who blew the whistle is none other than one Detective Mark Reyes." said Garcia.
"All right, Garcia, send us everything you've got on Gulino and the partner." said Hotch.
"Gulino was defined by his badge, and when he felt wronged by his own kind, the love turned to hate." said Rossi.
"Blake, go talk to Reyes, see what you can find out. The rest of us will go to Gulino's residence." said Hotch.
Spencer left with Hotch and Rossi to check out the Gulino residence.
Spencer looked at Morgan as they got comfortable for the flight home.
"Did you even tell your mom that you were in town?" asked Spencer.
Morgan groaned.
"Someone's in big trouble." teased JJ.
Rossi and Hotch smirked.
"I will call her when I am heading home." said Morgan.
Spencer shook his head when he saw Olivia putting one of his favorite meals onto the dining room table as he stepped into the living room.
"I guess Penelope called to tell you that I'm on my way home?" asked Spencer.
"She did." said Olivia as she walked over to her husband and kissed him on the lips, "Welcome home."
"Kids and dad asleep?" asked Spencer.
"Yes, and I stayed up since Penelope told me that this case affected you a bit." said Olivia.
A minute later Spencer and Olivia were eating their late dinner while talking about the past few days.
The next morning Spencer was carrying his lunch into the break room so he could put it in the fridge where he saw Morgan making some coffee.
"Morning kid." said Morgan.
"Morning." grinned Spencer.
"I guess you had a great night with Olivia." said Morgan.
"When I walked into the house last night, Olivia was putting one of my favorite meals onto the table since Garcia called her." said Spencer.
"Garcia also alerted Savannah, and Savannah tried to surprised me with a home cooked meal but she ended up ordering take out instead." said Morgan.
"I take it that Savannah's not one of the greatest cooks?" asked Spencer.
"She sets off the smoke detector every time like I do." said Morgan.
"You do know that Olivia and I can give you and Savannah some cooking lessons or come over to our house for a home cooked meal." said Spencer.
"I will take that offer since that means I get to spend some time with my god-children." said Morgan.
"True, but how about you and Savannah come over for dinner tonight." said Spencer.
"What's on the menu?" asked Morgan.
"Eggplant lasagna." said Spencer.
Later that evening Spencer was letting Morgan and Savannah into the house.
"I brought ice cream for desert." said Savannah as she held up a bag.
Spencer grimaced as he rubbed his tummy a bit while looking at Morgan
"You didn't warn Savannah that Olivia and I are both lactose intolerant?" asked Spencer.
Savannah looked at Morgan.
"You should have told me." said Savannah.
"I forgot." said Morgan.
Savannah looked at Spencer.
"Don't you have antacids that you can take?" asked Savannah.
"We do, and it's been awhile since I had ice cream." said Spencer as he led Morgan and Savannah to the kitchen where Olivia and William were feeding the twins some pureed peas and carrots as Piper snacked on some fruit.
Olivia looked up from Albert as Spencer placed the ice cream in the freezer.
"Hey Savannah." said Olivia before she turned back to Albert to give him another bite.
"They have definitely gotten bigger since the last time I saw the twins." said Savannah.
Piper looked up from her bananas and grinned when she saw Morgan and Savannah.
"Hi." said Piper before throwing some of her bananas at her uncle Derek's head, causing Albert and Ava to laugh as Savannah giggled.
"That wasn't very lady like Piper." said Morgan as he cleaned himself up.
Piper stuck her tongue out at Morgan as a giggling Savannah looked at Spencer who was finishing up the salad that he was making.
"Derek warned me that Piper would probably be throwing her food or toys at him." said Savannah.
"She started doing that the day she had her first heart check after being released from the hospital in February." said Spencer.
"What happened?" asked Savannah.
"Kawasaki disease, and she had an echocardiogram done in August and everything was fine." said Spencer.
"Who's Piper's pediatric cardiologist?" asked Savannah.
"She sees Dr. Lopez at Children's National." said Spencer.
"I've met her before." said Savannah.
At that moment Piper threw one of her sliced oranges at Morgan causing more laughter, and Spencer looked at Morgan.
"I think that I am going to call Piper's behavior towards you as The Morgan-Effect since she has been throwing food and toys at you since she was seven months old while finding out ways to avoid being held by you since she was nine months old." teased Spencer as he checked on the lasagna that was already in the oven.
