Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.
A/N: Shout out to tannerose5, Chermayne, LottyCharl, and ElisaC for reviewing chapter 20.
Even though I have Spencer being a better shot in this universe, he did struggle with the last firearms qualification so you readers will find out why while getting to witness how scary Clarissa can be when she's angry (She doesn't hit Spencer except for the playful slaps to his chest, but when her brothers make her angry she's not afraid to smack them if she thinks that they deserve it).
This chapter starts on October 24th of 2005, so Diana's now 22 months old. I'm sorry that there's no Diana in this chapter, but I promise that she will be in the next chapter since her cousin Jack Hotchner will make his first appearance.
Spencer shot his glock and grimaced when he saw that he didn't hit the target. Hotch who was standing behind him spoke up.
"On SWAT, we broke shots down into 3 steps. One-front sight. Focus on the front sight, not on the target. 2- controlled trigger press. 3- follow through. After the shot, you come right back to the target. Now, what did you do wrong?" asked Hotch.
"I didn't follow through." said Spencer.
"Right. You came off the target to see where you hit." said Hotch.
"Hotch, my firearms qualification is tomorrow morning." said Spencer as he set down his gun and removed his earmuffs, "I barely passed my last one."
Hotch placed a hand on his brother in law's shoulder and gently moved him aside, causing Spencer to put his earmuffs back on.
"Front sight, trigger press..." said Hotch as he shot his gun, "Follow through. You do those 3 things, you'll hit your target every time." said Hotch as he holstered his gun and stepped away so Spencer could try again.
A few seconds later Spencer shot his glock again and groaned when he saw that the bullet hit the target's groin, causing Hotch to smirk as he thought about Elle telling him about the trip she had with Spencer to the firing range.
"Did Elle teach you that?" asked Hotch.
"They're gonna take away my gun." groaned Spencer.
Hotch instantly knew that he needed to calm his brother in law down.
"A profiler is not required to carry." said Hotch.
"Yeah? And yet you carry 2 of them." said Spencer as he gestured to Hotch's ankle.
Hotch bent down, grabbed his ankle piece and fired it a few times before removing his earmuffs.
"When I joined the BAU, Gideon said to me, "you don't have to carry a gun to kill someone."" said Hotch.
"I don't get it." said Spencer softly.
"You will. Good luck tomorrow." said Hotch as he clapped his brother in law on the shoulder before walking away.
Spencer put his earmuffs back on, and less than a minute later Spencer was firing his glock again before noticing how blurry his vision was.
Later on that night, Spencer looked at Clarissa as they got ready for bed.
"When I was at the firing range with your brother this afternoon, I noticed that my vision was a bit blurry through my contacts." said Spencer.
"You don't see Dr. Ryan until next week, but I will call and see if they can bump up your appointment to Friday." said Clarissa as she pulled on one of Spencer's MIT t-shirts.
"I just know that I'm going to fail tomorrow, since I barely passed my last one." said Spencer.
"I don't care if you fail because I will always love you whether you pass or fail." said Clarissa as she gently kissed her husband on the lips.
Spencer started to remove Clarissa's t-shirt, but she stopped her husband.
"I rather wait since you should be well rested for tomorrow morning." said Clarissa.
Spencer shook his head as he gently kissed her on the lips, and a few minutes later they were in bed in each others arms as they talked about their day and Diana before falling asleep.
The next morning Agent Foster looked at Spencer.
"I'm sorry to say that you failed, but I'm wondering what happened to your aim since you scored a near perfect score a year ago, and you barely passed six months ago before failing today." said Agent Foster as he looked at Spencer's past scores.
"Yesterday I noticed that my vision was a bit blurry, and I'm suppose to have my yearly vision exam next week." said Spencer.
"Have you considered seeing if you can bump up your appointment?" asked Agent Foster.
"I called the clinic before coming here, and they got me in for Friday afternoon." said Spencer.
"Well hopefully when you come back in two weeks, your updated prescription will help your scores get back to like they were." said Agent Foster.
"I hope so too." said Spencer before looking at his watch, "I have to head back to the BAU."
A few minutes later Spencer was heading to the BAU without the familiar weight on his hip, and before he knew it he was back at his desk when Morgan approached him while hiding something behind his back.
"Hey. We're all here for you. I'm serious. If you ever need anything..." said Morgan as he placed a whistle over Spencer's head and blew on it, "Just blow on that."
Spencer shot Morgan a dirty look as he quickly removed the whistle from over his head and slammed it onto his desk while noticing the sympathetic look that Elle was giving him just as Hotch approached them while a laughing Morgan took a sip of his coffee.
"OK, Franklin Park, Des Plaines, yesterday afternoon. 3 victims shot at distance. It's the third such shooting in 2 weeks." said JJ as she passed files around.
"A sniper?" asked Elle.
"We don't use that word." said Morgan.
"Why not?" asked Elle.
"The public perception is that the FBI doesn't have an exemplary record with snipers." said JJ.
"Besides, a sniper is a professional marksman. These guys aren't snipers." said Hotch as he thought about the lecture he was going to have to give Morgan since he witnessed his prank.
"What do we call 'em then?" asked Elle.
"LDSK." said Hotch.
"Long distance serial killers." said Spencer as he spoke for the first time since leaving the firing range.
"How many of these guys have we caught using a profile?" asked Elle.
"None." said Gideon.
A few minutes later everyone was in the conference room.
"2 weeks, 3 shooting incidents, 6 victims, all shot in the abdomen. First and only fatality, Henry Sachs, married, father of 3, was shot in a shopping center parking lot. 9 days later, Doug Miller and Kevin parks were playing basketball at a community center. Franklin park, 4 days later, Jerry Middleton, Kate Murray, and Tim Reilly. Des Plaines police have found no link between any of the victims." said Hotch.
"Ballistics?" asked Morgan.
"He's using frangible rounds, which fragment on impact, making ballistics comparisons impossible." said Hotch.
"The good news is that all the park victims are gonna make it. The bad new is that none of them saw anything. However, one of the patients does have an intact bullet lodged in his spine." said JJ.
"What's the prognosis?" asked Gideon.
"There's a disagreement amongst surgical staff as to whether they can remove the slug without paralyzing the patient." said JJ.
"Well, without a useful witness or a solid piece of forensic evidence..." said Morgan.
"The profile's all we'll have." said Hotch.
A few minutes later they were heading to the jet, and Spencer looked at Hotch.
"I ended up bumping up my yearly vision exam to this Friday." said Spencer as he explained how he noticed that his vision was a bit blurry through his contacts while making sure to tell Hotch that he thinks that it's his vision that made his fail.
"That could be a reason, and I will make sure that you don't miss that appointment." said Hotch.
A short while later everyone was on the jet.
"LDSKS are so rare, we haven't been able to build a standard profile. Here's what we do know: They're always male, they frequently have law enforcement or military experience, and they always contact the police or the media." said Hotch.
JJ who was sitting next to Spencer spoke up.
"To take credit or relive the experience?" asked JJ.
"Both. All serial killers attempt to relive the ecstasy they get from their killings. Some use souvenirs taken from the victims, and others return to the dump site to interact with the body. Both modes require contact with the victim, contact which, by definition, long distance serial killers don't have." said Gideon.
"The beltway shooters left a tarot card at one of their crime scenes. Later they called a tip hotline, which ultimately led to their capture." said Hotch.
"But our unsub hasn't contacted anybody." said Morgan.
"He will." said Hotch.
"Until he does, what do we have?" asked Elle.
"Sometimes it's not what the unsub does that reveals the profile. Sometimes it is what they do not do." said Gideon.
"He doesn't kill his victims." said Spencer.
"Underkill's a unique signature." said Gideon.
"The question is, does he shoot them in the stomach intentionally just to wound them, or is he just aiming at the biggest part of the target?" asked Hotch and after a few seconds of silence he spoke up again, "Specifically, does the unsub lack the skill to make the head shot, or simply the will to take it?"
Spencer got out of the back seat of the SUV and followed Hotch and Morgan to the detective that called them in.
"Agent Hotchner." said Detective Calvin as she shook hands with Hotch.
Hotch looked at the detective as she shook Morgan's hand.
"Detective Calvin, this is Agent Morgan, Agent Reid." said Hotch as he thought about calling his brother in law Agent instead of doctor would cheer him up a bit as he watched Spencer give a rare handshake.
"Thanks for coming. Follow me." said Detective Calvin as Spencer, Hotch, and Morgan followed her, "The cones mark the places where the victims were." said Detective Calvin as she pointed out the area.
"So we know he fired from somewhere in this area. Close enough to hit all 3 victims, but far away enough not to be seen." said Hotch as he took a look of his surroundings.
"His wounding his victims intentionally would classify him as a sadistic killer." said Spencer.
"That would help us?" asked Detective Calvin as she looked at the young man next to her.
"We know a lot about sadists. But most want to be close to their victims to watch them suffer." said Morgan.
"A powerful scope would allow him to observe it from a safe distance" said Spencer.
"So how do we determine if he's a sadist?" asked Detective Calvin.
"We spend some time in his shoes. We let him tell us." said Morgan.
A few minutes later Spencer was standing next to Hotch with his arms crossed
"This handicapped spot couldn't be further away from the entrance to the building." said Hotch.
"Yeah?" asked Morgan.
"It also has line of sight to all 3 victims and the flagpole." said Hotch.
"What are you thinking?" asked Morgan.
"At this range, the unsub would have to factor in wind direction and speed as he shot. To do this, he needed a spot with the widest field of fire and line of sight to the flagpole. He came here before the shooting, decided this was his spot... And ensured that it would be empty when he came back. My guess is he's shooting from his car." said Hotch.
"Well, that would mean he wanted to get away from here quickly, that he didn't stick around to watch his victims suffer." said Morgan.
"So he would not be a sadist." said Spencer as Morgan shook his head.
"What would he be?" asked Detective Calvin.
"A very smart, very resourceful, very paranoid, sociopath." said Hotch.
A while later Spencer was standing by Hotch and Detective Calvin as Morgan took a phone call from Garcia.
"We think the shooter has intimate knowledge of law enforcement procedures." said Hotch.
"Detective Calvin, how far out of your jurisdiction was crime scene number 2?" asked Spencer.
"About a sixth of a mile. Why?" asked Detective Calvin.
"If he knew how difficult it is for local police departments to interact with each other, he may have intentionally crossed jurisdiction lines." said Spencer as he thought about how his uncle had to handle cases that crossed his jurisdiction lines.
"Y'all are saying' the shooter's a cop." said Detective Calvin.
"We're saying it's a possibility. He scouted and prepped each crime scene. He chose an elevated position with excellent enfilade and perfect field of fire." said Hotch.
"That's textbook military practice." said Detective Calvin.
"True." said Hotch.
"Yeah, but maybe he was in the army." said Detective Calvin as Morgan rejoined them.
"He was probably a marine, ranger or other specialized unit. Garcia says the bullet was a .223 fired from the m-4 variant of the m-16." said Morgan.
"All the services use an m-4." said Spencer.
"It's got a shorter barrel than the m-16. It's less accurate, and it's a lot harder to fire, especially at these distances. This level of skill indicates specialized training." said Morgan.
"If he has specialized training, he knows exactly what he's doing." said Spencer.
"He intended to wound them." said Hotch.
"The underkill is deliberate." said Morgan.
"Everything he does is deliberate, but it's as if he needs to show us how smart he is." said Hotch.
"Since the crime scenes aren't centered around one single location, Garcia can't get a geographic profile without additional data." said Morgan as he knew that neither he, Hotch, or Spencer will like it.
"What kind of data?" asked Detective Calvin.
"More crime scenes." said Morgan.
"She's gonna get 'em. This guy's got something to prove." said Hotch.
Later on that evening Spencer walked towards Gideon causing Gideon to look up at him.
"How you holding' up?" asked Gideon.
"Look at me. Without a gun on my belt, I look like a teacher's assistant." said Spencer.
"You're not worried about how you look." said Gideon as he thought about during Spencer's time in the academy and even in the BAU, there were still people that wouldn't take Spencer seriously due to his youth since he became an SSA right out of the academy due to his degrees.
"Hotch told me that when he came to the BAU, you told him he didn't need a gun to kill somebody?" asked Spencer.
"Well, the only truly effective weapon we have is our ability to do the one thing they can't." said Gideon.
"Which is what?" asked Spencer.
"Empathize. They dehumanize their victims. We humanize the killers." said Gideon.
Spencer closed his eyes.
"You're just saying that to convince me I don't need to carry a gun." said Spencer.
"I don't care you carry a gun or not. Deadliest weapon we have is a thorough and accurate profile." said Gideon.
"Of course you believe that." said Spencer.
"Footpath killer, he had a shotgun in the back of my head. I'm here, he's not." said Gideon before he walked away.
The next afternoon Spencer was standing by the area where Tim Reilly was standing, taking pictures as he listened to his teammates before addressing his team and the assisting officers through his walkie talkie.
"I do have a clear view of the vehicle from here. Tim Reilly would have seen it if he'd looked down from the kite." said Spencer.
"Good. Have the unsub pop the trunk. See if Reid can see it." said Gideon.
Spencer looked towards the area that their acting unsub was in before addressing everyone.
"No, sorry." said Spencer before hearing Gideon and then Hotch.
"Ok, everyone, move to position 2." said Hotch.
A few minutes later Morgan was tackling Spencer to the ground.
"Reid." said Morgan.
"What?" asked Spencer.
"Reid, get down." said Morgan as he brought Spencer down with him before instructing him to get to the closest tree with him, and kept Spencer back when he heard a gunshot so Spencer wouldn't have to see what was going on.
Spencer followed his teammates into a classroom that was available for officers.
"How did McCarty end up playing the unsub?" asked JJ as she thought about the officer that got killed.
"Weigart punished McCarty for mouthing off during the profile briefing by making him the unsub and sticking him in the trunk of the car all afternoon." said Detective Calvin.
"Wait. Then how did the unsub find out about the reenactment?" asked JJ.
"Come on. Cops talk. Pissed-off cops talk loud- at home, at the bars, at gyms, and to anyone who'll listen." said Morgan as Spencer thought about talking to Clarissa, helps him.
"What do we know? Our unsub went from wounding civilians to executing a police officer, so he's escalated. He's not staying on script." said Gideon.
"Sometimes it's what they don't do." said Hotch.
"He did not pick McCarty at random." said Spencer.
"He didn't take the gut shot." said Morgan.
"Why?" asked Hotch.
"He wants to send a message." said Gideon.
""Nobody takes credit for my work."" said Hotch.
"Yes, sir. His ego won't allow it. He feels underappreciated." said Gideon.
"Ok, but we still don't know why he wounds them." said Elle as Morgan's cellphone rang.
"Excuse me." said Morgan before walking away.
"We know if the killer has no contact with his victims, he will contact the media." said Gideon.
"But he hasn't contacted the media." said Elle.
"He has contact with his victims." said Gideon.
"And there's only one way." said Hotch as Morgan walked over.
"All right, thanks." said Morgan before hanging up and looked at his team and Detective Calvin, "Garcia nailed down the geographic profile. The crime scenes are centered on 2 separate locations." said Morgan.
"The hospitals." said Hotch as he thought about how Clarissa loves working at Children's National.
A short while later Spencer was in a car with Gideon and Detective Calvin.
"I believe it's a case of hero homicide." said Gideon.
"What's that?" asked Detective Calvin.
"The best-known case was hospital nurse Richard Angelo. He would inject toxins into his victims, then wait for them to crash so that he could run to the rescue and save them. He killed 25 people, and that's just what we know of." said Spencer.
"If he attacked 'em to save 'em, why'd he kill 25 people?" asked Detective Calvin.
"Wasn't very good at it." said Gideon.
"Yeah, and hospitals don't keep records of people who almost died." said Spencer as he thought about the times he had to comfort a crying Clarissa when she lost a patient or almost lost a patient.
"So what's the profile on one of these guys?" asked Detective Calvin.
"Arrogant, conceited, feels superior to everyone around them." said Gideon.
"You've just described every surgeon I've ever met." said Detective Calvin causing Gideon to flash back to the day before.
"Landman." said Gideon before calling Hotch, "Let's start with Landman."
A few minutes later they arrived at the hospital, and Gideon looked at Detective Calvin.
"Call Weigart and tell him we need a discreet perimeter around this block." said Gideon.
"I'm gonna go check out Landman's car." said Hotch before driving away.
A few minutes later Spencer was in a conference room with Gideon, JJ, Elle, Morgan, and Detective Calvin when Morgan grabbed what Garcia faxed to him.
"Ok. Courtesy of Garcia. Landman was army, started out in M. P. School." said Morgan.
"Well, there's your law enforcement." said Elle as Gideon stood up.
"But he was smart, got a degree on uncle Sam, ended up a doctor with special forces and bounced around from hospital to hospital since his discharge in 2001." said Morgan.
"Has Dr. Landman been under any unusual strain? Has he had a reprimand? Has he had any kind of major blow to his ego?" asked Gideon
"Last month, he was passed over for chief of surgery." said Cheryl Marson.
"Let's get a warrant for his house. Let's see if we find the weapon." said Gideon.
"OK." said Morgan as he got up.
"What can I do to help?" asked Cheryl.
"You can tell me where he is right now." said Gideon.
A few minutes later Hotch was approaching Spencer, Elle, and JJ.
"You get anything from his car?" asked Elle.
"It's a red 2-seat Maserati." said Hotch.
"Heh. Of course." said JJ.
"If he's the shooter, he has another vehicle." said Hotch as he joined in on watching Gideon talk to Dr. Landman, and a few minutes later Hotch looked at Spencer.
"Reid, let's take a walk down to the ER." said Hotch.
Spencer immediately followed his boss, and Hotch looked at Spencer as they walked to the ER.
"My guess, Dr. Pate is gonna corroborate Landman's alibi." said Hotch.
"You don't think Landman's the shooter?" asked Spencer.
"Richard Angelo wanted to be a hero because in his everyday life, he was a nobody. Landman's a surgeon. He has power and recognition." said Hotch.
"Yeah, but you know, surgeons are a different breed. There are stars in the field, and Landman is definitely not one of them." said Spencer.
A minute later Spencer and Hotch were approaching a nurse when Hotch pulled out his badge and showed it to the male nurse.
"Excuse me. I'd like to speak with Dr. Pate." said Hotch.
"Yes, sir. I'll go find her for you." said the male nurse before walking away.
Hotch looked at Spencer.
"The motivations for hero homicide are excitement, power, and respect, and even though Landman's not a star, he still gets respect. Racing against the clock to save someone's life is exciting." said Hotch as he thought about how Clarissa's satisfied when a child she takes care of gets recovered enough to go home with his or her parents.
"But maybe it's not exciting enough. That's-that's why he shoots 3 people at a time." said Spencer.
"But he can only operate on one at a time. It wouldn't be any more exciting." said Hotch before he and Spencer watched doctors and nurses take care of patients for about 20 seconds before making eye contact again, "At least, not for Landman and not in the O. R."
"The policemen and ER Personnel are on the exact same 24-hour shift schedule." said Spencer quietly.
"The unsub wasn't shooting at shift change because there are fewer cops on the street. He works the second shift in the emergency room." said Hotch.
"Contact with the victims." said Spencer.
Hotch instantly pulled out his phone to call Gideon, only to be stopped by the head nurse.
"Sir, you can't use the cell phone in the hospital." said the head nurse.
Hotch pocketed his phone before motioning Spencer to follow him as they approached the nurse.
"Excuse me, please. We're FBI agents, and we believe that one of your staff members might be the sniper. The man we're looking for works second shift, and he would have transferred from Arlington about 2 weeks ago." said Hotch.
"We haven't hired any new personnel in 2 months." said the head nurse.
"Are you sure?" asked Hotch.
"Yeah." said the nurse before looking at Spencer and Hotch, "Look, I've got patients who need me."
Hotch stopped the head nurse from walking away.
"He's in his thirties. He's vain, rude, arrogant. He works out. He shows up to work late. He blames others for his mistakes, doesn't take responsibility for his behavior. All of his coworkers detest him." said Hotch.
The head nurse realized who Hotch was describing.
"It's Phillip Dowd. He's-he picks up shifts at Arlington." whispered the head nurse.
"Is he here today?" asked Hotch.
"Oh, my god." said the nurse.
"Ok... Ok, your patients need you. Tell me, is Dowd working today?" asked Hotch.
The nurse nodded.
"Do you see him?" asked Hotch.
The nurse looked around before shaking her head no, causing Hotch to place a gentle hand on Spencer's shoulder.
"Go tell Gideon." said Hotch.
Spencer started to run off before Hotch looked at him.
"Reid." said Hotch as he motioned Spencer to slow down, "Easy." instructed Hotch.
A few seconds later Spencer was walking in the hallway when the nurse from earlier swung his rifle at Spencer's head, causing him to fall onto the ground before a security guard tried to apprehend him. Phillip Dowd shot at the fuse box, causing lights to go out before the emergency generator turned on while alarms went off making Hotch pull out his gun and aim it at Dowd.
"Nobody moves, and nobody dies. Better be a head shot. I got this on full auto. Anything less, I go down squeezing the trigger." said Dowd, causing Hotch to put his gun down before Dowd knocked the security guard onto his knees and made his way to Hotch and took the gun before looking at Spencer, "Get up! Get over here!"
Spencer slowly got to his feet with his hands in the air.
"Double time! Let's go!" ordered Dowd.
Spencer ran over and stood up next to Hotch before Dowd looked at Hotch.
"You, take your partner's gun, put it on the counter." said Dowd.
"He's not armed. See for yourself." said Hotch.
Dowd slowly made his way to Spencer and Hotch.
"Hands on your heads." ordered Dowd.
Spencer and Hotch placed their hands on their heads before Dowd removed Spencer's messenger bag from around Spencer's shoulders and patted Spencer down before noticing no gun or holster.
"Get up, Keith." said Dowd as he pulled out zip ties and put them aside, "Put those on 'em."
Keith put the zip ties around Spencer's wrists before putting them around Hotch's wrists, and when Keith was finished, Dowd looked at Keith.
"Now put 'em on yourself." ordered Dowd causing Keith to follow Dowd's orders before Dowd ordered Keith to keep on backing up until he knocked Keith out with his rifle before looking at Spencer.
"Get down on the ground." ordered Dowd.
Spencer instantly obeyed Dowd's orders and knelt down onto the ground while he kept calm, wishing that he was at home with Clarissa and Diana before Dowd looked at Hotch.
"Have a seat." ordered Dowd.
Hotch followed Dowd's instructions before Dowd looked at Spencer and Hotch.
"Now, what kind of an FBI agent doesn't carry a gun?" asked Dowd.
"I'm a profiler." said Spencer.
"Profiler? They sent you to figure me out." said Dowd.
"We did. That's how we found you." said Spencer.
Hotch looked at his brother in law.
"Shut up, Reid." hissed Hotch.
"No, don't shut up. Tell me what you think you know about me." said Dowd.
Hotch looked at his brother in law as he thought about how his words were possibly going to hurt Spencer while Clarissa will be angry at him.
"Go ahead, genius. Tell him. Tell him. But remember, get it wrong, and he's gonna kill you." said Hotch as he thought about how he didn't want to have Diana grow up without her father since Spencer lost his biological father at four and his uncle at 19.
"OK. You're the boss. You tell me. Who am I? What's my plan?" asked Dowd.
"I know you shot 11 people in broad daylight and left us nothing, you executed a cop in front of the FBI and got away clean, and I know your plan is to go down in a hail of bullets." said Hotch as he worked on keeping his voice calm to help keep Spencer calm.
"What else do you know?" asked Dowd.
"I know you're the smartest guy in every room you've ever been in, and no one's ever known it. People feel threatened by you and try to sabotage you every chance they get. You're not a bad person. You help save all of your victims afterwards. First guy wasn't your fault. If the EMTs had been there on time, he would've lived." said Hotch.
"Took those guys 13 minutes. 13!" said Dowd.
"You want to barricade the door." said Hotch.
"What?" asked Dowd.
"Let me and the kid do it. Let 'em see that you've got 2 FBI agents in here doing your bidding." said Hotch as he thought about how much he hates calling Spencer a kid, despite him being two months older than his baby sister.
"Right, let you give them a signal." said Dowd.
"What signal? They knew you were in here. They knew you were armed. What can I tell them?" asked Hotch.
Dowd lifted up his rifle again causing cries in the room.
"What is this, some sort of profiler trick? New negotiation tactic?" asked Dowd before realizing something, "The barricade's a good idea. Why would you wanna help me?" asked Dowd as he lowered his gun a bit.
"I don't." said Hotch.
"You said they knew I was in here." said Dowd.
"I said they know you're in here." said Hotch.
"No. That's not what you said." said Dowd.
"Why does it matter?" asked Spencer.
"It matters because your partner wants to help me, even though he doesn't know it. Go ahead, boss man. Tell him why. If you lie or leave anything out, pop." said Dowd.
Spencer looked at his brother in law.
"They knew he was in here, they knew he was armed and dangerous, and they knew that he was gonna fight till the last round, and they sent me in here with an unarmed kid who can't shoot his way out of a wet paper bag." said Hotch.
"They set you up." said Dowd.
"Exactly, and they're probably laughing about it right now." said Hotch.
"That's why you wanna help me." said Dowd.
"I wouldn't say I want to help you, but when they come in here to get revenge for the cop you killed, you're gonna go down fighting, and in the crossfire, a lot of us are gonna die." said Hotch causing whimpers around the room, "They sent me in here. I figure why make it easy for them."
For the next few minutes hostages were being placed by the barricade, and when everyone was in place, Hotch looked at Dowd.
"You know why they took away boy genius's gun?" asked Hotch as he noticed the look that Spencer was giving him.
"Why?" asked Dowd.
"He failed his qualification. Twice I year, I gotta listen to him whine about re-qualifying. So I tutor him... And he fails again." said Hotch.
"You think you got it rough? These people done nothing but undermine me since I got here." said Dowd.
"Put him next to the barricade. That way, when they blast their way in here, both of our problems are solved. That sort of thing can ruin a cop's career." said Hotch.
"You are one sick dude." said Dowd.
"How do you think I found you?" asked Hotch before thinking about the gun that was in his ankle holster that Dowd forgot to check for, "Can I ask you a favor?"
"You can ask." said Dowd.
"I figure the chances of my getting out of here alive are pretty slim." said Hotch.
"So?" asked Dowd.
"I want to kick the snot out of this kid. He's made my life miserable for two lousy years." said Hotch as he knew that he thought about how he couldn't bring up that he has known Spencer for almost five years while Spencer didn't get into the academy until May of 2003.
Spencer realized that Hotch was going to have him grab his ankle piece so he instantly started to mentally prepare himself.
"Go ahead. Knock yourself out." said Dowd.
Hotch pushed Spencer down causing Spencer to prepare his body just as Hotch started to repeatedly kicking him in the stomach while trying to avoid his ribs.
"How smart are you now, smart guy?! It's front sight, trigger press, follow through!" shouted Hotch as he inwardly winced at the sounds of Spencer's groans, "That's enough! It's not that hard! A dalmatian could do it!" shouted Hotch just as he felt Spencer's hands on his ankle holster.
"Let go! Let go!" shouted Hotch as Spencer let go of Hotch's legs and curled into himself while hiding the gun and made sure that the gun was ready to shoot as he moaned in pain.
"Feel better?" asked Dowd.
"I think he got the message." said Hotch as he thought about the possible injuries that he inflicted on Spencer..
Dowd immediately saw that Hotch's pant leg was up as he realized his mistake of not checking their legs.
"What's that?" asked Dowd causing him to raise his gun while Spencer was faster by rolling onto his back and nailing a shot into Dowd's, forehead causing Dowd to die instantly before Spencer curled into himself again as Hotch ran to the door.
"Federal agents!" shouted Hotch as he opened up the door, "It's all clear."
A short while later Spencer was sitting on the back of an ambulance with his arms crossed when Hotch approached him.
"You all right?" asked Hotch.
"Yeah." whispered Spencer.
Hotch mimicked Spencer's stance by crossing his arms.
"Nice shot." said Hotch.
"I was aiming for his leg." said Spencer as he thought about how he was downplaying himself.
Hotch smiled slightly at Spencer's joke.
"I wouldn't have kept kicking, but I was afraid you didn't get my plans." said Hotch.
"I got your plan the minute you moved the hostages out of my line of fire." said Spencer.
"Well, I hope I didn't hurt you too badly." said Hotch as he thought about how bad high school was for Spencer.
"Hotch, I was a 12-year-old child prodigy in a Las Vegas public high school. You kick like a 9- year-old girl." smiled Spencer.
Hotch smiled and chuckled at Spencer's joke before Spencer reached for Hotch's gun and held it out to him.
"No. Keep it." said Hotch as he patted Spencer on the shoulder and was thankful when Spencer didn't flinch, "As far as I'm concerned, you passed your qualification." said Hotch before walking away as he thought about the phone call he was going to be making to Agent Foster.
Spencer looked at the gun for a moment then placed it in his pocket before getting up to head to an SUV when Morgan approached him, making him grab the whistle from his pocket.
"Reid, you all right?" asked Morgan.
Spencer tossed the whistle to Morgan as he continued to walk away as Morgan looked back at him.
"Touche, kid." said Morgan.
Over an hour later Spencer was looking out the jet's window as he thought about having to face his two girls as he thought about his first kill shot as Gideon sat down across from him.
"How you doin'?" asked Gideon as he thought about the phone call he had with Clarissa telling her what she should possibly expect.
"You were right. You don't need a gun to kill somebody." said Spencer.
"No, you don't." said Gideon.
"But it helps." said Spencer.
"Yes. It does." said Gideon.
"I- I know I should feel bad about...what happened. I mean... I killed a man. You know, I-I should...feel something. But I don't." said Spencer.
"Well, not knowing what you're feeling. That's not the same as not feeling anything. This is gonna hit you... And when it does... There's only 3 facts you need to know." said Gideon causing Spencer to lean forward, "You did what you had to do... And a lot of good people are alive because of what you did." said Gideon.
"What's the third?" asked Spencer.
"I'm proud of you, and you know that your uncle would be proud of you too." said Gideon.
Two hours later Spencer stepped into Hotch's office to see Hotch packing up.
"Here's my report." said Spencer as he handed Hotch the file.
"Let me drive you home." said Hotch.
10 minutes later Spencer was in the front passenger seat of Hotch's car, and Hotch looked at his brother in law.
"I overheard you and Gideon on the jet, and I agree with what he said." said Hotch.
"I know, but at least Clarissa's going to help me get through doing my first kill shot." said Spencer as his phone vibrated and he shook his head at Clarissa's text message.
JASON TOLD ME WHAT HAPPENED, SO EXPECT ME TO TEND TO YOUR INJURIES. PLEASE BRING AARON INSIDE BECAUSE I HAVE A FEW CHOICE WORDS FOR HIM SINCE JASON TOLD ME WHAT MY BROTHER DID TO YOU. ~ CR
Spencer slightly smirked at his brother in law.
"Your sister's angry at you right now, and we both know how scary she gets when she's angry." said Spencer.
"I figured she would be angry since I had to kick my brother in law." said Hotch.
"You did what you had to do to get us and other patients out there alive, and despite having it bad in high school until uncle Gordon took action, I know that all the bullying I went through helped me gain a thicker skin." said Spencer.
Over an hour later Spencer, Hotch, and Clarissa were in the Reid family living room with Clarissa holding an ice pack to Spencer's face.
"Shirt off now, and while I give you a once over I want you to tell me everything that was said in the ER while holding this ice pack to your face." ordered Clarissa before glaring at her brother, "You stay put because I will deal with you after I tend to my husband." ordered Clarissa before she glared at her husband to follow her orders as she snapped on hospital grade latex free gloves.
As soon as Spencer had his sweater vest and dress shirt off, Hotch visibly winced when he saw the bruises that were already forming on Spencer's abdomen, and listened to Spencer telling Clarissa everything as she used her nursing skills to check for internal bleeding and broken ribs, and when Clarissa was done she looked at her husband.
"You can put your shirt back on." said Clarissa.
"So what's the prognosis?" asked Spencer.
"No internal bleeding, and luckily my brother avoided your ribs." said Clarissa before kissing her husband's forehead, "To help with the soreness you're going to be dealing with, go upstairs and get an Epsom salt bath ready, and as soon as I'm done dealing with my brother, I will be joining you upstairs." said Clarissa.
"Yes ma'am." said Spencer as he got up and headed upstairs.
As soon as Clarissa heard the master bedroom door shut, she looked at her brother as she gave him a rare slap.
"I don't care if you did what you had to do to save both of your asses along with everyone else in the ER, but with what you said and did to my husband, I don't ever want you to do that again since we both know how rough high school was for Spence until his uncle took action." said Clarissa as she glared at her brother.
"I promise." said Hotch before looking at Clarissa, "Spencer has the rest of the week off, and Gideon and I told them to leave Spencer be since Gideon told them that he was taking Spencer to his apartment."
"Good to know." said Clarissa before smiling at her brother, "You should go check on Haley, and since I told her about what you did to Spencer, be prepared for the tongue lashing that she's going to give you since she practically adopted Spencer." said Clarissa as she gave her brother a kiss on the cheek.
A few minutes later Hotch was pulling out of the driveway while Clarissa was joining her husband in their claw foot bath tub where they took an Epsom salt bath together before heading to bed themselves.
Two hours later Clarissa woke up to vomiting in the bathroom, causing her to join her husband in the bathroom and rubbed his back before she hugged him as he sobbed.
Two days later Spencer was picking out a new pair of glasses for the stronger prescription that was prescribed, and the next afternoon Spencer was at a firing range in DC firing his revolver at a target, and when he saw his results he smiled when he saw that his vision was a huge reason why he failed and how Hotch's advice helped him out.
A/N: Whew (Wipes imaginary sweat off my forehead). This chapter has been the longest chapter for this story yet, but with LDSK being a Reidcentric episode I knew that this one would be a long one since I wanted to have LDSK in one chapter.