LDSK- 1:6
Harita's Pov
"Did Elle teach you that?" Aaron asked Reid. I slapped my hand against my mouth.
"Aaron!" I scolded. Hotch and I decided to help Reid practice for his gun test. The poor kid missed the target.
"They're gonna take away my gun." Reid complained.
"A profiler is not required to carry." Hotch said.
"Yeah? And yet you carry 2 of them." Reid shot back. Hotch reached down, grabbed the gun from his ankle, and shot at the target 3 times.
"Show-off." I muttered. Hotch then pointed to me.
"Go, shoot your shot."
"Right now? Oh... umm." I'm pretty sure he knew I have a girlfriend and he has a wife and a baby on the way. I took my hands and rubbed it on my chin. "Damn baby, you lookin kinda-"
"With the gun." Hotch interrupted, shaking his head.
"Oh right." I grabbed my gun and aimed at the target. I shot 2 bullets at the target.
"When I joined the bau, Gideon said to me, 'You don't have to carry a gun to kill someone.'" Aaron said.
"Exactly." I said, showing my guns. Hotch shook his head, which I shot back a pout.
"I don't get it." Reid said.
"You will. Good luck tomorrow."
"Thanks." Reid muttered. I sighed, thinking about my conversation with Morgan the other day.
Flashback
"We need to talk," Morgan said, cutting me off.
"You need to be more specific.' I said.
"About what you told Cheryl. Your sisters?"
"Oh. So what do you want to know?" I asked.
"Anything you're willing to share. I'm not pressuring you."
"I'll just tell you the whole thing. Basically, it was my tenth birthday. Normally, Nathan and-
"Nathan? Your dad?" Morgan asked, sceptical
"Yeah. He, my stepmom, my sister and step-sister went to buy me a cake. Well, technically, Nathan and my stepmom. I thought my sister and step-sister went with them, but turns out they didn't. Apparently, I came back and they told me they… kill- you know what I mean."
"Yeah. Hey, I'm here if you need to talk."
"Yeah, thanks, you really did help. So, tomorrow, gym, deadweight, 480?"
"Oh, you're so on."
End of Flashback
...
It was the next day, and sadly...
"Reid failed his qualification." Elle said, as Gideon and I walked into the room.
"He can re-test in 2 weeks." Gideon replied.
"Yeah, but he's gonna be embarrassed about it, so let's not mention it." Elle said.
"Yeah, let's not." Gideon added as he walked towards his office.
"Yeah, Morgan." I pointed at him, sitting at my desk, which was right in front of Morgan's
"Not a word." Reid walked past us and sat right at his desk. Morgan got up and approached the desk, not without grabbing something.
"Hey. We're all here for you. I'm serious. If you ever need anything, just blow on that." Morgan put a whistle around Spencer's neck, which he took off immediately.
"Idiot." I muttered, as I flipped Morgan off as he walked back to his desk. Me flipping people off is iconic, well according to me. Like it's perfect. The middle finger just comes out and the thumb sticks out too, an extra to piss people of more. JJ came running towards us, handing us each a file.
"Ok, Franklin Park, Des Plaines, yesterday afternoon. 3 victims shot at distance. It's the third such shooting in 2 weeks."
"A sniper?" Elle asked as Hotch and Gideon came towards us.
"We don't use that word." Morgan explained.
"Why not?"
"The public perception is that the FBI doesn't have an exemplary record with snipers." JJ explained.
"Besides, a sniper is a professional marksman. These guys aren't snipers." Hotch adds.
"What do we call 'em then?" Elle asked.
"LDSK." I say.
"Long distance serial killers." Reid clarifies.
"How many of these guys have we caught using a profile?" Elle questioned.
"None." Gideon answered.
"This is going to be fun." I mutter.
…
*CUE INTRO*
(For one of the 'pictures' in the intro, imagine Harita fidgeting with a pen, looking at a map with her left eyebrow raised.)
...
"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." Hotch said, showing the pictures of the victims on the TV in the conference room.
"Ballistics?" Morgan asked.
"He's using frangible rounds, which fragment on impact, making ballistics comparisons impossible."
"The good news is that all the park victims are gonna make it. The bad news is that none of them saw anything. However, one of the patients does have an intact bullet lodged in his spine." JJ explained.
"What's the prognosis?" Gideon asked.
"There's a disagreement among surgical staff as to whether they can remove the slug without paralyzing the patient."
"Well, without a useful witness or a solid piece of forensic evidence-"
"The profile's all we'll have." Hotch finished for Morgan.
"Well, time to get on the jet!" I exclaimed, jumping out of my seat.
...
"L. D. S. K.s are so rare, we haven't been able to build a standard profile. Here's what we do know:They're always male, and they frequently have law enforcement or military experience, and they always contact the police or the media." Hotch explained.
"To take credit or relive the experience?" JJ asked.
"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." Gideon answered.
"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." Hotch said.
"But our unsub hasn't contacted anybody." Morgan pointed out.
"He will." Hotch corrected.
"Until he does, what do we have?" Elle asked.
"Sometimes it's not what the unsub does that reveals the profile. Sometimes it is what they do not do." Gideon replies.
"He doesn't kill his victims." Reid says.
"Underkill's a unique signature."
"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? Specifically, does the unsub lack the skill to make the head shot, or simply the will to take it?" Aaron asked. "When we land, Morgan, Reid, and Harita, you'll come with me to the crime scene. Gideon, Elle, JJ, go to the hospital."
...
"Agent Hotchner." Detective Calvin said, greeting us as we exited the SUV.
"Detective Calvin, this is Agent Morgan, Agent Reid, Agent Harita." Hotch introduced, as we all shook her hand.
"Thanks for coming. Follow me. The cones mark the places where the victims were."
"So we know he fired from somewhere in this area." Hotch pointed to the pole that was right near us. "Close enough to hit all 3 victims, but far away enough not to be seen."
"His wounding his victims intentionally would classify him as a sadistic killer." Reid said.
"That would help us?" Detective Calvin asked, as Hotch walked further away from us.
"We know a lot about sadists. But most want to be close to their victims to watch them suffer." Morgan replied.
"A powerful scope would allow him to observe it from a safe distance." Reid added.
"So how do we determine if he's a sadist?" Detective Calvin questioned.
"We spend some time in their shoes. We let them tell us. It's like putting milk and then cereal." I answered, emphasizing on the they/them/their. Seriously, people need to stop assuming gender.
"This handicapped spot couldn't be further away from the entrance to the building." Hotch said, pointing to it. "It also has line of sight to all 3 victims and the flagpole."
"What are you thinkin'?" Morgan asked.
"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." Hotch explained.
"Well, that would mean he wanted to get away from here quickly, that he didn't stick around to watch his victims suffer." Morgan concluded.
"So he would not be a sadist." Reid added.
"What would he be?" Detective Calvin asked.
"Well, on our list, we can check off smart, resourceful, and a very paranoid sociopath." I said, checking off my imaginary checklist.
…
"We think the shooter has intimate knowledge of law enforcement procedures." Hotch said, which he got the information from Gideon's call.
"Detective Calvin, how far out of your jurisdiction was crime scene number 2?" Reid asked. "About a sixth of a mile. Why?"
"If he knew how difficult it is for local police departments to interact with each other, he may have intentionally crossed jurisdiction lines."
"Y'all are saying the shooter's a cop." Detective Calvin accuses.
"We're saying it's a possibility. He scouted and prepped each crime scene. He chose an elevated position with an excellent enfilade and perfect field of fire." Hotch says.
"That's textbook military practice."
"True."
"Yeah, but maybe he was in the army." Detective Calvin defends.
"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." Morgan says, as he walked back towards us.
"All the services use an m-4." Reid interjects.
"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."
"He knows exactly what he's doing if he has specialized training." I added.
"He intended to wound them." Hotch said.
"The underkill is deliberate." Morgan stated.
"Everything he does is deliberate, but it's as if he needs to show us how smart he is." Hotch continued.
"Since the crime scenes aren't centered around one single location, Garcia can't get a geographic profile without additional data."
"What kind of data?" Detective Calvin asked Morgan.
"More crime scenes." Morgan answered just as Detective Calvin's cell phone pinged. She checked the message and sighed.
"There's been another shooting. I'm going to go to the crime scene."
"Agents Gideon, Greenaway, and Communications Liaison Jennifer Jareau will meet you there." Hotch said as Detective Calvin gathered her stuff.
...
"This initial profile is not ready to be given to the media. Releasing this profile prematurely can get people killed." JJ said. We were giving the profile. It's not a fun one, so to make things seem like we are serious, I ate my snack a little bit early, just to make sure I can eat it after the profile giving, and held off my knitting. This isn't going to be great.
"We're looking for a 30 to 40-year-old male veteran, driving a car large enough to shoot from, but not so large it was noticed. Like the beltway shooter, it's probably a sedan, customized to conceal the shooter, his weapon, and the sound of his shot. The unsub suffers from both narcissistic and paranoid personality disorders. He works out obsessively and is never without a weapon. He's completely self-centered and cannot empathize with others. Incapable of admitting fault, he blames his shortcomings on those around him. He has no friends, and his career history has been marked by frequent job changes. He's drawn to high-stakes jobs by a need to prove his superiority to a world he perceives has undervalued him, and these shootings are the ultimate expression of that need. We believe he changes jurisdictions intentionally and strikes during the first/second shift change, indicating and intimate knowledge of law enforcement." Hotch said. Here comes the reactions.
"You're saying he's one of us." One of the officers stated.
"We're saying he once was or is now a police officer." Hotch explained.
"Is he driving a white van, too?" Another officer joked.
"Enough. That'll be all for now." Sergeant Weigart said to the officers. He then turned his head towards Hotch. "We can talk in my office."
"Thank you." Hotch said to the officers, as he followed Sergeant Weigart into his office.
"Wanna grab a snack?" I asked Morgan, who was standing next to me. Morgan nodded.
…
We were at the park, reenacting the victims and other people that were at the park during the shooting. We each had a camera, which was connected to a monitor, which JJ, Gideon, Sergeant Weigart, and Detective Calvin were watching. We were switching positions, doing the normal stuff. It started to get weird when JJ, Gideon, Sergeant Weigart, and Detective Calvin started canvasing the park, which was not their job. We kept on going on to our normal business when my phone rang and it was Hotch.
"Mccarty's the unsub."
"Yeah I kn-" I got cut off by Hotch
"No, he is the unsub. SWAT will come in and when you see the smoke, get down." Hotch said, emphasizing the word 'is'.
"Got it." I put my phone away, looked towards the car that McCarty was in. SWAT was surrounding the car. Suddenly, a smoke bomb appeared in front of the trunk of the car. I was close to Elle, who didn't get the phone call from Hotch. I immediately threw myself on Elle, yelling a 'Get down!'. I got off of her, bringed her to the nearest tree and we hid behind it, while explaining to Elle why I did that. I turned my head back to wear SWAT and McCarty was, watching the scene unfold. McCarty tossed the riffle and side arm out of the trunk and slowly got out. SWAT tackled him to the ground, handcuffed him and dragged him away. Derek, who was hiding behind a tree with Reid, looked at me, signaling if we should get up and out. I was about to nod until I heard a shot fired. Everyone was yelling 'Get down!' and we stayed where we were. I looked towards Elle and raised my eyebrows. Something was off.
…
We were back at the station, trying to figure out what the fuck just happened. I was sitting in a chair, eating some grapes, occasionally throwing some at Derek, who was a few feet away from me, and at Reid, but sometimes, he didn't catch them, due to his non athletic skills and him being across the room from me.
"How did mccarty end up playing the unsub?" JJ asked Detective Calvin.
"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."
"Wait. Then how did the unsub find out about the reenactment?" JJ asked.
"Come on. Cops talk. Pissed-off cops talk loud. At home, at the bars, at gyms, and to anyone who'll listen." Derek answered.
"What do we know?" Hotch asked.
"Our unsub went from wounding civilians to executing a police officer, so he's escalated. He's not staying on script." Gideon answered.
"Sometimes it's what they don't do."
"He did not pick mccarty at random." Reid said.
"He did a no-no to taking a gut shot." I added, throwing a grape at Reid, who finally caught it. I threw my hands up in excitement and Reid smiled. It was nice to see him smile after he failed his gun test.
"Why?" Hotch asked.
"He wants to send a message." Gideon said, after looking at each of us.
"'Nobody takes credit for my work.'" Hotch added.
"Yes, sir. His ego won't allow it. He feels underappreciated."
"Ok, but we still don't know why he wounds them." Elle stated.
"Excuse me." Derek said, walking away from us after his phone rang, again, probably Garcia.
"We know if the killer has no contact with his victims, he will contact the media." Gideon said.
"But he hasn't contacted the media." Elle corrected.
"He has contact with his victims." Gideon responded.
"And there's only one way." Hotch attached.
"All right, thanks." Derek said into the phone as he walked back towards us. "Garcia nailed down the geographic profile. The crime scenes are centered on 2 separate locations."
"The hospitals." Hotch answered. We all got out of our seats and headed into the cars.
...
"Ok." Derek started. We were all sitting in one of the hospital rooms. Hotch went to examine Landman's car, our suspect. "Courtesy of Garcia. Landman was in the army, starting out in M. P. School."
"Well, we can now check off law enforcement." I said.
"But he was smart, got a degree on Uncle Sam, and ended up a doctor with special forces and bounced around from hospital to hospital since his discharge in 2001."
"Has Dr. Landman been under any strain." Gideon asked the head doctor. "Has he had a reprimand? Has he had any kind of major blow to his ego?"
"Last month, he was passed over for chief of surgery."
"Let's get a warrant for his house. Let's see if we find the weapon."
"Ok." Morgan said as he left.
"What can I do to help?" The head doctor asked.
"You can tell me where he is right now." Gideon responded. She gave us the directions of where Mr. Landman was and we followed them. Gideon went into the room while Reid, Elle, JJ, and I stood outside, peering through the window, watching the two. A few seconds go by and Hotch came back after inspecting Landman's car.
"You get anything from his car?" Elle asked.
"It's a red 2-seat maserati." Hotch answered.
"Heh. Of course." JJ scoffed.
"If he's the shooter, he has another vehicle." Hotch said.
"This type of killer seeks the power over life and death and covets the power of god. You know anyone like that? I want you to understand something. When my patients are in the operating room, they need god, and that's exactly what I give them. When someone's holding your beating heart in their hands, who do you want holding it, me or god?" Landman exclaims.
"Where were you today at 3:00?" Gideon asked.
"I was in my office."
"Alone?"
"I was in my office with dr. Hannah pate. I'm not the only one who thinks I'm a god. She's in the E. R. Right now. Go on. Ask her."
"Reid, Harita. Let's take a walk down to the E. R." Hotch said to us as we left the window and headed towards the E.R. "My guess, Dr. Pate is gonna corroborate landman's alibi."
"You don't think landman's the shooter?" Reid asked.
"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." Hotch recalled.
"Yeah, but you know, surgeons are a different breed. There are stars in the field, and Landman is definitely not one of them." Reid said. We stopped at the main desk.
"Excuse me. I'd like to speak with Dr. Pate" I said to the doctor that was there.
"Yes, ma'am. I'll go find her for you." The doctor left.
"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." Hotch whispered to us.
"But maybe it's not exciting enough. That's why he shoots 3 people at a time." Reid responds.
"He doesn't have a million arms, he can only operate one at a time. It wouldn't be any more exciting." I say. I looked around at everyone in the E.R. "At least, not for Landman and not in the O. R."
"The policemen and E. R. Personnel are on the exact same 24-hour shift schedule." Reid whispered.
"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." Hotch said.
"Contact with the victims." Reid stated as Hotch pulled out his phone.
"Sir, you can't use the cell phone in the hospital." A lady at the desk said. Hotch put his phone away and headed towards her. Reid and I followed.
"Excuse me, please." The lady stepped out towards us. "We're FBI agents, and we believe that one of your staff members might be the sniper. The man we're looking for works the second shift, and he would have transferred from Arlington about 2 weeks ago." Hotch whispers.
"We haven't hired any new personnel in 2 months." The doctor says.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. Look, I've got patients who need me." The doctor was about to leave but Hotch stopped her.
"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." The lady's face turned pale.
"It's Phillip Dowd. He's- he picks up shifts at Arlington."
"Is he here today?" I ask.
"Oh, my god." The lady started hyperventilating.
"Hey, your patients need you calm. Now, please tell me, is Dowd working today?" The lady nodes. "Do you see him?" She scans the room and after a few seconds she shakes her head.
"Go tell Gideon." Hotch told us. Reid and I were about to run when Hotch stopped us. "Reid, Harita, easy." We continued to walk. I turned back for a second and I heard a thud. I turned around and saw Reid and on the ground. Before I could look at who did it, a gun came to my forehead, and then, black.
…
I finally was conscious and the first thing I did was make sure Reid was awake. He was fine, some bruising on the forehead. I felt my forehead and rubbed over the bruise. Curse my bony forehead. Dowd, the unsub who hit us, noticed that we were awake.
"Get up! Get over here!" I got up and helped Reid to his feet. Reid walked fast with his hand up, but I just walked slowly. "Double time! Let's go!" Dowd yelled at me. I picked up my pace, just by a little bit. We both stood next to Hotch. Dowd pointed his sniper at Hotch. "You, take your partner's gun, put it on the counter." Hotch turned to me and grabbed my gun and put it on the counter, which Dowd responded by pushing it towards himself. "Him too." Dowd pointed his sniper at Reid.
"He's not armed. See for yourself." Hotch responded.
"Hands on your heads." Dowd said to us. I shrugged my shoulder and put my hands behind my head, same as Hotch and Reid. Dowd searched Reid, soon finding that Hotch was telling the truth. "Get up, Keith." Dowd said to the guard. Keith got up to Dowd and he handed Keith some zip ties. "Put those on 'em." Keith put them on us. "Now put 'em on yourself." Keith did the same for himself. Dowd took off his doctor's coat, revealing a bullet proof vest. "Now step back." Keith did as told, but too slowly. "Back up." Dowd hit Keith with the back of his sniper. "Get down on the ground." Dowd said to Reid, who sat down. He then pointed his sniper at Hotch. "Have a seat." He then pointed the sniper at me. "You too."
"I'm good, thank you." I politely told Dowd. Dowd looked like he was about to explode, but he kept it in control.
"Now, what kind of an FBI agent doesn't carry a gun?" Dowd asked.
"I'm a profiler." Reid responded.
"Profiler? They sent you to figure me out."
"We did. That's how we found you-"
"Shut up Reid." Hotch interrupted.
"No, don't shut up. Tell me what you think you know about me." Dowd said.
"Go ahead, genius. Tell him. Tell him. But remember, get it wrong, and he's gonna kill you." Hotch taunted.
"Ok. You're the boss. You tell me. Who am I? What's my plan?" Dowd asked Hotch.
"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."
"What else do you know?" Dowd asked.
"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."
"Took those guys 13 minutes. 13!" Dowd exclaimed.
"You want to barricade the door." Hotch said.
"What?"
"Let me and the kid do it. Let 'em see that you've got 3 fbi agents in here doing your bidding."
"Right, let you give them a signal."
"What signal?" Hotch asked cluelessly. "They knew you were in here. They knew you were armed. What can I tell them?" Dowd raised his sniper to my forehead. Wow, great. Take the woman out and leave everyone in pain. I thought
"What is this, some sort of profiler trick? New negotiation tactic? Though, I think it's a good idea, barricading the doors. Why would you wanna help me?" Dowd asked.
"I don't." Hotch responded.
"You said they knew I was in here."
"I said they know you're in here." Hotch said, clearly hesitating after his mistake.
"No. That's not what you said."
"Why does it matter?" Reid asks.
"It matters" Dowd moved the sniper closer to my forehead. "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, that last thing this little son of a bitch brat will see is my lovely face."
"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 a girl who can't use her brain properly and is the most stupidest girl I have ever seen and an unarmed kid who can't shoot his way out of a wet paper bag." I felt my heart slowly crack, but I knew Hotch was lying. It's just to get my forehead out of the range of the sniper. I thought.
"They set you up." Dowd exclaimed.
"Exactly, and they're probably laughing about it right now."
"That's why you wanna help me."
"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. They sent me in here. I figure why make it easy for them. You know why they took away boy genius's gun?" Hotch asked.
"Why?"
"He failed his qualification. Twice a year, I gotta listen to him whine about requalifying. So I tutor him, and he fails again."
"You think you got it rough? These people have done nothing but undermine me since I got here." Dowd expressed.
"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. Oh, also, put the girl in too." Hotch suggested, pointing at me. "All she does is joke around and never takes anything seriously. It would make my life easier if she also disappeared."
"You are one sick dude."
"How do you think I found you? Can I ask you a favor?"
"You can ask."
"I figure the chances of my getting out of here alive are pretty slim."
"So?"
"I want to kick the snot out of this kid." Hotch said, pointing at Reid. "He's made my life miserable for 3 lousy years."
"What about the girl?" Dowd asked.
"She has already dealt with enough, but I can deal with her later."
"Go ahead. Knock yourself out." Hotch got up and started kicking the crap out of Reid. I would do something, but I have a gun pointed at my head. Any movement, BAM! I'm dead.
"How smart are you now, smart guy?! It's front sight, trigger press, follow through! That's enough! It's not that hard! A dalmatian could do it!" Hotch stopped kicking Reid. I felt so bad for him. Reid rolled up in a ball, whimpering in pain. I know they are both faking it, but I just can't bear to see them get hurt. It's breaking my heart.
"Feel better?" Dowd asked Hotch.
"I think he got a message." Hotch said.
"What's that?" Dowd asked, looking at Hotch's rolled up pant leg. It was the holster of his ankle gun. Dowd realized that and was about to pull the trigger, ending my life, when instead Dowd fell to the ground, with a bullet wound in his head. It was Reid who shot it. There was a lot of screaming, and another voice, which was outside the door, said " We go now!" It was SWAT.
"Federal Agent! Federal Agent!" Hotch yelled to the SWAT team standing outside of the room. "Hold your fire! It's all clear." Hotch went to open the door. I was about to check up on Reid, when instead he came to me. He took his long arms and embraced me into a hug. I chuckled and hugged him back.
"I'm glad you're alright." I said. "Thanks for taking the shot."
...
Reid and I were sitting on the back of an ambulance. We were finished being checked. I just had a bruise on my forehead from being hit with a gun, plus the same gun pushing on the bruise.
"You all right?" Hotch asked us, after coming to where we were. We both nodded. "Nice shot."
"I was aiming for his leg." Reid responded.
"I wouldn't have kept kicking, but I was afraid you didn't get my plans."
"I got your plan the minute you moved the hostages out of my line of fire." Reid responded. "Well, I hope I didn't hurt you too badly."
"Hotch, I was a 12-year-old child prodigy in a Las Vegas Public High School. You kick like a 9- year-old girl." We all smiled. Reid handed Hotch's gun back to him.
"No. Keep it. As far as I'm concerned, you passed your qualification." Reid got up and headed towards Gideon. Morgan stopped him to ask him if he was doing alright, but Reid just gave Morgan back the whistle he got earlier.
"So, how are you doing?"
"Alright, besides the fact that that was the first time a gun was being held to my forehead after-" I shuddered at my memory.
"I know. I'm sorry."
"What for?" I asked.
"Multiple things. The childhood you had, being held at gunpoint while trying not to break down, especially with the things I said about you and Reid, and me kicking Reid."
"Well, I'm alive, and that matters." Hotch smiled. "Also, you're not going to get anywhere with that kick."
"Oh, come on." Hotch complained. I threw my hands in a 'I surrender' position.
"That's a 'you' problem. Nothing to do with me." I got up and walked away from Hotch.
"Get back here!" Hotch yelled.
"Not a chance Aaron!"
Did anyone else Philip Dowd as the Carlton Lassitter, aka the dude from Psych. Cause when I did, I threw my phone at the TV. Let's just say, my parents were mad after that.
Toodles,
HernameisBurrito.