When the Levee Breaks
It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for subtlety.
Isaac Asimov
FIVE
Derek Morgan began his morning with leftover pizza and coffee. It had become evident that two pizzas was too much for two people after a long day's investigation, and the remainder had been squashed unceremoniously into the bar fridge next to the milk.
Ten minutes later, he met his fellow agents in the hotel parking lot. They all shared his tired demeanour, in spite of the eight hours sleep that most of them had received. Hotch and Rossi were talking in low voices, and Prentiss was on the phone standing off to the side. She hung up, just as Morgan arrived, and wordlessly got into the passenger's seat of one of the SUVs. She was almost surprised when it was Rossi that got into the driver's side. She regained her composure quickly, but not quickly enough for Rossi to miss it.
'I thought you might be sick of Morgan asking you how you were doing every thirty seconds,' he explained.
Faced with an ultimatum, Morgan had boarded the other SUV with Hotch and JJ. Rossi followed them out of the parking lot.
'It's not that bad,' she reasoned, after a few seconds pause. 'He's a bit protective, but not obsessively so. I am sick of people asking, though,' she added.
'About twelve years ago,' Rossi started, 'I got shot in the arm by an unsub – cracked the bone. One of my colleagues – every day for two weeks, he'd ask me how I was going. He finally stopped when I "accidentally" whacked him in the head with my cast.'
Prentiss grinned at that. 'So you're saying I should just beat up anyone who asks?' She had to admit, she wasn't completely against the idea.
'I would never suggest such a thing,' he said.
He told a few more stories about his past cases – the man did have experience. It was almost as though if you took away the BAU, he wouldn't have anything left. Though when it came down to it, you could have said that about any member of the team.
The local law enforcement officers listened in with what could only be described as enthusiasm. One of their own had been the last victim, and they wanted to put down the son of a bitch who made it treacherous to walk the streets at night.
Hotch took the lead, as was befitting his position of command. 'We're looking for a white male between the ages of twenty-five and thirty-five. He's narcissistic and feels under appreciated.'
'We're looking at an intelligent, organised offender,' Morgan continued. 'He's methodical, and is careful not to be seen when kidnapping his victims. He likes to feel in control in order to make up for his perceived feelings. He's looking to humiliate his victims – treat them as he feels they treat him. It's likely that he met these people prior to the kidnappings, and he feels that they slighted him in some way. It's also likely that this meeting occurred in a workplace environment.'
'Due to the varied nature of the victims' occupations, it's likely that the unsub worked in a position where he would come into contact with a large range of people, such as a plumber, or a consultant.'
Prentiss added the finishing touches. 'He is well-built, and probably drives an inconspicuous vehicle – he managed to overpower his victims, and get them away without anyone noticing. He may be impotent, as he was looking to humiliate his victims, and yet there were no signs of sexual assault.'
At that point, Detective Walters's phone rang, causing everyone to look in his direction. 'Yes? Oh...okay. Yes, yes, I'll tell them.' He hung up, and it didn't take a profiler to know it wasn't good news.
'Someone else has gone missing. Steven Carmichael, thirty-nine.'
'What was his occupation?' asked Hotch, noticing the somewhat confused expression on Walters's face.
'He was a garbage truck driver,' Walters revealed.
Rossi swore under his breath. 'He's escalating,' he said.
A/N: I've updated the summary to make it sound more "appealing", but that's mostly because I'm a review whore. On that note, I remind you to review. I can't fix what's wrong if you don't tell me what's wrong.