11Distress- 2:17
Harita's POV
***Really brief mentions of mastrubation. Near the end, only in one sentence***
***Mentions of addiction, drugs; Dilaudid. Near the end.***
"This is Houston's fifth ward. It accounts for a large percent of the city's growing homicide rate, Due to gang violence And a bustling narcotics trade. Although in the last 48 hours, There have been 3 distinctive murders in the ward." JJ started explaining the case. We were all at the round table, except for Reid, who excused himself earlier to go to the bathroom. Something was definitely wrong with him. I mean, it has been 2 months since the Tobais Hankel case, and we have been working on other cases, but there's something nagging in the back of my brain that something is wrong about him.
"Distinctive?" I questioned.
"3 men, 3 different socioeconomic groups, All killed on the street with their necks snapped. There appears to be no other injury, And there's no apparent connection between the victims or motive." JJ stops talking and we turn our attention to Reid, walking in and sitting in his chair. He looks… loopy, tired even. "The ward's detectives are inundated with homicides. Gang violence is a big problem. Shootings, armed robberies, it's an everyday occurrence, But this type of street attack is new to them."
"Could it be gang related, Maybe some new type of initiation rite?" Emily asked.
"The gangs in the ward use guns. In fact, no known gangs exhibit this type of MO.
"What about dope?" Morgan suggested. "These guys come up with pretty freaky ways of killing the competition to get their message out."
"Yeah, but there just doesn't seem to be any connection Between the victims and the drug world. Just 3 dead men, a homeless man, a construction worker, and a security guard, and no witnesses."
"We're looking for a homicidal serial criminal in a neighborhood populated by criminals. The challenge will be separating him from the rest."
"We have no evidence, no apparent interaction between the unsub and the victims pre or postmortem, and an indistinguishable MO. Should be simple." Reid added to Hotch's statement.
…
*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.)
…
"'Our life is made by the death of others.' Leonardo Da Vinci once said."- SSA Jason Gideon
...
"Why are you blasting Careless Whispers so loud?" Morgan asked, as he finally arrived onto the jet, being the last one.
"Shut up, I'm in my feels." I stated. I was wrapped up in my blanket, holding up a wrapper of a clif bar.
"She just ate her last Clif bar." JJ whispered to Derek as he sat down next to her. "We're giving her a minute to cope.
"Alright Harita, stop the music." Hotch said as the plane started to take off. Hotch sits next to me and scooches closer. "Harita, I'm not sexist, am I?" The whole team turns towards me to see what I respond with.
"Uhh… I don't think so. Misogynistic borderline-" Everyone starts laughing at my response.
"Alright, let's get back to work."
"We got a construction worker; an outsider in the community. We got a security guard; that's an authority figure. And then we got a homeless man. That's a powerless victim that no one would notice missing. So who's he targeting?" Morgan asked.
"Let's see if any of the victims frequented the same stores or sites." Hotch ordered.
"He used blitz attacks, Which means he most likely lacks the interpersonal skills. He needed to coerce his victims into coming close. And he also used the element of surprise, Which means he may have stalked his victims prior to killing them." Reid profiled.
"Well, if that's the case, I want to go to the last crime scene to see where he may have been hiding." Derek said.
"I want to see the neighborhood for myself. I'll go with you." Gideon stated.
"I'll come too." I added.
"The rest of us will go to the precinct and set up shop." Hotch said.
"I'll map out the area and see if I can find any places The victims would have visited in the neighborhood." Reid announced.
"I'll help you with that." Prentiss said.
"I can handle it." Spencer sternly said.
"I wasn't suggesting that you couldn't." Emily answered, confused. I don't blame her. I was also confused. A couple hours ago, he was laughing with her, and now he is snapping at her.
"I know what 'I'll help you with it' means."
"Reid. Prentiss will help you with the geographical profiling and victimology." Hotch ordered.
"Fine."
"Remember, this is a high crime area. Be vigilant. Nobody goes anywhere alone." Hotch warned.
…
"FBI, right?" The detective asked once we arrived at the scene.
"Agent Morgan, Dr. Harita, and Agent Gideon." Morgan introduced.
"We really do appreciate your help. The VIC, the security guard, was patrolling construction sites in the neighborhood. Some equipment was vandalized."
"You think the murder's related?" I asked.
"The damage was kind of unspecific, more like something kids would do. The guard had a pistol, which is now missing."
"This whole area, it's empty?" Morgan questioned.
"Except for a liquor store around that corner. And the locksmith on this end."
"And what about this building right here?" I pointed to my right.
"Oh, empty for years." The detective answered. I looked at Morgan and he cocked his head towards the building. The two of us left the detective and Gideon and headed towards there, our flashlights out and ready. The place was literally empty, except for one corner. I called Morgan over, and he went to call Gideon and the detective. Soon they came back.
"Someone was living here. There's a dirty blanket, hamburger wrappers, and soda cans."
"Those kids weren't the only ones here last night." Gideon muttered.
…
"Unsub might be homeless. Appears to have been living in a building next to where the security guard was attacked." Gideon announced once we walked into the room the PD had set up for us.
"Are those cookies?" I asked, pointing to the plate on the table. JJ nodded.
"One of the detectives' wives made cookies."
"Aww, that's so sweet. That's mine, and if anyone touches them, I will hurt you." I grabbed the plate and started munching on them, not before JJ stole a bunch for herself.
"These are the locations of the last 3 murders, all near abandoned buildings." Spencer pointed to the map he wrote on.
"He knows the neighborhood." Hotch said. "Maybe he was recently displaced due to all of the construction."
"Could be a motive. Construction worker, security guard at a construction site. Payback?" Emily suggested.
"What about the homeless man?" I asked.
"We get a lot of beef down there among the homeless. That one could have just been a fight about space or food." The detective said.
"Let's get a list of residents who've been kicked out of their homes by gentrification. Prentiss and Reid check the shelters." Gideon ordered.
"Yeah, we're on it. Unless... you ok with that, Reid?" Emily asked.
"I'm fine with that." His sour face said otherwise. Nonetheless, the two of them left.
"We should check to see if there are any mental hospitals in the area, Maybe someone who was recently released into the streets." Hotch urged.
"Got it." JJ called out.
"Morgan, can you cover the police records for the last week? If it's someone who's been recently homeless, he might have stolen food, comfort items, blankets, toiletries. We might be able to track a pattern of theft." Morgan nodded and left the room.
…
It has only been a couple of hours, and there was another victim, in broad daylight. Gideon, Morgan and I went to go and check it out.
"Victim's name is Travis Overby. That's his buddy over there. He was working a jackhammer on a new trunkline. He said one second Travis was going down the sewer, The next second he was down at the bottom dead." The detective explained as we were walking towards the open sewer-hole.
"From one second to the next. Someone has to go down." Gideon pointed to the two of us. We both groaned
"Rock-paper-scissors to see who has to go down the drain." I suggested.
"Deal" Morgan nodded. We played one round and he put paper while I put scissors. "It's a game of chance! How do you always win?"
"You always pick paper." I deadpanned.
"That's not ture!" Here, go again." We do the same thing and he picks paper again while I go for scissors. "One more time." The same thing happens again. "One more time." And again. "One more time." And again. "God, this reverse psychology is a bust!" Morgan climbed down the hole, and then stopped to look at Gideon. "I'm putting in for hazard pay."
"Good luck with that." Gideon chuckled. Morgan went down. I was gonna drop some leaves through the hole that I found on the ground, but Gideon stopped me.
"It's pretty clean for a sewer! The trash is pretty much cleared away. Yeah, I got a dirty blanket. Something else rolled up in the corner. It's obvious he made himself a place to sleep, but he cleared it all away. It looks a lot like the last place he was in."
"Huh. A new temporary home." Gideon mumbled.
"Guys, it looks like the jackhammer must have knocked some of the ceiling loose. It fell down all around him. I'd be pretty scared, too." Morgan reported.
"It's about survival." Gideon said.
"So he carved out a place of his own, saw a threat, and he attacked." I profiled as Morgan popped his head up the hole.
"That's got to be why the victims were so random. He didn't have a relationship with them. They just happened to be intruding on his home. We'll need to see the other crime scenes." Morgan told the detective.
"Sure, let's go." I grabbed Derek and helped him up.
"You all right?"
"Yeah. You owe me."
"No I don't, you just lost and are becoming a sore loser."
…
All the crime scenes looked the same. There was some sort of make-shift 'home' somewhere close by. Other than that, that was it. We headed back to the station and I was greeted by Emily dragging me to the snack machine, away from the others.
"Is Reid okay?" Emily asked.
"He says he's fine every time I ask, but personally, I don't think so. Why?" I questioned.
"He's just been acting strange today. When we went to talk to the head of one of the homeless shelters, Reid told her that the unsub may even 'be in this room as we speak'."
"That doesn't sound like Reid." Emily nodded. "I'll see what I can do, but you owe me."
"Here you go." Emily handed me a pack of pretzels from the vending machine. I raised my eyebrow and she groaned. A couple of seconds later, she handed me another pack. I took it, smiled, and tried to leave as soon as I could, but unfortunately, she slapped the back of my head before I could.
...
"Please help my daddy!" A small voice shouted. I was talking to JJ, and the two of us turned to where the noise came from. I saw a small girl, 9 or 10, and a man, possibly her dad, next to her, bleeding from the stomach.
"I need help! I was attacked!" The man yelled.
"Can I get some help here, please!" JJ yelled as I took the daughter.
…
Emily and Hotch came back from talking to the daughter, Maria. The father was in the hospital, stabble.
"He asked if she was ok and why was she crying. He wasn't aware of what he was doing to her." Hotch reported.
"Garcia's on line one." JJ informed.
"Go ahead, Penelope." Hotch said into the phone.
"All right, cowgirls and boys. I've got the comparison satellite images of the before and after pictures, and I found something. Check it. Do you see it yet?" Pennelope sent two pictures through the computer.
"Yeah, an SOS written on the roof of a building." JJ answered.
"Yeah, it's made of debris and other rocky bits of gobbledygook. This is the building where the security guard got killed." Garcia explained.
"He's asking for help." Hotch added.
"Wait, guys. Listen outside." Spencer said, and we all quieted down. All I heard was a lot of construction noises.
"Chaos. SOS." Hotch replied.
"He's a war veteran." Emily concluded.
"He thinks he's in a war zone." I added.
"He's reliving a memory. He's trapped in his head in some war zone. Hiding and defending himself from the enemy." Gideon profiled.
"Ok, so how do we find a man who's trapped inside his head?" JJ asked.
"He's got a wedding ring. Someone's missing him." Emily answered.
"JJ, check missing persons reports, See if anyone matches the description. It would have been filed recently, the last 2 or 3 days." Hotch ordered.
…
And soon, the miraculous JJ got a Dana Woodridge and a Max Weston to come in. The wife and best friend to Roy Woodridge, who has been missing since Tuesday. We found out that he works at a security firm as a consultant and he is a war veteran, along with Max. Roy retired in 1993 after things went bad in Mogadishu. Also, Roy has a hard time with loud noises, including crowds and construction sites. He also has a hard time with bad smells, like gases and fires. Garcia called us to say that Roy's truck was found with a flat tire, a quarter of a mile from high-way 59. Unfortunately, Roy takes this route to work everyday, so that checks out. Mogadishu was a hard time for the two war veterans, so hard that Roy had to kill a child. A child. In conclusion, Roy is reliving the war, the same time when he killed a child
"We need to put a SWAT Team together, plan a grid search and go building to building."
"Guys, the SWAT Team's gonna have guns, right? What happens if he tries to fight them?" Reid asked. But no one had the answer, except hope that that didn't happen.
Suddenly, my phone rang. I went outside to take it, except it wasn't my phone that rang. It was Derek's.
"Hello chocolate thunder." Penelope smoothly greeted.
"Hello baby girl." I said, trying to imitate Derek the best I can.
"Harita! What are you doing with Derek's phone, not that I don't want you, I was just expecting Derek to answer, since, well, it is his phone.
"I stole it. Anyway, what do you have?"
"So, I finally got through all those recent police reports he asked me to check, which, by the way, it was no hopscotch through the park, because that precinct you're at is kind of tragically behind on their paperwork."
"Yeah, according to them they're undermanned." I explained.
"Oh, Jeez, really? I can't imagine what that feels like. Oh, no, wait. Yes, I can, 'cause-"
"Garcia, I love you so much you know that. Go to my desk, and the first drawer on the left should be filled with snacks. Take as many as you want.
"Oh, and I love you even more. Well, anyways, he told me to look for anything unusual, And it's all usual. Minor break ins, apartment burglaries, televisions, stereos, car thefts, and smash and grabs. Common stuff in the world of burgling."
"Nothing a guy lost in the streets might use for survival?" I questioned.
"No, nothing reported. Like I said, it's all petty. There's some vandalism at construction sites. Communications radio missing from one of them."
"Wait... did you say radio?"
"Yeah. Construction Foreman reported that one of their trucks had been broken into and a hand-held radio was stolen yesterday, 12 hours ago. Is that what you're looking for?"
"Yes, thank you so much Garcia." I ended the call and ran to the others. "He may have stolen a radio, a walkie-talkie. There was a burglary of a two-way radio from a construction site recently."
"That could be Roy. We only used UHF back then." The detective informed.
"He's looking for help." Gideon said.
"And he'll keep trying to contact Operations Command." Max added.
"Detective, can we get a dozen UHF radios set up in this room, and each of them tuned to each of the preset channel frequencies?" Hotch ordered.
"Wait a minute." Max interrupted. "When he calls, we need to be very careful with the communication, Because we set up specific responses to contact OP Com so we could avoid hostile interception and to establish 'no danger' signals. And we had specific names to identify our squad to the operator."
"Do you remember the language you set up?" Gideon asked.
"I couldn't forget it. Roy and I wrote it. The callout was, 'This is John Doe looking for Mark Rypien.' Rypien was our hero at the time... number 11, quarterback for the Redskins in 1993."
"Now we know where he is in his head. He calls in, we'll be on the other end when he does."
"What if he doesn't call? What if he just kills someone else?" The detective asked.
"Well, we'll deal with that if it happens." Gidoen answered.
"Kind of easy for you to say. This guy may be messed up, but that doesn't change the fact That he has killed 4 innocent people. Now, why don't we just do the grid search?" The detective queeried.
"If you set up a grid search And he confronts one of your men, you'll be planning a funeral." Max responded.
"I can guarantee you we're right about his profile. This man wants to get rescued. All I'm asking is that you just give us a chance to bring him in."
…
"Are you ready Garcia?" JJ asked into the phone.
"I've got Nat Recon Satellites all over the ward." Garcia answered.
"Stand by."
"This is John Doe looking for Mark Rypien." Roy's voice was heard.
"Roger that. This is number 11, all clear." Max said.
"Maxey, boy, am I happy to hear from you. I'm taking heavy fire. Request immediate extraction."
"What are your coordinates?"
"Unknown. I lost my land navigational aids. I went high, but I don't recognize anything. I don't have a fix on my grid coordinates."
"Any other way for him to signal his location?" Gidoen asked.
"Did you put up any flags?"
"Yeah, you bet your ass I did. I'm holding cover here."
"Roger that. Hold your position." Max turned to us. "He triangulated. We need to look for 3 large, colored flags, Maybe on rooftops. They'll be identical in size and shape."
"Did you get that, Garcia?" JJ asked.
"Yeah, I got it. I found one. I found one. I got them. I see... housing projects and a courtyard."
"We need street names, Garcia."
"Farmer and Capron! Farmer and Capron!" Garcia shouted.
"I know where that is. There's some abandoned buildings right there. I'll have construction sites to halt work and secure the streets." The detective said.
"He's gonna expect men in fatigues and a chopper as cover." Max warned.
"I can take care of the choppers."
"We're in black SUVs. Tell him we're security executives. You're coming with us. We need to do this fast. Tell him to stay there, we're coming to him." Hotch answered as we all got dressed into our FBI vests and hurried to the SUVs.
…
"Sergeant Woodridge?" Morgan yelled, as he peeped behind a building.
"Where's Max?" Roy asked. Max moved forward so Roy could see him better.
"Roy. It's all right. It's time to come in." Roy moved forwards so we could see his whole body.
"He's got a weapon!" I yelled to the others. As if something had to go wrong at that moment, someone just had to start up a jackhammer, causing Roy to panic as we frantically tried to get them to stop. And as if something else had to go wrong, there was a small boy on a bike that caught Roy's attention. Despite our yells, he went towards the kid. One of the snipers shot him before he could get to the boy, instantly killing Roy. The case was finished.
…
"Hey Spencer! I don't know if you saw my text, but whatever. I brought some take-out, and it's your favorite!" I yelled. After the case, once I got home. I texted Spencer, asking if he wanted to have dinner together, at his place of course. He didn't answer, so I still bought some and went over to his place. Before you ask, I did not break in, a while back he gave me a key to his place, so I used that. I would be shocked if someone was dating this man, not only did he not answer my texts, he didn't answer my yelling. I put the food down at a nearby table, took off my shoes and jacket, and looked around for him. He wasn't in the kitchen, living room, his room, or his library, so all that was left was the bathroom. Once I approached it. I heard some whimpering. Not that kind when you mastrubate, like when you are in pain. Then I heard something drop and Spencer cuss.
"Spencer, I'm coming in." I opened the door, ignoring his protest and saw how tired he looked. He was a mess. I looked over at the sink and saw a small bottle and a syringe. I grabbed it before he could and briefly read what it was.
"You're taking Dilaudid? The same kind Tobais Hankel gave you?" I asked. Spencer looked away. "Spencer, look at me." I softly grabbed his face and turned it towards mine. "Spencer, are you taking Dilaudid?" Tears leaked from his eyes. That's the answer I needed.
"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." I grabbed Spencer and hugged him as tight as I could.
"It's alright, you're going to be okay. I'll be with you every step of the way."
...
Credits;
daianotdaya- Tiktok
yeefckinhaw- Tiktok
TommyInnit- Twitch/YT
Tubbo- Twitch/YT
If anyone gets offended or hurt by the ending, please let me know. I'm not a therapist, nor have I gone through something like this, so please just let me know. The last thing I want to do is to hurt someone because of this. If you are going through something like this or you need to talk to someone, I'm always here.
Toodles,
HernameisBurrito