Ghosts • Aaron Hotchner

Chapter Fifteen

Fallon

Fallon was propped on the edge of Emily's desk, chatting with her and Spencer when they saw Hotch urgently walking out of his office, his go bag in his left hand and a file in his right. JJ was close behind him, an exasperated expression written across her face.

"Well it looks like we're going to Boston," she told the three as Morgan made his way over from his desk. They all stood as they watched Hotch walk out of the bullpen.

"Alright then guys, let's go. It looks like we have a plan to catch," Fallon commented, and with that, they all grabbed their go bags and promptly follow after Hotch.

***

Thirty minutes later, they were all sitting on the jet and Hotch had passed out files to each agent.

"The Reaper is driven by a need to dominate, control, and manipulate," Hotch told them, as the team started to go over the case. A murder was made in the same fashion as the Boston Reaper, signaling that he had ended his hiatus from murder. The team had to figure out who he was and stop him, and fast, otherwise several more people would die. 

"So then why would he offer a deal that would stop him from doing that?" Emily asked.

"I don't think he did," Fallon commented, and Hotch looked at her gravely.

"Exactly. Killing gave him power, but after so many the payoff began to diminish, so he decided to switch tactics. Offering the deal gave him the ultimate power, better even than killing. He manipulated the police into voluntarily surrendering " Hotch explained.

"He even got it in writing," Reid commented.

"He won, why start killing again?" JJ asked from beside Fallon.

"Well because the only person who knew he'd won, the person he made the deal with, just died," Morgan answered.

"Narcissistic killers need other people to recognize their power. That's why they contact the media," Rossi pointed out.

"So how did he stop for ten years?" Emily wondered aloud, which was the question that they all wanted answered.

"In Night of the Reaper, the author suggests he had been arrested for an unrelated crime or died. Perhaps he's trying to correct that misconception," Spencer suggested.

"What has he been doing all this time?" JJ asked.

"Well I doubt he's been playing checkers," Fallon mumbled under her breath.

"Planning what he would do if he started killing again," Hotch answered.

"So from '95 to '98, he shoots, stabs, and bludgeons twenty one victims. Men, women, all ages, all types. No specific victimology or M.O. How did you build a profile from there?" Morgan asked.

"We didn't, Shaunessy sent us home before we had a chance," Hotch answered, making Fallon raise an eyebrow in surprise. They were supposed to catch one of the deadliest killers in New England history, without a profile to start off with. This was going to be fun. "BTK, The Zodiac, and the Reaper all have similarities. They're all highly intelligent, disciplined, sadistic killers, who name themselves in the press."

"Highly intelligent may be a bit of an understatement. The Reaper and the Zodiac killer have never been arrested. The BTK killer was only caught after twenty five years because he went to the press to counter a book that said he died, moved away, or been locked up, just like this one," Spencer informed them. The information was a little useless at the moment, and most of them knew it already, but Fallon was grateful to her friend for trying his best to make the situation better.