Criminal Minds: Joker

Chapter 3

Five years ago:

Hotchner Resident

It's been a week since he's made the decision to return to the BAU, a month since Haley's funeral and in that time he'd spent much time as he can with his son Jack but now it was back to business. For the most part.

It was on a Monday, 7 am. The Sun was streaming through the curtain inside his room as he was adjusting his tie while having to put on his work suit before placing his gun on the holster. Jack had just left the house to take the school bus and Jessica promised him she'd take .

Taking he went to get his federal badge and stared it for a few moment. There was a brief hesitation. He knows that if he puts the badge back on, there was no coming back. But he'd made peace with it long ago when he was offered a place in White Collar.

Having made a decision in his head, he tucks the badge inside his pocket and stared into the mirror. At that moment, every criminal on the planet felt a freezing shiver run along their bones and dance with fear; as if somehow they knew that their worst nightmare had been born while the demons cried out in fear,and the angels sang their forbidden song, to verify that the lord had brought vengeance in the form of a human being. He was no longer Aaron Hotchner, the Widow and single father. He was now Aaron Hotchner, SSA Agent and Unit Chief of the Behavioural Analysis Unit.

XXXX

Present.

Los Angeles Police Department

After presenting the profile to members of the LAPD, the team wanted to know more about the Clown Prince of Crime as they turned to Reid for answers at the briefing room.

"Ok, Boy Wonder. Since you know a lot about this psychotic clown, why don't you enlighten us peons?" Derek inquired.

"Well, it's not much to say really." Reid said, beginning to explain the psychosis of the Joker. "There have been so many interpretations of the Joker whether it's in the comics or in the media. Some were borderline extreme, others were accurate while the rest were parody of what the Joker is intended to be. But the one common denominator is that he's a narcissist psychopath with anti social disorder with a bit of Bipolar."

"In other words he's a psychopathic killer that craves attention and is willing to go great lengths to achieve it." Hotch summarised.

Reid pointed at his unit chief in approval. "Exactly. Joker may appear insane by the way he dresses and act but he's not stupid. Everything he does is for a reason."

"And what reason is that?" Rossi asked.

"That we are one bad day from allowing our inner demons to consume us." Reid said. The team was starting to get an understanding."The Joker lives by a nihilistic philosophy. He wants everyone to be brought down to his level. He doesn't care about race, gender, sexual preference or socioeconomics at all. All that matters to him is about selling the joke and make his victims to see the world the way he sees: drowned in anarchy and chaos. I think that Unsub is basing his obsession on that particular philosophy."

"So in order to locate the unsub, we need to find the stressor as in that one bad day." JJ said.

"And that the begs the next question: What is the next crime our unsub is going to replicate?" Derek wondered.

As the team began to brainstorm the possibilities, Reid thought of something that occurred after they gave out the preliminary profile to the local law enforcement.

XXXX

10 minutes ago.

"Chief. Your wife called. She wanted to remind you of your annual check up at the dental office."