persephone de luca joins the bau,
solving cases by understanding
the unsubs, struggling with her
past and her future in the process.
━━━━ a criminal minds anthology ft. persephone de luca.
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HELLRAISER. && part nine. the case of the coldlake cult, ii
"I THINK WE SHOULD TALK TO THE COMMUNITY," Rossi said, sitting with the team in the small BAU-assigned room. "We need to profile the leader."
"Since the footprints indicate that there are multiple Unsubs, we can assume there are at least four to five culprits, then the leader must be trustworthy and charismatic, someone that a proportion of the community can trust." Hotchner looked to the group.
Reid and I returned to the police station, with our list of Hunting Club members, as well as several other social clubs and groups we had found. "So religious leaders, teachers, doctors." I folded my arms across my chest and looked through the glass wall to the rest of the police. "Police officers." My tone became hushed.
The tension in the air thickened. Police officers as Unsubs weren't a far-off suspicion; I had never trusted them, not after they failed my mother. It seemed, though, that most of the team wished to rely on the force dressed in blue, something about it amused me like they were children, still believing in Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny. . . but then, what about my job was any different? Law enforcement with a gun and an ego, I guess the only thing was I carried a psychology degree and a heart.
"As De Luca said, we can't deny the fact that maybe our lead Unsub is a police officer." Emily tilted her head.
"Should we share that with the rest of the station?" JJ asked, shifting her weight from foot to foot. She stood beside Hotchner, her golden hair dull in the limited sunlight.
Hotch shook his head. "No, we'll give them the profile but omit our suspicions about who exactly we think the lead Unsub might be."
I frowned. Something didn't feel right, and I looked up at Hotch, my eyes sharp and tone firm. "Sorry, but if we think the leader might be a pillar of the Coldlake community, then surely anyone could be a member? Even the officers that we're working with? I mean, how do we even trust them when they could be feeding information back?"
"We're going to have to trust our instincts, keep your eye out for traits of people in a cult. Reid, can you give the team a refresher?" Hotch looked to Reid, who sat beside me, and I looked towards him, giving him an encouraging nod.
Reid moved to the front, he ran his hands through his dirty golden hair. "As we know, cults manipulate human psychological needs and vulnerabilities. The leader needs to be charismatic; they promise salvation or enlightenment to attract followers." He looked at the face of each member of the BAU as he spoke.
"Uh, so, cults typically aim to reshape members' identities, so look for people with sudden changes in their lives, new haircuts, style of clothing, pattern of speech or new ideas. These changes won't be to stick out but to actually blend in with the cult." Reid's fingers traced patterns on the table as he spoke. "An 'us versus them' mentality is typically seen in cult members. People who are closed off, don't trust those around them and are wary of strangers. Cult victims are likely to be isolated to the greater community but have a close-knit community." Reid began to tap on the wood.
"A group of friends that you're unlikely to see but unlikely to understand, they're close-knit but closed off to strangers. Confident in themselves, they are likely to judge those outside of that circle. We should look for social clubs with a small number of members and a strict acceptance rate, or have a symbol that is shared amongst them, members that have gone through something traumatic, such as personal loss, financial hardship or identity crises."
