Winnie

Sniper Zero

"There's a 87% chance that the shot came from right about here." Winnie motioned to the area the team was standing. 

"We're 300 yards from the target. Being this close means he can't have been that good of a shot." Morgan said, looking down at where they came from.

"The guy died didn't he?" Winnie said. She got odd looks from Hotch and Morgan but Reid didn't seem to notice. He was too busy studying the grass to the left of where they were standing. 

"The burn marks and the indents in the grass here indicate that he used a duffel bag or something to support the gun." Reid pointed to the details in the grass. 

"Okay we have to work quick. The UnSub is continually decreasing the time between kills and I don't want another body on our hands." Hotch said. "Winnie, You said you have a geo profile?" 

"It's just a draft..." Winnie said shyly. 

"I'll take that as a yes. Reid, you and Winnie go back to the station and pull up the maps. Morgan, call Garcia and get everything you can on our victim, Mark Herlan." Hotch said then went to find some crime scene cops to photograph the grass. 

~~~Later at the Police Station~~~

Hotch stood in the front of the room with a large board behind him that had information from the past six shootings. Emily and JJ had gotten back from talking to the witnesses and the press. Not much information could be shared with the press so it didn't take long. Reid and Winnie were the first ones back at the station, they worked on the map and pinned it to the wall beside the info board. 

"Here's what we know: Six killings... What they have in common: single shots fired from mid-caliber rifles at a distance of 200 yards or greater. What they don't have in common are the victims. We have a real-estate broker, a housewife, a high school student, a veterinarian, a kindergarten teacher and a mailman. Time of day varies, and location varies." Hotch started. 

"Ballistics confirmed that all the shots came from different rifles. Six guns, six shots, six kills. That kind of skill suggest a kind of military background." Emily added. 

"He could also be switching the barrel of his rifle after every kill. That changes the ballistic fingerprint of the shot and would be a cheap way to avoid being linked to all of the murders." Morgan said. 

Winnie wanted to add something to help but she figured that a team of serial killer catchers would know whether or not it's actually one person doing the shooting, so she kept her mouth shut. 

 Don't speak unless spoken to. That was one of the rules she always told herself. No one ever really liked or cared when Winnie spoke so she always kept to herself. It was hard because she's naturally a talkative person but she figured that not everyone appreciated that about her. Plus, she had already broken that rule once today, she was not about to do it again. 

A police officer ran in the room, "A FedEx driver passing by around the time of the shooting claims he saw a green jeep parked near where the shooter was positioned." 

"Get Garcia on the phone." Hotch said, but Morgan was already on it. 

Morgan put in on speaker then placed it in the middle of the table. It rang a few times then Garcia's chirpy voice filled the room.

"You've reached the all-knowing, all-powerful goddess of wisdom, how may i assist you?" Winnie smiled at Penelope's choice of words.

"Hey baby girl, there was a green jeep spotted at the latest crime scene; Can you pull up satellite images from the time of the shooting and see if you can find it?" Morgan asked. 

"On it! I'll call you when i have something." Garcia hung up.

While the others tried to profile the killer, Winnie couldn't help feeling something didn't add up. Reid noticed her "thinking face" and asked about it.

"Something just doesn't feel right..." she said, "Do you mind if i run through some different algorithms? Analyze data and stuff?" 

"Sure." Reid had never met a girl who even knew what that mean't much less know how to work one. To say he was impressed by her was an understatement. Winnie astonished him. He quickly gave her some markers and an empty white board to work on. Winnie immediately began writing down numbers. to anyone else it looked like gibberish but Spencer knew exactly what she was doing. 

He watched her intently, calculating her numbers in his head. Winnie made no mistakes. Soon he found himself studying her more so than the equations on the board. The way her tongue stuck out a bit when she was writing. And how she bit her bottom lip when she was thinking hard. or how her eyebrows furrowed a bit when she got frustrated. and the best one he thought was how the fingers on her left hand were always moving, as if they were dancing. 

Time flew by and before he knew it, he and Winnie were alone. She had managed to fill quite a few white boards full of equations. It was getting late and Spencer knew if he didn't get Winnie to stop now she'd be writing all night. 

Spencer cleared his throat, "Winnipeg?" She jumped at the sudden noise. "It's late."

"I'm almost done, I swear." She kept going. 

Twenty minutes passed before she put down the marker with an exasperated sigh. The marker's ink had run out.

"We can get more markers in the morning." Spencer smiled. 

"It's not just that." Winnie sighed again while she stared at the most recent board. "The numbers don't add up like they should." Spencer was so entranced by the ways that Winnie had worked that he had not paid any attention to the actual work. He quickly read through the equations on the board.

"That's not right..." He went over her math. Everything was done correctly but the data showed the same results; the acceleration of the killings, gun variations, and the locations don't match the profile of one killer. 

"I think a few of these are copy cats." Winnie said. She searched for a new marker and started writing again. This time Reid grabbed a marker and worked with her. Together, they worked through the night. 

~~~The Next Morning~~~

The minute Derek pulled the curtain aside, morning sunlight poured though the window. The sleeping bodies of Spencer and Winnie stirred. As Spencer lifted his head off the table, Derek started laughing. His hair was sticking out every-which-way.

"You guys slept here last night?" Amusement in his voice. Spencer tried to pat down his hair.

"Yeah..." Spencer looked over at Winnie who was still semi-asleep. Her breathing was slow and her face looked calm and peaceful. 

"So did you guys do anything?" Derek had a large smile on his face. Spencer's cheeks instantly flushed red.

"No! We were working!" Spencer pointed to the many white boards. "Winnie has this theory that all these killings are just copy cats."

"Is she right?" It was at this time Hotch walked in, Emily and JJ close behind. The door behind them closed rather loudly causing Winnie to jump up. Her hair was a mess and her make up was smudged but Spencer still thought she was cute. He didn't have much time to admire her though as Hotch got right to the point.

"There was another shooting last night."