New Hope

Chapter Five

A/N ⬆⬆⬆ another look into Zoraida's playlist

Night has fallen in the Oklahoma City police station. Moon light from the windows is drowned out by florescent lights glaring around the large office.  In front of murder board situated in the middle of the station the local cops had gathered. Agent Rossi sat at the table which had become his team's temporary work place. Morgan stands left of murder board, Hotch beside him, with hands in his pockets.

Morgan started, "We believe that our unsub may have known his first victim, yet the rest were random."

Hotch, "Most enucleators have a mental disorder and are frenzied and sloppy when they attack. This one has more control."

Rossi, "He lays in wait to kill his victims, knows how to cut them so they bleed out. This indicates he might have a hunting background."

Morgan, "His large kill zone could be related to some type of travel pattern in his life, which indicates a comfort with these neighborhoods. Why, all of a sudden, is he killing people every day?"

Hotch, "The escalation might be caused by a self-imposed time line. He has to murder so many people, take this many eyes, to accomplish a task."

Phil, "So he's crazy, but he's got a mission?"

Hotch, "Actually, yes. He's acting on a delusion that's fueling this murder spree."

Morgan, "For example, a man named Herbert Mullin. He had a fear of a catastrophic earthquake hitting california. Now, he believed that by killing people and offering their blood as a sacrifice to the earth, he could prevent an earthquake. He was a paranoid schizophrenic, and his delusion led him to kill thirteen people."

And I thought my job had me dealing with real psychos. Zoraida pulled out her earbud, but at least they weren't absolutely bonkers like these freaks the BAU hunts.

Phil, "Uh, what should we look for when we're on the streets?"

Morgan, "Most likely he's a white male, twenty seven to thirty five. We believe he is driving a van or a pickup truck with a removable cab."

Hotch, "Something utilitarian that can get bloody and wash out easily. He may also have applied for hunting licenses."

Rossi, "He has some sort of medical or surgical training but fell short of making a career out of it."

Hotch, "He may have been in a halfway house, or have been granted leave from a treatment facility. Possibly his family moved him away and now he's back."

Morgan, "Our unsub kills at night, employs hunting tactics, and is patient. He will wait until he can be alone with his victims."

As the cops slowly dispersed, muttering amongst themselves Zoraida hoped down from where she was perched on a desk like a bird, "That's some oddly specific details about the targ-unsub."

"That's what profiling is," Morgan said as he began cleaning up the papers scattered about. "Finding out the details of someone, who they truly are."

"Well," she crossed her arms, "if this profile of yours turns out correct, I'll be impressed."

Morgan smirked, "I look forward to it."

***

Hotchner pulled into their hotel parking lot. Rossi and Ashburn quickly hoped out, making their way to the room number Prentiss had sent Rossi.

After exiting the elevator filled with thick silence, they could already smell the mouth watering aroma coming from one of the rooms.

Knocking on the door, Rossi waited while rocking back on his heels.