Come Downstairs and Say Hello; S.R.

Case 1: Part 1

     "So it's a sniper?" Joey asked.

"We don't use that word." Morgan responded, making Joey Look up with a perplexed look on her face.

"Why not?" Elle asked.

"The public perception is that the FBI doesn't have an exemplary record with snipers." JJ explained, making Joey mutter a quick "oh" .

"Besides, a sniper is a professional marksman. These guys aren't snipers." Hotch said.

"So what do you call them?" Jo asked.

"L.D.S.K." Hotch responded, Jo arching an eyebrow.

"Long Distance Serial Killers." Reid explained, Jo nodding.

"How many of these guys have we caught with a profile?" Elle asked.

"None." Said Gideon, making Jo's blood run cold. She didn't feel quite up to such a challenge so early in her career, but she couldn't complain. The team moved into the conference room, where Hotch operated the tv and showed the team pictures of the victims.

"First and only fatality was Henry Sachs, he was married and a father of three. He was shot in the shopping center parking lot. Nine days later, Doug Miller and Kevin Parks we're playing basketball at a community center. Franklin Park, four days later, Jerry Middleton, Kate Murray, and Tim Reilly. Des Plaines police have found no link between any of the victims." All of the victims seemed dissimilar, the only thing Jo could think of is that they ranged from about in their 20s to in their mid 40s.

"Ballistics?" Morgan asked.

"He's using frangible rounds, which fragment on impact, making ballistics comparisons impossible." Jo frowned, immediately anxious about the cases difficulty. JJ, realizing Jo's solemn face, spoke up.

"The good news is that all the Park victims are going to make it." She said, patting Jo on the back and making her smile. "The bad news is that none of them saw anything. However, one of the patients has an impact bullet in his spine."

"What's the prognosis?" Gideon asked.

"Well, among surgical staff, there's a disagreement about wether they can remove the slug without paralyzing the patient." JJ explained.

"Well, without a useful witness or a solid piece of forensic evidence..." Morgan started

"The profile's all we have." Hotch finished for him, looks of anxiety and uncomfort passing around the table.
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Jo had a book in her lap, bouncing her leg as the jet took off. She tried desperately to lower her anxiety, but to no avail. Reid sat beside her, and she could feel how he glanced at her every now and then.

"You know...it helps to talk to someone when you're feeling stressed." He suddenly spoke softly. Jo looked up, smiling a little at him before looking back down.

"I'm just a bit nervous...this seems like such a challenge, and I've only been here for a few cases." She said.

"It's not anything to worry about. You're with the best, after all." Reid said with a smile, making Joey laugh.

"Come on over here, guys, we're checking out the files." JJ called over, and Joey placed down her book, standing and walking over to observe.

"L.D.S.K.s are so rare we haven't been able to build a standard profile." Hotch stated. "Here's what we do know: they're always male, and they frequently have law enforcement or military experience, and they always contact the police or media."

"For what purpose?" Joey asked.

"To take credit or relive the experience?" JJ added in.

"Both." Gideon responded. "All serial killers attempt to relive the ecstasy they get from killing. Some use souvenirs from their victims, and others return to the dump site to..interact with the body." Joey cringed. "Both modes require contact with the victim. Contact which, by definition, long distance serial killers don't have."

"A tarot card was left at one of the beltway shooters' crime scenes, later they called a tip hotline, leading to their capture." Joey wrote down what Hotch had said, needing an example.

"But our unsub hasn't contacted anybody." Morgan pointed out. Joey looked up at Hotch to hear his response.

"He will." He simply said.

"Well, until that happens, what do we have?" Elle piped up

"Sometimes it's not what the unsub does that reveals the profile. Sometimes it's what they don't do." Joey noticed Reid look up from the victims photos as Gideon said this.

"He doesn't kill his victims." He said.

"Underkill's a unique signature."

"The question is, does he shoot them in the stomach intentionally just to would them, or is he just aiming at the biggest part of the target?" Hotch asked. Jo began to chew on the end of her pen, her brain desperately trying to come up with something, anything. "Specifically, does the unsub lack the skill to make the head shot, or the will to take it?"