Who Am I? - Criminal Minds

Chapter One

Edit: I wrote this when I was fourteen and have since improved but don't wish to touch up on this fanfic. I know there are many mistakes, but I'm done working on this. Please don't base my more recent writing on this work. Thank you for all the love this has recieved though! ^.^

My first ever fanfiction! So uh, it might be terrible (just like my actual writing). So I'm secretly hoping this doesn't become popular and get lots of hate for all my mistakes with this. Sorry I can't write flawlessly.

This book takes place somewhere between season seven and eight. 

 "John Daley! This is the FBI! Open up!" Agent Derek Morgan yells at the door, tense and ready for anything. When there isn't a reply or stirring inside, he kicks the door open. Immediately the FBI agents and SWAT members file inside, in stealthy formation with their guns in front of them.

The lights in the old house are off and though he would never admit or show it, Agent Dr. Spencer Reid is scared. He hates the dark, and wandering around a creaky old house belonging to a serial killer doesn't help much.

Echoes of the word "clear" ring throughout the house. Daley has vanished. Seeing no threat in the house anymore, the team from the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit puts their guns away and meet to discuss what should be done next.

"He knew we were onto him," Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner says.

"He isn't exactly rich, so where would he go?" The question comes from Agent Emily Prentiss. She sweeps her gaze around the small circle, her dark brown hair swaying slightly.

"He could've gone to his last dump site," Morgan chimes in.

"His last kill isn't special to him, he wouldn't go there," Hotch dismisses the idea.

"Then which kill is special to him?" Agent Jennifer Jareau, most commonly referred to as "JJ", asks. A lock of her blonde hair escapes from its place behind her ear, but she ignores it.

There is a pause before Agent David Rossi says, "His first."

"Where was the body of the first victim found?" Prentiss asks no one in particular. All eyes glance over to Reid, the only member of the team containing an eidetic memory.

"Uh, six thirty-five North Adath street," the youngest member of the team finally speaks up.

"Got it, let's go," Hotch says as he's already almost out the front door. Immediately, the rest of the team follows.

They all pile inside the FBI's black Chevrolet SUV's and rush to their destination. The drive is short, but seems to take forever, because the team doesn't know how much time they have; they don't know when Daley left.

When they arrive, they decide to go for a more stealthy approach this time. The door is unlocked because the person who owns it is now dead, so they open it and file in silently, using hand gestures to communicate.

Everyone is extra careful not to be separated from their partner. Daley is a serial killer who beats his victims for days before finally carving the letter 'X' on his or her stomach antimortem and strangling them with his bare hands. The media has given him the nickname of "The Xterminator", as cheesy as that sounds.

Hotch and Morgan take the lead, pointing their guns at every new door or hallway they approach. Prentiss and JJ follow them, guns always pointing straight ahead, Rossi following them. And Reid trails behind them, flanked by two SWAT members. His gun is aimed straight ahead, too.

The sweep of this house is a dead-end, too. Defeated, the BAU team members go into the living room to regroup and organize their thoughts.

"I don't get it, the profile says he should be here," Rossi thinks aloud.

"Maybe your profile is wrong," Detective LaRoe says with hostility. The detective has been supportive and cooperative throughout the entire investigation, but he's tired of storming into empty houses, not to mention that a sadistic serial killer is still on the loose. But nevertheless, his comment earns him a slight glare from Agent Hotchner.

"With all due respect, Detective, our profile is correct." He notices something on the floor nearly hidden behind a bookcase on the other side of the room. Picking it up, he adds, "And this proves it. Daley's journal. He was here." He flips it open. "He documented everything he did to his victims."

LaRoe takes the journal, keeping it on the same page. After reading one sentence, which describes the torture Cassie Rivers endured, he breathes, "My God..."

"Reid, could you read this?" Hotch hands Reid the journal, knowing his speed-reading will be helpful right now. He's seen him read an entire novel in ten minutes once. Plus, his eidetic memory means he will remember every word down to the slant of the letters.

Reid takes the journal and walks over to the reclining chair, where he sits down stiffly and continues to read, already absorbed in the text.

"Okay, so according to the profile, Daley should have gone here," Hotch begins the group's train of thought.

"Which he did," Prentiss finishes the sentence.

"But where would he go after stopping here? Since he obviously knew we would figure it out and come here, so he had to move again, but where?" Morgan asks. "This guy is organized and meticulous."

"What if he's still here?" Rossi suggests.

"We already checked the house though," Prentiss reminds him.

"That's right; we checked the house, but not the yard."

"If there's nowhere else for him to go, he might just hide outside and wait for us to leave," JJ expands on Rossi's thought.

"Well tough luck for him then, because I'm not leaving until I find this son of a b*tch!" Morgan's determined spirit radiates off of him with a hint of anger.

"Let's check the grounds," Hotch commands. The SWAT members follow them out the back door, but the police officers stay behind with Reid.

The room is awkward for the police officers because Reid isn't saying anything and if they said anything, they would feel as though they're being watched. The awkward silence is so thick, you could rip out chunks of the air.

Finally, Detective LaRoe breaks it. "Anyone want some coffee?"

Three of the officers go into the kitchen with him to make some coffee, thankful for the distraction. This leaves one officer and Reid alone in the living room. 

After a while, the officer gets bored of waiting around so he gets up to check around the house for anything else Daley might've left behind. He doesn't really think he will find anything, but he doesn't like the awkwardness in the room, so he used this as an excuse to leave.

Reid is still completely zoned out while reading. He goes into another world when he reads. He's almost done with the journal, too. He is so focused on the journal, he doesn't hear the front door opening or the soft footsteps around the room, getting closer to him. This is all just background noise to him.

And he certainly doesn't expect the sudden blow to his head and the fading blackness following it.