❝ But I'm only human
and I bleed when I fall down ❞
The Behavioral Analysis Unit team around Aaron Hotchner gets called in to assist on a serial killer case in New York where they meet the young and surprisingly talented Special Agent Skylar Brown...
!TW: SCARS, SELF HARM, MENTIONS OF THE CASE! Long ass chapter, you're welcome!
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The team of profilers sat collected around the conference table, staring up at Hotch as he entered. JJ was the first one to ask, "Where's Sky?" And he was met with questionable looks that wondered just about the same thing.
"She's waiting outside the interrogation room," he said.
"I heard what happened," Garcia's voice sounded from the table's midst. "Is my sweet little babycakes okay?"
There was a lot of conferencein law enforcement — conference room, conference phone — not as much lonesomeness. Everyone shared everything. At least, kind of and almost.
Hotch met Derek's disapproving glance. "She's fine," he said. His eyes never left Morgan's.
He grunted and turned away, still not able to comprehend how he managed to play it all down without a second thought.
"Okay," said Penelope, rather unconvinced. She would just have to ask Skylar herself. "Well, I looked into this Bryce Rae guy and I have to say, he fits our profile like I fit into the chiseled arms of Derek Morgan," she said.
Derek chuckled. "How so, babygirl?"
"For starters, he's got a dozen drug charges. There's, like, nothing this guy hasn't taken yet. His parole conditions involve working at a gym with a bunch of big guys and he's not so tiny, either. He's got three failed marriages. Three, that's a lot," she said. "The second one ended in assault charges from his wife, but they were dropped shortly after because she allegedly ran away. I'm using allegedly because I'm not sure she did all that voluntarily, but anyway!
"His dad used to gamble and drink a lot. So one night father Rae comes home intoxicated and wants to — and this is the disturbing part — sexually assault little five-year-old Bryce. His mother tries to defend him and as usual, things get heated and she ends up beaten to death by her husband. It wasn't until Bryce was sixteen that he escaped his abusive father."
Rossi looked up. "Sounds like our guy," he said.
"His father's violent behavior against women could be the cause for his own," said JJ.
Emily frowned. "But why does he choose women," she asked, "and not men like his father?"
"That's what we need to find out," Hotch said. "We need to gather interrogation techniques that could help us shed some light on the situation." Everyone nodded.
Spencer was about to open his mouth with a suggestion, but he felt his phone vibrate in the pocket of his dress pants. Derek gave him a look which he gracefully ignored. "Excuse me for a minute," he said. He grabbed his satchel and his cardigan, and walked out.
