Chapter 8 - The Big Game
Elijah looked around as he stood with the girls in the club, by the bar. The lights around flashed and the music blared and they all seemed to be having a great time. Elijah himself was wearing a silky, purple shirt and black trousers, matching his make-up look with eyeliner and some purple eyeshadow dusting his eyelids. Gideon hadn't come on their little night out so he wasn't scared to wear anything.
"I almost forgot how bright it is." Elijah shook his head as he sipped his lemonade.
"You get used to it after a while." Garcia assured him.
"Ooh, Fleur. Look over there." Elijah pointed towards Morgan, dancing with another girl.
"He can dance." Fleur nodded slowly, watching the girl slowly as she drank her drink.
"Oh, I know." He chuckled.
"Just look at him move. He's like a cat." Garcia hummed, watching Morgan.
"I'd say he's more like a dog." Emily shrugged.
"He didn't ask them to dance. They asked him." Fleur pointed.
"And he said yes, obviously, to prove his skill to you." Elijah smirked.
"I'm going to the loo, don't let anyone steal my seat." Garcia stood up.
"Of course, darling." Elijah nodded, covering her drink with his hand as she walked away.
"Do you see that girl's hand?" Fleur pointed.
"The one by Morgan? Oh yes." Emily chuckled.
"I'll be back." Fleur rose from her seat and walked over to the dance floor.
"Show them how it's done, darling." Elijah called to her.
Morgan smirked, turning towards Fleur as he noticed her walking his way.
"Sorry, squeezing through." Fleur danced past some girls, as she took Morgan's hand.
"You ready for the best moment of your evening?" Morgan asked her.
"Don't get too full of yourself." Fleur laughed.
"Spence is forming a crowd." Emily pointed.
"Is that about his Star Trek knowledge drinking game?" Elijah turned.
"Probably." Emily chuckled.
"I'm glad he's having fun." Elijah smiled at him before turning to her,"Well, it looks like it's just us. Have you been having fun at the BAU?"
"I have. Everyone's like family." Emily hummed
"I'm glad." He smiled,"Us newest members have to stick together."
That's when JJ walked over,"Guys?"
"Yes, darling?" Elijah turned to face her.
"We got a case. Play times over." JJ sighed.
"And just when I thought we'd get a night off." Emily shook her head.
"Oh, we don't get those." Elijah sighed.
"Gather the troops." Emily nodded.
"Fleur, Morgan! Stop flirting with each other, there's work to do." Elijah called to them.
"We're off!" Fleur waved Elijah off as she pulled away from Morgan.
"Aw, we were having so much fun." Morgan chuckled.
*********************************
"You know it never fails. Just as I'm getting my groove thing going..Bam! We're back at the BAU." Morgan drank his coffee.
Everyone was trying to sober up in the Conference Room, everyone except Elijah and Reid who hadn't drank any alcohol.
"You know, statically, a case doesn't come in with any more frequency if you're at a party or gathering than if you weren't. It's a trick of the mind. We merely remember the ones that came in that way more." Reid explained as Elijah's hand rested beside his on the table.
"Besides, is it really that hard for you to get your 'groove thang' going again?" Fleur laughed.
"Only when he's sleeping." Gideon walked in, taking off his jacket.
As Gideon entered, Elijah moved his hand away from Reid's. He didn't want to risk anything.
"Where were you tonight?" Hotch asked.
"I told you, I went to the Smithsonian." Gideon told him.
"You missed a good time." Emily nodded.
"I had a good time." Gideon shrugged.
"Well that's definitely over." JJ walked in,"Georgia. The Kyles, Dennis and Lacy, were murdered an hour ago in their suburban Atlanta home."
"An hour ago?" Hotch raised a brow.
"The police were on scene unusually fast." JJ told him.
"Why?" Fleur blinked.
"One of the Unsubs called them and told them the other was about to murder the victims." JJ sighed.
"You're kidding." Elijah leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms.
"From inside the house." JJ added, "According to the dispatcher, the first male sounded terrified and begged them to get there because the other, who they both identified as Raphael, was about to kill the 'sinners' that live there."
"Sinners?" Elijah raised a brow.
Elijah could feel himself grow tense at the thought of a case like this. He briefly looked around to see if anyone noticed his unease, but it seemed like he got away with it.
"The 911 Centre is going to send Garcia a copy of the tape." JJ nodded.
"How fast was the police response time?" Reid asked her.
"Four minutes, twenty six seconds. During which time, Raphael managed to do this." JJ showed pictures of the crime.
"Oh-" Garcia looked away.
"In four and a half minutes?" Emily shook her head.
"Mr Kyle is a dot com millionaire. His company is one of the largest employers in the community. There's gonna be media coverage. Also, when they arrived, the police found this displayed prominently on the bed." JJ showed a bible verse on the screen.
"Revelation, chapter six, verse eight." Elijah glanced at it.
"They're killing sinners, these guys are on a mission." Morgan nodded.
"And mission-based killers will not stop killing." Reid shook his head.
"And I looked and beheld a pale horse and his name that sat upon him was death." Elijah looked away,"And Hell followed with him."
*********************************
"This is a bad one, isn't it?" Emily asked as they sat on the jet.
"Unsubs with a cause are never good." Morgan sighed.
"Pets? I just got the 911 call from the Georgia State Police." Garcia spoke up from the laptop before she played it.
The team listened to the recording, one Unsub talking about another.
"Well Unsub one definitely sounds frightened, maybe he's doing this against his will?" Fleur suggested.
"I doubt it. He whispered." Gideon shook his head.
"He could have called out to save them, instead calling 911." Hotch sighed.
"Not if he had a gun to his head." Elijah shrugged.
"If he had a gun to his head, why would he call 911?" Gideon asked
"The second Unsub said Raphael was going to kill someone. Is there a third?" JJ questioned.
"Refering to oneself in the third person is not uncommon for an Unsub. Ted Bundy gave detailed accounts of his murders but he never admitted to doing it. He would only say 'the killer'." Reid explained.
"Okay, so I'm gonna go ahead and run the name Raphael through the Georgia criminal database as well as our own." Garcia told them.
"Thanks Garcia." Hotch nodded.
"Ever so welcome, my liege." Garcia signed off.
"A killing team on a mission in rural Georgia. We know what that means." Hotch sighed.
"They're not gonna stop until their mission is complete." Morgan shook his head as he looked over the photos.
"We need to hit the ground running. JJ, we need an inside picture of the victims, victimology can be critically important on a mission based spree." Hotch began.
"Already on it." JJ walked off.
"Prentiss, Deans and Howards. Go where the bodies are, examine the wounds. They managed to kill two victims in four and a half minutes. We need to know how."
"You got it." Emily nodded.
"I'm going to Atlanta Field Office and going over case files. It'd be unusual for a first kill to be this efficient." Hotch added.
"Reid, you and Morgan come with me to the crime scene." Gideon looked up at them from his files.
"We land in less than an hour, everyone try and get some rest." Hotch sighed.
Elijah turned to Reid, holding out his arms. He knew he shouldn'thave since Gideon was nearby, but he didn't care. Reid chuckled and turned, giving him a hug.
"What are you doing?" Emily blinked.
"We're hugging. What does it look like?" Elijah raised a brow.
"Reid doesn't like touching." Morgan pointed.
"Oh I-I don't mind it. I know Elijah is clean." Reid nodded.
Elijah smiled,"And I like hugs before I try to sleep, makes it easier."
"Cute." Emily hummed.
"Why don't you hug me?" Fleur muttered to Morgan
"Because you didn't ask, hun." Morgan wrapped an arm around her,"See how easy it is when I know you want something?"
Fleur chuckled and leaned into him.
"Sleep, everyone." Gideon sighed.
"Trust me, I'm already on it." Elijah shook his head.
Elijah leaned back in his chair, loosening his grip and expecting Reid to do the same. However, he edged closer and closer still so he was resting against Elijah's shoulder with his arms around him. Elijah smiled softly. He felt warm. Happy.
*********************************
"They're all long, deep gashes. Each victim has virtually the same wounds. Both throats cut. A vertical gash up one arm from wrist to elbow, and a vertical gash down one leg from crotch to upper thigh." The coroner explained.
"Major arteries." Emily nodded as she checked under the sheet.
"It's damned efficient." He scoffed.
"How much knowledge of human anatomy would someone need to do this?" Elijah asked.
"Anyone with a basic understanding of the body knows where these arteries are." The coroner nodded.
"And do you have any idea which of these wounds was inflicted first?" Emily raised a brow.
"Well... There was active blood flow from each of the wounds, so they were probably all delivered about the same time. With any of these wounds, the victim would bleed out quickly, almost like an animal at slaughter... No, exactly like an animal at slaughter. A deer, or a lamb or cow, something like that. You cut the throat first then sometimes open up other major arteries to assist in draining the carcass." He explained.
"So maybe a hunter?" Fleur suggested.
"Or a farmer." Elijah shrugged.
"Pretty much anyone in rural Georgia." The coroner sighed.
*********************************
The team were listening to the Unsubs talking on the phone, all back at the main office.
'He says the world is a cesspool. Greed. Lust. Disease.'
"That sounds like Unsub number one." Emily pointed.
'He says redemption must be sought. We must all repent.'
"And the 'he' being referred to is Raphael?" Hotch raised a brow.
"Or God." Elijah sighed.
"It's not God. It's someone sitting right there next to him telling this guy what to say." Morgan pointed.
'As the Lord God spoke in Leviticus 26:18.'
"That's a new voice." Fleur realised.
'And if ye will not yet for all this hearken onto me, I will punish you seven times more for your sins.'
"A third unsub?" Emily asked.
"Could be recorded from a religious program or sermon." Morgan shrugged.
"Punish you seven times." JJ nodded slowly.
"Five more victims." Gideon sighed.
"These images were shot from the exact spot on the dresser where that computer sat." Morgan pointed.
"So if this video came from that computer's camera, then what, did the Unsubs bring it with them?" Hotch asked.
"As far as I can tell, this computer belonged to the Kyles." Reid spoke up,"Garcia can do a better analysis but it has their banking statements vacation photos.."
"One goes into the room and goes after Mr Kyle. Did the other Unsub turn the camera on?" Hotch raised a brow.
"We might be asking the wrong question. This video, this message, it's important. They want the world to see this, clearly they need it, but they didn't bring a camera with them." Gideon shook his head.
Reid stared at the computer for a second before standing up and whispering,"Agent Franks? Does this building have wireless Internet?"
"Yeah, why?" Franks turned to him.
"The camera is on right now." Reid looked at them all,"The computer has connected itself to the Internet, it's streaming a video feed somewhere."
"Can we trace the stream to the destination?" Hotch asked.
"If we keep it open, Garcia might be able to-" Reid began but the computer began beeping.
Everyone gathered around as the computer went dark, words appearing on the screen, 'The armies of Satan shall not prevail.' before abruptly shutting down.
"And... It's turned off." Elijah sighed.
"So they're controlling it remotely?" Hotch crossed his arms.
"Is that even possible?" Emily asked.
"You can totally access someone's computer remotely. It's actually done a lot today. When a mortal calls for tech support, instead of giving you instructions, the tech can work on your computer from wherever she is." Garcia explained over the phone.
"And they maintain the access even after the work is done?" Hotch raised a brow.
"They're not supposed to, but I suppose they could install a Trojan horse." Garcia shrugged.
"It's something left in the computer to be turned on the later. It's the same way web browsers get pop-up ads onto your computer." Reid informed them.
"Check the phone records and see if they called tech support in the last six months." Hotch told Garcia.
"Right-o. Oh! And if you can get my the Kyle's laptop, I can search the drive for anything implanted there." Garcia hummed.
"Fast as we can." He nodded.
"By the way, this video? It's gone crazy viral." Garcia added.
"What does that mean?" Gideon asked.
"That means it's the most downloaded video on the entire internet. Worldwide." She explained,"And judging by the responses embedded in the files, people seem to think its pretty cool."
"Call us if you find anything on the Kyle's computer." Hotch nodded.
"Yeah." Garcia hung up.
"Murder is entertainment?" Gideon blinked.
"They probably don't even realise it's real." JJ shook her head,"People see so many images online every day. They probably think it's marketing for a horror film or something."
"The UnSubs are right about one thing. The world is pretty screwed up." Morgan sighed.
"So, what do we have so far?" Hotch asked.
"Well, the killings are clinically efficient. And they have the earmarks of a slaughter as in an animal." Fleur began.
"Or a sacrifice." Elijah crossed his arms.
"We haven't been able to find anything in Federal or State databases that suggests similar crimes. As far as I can tell, it's the first in the series." Hotch sighed.
"At least one member of the team may believe he's killing in the name of God, which suggest a psychopathy that should display extreme amounts of disorganization. Yet there are forensic countermeasures and somebody in control enough to do complex computer work." Reid contiued,"One member of the team is organized, the other is incredibly disorganized but what's strange is the one that we would consider to be most in control, the one who made the phone call can't seem to stop the other from killing. Usually the frenzied personality takes direction from the cooler head."
"Let's look at that. UnSub One called the police before the killing, but he didn't have time for them to get there. Is the phone call just a defense in case of capture? Maybe he didn't want to stop the other, but he did whatever he had to do to cover himself." Morgan suggested.
"So, what do we have so far?" Gideon looked around at everyone,"Not enough."
*********************************
"So Franks is right. None of the open knife cases fit." JJ sighed.
"Tell me there's a 'but'." Hotch turned to her.
"I looked at it a different way. I looked for unsolved home invasions. Three months ago there was a prowler called in directly outside of the Kyle's house." She explained.
"A prowler?" Elijah raised a brow.
"The witness was walking his dog in a nearby park. He saw a man in dark clothing go over the back wall and start sneaking up to the house. By the time the police got there, the prowler was gone."
"Only one man?" Hotch asked.
"Apparently." She nodded.
"Was the witness able to describe him?" Reid questioned.
"If he did, it's not in this case file." JJ sighed.
"Is there a name and address for the witness?" Hotch asked her.
"Tobias Hankel, lives about an hour from here." JJ looked at the file.
"It's a long shot but he might
be able to give us a description. Reid, Deans, why don't you head out there? See if you can find Mr Hankel and see if he remembers something." Hotch turned to Reid and Elijah.
"On it." Reid got up, the two boys leaving the room.
Finally they were alone.
"A little moment of peace, how often to we get these?" Elijah asked as they walked.
"Not very often." Reid hummed, looking around,"Are you alright?"
"Of course I'm alright." Elijah nodded,"Why do you ask?"
"I noticed how tense you seemed when you first realized this was a religious case. And when we were dealing with Nathan's case, you paused before we entered the church." Reid explained.
Elijah stopped walking, looking off to the side,"It's just.. My mother was very religious."
"I see." Reid nodded slowly.
"She was stubborn too, always the one in the right." Elijah sighed as he began walking again,"But it's fine."
"Are you sure?"
Elijah smiled, putting an arm around Reid's shoulder,"I'm sure."
"Boys." JJ interrupted them, running up.
"What's up, Jen?" Elijah turned to her, letting his arm drop.
"Hotch actually needs you to stay here, I'm to go with Spence instead." JJ nodded.
"Oh- Well, alright then." Elijah sighed, looking over at Reid,"Have fun, pretty boy."
"Bye Eli." Reid waved.
Elijah nodded and watched the pair walk off before he walked back to where Hotch was, hands in his pockets.
"Deans, I thought you were going to see Hankel with Reid?" Hotch turned.
"Well, I was- But JJ said you needed me to stay here." Elijah furrowed his brow.
"Maybe she just got confused." Hotch sighed,"It's fine, you can help me."
Elijah crossed his arms,"Yeah- Yeah, that's fine.."
*********************************
There had been another murder, the rest of the team headed out to the house, Fleur and Elijah heading upstairs.
Elijah sighed as he put his gloves on,"I need to ask you a question, Fleur. And I want you to answer honestly."
"Yeah?" Fleur put her gloves on.
"Do you think JJ likes Reid?" Elijah asked as they walked into the bedroom where the dead man was.
"JJ? Maybe like a year or two ago but I don't think so now." Fleur shook her head,"Why?"
"Because she lied to me, that's why I'm here." Elijah sighed,"I was supposed to interview a witness with Reid but she called me back, said Hotch wanted me to stay so she had to go."
"Do you want me to talk to her when she comes back?" Fleur turned to him.
"Definitely, because if I try, you know I will lose it." Elijah pointed.
"Consider it done. I'll talk to her." Fleur nodded, crouching down to inspect the body.
"Don't look now, but we're on Candid Camera." Elijah muttered, kneeling beside her.
"Mhm." Fleur sighed.
The laptop behind the two was facing directly where the body was. Elijah shook his head, standing up.
The two then left the room, Fleur grabbing her phone and texting Garcia,"I'll get her to try and trace it."
"Good idea." Elijah nodded as they walked out of the house, meeting up with Hotch.
"So what does this new behavior tell us?" He asked.
"There was only one Unsub this time?" Fleur suggested,"Raphael, alone?"
"Not if he's the psychotic, he wouldn't be capable of operating this efficiently." Hotch shook his head,"Someone was here who could control himself and make sure no evidence was left behind."
"At the first crime, Unsub one called the police, right? This time it was Raphael. Why?" Elijah crossed his arms.
"It's like the phone call is necessary. It's part of the signature." Fleur shook her head.
"Have we ever seen this in case history?" Hotch asked.
"A mixture of extreme psychosis and a controlled individual? No." Elijah answered,"One of the most common indicators of extreme psychosis is solitude."
"They don't exactly play well with the others." Fleur shrugged.
"Was Garcia able to find anything on a 'Raphael' in the records?" Gideon asked as he walked over.
"Not yet." Elijah shook his head.
"So why is he naming himself? Twice? He's certainly not worried about us getting that name. In fact, he wants us to know it." Gideon sighed.
"An alias?" Fleur tilted her head.
"Or Raphael doesn't actually exist." Gideon nodded slowly.
"So we're not looking for a team.." Elijah asked, a realization suddenly hitting him,"Raphael's the name of one of the archangels."
"Meaning.." Fleur motioned for him to continue
"We may have one Unsub, suffering from the delusion that he's actually an archangel." Elijah shook his head,"We're probably dealing with one Unsub, not two."
"Well, if Mrs Douglas is Jezebel, there's an especially unpleasant death in her future." Hotch sighed.
"That's one way to put it." Elijah muttered.
"Your name was in that bible verse." Fleur pointed.
"I've read it, multiple times." Elijah shook his head,"It was my mother's favourite book, the Bible."
"She seems... Horrid."
"You're telling me. I lived with her for eighteen years."
*********************************
"Garcia is running voice analysis on the first phone call to see if there actually are two voices. She's also going to peel the third voice off the videotape and see where that gets her." Morgan explained to the team as they came back.
"We should have a copy of that latest call brought here within the hour." An officer told them.
"Thanks." Hotch nodded.
"Hotchner, your tech from Quantico is on the phone." Another officer told him.
"Garcia?" Hotch answered the phone, putting it on speaker.
"Jeez, don't you people answer your cell phoned anymore?" Garcia groaned.
"We were driving back to Atlanta through the countryside, spotty cell signal." Hotch shook his head.
"If you think that first video went viral fast, the second one is going through the stratosphere." She sighed.
"Second video?" Hotch raised a brow.
"There's a new video from our psycho. I'm downloading it myself now. Some of these upload sites get more than a million hits a day."
"Get it on a monitor here as soon as you can." Hotch sighed.
After a short while, Garcia sent it over. The video had the Unsub speaking, reciting the Bible verse with Mrs Douglas tied in what looked like a barn while dogs were heard in the background before... They went for Mrs Douglas.
"Jezebel's death." Elijah sighed.
"Oh my god." Fleur looked away.
"You can turn it off." Hotch shook his head.
"No, wait." Franks stopped Fleur from turning it off.
"What?" Fleur blinked.
"You haven't seen enough?" Morgan scoffed.
"Those dogs... Those three dogs attacked someone a month ago." He pointed,"I would've had them impounded but the victim knew the owner. A neighbor, he didn't want to press charges."
"You're sure?" Gideon asked.
"With God as my witness." Franks nodded.
"What do the dogs look like?" Fleur looked up at him.
"Three mangy mixes. I knew those dogs looked sick so I put in a call to animal control." He took out a notepad,"Ah, here it is."
"Do you have the owner's name?" Hotch looked over his shoulder.
"Hankel."
"Hankel?" Elijah blinked.
"Tobias Hankel." Franks nodded.
"Shit." Elijah muttered.
"Why?" Morgan looked at Elijah,"What's wrong?"
"JJ and Reid are there now." Hotch cursed.
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