Top Notch Agent ; A Criminal Minds Fanfic

L.D.S.K.

Y/n's POV

"Reid failed his gun qualification," Elle told Gideon as he entered the bullpen. 

"He can re-test in 2 weeks," Gideon spoke. 

"Yeah, but he's gonna be embarrassed about it, so let's not mention it," Elle proposed and glanced over to Derek, who held up his hands in surrender. 

"Not a word," Derek mumbled. Just then, Spencer entered the office, and I saw a mischievous glint in Derek's eyes. This was not going to end well. And my thoughts came true when Derek stood up and walked over to Spencer's desk. "Hey. We're all here for you. If you ever need anything, just blow on that," Derek said and placed a whistle around Spencer's neck. Spencer didn't feel like saying a word and just took the whistle off, throwing it back onto his desk.

"Ok, Franklin Park, Des Plaines, yesterday afternoon 3 victims were shot at distance. It's the third such shooting in 2 weeks," JJ informed us. 

"A sniper?" Elle questioned. 

"We don't use that word. The public perception is that the FBI doesn't have an exemplary record with snipers. Besides, a sniper is a professional marksman. These guys aren't snipers. We call them L.D.S.K. Long distance serial killers," I clarify. 

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

"None," Gideon replied. We then moved to the conference room to continue our briefing and get more information.

"2 weeks, 3 shooting incidents, 6 victims, all shot in the abdomen," Hotch rattled off. "The first and only fatality was Henry Sachs, married, father of 3, and was shot in a shopping center parking lot. 9 days later, Doug Miller and Kevin Parks were playing basketball at a community center. Franklin park, 4 days later, Jerry Middleton, Kate Murray, and Tim Reilly. Des Plaines police have found no link between any of the victims." 

"Ballistics?" Morgan quizzed. 

"He's using frangible rounds, which fragment on impact, making ballistics comparisons impossible," Hotch responded. 

"The good news is that all the park victims are going to make it. The bad new is that none of them saw anything. However, one of the patients does have an intact bullet lodged in his spine," JJ mentioned. 

"What's the prognosis?" Gideon implored. 

"There's a disagreement among surgical staff as to whether they can remove the slug without paralyzing the patient," JJ stated. 

"Well, without a useful witness or a solid piece of forensic evidence..." Derek trailed off.

"The profile's all we'll have," Hotch finished.

................................................

On the plane, it was the same routine as always. We all took a seat and got ready to continue talking about the case, and more specifically, our profile. I was sitting right across from JJ and diagonal from Spencer, who I tried not to interact with too much. I still hadn't really gotten over what Derek had said about me liking Spencer, so I was trying to put a little distance between the two of us in order to let it go.

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

"To take credit or relive the experience?" JJ asked. 

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