timeless, spencer reid [ 1 ]

069. painless

"Does anyone remember this picture?" Penelope asks.

"Hotch and I were there." Rossi says. "That's Principal Doug Evans. We had to drag him to safety."

"High school bombing in Boise, right?" Emily asks.

"School shooter and school bomber. A kid named Randy Slade shot 3 students and then set off an I.E.D. in the cafeteria via cell phone, killing himself and 13 kids total, but not before posting all of his plans online." JJ says. "It was one of those "Where were you?" events. My whole campus was glued to the TV."

"Last night, Principal Givens was killed by a bomb modeled exactly like the old one." Penelope says.

"It feels like the unsub wants to attack the man who kept the school together after the bombing." Derek says. "It's a pretty symbolic target."

"And this week is the 10th anniversary of the massacre." Hotch says.

"And today is the first day of a 4 day event to commemorate the bombing at the school." Penelope says.

"Except commemorating it isn't enough for this unsub." Emily says.

"No. He wants to relive it." Hotch says.

+++

"Okay. So the unsub has to be tied to the school somehow, right?" JJ asks. "Current student, alumni, family member who lost someone?"

"It could be Slade groupie celebrating his hero." Spencer says. "He taped nails to the exterior of the bomb, specifically to rip open flesh. That's a sadistic detail of Slade's the unsub copied."

"Except he tricked Givens into blowing himself up. A groupie probably wouldn't show that much self control." JJ says.

"But someone with an axe to grind against the principal would. Maybe he's a surrogate for the tormenters in high school he can't punish." Spencer says. "Who were yours?" He asks.

"Every jock guy. Plus all the stupid ass cheerleaders. Mainly Brittany Roberts. The bitch." Bedelia mutters the last part.

"I don't even remember." JJ says.

"You don't even remember?" Spencer frowns. "Wait, were you one of the mean girls?"

"No." JJ scoffs.

"Valedictorian, soccer scholarship, corn-fed, but still a size zero. I think that you might have been a mean girl." Spencer says.

"I was actually one of the nice girls, even to guys like you." JJ says.

"That confirms mean girl status." Bedelia says.

"Wha--" JJ frowns.

"Guys like me? I'll have you know that my social standing increased once I started winning at basketball." Spencer says.

"Oh, yeah, you played basketball?" JJ asks.

"I didn't play. I coached basketball." Spencer says. "I broke down the opposing team's shooting strategy."

"Is that why Morgan kicked you out of the pool last week?" JJ asks.

"Yeah. It took him 3 rounds to realize I was hustling him." Spencer smiles.

"Huh." JJ hums.

+++

"So. As you can see from your board there, this kill list is weirdly similar to high school." Penelope says. "Group one is like the popular kids -- prom court, football team, Dean's list. The Heathers, if you will."

"Kids in Slade's social circle." Hotch says.

"What about number two?" JJ asks.

"Uh, mm-hmm. That would be the kids from the other side of the tracks, 180 degree difference, kids this close to getting kicked out -- stoners, burnouts, mental cases. Chelsea Grant is on this list." Penelope says.