checkmate , s.reid

023 » THE GAME

(tw for abuse)

"The unsub we're looking for is a white woman in her early to mid twenties," Hotch announces to the room as he crosses his arms over his chest. "She's gone from poisoning her victims to slitting their throats, and the time between her kills is rapidly decreasing. She's devolving."

"The men she has killed are surrogates," Morgan continues. "Likely for a father figure in her life who hurt her in some way."

"She's smart, and she knows how to get men to let her into their homes," JJ says. "She doesn't leave prints or DNA. She likely has a criminal record of some sort. Petty theft, vandalism."

"This unsub might veer from her typical victims as she devolves," Reid goes on, cracking his knuckles. "Like with Ted Bundy, all of his victims reflected the woman who hurt him, but his final victim was a twelve year old girl, not like the others in the slightest. Our unsub may start to kill victims of opportunity, rather than seeking out specific men."

"She's dangerous, and will probably always be armed. She won't go down without a fight," Hotch continues. "Something may have happened to the target of her rage in the past few weeks, causing her to begin killing. He may have died, or moved away, being the stressor."

"She has been subjected to abuse, whether that is physical or emotional, for most of her childhood," I say, rubbing the back of my neck slightly.

"And any reminders of this abuse will trigger her rage," Rossi adds. "That's why she is targeting these specific men, because they remind her of the man who hurt her."

—

When we find the unsub, Natasha Thorne, she has broken into a man's home and is holding a knife to his throat.

"Move and I'll kill him," she spits, the blade pressed against his skin.

"Natasha," Hotch warns, "drop the knife and let him go."

"No," she responds as she shifts the way she is gripping his jaw. "You don't know what he did to me."

"This isn't your father, Natasha," Hotch tells her. His gun does not waver. "This is Thomas Reece, not your dad. He hasn't done anything, okay? Drop the knife."

Natasha shakes her head and I can tell that Thomas is trying his hardest not to swallow, afraid the knife will cut his neck if he does. "No. No. Stop it," she says. "You're lying."

"Natasha," I speak up, "your father is dead. He died, a month ago. Do you remember? He had a heart attack. He's dead. He can't hurt you any more."

"Drop the knife," Hotch repeats.

"No!" she snaps, turning her head to glare at Hotch.

"We know your father hurt you," he says. "We know what he did. But you don't need to hurt this man. Just drop the knife, and nobody gets hurt."

"He deserves to die," she hisses, tears in her eyes.

"No, he doesn't," Hotch responds firmly. "Let him go. Drop the weapon. That isn't your father."

Natasha blinks and a tear falls from her eye, spilling down her face. "I can't," she says. Her voice is shaky now. The anger from her tone has disappeared, now replaced with hurt.

"Yes, you can," Hotch says.

"Natasha, if you let him go now, nobody else needs to get hurt," Reid tells her. "Just put the knife down."