❝ Some things scratch at the surface while others strike at your soul. ❞
𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐋𝐔𝐂𝐀𝐒 𝐇𝐀𝐒 𝐃𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐃 her whole life to catching the monsters in this world in hopes of fixing something that is broken inside of her.
Tha...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
" I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary. The evil it does is permanent. "
— Mahatma Gandhi
➴ ➴ ➴ ➴ ➴ ➴
12.2 ; JUSTICE.
THE COURTHOUSE ON 100 Center Street was a massive white stone building with marble steps and ornate stone columns. As Caroline walked up the smooth steps, she wondered how many criminals had walked the same steps and gotten off free. How many of them were actually innocent of their crimes and how many were guilty. As much as she wanted to claim that their justice system was perfect, she knew it wasn't. Murderers walk out freely. Pedophiles are pardoned. Rapists get a slap on the wrist because they are daddy's little boy while the victim gets told she was asking for it.
The system was flawed and there was no denying it.
"It ever cross your mind?" Hotch asked Gideon quietly as they all ascended the marble steps. Caroline and Reid curiously listened in on their superiors' conversation as they trailed behind them.
"Taking the law into my own hands?"
"Not the law. Justice."
"What's this about?" Gideon questioned as a small frown appeared on his face. "The boys in Iowa?"
Caroline and Reid shared a confused look. The boys in Iowa? Hotch had never mentioned anything like that to her and, judging by the look on Spencer's face, it was the first time he's heard of it too.
She saw Hotch's jaw clench ever so slightly. If she hadn't been paying attention, she would have never noticed it. "It's just a question."
"I guess if I think if I ever let my mind go there," Gideon said, "then the unsubs would be getting into my head instead of me getting into theirs." He glanced over at Hotch. "That wouldn't be a good idea, now, would it?"
The unit chief didn't say anything as he opened the large oak doors for them, his face as stoic as ever. As she stepped inside the cool courthouse, she made a mental note to ask Hotch what the boys in Iowa meant the next chance she had.
Once they entered the courthouse, the four of them decided to divide and conquer. Gideon and Reid would interview the lawyers and paralegals walking about while Caroline and Hotch would try the courtrooms.
After a few minutes, they quickly realized getting information was going to be harder than they thought.
"He's small, meticulous," Hotch explained to the short African American prosecutor as they stood in the courtroom. It was relatively quiet, the only noise was from hushed conversations and the judge preparing for the next case about to come through. "You might not notice him at first, but when you do, you realize he's heard everything around him."
