Chapter Text
It started like a normal case, some crazy person started murdering teens in Las Vegas and the police department, after the third kid poisoned and mutilated, desperately called the BAU for help.
Three teenagers were found dead next to a swimming pool, poisoned to death, their chest cut open and their heart stolen, a real horror scene, or at least that's how it was described by the locals. The moment they were called, the team rushed, getting on the jet as fast as they could and in less than 8 hours they were talking to the chief of the department in Vegas.
-"Hi, You must be the FBI agents, I'm captain Mark Russet, glad you came, I've never seen the department so happy about the FBI coming around."- The tall man introduced himself, giving a feeble smile. -"Hi, I'm Agent Jerau."- Said JJ formally, elegant as always, then she looked at her boss, moving to present him -"Special Agent Aaron Hotchner"- she moved her gaze to Dave -"Special Agent David Rossi"- kept going watching Emily -"Agent Emily Prentiss"- and lastly -"Agent Derek Morgan"-
They kept chatting for five minutes about the victims, then the chief greeted them to the police, after meeting everyone and doing the classic handshakes, the team all went in a corner to reflect on the profile, starting with the victimology, teens, two boys and a girl, students at two different high schools, all dead in the same way, all discovered in the same place.
Everyone was incredibly serious, even Hotch was weirded out. Cases that involved youngsters were always the worst, but in the end, after a little, the tense atmosphere relaxed slightly -"Well it's called the city of sin, are we really that surprised about a psycho killing around?"- Rossi said mockingly, looking at the fascicle for the fifth time since they arrived to the station, trying to break the terrible silence.
-"Well say this to Robert Putman, seventeen, average student, really hasn't got any special talent or experienced a remarkable event."- Emily answered annoyed, while putting the photos on the board.
-"The victimology is clear, the other two where just normal teens too, football player and a classic mean girl, maybe a bullied kid snapped, we should search for a frustrated girl."- Rossi kept going
-"Talking about something remarkable, opening a person is not easy Rossi, let alone carrying one and not getting caught, this teen girl is quite strong, and then, the cuts where precise, like it has been done before, I'd search someone in the sanitary system, plus why take the heart?"- Prentiss pointed out, leaving the older man contemplating.
-"He wants the victims to suffer, he poisons them but not to cause a painless death, and the mutilation is post-mortem, he wants the hearth and to see this kids suffer, the death of the victim is just a unsavoury consequence, maybe it's for a ritual. Also, the position they are set doesn't indicate remorse and it's present in all the victims regardless the gender. He covers their faces, like he doesn't want to see them."- Derek spoke to the team, looking attentively at the pictures Emily was hanging -"Or he doesn't want them to see him."- Rossi added.
They all stood in contemplative silence for a while.
Then Hotch cleared his throat, and called everyone attention -"Morgan, Rossi, go to speak to miss. and mr. Putman, Prentiss you come with me to the crime scene, and JJ, stay here, speak to all the school districts of Las Vegas, no student is safe."- He commanded grimly, voice steady as always, and in a blink everyone was moving to their destination, every little scent of joke already forgotten.
__ __ __
When Morgan and Rossi rang the bell of the Putman's house the door flood open, and two tired middle aged people looked in the eyes the agents. -"Mr. and Mrs. Putman, we are here regarding your son. We are FBI."- said David, showing the badge.
The spouses stared at them like in a trance for a while, until the man nodded -"Of course, make yourself home."- the woman blinked slowly, her eyes glassy from tears.
They all moved to the living room, the beautiful warm colours of the walls were perfectly married to the cream forniture, it was calming, welcoming, perfectly composed and balanced, it looked like a fairy tale, if it wasn't for the fact that the family was living a nightmare.
Both federals sat down at the table, the Putman in front of them, Derek took a deep breath -"Mr and Mrs Putman, did Robert have...difficult situations? Maybe a rocky relationship or someone who could want him dead."- Mrs Putman shook her head -"No, he was a lovely boy, and while he had a...personality, he always has been liked. He was a great kid."- she mumbled.
-"What about something strange, a weird behaviour or a new pattern that was out of character for him."- Rossi asked and Mr.Putman looked contemplative, then answered sincerely-"Bobby and his ex girlfriend, Maeve Donovan, broke up a year ago and he had a bad crashout, but that's all, him and Maeve still had a great relationship after that tough, she's very intelligent, they had a pair of discussions but overall they both were very mature. Maybe her and her new boyfriend know something."-
-"New boyfriend?"- Morgan leaned forward, resting his arms on the table, the man continued -"Yes, I don't know his name, but I'm sure he is still dating Maeve, Bobby said a couple words about the guy."-
Derek looked at the woman in front of him -"Did Bobby and her new boyfriend had a tense relationship?"- Mrs.Putman shook her head almost violently -"No! Maeve would never let this happen... if she knew...Do-Do you think that boy killed my son?"- she took a shaky breath
-"Mrs. Putman, sadly we can't exclude anyone from the case, we need to know everything. Did him and Maeve had any kind of disagreements in his last days?"-Rossi chimed in, at this, something in the woman broke -"God...my boy. I should have checked on you more..."- she said breathless, she begin sobbing and her husband started to console her while being visibly shaken himself.
-"No, they didn't as far as we know, he was FINE, as always."- Mr. Putman answered raising his voice as he was clearly distressed, staring at the agents in anger while in a desperate attempt to calm his wife down.
After analysing the scene, Rossi looked tiredly at his companion -"Morgan, go, call Hotch, someone needs to talk to Donovan and her boyfriend."- Derek nodded and stood up, phone in hand already typing and calling his boss -"Hotch, someone needs to talk with a certain Maeve Donovan and her boyfriend, don't know his name."- muffled voice from the other side -"yea, she's his ex girlfriend. Ok, bye Hotch."-
__ __ __
JJ stood in front of the modest house and asked herself if she should call backup or kick the door down herself, the residence was old looking and small, the paint on the wall chipped, and the little garden hasn't been cared for in what looks like years. She already knocked three times and she heard moving inside, so she waited for someone to open the door, but now, after ten minutes, she was getting really annoyed.
She knocked again -"Open the door, it's the FBI!"- it was the second time she said that, and it didn't seem to work, she took a deep breath and started looking for any window to check the situation inside when the door opened, revealing a blonde haired teenage girl, around the age of the victims.
-"I'm really sorry I didn't open right away, but I had food on the stove."- The girl apologised with a little smile, at that Jennifer gave an acknowledging nod -"Are you Maeve Donovan?"- The blonde woman asked.
-"Yes, it's me, Oh! I almost forgot, come inside, make yourself home, and still, my apologies."- with that she made JJ go to the living room, where a boy around the girl age was sitting nervously on the couch, looking everywhere but at her, Maeve sat right next to him and placed a hand on his thigh, JJ sat on the armchair in front of them.
-"Hi, I'm agent Jereau and I'm here to speak about Robert Putman."- She said with her most gentle voice, in the end she was talking with two, probably grieving teens.
-"Oh, yes, of course...It was oblivious you would root for us."- Donovan said matter of factly, at that the agent's brows furrowed -"What do you mean?"- the girl rolled her shoulders, her expression slightly sad -"Me and Bobby had quite a big fight a year ago and we haven't been close since, plus, I was his last girlfriend and i'm dating someone else, which probably leads you to think that we know something, even though I know you all know it's not us two who killed him."- Maeve answered staring at her.
-"How do you know that we excluded you two from the suspects?"- Jeraeu questioned, frankly surprised by the statement -"Well, by just looking at the news, three teenagers, all dead in the same way in the same place, it's not a coincidence of course, it's a serial killer and me and Spencer would have the motive to kill Bobby if you dig in our history, but the other two? Plus, they all have been mutilated, but the Unsub hasn't took an external organ since the family saw the body, you haven't said which to the media, and I saw it, but I could also assume it's or the heart or o a rib, since they are the ones that shock the audience more, and the most used in rituals with teeth, eyes, and tongue. So, what is the FBI profile?"- The girl stared amused at the shocked agent.
-"How...Kid, how are you deducing this?"- Jennifer didn't come here to assist children profiling, but somehow she ended in a really weird situation.
-"Me and Spencer were the ones who found the body...no one dared to ask us anything, they thought we were to... shocked."- While she was saying that her eyes got glassy, her gaze widened as she remembered the dead body of her ex boyfriend.
The boy next to her-Spencer, tensed, now he was even more closed in himself, seeming like e could run away at any second.
-"I'm deeply sorry, it shouldn't been you. I know that it's hard to forget."- JJ said smiling kindly to them -"I know, but doesn't erase the fact that we saw him, you know agent...he was a great guy, I mean, he was a bully sometimes, that's why I left him, but he didn't deserve what happened to him."- Maeve declared.
Jerau moved her attention to Spencer, who still looked like he wanted to be everywhere else -"And you? Did you saw something?"-
Silence...then after a breath, for the first time he spoke -"The cuts where clean."- he said, half whispering.
-"What?"- at the question he sat more straight, more sure -"The cuts on the body where clean, you should search a medical specialist, who was bullied, with a family history of psychosis."- he started at her like he was waiting something.
-"It's...a great point, but why the psychosis?"- JJ pointed out, the boy leaned on Maeve, taking her hand in his -"The Unsub thinks that killing them means saving them, well, actually she thinks that taking their heart means saving them, she's delusional. I traced a geographical profile if you want, but you probably already did that."- with that he returned looking down, leaving JJ baffled, she? He's taking for granted that the Unsub is a woman, which actually makes sense, she should tell Hotch.
-"You children shouldn't worry about this, just...process what happened, I know it's difficult but you both need to be strong."- Jennifer closed the discussion, looking at the teens face crumble in disappointment, then Maeve said something in Spencer's ear and he nodded slowly.
-"Mrs. Jerau, do you want a cup of coffee? Or something else?"- The boy asked her politely, at that the woman smiled -"A cup of coffee would be great."- thinking that maybe they would give more personal information instead of a profile in front of a cup of coffee.
While Spencer was busy making said coffee Maeve looked at JJ and playing with a strand of hair -"You should listen to what Spencer said, he knows what he states."- The agent stared at her back -"You both are just children, there is no point in playing adults, trust me, being a teen is actually one of the best times of your lives and even if now everything looks terrible, you and Spencer-"-
-"Dr. Reid."- Maeve interrupted suddenly-"What?"- The woman said puzzled -"Spencer, he as a doctorate in mathematics and is getting another doctorate in engineering and has a phd in psychology."- Donovan corrected -"I'm have a doctorate in genetics, also, so Dr. Donovan."-
-"Aren't you supposed to be seventeen?"- The blonde asked, at that the teen laughed -"Yes, we are. But we both jumped classes, we meet because we were the only twelve years old in the whole highschool."- JJ stood there flabbergasted -"So you are both geniuses."-
-"You can't quantify intelligence, but Maeve has an iq of 172 and I have an iq of 187 and eiedetic memory and can read up to 20.000 words per minute."- a voice came from the kitchen as Spencer was coming back with three cups of coffee dangerously balanced on a tray.
Maeve practically jumped up and helped her boyfriend to put the mugs on the table in front of the couch -"Yes mrs. Jerau, we are commonly referred as geniuses."- the girl continued her boyfriend ramble, making it more clear.
-"Well, dr.Donovan, where is your father?"- Maeve sighed -"At work, he is doing a job out of town. Are you trying to make me confess something relevant for the case?"- The federal smiled tightly -"It's my job."-
-"How are we involved more than what we already said?"- The girl questioned annoyed, Spencer seemed uncomfortable and guilty, but added anyway -"The body was already cold when we found it...we didn't saw the Unsub."- his girlfriend turned her head to face him -"Spence, we wouldn't have been able to save him anyway."- she squeezed his hand, and then looked at JJ again.
-"Agent, we don't know anything else, we want to catch the bastard that killed Bobby as much as your department, we are here if you need something."- she was contemplative for a moment -"Just a thing, can we have your number? In case we find something, I know that you think we are to young but...we really can help."- she ended, her voice steady but it was oblivious she tried to look more composed that what she actually was.
-"Of course, if you need anything, you can contact me, and be safe."- JJ gave her the card with her phone number and then she excused herself and went away, the young couple waved as she exited the door.
__ __ __
When JJ came back the rest of the team was already reunited, they were in the same corner as this morning, Emily and Derek were talking to Garcia about the cases of missing people of the last few years. Rossi and Hotch were discussing about the situation of the families.
-"JJ! We were starting to worry, how did the chatting with Bobby's ex went?"- Emily greeted her with a smirk, the blonde came closer to Hotch -"Actually, the meeting with Dr. Donovan and Dr.Reid went well, Hotch, what about the Unsub being a woman? Maybe one in a psychotic break?"-
Her boss stared at her confused -"It could be plausible, Garcia, research for women who work or worked in the sanitary sistem with a story of psychosis."- A voice from the screen -"Oh my beautiful capitan, sadly it's a little vague."-
-"Who got bullied."- JJ added, and Penelope made a sound of acknowledgment -"There! Still a lot of people my beauties."- The analyst said, sounding a little deluded -"Look up the story of the swimming pool where the bodies were found, scandals, newspapers about incidents."- Hotch spoke -"There are no known incidents, but it was used by the school of the first victim, they let the kids do PE there. Sorry I can't be more useful."- Penelope informed them -"Not a problem baby girl, thanks."- Morgan said closing the call.
-"Well JJ, tell us more about this doctors you meet, Bobby had a thing for mature women?"- Rossi questioned, smiling smugly at her, Emily turned to them in curiosity like the rest of the team.
-"No, Putman did not have a thing for 'mature' women Rossi, but for geniuses I guess, Maeve Donovan is seventeen, has an iq of 172 and a degree in genetics, and if you are surprised hear me out because she left Bobby for Spencer Reid, same age as her, iq of 187, eidetic memory, can read up to 20.000 words per minute, has a doctorate in mathematics, is getting a second doctorate in engineering and got a phd in Psychology. If you don't feel like an idiot now, just to let you all know, two teenagers made a fantastic profile with half our informations."- JJ ended her prologue sitting on a chair.
Rossi eyes were wide open, looking at her like she just started talking gibberish -"Bambina, you just vomited a concerning amount of absolutely fake sounding informations."- Derek scoffed -"Wow, this is the most unbelievable thing I heard in a while, did you felt dumb?"- Emily rolled her eyes -"Wow Derek, a really mature thing to say."- David sighed -"ok, we are discussing this like babies. Ask Garcia to look the children up and end of the story. Kids this days want to be adults so bad."-
JJ called Garcia in a second and after not even a ring the esuberant voice of the woman pervaded the room once again -"Yes my beautiful princess do you need help finding your shoe?"-
-"Garcia hi, I need you to search up a Dr. Spencer Reid and a Dr. Maeve Donovan."- Jennifer said without missing a bear -"Okkk a second and i'm all for you."- the analysing replied -"There we are! So...oh wow...Well, well, well, two geniuses really, doctors at seventeen, an impressive achievement. Dr.Spencer Reid has a doctorate in mathematics and a PhD in psychology, and is getting a second doctorate in engineering, while Dr.Donovan has a doctorate in genetics. Where did you found this two?"-
-"They offered me coffee while I was interrogating them."- JJ simply explained, and then she heard a muffled laugh from the screen -"Wow, coffee and chat with Einstein. Oh! There...It was to good to be true..."-
-"Why?"- Rossi asked resting is head on the wall -"Dr.Mary Donovan, Maeve's mother, died two years ago of cancer, and John Donovan was declared missing almost seven months ago; but it doesn't finish here, William Reid, Spencer's dad, left him and his mom, Dr. Diana Reid, now recovered in Bennington Sanitarium for paranoid schizophrenia, when Spencer was ten."- her voice was drowning in compassion for the teens.
The whole room fell so silent you could hear the lights buzz, JJ stood frozen, Rossi kept looking everywhere but in front of him, Emily took a slow breath and Derek closed his fists, they hear a lot of horrible stuff and they are all tired, this case looks like some kind of teenage terrible horror.
Then Hotch stopped reorganizing some files -"Garcia send us a picture of them, I will speak personally with the two if it will be required, tomorrow we will go to the schools and talk to the students about the victims."- and the Team nodded.
They were going to find who was killing these kids, while saving this two teens from going straight into the the lair of the their Unsub.