CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO: AT-RISK !

6x20

━━━━━━

       CASEY SAT IN HOTCH'S OFFICE, FIDGETING WITH HER HANDS AS SHE SAT IN FRONT OF HER UNIT CHIEF. It was mandatory for the team to have a check-up with how they were feeling about Emily's death. Casey had spoken with her therapist daily about Emily so she had said all she needed to say to her therapist about the Emily situation.

       The two had been sitting in silence since Casey had been refusing to speak about the situation any longer. Getting fed up of sitting in silence, Casey sat up. "Well, what do you think?" She started.

      "What do I think?" Hotch questioned, furrowing his brows at the girl. "How do you think I'm feeling? Because, honestly I don't know. I don't know what I'm feeling." Casey admitted. The numbness of grieving was hitting her. She grieved the way she needed to grieve. That was all there was to it.

        Hotch studied the girl in front of him. "I think you're taking Emily's death harder than the others. She was like a sister to you, almost. You cared for each other. And honestly, I think sometimes you're letting it control your job." Hotch admitted to the woman.

        "I'm still stable," Casey stated and she nodded in her thoughts. "Yeah. Ever since the funeral, I've been going to her place. I've been going... every day for the past few weeks. I've been going to grief counseling with my therapist, I've been going at least three times a week and I know that's so much, but... I don't know what else to do. Because if I don't go to my therapist, then I go to Emily's place and if I don't have Emily's place, I'll start drinking and if I start drinking, I'll lose everything."

         Casey thought about drinking so often because of Emily's death but she knew she couldn't. Some days were harder than others. She'd often call Reid to help her through the fight of herself and her brain.

       "I'm sad... but... I'm mostly angry.  I'm angry that... I let her walk out of that door. I saw her walk out that night and I didn't stop her or say anything. And I have continuously kicked myself in the head for that. That was the last time I saw her. I didn't even see her when she was at the hospital. So, yeah, maybe I am taking it harder than the others."

━━━━━━

        "A woman went in there and just shot up the place?" Seaver questioned as the team had taken the next case. A woman had committed a crime at a local gun shop and shot up the place, killing at least three men.

"Yeah, witnesses heard gunshots and saw a woman leaving the store." Garcia stated. "Is there enough for a sketch?" Morgan asked. "Family-owned business. No cameras." Hotch told.

"The only thing of value the witnesses said was that she seemed really calm." Garcia said. "Like an office or school shooter." Ashley listed. "Did she work there?" Casey asked. "No. Local police have already ruled that out." Garcia answered.

"Then she must have known one of her victims," Seaver stated. "I doubt this was random." Reid had taken over the convo. "You know, Klebold and Harris documented their hatred of the athletes at Columbine, but on the day, they targeted the cafeteria instead of the gymnasium because they were only interested in obtaining the highest possible body count."

"These offenders usually hole up in one location and eventually commit suicide, either by their own hand or in a shootout with police." Rossi explained. "But this woman took off before the cops arrived." Morgan told. "She's probably not finished." Hotch stated and the team headed onto the jet to Tampa.

Casey sat next to Rossi as she examined the file of the man who owned the gun shop. "Larry Connors, born and raised in Tampa. He's owned the gun store for 16 years." Reid explained.

"Seaver, what did you find out about victimology?" Hotch asked. "They're all locals with similar backgrounds. Blue collar jobs, they're all divorced, and they've all got tempers. Most of them have misdemeanor bar fights on their record." Seaver explained.

"Testosterone-fueled victims, but somehow she still gets the drop on all of them." Morgan followed. "Men like this may not view her as a threat because she's a woman." Casey said. "Who's likely in the middle of a psychotic break." Reid added.

"We should check psych wards in the area for recent releases." Hotch said. "And run incident reports on women who've been asked to leave businesses due to angry outbursts." Rossi told.

"How far do we want to go back? A year?" Seaver questioned. "No, more than that. No incident is too small. She's probably been boiling for a while." Rossi said. "Unless she's in serious denial, then she's been burying her feelings, which would have just made her worse and worse." Reid suggested.

"The question is, why did she choose today?" Hotch questioned. "That's what I'm asking." Casey muttered under her breath as she kept her head down and looked through the file.

        Hotch and Rossi headed to the crime scene as the rest of the team had headed to the PD. They were coming back when they had decided to call the rest of the team to debrief. "This woman had access to ammo for a .38, but not a gun." Hotch said over the phone.

       "She most likely lives with someone who's into guns but doesn't allow her access." Reid told. "Usually locking weapons is a way to protect children, but to keep a key from her is a controlling and dominating act." Morgan added.

       "She could be in an abusive relationship and today's the day she had enough." Rossi added. "Well, she stole the gun at 9:00 this morning. If she needed it to go after somebody, why hasn't she done it yet? Wouldn't we have gotten the news about that?" Casey questioned.

        "Maybe she was them hostage right now and is working up the courage to end it all." Reid thinks. "Or maybe her target knows her personally and isn't letting her get close enough for a kill." Hotch assumes. "And she's setting a trap and waiting." Rossi added on.

        The team had hung up on the two as they started going over things with Garcia over the phone. "Garcia, based on victimology, the unsub's husband or boyfriend most likely owns a .38. We need you to search for white males age 35 to 50 who have registered that model." Reid explained.

      "We think he might be law enforcement or military." Seaver added. "It's possible the unsub was in an abusive relationship that contributed to her breakdown, Garcia. So look for crossover with reports of domestic abuse." Morgan told.

       "This is tricky," Garcia told. "Do you have anything else to narrow it down?"
       "Why?"
       "Because Florida's a stand-your-ground state." Garcia stated.

       "Castle doctrine based on English common law that allows homeowners to use deadly force to protect their land." Reid explains to the threat. "Yeah, it's a high-falutin way of saying that the gun laws are lax at best. After the 2008 elections, the Floridians were nervous about losing their second amendment rights and gun sales shot through the roof, pun intended." Garcia told.

        "How many of those men fit that profile in Tampa?" Casey questioned. "As it stands right now, 638." Garcia said, causing Casey to sigh in defeat.

         Reid's cell phone beeped and he checked it and revealed to the group: "There's been another shooting."

━━━━━━

        The team had come to the conclusion that the woman was going after first-responders, going after the heroes of Tampa. She had struck again, twice, this time at a police checkpoint and two EMTs were shot at a park, meaning the woman had circled back. She was on a mission and their profile had definitely been way off.

       "Her emotional turmoil appears to be manifesting in the geographic pattern of her spree." Reid told as he looked at the map. "Meaning?" The officer in charge questioned. "There's a reason she hasn't left." Hotch said.

        "Her first was the gun store in west Tampa, then the security guard in Ybor City, then the officer at the checkpoint in Riverside Heights, then finally the EMTs in Oakford Park." Reid listed.

        "She's like a bouncing ball." Seaver commented. "There's no logic. She circled back after getting through a roadblock. She's driven purely by emotion." Morgan says. "She doesn't care about self-preservation or escape. It's like she has nothing to live for."

         "She may have suffered a loss herself and she blaming someone for it." Casey assumes.

         The team had given their profile of the woman to the officers and the rest of the PD. Hotch had decided to speak to their unsub through the radio, in hopes that she would listen.

         "No leads on the hotline and no sign of her vehicle." The officer had come in and told the team. "This woman obviously has a plan. The only clear decision she made this morning was walking into that gun store." Rossi tells.

        "There are eight of them in her comfort zone. Why choose that one?" Reid asked. "Convenience?" Casey asked and looked towards Seaver as she continued. "Maybe it's close to where she lives."

         "If we're saying this morning is when she was the most clear-headed, then it was a conscious decision to walk into that particular store." Morgan told.

         The team had decided to call up Garcia to see if she found anything. "I have hundreds of teal wagons. None of the registrations match the physical description of our unsub." Garcia revealed.

         "What about the gun store?" Morgan asked. "Mm, and then there's that. I searched the entire history of Larry's gun shop. Nothing of significance has ever happened there aside from this morning's massacre. And on top of that, you know those 600-plus registered .38 owners? They bought them all over the city, so we're pretty much screwed unless you can think of some other kind of connection." Garcia explained.

          "Then the date has to mean something to her," Casey told. "If it's not the gun shop, if it's not who she's targeting, it has to be the date."

        "Garcia, we profiled that it was a major loss. Run accident reports. Look for young victims." Morgan nodded, following through to what Casey was suggesting. "She seems to be going after heroes." Reid added.

         "Okay, you guys, I'm doing that now, but this will take forever. Tampa's got almost half a million people. Everybody's got a story. How am I even supposed to..." Garcia paused. "Oh."

         "Oh?"
         "Yeah," Garcia continued. "My superskills just squelched my pessimism. I have a couple of accidents here that happened in the last few years on or around today's date. Please hold while I deduce." Garcia paused for a moment. "This looks promising."

         "Okay, there was a high-speed traffic chase in west Tampa last year. A policeman was killed." Garcia stated. "Who were they chasing?" Morgan asked. "Uh, Hanley Waters." Garcia answered.

          "Maybe he's the target." Morgan suggests.
          "No," Garcia told. "He's in jail. He started a whole mess because he decided to do an armed robbery at a liquor store and then have a high-speed car chase with the cops. Oh, there's video. It's 365 days ago to the dot. I'm sending this to your tablets. Observe and prepare yourself."

         The team examined their tablets and saw the car that was getting chased by police hit another car coming through. "Who is it who got hit?" Hotch asked.

        "Tampa mom, Shelly Chamberlain. She was unhurt. Her 6-year-old Damion died." Garcia answered and Seaver nodded, "That's her."

        Garcia had then revealed more news. "Oh... and today is Damion's birthday." Casey shakes her head at the pain that the mother must be facing. "Your son enters and leaves your life on the same date. That's one hell of a stressor." Rossi comments.

        "It explains why she went on her spree today. All the good and bad memories are hitting her at once." Morgan replies with. "And to add salt to it all, the fallen policeman was the only one who got any attention. Damion was like a footnote." Garcia added.

         "If Shelly Chamberlain is our unsub and the man who caused this is in jail, then who's her target?" Reid asked. Hotch had continued to ask Garcia questions about the unsub.

         "Garcia, what's Shelly's marital status?" He asked. "Don Chamberlain, city firefighter. He filed for divorce 3 months ago." Garcia informs. "A local hero, like some of the others she shot." Rossi thinks. "But the pain of losing a child destroyed the marriage." Seaver adds.

         "He could be the next target of her rage, the man who didn't bear witness to her grief and the one who left her right after." Casey assumes. "Casey, you, Morgan, Reid and Seaver find him. Dave and I will go to Shelly's house." Casey nods at the unit chief. "Got it, boss."

━━━━━━

        The team had discovered due to clues in Don's house that Shelly had taken Don and went to Sir Burger because that was the place they would take their son on his birthday. Things didn't go as plan and now, Shelly had hostages.

        The police had the area surrounded. The team had arrived in the area. "How many people we got in there?" Morgan questioned. "Not sure. 5 or 6." The officer told. "Manager got some out. I'm calling in SWAT."

       "Don't do that. If she feels pressured, she might snap." Reid said. "She hasn't done that already?" The officer questioned. "If I get the shot, I'm taking it."

        "I'd like to try to talk to her." Hotch offers. "It's too late for that. She's got hostages." The officer in charge stated. "She's probably not aware of them." Rossi says. "Well, I am. It's my job to protect them." The officer told.

        "You don't have line of sight and a sniper round could pass through her and into somebody else." Hotch told.

         After hearing their bickering of deciding to engage in the action or not, Casey said: "Screw it." She took her FBI vest off, grabbed the pictures Hotch had and traded them as she handed her gun to Hotch and took the pictures and started heading into Sir Burger. She ignored the calls of her name from her unit chief and team as she headed in. She didn't see but Reid tried to go to her to stop her but Morgan had been holding him back from doing so. They couldn't risk another team member to get hurt in the line of sight since Casey was already in the middle of it.

       Casey headed into Sir Burger with her heart in her hand and slowly entered the building. Shelly had been holding a gun up to Don and a family had been sitting in front of them. "Shelly." Casey spoke and Shelly looked at the woman, confused and held the gun to her and Casey held her hands up in surrender.

      "Who are you?" Shelly questioned. "My name is Casey Willows. I'm with the FBI. And I know it's Damion's birthday, and I just want to tell you how sorry I am for what happened." Casey spoke calmly. The team listened in after hearing that Casey had taken her mic with her. She definitely took notes.

       "What... what's going on?" Shelly asked, holding the gun up to Don. "It's okay. She's here to help." Don assures. "No... nobody helps. You... you... you don't know a thing about Damion." Shelly tells.

        "I know he was a happy and confident little boy." Casey told. "H-how... how could you know that?" Shelly asks. "I have a picture of him, standing next to you." Casey holds up the pictures she took from Hotch. "You're holding his hand and he's smiling. He's not... hiding behind you like some children do. It tells me that you encouraged him and you gave him a lot of confidence."

        "That picture, it doesn't belong to you." Shelly stated. "I know. And I want you to have it back." Casey started stepping closer and directed her attention to the family in front of her and ushered them to leave carefully along with the manager.

         Casey started walking closer to Don and Shelly. "Don, I found this picture of you and Damion." Casey shows him a picture of the man and his son. "It's clear who his hero was. I know you blame yourself, and you shouldn't." Don had tears in his eyes.

         "And, Shelly, all the hurt you're taking out on people is not gonna bring him back." Casey tried to reason with the woman. "They need to know what they did." Shelly said. "Believe me, everyone who tried to save him that day isn't gonna forget."

        Shelly looked at her ex-husband and pointed the gun at him. "I could see that... that he was dying. And I tried to help him. I tried. I tried." Don started tearing up. "I said, 'Honey, honey, it's gonna be all right. It's gonna be all right. You hear those sirens? Do you hear those sirens? That is daddy, and daddy is coming, and he's gonna... he's gonna help us. He's gonna save us.' But you never came."

        Don looks at Shelly. "I know. I know, Shelly, and I'm so sorry. You know that." Shelly started to get angry. "Yeah, but he doesn't know that! He doesn't know that. I... I made a promise to him. I promised him..."

       "Shelly, you have to stop blaming yourself." Casey tried with the woman. "No," The woman began to think about that day. "I yelled at him. And it was... it was... the last thing he heard."

       "And that's your regret. It's not what he remembers. Look at how happy he was." Shelly shook her head as Casey shows her the pictures. "No, I can't. I can't."

      "Losing him is not your fault. He was taken from you and that's not fair. But while he was here, while you were lucky enough to have him, he was happy. That's how he lived and that's how he left." Casey sighed. "When you lose someone, it's hard to do the right thing in the world. And it's so easy to do the wrong thing. And you get angry. And unfortunately, that's easy, too. But he was a happy kid, those are the memories you hold onto." Casey tried and fortunately, succeeded.

        Casey handed the pictures to the woman and Don had taken the gun from Shelly and handed it over to Casey. Casey took a deep breath and felt achieved that she fixed this as much as she could.

         When she got out of the building with the woman in handcuffs, she felt accomplished. Unfortunately, her unit chief didn't feel the same way. "What was that?" Hotch questioned as he approached the woman. "You are supposed to wait for the okay to go in. You could've gotten hurt."

         "So, what? You did the same thing. Remember? You don't get to come after me like that. I got her out, didn't I?" Casey questioned.

         "Casey—"

         "You know what, let me make it easy for you, why don't you just fire me? One less body to deal with, am I right?" Casey walked away and she was angry, it was clear enough.

           The jet ride back home was silent. Everyone had been asleep or filling out paperwork. Almost everyone, at least.

          Casey had stared out the window and Reid had been on his seventh book for the evening. He stood up to get some coffee and realized Casey had still been up and she was staring out the window. She looked peaceful. The most she looked in a while.

          He decided to get her a cup of coffee and walked over to her. "Here." He said. Casey sighed and smiled a bit. "Thanks." Casey looked down at her mug and Reid had decided to check the view out with her.

       "Did you know, clouds produce precipitation, like rain, snow, hail and sleet? Clouds can hold millions of gallons of water. Clouds can travel at more than 100 miles per hour with the jet stream. There are ten common types of clouds you might see in the sky." Reid stated.

         Casey sat in silence but smiled at the fact that Reid had genuinely been trying. "You know how many times I forgot that Emily was dead today? About six or seven times. I was gonna tell her about how crazy this was, about this woman. I almost said her name, I turned around and... she wasn't there." Reid looked at the girl and he wanted to take her pain away.

         "Spence, I don't wanna spend the rest of my life talking to a ghost. And I'm terrified that that's what's gonna happen. And I keep thinking about... Shelly Chamberlain. What if that were me? Could I be... capable of something like that? I went in there because I genuinely thought I could calm her down, catch her off guard."

          Reid looked at her. "And you did."

         "But if I didn't?" Casey asked. "If I had died? I hate to say it but... it didn't sound too bad in my mind. I went to Emily with stuff like this. Don't worry, I have a therapist, you know." She chuckled a bit. Reid tried to laugh it off but he had been concerned for Casey's well-being and what this job was doing to her.

           The two remained in silence for the rest of the jet ride home.

hey lovelies!
sooooo yea
tbh i don't have anything to say
just thank you for reading lol
love you all :)
and also
no way we have three more chapters until s7
AJDKSKDYAKK-
okay byeeeee
-mya <3333