CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR: THE SLASHER !

6x21

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         THE TEAM WAS IN DIRE NEED OF A NIGHT OUT. And their idea of that was a night at the movies. Morgan, Garcia, Reid, Seaver, Casey — along with Marco, had decided to go see Slice 6. A horror movie that Casey had been wanting to see for a while now.

The movie was over and Garcia was now voicing her opinion on the movie now. "Unnecessary," She started. "There's too much blood and gore and blegh."

"Garcia, it's a slasher film. How do you do a slasher film without violence?" Reid questions. Garcia had an arm around Morgan and Casey had her arm wrapped around Marco's arm as they walked. Seaver and Reid were walking in the middle of the two couples. "You imply it." Garcia argues.

"Baby, the movie is called Slice 6, what were you expecting?" Morgan asks. ""A refreshing beverage with a twist of comedy. I'm gonna have nightmares for a week." Garcia says.

"With everything that we do and see on a daily basis, that got to you?" Seaver asks. "Seriously, Garcia, you've seen worse stuff on the monitors." Casey tells. "Fake blood and people dying on screen; you've officially seen it all?" Marco added on.

"Listen, newb, fair maiden and the Italian nephew of Rossi — you may be all Sigourney Weaver ass-kicking tough, which is awesome, but the mystical mavens of innocence like myself jump at things that go bump in the night." Garcia goes on as the three laugh at their given nicknames.

"Why are you worried? I'm sure that Morgan will protect you. As long as he's not jumping out of his chair like a prepubescent schoolgirl." Reid joked, causing the rest of the team and Marco to chuckle. "The only reason I jumped is 'cause you guys woke me up." Morgan tells.

"How could you sleep during that?" Garcia asks. "Easy," Morgan says. "You drag me out after a 12-hour workday... for what? You telling me that girl didn't know that the unsub was waiting for her upstairs? Come on, now."

"You mean, villain." Casey corrects.
"What?" Morgan asks.
"In movies, unsubs are called villains." Reid corrected Morgan as well.
"My bad." Morgan says.

"You want to know why horror movies are so successful?" Reid asks. "Oh, here we go." Casey says, suspecting a long explanation from Reid. "Why is that, genius?" Morgan asks.

"They prey on our instinctual need to survive. In tribal days, a woman's scream would signal danger and the men would return from hunting to protect their pack. That's why it's always the women and not the men who fall victim to the bogeyman." Reid explained.

"Count on you, Reid, to break a movie down to science." Casey comments. "My favorite thing about horror movies is the suspense factor." Seaver says. "Ah, the ticking clock."
"The helpless victim walks through the dark... shadows reaching out to get her." Seaver plays around.
"A sudden noise draws her attention." Reid decides to go along with it, as well.
"Is someone there, or is it all just in her head? She shrugs it off, not knowing her gruesome fate awaits her in the comfort of her home." Casey added on.

"Still, it's totally unrealistic," Garcia says. "No one should be walking through a dark alley by themselves at night." Morgan clears his throat, motioning towards the team walking through an alley. "Hello."

"Ah, no one should be walking through a dark alley without a Derek Morgan by their side." Garcia smirks.

"But the best part of a horror movie... you never know when the end is gonna come." Reid tells. "Yeah, you never know, will the final girl die or will she make it to the sequel?" Casey jokes.

Marco chuckles at the girl and looks towards the group. "Well, as much fun as this was, I should be going. My flight leaves in a couple of hours. It was really nice doing this with you guys, though." Everyone exchanges their goodbyes with Marco and they wait on the girl to rejoin their group as Casey walks Marco to his car.

"Do you really really have to go?" Casey asks. "Well, if I want to keep my job, then, yeah, I have to go." Marco says. "I just wish you could stay." The girl says. "Well, if you think about the vacation time we should take..." Marco tells. "I still need to think about that. And I think you're right, maybe we should. I think it's useful for both of us." Casey says.

"Well, I don't wanna keep you so... please have a safe flight back." Casey reaches for a tight hug. "I will." Marco pulls away and kisses the girl on her lips. "I'll call you." Marco starts to get into his car. "Bye." "Bye."

As Casey walks back, she doesn't notice but Reid had been staring at the two exchanging their goodbyes and Seaver cleared her throat, getting Reid's attention and he turned around and Seaver raised her eyebrows at him and Reid gave Seaver a look as they all take Garcia's car back to their places.

The next day, the team had been summarizing Slice 6 up for Rossi at the BAU — well, mostly Casey and Reid were. "What we didn't see coming was that The Slicer's brother was in the closet. Total plot twist!" Casey told. "Frightening." Rossi says, sarcastically. "His betrayal consumed him and he sent his brother to his own private hell." Reid finished up.

As they entered the building, the team noticed Strauss in Hotch's office, talking to Hotch. "Speaking of horror..." Rossi comments. "What's Strauss doing here?" Reid mutters. "Whatever it is, I cast my vote on 'not good.'" Garcia tells. "It's Strauss, when she's here, it's never good." Casey stated.

The team decides to head on into the round table room. Casey had hoped that Strauss hadn't been here for Casey's actions on the last couple of cases. She could probably lose her job that way. And she didn't want Strauss to know about her last few incidents. Casey was trying to get better but it was hard with this kind of job all the time.

Hotch had walked into the roundtable room and said: "Let's get started." He was definitely on-edge with Strauss stomping on his back. "Okay," Garcia grabs the remote on the screen to three identical pictures of women on the screen. "Monica Shanley, Natalie Wallace, Amber Lasko. Three college students killed in their off-campus apartments in the last five days. Two were going to San Diego Coastal University, one was going to San Diego Tech." Garcia explains.

"Well, the unsub definitely has a type." Morgan says. "They could all be related." Garcia nods, "Yeah, what he said. They're all in their early 20s, brunette, majoring in education and/or child development."

"Is there any indication that they knew one another?" Seaver asks. "As it stands right now, I'm coming up empty. Their apartments were spread throughout the city, so..." Garcia answers.

"No fingerprints at the crime scene. The unsub uses gloves." Reid says. "He's organized." Casey adds. "Forced entry at all the apartments. Back door, patio door, living room window." Hotch tells. "The homes were wrecked. Clear evidence of a struggle." Rossi says.

"He's creating a scene," Seaver tells. "He wants to inflict fear not only in his victim but in whomever finds the body." Rossi looks towards Hotch. "Could be a message to the local P. D. 'Look what I can do.'."

"He's killed three women in under a week. In all likelihood, he's hunting for his fourth victim now. San Diego P.D. wants us on the scene as soon as possible." Hotch informs.

Hotch had separated the team into groups on the jet and Casey was going with Morgan and Reid to the latest crime scene.

           The three walked towards the apartment and look around at the area. "Well, there's no secure parking." Morgan points out. "I rode a bike when I was in college." Reid tells. "That's 'cause you weren't old enough to drive, Einstein." Morgan chuckles. "I could drive, it's just the government wouldn't issue me a license until I was 14." Reid tells.

         "You know, I didn't get my license until I was 18?" Casey says to the group. "Why is that?" Morgan asks. "Gideon never took me to the DMV." Casey sighs.

         "A lot of places for the unsub to hide out here." Reid says as he takes his sunglasses off. They're approaching the apartment now. "Yeah, he could have easily grabbed her when she passed through here." Morgan says. "Yet she made it all the way to her apartment." Casey added.

        "Where she should feel safe, but then he took that from her." Morgan says and the three enter the apartment. "I'm Agent Derek Morgan. This is Dr. Spencer Reid and Agent Casey Willows." Morgan introduces himself and the two to the detective in charge. "Detective Bryce Harding." The detective says.

         "Amber's roommate, Michelle, told us she was out of town visiting family when the attack occurred." Harding told. "The unsub must have known that. That's why he made his move last night." Morgan tells and Casey looks around. "He jimmied the lock on the window." Harding tells.

        "I guess he needed the privacy to complete the torture." Reid says. "Well, most sadists like to kill on their own turf. This guy didn't risk taking her to a secondary location." Morgan says. "Maybe something happened which makes the location of the kill significant. In their own apartments, their own homes where they should feel safe. He obviously doesn't want them to feel that when he's here." Casey says.

        They enter the bathroom where the kill occurred. "Look," Reid points out the blood on the walls. "That's something new. He's smearing blood on the walls, exhibiting more control and rage over his victims, taking pleasure in the kill."

        "What's with the specific physical type?" Harding asks. "It looks like he's taking his anger out on women who represent someone he knows." Casey says. "Yeah, like Edmund Kemper. He most likely can't confront his true target yet, so he's going after women who look like her until he can build up the confidence to complete his endgame." Reid explains.

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        The team had all gone back to the PD where they were going over the case. Everyone had been sitting and looking over their files and what they found from the crime scenes and the bodies. Garcia had been helping them out.

       "The first victim Monica Shanley's BFF reported that they were talking on the phone and hung up just before Monica stepped inside her apartment." Garcia says. "What does that get us?" Morgan asks.

        "Well, some neighbors heard loud screaming coming from Monica's apartment at 11:12pm. At 11:15, they called 911. 11:26 cops arrived." Garcia says. "He's able to strike, kill, and get out in less than fourteen minutes?" Reid questions. "Doesn't make sense, he's still organized. Maybe a little too organized." Casey says.

       Seaver walks into the room and sits in the empty spot next to Casey. "How'd it go?" Rossi asks. "According to her roommate, Amber worked odd jobs to make ends meet." Seaver explained.

       "Could be where she made contact with the unsub." Rossi assumes. "Garcia, get us a list of jobs that Amber worked the last few months, and look for personal checks she might have deposited as under-the-table payments." Hotch tells. "Copy that." Garcia hangs up.

       "The unsub stalks his victims. He knows their routine. He could attack them anytime they're alone, even in their cars, but he chooses to attack them in their homes." Rossi tells. "And waits for them to bolt the doors before he strikes." Morgan says. "He wants them to feel safe before he takes that away from them." Casey added on. "It's about making them feel powerless in their own personal space." Reid adds.

       "So it's physical and psychological torture." Seaver says. "If he keeps to his accelerated timetable, he'll strike tonight." Hotch tells.

        Sure enough, the unsub did strike again. This time, he killed a babysitter and left the child untouched. Rossi and Casey had spoken to the family and Reid and Morgan discovered that he had comforted the baby after killing the babysitter. Their unsub had a hold of the babysitter's phone and her social networking sites. They had their profile.

         It had been another day and the unsub struck again. He had gone after another babysitter. A woman and her baby had been left alive while the babysitter and the husband of the woman had been killed.

         Reid, Rossi and Casey had decided to check out the covered bodies. "Jake suffered multiple stab wounds to the chest and abdomen." Harding informs. "The sitter, Lily, got the brunt of it."

        "This is the second time he struck inside someone else's home. He's telling us something." Rossi says. "He's narrowing in on his ideal victimology. Babysitting somehow fits into the scenario he's trying to recreate." Reid tells as Casey examines the body under the tarp that was placed on them and suddenly, she pulls it back down.

        "You know what? He changed his MO as well. He violated Lily with a knife." Casey shakes her head as she looks at the bodies. "He hasn't shown aggressive sexual behavior up till now. What's different?" Rossi questions.

        "This is more personal," Reid says. "She could be the one he's been after all along." Casey shrugs, "I don't think so. If she was the root of his torture, he'd keep her alive."

         "This guy's meticulous. He plans everything out." Rossi says. "Then, why didn't he know the Ellisons were returning?" Harding asks. "I think he did. I mean, the unsub was watching the house. He knew that they came home, but he just didn't care. He adapted." Reid tells.

        "He went after the biggest threat first." Rossi says. "He eliminated Jake in order to gain control over Lily and Amy." Harding continues, "There are two initial points of attack, one in the hallway outside the nursery and the other one here."

        "Yet, both bodies ended up together." Casey points out. "Look at the way they're posed, directly looking at each other." Reid says. "He wanted them to watch each other die." Rossi added.

         "I think it's more than that," Reid says. "This change in behavior could be the piece that we're missing."

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        The team heads back to the PD and go over what they know and what they need to find. "This guy knew the Ellisons were home, but he struck anyway. He could have taken out the entire family, but he chose to spare the mother and the child. Why?" Morgan goes over.

         Casey sits up, "Well, let's recap," She says. "With the Jenkins, the unsub actually fed the baby. Here, he spared the mother and locked her in a room with her son." Seaver added on, seeing where Casey was going with this. "It's like he's protecting the children."

         "The addition of Jake Ellison caused the unsub to change his methodology. For the first time he posed the bodies, and he's also sexually violated one of the victims." Reid tells.

         "Okay, we have a father posed to look at a dying babysitter and a mother and child protected upstairs. That's a pretty clear message." Hotch dials Garcia on to join in on the convo. "Garcia, search for local women who died in their early 30s and they're survived by a husband and at least one son. Go back 10-15 years."
        "Cross that with new marriage licenses filed by surviving husbands." Reid adds. "The unsub's always been troubled, Garcia, so look for youthful offenders who would have fit into the sociopathic triad." Morgan tells.

        "Okay, I've got 30 matches, which points to a disturbing social phenomenon and does not help us narrow this down." Garcia admits. "Okay, so cross-reference that with your list of newly-released inmates and mental patients." Seaver added on.

         It took a minute but Garcia had it. "Okay, I've got a few. Here's one. Greg Phinney, Chula Vista. He was put into juvie when he was 13 for... threatening his stepmom with a knife."

        "What do we know about the stepmother?" Morgan asks. "Kate Jones, aka the second Mrs. Phinney. Married Greg's father a year after Greg's mother was killed in a car accident. Greg was 11 at the time. Mr. Phinney died four weeks ago."

         "Is there any evidence that Kate worked in the Phinney home before the mother's death?" Hotch asks. "Oh, the plot solidifies. Kate cited additional income as caregiver on her tax returns when she was a college student. Payments trace back to the Phinneys. Kate filed numerous reports against Greg for violent behavior, experimentation on animals. Greg's father finally put the kibosh on things when he was seventeen, had him institutionalized. Greg was released two weeks ago."

          "Just before the killings started." Casey nodded, knowing they had their unsub. "Garcia, where's Greg Phinney now?" Reid asks. "Yeah, that's a good question." Garcia types as she speaks.

          Garcia sent the address over to the team and Morgan and Reid went to check it out and also sent Kate Jones' address to Hotch, Rossi, Seaver and Casey.

          The four arrived at the address and circled around. "Dave, Willows, take some uniforms and find the back door. I'm gonna try to get inside and talk to him." Rossi and Casey nod as they go ahead and form a group up.

          On Hotch's go, they snuck in through the back. The uniformed men went through the whole back way and realized they didn't have a line of sight. Casey and Rossi had decided to go through the window of the household. 

         Casey and Rossi were now in the house and had their guns ready. They headed towards the group and Hotch backed away and Seaver grabbed Kate Jones as the unsub held his gun towards the newcomers and both Casey and Rossi shot him clean through the chest. 

          "Bring in backup." Hotch said to his mic. Casey looked down at his body and Hotch checked his pulse and discovered that he had died due to Rossi and Casey shooting him.

          Casey shook her head and closed her eyes. How many more people had to die on her hands? She bit the inside of her cheek in annoyance and both Rossi and Hotch noticed as she was taking her vest off.

          "Willows."
          "What are you doing?"

         "I've had it." Casey told as she took her vest off. "Had it with what?" Rossi asked. "With this damn job." Casey told as she handed him her gun and walked out of the house.

          Hotch had caught up to her. "Willows." Casey didn't want a lecture. She'd had enough of those already. The girl looks at her boss. "How many more people, Hotch?" She questions. "What?" Hotch furrowed his eyebrows at the girl.

        "How many more people do I have to kill before this job gets any easier? Because my kill count right now is three. Why can't I help people? Why do I have screw things up? Why does everyone's blood have to be on my hands? Because, Hotch, I think there's something wrong with me." Hotch listened to the girl as she ranted. "I couldn't save Emily, I had to kill Adam in order to save my own ass. Haven't enough people died already?"

         "Casey—"

         "Forget it." Casey shook Hotch away and she headed back to the car, not saying a word.

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        The jet ride back home was silent and Casey didn't bother to speak to anyone. Instead, she turned in her paperwork early and headed home. She had decided to go into work the next day. Not to work, but to talk to Hotch.

        Casey walked to her boss's office and rapped her knuckles on the open door and that got Hotch's attention. "Hi." She greeted. "Hi," Hotch said. "Come in."

       Casey walks into the office and her heart is beating out of her chest. "I, uh, I want to apologize for my outburst and my rant the other day. My therapist usually listens to those." She jokes.

       Hotch looks towards the girl. "Casey—"

      "No," Casey interrupts. "If you want to fire me for not being stable at my own job that I should be stable in, I understand." Hotch shakes his head. "Casey, I'm not going to fire you."

      Casey nodded and sigh in relief. "Okay," Casey sits down in the seat in front of Hotch's desk. "Um, there is one thing I wanted to ask, sir. Would it be alright if I took a couple of weeks off? Just temporarily. Just to clear my head."

     "Casey—"

     "Hotch," Casey needed to talk and she knew that this had been coming soon. "I have shot two people in the last few cases. One of which died. I walked into a hostage situation without my gun and my vest without consulting you and I almost drowned myself on purpose in river water." Casey listed. "I've been acting reckless lately. And I'm putting the team in jeopardy. I can't keep doing that." Hotch looked down and realized Casey was making points.

      "So... I'm gonna take a few weeks off and I just need to think. That's all I need. And I know you know I do. Marco has been talking to me about taking a vacation and I think I should take one. And I'll come back and I'm gonna be refreshed and I'm gonna do my damn job. But right now, I need this. Because if I don't do this, someone else may get hurt."

       It only took Hotch a couple of seconds to consider this. Casey did deserve a break. She needed it. And the team could hold up without her for a couple of weeks. He knew they would be fine. "Okay." Casey nodded at Hotch. "Thank you, sir."

       Before Casey could walk out of the office, Hotch stands. "Casey." The girl looks over at her boss and he holds his arms open. Casey smiles and gives Hotch a hug. Although she wasn't fond of the idea of Hotch being like a father to her, it felt nice to have a father figure once in a while.

       Casey was over at her desk, packing up a couple of things over before she left and a voice interrupted Casey from her thoughts. "You're leaving?" The girl looked over at Garcia, Morgan, Seaver and Reid huddled over at her desk.

      "Temporarily, okay?" Casey approaches Garcia. "Just for a few weeks."

      "Why?" Seaver asks.

      "You guys saw how I was out there. My behavior, my actions. I can't keep doing that. So, I suggested to Hotch that I take a couple of weeks off."

       "So, this wasn't Hotch's idea." Morgan nods in understanding.

        "No," Casey says. "But I knew he was gonna do it soon if I didn't say anything. This whole thing with Emily... it's weighing me down. And... I need reassurance to clear my head. And closure. And I hope to get that in a few weeks." Casey had still been in her acceptance state with Emily. She hadn't had time to process it since she was working all the time and she kept needing to distract herself with work but maybe in this vacation time, she could get that.

        "And I promise you guys, I will be right back." Casey says. "You aren't gonna lose me, not that easily." She jokes. "These weeks are gonna pass by fast. Okay?" The girl looks over at Garcia. "So, no tears. Not necessary."

        Casey gives everyone a hug before she heads for the elevator. "We'll see you soon, kiddo." Morgan says. Casey smiles as she waves at them. "See you guys soon."

casey getting the well-deserved break she so needs >>
anywayssss
we are now on the last episode of s6- (i'm skipping the two episodes before the last one)
so excited
also
for my grey's anatomy fans
i just watched a specific episode in s16 that literally made me bawl my fucking eyes out- 😭
can you guess which one it was???
alsooo
my spring break is over and i go back to school tomorrow fml🙄
thank you for reading!!!
ily all
-mya <3333