Change My Mind ~ Criminal Minds (Aaron Hotchner x OC)

63.0: Pranks & Prizes

A/N: Continuation of 7x04 Painless 

WARNING: THERE'S SWEARING IN THIS CHAPTER

TRIGGER WARNING: THIS CHAPTER TALKS ABOUT SCHOOL SHOOTINGS AND SCHOOL BOMBINGS

"What people have the capacity to choose, they have the ability to change."
― Madeleine Albright

Crystal watched as Morgan escorted Lewis to the interrogation room, Hotch watched this happen and turned to look at her. "I'm going to go question him, behave."

"You're no fun." Crystal mockingly sighed and Hotch's lips twitched as he moved her hair, she watched him leave and Reid cleared his throat. "That's interesting."

"Haha Doc, shouldn't you be more worried about your phone calls?" Crystal asked and smiled as Reid's phone rang again, Reid huffed. "I don't know how so many people are calling me."

"Probably just the wrong number, don't worry about it." Crystal shrugged, it took everything to not laugh as his phone rang again.

Prentiss walked over to them, "They bring in Ramsey?"

"Hotch left to go question him with Morgan," Crystal answered as Reid looked at the board, Emily checked around them before looking at her. "Have you tried to kiss Hotch again?"

"Emily." Crystal sighed and Reid chuckled, "Both of them are either to scared or embarrassed to make another move."

"I still can't believe you told Reid."

"He's trustworthy and is coolheaded, I was hoping he'd be unbiased." Crystal shrugged before turning shy, "Besides guys it could've been in the moment and that's why he did that...we haven't talked about what could've happened or if it even meant anything."

Emily shook her head, "You guys are so blind."

"Who's blind?" 

Crystal turned to see Hotch walk back over to them, "No one, do you think it's him?" Hotch raised an eyebrow at her avoiding his question, "He fits the profile, and the evidence points to him, but he claims he isn't our unsub and seems sincere."

Reid turned to look at them, "He's not the unsub, but her was the partner. Look how Slade added "all the LoSeRs in this Godforsaken school", the capitalization isn't an accident. L-S-R, Lewis Stuart Ramsey."

Emily's eyes widen, "So he named his own partner."

"Ironically Lewis' marijuana conviction saved his life."

Crystal sighed, "This puts us back at square one, if the partner isn't our unsub then how did he get his hands on a list that Slade and Lewis kept to themselves?" Hotch moved her hair, "The only answer is that part of our profile is wrong, the unsub's vendetta has nothing to do with the list." Hotch looked at Prentiss, "Did you get anything from Jerry Holtz?"

"He mixed up the cell phones that Slade used, it honestly felt like he was making up the story but it's only a hunch." Emily answered and Hotch frowned, "We need to find him now, there's a connection to the victimology that we're missing."

___

Crystal, Reid, and Prentiss met JJ at the high school, she had called to tell them that Jerry Holtz was found murdered. Emily hurried to JJ, "How long?"

"Less than an hour, security guard heard some commotion going on and when he checked it out..." JJ motioned to the body, "Unsub was already gone too." Crystal frowned, "Who else knew about these interviews?"

"Only the other survivors, the unsub must be apart of that group." Emily answered and JJ sighed, "We don't know that for a fact, unsub could've been lying in wait for an opportunity. Hotch wants me to go through the victims' lives and find an overlap, maybe we can find their history with the unsub."