literature

Defender of the People ch9

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"As soon as men know that they can kill without fear of punishment or blame, they kill; or at least they encourage killers with approving smiles." –Simone Weil

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"What do the numbers mean?" asked Hotch. "That's what I'd like to know."

"Nothing jumps out at me just yet. Give me a few minutes," said Reid, passing into a reflective mood.

"Do you think it could be a kill count?" asked Seaver.

"No. The numbers jumped from two, straight to six," said Hotch. "If that were true, we'd have a much higher body count."

"It may be some sort of hierarchy or list," said Rossi.

"There's no way this is random," said Sandra. "The Unsubs have a motive. The question is, why?"

"Maybe the Unsubs see themselves as righting wrongs," said Levin. "It happens sometime in terror cells in the Middle East. I saw a bit of that in the IDF."

"Correcting past injustices…" mused Morgan. "Were Wheatley and Dylan ever convicted of a crime?"

"You can't be a senator and convicted of something," said Hotch.

"Maybe it was a relatively unknown crime," said Prentiss, "purely speculative. Or even put into question."

"But are the numbers linked to the senators' supposed crimes?" asked JJ.

"I think so," said Todd.

"Let's get Garcia and Lynch on the line," said Sandra.

They did—on the phone.

"Was either senator suspected on a crime?" asked Morgan.

The team heard some typing.

"Wheatley got off on molestation charges right before he started his campaign. There weren't any news articles about it," said Garcia. "Surprise, surprise."

"And it looks like there was some speculation that Dylan passed on national secrets to Al-Qaeda, but she was never convicted of it," said Lynch.

"Well there's a link—neither senator was convicted of their alleged crimes," said Abby.

"Thanks Sweetness," said Morgan. "We'll call you back if we need anything else."

"Call me back anytime, Hot Stuff. My line's always open for you," said Garcia. She hung up.

An officer came in. "We found another body."

"They're decelerating," said JJ. "The last two bodies were found in the early hours of the morning. It's almost eight now."

"Rossi, you and Prentiss go with Officer Wood to the scene," said Hotch.

"We'll go out the back," said Wood. "There's a huge crowd of reporters out front."

"Go. JJ, prepare a press release," said Hotch.

"Will do."

JJ, Officer Wood, Rossi and Prentiss left. The rest stayed in the room.

"To pull off this kind of operation, I'd say you'd have to have at least five people," said Levin. "You'd have one to organize and experts in different areas, such as surveillance or technology; then you'd need lackies."

"Good thinking. I'd say you'd need a few lackies," said Todd. "At least two, maybe more."

"But the order and numbers. That's what's bugging me," said Morgan.

"I had a thought," said Reid. "What about the Inferno?"

"As in Dante?" asked Hotch. "Explain…"

"Wheatley—molestation, level two, lust. Dylan—leaking national secrets, level six, heresy," said Reid, sounding right in his element.

"For Dylan, I think it's a bit of a stretch," said Abby.

"Traditionally, heresy means to reject Church doctrine, but what about rejecting the doctrine of the Constitution?" asked Sandra.

The phone rang. "Hotch, the M.O.'s the same," said Prentiss.

"Is there a number?" asked Morgan.

"Yes, seven."

"That's violence," said Reid.

"So we found out what the numbers mean?" asked Rossi.

"Yeah," said Abby. "Dante's Inferno."

"Oh, Dante," said Rossi with a hint of amusement.

"Which senator?"

"Victoria Kroft."

"We'll talk to you later," said Hotch. "Get back here quickly. JJ's getting a press conference together."

"We're on our way," said Prentiss. She hung up.

Next, they called Garcia and Lynch.

"Knights of Quantico, speak to me from the Round Table!"

"Nice try Baby Girl, but here, our table's a rectangle," said Morgan with a slight smirk.

"Oh please, my Black Knight, any table will do! Speak and be heard!" declared Garcia.

"Same question, but this time, put the name Victoria Kroft in," said Sandra.

They heard some typing.

"Looks like Senator Kroft beat her son," said Garcia. "At least she did when he was younger."

"Where is he now?" asked Levin.

"Erick committed suicide just before his high school graduation," said Lynch.

"The poor kid. Apparently, his suicide wasn't only because of his mom," said Garcia. "It says here that Erick was also bullied for his sexuality."

"Thanks, Garcia," said Hotch. "Do you have anything else on Gabi Finn?"

"I have a marriage for her and Mark Finn," said Lynch. "Mark was a Chippendale dancer, but after he quit last fall, I don't see any activity. He took out every single penny from his bank account and closed it."

"When was that?" asked Seaver.

"October third," said Lynch.

It was January seventh.

"What about Gabi?" asked Sandra.

"She was also a dancer, at a club about fifteen minutes away from the club," said Garcia. "Her last known address, dated October fifteenth, shows that she and Mark lived with someone."

"Who was it?" asked Reid.

"A woman named Allison York," said Lynch. "She worked at the same club, and quit around the same time. I'd be willing to bet that Allison, Mark and Gabi are all involved somehow."

"Do you think they could be the lackies?" asked Levin.

"It'd fit. The mastermind would need good looking people to lure the senators," said Rossi, who had just walked in with Prentiss. Addressing their questioning looks, Rossi replied dryly, "I heard you guys talking while I was walking in. I heard from the mention of the Chippendale dancer on." He and Prentiss sat down.

"We're going to need someone to go and talk to Mark, Gabi and Allison's former co-workers," said Hotch. "Morgan, you and Rossi go to Chippendale's and ask about Mark. Abby, you and Sandra go to Gabi and Allison's club."

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Loud music blared, which they could hear, even twenty feet from the entrance. It made Rossi uncomfortable, though he didn't say or show so. I think it was a wise decision to send us where he sent us. We won't get distracted this way, thought Rossi to himself. He grinned inwardly too, not letting his glee at Morgan's slight discomfort show. They approached the bouncer, passing the long line of woman. Morgan did his best to ignore the whistles. "Agents Rossi and Morgan, FBI." They flashed their badges.

The bouncer looked at them. "Why are you 'ere?"

"We need to talk to the manager," said Rossi, as he and Morgan stowed their badges.

"Whatcha need to get in 'ere fur?" asked the bouncer as he let in a pair of giggling girls.

Rossi lowered his voice. "An investigation."

"Shure," said the bouncer, rolling his eyes. "I don' believe yous guys. Thoze badges look fake."

Rossi sighed. He pulled aside his jacket to reveal his Glock. "Why would someone who's not authorized to handle this baby carry it?"

The bouncer was a big guy, really thick, both physically and mentally. He stood aside and let the two in. Once inside, Morgan turned to Rossi and grinned. "You don't usually play that card."

"It isn't lying to tell someone whatever story it takes to do our job," said Rossi, raising his eye brow.

Morgan laughed and flagged down a waiter. One came over. "What can I do you for?"

Rossi looked at the man. "We're Agents Rossi and Morgan from the FBI. We need to talk to your boss." He and Morgan pulled out their credentials. Luckily, the waiter didn't contest them. He led them into the back, and came to a closed door. "He's in here."

Morgan looked at the man. "Thank you."

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He screamed, a terrible shriek that sounded certain doom for him. The woman who cut off his hand got down on his level, their faces ten inches apart. She raised the knife and brought it to her face. She calmly regarded it as her captive continued to scream. She licked the blade once, then on the other side.

One of her companions entered the room. She turned.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play with your food?"

"Sadly, my mother never told me much." She rose. "What do you want?"

"The FBI's closing in."

She sneered. "You think we'll get caught? I think not." She laughed mirthlessly and grinned. She whispered menacingly. "You know the rules. You doubt, you die."

"I thought you were kidding about that!"

She approached slowly, her voice rising in volume word by word, step by step. "I wasn't, Mark. I never kid." She and Mark were toe to toe. "Good night." She stabbed him and laughed as he writhed on the floor. At last, he was still.

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Sandra and Abby were waiting outside the owner's office in Allison and Gabi's club. Finally, the owner rushed out and ushered the two agents into her office. The owner sat behind her desk, motioning as she did for Sandra and Abby to sit down.

"What can I get for you? A water?" asked the owner.

"Nothing, thanks. What we need is information, Ms…" began Sandra.

"Kate Bowen," said the owner.

"As I said, Ms. Bowen, we're here for information," said Sandra. "Two former employees of yours came up in our investigation."

"You here about the senators?"

Sandra and Abby winced inwardly as the woman's shrewdness.

"Yes," said Abby.

"Who do you need to know about?" asked Kate.

"Allison York and Gabi Finn."

"Hold on, I need to check my files," said Kate. She bent over slightly.

"We need to know about their personalities, Ms. Bowen," said Sandra. "We can get employment records from you before we leave."

"Allison had some family issues, but she tried to mask it. All of us here tried to get her to open up, but the day after she finally did, she quit. Haven't heard from her since," said Kate. "Gabi was the same way. She was a quiet girl, except on stage. The crowds loved it. Mostly, all she did was dance. No serving for her. When we made her take a break, she'd bartend, which wasn't often. That girl had so much endurance. If she worked for six hours, she'd spend four and a half of them dancing."

They kept the interview going for another few minutes and left, satisfied by what they'd learned.

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"The greater the loyalty of a group toward the group, the greater is the motivation among the members to achieve the goals of the group, and the greater the probability that the group will achieve its goals." –Rensis Likert
Here’s the next chapter! More is being revealed! What do you guys think? Sadistic? I think yes. Did anyone catch the reference hidden in this chapter? I’ll give you a hint: Rowan Atkinson voiced the character that said the quote. An e-cookie and e-hug goes to the person to guess right!
© 2011 - 2024 mudbloodjew
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