[Criminal Minds] The Waiting Behind

Michelle chose a cowboy western, crazy hat?It feels good to hear the name.Compared with literary and artistic romance movies that moan/groan without illness, Michelle thinks that action movies at least Steve will not feel boring.

It may be because of the non-weekend relationship, there are very few people in the cinema.Several couples or middle-aged couples sat scattered around the cinema.

"Here." Michelle took the popcorn silently, it really felt like a date.

Glancing at Steve, who was sitting upright beside him, Michelle sighed, and she sighed a little too much recently, it seemed that she was really old.

The movie started, and the beginning was indeed a typical western style.Sporadicly, several couples of spectators entered the arena intermittently.Everyone gradually became involved in the wonderful plot.

On the other side, the sound of "crash clatter—" the iron chain dragging on the ground was piercing and sharp.

A hand appeared, a hand with a leather glove—the owner of this hand was walking forward slowly while holding the other end of the iron chain. This was a man wearing an ordinary jacket and leather boots. man.The other hand held a white plastic jug, I don't know what it was for.The figure of the man slowly passed by the empty popcorn stand, and a poster of a western cowboy movie was posted on the bulletin board next to it.

"Crazy Hat"! ! !

Michelle felt like she was going to burst out laughing, this movie is too funny.Ha ha!I thought it was an orthodox western cowboy movie with passion and unrestrained enthusiasm, but I didn't expect the enthusiasm to be good, but the tone is all wrong!What do you want to do with this kind of messy and funny rhythm...

Steve looked at the girl next to him who was laughing up and down, "Sure enough, it's right to take her to the movies, at least she will allow herself to be by her side silently at this time." Both of them were absorbed in what they saw, concentrating on it.

At the back door outside the cinema, a man in ordinary clothes stopped, passed the iron chain in his hand through the handle on the door, wound it tightly several times, locked it with a heavy-looking lock, and tried to pull it After a few clicks, he nodded in satisfaction.The man picked up the plastic jug that was on the ground and walked back to the front door of the cinema.

Very careful, very pious.

Slowly tilt the plastic pot in his hand, pour out the liquid in it, and move his steps.

A pungent smell came out.

Walk from the main entrance to the popcorn stand, pass the poster board, and extend all the way to the entrance of each screening hall, without missing any corner.

"Hahahaha——" Michelle felt that she was about to laugh, and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with her hands because she laughed too much.

Even Steve, who was always calm next to him, was amused by the plot.I didn't expect to find a treasure after choosing a movie at random this time.

Seems like a good way to get Michelle to watch a comedy, Steve thought to himself.

The entire screening hall was full of concentrated and joyful laughter.There are whispers between couples, and even the innocent laughter of children "giggling".

"Kangling—" The last plastic pot in his hand was casually thrown to the ground.The man ignited the lighter in his hand with a "bass", fell silent for two seconds, dropped it, turned and left.The gasoline on the ground was instantly ignited, and the flames danced non-stop, crawling forward quickly and violently along the winding traces.

...the temperature gradually climbed.Because the smoke caused by the fire ran into the projection hall along the gap, the audience who were absorbed in the movie still stared at the big screen without knowing it.On the seats in the last row, the staff members who were obviously slacking off were dozing off.

It wasn't until the smoke became more and more dense that a young couple sitting near the back who were making out felt hotter and hotter. Looking around curiously, they realized that the back was full of choking smoke! "My God! Oh, my God, it's on fire!" The young man's cry attracted more people's attention, and everyone found out about the fire one after another, and rushed out of the door in a panic.Who knew that when everyone got out of the auditorium, they discovered——

A sea of ​​flames filled the sky.

The gate, which seemed to be close at hand, seemed so far away because of the violent fire.The people who escaped desperately covering their mouths were a little desperate.

Suddenly, someone shouted: "The back door! I remembered that there is a back door!" Only then did everyone rekindle their hopes.But who knew that when everyone fled to the back door and wanted to open it, they found that it was locked! "Damn it!"

The young man at the front slammed the door hard, calling out to the crowd behind: "Everyone, work hard together! Open this door and we will be saved!" Several strong and powerful men stepped forward and tried to open the door together. He opened the door, but there was no movement at all, only the merciless sound of the iron chain outside the door colliding with the door.

Despair instantly spread among the crowd.

This kind of despair after having hope makes people feel as if they have fallen into an unfathomable abyss, and they can no longer escape from this predicament.

"Help!"

"Is there anyone, help us!"

"Kenny, where are you?"

"Come on, come and save us!"

All kinds of curses, shouts, and cries for help mixed with the sobs of women and children lingered above the movie theater for a long time, and then slowly became weaker and weaker, only the sound of burning buildings could be heard. The sound of "tearing and tearing"...

A few hours later, an arm stretched out from the bed, and after groping around on the bedside table, I finally got the mobile phone and put it to my ear. The voice that hadn't woken up was very magnetic: "Hotch."

As if hearing something, Hotch quickly sat up on the bed, turned on the bedside lamp, clamped the phone to his ear, and quickly put on his clothes. "I'll be there right away. JJ, tell the others to meet you directly in the meeting room in half an hour."

Casually hanging up the phone and throwing it aside, Hotch is very skilled in organizing his clothes, obviously not uncommon for this kind of situation.

In the conference room, Hotch was looking down at the document that JJ had just handed over, and other people were walking in with sleepy eyes one after another.After everyone arrived, Hotch signaled to JJ that he could tell the story of the case before turning to everyone. "This is a new case of arson that happened in Washington recently." Everyone's eyes turned to the photos on the wall screen: the broken wall after being ravaged by the fire, and the leftover sign that fell on the ground and was vaguely discernible. Part of the name, but what is more shocking is the image that JJ silently called out next——

Corpses of different sizes, large and small, were neatly stacked together, and what was even more unbearable to look at was that there were some corpses that were definitely children. JJ turned around, and for some reason recently, it became increasingly difficult to see the pictures of this kind of child who suffered misfortune. Every time I looked at it, I felt a pain like a piece of my heart had been gouged out.

"My God! That's just a child!" Garcia exclaimed first, obviously unable to accept the direct gaze of such a sad event.

"Hotch, it's just that simple arson cases don't use our BAU." Man is very calm, it's not that he is unreasonable, it's just that sometimes they go after the more insane killers to save more people, and knives should still be used on a knife edge.

Hotch didn't blame Man for asking, instead he pressed the remote control in JJ's hand.In an instant, several similar but not identical corpse photos appeared on the screen.The background is a cinema, KTV and entertainment center.What is vividly visible is also the scene of a bunch of corpses of different sizes lined up. Hotch turned and said flatly, "So we're dealing with a serial arsonist."

JJ looked at the people in the photo with regret, and briefly introduced, "These two incidents happened a week and a half ago, and the man-made arson in the entertainment center happened just two days ago. There were 12 victims, and none of them survived."

"Yes, I saw this on the news." Emily raised the pen in her hand and turned her head, in exchange for Man's nod of approval.

"There are still some details that have not been disclosed to the media. Three weeks ago, there was also a fire at a disco and video game center. Fortunately, no one was injured." JJ added.

"So, the arsonist has upgraded the number of victims from 0 to 31 in a few weeks, isn't that too fast?" Rossi stood in front of the data board and shook his head in disbelief.

"Most arsonists will not become murderers. They just like to set fire, and casualties are just accidents." Reid's encyclopedia called up the information in his mind, and put forward arguments against Rossi's theory.

Emily sat on a chair, looked at the victims in the photo, and shook her head: "31 people, it doesn't seem like an accident."

Man nodded, concluding in agreement, "So our unknown suspect is a cold-blooded and ruthless killer."

"These cases all happened in Washington, the situation is very bad, and it has caused public concern and panic among the residents in a small area. The authorities have ordered additional personnel to strengthen patrols near the movie theaters, but this time the murderer still committed the crime against the wind. , Committing crimes under the nose of the police. This shows that he is a real gambler. This kind of person is often reckless and does whatever he wants." Hotch looked at everyone seriously, emphasizing the seriousness of this case, although everyone understands, But as the director of BAU, there are some things that need to be reminded repeatedly.

"The higher authorities attach great importance to this case, and hope that we can find this guy as soon as possible, so as to prevent the tragedy from happening again. At the same time, we are required to act in a low-key manner to avoid causing panic among the residents." Hotch had already received a call from Strauss on the way to Quantico call, and strictly demanded that he solve the case as soon as possible.Although he didn't lie about these methods of playing politics, at least one thing they said was right. If this guy was not caught as soon as possible, there would definitely be more casualties.

"JJ, send the specific documents of the case to everyone for careful circulation. It is too late, and Rossi and I will go to the nearest crime scene tomorrow morning. Prentiss, can you and Man find some new ones at the previous few scenes? Stuff. As for JJ, see if you can get in touch with your media liaisons to make sure the coverage doesn't spread and cause panic among the public. As for Reid..."

Hotch just turned to the young Doctor, his hair has been a little long lately, and Reid had to push it back again and again: "Well, I'll stay behind. See if there's any new news, and research the victim by the way data to see if we can find any connection."

Nodding in satisfaction, Hotch looked around the crowd again, "It's been hard work. But we all know that arsonists have one thing in common. Once they start, they won't stop. So until the murderer is caught and brought to justice, we won't go home and rest."