Unlikely Unsub

Chapter 1

The Behavioral Analysis Unit was in Detroit. A serial bomber had blown up a gas station killing two and wounding six, a bus stop killing four, and a the front of a bar killing three and wounding eleven. The only evidence the police could find was the bomb fragments, so they knew it was the same bomber, but with no witnesses and no leads, they asked for the FBI's help. Hotch sent Morgan to look over the bomb fragments, Reid and Blake to start on victimology, and JJ to get a handle on the press. He and Rossi went to look over the crime scenes.

Hotch and Rossi looked over the crippled remains of the bar first. As Hotch looked around the blood soaked rubble, he got the feeling that the case wasn't going to end well.

"Well, he definitely doesn't have any regard for human life," Rossi said as he examined the scene.

"A true psychopath," Hotch agreed.

"He would have to have come into the bar to place the bomb; one of the victims saw him."

"Yes. I'll have JJ set the interviews for tomorrow." Hotch walked over and looked over the damaged bar. Several of the stools were scattered. "Without him claiming these bombs, we can assume these are not cause motivated."

Rossi walked over to join him and grimaced at all of the broken liquor bottles. Now that's alcohol abuse. "So he's personally motivated. What does that tell us?"

"That all of these sites mean something; they are not random."

Rossi nodded. "And now all we have to do is figure out how they are connected."

XXX

Once Hotch and Rossi checked out the other scenes, they headed to the police station to meet up with the rest of the team. Morgan had already pieced together one of the bombs. "I don't think he has a background in explosives. These are really pretty rudimentary with a simple cell phone as the trigger. Garcia's running down what she can on the phones, but I believe their burn phones."

"Well, that will make finding him harder. Why does the internet have to make homemade bombs so easy to make? Don't those sights not know how hard our jobs are already?" Blake asked no one in particular.

JJ walked in with a frown on her face. Hotch looked at her questioningly. "The press has already named him. The story ran before we got here."

"And what name did they give him?" Reid asked her.

"Motown Madman."

Hotch rolled his eyes. "Let focus on getting the profile together."

XXX

Hotch and the team were standing in the main room of the station ready to give the profile to all available officers.

"Our unsub is a white male between the ages of 25 and 40," JJ started.

"And he is a personal cause bomber," Rossi started.

"Personal cause?" one of the younger officers asked.

"He's doing this for his own reasons. He's is not connected to any cause or organization," Reid explained.

"He is very smart, meticulous, highly organized, and probably lives alone," Hotch jumped in.

"He is angry, distant, and prone to sudden outbursts," Morgan told them.

"People around him would believe that he is a killer; they would not be shocked," Blake injected.

"He does not have a job, and has probably been recently laid off or fired," Rossi continued.

"And with the type of bombs he is making, he does not have an explosive background," Morgan finished. "And since they are set off with a cell phone, he doesn't have to be close to set them off."

"What is his motivation?" A detective asked.

"As of right now, that is still a mystery," Hotch admitted.

"Well, alright. Everyone get moving and be very aware of your surroundings," the detective told the officers.

XXX

After interviewing the victims, they had a composite of their unsub, but within an hour of getting it, a bomb exploded at an athletic field at one of the local high schools. The team rushed to the scene along with the detective.

Thankfully only one person was hurt, but several sections of bleachers were destroyed. The wounded coach was already taken to the hospital, so Hotch sent JJ and Blake to interview him. After the CSU processed the scene they knew that the bombs had been hidden in something that had stuffing.

"So he's hiding the bombs in something, putting them where he wants them, and waits until he wants to set them off," Morgan said, the frustration clear in his voice.

Hotch and Rossi were examining the stuffing and bomb fragments. Hotch picked up a piece of shredded material with a gloved hand to get a closer look at it. "Does this look like fur?" He asked his team.

Rossi took it inspected it closer. "You thinking stuffed animal?"

"Possibly," Hotch told him as Morgan took the material.

"That's just sick," Morgan said.

"It does give us something to go back to the survivors with," Reid mused.

XXX

It took two more days and another explosion, but they finally had a name to go with the face. Garcia started compiling everything she could on the man. "Mark Thompson worked for GM for seventeen years before he was laid off two weeks ago," she started from Morgan's phone that was lying on the table on speaker..

"That's our stressor," JJ pointed out.

"He owns a house on the east side of Detriot, plus he has two different storage units, one car in his name, never married," Garcia continued. "And before you ask, all of that has been sent to your tablets and phones."

"We'll need to split up to cover them all. Morgan, you and Blake take the house with SWAT. JJ, you and Reid take the storage unit on the west side. Rossi and I will take the storage unit on the east. Be careful and stay in touch," Hotch told them. They all got on their vests and headed to their appointed targets.

XXX

Morgan let SWAT take down the door and he and Blake filed into the house behind four officers. The house was quickly cleared, but an officer yelled that Thompson was in his garage. Morgan quickly ran out there and they found the man standing next to a work bench full of bomb making materials. "Freeze Thompson! Federal agents!" Morgan yelled as he leveled his pistol at het man's back.

XXX

Hotch, Rossi, and four officers approached a sea container that Thompson had rented. It was at the edge of the lot, there was only one other container by it. One of the officers used bolt cutters to remove the lock. He pulled the heavy door open and allowed Hotch and Rossi to enter it first. It was full of boxes and other household items. With a sigh, Hotch opened one of the first boxes. It was full of Thompson's personal items.

"I don't think this is anything except an actual storage unit," Rossi said as he looked in a box that turned out to be full of books.

"Yeah, you're probably right. Hopefully the others have better luck," Hotch told him and went to the next box.

XXX

"I think you all should step back," Thompson told them without even turning around and looking at them.

Morgan shot a look to Blake. "Let me see your hands!" Morgan demanded.

The man slowly raised his hands; his right one held a cell phone.

"Put the phone down slowly!" Blake yelled.

"Oh, I don't think that would be a good idea. When I press the send button. You all will have fifteen seconds before this whole garage blows itself to hell," the man told him calmly.

XXX

JJ, Reid, and four officers were approaching Thompson's storage unit. It was the one on the right all the way down at the end of the hall.

XXX

Hotch's breath hitched in his chest as he realized he was looking at a box full of stuffed bears the same color as the material found at the last explosion.

Rossi turned when he heard Hotch's reaction.

XXX

"Don't do it, man!" Morgan yelled.

The man's thumb pressed the button. "Too late."

Morgan grabbed Blake's shoulder and ran. All of the SWAT officers took off running, too. The force of the blast knocked them off their feet.

XXX

Before JJ and her group could even get half way there the storage unit was ripped apart. The concussion knocked them to the ground.

XXX

Suddenly Hotch heard a vibration that could only belong to a phone. He jumped, forced Rossi in front of him, and forcibly pushed him out of the container in front of him. He kept pushing until he the force of the blast knocked Hotch into Rossi and they both fell to the ground.