9:25 am
FBI Headquarters
First thing this morning Nikki went to the violent crimes against children section and was speaking with SAC Ferguson, “Did you receive a packet of kiddie porn and various contacts around the world from some random source yesterday?” Ferguson looked at Nikki with brows raised and said “Yes we did, but it wasn’t anonymous, it was sent from a guy calling himself Simon.” He didn’t add anything, clearly waiting for Nikki’s explanation. “I need to get that email address from you, it is linked to a case I am working” and she filled him in on the Simon case.
Back in her office, Nikki paced back and forth in front of her desk mentally writing the most important email she is going to write for this case and maybe her career thus far. If she can’t get a dialogue started with Simon it is going to be next to impossible to catch him. That is why she was given this assignment, her special talent is to understand what makes an unsub do what they do. Nikki looked at the white board in the corner of her office where she was starting to compile a profile for Simon. She had written Angry, Intelligent, Hacker, Random, Killer? She had been trying to lock down an age range and settled on 35-50 based on some of the phraseology he uses, courteous, manners, these are not things spoken of so much anymore. Nikki remembered her grandmother fondly at that thought, always telling Nikki that it is a show of respect to someone to be courteous and use proper manners. For hours she would school Nikki on proper manners at the dinner table and while in public, “A lady needs to know how to act in public sweetheart, it is the sign of a respect to those around her.” Not that those lessons stuck to Nikki like super glue, but she was comfortable in any social setting thanks to those lessons. Nikki brought her attention back to the whiteboard and wrote in her unique style Justice, Practical, Planning.
Nikki queued up a new email from her FBI account, no use beating around the bush, he is obviously going to know who she is if he doesn’t already. Closing her eyes one last time to steel herself against opening her soul up to another monster, she typed the following:
Subject: Thank you
“Hello Simon, my name is Special Agent Monique Sebastian of the FBI and I would like to speak with you about your mission. I have researched the “projects” as you call them and I am inclined to believe you are who you say you are. We received the package you sent us and we really appreciate it. As I type this, we are moving against targets across the globe in coordination with Interpol and local law enforcement. Which brings me back to you Simon. I am curious to get to know you better because you don’t fit into the normal profile for someone doing what you do. I look forward to getting to know you.
Nikki”
Nikki knew she is taking a huge risk putting herself out there like she did, giving Simon her nickname and the personal tone to the message, but it is the only thing she believed Simon would respond to. She was starting to get a feeling for his personality through his blog and his actions. Nikki blew out one last shaky breath and hit send.