Criminal Minds (TV Series)

Assistance Is Futile (2017)

Joe Mantegna: David Rossi

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Quotes 

• Emily Prentiss : This geographic profile covers the entire city. He's used all five boroughs to either abduct or dump his victims.

  David Rossi : He grew up in this apartment and it took a concerted effort for him to come back here and use it like this. So location is important to him.

  Dr. Tara Lewis : If he sticks to his pattern, she'll be in her twenties.

  Emily Prentiss : He blends in, he appears nonthreatening, and he's attractive; all traits that immediately lower most people's defenses.

  Luke Alvez : Because of his job, he's also physically strong.

  Stephen Walker : So not only does he have the tools manipulate his victims, he has the strength of overpower them, as well.

  David Rossi : We also think he uses MDMA as part of his ruse.

  Luke Alvez : As you know, MDMA is a popular drug; lowers inhibitions, makes for easier targets.

  Emily Prentiss : Daniel Allen White will strike again, probably sooner rather than later. We need to find him before he does.

• Jennifer Jareau : Hey. What are you hammering?

  David Rossi : Oh, uh, just hanging up my newest acquisition.

  Jennifer Jareau : A "W"?

  David Rossi : Well, that's not just any old "W". That, my young friend, is a symbol of victory.

  [seeing her skeptical look] 

  David Rossi : You're not a baseball fan, are you?

  Jennifer Jareau : Mostly hockey, and I do enjoy a football game.

  David Rossi : Well, at Wrigley Field, the home of the Chicago Cubs, they fly that flag after every win.

  Jennifer Jareau : Wait, you're not even from Chicago.

  David Rossi : No. But I lost a good buddy in Vietnam who was. And, uh, since they won the World Series, I thought I'd commemorate it for him since he didn't live long enough to see it himself.

  Jennifer Jareau : That's sweet.

  David Rossi : Hey, what's going on with you?

  Jennifer Jareau : I dunno. Seeing Spence locked up, it... wasn't easy. I guess I'm just a little down.

  David Rossi : Do you know how long it's been since the Cubs last won the Series?

  Jennifer Jareau : It's, like, a hundred years, right?

  David Rossi : 108, to be exact. Which means that generations lived and died without ever seeing a championship. Can you imagine what that does to your psyche?

  Jennifer Jareau : Hmm.

  David Rossi : But that city and all those fans... you know what kept them going? Hope. Until finally, one night, after over a century of despair, hope won. And that's how we're gonna keep going, until we get that kid the hell out of there.

  Jennifer Jareau : [quietly]  Hope.

  David Rossi : Keep it alive. Because I'm afraid, right now, that's all we've got.

• Jennifer Jareau : So, I was thinking, this... this guy's M.O. is pretty sophisticated for a killer who's just started out. Maybe our first victim isn't his first victim. So I had Garcia compile a list of all the females with bone break injuries in New York City in the last three years.

  Penelope Garcia : We ruled out women over thirty, girls under eighteen, came up with... 112 names.

  Stephen Walker : Did any of them have drugs in their system, specifically MDMA?

  Penelope Garcia : Oh, so good, new guy, who doesn't feel new because your deep, baritone voice comforts me. The answer is yes. But not all of them were drug tested, so we only have two that we know for sure had MDMA on board.

  Emily Prentiss : Who are they?

  Jennifer Jareau : Well, there is one in particular that caught my eye.

  Penelope Garcia : Nancy Santiago. She was twenty-two, she was from Long Island, and she died after she fell off a rooftop during a rave almost a year ago.

  Luke Alvez : There any foul play?

  Penelope Garcia : Inconclusive. There was a thunderstorm that night, so the crime scene was compromised.

  Jennifer Jareau : The police report says two guys saw what they thought was a male/female couple having sex in the alley behind the rave. When those two guys spotted them, he took off, left the female behind. When they got closer, they saw the girl was actually dead.

  Penelope Garcia : The... the coroner said she had several broken bones from the fall, most notably a compound fracture, super serious, to her femur.

  David Rossi : Well, if there was sexual assault, do we really think that was our guy?

  Emily Prentiss : I want to know more. Send us everything you have on Nancy Santiago.

• Emily Prentiss : What have you got, Garcia?

  Penelope Garcia : I've got the 411 on that rave that Nancy Santiago was at the night she died. I've sent it all to your tablets. You can follow along if you wish. It is a roving EDM party called Reclamation, and according to their website, their mission is to, quote, "Bring light and rhythm to places long forgotten."

  David Rossi : Which means?

  Penelope Garcia : Uh, sir, that's the millennial way of saying "We have illegal parties in abandoned places."

• David Rossi : All of these women were educated and gainfully employed. Totally low-risk lifestyles.

  Luke Alvez : Yeah, but they were all found at bars and nightclubs, and they each had alcohol and drugs in their system, so they weren't exactly shrinking violets, either.

  David Rossi : But drugs and the alcohol are probably part of his ruse. That means he has social skills. I bet he charms them in, like Bundy.

  Luke Alvez : I just keep wondering why a sadist would use a love drug that makes you feel empathy.

  David Rossi : Well, we don't know for sure that he uses it, too. He may want to maintain focus.

  Luke Alvez : Well, if he's holding them captive now, he needs space to do that. Not impossible, but that's not exactly the easiest thing to find in New York City.

• Luke Alvez : Okay, we got an ID on the victim. Name's Serena Adams, a twenty-five year old grad student at NYU.

  Emily Prentiss : Exactly his type.

  David Rossi : How long has she been missing?

  Luke Alvez : Since yesterday.

  David Rossi : He's moving fast.

  Stephen Walker : [entering]  Looks like he was living here after his mom kicked him out. He's even got food and water back there.

  Emily Prentiss : This guy is somewhere in the city, and we're gonna find him.

• Luke Alvez : That doesn't make any sense. How do you go from being awkward with no friends to socially skilled and manipulative?

  Dr. Tara Lewis : Don't know. The guy's got no online presence or social media. Maybe it's just some kind of self-help thing and the guy got some confidence.

  Luke Alvez : I don't know. He's twenty-three and up until a few weeks ago lived with his mom.

  Emily Prentiss : What if we were wrong and charm's not part of his game?

  David Rossi : I don't think so. All those victims were smart, attractive, and out in populated areas.

  Stephen Walker : I agree. He found a way to get close, and it has to have something to do with the drugs.

  Emily Prentiss : Hopefully the media coverage will make it impossible for him to charm anyone without them recognizing him first.

• Detective Baez : Twenty-six year old Lisa Jackson was abducted last night in Brooklyn. Apparently she was walking home from a bar with a friend when a man in an SUV pulled up, attacked them both with a hammer. Friend wakes up, Lisa's gone.

  Emily Prentiss : He only took one of them.

  David Rossi : He only needs one. Plus, two is a lot of work.

  Stephen Walker : Was the friend able to give a description of the attacker?

  Detective Baez : Yeah. Matches White. She said she saw him having drinks at the bar earlier.

  Luke Alvez : He's out drinking. He's either arrogant or he's just not paying attention to the news.

  Dr. Tara Lewis : Or he can't resist the urge to hunt.

• Luke Alvez : So that's how he went from socially awkward to socially skilled. The drugs.

  Dr. Tara Lewis : That makes sense. His inhibitions would be lowered and he'd be emboldened.

  Stephen Walker : But repeated use could mean addiction and a higher tolerance, so he would need increasing larger doses.

  David Rossi : His mother was trying to help him, but she may have unlocked the psychopath in him instead.

  Emily Prentiss : MDMA is supposed to enhance sexuality. If Nancy Santiago was his first victim and he was high when he killed her, that must have made quite an impression.

  Dr. Tara Lewis : And since it's never as good as the first time, he's probably been chasing that dragon ever since.

  Stephen Walker : He probably needs to be under the influence himself to complete the experience.

  Dr. Tara Lewis : Yeah, but if that was him in the alley with Nancy Santiago's body, then why no sexual assault with his most recent victims?

  Emily Prentiss : Because MDMA can cause impotence.

  Luke Alvez : Yeah. Maybe he can't sexually get off, and that only adds to his rage.

  David Rossi : That's why he's been so violent. Torture is an outlet for that.