Mike Hicks

Mike Hicks is a stalker that appears in season three of Criminal Minds.

Background
Mike had previously stalked an Atlanta woman named Keri. He is delusional, and believes that Keri is in love with him, possibly because of a casual smile she may have given him on the street. He is determined to win her love, and has been lifting weights to improve his appearance.

Season Three
Keri has moved to Maryland and is living a normal life with her new husband, Ryan. One day, she recieves a photograph of a man's bicep and a message that reads: "I'm Back". -- has found her again. Morgan and Reid set up shop to investigate.

Meanwhile, while spending time together, Keri and Ryan find their front gate and their dog missing. A Maryland police officer is outside and tells them to go back inside. The officer then finds the dog's collar in a neighbor's yard.

The Unsub is then shown with the dog in his apartment. He says, "You miss her, don't you? I miss her, too." Prentiss and JJ show up and speak to Keri and Ryan. They advise her to play along with the stalker, should he confront her. The agents do not believe that he has any intention of hurting her. Garcia does some researching and discovers that Keri had previously had an abortion. The baby was Ryan's. She had never told him. Ryan storms out and finds that the windshield to his car has been broken.

The next day, Keri sees Mike on the street and recognizes him as the man who she has seen on several occasions in town.

Later, Ryan returns home to meet with Keri. He sees his dog across the street, being walked by a stranger. He attacks the man, who explains that a man paid him $50 to walk the dog. Meanwhile, Mike has crept into the house and confronts Keri.

Mike now has Keri captive in his van. The walls of the vehicle are covered with pictures of Keri. She is playing along, trying to respond the way her wants. She mentions seeing him for the first time on the 21st, and he is relieved, happy to know that she noticed him, too. This is a delicate game, and the stalker is easily provoked.

"Thank you for taking me away," Keri nervously tells her captor. Hicks is overjoyed to hear her say that she is happy, and releases her from her bonds. He rubs her bruised wrists, leaning down to kiss them and hold them against his face. "They're softer than I remembered," he whispers, telling her that they touched when he sat down at her desk to work on her computer. "And I knew then that you felt it, too." Hicks leans closer and presses his lips against her, kissing her mouth, her neck, and Keri tries hard to respond correctly. She asks if they could leave the stuffy van and walk along the water and Hicks agrees. Holding her tightly, he leads her from the van and then reaches inside to take a pistol from behind the seat. They walk along the pier, Hicks holding her tightly, and the BAU and Maryland police erupt from their positions, guns drawn. When Hicks places the gun against Keri's head, Prentiss motions for the agents to put their guns away, claiming that she just wants to talk. She tells Hicks that Keri wants to be with him, and Keri repeats it, saying that she is very happy now. "They think you're going to hurt me, put it down so that we can be together." Keri reaches over and touches his hand, still talking, and Hicks slowly begins lowering the gun. Morgan has been waiting for this moment and leaps out from behind a fence and tackles Hicks. He handcuffs the man, and Morgan and Det. Berry hold Hicks' back as he shouts angrily at Keri.

Profile
Mike has low self-esteem, and is trying to make improvements to appear more like Ryan. In addition to lifting weights to improve his physique, he copied Ryan's hairstyle. He is desperately trying to gain Keri's attention and eliminate his competition.

Appearances

 * Season Three
 * The Crossing