  |
This article's content is marked as Mature The page contains mature content that may include coarse language, sexual references, and/or graphic violent images which may be disturbing to some. Mature pages are recommended for those who are 18 years of age and older. If you are 18 years or older or are comfortable with graphic material, you are free to view this page. Otherwise, you should close this page and view another page. |
Linda Barnes is a supporting antagonist in the Criminal Minds franchise. Barnes is the FBI Assistant Director of National Security and a thorn in the side of the agents of the International Response Team and the Behavioral Analysis Unit, with her agendas to dissolve the units at the first opportunity she can find.
She's portrayed by Kim Rhodes.
Biography[]
On Beyond Borders[]
Barnes is introduced when evaluating the IRT's performance in a failed operation to investigate the murders of Keri Lodel, Aron Sabri, and Edward Delgado in Kurjikstan, resulting in a shootout between the agents and the militia known as the Brotherhood of Faith and Agent Russell Montgomery hacking into a drone to protect them during the siege. What started the case was Delgado was suspected of the murders of Lodel and Sabri, and the IRT was sent to apprehend him. The Brotherhood of Faith was actually in collusion with Walter Atwood, the FBI's Deputy Director and a former friend of Agent Jack Garrett. Atwood colluded with child smugglers in Kurjikstan for political influence in Eastern Europe, having the militia kill and frame the victims as well as target the IRT to cover his own tracks. Barnes voiced in outrage her vehement intention to decommission the IRT and find all the evidence she needed to do so. Atwood acted allegedly as both the voice of reason in the inquiries and the ally to IRT. When Monty was at risk of facing imprisonment for his hacking of the military drone, Garrett and the team acted to expose Atwood fast. They succeeded from finding out his code name, "Bishop", was a reference to his enjoyment of the game of chess. Barnes, convinced of what she had to do, ordered Atwood's arrest, no matter what defenses he put up for himself. Though after the inquiries, she swore to Garrett she'd get the IRT some day.
On Criminal Minds[]
It would be revealed after Garrett went rogue to rescue his son Ryan from Oleg Antakov, Barnes did indeed decommission the IRT. Agent Matthew Simmons was reassigned to the BAU, and Barnes would survey their operations as well. She was to evaluate the efficacy of Agent Emily Prentiss' leadership as Unit Chief during their active cases. In that interim, she assigned Agent Jennifer Jareau as Acting Unit Chief while Prentiss was questioned. When Prentiss was called out for protecting Agent Spencer Reid when he drugged into killing a woman named Nadia Ramos, Prentiss in turn pulled apart Barnes' agenda by profiling her. Incensed, Barnes suspended Prentiss and oversaw the unit's operations directly. She rebuffed various cases that wouldn't get the bureau better attention, eventually settling on hunting Justin Franco for the massacre of his roommates. Barnes actively put the woman Franco obsessed over in danger, making a confrontation between them happen that culminated in Franco shooting the woman, albeit with her protected by a vest and living. As Franco was killed to stop him, Barnes intended to frame the BAU for the entire fallout, Jareau asserting the agents would get to her bosses first. Barnes won out in the end, and for months, she tore the unit apart by forcing Agent David Rossi's retirement, reassigning Prentiss, Reid, Agent Tara Lewis, and Agent Penelope Garcia to various other divisions, and becoming the new boss over Jareau, Simmons, and Agent Luke Alvez. What got the unit back together again was capturing Kevin Peck, a serial killer of call girls. The team realized Barnes was assigned the case of Tracey Ferguson, Peck's stepsister he obsessed over and the first woman he killed. Barnes ruled the death as accidental and buried the file. Barnes, obviously, disapproves of focus on the case and even fires Jareau for requesting access to the file. Not only did it embarrass her when they uncovered the truth, but they saved Jessica Mayhew, daughter of Senator Alfred Mayhew, from being killed by Peck when he was projecting Tracey onto Jessica. The senator expressed his gratitude by personally reinstating all the agents to their positions and authority over their case loads, ordering Barnes, when he found out what her role was in the case, to be in his office the next morning and take the warning that she wasn't above the BAU any longer.
