JJ gripped the counter with both hands, bracing her body and she stared at the bruises. The one stretched across her jaw would be easy to hide, she thought, but the dark circle surrounding her eye was another story. Her swollen lip had dried blood caked to it, and blood still stained her nose.
She was a slender woman with long legs and a healthy tone to her muscles. Her blonde hair fell across her shoulders, always neatly tucked behind one ear.
The lightness of her hair typically complimented the fair tone of her skin, but as she looked herself over, she realized that together, they just highlighted the bruises. The purple and blue blotches jumped off her face like blood in the snow.
Sighing, she set to work at covering them with makeup. Before meeting Will, JJ never wore the stuff. She didn't see the point in wasting money to make herself look different than what she was. Plus, in her line of work, the time required to apply it was almost non-existent. She could be called in at any time of night, and when it happened she only had time to grab her bag and go.
Jennifer Jareau lived exactly thirteen miles outside of DC. It probably would have been smarter to find a place closer to work, but after two years of living in the city she had enough; she needed a little distance between the cases she investigated and the home she lived in.
The distance made the commute a little tiresome, though. There were nights she'd leave the office after an eighteen hour day, drive the half hour home, and finally fall in bed just to get a phone call that a new case had come in. So she'd pull herself from the comfort of her blankets, splash water on her face, and drive the half hour back to work.
But the lack of sleep and the relentless nightmares were worth it when they took another villain off the street. The look in peoples' eyes when they realized their world was a little safer made her sacrifices worth each ounce of sanity they lost.
JJ ran her fingers gingerly over her cheek, inspecting the cover-up job she'd done. It would do, she thought. Everything else could be hidden with clothes as long as she moved carefully and kept her emotions in check. Emily, best friend, could always tell when something was off; she would just have to do her best to keep herself guarded and busy. Will hadn't meant for this happen, and the flowers he'd left on the table that morning were proof that he was sorry.
She hoped it would be an easy and case-free day, dreading the idea of flying off to the middle of nowhere on such little sleep. Plus, when they worked a case, Emily and JJ always shared a room at night. It would be pretty much impossible to keep the bruises hidden from her best friend if they were sleeping side by side.
JJ knew she needed to do something, and she prayed this was truly the last time he would hit her. It didn't start off like this, and more time that passed, the harder it became to hide what was happening. She didn't want to admit that it was out of control. She was Agent Jennifer Jareau and she had never admitted defeat. She couldn't start now.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the violent buzz of her phone. Shaking her head to clear it, she swiped the "accept" button and put the phone to her ear. "Jareau." She stated evenly, eyes closed.
"Hotch wants us in the office within the hour. He said wheels go up in two." Emily Prentiss's voice sounded heavy, the exhaustion she felt in the pit of her stomach clear from her worn-out tone.
JJ ran a hand through her hair. "Damn it. Where to?"
"Oakland, Ohio. Six abductions within the last three weeks; they just found the sixth body." Emily sighed.
"Great." JJ said with a flat voice.
"Be safe coming in." Emily said with a sleepy tone. The phone beeped as the line clicked dead.
She took once last look in the mirror, smoothing her hair into place. She tried to guess if the bruises were still noticeable, but they always were to her since she knew they were there. JJ threw her make-up container into the bag and hoisted it over her shoulder. She thought about calling Will to let him know she was back on assignment, but instead she stopped in the kitchen and grabbed a sheet of paper. She scribbled a note and stuck it under a magnet on the fridge. After the fight they had, a night or two away probably wouldn't hurt. She would just have to worry about hiding from Emily later.
JJ drove a standard issued black Ford Explorer. It had tinted windows and police lights hidden in the dash. She couldn't lie, driving it made her feel like a badass. Before the FBI, she had always driven a little blue Prius. Having something that screamed cop definitely boosted her confidence. The built-in GPS wasn't bad either, considering she could get lost in her own apartment. She was always told that she had the direction skills of a goldfish.
She pulled up to the security gate and flashed her badge, a procedure hardly necessary since she and the guard were on a first name basis.
"Morning, Jeff." She said sleepily.
The guard smiled and chuckled, "You do realize its 3'oclock, right? Mornings been over for a while now."
JJ rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the update. Have a good morning, then." She emphasized that last part, sticking her tongue out like a child.
The guard hit a button and lifted the gate. "Be safe out there."
Emily was waiting by the main entrance, happy to accept the coffee being thrust in her hand. JJ couldn't help but watch as the cup lightly met her lips, butterflies fluttering in her stomach as Emily smiled. "Thanks." She took the bag out of JJ's hand, gracefully swinging it over her shoulder.
"You don't have to-"
Emily interjected, "JJ, you look like hell. Save your strength for listening to my brilliance once we hit the plane." She looked over her shoulder at the blushing blonde agent. "I've got this." She laughed.
Once again, JJ rolled her eyes. "Is everyone else here already?"
"Nope, I gave you a twenty minute head start. They should just be rolling into the parking lot right now."
"What, do you like live here or something?" JJ joked. "You're always the first one here and, come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen this new apartment you're always boasting about."
Emily ignored her friend's sarcasm, greeting Garcia as she walked up behind them. "Hey Garcia, I'm sorry but I've got to run. See you when we get back?"
"Sure thing." Garcia said to Emily's back as she walked away. "Geeze, what's with her this morning?" She asked JJ.
"I think she's had a little too much coffee." JJ laughed.
"Okay, well have fun and try to get some sleep tonight, would you?" Garcia asked, her eyes a pleading shade of blue. "You look like something death swallowed and then threw up."
JJ unleashed a glare towards her friend. "Thanks, I can feel the love just radiating from you."
Garcia blushed, "You know what I mean!"
JJ rolled her eyes for the third time that morning, "Whatever. I'll be safe." She promised with a smile.
Satisfied, Garcia sauntered off to the elevator, humming a star treck song under her breath.
Hotch was waiting as JJ entered the room. He stood at the far end of the rectangular table, Emily seated to his right. Morgan was across from Emily and next to Reid.
"Sorry I'm late." JJ took the seat next to the brunette, flinching as Emily patted her hand. She pretended not to catch the confused look in Emily's eye.
"Okay, well now that everyone is here we can begin. Emily?" Hotch looked towards Prentiss, waiting for her to take the lead. Typically, JJ would present the information on cases, but she'd been too wrapped up in paperwork lately.
With a final glance at JJ, Emily rose to her feet and began. "There have been a series of six abductions resulting in homicides over the last three weeks in Oakland, Ohio. It is believed to be one person committing these crimes, and the local police suspect that he or she is someone that the families know." She paused, grabbing the photos piled before her. She sat them side by side on the display board as she said, "He is sticking to brunette haired boys, age's five to seven. There have been no defensive wounds on the bodies thus far, so it's reasonable to assume the unsub is someone that appears to be non-threatening."
The table vibrated as Hotch's phone buzzed. He glanced down and interrupted Emily. "You can finish briefing us on the plane. We're set to go."
Everyone stood up, some stretching, and gathered their things. Emily had her bag as well as JJ's, so she motioned to her friend to grab the file on the table. JJ shuffled the photos back in order and added them to the pile, sticking the folder under arm.
Emily waited for the others to walk ahead, hanging back with JJ so they wouldn't be overheard. "What's up with you? Are you alright?" Her forehead was wrinkled with concern.
JJ forced a smile. "Yeah, everything's fine. We'd better get going."
Emily frowned as JJ walked ahead, her eyes glued to her back as she walked. She could see the slight limp that JJ was trying to hide. She knew JJ hadn't been hurt during the last case, and as far as she knew JJ had stopped jogging last week. She was walking fine yesterday, so Emily couldn't help but wonder what was wrong.
On the plane, JJ handed Emily the file, and Emily in turn hung the photos of the boys on the wall. She wrote each of their last names on the pictures, arranging them from first victim to last.
"The first boy, Jimmy Taylor, disappeared from his little league game. He asked his coach if he could use the restroom during a time-out, and he never came back. The second boy, Andrew Brass, was at the grocery store with his mother. She told him to stay with the cart as she walked down an aisle, and when she came back he was gone. The third victim was Henry Connor. This was the victim that least matched this guy's MO. The others were taken from visible, public areas; Henry was in an exam room at his pediatrician's. The father stepped out to make a phone call, and when he returned Henry had vanished. The fourth was Jason Mathews; he was abducted in a park. He was playing on the jungle gym while his nanny was reading, and she looked up to find he was gone. The fifth was Lucas Edwards. He was taken from his daycare's play yard. The center had a fenced enclosure surrounding it, but deputies found a section where the chain link had been compromised. Apparently some of the kids knew about the hole, and police are guessing that its where the unsub took the boy from. The last victim was Alex Grey; he was playing in his front yard when the mother noticed he was missing." Emily paused to hang more photos.
"These are where each body was found. Each dump site was someplace that had heavy traffic. This guy wanted these bodies to be found. Abduction dates coincide with the dates that bodies are found. He waits for someone to find the victim before taking a new one. From local police's estimation, he holds and tortures each boy for three to four days. There are no signs of sexual abuse."
Morgan asked, "Do they have a list of suspects or are we starting from scratch?"
Emily shook her head. "They had a small list, but each person had an alibi that checked out. They've got nothing substantial so far."
Reid added, "Well, obviously he's not drawing attention to himself when he abducts the children. There isn't a sign of a struggle, and no witnesses reported an outburst or noticed anything abnormal. So he fits it; he molds to the environment like a chameleon."
Emily nodded approvingly. "Exactly. Whoever it is, the unsub looks like he belongs there. But I'm more curious about the third victim, Henry. How did this guy get in the office and take the boy without being seen? All the employees checked out; as far as they can tell, the unsub doesn't work there."
There was a moment of silence before JJ asked, "What's the security like there?"
Emily flipped through her notes. "It seems to be just a standard electronic system. There isn't a guard or anything in the building."
"Who's the provider?" JJ's forehead wrinkled.
"Uh…", Emily kept flipping through her notes. "Prudence Security? Yeah, Prudence. Why?"
"Well the police report says that the unsub managed to avoid every camera at the grocery store. The report also mentions that the baseball field, the park, and the day care all had cameras too. It's kind of a big coincidence that the unsub missed every single camera." JJ's voice trailed off.
Hotch jumped into the conversation, "Emily, do you know what type of system each location had?"
Emily shook her head. "No, it doesn't say."
Hotch nodded. "Alright, then that's where we start. JJ, when we land I want you to find out what kind of security system each of these places had. If it's the same company, get me a warrant for a list of employees." He took the file from Emily and looked at JJ. "Good work Jareau. Now all of you get some shut eye. We've got about an hour and a half before we land."
They all spread out, each of them claiming a seat. Emily sat next to JJ, putting an arm around her friend. "I think Hotch was talking directly to you, Jen." She laughed.
JJ did her best to smile. "I'm sorry I was so jumpy earlier. I guess I just didn't sleep well last night, and my nerves are a little on edge."
"Hey, it's no problem." Emily gave JJ a reassuring look. "Go on, try to get a little sleep before we land. We have a long night ahead of us."
JJ sighed, grumbling, "Oh don't say that." Emily offered her a blanket and she pulled it to her chin. She tilted her head back into the seat, using the foot rest to help recline herself. She drifted off to a restless sleep.