Pulled this down to edit and do a little re-writing. Will get chapters out asap. Please review and thanks for reading! Still JJ/Reid with a bit of Morgan/Garcia. Chapters will be edited in order and after all have been done the other version of this will be deleted.
Paul ground his teeth as he glanced in the review mirror, worry gnawing at his stomach. The thick grey clouds continued to roll in behind him, gathering in a rise. The storm had been following him for nearly thirty minutes and he knew from the looks of thing it was going to be a nasty one. The wind was already howling, creating a suction like pull on the road that ran between the two mountains. He tightening his grip on the steering wheel, using his free hand to pull out his cell phone.
"Come on," Paul muttered, punching in his girlfriends number and waited for the dial tone that wouldn't come. "Damnit!" He cursed, tossing it back onto the seat and frowning. The light was going quickly and the mountains now cast deep shadows over the road. The woods that surrounded the area were alive with movement as the wind stirred the branches, causing them to creak and groan in protest.
He took his eyes off the road for just a moment to look in the review mirror once again and that was all it took; he felt the truck jerk as he rolled over something. The truck seemed to tilt as his front right tire began to deflate, the rim grinding on the road.
"Seriously?" Paul frowned as he pulled the truck to a stop, casting a glance at the approaching storm. He would have to move fast. He grabbed his phone before jumping out of the truck, jogging down the road. Paul began searching for the source of the flat tire and frowned as he came across a tack strip. "What in the hell?"
Lightning cracked across the sky and he jumped, jogging back to the bed of the truck and letting the tailgate down. He slid the spare tire out and his tools, carrying them around to the front. Frowning, he crouched next to the shredded tire, his thoughts still on the tack strip. He knew police used them to stop high speed chases, so what was one doing out here?
Paul's thoughts were interrupted as thunder rolled and the sky opened up. Rain began to fall in heavy sheets, instantly soaking him to the skin. He cursed some more before digging through his tool box, looking for the wrench. Just as he found it he heard a car and he stood up, peering through the rain as the headlights grew closer.
"Hey, I need help!" He yelled and waved as the car rolled to a stop behind him. "Over here!" He called as the door slam, turning his attention back to the tire bolts. He glanced back but the rain made it impossible to see the approaching figure. Paul struggled with the slick tire, finally tugging it loose and letting it fall to the ground. Just as he reached for the spare tire he felt something cold against the back of his neck. There was a click, then everything went black.
. . . . . . . . .
JJ sighed as she replaced the coffee pot onto it's holder, wiping her hands on the nearby towel. A storm had blown through early in the morning, right in the middle of her jog. By time she had gotten home she was soaked and ready to take a hot shower and crawl into bed. But instead she had to get ready and force herself to come to work. So far the day was off to a fantastic start.
She grabbed both cups of coffee before crossing the bullpen, heading for Spencer's desk. He was bent over a book, quickly thumbing through the pages. It still amazed her how fast he could real, how much information he was able to process. She smiled as she perched herself on the edge of his desk, sitting one of the coffees down next to him. "Hey there."
"Hey," Spencer looked up with a smile, closing the book. "Thanks," He took a long sip of the coffee, sighing contently. When he looked up JJ was studying him, her head tilited to the side. "Yes?" He raised an eyebrow.
"I think I am still in shock about the hair cut," she reached over to playfully ruffle his cropped locks.
"I am too, In a way. I like it though," he shrugged.
"I do too. Makes you look older."
"Thanks, I think," he chuckled. "How is my little buddy?" Spencer asked as he pulled out a file, thumbing through it,making sure his reports were done.
"Henry is doing alright. Spending the weekend with Will," she sighed. "I had to send him...I have full custody now, but what kind of mother would I be if I kept him from his father? Just because I hate him doesn't mean Henry has to."
"You are a good mom-no one would blame you if you kept Henry away from him."
"He cheated on me, not Henry. He needs his father around and I know Will loves him."
"Good point. I know I wished my father way around more often. You are doing the right thing."
"Thanks," JJ shot him a grateful look before laughing. Her gaze was drawn to Morgan as he entered the bullpen. He was soaked, his clothes clinging to him as water dripped off his face. "You know, you generally towel off after taking a shower."
"Shut up," He grumbled, peeling his jacket off and letting it fall onto the floor with a wet smack. "My dumb truck wouldn't unlock this morning so I stood in the rain for twenty minutes fighting with the lock. Then the windows rolled down and wouldn't roll back up. So I got to drive to work with rain blowing in through the windows. On top of that someone was in my spot this morning.
"Aw, you poor baby," JJ laughed. "I was out running when the rain hit, so I jogged home in it. You'll live."
"Not if I catch hypothermia."
"The chances of you catching hypothermia in this weather is-"
"Not yet kid," Morgan cut Spencer off. "I haven't even had my coffee."
"Fair enough," Spencer shrugged as Garcia stepped off the elevator. Her hair was plastered to her hair and her makeup was running- she looked miserably.
"I was running late and had to park on the top level. The furthest from the elevator." She ranted, flopping into a chair with a wet squishy sound. "It's pouring cats and dogs."
"Ever think to use an umbrella?" Emily commented as she entered the bullpen, tucking her Umbrella between her desk and the wall. She was wearing jeans a black button down, grinning as she looked at her two wet colleagues. Casual Friday seemed to have turned into Wet Friday.
"I parked right beside the elevator," Morgan protested. "I am wet because my truck is a piece of Garbage. Thank God I didn't have to park on the top level. There was only one spot left where we usually park- Had to cut some poor guy off to get it."
"It was you," Garcia hissed, turning in the chair to glare at him. "Why you dirty little-"
"Woah woah woah, wait a second," Morgan held up his hands like he was stopping traffic. "What did I do?"
"You took my spot! I was about to pull in when you whipped around the corner and took it!"
"Uh oh," JJ hid a grin, winking at Spencer before standing up to head to her office.
"Now you did it," Spencer smirked as Garcia got up, stalking towards his friend. "Might want to run."
"This morning just got a little more entertaining," Emily laughed, watching from her desk.
"It wasn't my fault!" He protested as she stalked towards him, backing up. "I had no idea it was you."
"You inconsiderate butt hole!"
"Garcia, Baby girl, come on now."
"Don't you dare baby girl me Derek Morgan."
"Aw, come on!"
"I am going to kill you!"
"Garcia, we are in a federal building," Emily tried not to laugh.
"I'm sure Morgan deserves whatever punishment you see fit, but it will have to wait," Hotch ordered as he strode through the bullpen. "We have a case that was personally placed on my desk and it is a bad one. Conference room, now."
.
.
"Union Town, Washington. Population of…" JJ began, letting the statement hang for Spencer.
"Three hundred twenty six. Located in south east Washington. Lots of mountains and forest in the area. Lot of land."
"What he said," JJ smiled. "Paul McDonnel went missing yesterday afternoon during a down pour. The storm was awful. His girlfriend was supposed to meet him for dinner and she called the police when he didn't show up. They didn't really pay attention because he had only been 'missing' for two hours."
"So why are we taking the case? What if he forgot or just decided to ditch?" Morgan leaned back in his chair.
"They found his truck on one of the roads leading towards town. It was pulled over onto the side and a shredded tire was beside the truck. The spare and the toolbox were there as well, But Paul was nowhere in sight."
"So are we working a missing person?" Emily raised an eyebrow.
"No, he has been found...for the most part," Hotch commented.
"For the most part?" Garcia squeaked.
"What do you mean?" Spencer leaned forward, frowning.
"His arms were dropped off in a gun case in front of the police stations. His hands were placed in the girlfriends mailbox and his head was left on the steps of the local highschool. Police are searching the surrounding areas for any trace of other remains," Hotch clarified.
"Oh my god. If you need me, I will be in my cave. Where the technology does not spout nasty, creepy things." Garcia lunged for the door.
"The local police are requesting us there immediately," JJ continued. "Whoever is responsible is dangerous and obviously a threat to the community, even if he isn't a serial killer. They want this guy off the streets."
"Wheels up in thirty and be prepared for a rough flight- the weather is pretty nasty."
"What about Rossi?" Morgan frowned.
"He is on his way to the airport, he was having car trouble."
"He isn't the only one," Morgan grumbled.
"Let's get moving."
. . . . . . . .
"You ok old timer?" Morgan teased Rossi with a smile. Rossi's hands were clamped onto the arm rest of the plane and he closed his eyes as the plane lurched again, thunder rolling somewhere in the distance.
"Fine, Derek. Perfectly fine," he said through gritted teeth.
"JJ," Spencer said softly as he laid a hand on her arm. "Breath."
"I'm trying," JJ frowned, forcing herself out of her curled up position.. Her stomach hadn't agreed with the jerky plane at all and her head was pounding.
"Sorry," he awkwardly put an arm around her shoulders. "Are you going to be alright?"
"I'll be fine," She sighed, leaning against her best friends side and closing her eyes.
"It's not that bad," Hotch commented as he went over the case report, looking as calm and collected as ever.
"Show off," Emily grumbled, looking out the window at the rolling clouds and trying to ignore the nauseous feeling in her stomach.
Hotch just smiled slightly but didn't look up from the file. Something about this case already had him worried and he had a feeling things weren't going to go over very smoothly. He tended to trust his gut and his gut was telling him something was up.
"Hello lovelies," Garcia's face appeared on the laptop.
"Hey baby girl," Morgan smiled.
"Still not talking to you," She glared. "Jayje?" She asked as she caught sight of her pale friend.
"I'm fine," She smiled weakly.
"Yeah, you look like it. Anyway, I ran a background check on Paul McDonnel and his girlfriend. They are squeaky clean. Paul graduated three years ago from the local high school and was taking college classes online. His girlfriend, Anne, was two years older and has a degree in communications. Neither one of them had a criminal record. Paul was a saint in high school, star of the football team. Anne was on the top ten list for her graduating class. They met at the freshman homecoming game and were inseparable since then."
"Dig deeper, see if there are any ties between them and the highschool or police station. Those were targeted areas."
"Will do boss man. Garcia out. I would advise you all look away now and close your ears." The screen went black and they looked at each other in confusion.
Morgan's phone began to ring and he opened it with a frown. "Baby girl?"
"AAAHHHH" Came a loud, continuous screeching, even when he hit end call.
"Oh come on," he groaned, banging the phone on the arm of the chair. He tried to pry the battery out but realized the back had been glued stuck in under his thigh, muffling the sound. JJ smirked while Spencer chuckled.
"You messed with the wrong red head," Rossi commented, hiding a grin as he picked up a file.
"Garcia, I know you are watching," Morgan glared at the dark monitor."
"You will have hell to pay," was her only reply.
