Disclaimer: I don't own any part of the tv show Criminal Minds or any of its characters, but I did make this story up all by myself.
Note: This is the first fanfiction that I have ever written, so please, pretty please, read it and leave a review. Any constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. Well, enjoy my story!
Chapter 1
"Justice consists in doing no injury to men; decency in giving them no offense."
Marcus Tullius Cicero
FBI's BAU Headquarters
Quantico, Virginia
The sun hadn't even risen yet when Special Agent Jason Gideon stepped into the BAU headquarters. He immediately went to his office and started reading over past files and eventually caught up on his paperwork from the previous case.
About 30 minutes later, Special Agent Aaron Hotchner arrived at the complex, grabbed a cp of coffee from the break room, and sat down at his desk. Within the next hour, the rest of the team filtered into the BAU offices. Special Agents Jennifer Jareau and Dr. Spencer Reid arrived around the same time and went about their businesses. Special Agent Elle Greenway came in soon after Reid and J.J., and, finally, Special Agent Derek Morgan found his way into the office around 7:30 A.M. All in all, it seemed like a normal day at the BAU, if there was such a day for this elite group of profilers.
Soon after Morgan arrived, J.J. came around to the agents and placed a case file on each of their desks. Addressing the entire team, she said, "Break room in ten minutes. We have a new case that has to be dealt with as soon as possible."
Almost immediately, Morgan complained, "What? We just got back from a case yesterday! Can't we at least get a day between each case?"
"Hey, I'm not the one taking and killing hostages! If you got a gripe about our work schedule, talk to the unsub!" replied J.J in a pure sarcastic manner.
Break Room, BAU Headquarters
Quantico, Virginia
Once the entire team made their way into the Break Room, J.J. and Hotch immediately started the briefing. Hotch started out by saying, "We have two Caucasian males found dead. One was 26 year old Travis Mason, and the other 23 year old Scott Rogers."
"Each victim was found without their clothes, badly beaten, were apparently shot three times in their left legs, and their bodies were discovered at local playgrounds," said J.J.
"We also have another victim, 25 year old Brandon Vogel. He only has about 12 hours until his body is found, since the previous victims' bodies were found approximately 50 hours after their initial disappearance." J.J. then used a remote to show pictures of each victim on the Break Room television screen. All eyes immediately looked at Reid; his resemblance to the victims was uncanny. Each victim had short brown hair, pale skin, rich brown eyes, and were as thin as a rail. After a few moments, Reid looked up from his file, noticed that all eyes were on him, and turned a bright shade of red.
J.J., trying to draw attention from the apparently embarrassed Reid, added, "The victims were all captured in public areas on their way home from work. Since it was near dusk, we have no apparent witnesses to the abductions, but we do have short ransom videos, which were sent every four hours to whoever would get them first, such as a close co-worker or a family member."
Elle chimed in, "What makes this a BAU case? These abductions for ransom money sound pretty basic."
Hotch answered her with, "The unsub is not after money. According to the ransom videos, our unsub wants a 'HIM' in shackles delivered to a rocky formation in the desert. When only the police show without 'HIM' the unsub kills our victim, on tape, by a slash to the throat, and dumps the body soon afterward. As I have said, Brandon Vogel only has 12 hours, and the local authorities are stumped, so we are going…."
Hotch was cut off mid-sentence by Reid who said, "Home sweet home. All the victims were found about 50 miles from Las Vegas, so it looks like we're headed to Sin City."
Gideon then stated to the team, "Go home, pack, and be back here within a half an hour."
As if on cue, every member of the team arrived back at the BAU Headquarters exactly a half an hour later. They then quickly drove to the airport, boarded their awaiting private jet, and were in air by 8:30 A.M.
