Blake's husband called Hotch; he needed to see him right away. Hotch knew that Blake had gone on vacation with him to South America for two weeks, and he was wondering if something had happened, so told him he would meet him for lunch at the closest restaurant to the BAU.
Hotch was surprised to see James there alone, but the man didn't look upset, so Hotch sat down and gave him a questioning look.
"Thank for meeting me, Agent Hotchner."
"Not a problem. Is something wrong?"
James sighed deeply. "Alex. . . Alex is gone."
Hotch's brow furrowed. "What do you mean, gone?"
"There was an incident while we were traveling in the Amazon."
"What kind of incident?"
"The tour group was attacked by a group of cannibals. Blake and a few of the others were captured." He stopped to take a deep breath. Hotch was using skills he had learned through years of being on the job to keep his face passive. "When we tracked the tribe down, there was only one survivor, and it wasn't Blake."
"Are you telling me she's dead?" Hotch asked him in feigned shock.
"Yeah. They ate her. The only part we found of her was her lips. They apparently didn't want to eat those."
Hotch blinked a few times.
"But they didn't escape justice."
"What do you mean?"
"Apparently she gave them food poisoning. They were suffering by the time we got there, but we didn't have the supplies to treat them properly."
Hotch knew the man was a doctor. Hotch swallowed hard. "Are you telling me these cannibals died?"
"Yes. It was all very tragic."
Hotch had to stop himself from laughing. "Would you like me to take care of telling the Bureau?"
"Yes. I would really appreciate that. I've got to get everything packed up. I can't stay here any longer."
Hotch knew that the man had been living part time in Boston since he appointment at Harvard. "I'll have them send the proper paperwork to your address in Boston. Is there going to be a memorial or anything?"
James licked his lips. "No. You all are the only ones she knew around here, so it would be a waste. You will tell the rest of the team?" He asked as he stood up.
Hotch also stood up. "Of course."
James stuck out his hand and Hotch shook it. "Alex really did speak highly of you. She said you were the best agent she ever had the pleasure of working with."
"I appreciate that," Hotch told him. "Good luck in Boston."
"Thank you," James told him and then left.
Hotch shook his head slowly and walked up to the counter to order a cup of coffee to go. Once he got it, he walked back to the BAU. Damn it. Now I have to look through applications again! I wonder if Prentiss still likes Interpol.
Hotch gathered the team in the conference room. He wasn't extremely worried about telling them because he knew none of them were overly attached to Blake, but he was worried a little about Reid. Reid seemed to genuinely like the woman, even though Hotch couldn't understand why.
He told them what happened and everyone, including Reid all glanced at each other. Rossi broke out laughing first. Hotch was about to reprimand him for not controlling himself in front of everyone else, but Rossi's laughter had a domino effect and eventually the whole table was laughing hysterically.
Reid wiped tears from his eyes. "They didn't eat her lips? I don't blame them!"
"She wasn't even that good!" JJ told them through tears of her own.
"Oh come on, you know she had a gift for stating the obvious!" Morgan told them.
"Yeah, because we couldn't figure those things out on our own!" Rossi added.
"Did anyone else hate her voice? I cringed every time she called me!" Garcia admitted.
They all looked at Hotch. He was the only one not laughing and not making fun. Hotch was trying to be the respectful Unit Chief that everyone knew he was, but once all of their eyes were on him, he couldn't help it. He let out his childlike two part guffaw. "I'm just glad I never have to look at her face again."
Garcia got serious for a second. "They won't put up a picture of her in the bullpen, will they?"
Rossi shook his head. "No. She didn't die in the line of duty."
They all looked at each other again, and they all busted out laughing again.
Suddenly the door opened and Strauss walked in. They all tried to straighten up and hide the fact that they had been laughing. "Did I hear right? Agent Blake is dead?" She asked them in a serious tone.
Hotch swallowed hard. "Yes Ma'am." But as soon as he said it, he laughed through his nose in a snorting kind of way and everyone lost it again. Even Strauss lost it. She was still laughing as she shook her head and left the room.