Summary: After Aaron Hotchner leaves the FBI BAU, he moves to New York in an attempt to lead a normal life; that was until NY BAU Captain Isabella Gambino contacted him, offering him a position in New York's newest task force. The New York City Behavioral Analysis Unit. It took much time, but Hotchner agreed. Learn how he copes with a new team and a new leader who has secrets of her own. Rated M for graphic details of cases and cuss words.
Disclaimer: I do not own the character of Aaron Hotchner; credit goes to the creators of the show Criminal Minds. I do, however, own the original character concocted for this fanfiction.
Chapter 1
"Aaron Hotchner." New York City's finest had had enough of the constant crimes being committed against the tourists, as well as the long-time residents. It took years in the making but the mayor finally rounded up enough funds to create the state's own Behavioral Analyst Unit (BAU). Hearing the departure of one of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) BAU members, Isabella Gambino took advantage of the opportunity and contacted Aaron Hotchner herself. One of the disadvantages of working with the FBI's branch is the constant hours working outside of the state, sometimes outside of the country. It is this kind of life that broke apart families and lured those without any strong emotional ties.
Aaron Hotchner lost his wife due to the lifestyle.
Moving him from Special Agent Aaron Hotchner to BAU Detective was a chance she had to take. No traveling and being home every night meant the man would be home in time to tuck in his son.
It took a few months of convincing but Hotchner decided to take the job after the realization that he would not be comfortable with being a stay-at-home dad. Despite the reward of being present for his son's activities and events, Hotchner was simply not built for that kind of life.
"It's a pleasure to have you on our team." Happily the head of the NY BAU shook the hand of the former FBI agent. "I'm a big fan; I've read every case your former team has worked on. You did incredible work."
"Thank you," the man mumbled with a nod. "It's a pleasure to be here." The duo stood outside of the new BAU precinct created specifically for the team and everything involved. The purpose was if any of the many NY precinct districts in the state had opened cases for the BAU, they could contact the Headquarters if necessary. "It's impressive," Aaron spoke, looking up to the building.
"Finished last year," Isabella responded. "We were held up in what I can only compare it to as an abandoned high school gymnasium." A small snort sounded from her throat. She stood next to him, analyzing his attire. Like undercover cops, Isabella and her team wore business casual attire; Hotch wore a business suit. 'Makes sense,' she thought, already knowing how professional, stern and by-the-books Aaron was. "Ready to meet your new team?" Isabella asked, clapping her hands together. Beckoning for him to follow, Hotch did just that; holding open the door for her.
Walking into the front lobby, it looked as if it belonged in an executive company building; it was large and open with waiting lounge chairs littering the walls. "Like other police precincts, we get walk ins. Probably not the best idea since a lot of lunatics do come in but we've gotten and solved three cases from some of the witness accounts." The 'gate keeper' nodded toward Gambino as she flashed her badge. "You'll receive all your credentials when you get to your desk and your gun is waiting for you in my office."
"When you're brought in to an investigation, do you take it over or do you work with that precinct?" Aaron questioned; his eyes forward.
"Good question," the woman praised. "We take it over," she answered, put an emphasis on Aaron's involvement. "Most of us were previously detectives or somehow in the same field; we know what we're doing."
"Is the case rate high?"
"What do you mean?" she inquired as they entered the elevator.
"Most detectives are territorial of their cases; their cities. Do you get called in on a lot of cases?"
"We all have the mentality that these crimes affect us all – not just each individual district. It took a while for them to drop their egos, but we've pretty much come to an understanding." Aaron nodded as the elevator doors opened revealing a glass door as a barrier blocking the commotion on the other side. Like the FBI BAU headquarters, there was a bullpen of detectives working on their cases and police officers escorting New York citizens to and from their destinations. "There are two New York BAU teams; one for the lesser offensive crimes and mine; who investigate the more serious crimes this city sees all the way from murder, rape and big white collar crime." Once the glass door was opened, Aaron was met with the sounds of commotion from all around.
"This looks just like the BAU's home office," the man noticed, his eyes scanning and taking in every detail. Isabella nodded.
"We kind of hijacked the look," she confessed with a small smile. "However, my office is a little bigger than what yours was as I have more to oversee."
"I'm assuming you're not married or have kids?" Aaron asked, following closely behind her as they made their way to the Captain's office.
"No and no," Isabella answered, a hint of sorrow in her voice as she stepped aside, allowing Hotch to enter her office, closing the door behind him. "I do, however, have a big family so that makes up for it." Isabella sat at her desk, pushing Aaron's police issued firearm his way. "Here are the standard forms you need to sign for the gun and your credentials; I assume you filled out all the boring paperwork previous to this." Passing all the forms he needed to initial and sign, Isabella watched him closely as he did such.
"Is there a case your team is currently working on?" Aaron asked as his hand scribbled away. Isabella grabbed onto her rainbow colored slinky and nodded.
"We have one that the team is actually going to be reviewing the case in about…" Isabella checked her watch. "Ten minutes; just enough time for me to introduce you to the team and for them to grovel at your feet before we begin." Aaron raised a puzzled brow just as he finished signing all forms. The Captain smirked up at him before getting to her feet, beckoning for Aaron to follow her. Quickly he gathered himself and followed closely behind Isabella as they walked to their destination; all eyes on Aaron Hotchner from those in the bullpen. He had to admit, all eyes on him left Aaron highly uncomfortable but he understood why.
Walking into their briefing room, Isabella's team huddled around the table, their files closed as they waited for their leader. Behind Isabella came Hotchner; all eyes were on him as soon as he walked in. "Team, this is former SSA Aaron Hotchner," Isabella introduced; Aaron offering a small smile and nod to his new team members.
There were five other team members whose attentions were pulled away from their case files. Aaron took quick glances of each, trying desperately to find resemblance of his last team in this new one. Out of the five, three of them were women; two of them women of color. One appeared to have been of African-American descent who wore her hair buzz cut short. She carried herself high with her chest up and shoulders back; Aaron guessed ex-military. The other appeared to have been of Hispanic descent with her caramel-toned skin and her curly hair worn loose. She wore a golden necklace with a name written in cursive on it; Angel. Hotch made a mental note to inquire about the necklace when the time arrived. The other woman was Caucasian and obviously older than the others with straight blonde hair and blue eyes.
As for the men; there were two on the team who instantly reminded him of Derek Morgan and Spencer Reid – his previous team members. Only these two gentlemen were reversed. While Derek Morgan was more muscular and built than Spencer Reid, the African-American man was more lanky with thick-rimmed glasses while the Caucasian man was more built with an arm tattoo; a Marine.
"Aaron, let me introduce to you to Candice Buvoltz, Michonne Wiggins, Elena Rodriguez, Jackson Brown and Jason Keesey." Each team member nodded toward Aaron Hotchner, Jackson, the African-American male, giving a small wave.
"It's a pleasure," Hotch mumbled with a nod.
"How did you like working for the FBI?" Jackson asked, taking a slight step forward. Jason, with his arms folded across his bulky chest, stared at Jackson in annoyance, shaking his head.
"It was an experience," Aaron answered sternly.
"I bet. I've read most of your team's work; you guys are an inspiration," Jackson spoke admirably. "How did you feel when you lost your wife to the Foyet." All eyes glared at Jackson as Elena, the Hispanic woman, smacked her lips.
"On that note," Isabella interrupted, giving Hotchner an apologetic stare. "Are we all ready to prepare?" With audible groans from the team, they all sat at the round table, Isabella standing at the large television screen which held photographs of the recent murder found in New York City. Hotch took the open seat and immediately flipped through the manila folder. "Janelle Rambler," Isabella started. "Found last night next to a dumpster in the alley of Parkway and Twenty-Third with three stab wounds to her torso."
"Prostitute?" Candice asked, the Caucasian woman.
"No," Isabelle answered quickly. Pressing a button on the remote, the slide switched to a smiling picture of the victim from the Wall Street Journal. "She was a new up and comer in the Street."
"How did you I.D. her?" Hotch asked, his brows tugging together.
"Purse was next to the body when dispatch was called to the scene."
"Mugging is not the motive then," Aaron mumbled under his breath.
"Correct. There was also semen present but no signs of assault. Samples were already sent to get tested; we're just waiting for those to get back."
"I've read about Rambler; she closed one of the biggest deals for Wall Street. She's the youngest and the first woman to ever do that in history," Jackson spoke, his brow rising at the photographs. "She's the girlfriend of Gerald Warner; another big Wall Street executive." Aaron looked toward Jackson, instantly missing Reid.
"Good job Jackson; Candice, you go to the boyfriend's house and question him on his whereabouts from nine last night 'til six this morning. And I know you all are wondering why we're on this case." Isabella pressed another button on her remote, her gaze on the screen showing a recent photograph of the victim and who appeared to have been the mayor of New York. "You might have recognized her as our very own mayor's step-daughter." Silence fell over the team as tensions rose. "Now I know we are all fond of our lovely mayor," Isabella spoke with sarcasm. "But this has been as ranked our top priority case."
"Is the press on this yet?" Michonne asked, the African-American woman. It was Michonne who was in charge of their press conferences and any other media following. It was a job she did not ask for but eventually became the face of the NY BAU's squad.
"Press is currently encouraged to keep quiet about this matter at the request of the Mayor, however, they are protected by the First Amendment and if they decide to run the story, we need to be on top of it." With a nod the team rose, closing their files to take along with them. "Aaron, why don't you tag along with Elena and Jason to the crime scene? I'm sure your keen eyes would be put to better use there." Aaron gave the woman a nod before looking over to his fellow team members. Jason seemed to be unaffected knowing he'd be working with the ex-Agent while Elena struggled to hide her eye roll. However, as Isabella described it as 'keen eyes', Aaron caught onto the woman's annoyance but decided to let it go. With a new group came new attitudes, new opinions and new people to try and get along with.
"Jackson, you stay here and put that brain to good use? Do some more research on Ms. Gambler along with her boyfriend?" Jackson nodded at the order, pulling out his iPad to begin his project.
Looking over to Michonne, Isabella beckoned for the woman to follow, grabbing her set of government issued car keys. "Morgue?" Michonne inquired, surprised by invite. Normally Michonne would tag along to the crime scene as the possibility of the press would surround the yellow police tape trying their best to get the best angle on the commotion happening around them. However, with Hotchner joining the team, Isabella believed it would be best to have his face on a high-profile case to give hope to the public and fear to the guilty. This little tactic was not something to be disclosed; Isabella nodded.
"Yeah, I figured you could use a change of scenery," Isabella lied, keeping her back to her team member. Working with profilers deemed difficult at times whenever she needed to lie; the woman was a terrible liar after all. Out of their group, Michonne was the most qualified for the job as she previously worked as an Intelligence Analyst for the Marine Corp., later moving into profiling terrorists. With this in mind, Isabelle concentrated on her back muscles ensuring even they weren't giving away her fib. "Plus I need fresh eyes on this one; everyone on our squad is observant but we all pay attention to different details. You're a little better at looking outside the box when it comes to examining something; I need you with me for this one." This time Isabella kept her gaze on her counterpart, hoping Michonne would agree.
Her talk seemed to do the trick as Michonne quietly entered Isabella's black SUV, a proud small smirk pulling at her lips. Satisfied with this, Isabella pulled out from the parking lot and onto the busy road of New York City. As the case was rather time sensitive, the police lights were switched on, giving them way to travel through the streets with ease. "So this Hotchner guy; he really as good as everyone makes him out to be?" Michonne asked keeping her eyes on the road.
"Him and his team worked some of the most gruesome, tragic and heinous serial cases all over the nation. They have solved hundreds of murders, missing persons, serial rapes … you name it…"
"And when were you planning on telling the rest of us that he was joining our team. I didn't know we needed another." Now Michonne's gaze was on Isabella, burning a hole in her skin.
"I wasn't," Isabella answered truthfully. "Plus I didn't know I needed to get a vote on it as, last I remember, I am the Captain and organizer of the unit." Exchanging glances with the woman sitting next to her, the Captain turned into the city's morgue building, pulling into the parking lot. "Aaron will be a good addition." Though her tone was authoritative, there was a hint of an apology for her snap.
"I don't doubt that; I just want to know the motives behind bringing another person into an already packed unit."
"That's for me to know and you to find out." Without another word, the woman exited the SUV, dropping down to the ground with a thud. Michonne eyed her leader for another moment before following suit, forcefully closing the door.
"If you don't trust your own team with whatever it is you're planning, then you obviously didn't recruit the right team." Wishing Michonne would let it go; Isabella kept her mouth quiet as they entered the building. Flashing their badges to the receptionist, Isabella offered a smile; they ventured toward the Medical Examiner assigned to their cases. Allison Connelly had been put on the highest pedestal as she was the best Medical Examiner in New York; her degrees, journals and many awards proved as such. Having Dr. Connelly as the ME for the NY BAU was a privilege and an honor for Isabella as she admired Connelly's work. In addition, they were very good friends.
Walking into the examination lab, Isabella placed a wide grin on her face as Connelly looked up from Rambler's body. "Come join the party," Connelly invited, waving the women over. "Unfortunately I don't have any favors to give out but I do have some information regarding the murder weapon." Isabella's eyes lit up, knowing the identification of a murder weapon could be the clue that makes or breaks a case. "The instrument used to penetrate our victim's torso appears to be some sort of spiral entanglement with a point; much like a cork screw."
"Maybe she was having wine with her significant other and things got heated?" Michonne pondered with a shrug.
"Or maybe she was having wine with someone she wasn't supposed to and things got a little out of hand; either way, at least we know what we're looking for." Isabella nodded toward Michonne before averting her gaze back to the ME. "Is there anything else odd about the body?"
"Yeah; she was pregnant." The two profiler's brows rose at the information. "Just a few weeks, probably didn't even know yet but there is definitely a little nugget in there."
"Can you not refer to the fetus as a nugget?" Michonne rhetorically asked with an eye roll.
"Take me or leave me, Detective." Allison looked back down to the body, continuing her completion of the body.
"Thanks Allie," Isabella thanked before she turned on her heel, making her way toward the door. "Oh and are we still on for tomorrow night?"
"You got it," Allison responded, putting thumbs up in the air.
At the boyfriend's house, Candice stood by the window as Mr. Warner sat in disbelief. He was silent processing the news of his girlfriend's death. The woman gave him a moment to settle; she was never really good with emotions but she understood others weren't like her; they didn't know how to cope with death easily. On the other hand, Candice lost both her parents as a child and later lost her grandparents – who were raising her – as a freshman in college. It seemed death was a pretty common thing around the blonde and she learned to cope with it better than most people. She had gotten into law enforcement because of her rare skill; being able to detach herself from emotional situations and walk away without a metaphorical scratch.
In most cases it was Candice who would break the news to the families of the deceased as Michonne was assigned another task and Elena allowed her emotions to get the best of her. Candice didn't mind doing it but a part of her wished she could provide some kind of comfort for the families as they broke down in front of her.
"My condolences Mr. Warner," the woman spoke softly while the man seemed to have calmed down. "How long were you and Ms. Rambler dating?" The man paused before he gave the specific time of three years, six months and two days. The exact time had struck Candice as odd as not many men remembered such anniversaries. "That's oddly specific that you would know the time down to the day."
"Yeah well she wasn't just any girl; she was the girl. We went out last night to celebrate her promotion and that's when I had asked her to marry me." This news caused Candice's brows to rise; the victim wasn't wearing an engagement ring.
"You guys were engaged?" He nodded. "Do you have a picture or the order receipt to the ring you bought her?"
"Why?"
"She wasn't wearing a ring when she was found."
At the crime scene, Elena and Jason spoke with officers while Aaron looked around the area where the victim was found. There were signs of a struggle; the dumpster had an indentation though it was unclear if it belonged to the victim or not. Trash had been thrown around and bags were scattered as if a fight or struggle had happened in the area. The green door which was conveniently placed just outside where the murder happened led into a very expensive but popular restaurant in New York. The location was relevant, this Aaron knew, but why? Why had the victim walked in the alley way, or did she attend a dinner date and end up in the alley way afterward?
"What are you thinking?" Jason joined the ex-FBI agent by the door as Aaron examined the barrier. Hotch didn't answer but looked to the handle. It appeared to have been cleaned recently; the green color more prominent than the rest of the door. Kneeling down to examine the handle, Aaron spotted a dot of dark red liquid; dried blood.
"Is CSU done going over the crime scene?" Aaron asked; keeping his gaze on the speck of blood located just under the door handle.
"I think they're finishing up; why?" Jason walked over to his team mate, kneeling down where he spotted the visible evidence. "Unsub stab her then returned inside the restaurant?" the man asked Hotch, his face scrunching.
"Appears that way."
Elena, who had been busy with the other cops and keeping the citizens of New York controlled, walked over to the men, inquiring if they had found anything. Immediately Jason jumped up and informed her of the find while Aaron continued scanning the crime scene. No murder weapon was found at the scene but the text message from his leader informed them they were looking for some kind of object similar to a cork screw. With this in mind, Aaron turned back to the green door realizing the restaurant located in front of him was famous for its imported wines and other alcoholic beverages.
"What are you thinking?" Elena asked the man knowing his mind was buzzing with possible scenarios.
"Isabella believes the murder weapon is similar to a cork screw … what restaurant is this again?"
"Bella Italiano," Elena answered, moving her gaze to where he was staring at. "You think someone stabbed her out here with something from in there?"
"It's worth a shot."
Author's Note: This is my attempt at a fanfiction that I do not base off the show. Feedback would be appreciated, of course not mandatory.
In addition, if you're on Instagram, my IG account is 'jemgraqhics'. If you are on tumblr, my personal is 'olivicmunn', and this story's tumblr blog is 'whrnthngstysbrd' where I will post original content/graphics, musing inspiration and more with regards to the story.