Burning Love

"Brace yourselves everyone," Garcia said, "because this one's a doozy." She looked up at Hotch, who was still covered in burns.

"What do you have for us, Garcia?" Hotch asked.

"You are going to Mayfield, Kentucky. Three buildings have been set on fire and collapsed to the ground. The first, the Princess Theater was set on fire during a movie. Twenty people died in that fire."

"Were there any survivors?" Rossi asked.

Garcia sighed.

"Only ten. Each are in various stages of grief, shock, whatever you call it. One of the victims was a Marine. He and his family were going to see a movie. His wife and two kids survived. Amazingly, they have no scratches on them."

Rossi and Hotch went silent.

"What are the other buildings, Garcia?" Hotch asked.

"The second one was a local Mexican joint. The fire started during the busy dinner hours. There were no survivors. Anf the third was...Mayfield High School. The fire alarm did go off. Most of the students escaped, but some were trapped in their classrooms and..."

"It looks like the unsub is targeting symbols of Mayfield," JJ noticed.

"Problem is Mayfield is a small town, population of 10,000," Reid sprouted.

"Which means our unsub could be anyone," Hotch said, "Wheels up in thirty."

"Hey," Rossi stopped Hotch in the hallway, "are you gonna be okay?"

Hotch sighed.

"Yeah, I'm gonna be fine."

"I know because of your accident...cases like these get to you."

"The unsub watched these places burn to the ground, Dave!"

"Just like Arnold did to you."

"I just want this son of a bitch caught, Dave!"

"Aaron, believe me. We will find him."

"I don't care if I scare him to death with my face," Hotch growled, "I just want him found. This one's mine!"

"So, what's so special about these locations?" Morgan asked on the jet.

"The Princess Theater was the only theater in Mayfield. The Mexican restaurant was one of three sit down restraunts. And the high school was where everything took place," JJ answered.

The team looked at Hotch, who was buried in the case file.

"Hotch?" Prentiss answered, "Hotch?"

"Oh, sorry," Hotch said, "I was just reading. The unsub could have a vendetta against Mayfield. Morgan, get Garcia to track down anyone who was arrested or suspended from school recently."

"You think the unsub's a teenager?" Morgan asked.

"We can't be sure of anything," Hotch answered, "we need to cover all our bases. JJ, you and Reid, take a look at the movie theater. Morgan and Prentiss, check out the restaurant. Dave and I will set up at the station and then go to the high school."

When the plane landed, Rossi caught up with Hotch.

"Hey, are you sure you want to do this?" Rossi asked.

Hotch closed his eyes.

"It's been four months since the attack and I can't get these burns fixed just yet..."

"I can handle it, Hotch," Rossi said, "you can go to the high school."

"No Dave," Hotch said gently, "I can do this." He lightly patted his friend's arm.

"Let's just get this over with and stop this son of a bitch."

"Agreed," Rossi quipped.

"You must be the FBI," Detective Leo greeted. He took a step back when he saw Agent Hotchner.

"I'm Agent Hotchner, this is Agent Rossi," Hotch said. He shook the detective's hand.

"Ow," the detective whispered.

"You'll have to excuse Agent Hotchner," Rossi said, "he doesn't quite know his newfound strength yet." He laughed.

Detective Leo stepped up closer to Agent Hotchner. He got a good look at his face and hands.

"I..I thought your team was bigger than this," Leo stammered.

"The others are checking out the crime scenes," Hotch answered, "is there a place where we can set up?"

"You...you can set up in the breakroom," Leo answered, "Yeah. Yeah. The breakroom." Then, he scurried off.

"You think he's terrified of me?" Hotch whispered.

"Give it time," Rossi said, "the guy's probbably just taken off guard."

Hotch and Rossi stood at once was Mayfield High School.

"How many kids died?" Hotch asked.

"One hundred," Rossi replied solmenly, "that's not to include the principal and six teachers."

Hotch sighed.

"Well, let's walk through these stones and see what we can see."

Just then, the phone rang.

"Hotchner."

"Hotch, we found something. At all three locations, there was a cigarette. This must been how the unsub started the fire," Morgan said.

"Good work, Morgan," Hotch praised. Just then, Rossi held somehting up, too. It was a cigarette.

"Rossi just found one," Hotch answered, "have the team meet us back at the station."