Chapter 1: Welcome to the BAU
Supervisory Special Agent Cammie J Rain had been taken on by the BAU after Emily Prentiss left, at 22 years old she was the youngest agent to join the FBI since Spencer Reid, and today she had officially been working there for a month. She slipped into her seat at her desk in the bullpen, dropping her heavy bag at her feet and murmuring good morning to David Rossi, Derek Morgan, and Penelope Garcia who all seemed to be hanging around for some reason. She also noticed, almost subconsciously, that a certain coffee obsessed genius Dr Spencer Reid wasn't at his desk. Shrugging, Cammie turned to the ever growing pile of case files on her desk. Reid entered not long after, juggling his coffee and what seemed to be some kind of cake and followed closely by Jennifer Jareau (JJ) who looked like she was trying to make sure Reid wouldn't drop said cake. Cammie grinned and got up,
"Here, let me help you with that."
Instead of taking the cake as expected, Cammie lifted Reid's coffee and returned to her desk, grinning. She inhaled deeply, loving the smell of fresh coffee, and ignored the sound of the others chuckling at her antics. Morgan laughed loudest, smiling widely,
"I don't know why you don't wise up Reid, that girl has stolen your coffee every morning for the past two weeks."
Reid just smiled his usual easy-going smile and answered matter-of-factly,
"I don't mind, Cammie doesn't keep it for long. She usually just smells it, sips it, realises she still doesn't like coffee, then gives it back."
Cammie smiled back, properly this time, and nodded,
"It's called building up a tolerance. Coffee is an acquired taste."
She stuck her tongue out at Morgan and sipped the coffee, pulling a face at the offensive taste before spinning in her chair and putting Reid's mug on his desk behind her. Seeing Morgan chuckling once more Cammie crossed her arms defensively across her chest, changing the subject quickly by focussing on the cake Reid was still trying carefully not to drop.
"So, what's the occasion? Did I miss someone's birthday again?"
Reid looked up, a slight frown creasing his forehead,
"Huh? Oh the cake! It's for you." He placed it on the desk in front of her, "Happy one month at the BAU."
Cammie squealed and jumped up to hug him excitedly,
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Did you make it yourself? It's amazing!" She took a time out to look at the cake properly, not noticing the pink blush creeping up Reid's cheeks. The cake was large, completely covered with a layer of chocolate icing, and had smarties and chocolate chips scattered across the top. Rossi smiled wryly,
"He helped."
Cammie's eyes widened,
"You made it?!" She then proceeded to run over and hug Rossi as well. He smiled and patted her back as Reid got over the shock of physical contact with an attractive young female. Hotch took that moment to leave his office, surveying the scene with raised eyebrows,
"What's with the cake?"
Reid span around, a guilty smile plastered on his face,
"I, I thought it would be nice to properly welcome Cammie to the team, it's her one month anniversary."
Hotch gave Reid what was as close to a smile as he ever got these days,
"I know, but we may have to delay the party. We have a massive case on our hands."
Everyone relocated swiftly to the conference room, Cammie's cake lying forgotten on her desk. They settled into their usual places at the round table as Hotch pressed a button on the small black remote and the FBI logo on the big screen was replaced by a photograph of a young boy with floppy blond hair smiling gappily at the camera. All traces of earlier happiness were wiped from Hotch's stern features.
"This is Ryan Samuals, 8, from Riverdale, a small out-of-the-way town in Arizona."
Cammie flinched slightly at the mention of Riverdale and noticed Reid eying her curiously, cursing herself for reacting so visibly. Hotch continued,
"Ryan was abducted outside his school by what witnesses describe as a white male in his thirties with dark blond hair. Riverdale PD believe that this incident is connected to a long string of abductions and murders of boys between many ages and racial and social classes."
"How long a string?" Rossi interjected. Hotch's face, if possible, grew even grimmer,
"Over 20."
Cammie's eyebrows shot up,
"Why weren't we called in sooner?"
Hotch sighed,
"Riverdale PD only just decided that they couldn't handle this themselves."
"Sounds about right." Cammie muttered bitterly to herself under her breath, but once again caught Spencer looking at her. He caught her eye, then looked away, clearly deciding that now wasn't the time to call her out. Hotch looked up in surprise,
"What was that?"
Cammie flushed a pale pink,
"You said 'over 20', do we know the final body count?"
Garcia spoke up,
"The parents of each child were murdered between 1-2 weeks after the abduction. The child would then turn up beaten to death about a month later, so all in all, around 60 in total."
Cammie ran a hand distractedly through her short hair,
"60 dead and now they ask for help?"
Hotch's frown deepened,
"Just remember, we are not here to criticise the methods of the police departments we work with, but to assist them only."
Cammie nodded, feeling chastised and embarrassed,
"Of course, I'm sorry."
Hotch nodded at her,
"Okay, Cammie because this is your first case I'm going to give you longer to get everything organised so wheels up in 2 hours. Bring a travel bag, this is going to be a long one."
The team nodded and left with practiced efficiency. As she walked on autopilot towards her large black SUV there was only one thought swimming through Cammie's mind, Why Riverdale?
AN: Thank you for reading and please let me know what you think!
~Rayn