*Chapter 1*
The tall woman, Sarah, who had blue eyes and dark brown hair, sobbed as she read.
"Run, run, run, as fast as you can, you can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man." The woman looked up from the book. "I don't want to do this," she whimpered. "Please, let me go."
Two figures stood at the door watching, a man and a woman. He turned to her and said, "This one isn't going to work out."
"I was hoping she would, but oh well," the woman sighed. "You know what you have to do."
"Let me go!" Sarah screamed. "I don't want to do this any-oh, God!" She struggled as the man put a cloth full of chlorophome over her mouth and nose. She struggled to hold her breath, but it was too late. She slowly faded to unconciousness.
"Come," the woman said sternly to her charge. "You don't need to see this." She took the small girl's hand and led her out of the room, leaving the man alone with Sarah in the darkness.
. . . . . . . . CM . . . . . . . . .
"So, I told Will that Henry drew a picture of him and . . ." JJ trailed off when she saw Spencer fast asleep at his desk.
"My poor baby," Garcia said. "He's been losing sleep again."
"I'm getting really worried about him," JJ said quietly. "He's been acting really strange lately."
"He might be having nightmares again." Garcia looked at the sleeping Reid. "Should we wake him up? He looks so peaceful."
"We have a case," Hotch said, with Morgan right behind him. "Wake up Reid and meet in the conference room. I'll get Dave."
"Is Reid okay?" Morgan asked.
JJ just shrugged, not having an answer, though she hoped so.
. . . . . . . . . CM . . . . . . . .
"Okay my crime fighters, meet Sarah Douglin. She was 30 years old, and shot once in the head," Garcia said. Everyone looked at the pictures on their tablets except Reid, who read over the file quickly, eyes unfocused.
"Shot in the head?" Hotch asked. "That's an unusual way for an unsub to kill someone."
"Remorse maybe?" JJ asked.
"Maybe this unsub didn't want them to suffer," Rossi jumped in. "He needed Sarah for a certain purpose, and when she didn't cooperate he got rid of her quickly and easily."
"And he wanted us to find her, which is why he dumped her on the side of the road," Alex Blake supplied, the newest member of the BAU since Emily left.
"Yeah, but Houston is a big city," Morgan said. "We need to find out this guy's MO, if he has certain types, any kind of patterns. Chances are he knows his way around pretty well."
"Reid?" Hotch asked. "Anything to add?"
"Huh?" Reid looked up from his file. "Oh, um, well, Houston was originally named after General Sam Houston, who led the Texas army over General Santa Anna's Mexican forces in the 1836 battle of San Jacinto. It has a population of over 4.3 million people."
"That's alot of people," JJ said.
"And a lot of victims for the unsub," Hotch added.
Morgan leaned back in his chair. "Well, we have 72 hours to catch this guy. Let's hope we don't get anymore bodies."
"Wait, there's more," Garcia said. "The girl, Sarah, she was reported missing over a week ago, and before that, two weeks ago another body was found, same thing. Found at the side of the road with a shot to his head."
"His?" Alex asked. "The first victim was a male?"
"Yes, and also in his thirties." Garcia nodded.
"So this unsub isn't looking for a specific type, just to keep them for a specific reason," JJ said.
"And Sarah's body was found this morning," Reid said quietly. "So, if the next victim doesn't do what the unsub says then, a week from now . . ."
"We'll be finding another body," Hotch says, standing. "Get your bags ready. Wheels up in thirty."
Everyone left but Alex and Hotch.
"Blake," Hotch said as Alex was about to leave.
She turned. "Yes sir?"
Hotch's firm expression didn't change, but Alex saw concern in his eyes. "I know it's hard, being the newest member of the team, but-"
"Don't worry about me, sir," Alex said quickly. "I'll be fine."
"I know you worry about what the team thinks of you, since Prentiss left."
"I'm not replacing Agent Prentiss," Blake said. "I'm just here to do the job."
"But can you handle this job?" Hotch questioned seriously.
Alex met his eyes. "I hope so, sir."
"Good."
*My first Criminal Minds fic. This is season 8, so Emily - unfortunately - is gone.*
