The team were en route to a small town up in the snowier region of Nevada, named Hogtown. Three murders had been reported over the last week, all having taken place at night in the woods surrounding this remote little town.
Victims had been ambushed either from within or only just outside their homes and they had been beaten over the course of several hours and left hanging from trees for passers by to find.
The team were all seated in the jet looking over the case file. Reid and JJ were sitting opposite each other on the table seats by the window. Garcia was next to JJ rhythmically tapping her laptop as she looked over the DNA and lab results being updated as they flew. Morgan was opposite Garcia, they always sat together, unconsciously or consciously they did it and they were never more comfortable than when they were together. Hotch stood next to a seated Prentiss across the little walkway from the team, Hotch radiating authority and Prentiss the embodiment of calm and collected.
"This Un-Sub is methodical and meticulous but prone to outbursts of rage, suggesting they are in a position of powerlessness or inferiority in their everyday life" Reid reeled. "This kind of organised abduction and brutality are not normally seen together in psychotic individuals".
"So you think we got more than one Un-Sub?" Morgan looked expectantly to Reid. "I think it's possible" Reid speculated.
The team arrived to find a fresh layer of snow quilting the ground as they drove to meet the local sheriff. Reid shivered in his thin cardigan, he liked the snow but hated the cold, Morgan took it in his stride, a bit of snow couldn't hurt him. The rest of the team seemed to have come prepared, they were wrapped up and ready for the snow.
"Hey, I'm Sheriff Levi". A tall, well built gentleman with greying hair and a particularly bushy moustache. "It's too late for you to start working the case tonight, I have a small cabin which would suit your team nicely for the night, and you can catch up in the morning."
"Thank you" Hotch stated emotionlessly, he wanted to get started as soon as possible and he wanted this delay to last as little as was possible, although he did want his team to rest, his paternal concern for them was greater than his need to work and so it would ease his mind to know they had rested and eaten before getting to work.
The drive was an hour up a deserted, windy mountain road and uncomfortably deep in the heart of the forest where their victims had been found. "Sorry about the proximity to the murders but this was the best I could do with you coming so fast." The Sheriff mumbled while opening the large wooden door of the cabin he owned.
The team thanked him and he left them to figure out where they were going to sleep, he had lied when he said it was small. It was big enough for each team member to have their own rooms, there were three floors, the top had two large bedrooms with en suite bathrooms in which Hotch and Prentiss settled down, the doors being adjacent to one another. The next floor down had three bedrooms on it in which Reid, Morgan and Garcia stayed, Garcia had insisted on being near Morgan and he wasn't going to let his baby girl out of his sight being so close to the dump sites, he was going to protect her no matter what. Reid had chosen his room due to the fact that it contained a large bookshelf which he could peruse while falling asleep.
JJ and Rossi took the ground floor bedrooms, they took extra care to lock all of the windows and doors and kept their guns on them at all times, they knew nobody could possibly get to them in this weather but it never hurt to be careful either.
As the snow whirled around the cabin Morgan and Garcia turned off the movie they had been watching together and bid each other goodnight, Reid slipped into sleep still holding the third book he'd read that night, Rossi finished tossing a few ideas around for an opening chapter to his next book, JJ gazed longingly at a photograph of Henry and Will saying goodnight as she slipped it back into her purse and switched off her light. Prentiss was working on learning an obscure tribal language but had given up for the night; she was tired but she would be fluent with just a few more days practice.
Hotch was looking over the details of the case again, it concerned him that the murders had taken place within or just outside the victims houses, his team were now possible targets and it made him uncomfortable, he had confidence in them though and he put his worries to rest as sleep overcame him.
The snow grew deeper as the night matured and by morning it had rendered the one road out of there inaccessible. The team didn't know it yet but they were trapped, with no hope of escaping. One person did know however, the man who'd been watching them since they arrived, the man who had killed three people, and the man who had selected his next targets, seven to be precise. His only problem would be deciding which to kill first.
He circled the cabin slowly, he had deciphered which rooms the agents had slept in and planned to watch them and figure out their vulnerabilities. They would be snowed in for two weeks at the least if the snow stopped now, but that didn't look likely, he had as much time as he could hope for to plan this murder.
Reid awoke first, bright and early at 6.30am, his alarm was set for seven but since he was up he decided to take advantage of the extra half hour and go downstairs and make an attempt at cooking breakfast.
His door creaked loudly as he tiptoed out of his room and past Morgan's door. There were two staircases leading downstairs, one was concealed behind a small door and led straight to the sitting room whereas the other was adjacent to Garcia's room, wasn't concealed and was carpeted.
He chose the latter. He didn't trust the hidden stairs, nor did he think the rest of the team were even aware of its presence. He sneaked down slowly freezing at every sound his footsteps made, determined not to wake his sleeping teammates. They deserved to sleep in peace.
He reached the bottom of the stairs safely and relaxed a little, unaware of the presence watching him he went to the fridge, in it were two cartons of milk, twelve eggs, some butter, a few rashers of bacon and assorted vegetables in the crisper. Without a second thought he reached for the eggs, if there was one thing he could cook it was scrambled eggs, the team would be able to wake up to a nice cooked breakfast before the day began.
He worked his way around the kitchen grabbing the ingredients he was going to use, he was fiddling with the stove when he heard a noise behind him, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and he turned suddenly reaching for a gun which wasn't there, his eyes met the intruder's and he gasped.
"Hello Reid".