Title: The Cat and Mouse Chase

By: Clonksholic

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or any of its characters. Any original characters belong to me. I gain no profit from writing this, and do so solely to entertain.

Summary: AU.A prolific serial killer targeting FBI agents remains on the loose. SSA Gideon, Morgan and Hotchner travel to LA and team up with two more agents for assistance. Morgan/Prentiss/Hotch/Rossi

The Cat and Mouse Chase

Clonksholic

The house was deadly quiet.

Six agents.

Had the killer arrived there before him? Jason Gideon shook his head and mentally reprimanded himself, pushing back the doubt once more. His hands tightened around his gun.

First was to open that door.

He had trust in his team. It was the reason why he had sent them there and –

Was that a moan?

Tension ran through the older man's body. A bead of sweat rolled down his cheek, leaving a cooling sensation behind as a sudden breeze swirled around him.

Every single sensation magnified as an assault to all his senses as he finally kicked the door down, not even flinching as a large piece of splinter dislodged itself from the door and hurtled into the skin of his cheek.

The struggle he had with distancing himself from his victims was his biggest weakness. It was something he experienced with every case.

He also knew, from a specific past experience involving the death of his female companion, that when the victims involved the people who had worked with, loved, or in whom you had invested much trust, the emotional involvement was inevitable, and given the circumstances, excruciating and unforgetful.

And the guilt, unmerciful.

Blood had been splashed around the corridors with great force characteristic to arterial bleeding.

The bastard changed his MO every time and it looked as if he had decided on a knife as his choice of assault.

He continued down a short way until he swerved to his right to enter the living room.

That's when his gun hit the floor.

His ears failed to register the dull sound as the weapon made impact with marble, his shoes sounding in frenzied steps as he rushed towards the bodies lying around the room, blood already starting to clot on the carpet.

He had killed them even before the time they had met.

Which was no less then a few minutes ago.

Jason kneeled down beside a body, eyes blankly staring at the shredded, bloody bullet proof Kevlar vest that surrounded her body.

He didn't check their pulse. There was no need.

In his line of work, he was accustomed to the close workings of death and its signs. The eyes of the agents all remained wide open, staring, empty, and unblinking, glazed over like those of broken porcelain dolls that refused to sleep no matter how many times they were laid upon their backs.

Outside the house stood a man who seemed to have been dressed for a run. His sneakers and white jacket however, remained spotless and clean, while the baseball cap above his head was stiff, revealing itself as a newly bought garment.

The man reached up, tipped his cap with a finger in a mocking manner, then strolled down the street nonchalantly, seemingly dismissive of the sirens in the background that became louder with each passing second.

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It looked as if they were going to get away with it. The suitcase was at the ready, wide open and displaying its contents of money green to the three men standing in front of him behind his desk.

'This all of it?' Asked the one in the centre, his frail frame emphasized even further by the large bulk of the cronies standing on each side. Their names were insignificant. He would never see them beyond this day since the chances were they were to be disposed off after handing over this suitcase to the top dog.

He exhaled sharply, expelling a thick cloud of cigar smoke.

'You don't trust me? Hey, be my guest and count.' He gestured carelessly towards the suitcase before him. 'Trust me when I say this though – you're wasting your time. And you know the more time you waste, the less happy your boss is gonna be.'

His comment hit a nerve, and he could see the two larger men exchange a quick nervous glance.

'Take it and leave. I have no further business with you.' He concluded, loudly placing his feet on top of his desk to display the soles of his shoes to the three men. He tilted his head back deliberately and blew smoke rings into the ceiling.

The frail man, his narrow shoulders looking overwhelmed by his suit, opened his mouth slightly as if to say something, but then thought twice about it. He clicked his fingers, prompting the two larger men beside him to close the case. He heard the two clicks that signaled the locking of the suitcase.

He then turned his gaze out towards the window behind him, content that the job had been done well –

A sudden crash caused him to jump out of his chair and instinctively reach for the gun he kept at his side. He had just felt its cool handle when a bullet pierced his palm, causing him to cry out. 'You son of a – ' Another bullet lodged itself into its knee, forcing its way through flesh and muscle followed by waves of burning pain.

'Freeze, FBI!'

A deep voice boomed across the room. As he clutched his hands in pain, he could see his work of the last month disintegrate in the hands of a large African American FBI agent who ordered the three men to be hand cuffed, then approached him and crouched down to meet his eye.

'Adam Graham, you're under arrest.'

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Aaron Hotchner, a tall, heavy framed man with a deep frown was waiting outside the decrepit building, stripping the Kevlar bullet proof vest from his torso and tossing it into the back seat of the black SUV in a frustrated manner. He gave a nod to acknowledge one of the SWAT unit members who was first out of the building, followed by four men who had been handcuffed and were being roughly escorted out.

'We got it sir.'

'Thanks.' Aaron replied, giving the man a quick pat on the shoulder. He recognized Derek's figure as it emerged from behind the SWAT team.

'Just couldn't wait, could you Morgan?'

Derek gave him a playful wink in response, looking damn pleased with himself to Aaron's displeasure. 'Nah, you know me.'

'Gideon's not going to like this.'

'Either way, I got them. Don't forget my man, a competition's a competition.' Derek beat Aaron to the SUV and opened the front door. When he realized the ignition was empty, he extended a hand towards Hotch, palm held upwards in an expectant manner.

Aaron's glare stood steady as he reluctantly forfeited the keys.

Derek's expression was triumphant as he started the car, then jerked a thumb towards the seat next to him. 'What can I say Hotch, you snooze you lose.'

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Gideon stood in front of the new painting of two mocking birds, their mouths open in a silent mimic of a man made sound. He thoughtfully gazed around the walls of his office, evaluating the appropriateness of each place his sight rested on, gauging the possible impact of the artwork.

He turned his head towards the door as a knock sounded.

'It's open.'

The door opened, admitting the two familiar agents of his team, and from Aaron's dark expression, he could guess that the day had not gone as well as he would have preferred it to.

'We got the job done, Gideon.' Morgan started, only to receive Aaron's sullen retort.

'You mean you got the job done.'

Gideon turned his attention to Agent Morgan. 'You took them solo?'

The darker man frowned playfully, 'Nah man, I had the SWAT right behind me.'

'You're meant to be a team.' Gideon said, sitting himself down on the chair by his desk and motioning to the pair in front of him to do the same.

'It was no big deal Gideon, there were only four of them.'

Gideon casually retrieved a case file from a large pile beside him and opened the cover. 'Did you know how many were present inside before the infiltration?'

'I had the SWAT right behind me.'

'Did you know how many were inside the room?' Gideon repeated patiently, gaze and hands busy on the pages of the case file.

'No. I didn't.' Derek's voice fell from pride to a blunt tone as he replied, his eyes averting to the wall behind his team's chief.

'And what were my orders.'

'To work as a team.'

'Which did not include your actions today.' Gideon flipped over another page pointedly.

Derek now stood, his silence matching Aaron's except for the fact that his was elicited from shame rather than the smugness of his companion.

'Is that the new case?' Aaron inquired, leaning forward slightly towards the folder.

Gideon gave no nod or reply, but closed the case file and rested his hands on top of it and surveyed the two agents before him thoughtfully.

'Five FBI Agents were murdered on the field in Los Angeles.'

'A whole team?' Derek questioned, receiving a silent nod.

'Is this in relation to the case of Roger Brooks from two years ago?' Aaron asked. 'He's evaded detection and was responsible for the elimination of three teams.'

'Each time he left one of the members behind to – '

A sharp glance from Aaron's direction left Derek to swallow his words, a normally impossible feat had it not been for their supervisor sitting before them.

Derek and Aaron sat in silence, gauging Gideon's reaction, who looked completely unfazed and seemingly unaware of what Derek had attempted to say.

Gideon gave a single, approving nod, and passed the pair a case file each. 'Let's go then.'

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The FBI head quarters of Los Angeles were only a fifteen minute drive away from the airport. The hot summer sun and humid weather greeted them once more as they emerged from the black SUV with their luggage.

A man dressed formally in a suit and FBI badge proudly displayed was waiting for them by the hotel door.

'You must be Agent Morgan and Hotchner,' The man's voice was deep, and overly controlled, a futile attempt to appear refined that worked against him and conveyed him as arrogant instead. He offered a hand, shaking Aaron's and Derek's consecutively. 'The name's Detective Grant Johnson.'

He then looked towards two of the porters who had been standing by the glass doors expectedly, nodding his head towards the luggage in their hands in an annoyed manner once the two men did not respond to his initial look.

'Thanks.' Aaron acknowledged the porters as they took the suitcases from their hands.

'They'll be taking them up to your rooms,' Detective Johnson said, giving the porters a portentous look as they passed the three men.

'Well before you get started I thought you'd perhaps like to take a tour around the hotel – just in case you may not be able to find your way around of course.' Detective Johnson stated, motioning towards the doors.

'Thanks for the offer but we need to see Agent Gideon, would you be able to direct us to his room?' Aaron inquired firmly, giving Derek a pointed look as the man's mischievous grin indicated that he had approved of the detective's idea. 'He was due at the hotel before us.'

'Hotch, Gideon just needs to know we're here.' Derek commented, standing back in a casual manner with his thumbs hooked on his pockets.

Aaron's frown deepened as he gazed at his carefree companion beside him in silent reprimand, 'And?'

'Frankly does he really need both of us to check in?'

'Is my answer really going to make a difference to your decision?' Aaron asked, stressing a sarcastic tone into his words.

Derek patted him on the back with a soft chuckle. 'You know me too well my man.'

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Gideon's request was final. He had the next hour to find Agent Morgan and head to the FBI headquarters.

Floor 18. 17. 16.

Derek once again failed to pick up his phone as Aaron dialed his number for the fifth time. He mentally noted that he would remind his partner yet again of the purposes of a cell phone, how it was carried around primarily for reasons of convenient contact rather than the recording of the numbers he frequently received from his clubbing females.

He sighed, frustrated, as the elevator came to a soft stop at the fifteenth floor. He hung up and decided to text Derek that he was heading down to the lobby and the elevator number. As he glanced up from his cell phone upon sending the text message, he gave a nod and stepped politely to the side as the doors opened to admit a tall woman with strong features.

Her hair was a dark brown and reached an inch below her shoulders, parted neatly to one side. She was dressed in a dark grey blazer over a white blouse, which, combined with the grey skirt that hung just above her knees presented her with an air of authority. The heels on her feet elevated her to just a mere half a head below his height, a boost to her physical appearance that would have allowed her to compete head to head with the male counterparts in the law enforcement.

She gave a courteous hint of a smile in return, mimicking Aaron's previous actions and placing a cell phone to her ear. A soft groan signaled that she was experiencing the same problems as he was.

'It'd be nice if they knew how to answer the damn phone.'

Aaron gave a quite laugh, the woman glancing in his direction in an apologetic manner.

'Sorry.'

He shook his head once and replied, 'I can relate.'

'You too. Huh.' The woman looked amused, silence ensuing after their short exchange.

Vibrations from her pocket prompted the woman to reach for it once more, throwing Aaron another apologetic glance.

'Yeah.' Her voice rose in pitch as she began to express her annoyance at the caller. 'I called you three times. Where are you?'

She looked up at the elevator screen to check the floor number, then replied once more. 'Just stay there then; I don't want another wild goose chase. You've been to this hotel more than I have and yet still don't know how to find your way around?'

A soft bell sound sounded as the elevator came to a stop on floor number 8. The doors opened, revealing the agent Aaron had been looking for. The woman gave Aaron a nod as she exited, ear still to the cell phone.

The darker man looked slightly perplexed as he moved out of the way for the woman, one eyebrow cocked. He turned his inquisitive gaze towards Aaron as he entered the elevator beside him, obviously having noticed her gesture.

'Hotch, how the hell did you score one like that?'

Aaron gave a soft but distinct smirk and replied, 'maybe next time you won't insist in going solo to check out a hotel when Gideon's direct request was to report to him upon our arrival.'

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'Ah, Jason.'

The three agents were greeted by a man in his fifties who was neatly dressed in a brown tailored suit. Deep wrinkles forming at the sides of his eyes as grinned cordially and patted Gideon on the back in a comfortable manner that revealed their relationship as close acquaintances.

Jason met him with a smile, then turned to his team, 'Morgan, Hotch, this is Agent Benton, he's in charge of this case. We've worked quite a few together in our time.'

'Ah yes,' Agent Benton gave a large grin, shaking the hands of Derek and Aaron one after the other, 'Agent Gideon's told us all about you.'

Derek cringed slightly, miming fear, 'Ooh, that ain't good' – He slung an arm over Gideon's shoulder – 'what exactly have you been telling him about me?'

Gideon ignored the hand on his shoulder, but let it remain as he questioned the Detective. 'I understand we're to have some further assistance on this case?'

Derek's expression shifted, his playful grin fading in presence of the news and arm retreating back to his side.

'Gideon, we don't need help.'

Gideon gave a genuine chuckle. None the less expected from Derek Morgan. He turned his attention towards Aaron who stood beside him, who clearly seemed disapproving of the idea despite his silence.

Gideon gave a nod to the agent with a soft smile, who had seemed hesitant upon Derek's change of tone.

'Great,' he said, reassured once more, 'I'll call them in.'

Gideon had been prepared for the verbal assault that would come upon the Detective's departure.

'I asked for the further help,' he said indifferently.

'We don't need any help,' Derek repeated, 'You don't trust us Gideon?'

'It's got everything to do with trust,' was his reply. 'I trust you enough to believe that you two have what it takes.'

I trust you enough to emotionally invest in you, to believe that you two can finally learn the only thing you currently lack.

Aaron remained looking discontented, arms tightly folded across his chest.

'We can do this on our own – ' Gideon mentally smiled; the only time these came through as a team was when they shared displeased sentiments towards working with another, when Derek's I's became we's. '- we've managed fine far that way,' Derek said indignantly. He threw a glance in Aaron's direction.

'I'm sure Hotch here agrees with me too.'

Aaron wasn't going to make it easier for him. Gideon's news of recruits had only aggravated his annoyance towards the darker agent's previous misbehaviour.

'Speak for yourself,' he retorted quietly. 'There's no we when it's your specialty to take everything we are assigned to solo.'

Derek blinked incredulously, then gave a disbelieving chuckle as Aaron's words poked the sore wound he had received from this morning. 'You're just gonna go ahead with this?' Then, upon his companion's silence, probed further. 'Just as expected, get an order nd you back off like a dog with a tail between its –'

'Agents!'

Agent Benton called out cheerfully, deterring the potentially ugly argument.

Two figures followed the detective, Derek and Aaron's expressions immediately softening upon recognition of a familiar face.

'Let me introduce Agents Emily Prentiss and David Rossi,' the detective said, standing aside to let them through. 'I'll give you some time to get settled.' He told the four agents, motioning to Gideon and pointing up to his office.

'A word?'

'Play nice,' Gideon said, giving Derek and Aaron a look.

Derek's previous agitation had disappeared, the previous confrontation now forgotten. He gave a cheeky grin. 'Your wish is my command.'

After the four agents saw the two older men walk into the office, the official greetings begun.

Emily offered a smile at Aaron. 'I see you found your friend,' she joked, nodding towards Derek. He reciprocated, smiling one of his rarer soft grins.

'So did you.'

'Whoa, hold up,' Derek said, placing a hand between them. Shifting the attention onto him was Derek's specialty. 'Now tell me, lil' miss, what has this man of mine been telling you about me.'

Emily raised her eyebrows, clearly amused at the man's choice of words. Being a woman within the law enforcement, and a rather attractive one at that, Aaron had no doubt that she would often be subject to similar male reception, objectified in their eyes, at least before her experience and skills became almost painfully apparent on the field.

'Oh, nothing special,' she said, the corner of her mouth flicking up to form a cheeky smile that betrayed her casual tone. 'Just about how frustrating it is when the purpose of a cell phone is compromised.'

'Ooh,' Derek cocked his head to the side, as if he had been slapped by an invisible hand, 'Ouch. I think I deserved that.'

The potential conflict that could have occurred between Hotch and Morgan were laughed away with the appearance of the two new agents. Watching them from between the blinds in Agent Benton's office, Jason Gideon harboured hopes that perhaps this team would be the one to finally put an end to this case.

'How're they going out there?' Agent Benton asked, settling comfortably in the chair behind his desk.

Gideon gave a chuckle. 'Better than I expected.'

'And you?' He motioned to the chair in front of his desk, but Gideon did not take it. Instead, he lingered at the window, looking down at the four figures once more.

'I made a deal; I get to work on this until end of this year,' he said finally.

'So two months?' Agent Benton expressed his concerns. 'Gideon, this guy's been evading the FBI for five years. He took out your team single handedly and left no survivors behind. What are the chances of you being able to catch this guy in time.'

Upon Gideon's silence, the agent continued. 'You know Erin's is merciless when it comes to these things. She's always looked for that chance to give you the boot.'

Gideon gave a good-natured chuckle. 'Erin thinks she's scarier than she actually is.'

'And you underestimate her, Gideon,' said Agent Benton, a worried frown engraved across this forehead. He nodded towards the window. 'So the two down there, they're your candidates?'

Gideon nodded.

'And?'

'Haven't decided yet,' he replied. 'They've got a lot to learn.'

Agent Benton gave a shrug. 'You could have fooled me – their records are close to perfection. But guess that's never enough for you, is it?'

Gideon gave one of his soft grins, then finally settled himself down on the chair provided carefully. After a moment of silence, he opened his mouth once more.

'Who did he leave?'

'It doesn't matter anymore,' Agent Benton said, the smile on his lips fading bitterly. 'He turned in his badge already.'

Gideon wasn't surprised. Encounters with Brooks seemed to end in one of three ways. Either the agent left alive gave into his guilt and surrendered his badge to move on and never look back on this case, or, upon direct contact with the man, received a one way ticket into the institute for the mentally insane.

Finally, they could wind up like him, unable to let go of the guilt and forever doomed to pursue the man's tracks. For several years since the loss of his team he had questioned the path he had taken, comparing it with the two other paths in hopes that his pursuit would not be his predicament or be deemed useless.

'Was a shame too,' Benton continued, reaching into his suit pocket and emerging with a packet of cigarettes. 'He was the best on his team – would have been promoted if it hadn't been for what had happened.'

The scent of smoke filled the air as the end of the cigarette lit up with a bright orange blaze. Gideon refused the outstretched cigarettes with a soft smile as the Agent gave it a slight shake in an enticing manner. The grin on his lips was cheeky, expectant. 'How you managed to stay clean despite having teamed up with me and Jay during your rookie years is beyond me.'

Gideon grinned down at the outstretched cigarettes. 'Well you did dub me the bull terrier, what do I become if I give in now.'

'True.' The Agent said, taking a deep breath and exhaling in the shape of several consecutive rings. 'One bite, and only in death will you be forced to let go.'

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'So what do we know about Roger Brooks?' Agent Benton dropped the question as he leaned back to inspect the photos and maps that had been placed on the dashboard for them.

Pale faces, eyes open in a blank stare, and lips slightly parted in a silent scream swallowed by death's advance, had been captured in multiple rectangular frames. Its glossy surface reflected the bright lights on the ceiling, the glaze sometimes adding a realistic glint to the victims' eyes that almost, for a second, made them seem alive.

Aaron was the first to speak. 'He found no need to conceal his identity from his first murder, allowing the FBI access to his records and identification details. He was responsible for the murder of three FBI teams and three families to whose houses the six of the team members had been sent to.' He paused slightly as he continued, shooting Derek a sharp glance to keep silent as his companion shifted in his chair, as if wanting to state the next features of the case.

'Prior to the murder of all those present in the victims' houses, Brooks contacted the head agent of the team and confessed his intentions.'

'Always left a survivor behind,' Emily said softly and almost absent mindedly, glancing up when a tense silence followed her barely audible statement.

Gideon's expression was blank as he stared at the photos on the panels, six faces of which he was sure to recognize. His voice was firm, failing to falter in the return of the past. 'Why?'

'Well, his choice of targets and MO shows him to be a textbook narcissist,' Emily said. 'After the first few murders he was unable to gain the initial gratification he achieved, which explains his shift in victimology to members of law enforcement and the victims who were under protective custody. It was the only way he could intensify it further.'

'He leaves a survivor behind; calls them up to make sure that what he's done is known,' David said. 'The victims times of death were shown to coincide with the time Brooks made the phone call by only a few minutes – proving that he's smarter gives him that sense of power.'

'The ultimate sense of control,' Gideon finished, his back facing the four agents sitting behind him. 'Why does he call them up.'

Derek and Aaron exchanged a glance. Aaron gave a look that asked What the hell is he doing? Derek gave a shrug in response, watching the two other agents who were seemingly clueless of their superior's past.

'It all returns to control,' Emily said. 'Causing an agent to retire from the experience serve as a warning, whilst leaving a survivor ensures that he's remembered. Like leaving a legacy behind.'

Her voice trailed off slightly as she noticed that an awkward silence had settled over the room.

Agent Bensen flicked his nose once, resisting the urge to reach into his suit pocket to light another cigarette. Despite having spent five years in the same team as Gideon, he still found it difficult to read the man's intentions – it was as unpredictable as the weather.

'So how do we catch him?' Gideon broke the tension, facing the members in the room with composure and grace, as if completely unaware of the silence that had plagued the room before.

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'Sometimes I don't get what Gideon's thinking.'

Aaron approached the table where Derek was standing by the coffee machine, then proceeded to pour a portion into a cup.

'Sometimes?' Derek raised an eyebrow and emptied the usual two satchels of sugar into his cup, chuckling softly. 'Make that a never for me.'

Aaron took a sip of his coffee. 'Looks like Agent Benton knew, I'm surprised he hadn't told them.'

'I'm guessing he didn't want that to inhibit our judgment.'

David's voice called out. He was followed by Emily, whose expression revealed that she had just received a similar pep talk from the older agent for her guilt towards what she had said in the room.

'Being completely aware of his situation, I'm sure it would have felt inappropriate to mention anything about it,' Dave finished with a slight raise of his eyebrow, prompting Derek to shift from one foot to another uncomfortably.

'So Agent – '

'Please, call me Dave.'

'How long have you been in the enforcement?' Derek asked, sipping his coffee casually.

Dave gave a good natured chuckle. 'Fifty years. As you can see it's taught me a few things.'

'Not how to answer phones.'

Dave turned a jokingly disbelieving gaze towards Emily. 'You still on about that?'

'Until you learn, yes.'

'Well,' Aaron placed a hand on Derek's shoulder. 'When you do, spare some tricks for this guy.'

'I speak from experience when I say this Prentiss,' Derek said, grinning amusedly. 'You can't teach an old dog new tricks.'

'Huh.' Emily looked amused. 'I beg to differ – that excuse only works on guys as old as Rossi here.'

'So why not let it go?' Dave did not miss a beat.

'Because coming when you're called is one of the most basic tricks in the book,' Emily remarked.

It wasn't difficult to see why these agents had been chosen as their two other temporary members of the team. Underlying their humour was a sense of trust that had transcended superficiality, a kind that didn't come from simply having worked together for a couple of years.

This kind of trust had formed from something much deeper; something that had to have been earned, as with age human nature grows to be less liberal in who they extend it to.

It was the one thing that Gideon hoped his team would gain from this experience, if nothing else, as the only thing that the pair severely lacked individually was their team work, that ability to place trust in one another.

Gideon pondered, as he gazed from a distance, listening to Benton from one ear, if Hotch and Morgan would be able to pass what was going to become their biggest test.

And, as he found out later, his own test.

'Agent Gideon?'

The same rookie officer who had interrupted them during their evaluation approached them nervously.

'Officer Clinton?' Agent Benton inquired, his forehead creasing into a slight frown as he caught sight of the white envelope clutched in the officer's hand. 'What have you got there?'

'Someone came up to the front counter a few minutes ago and requested that this was personally delivered to Agent Gideon?' The officer shifted his weight from one foot to another, cautiously offering the envelope in his hand to the Jason. 'He said it was urgent,' he added when he noticed that Gideon's interest was not in the white piece of paper in front of him.

'Benton.'

Agent Benton looked up, eyes immediately widening when he saw Gideon's face.

He knew that expression.

'Is it protocol to have an officer directing traffic at this hour?'

Benton glanced at the large clock on the wall, then replied, 'No, at least not for another hour.'

'Is it also normal to have only one officer stationed for traffic duty?'

'What are you talking about?'

That was all Gideon needed. In wide strides he approached the door, followed by the frantic steps of Agent Benton and the rookie officer, and flung it open.

The police officer who had been standing in the middle of the road, suddenly turned towards them, and shouted in a voice loud enough for the pedestrians nearby to hear;

'GET – DOWN!'

A large sound pummeled their ear drums and smoke clouded their vision as a van that had been parked only a few feet from the station exploded.

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Please R+R!