Old Friend, New Enemy
Chapter One - Early Mornings Aren't So Bad
Supervisory Special Agent Jennifer Jareau was sitting in her office almost drowning in the number of files that were constantly being sent to her to file through and organise by priority, it was a job she loved to do, but she hated the reason she had to.
She was currently looking for a particular file that she thought she had put into Emily Prentiss's case file slot, but it seemed to have vanished or more than likely a certain someone wanted a head start on their paperwork and swiped it from her before she official handed it over. It definitely wasn't the first time the brunette had done such a thing.
Sighing JJ pulled herself out of her comfy chair and manoeuvred herself around the files that littered her office floor, it was an organised mess, well that was her defence whenever someone felt brave enough to mention it to her.
The bullpen was practically empty, which was to be expected since it was so early on a Monday morning, not many agents of the BAU would voluntarily come in early for anything. JJ surveyed the people that were there and seeing that Emily Prentiss was not one of them she made her way quickly to her colleague's desk.
She scanned the papers on the desk with only her eyes at first but seeing that the particular file she was looking for was not in fact on the top of any of the piles, she had to start moving things around, she hoped she wasn't making too much of a mess. Not everyone could work in organised chaos like her.
Being so busy rummaging through Emily's paperwork she didn't notice said brunette walking up behind her.
Had it been anybody else rifling through her desk, then Emily may have had to kick some major ass, but seeing that it was the lovely Jennifer Jareau that was bending over her desk made her one very happy woman.
She smirked devilishly as she approached the provocatively bent blonde from behind, she was very careful not to alert the rummaging media liaison. She was taking her time coming closer as she was quite taken with the view, if JJ knew what those particular tight grey pants did to her she'd surely be embarrassed, maybe even flattered if she was feeling playful today.
"Is this your way of giving me an official invitation Agent Jareau?" Emily asked saucily; when she was close enough to whisper into JJ's ear, her smirk was in full bloom.
JJ looked over her shoulder shocked at first and then amused; it was the slight blush that lit up her cheeks that gave her embarrassment away. She shook her head, deciding to ignore the brunette's blatant flirting, it wasn't the first time, in fact it was becoming a habit for the two to tease the other; though JJ would have to admit that Emily tended to get the upper hand every time.
"You took my file, and I want it back." JJ replied glaring playfully, she used it as a disguise so she could subtly watch the older woman move around to her seat at the desk. She smiled at Emily's grin, but quickly put her serious face back as Emily sat down and faced her.
"It was in my case slot, so technically it's my file." Emily countered, she then looked up and figured Lady Luck was on her side this morning. First she was given a pay rise and now she was eye level with a bent over Jennifer Jareau, who was wearing a snug shirt that looked to be unbuttoned enough to offer a nice view of her perfectly sized chest.
The sight made her groan, which caught the blondes attention, taking her away from her lecture on her personal office files being hers until issued to an agent officially. She was going to ask whether her friend was alright, but she then realised where Emily's attention and eyes were resting. She blushed even brighter than before.
"You really are trying to tempt me today JJ." Emily growled quietly, her eyes flickered up to meet that of the blushing blue eyed blonde. She gave an honest laugh, she was so happy to be getting such a visible reaction out of her co-worker. She was on a roll today.
"You are going to get yourself into trouble with that mouth of yours Agent Prentiss." JJ stated after clearing her throat softly.
"It gets me out of trouble more often than not Jennifer." Emily whispered, she sounded out every syllable of JJ's first name.
The blonde blinked quickly and made a choking noise in the back of her throat, like her mouth was so dry that she couldn't swallow the reflex gulp that tried going down. Her face was now officially imitating a flare.
"Oh JJ, you're amazing, you have just made my morning. Thank you." Emily laughed heartedly. Having been thoroughly embarrassed and rendered speechless, Agent Jareau surrendered and quickly made her way back to the safety of her office, she had decided the file wasn't worth the teasing. Emily was on top of her game today and JJ was un-prepared.
Later into the day a door slam echoed throughout the open area of the bullpen that was now occupied by most of the primary profilers of the BAU.
The snapping sound of the slammed office door made Supervisory Special Agent Emily Prentiss jump, her head was previously resting on her arms as she watched the steam of her coffee rise and disappear. Finishing paperwork early sometimes had its downside, like now she had finished while everyone else was busy working away. She had been entertained earlier by JJ, but now the media liaison had taken to hiding in her office, so she was bored out of her mind, she could always go for an early lunch...on her own; fun.
Being startled by the slam that interrupted the peaceful silence, Emily had no choice but to appear to be alert.
Only one person in the building slammed doors, although Agent Prentiss was sure this particular subject only slammed doors because she was above punishment for doing so. Erin Strauss was a difficult woman and that was coming from a woman who was born from Ambassador Elizabeth Prentiss.
"Heads up Princess" Warned one Penelope Garcia the BAU's finest tech analyst, who was sitting on Derek Morgan's desk. The warning was heeded immediately as Emily straightened her back and picked up the report file she had already completed, it was better to look busy.
"Agent Prentiss" The harsh voice made her want to cringe, but after years of hearing that same tone from her mother she was well trained in not showing it on the outside.
"Ma'am" Emily replied automatically. The Behaviour Analyst Unit Section Chief never approached her for a pleasant topic, usually is was to give a snide comment on Emily's work or to point out small things that the SSA might be doing wrong, usually things that had no effect on anything other than Strauss's nerves.
"Are you lost Agent Prentiss?" Strauss asked with a patronising tone, her eyes looking directly at the agent in front of her.
Emily looked around at her team members who were all watching the scene unfold like you would a car crash...it had a similar effect. In that moment where the team shared confused looks, the Communications Director Jennifer Jareau entered the bull pen behind Strauss. She immediately caught on to the situation and took her seat silently as she too watched the pair butt heads, again.
"Um no Ma'am I don't believe I am." Emily said after making sure she was in fact in the right place, not that she thought she was lost, but she needed to make sure she hadn't forgotten if she was meant to be in a specific place.
"Are you sure Emily, because to be it looks like you think you're at home in bed?" Strauss countered, speaking as if she was talking to a mere child who had no real understanding of the situation.
"No Ma'am, I was just getting a closer look at the scene photos." Emily excused as she fought off an approaching blush. She hated how Strauss always targeted her for embarrassment, all because she wouldn't assist in the down fall of Aaron Hotchner.
"I'm sure you were." Strauss said smirking, she then turned on her heel and left, leaving Emily to sag dejectedly in her seat. The brunette rubbed her forehead as if would help elevate the oncoming headache that followed any interaction with the section chief.
"That is one mean lady." Garcia commented as soon as she deemed it safe to do so. Everyone nodded in agreement, they were still watching Emily as she groaned and placed her head back into her arms.
Feeling complete sympathy for the older woman JJ walked over to the down agent and rubbed her back soothingly. It would appear that JJ had gotten over her earlier embarrassment.
"Are you okay Em? She really has it out for you huh." JJ said quietly so not to irritate what was already an irritated mind of Emily Prentiss.
All she got back was a muffled pained noise, which made her frown. She knew why Strauss targeted the brunette, everyone knew why, but that didn't mean she accepted it, she was even more annoyed by the fact that she couldn't do anything to help her friend out of the situation she had been placed in since the beginning.
"If it makes you feel any better, I have a case that'll take you far away from Chief Strauss?" JJ offered hopefully. Getting away from the hard ass Section Chief is the only good thing about the cases that the team partake in.
"I'll get Hotch." Rossi said, already flicking open his phone, of course he had his unit chief on speed dial as did the others.
Feeling a little relieved to be getting out of the Section Chiefs immediate range, Emily perked up ready to give her friend her full attention.
It didn't take long for JJ to be set up and ready, which was perfect timing as Hotch appeared just as she finished handing out files of the latest case she had selected.
"What do we have?" He asked walking up to the television screen to look closely at the photos. This already looked to be a disturbing case, clearly the work of a deranged psychopath.
"I got a call this morning from the LAPD Robbery and Homicide Division. After looking at the file they sent over, it is clear that this is in need of dire attention." JJ stated looking around at each of her colleagues, she met Emily's eyes, there was something there, but she couldn't place it.
"At the moment LAPD have knowledge of four victims in a two month period. The first Jessica Hadley, white female, aged 32 had been euthanized. The second Clara Maize, African American female aged 57 was strangled with some form of wire. The third Michael Ash Jr, white male, aged 39 was stabbed repeatedly. The latest is Dianna Martin, white female, aged 43 was found with her throat slit." JJ read out from the board. She paused letting the profilers take notes.
"So ethnicity, gender and age aren't important to the Un-Sub, which means they are selecting at random possibly. Is there anything that links the victims?" Morgan asked. Having a Un-Sub that picks at random makes it all that much harder to identify possible targets.
"The only connection that appears obvious is the dump sites of the victims. Never the same place, random doorsteps seem to be the Un-Subs preferred dumb site for the bodies. They are always left on a doorstep." JJ replied looking down at the file in her hand. She'd already passed around a summarized copy, but it was very little to go on. It was one of the reasons she agreed to take the case. "Although they appear to be completely random, all of the homeowners are curators of various art galleries in LA" She added whilst looking down at her file.
"So the Un-Sub could be a rejected artist or a disgruntled employee." Morgan summarised.
"No if it was an employee only one gallery would be targeted, this is four different galleries." Emily stated. "Even then though thousands of artists are rejected by galleries, especially in Los Angeles the place is over run by struggling artists." She sighed. The group murmured their agreements with her point, none of them really listening to Reid as he gave them the percentage of struggling artists.
"Okay wheels up in thirty." Hotch ordered, he then left heading back to his office.
