Matt's hands moved quickly, maneuvering around a sharp turn in the road. JJ held tightly to the car handle with one hand as she hung up the phone with her other hand.
"Emily says she's right behind us as soon as she finishes up at the station," JJ reported.
"Got it," Matt replied. "We'll need her. We have no clue what we're gonna find at this place."
JJ took a deep breath. "Hopefully not another body."
FLASHBACK
The team had gathered around their beloved round table at the BAU, and Emily walked in with a handful of case folders.
"Alright gang, we're splitting up for this one," Emily announced. "We've got a case in Portland, but the Director has asked us to also look into a case here in D.C. So JJ, Matt, and I will be taking the jet to Portland, while the rest of you stay here."
"Better head out quickly, the storm's looking pretty bad out there," Luke noted, grabbing a case folder.
Emily glanced out the window at the falling rain. "Okay, we'll be briefing on the jet. Garcia, can you walk the rest of the team through the D.C. case?"
"Aye, aye, captain," Garcia saluted, then picked up the remote and walked to the front of the room.
Matt, JJ, and Emily leafed through the case folders, as the jet bumped along through the turbulence of the storm.
"We've got four victims in the past month," Emily briefed. "Portland PD's close to catching this guy, but he's extremely organized, and he's moving faster."
"What do they have on him so far?" Matt asked.
Emily read off from a sheet, and summarized, saying, "He's calling in bomb threats at highly populated areas, then picking out a victim from the crowd, taking them to nearby abandoned buildings, and then killing them there by beating them to death."
"Yikes," JJ muttered. "Any connections with the victims?"
"None. And nothing came up on the abandoned buildings either."
"So, he's calling in bomb threats, but not actually bombing the buildings?" JJ asked, clarifying what she was reading.
"You'd think he would go for a higher body count," Matt added.
"I guess we're thankful he didn't," Emily said. "He called in false bomb threats for the last three victims, but it says that they were able to connect the first victim because he had called in a false fire alarm."
Matt thumbed through the pages of the files. "And no way to trace the calls. They were all anonymous from public payphones."
"So he's inciting panic in a large crowd, and then honing in on a single person's fear," JJ analyzed.
"That almost sounds like satisfying two different desires. Could we be looking at a team?" Matt looked up from the case files, thinking.
"Nothing else seems to point at that," Emily shook her head. "And autopsy report suggests that there's only one person inflicting damage on the victims."
"Abducting someone in a large crowd, though. That's a bold move for one person to do alone," JJ noted.
Emily closed her folder and began to think aloud. "Maybe he's offering some sort of comfort in the panic with some sort of ruse. People are scared and uncertain about what to do, they don't have anyplace to go for a while, he offers them a place to stay while they wait out the emergency services sorting out the potential disaster."
"Whatever it is," Matt replied, "it's working well for him. Huge crowds of witnesses and no one's come forward with anything."
"Well, there's been no media on this guy," Emily said. "Some people have heard of the deaths, but nothing's been made public about it being a serial killer."
JJ shook her head. "Someone somewhere must have seen something. We can't exactly sit around and wait for this guy to call in another bomb threat."
"Okay," Emily said, sitting up. "When we land, we'll get right on contacting the media and interviewing the people who worked in those buildings where bomb threats were called. Let's go catch this guy."
END FLASHBACK
Matt and JJ moved through the building, their guns drawn and their flashlights out. Matt motioned for JJ to continue on while he inspected some marks in the wall near the doorway. JJ moved quickly down the hallway, aware of the eerie silence around her.
Outside of the unsub's building, another SUV pulled up silently on in the driveway. Emily exited the car, quietly closing the door behind her. Her phone buzzed, and she quickly answered.
"Hello?" Emily said quietly, trying not to make too much noise.
Her eyes widened in panic as the voice on the other end spoke, and she quickly hung up, reaching for her earpiece immediately.
"Matt, JJ. Get out of there. Get out of there right now."
Emily sighed in relief as Matt ran through the front door, confused. Matt checked behind himself for JJ, but did not see her.
Emily spoke more urgently into her earpiece. "Get out now! There's a bomb! There's a-"
Emily was cut off by an explosion. Everything began ringing. Matt was thrown back to the ground, and Emily stumbled, covering her face with her arm. She risked another glance at the house, and her eyes widened.
"JJ! JJ!" Emily instinctively began to run toward the house, and Matt leapt up to hold her back. She fought him defiantly, yet unsuccessfully. Slowly, her kicking stopped, and she stared helplessly at the house in concern and panic.
After some time, the ruins of the house began to settle. Emily sat in the shotgun seat of the SUV, the door open and her legs out. Matt stood by, watching her stare off into space in shock.
He spoke gently, "Hey. It's safe to check the house now. Come on."
Emily didn't move, nor did she give any indication that she had heard him.
Matt spoke a little more loudly. "Emily."
Emily looked up at him, suddenly snapping back into reality.
"JJ could be okay. She was wearing her vest."
Emily looked unconvinced and took a deep breath, looking away. Matt made an effort to catch her eye again.
"Plus, you and I both know JJ's a fighter. Now come on, let's go find her."
Emily ran a hand through her hair and gathered the strength to stand, following Matt into the house cautiously.
The two drew out their flashlights and guns, checking every corner. The chaos from the explosion was evident, and Emily's face was visibly concerned. Fallen debris and desolation surrounded them, as they checked for bodies. Emily spotted something on the floor down the hallway and gestured to Matt.
"The unsub," Emily muttered under her breath.
She bent down to feel for a pulse, then shook her head up at Matt, who made a face. They continued to move along the hallway.
Not much further down, Emily gasped quietly as she caught a flash of blond hair under a pile of fallen debris. She froze, unable to take another step. Matt looked at her face, put a hand on her shoulder, and moved towards JJ. He began to clear the debris, and Emily suddenly rushed forward. JJ was lying there, unconscious, and Emily felt again for a pulse. Her face melted away in relief.
"She's alive, she's alive."
Emily took JJ's face into her hand and leaned closer, as Matt stepped back and called for medical into his earpiece.
"JJ, JJ, it's me," Emily breathed. "You're okay, you're okay. Come on. Please wake up, please wake up. JJ, come on."
Emily stroked JJ's hair back with care and looked up at Matt helplessly.
"We need medical," Emily pleaded. "She needs help, she's not waking up. She has to wake up."
"They're on their way. She's going to be okay," Matt told her.
Emily looked down at JJ, biting her lip with uncertainty.
"She has to be."
Soon, JJ was crowded with medical personnel, and Emily moved back, allowing them to work. Matt studied her.
"Why don't you ride with her?" he suggested. "I'll let the rest of the team know, and we'll meet you at the hospital."
"Yeah," Emily replied, distracted and watching JJ.
Matt moved away, pulling out this phone and dialing. Emily automatically moved to follow the paramedics and JJ as they loaded her into the back of the ambulance.
Emily sat beside JJ's body as the vehicle moved along, her hand not leaving JJ's. Emily's eyes fixed on JJ's face, hoping and waiting for JJ to open her eyes, wondering what in the world had just happened.
FLASHBACK
Matt and JJ went through the house, flashlight and guns drawn. Matt motioned for JJ to continue down the hall. JJ went through, checking several rooms, but coming up empty. Matt was still at the front of the house, when JJ's earpiece crackled to life with Emily's voice in her ear.
"Matt, JJ. Get out of there."
JJ made a move to leave when a shadow flitted by, and she squinted at it in confusion. She faintly heard Matt shout something.
"Get out of there right now," Emily's voice commanded again.
Suddenly, JJ was hit in the stomach with a bat, and she doubled over. The base of the bat was slammed over her head, and she felt the unsub knee her in the ribs. JJ immediately lost a hold of her gun, and the unsub kicked it away as it fell. JJ grunted, looking up at her attacker, who smiled back sadistically. She held up her body with one hand on the wall.
"Get out now! There's a bomb!"
The panic and fear in Emily's voice radiated through JJ's body. Her eyes widened as the unsub held up a flashing device with a grin, his thumb edging towards the button. JJ looked around wildly and suddenly noticed dozens of similarly flashing lights ready to go off.
"There's a-"
The unsub pressed the button, and JJ felt her body get blown backward down the hallway. Her back slammed into a wall behind her, and she crumbled to the ground. With effort, JJ lifted her head and opened her eyes, trying to get her bearings. Her vision was blurred, but she caught a glimpse of a body just a mound on the ground, dead. JJ muttered incoherently, then looked up as she heard debris crackling and falling from above. Her eyes widened as a large chunk of the ceiling beams broke away and came toward her.
END FLASHBACK