A/N: Hi guys, this is my first ever Criminal Minds fic, so please be gentle! But, do please review and tell me if you like it -- feel free to give constructive criticism, too. This chapter is really an introduction, but if you all like it I'll have more chapters up soon.
Oh, and obviously I do not own any of these characters!
"Guys? Conference Room, five minutes." SSA Aaron Hotchner poked his head out of the office he had retained even after handing his job over to Derek Morgan. His fellow team members looked up from their desks, and sighed – they all knew that the quiet that had permeated the office since the morning would come to an end.
The team members filed into their conference room, Morgan teasing Reid about a girl they had met at lunch, but things turned serious as soon as they saw JJ pacing in front of the bulletin board, waiting to begin the briefing. Once they were all settled, the blonde took a deep breath and began.
"Virginia Beach. In the past three months, three different couples have been murdered at home, their young teenage daughters – the only children in the houses – taken. The girls are abducted, raped, and then dumped on various beaches within the city. Jim and Patty Flanders were the third victims, killed last night. Their foster daughter is missing and presumed dead, but hasn't been found dumped yet. No DNA has been left, but the Unsub does leave, erm, drawings on each of the girls." Pictures flashed on the monitor behind JJ, and each member of the team steeled themselves for the images. The girls had in fact been drawn on – tiny hearts on their stomachs, done in blood.
"Well that's different," Reid stated. "It could be a sign of remorse and love, or it could be simple irony, a taunting of sorts," he mused.
"He definitely has a type," Rossi remarked. "Brown hair, brown eyes, and cute."
"Any links between the girls? Or the parents?" Emily Prentiss asked, flipping through the case file she had been given, her mind speeding up.
"Garcia's looking now," JJ answered, and Hotch nodded.
"Alright, guys. Looks like we're going to Virginia Beach."
"I'm Detective Finley, you must be the BAU," the police officer greeted the team as they stepped into the Virginia Beach police department, ready to start working. JJ stepped forward.
"Yes sir, Jennifer Jareau, we spoke on the phone. These are agents Rossi, Morgan, Prentiss, Hotchner, and Dr. Reid." The team exchanged pleasantries with the officers, and then set to business. Reid began spreading maps out and placing crime locations on them, and Rossi and Morgan were sent to the Flanders house to look for clues and anything that might be of interest. Prentiss and Hotchner remained behind with Reid, examining the reports of the two prior murders and abductions.
"It looked like all these crimes happened right after dinnertime," Prentiss mused aloud. "Everyone's home then. All six parents worked full time, and it was reported that each girl was by herself for a period of time after school before her parents got home. Why not just go for the girl then? Why wait until they'll have to get through the parents, too?"
"Maybe the girl is not his primary target," Hotchner answered. "Or maybe it's not the only thing he's after. Maybe the murder of the parents is equally as important as the kidnapping and assault of the girls. God, Prentiss – these victims all look exactly like you," he exclaimed, holding up the pictures of the young girls.
"Except about twenty years younger," she reminded him. "They're so young, Hotch. Fourteen year olds should be going to the mall with their girlfriends, giving flirty eyes to boys. Not getting raped and murdered and thrown out like trash," she stated bitterly.
"You okay?" Hotch asked, and though his eyes never left the paper he was reading, his voice was tinged with concern. Emily nodded.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Child cases are just always more draining," she answered, and Hotch nodded in agreement.
"I know, it's hard not to see Jack's face on every one of them."
"How's Jack doing these days?" Emily asked, knowing how hard the past few months had been on her former boss and his son. They had all tried to be there for Hotch and Jack – stopping by for visits, inviting the duo out for movies and picnics and dinners. The activities and company helped Jack, and Aaron too, to get their minds off of the devastation of losing Haley, to start moving forward again. Jack was just enamored with his father's coworkers, and the feeling was mutual. Even Reid grew comfortable with the boy, always entertaining him with new magic tricks. When Jessica couldn't watch Jack, Hotch would bring him into the office, and it wasn't unusual to find his son roughhousing with Morgan, drawing with Garcia, or being told stories by Prentiss. Hotch was truly grateful for his team, and knew he couldn't have gotten through the past few months without them.
"He's doing well, I think. It's still hard a lot of the time, but we're getting by," Hotch answered candidly, but then broke off, uncomfortable by the turn of gravity the conversation had taken. Luckily, Emily sensed this.
"I'm glad to hear that. I miss that little guy! The office is always more cheery when he's visiting. Maybe because he's a Hotchner who actually smiles," she teased good naturedly, and felt a sense of self-satisfaction when she saw the corners of Hotch's mouth turn up slightly.
"Alright, back to work. What can you tell me about our third family?" Emily shuffled through the folders on the desk.
"Uh, lets see. The Flanders. He's an accountant, she's a librarian at the local high school, and they are pretty much perfect citizens, not even parking tickets. Their daughter was Lilly Olson, she was actually a foster child in the Flanders' house, had been there about three months. A neighbor discovered the scene this morning when she went it, as was routine, to share a cup of coffee with Patty Flanders before work."
"Right. Okay, let's check with Reid and then meet up with the others and begin working our profile," Hotch said with determination. "I don't want another one of these happening tonight."
The rest of the day proved to be largely uneventful, though some tidbits were added to the team's profile of the unsub. Extra patrols had been added to the residential areas Reid had deemed most at risk, and it was just when everyone was packing up to go back to the hotel for the night that the phone rang. Detective Finley finished the call quickly, and turned to the team with a grim look.
"Jesus," he exhaled. "Lilly Olson was just found – alive. She escaped. She's alive."
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