A/N A special thanks to PanicButton for the bunnie

Avenger of Blood
Chapter 1
The basement

"We praise a man who feels angry on the right grounds and against the right persons and also in the right manner at the right moment and for the right length of time." - Aristotle

It had been dark when Aaron left the office the night before. There were no cases, but he hated his apartment – so cold and impersonal. He preferred to stay working, even when there was no work to do, he studied.

There were no cases at the moment, although there had been some across JJ's desk, none of them were suitable for the BAU.

Hotch didn't get bored. There was always something new to learn, new barriers to cross. In the eyes of many police officers, profiling was still a child, and he worked to make it grow up in the eyes of those alongside whom he fought crime.

There was still a pile of books on the coffee table from last night, and an empty glass that had once held scotch. He would have liked another, but it was certainly not the right time of day to start drinking.

He took the glass to the kitchenette and washed it up. He left it to drain on the sink, and went to put the books away. Some he would take back to his office and read tonight, the rest stayed at home.

Such as it was.........

He took the lift down to the basement where his car was parked. There were about fifteen cars parked down there in addition to his own. All those people, and he didn't know any of them. It had been so different with the house. He knew his neighbours, at least to say hello to. These people he wouldn't recognise in the street.

He unlocked his car and got in, throwing the bag of books over into the back.

The drive to work wasn't a long one. That was one of the reasons he chose this particular apartment. He liked to get into work first.

He was surprised therefore to see JJ's car already in the car park when he arrived. Instead of going straight to his office, he went to JJ's.

Her door was always open literally and figuratively, and Hotch leaned in and knocked. She looked up from the file she was studying.

'I think we have a case.' she said. 'They requested our assistance last week, but I got a telephone call to say the case was solved. But then something happened to blow it wide open again, and this time, I think we are definitely needed.'

'It sounds interesting.' Hotch said, and JJ held out the file for him to look at. He quickly glanced through the pages in the file, and handed it back to JJ. 'As soon as the others are here, we'll meet in the conference room. I think you are right. We are needed here.'

-0-0-0-

Within fifteen minutes, the team was seated around the table. JJ had made copies of the file for each team member, and was standing by the video screen.

'This case involves a vigilante who was murdering men who had been accused of rape, which the courts found not guilty. He killed five men, and the local PD asked for our help last week. Before I got to the file, though, I had a telephone call to say that they had caught the man responsible, and he committed suicide by cop. They thought that the case was all wrapped up, when another man was shot the day after being found not guilty of rape by the courts. They thought we would be able to help them.'

'How do we know that this isn't a copy cat?' Emily asked.

'Or even a co incidence.' said Morgan.

'There were certain things not released to the press, and only the killer would have known.' JJ replied. 'For example, he took a souvenir of a lock of hair. That was never made public.'

'So there was more than one of them.' Dave observed. 'Interesting Case.'

Wheels up in ten.' Hotch said. 'we can discuss it more on the plane.'

-0-0-0-

It was a relatively long flight, and there was time to get the crime scene photo's out and study them. The latest victim was thirty eight year old Brian Fletcher. He had been accused of rape after the girl he was with remembered that she had a jealous fiancé. The courts found him not guilty, but the next day he was shot execution style in his home. He was found by his daughter, eighteen year old Lorna.

'She called the police and they called us.' JJ said.

'What about the suicide by cop? How much do we know about that?' Dave asked.

'Not much.' JJ said. 'Except it was a good shoot. The kid was armed.'

'Kid?' Hotch said.

'Yes. He was only about twenty. He's not been identified, but he was found with the gun that killed the other victims on a routine car check.

'Same as Bundy.' Reid said. 'It was pure luck that he was caught.'

'Twenty is a bit young to be a serial killer.' Hotch said. 'It goes against the profile. The killer would normally be in his thirties at least.'

'Like a father and son team.' morgan said. 'It's happened before.'

Reid treated them to a list of father son killing teams.

'Thank you Reid.' Hotch said with a hint of a smile. 'et's get some rest, now. It might be a while before we can rest again.'

The team dispersed throughout the jet to have a short sleep before the plane came in to land. It wasn't easy sleeping in anticipation of being tired, but it was something the team had trained themselves to do. Hotch stayed awake at first though. He read the file through to become totally familiar with every aspect of the case.

Father and son team. That sounded likely. Someone who had a woman close to them raped and the rapist got away? It was a place to start. Just as soon as they landed. He yawned, and settled himself back into the seat. A short sleep would do him good.

-0-0-0-

They were all awake and fresh when the jet landed. The local cops were there to meet them at the air port, happy to have them help.

'SSA Aaron Hotchner.' Hotch said, stepping forwards to shake hands. He introduced his team to the officer in charge.

'There are two cars at your disposal in the car park.' he said. 'How do you want to play this?'

'We would like to get started right away.' Hotch said. 'The team have their assignments.'

The officer nodded in assent, and the team split up. Reid and JJ went with the officer back to the police station. Hotch and Dave took one car, to go and speak to Lorna, the daughter who had found her father's body. Emily and Morgan took the other to check out the latest crime scene.

-0-0-0-

'No sign of forced entry.' Emily said examining the door. 'It looks as if the victim let the UNSub in.'

'Why would he do that?' Morgan said, 'Unless he forced his way in after Fletcher opened the door. Maybe he was expecting someone.'

'We will need to find that out from his daughter.' Emily said. 'My first thought would be take out. But if that was the case? where is it now?'

'No there had to be some other reason for him to open the door.' Morgan said. 'So I'm the UnSub. I force you into the living room with the gun, and get you to kneel down. Then I shoot you point blank in the head, execution style, take the time to remove some hair, and then leave the apartment the way I came in.' he paused, looking round the room. 'He is very sure of himself. Not concerned that someone would hear the shot.'

'Maybe he used a silencer.' Emily suggested. 'The shot probably wouldn't be heard in the next door apartment.'

Morgan sighed. 'Definitely an older man. I still think my father son theory stands.'

'The ages would fit.' Emily agreed. 'Let's get back and see what the other's found.'

-0-0-0-

Lorna had little to add to what was already in the file. She explained that she didn't live at home anymore, but visited regularly. Her father had been through hell with this court case hanging over him for almost a year, and it was such a relief when he was found not guilty. She was had bought him a bottle of his favourite scotch, and they were going to celebrate. She began to cry as she went through her coming to see her father that evening and finding the door slightly open.

'I pushed the door open, but I knew what had happened.' she said. 'I read the papers.'

'Thank you, Lorna.' Dave said. 'You have been a great help.'

Hotch gave her a card. 'If you can think of anything else that would help – anything at all, please call me.'

Lorna managed a tearful smile as she accompanied the agents to her door. 'Please find who did this.' she said. 'My father was a good man.'

'We will do everything possible to bring him to justice.' Hotch said, and they left her standing on her doorstep as they waited for the lift down to where their car was parked.

-0-0-0-

Reid and JJ had been given some space in the basement to set up their team. The evidence board was arrayed with pictures of the murdered men, and a picture of the young man that the cops had shot by the roadside when he pulled his gun on them. They still didn't have an ID for him, and were calling him UnSub One.

UnSub two was the one they were looking for now. The team crowded into the small space and delivered their information. Hotch and Rossi had little to add but were anxious to hear what Emily and Morgan had found out.

'We really need to know who Fletcher was expecting so that he opened the door so readily.' Emily said.

'I think that would be his daughter.' Dave said. 'She was going round to celebrate his victory in court. He was expecting her.'

'That makes sense.' Morgan said.

'I have sent a photo of UnSub one to Garcia.' Reid said. 'She's checking all her data bases for him. If he's there she'll find him.'

'Good.' Hotch said. Jj get us a press conference for this afternoon. We will have some information to give them by then. Now let's get a profile together. What do we have?'

'He's an older white man, in his thirties or above.' Morgan said. 'He is confident, almost cocky in the way he carries out his crimes. He isn't expecting to be caught.'

'Someone close to him has been raped.' Emily said, 'and the rapist got off through the courts.'

'He will be devastated to lose his partner, possibly his son, and this will show in his actions.' Dave said.

He knows the outcomes of the cases he is interested in, and so likely spends a lot of time hanging around the courts. He might even work there.' Hotch said. 'It might be worth taking a picture of UnSub one to the courts and show it around. We might get lucky and someone recognise him.

'I'll do that.' Morgan said.

'Good. Take Emily and Reid with you. JJ organise the press conference, meet down here in two hours. Dave, you and I can work through the file to see if there's anything we've forgotten.'

Rossi nodded and reached for the file on the table. As the agents left the basement, they passed a man coming down the stairs.

'Excuse me,' he said to Hotch. 'Are you in charge of this investigation?'

Hotch stood up and took a step towards the man. He stopped short when the man took a gun from his pocket and pointed it at Hotch's head.

'Do exactly as I say and no one will get hurt.' he said. He took a cell phone from his other pocket and dialled a number.

The ensuing blast knocked all three men off their feet as the floor above them was blown sky high. There was a creaking sound as the ceiling of the basement caved in, and the room was filled with smoke and dust. Debris fell onto them and then suddenly there was total silence.