Takes place during season 5 of Criminal Minds and season 1 of Pretty Little Liars. *Haley has not died yet.
Enjoy!
Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner gently eased the black SUV he was commanding to a slow stop just in front of a church. To his right, SSA Rossi was looking out of the tinted window at the solemn congregation of mourners that had flooded the lawn. Glancing in his mirror, Hotch spied Dr. Reid and Agent Jareau examining the scene in front of them.
Turning off the engine, Hotch slid out of the car and prowled towards a young, lanky man with slightly protruding ears and piercing blue eyes. Jennifer Jareau quickly matched her step to Hotch's, her blonde hair bouncing slightly with her step. The beautiful blond took the lead and shook hands with the young man.
"Special Agent Jennifer Jareau, Media and Communications Liaison. You must be Detective Wilden," Jareau, otherwise known as JJ, said briskly, shaking the man's hand firmly. "These are SSAs David Rossi and Aaron Hotchner, and Dr. Spencer Reid."
"Thank you for coming out here, Special Agent Jareau. It's been a challenging few days," Detective Wilden said, his tone taking an air of nonchalance. He lifted his chin slightly, clenching his jaw. Wilden shoved his hands in his pockets after exchanging firm handshakes with the rest of the agents.
"So we've heard," Rossi said grimly, surveying the scene around him. He spotted many grieving attendees huddled in circles around the church, but contrary to his first glance, they didn't appear to be crying. In fact, they seemed disinterested. As if the young girl's funeral was nothing more than a social gathering.
Slowly, the door to the church opened. Four girls exited. They, like their fellow guests, looked disinterested. A stunning blonde was walking arm in arm with a small, petite, dark haired beauty with a peaches and cream complexion. A tall, gorgeous tan girl with deep black hair waving down her back was clutching the arm of her friend, who was of average height, with a slender build and a pretty face.
"Are those the girls?" Hotch asked, watching them as they breezed down the sidewalk to a tree on the corner, not noticing Wilden and the agents.
"Yes," Wilden said, his voice low with poorly hidden disgust. He began to stride away towards the four girls, who were about to cross the street. The agents followed closely behind. Rossi and Hotch exchanged a look, and both eyed the detective closely. Wilden's tense shoulders and clenched fists raised the agents' curiosities.
"Emily, Spencer, Aria, and Hanna," Wilden announced, stopping the group in its tracks. "Do you know who I am?" The young girls shook their heads, looking confused and slightly worried.
"I'm Detective Wilden, and these are SSAs Jareau, Hotchner, Rossi, and Dr. Reid from the FBI," Wilden said coldly. The girls' eyes widened. "Some of the agents will be residing with you at your homes while we conduct the investigation into Alison DiLaurentis's murder."
"What?!" The blonde exclaimed, her fiery dark blue eyes surveying the agents in front of her.
"Hanna," The petite brunette whispered, pinching her. Hanna shook off her friend, hissing slightly through clenched teeth.
"We already gave our statements to the police when Ali disappeared," the pale girl with a slender shape and mousy brown hair said guardedly, her chocolate eyes locked on Wilden.
"That was before your friend turned up dead, Spencer," Detective Wilden said coldly. Spencer flinched, looking down at the ground. Hotch swallowed, irritation overpowering him. This detective had no tact or respect, but unfortunately, Hotch's team wasn't here to evaluate the skills of the Rosewood Police Department.
"I've already spoken to your parents before the funeral. They've agreed to let the agents stay with you. This is strictly for your protection and to help us gather information that you may have forgotten to include in your statements," Wilden said sharply, eying Hanna. She glared at him, her steely blue gaze throwing daggers at the detective.
"But we wouldn't have forgetten anything," the tan girl with Asian features and shining hair reminiscent of a raven's wing protested, her delicate eyebrows knitted together in an expression of concern.
"You might have," Wilden snapped. "If you don't mind, I'll escort you to the station." He gestured to the group of girls and they followed him slowly to his car, eyeing the agents as they walked past. Their heels clicked on the ground, and as they walked, a symphony of buzzing, vibration, and twinkly ringtones filled the air. The girls stopped sharply, and as they looked at their cell phones, their posture changed. They glanced around furtively as they shoved their cell phones back in their purses.
"I've got all day, ladies," Wilden said sarcastically, waiting by his car. Emily, Aria, Spencer and Hanna quickly hurried towards the sedan, not speaking to each other. They slid into the seats of the car, and Wilden revved the engine as they zoomed off towards the police station.
"That was odd," Reid said simply, glancing over his shoulder.
"Definitely. Something more is going on here," Rossi agreed, his eyes squinting slightly as he looked around at the remaining mourners. JJ nodded, staring at the fallen leaves that had been disturbed by the Detective's sharp departure. Shades of orange, red, and yellow spiraled through the sky.
"We should get to the station. Morgan and Prentiss should be heading back from the dump site," Hotch said briskly, breaking JJ from her reverie. As they strode back to the SUV, JJ looked around again. Something definitely was odd. And her team was going to find out what was going on.
CMPLLCMPLLCMPLL
"So they found her under the gazebo?" Special Agent Prentiss asked, crouching down to look at the dirt.
"Yep. She had been under for about a year. The new owners found her," Special Agent Morgan clarified, looking around the backyard. The green grass, slowly beginning to fade to an unappealing light brown, was manicured and freshly installed hedges lined the lawn. Apart from the discovery of Alison's body, there was nothing odd about the house or its surroundings.
"Hey, do you guys want brownies?" Prentiss and Morgan looked up to see a pretty teenage girl with dark skin, sparkling brown eyes, and a cheeky grin holding a heaping platter of brownies. "I promise there's no pot in them," she joked, her bracelets jangling.
"Uh, no thank you, I'm fine," Prentiss said, looking the girl up and down appraisingly.
"Sure, why not," Morgan said, reaching forward and taking one. "Do you live here?"
The girl smiled grimly. "Yeah. I'm Maya, by the way. I just moved in."
"So you're new to the area?" Prentiss inquired, looking at the house in front of her.
"Yeah, totally new. Barely know anyone, except for the dead girl I guess," Maya chuckled softly. "So are you guys Feds or something?" She asked, leaning against the wall.
"We're from the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI," Morgan responded, taking a bite of the brownie. It was surprisingly good. "Did you make these?"
Maya laughed. "Yeah. I make a lot of brownies," she said, her eyes twinkling with mischief.
"They're good. Bet you regret not getting one now, Prentiss," Morgan said grinning, finishing off the brownie.
Prentiss ignored Morgan's teasing comment, and addressed the charismatic girl."It was a pleasure to meet you, Maya, but we have to get back to work."
"No problem. You guys know where to find me!" Maya said brightly, bounding away and turning the corner.
"Don't think we can get much out of her," Prentiss said dismissively, surveying the scene again. She bent down and sifted through the dirt, scanning the ground for more clues.
"I wouldn't discount her so easily. She's the same age as the girls. She might be able to get us some information," Morgan said, glancing back at the house. "See anything?"
"There isn't much left here. Let's get back the station," Prentiss said, sighing as she trekked back across the broken earth. Morgan followed her, glancing once again at the old house.
CMPLLCMPLLCMPLL
"Morgan, Prentiss. This is Detective Wilden, the head detective on the case," JJ announced, introducing the two agents to the detective.
"Hello, SSAs Prentiss and Morgan." Detective Wilden extended a hand to both agents, appraising them as he looked them up and down.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Prentiss said. Morgan nodded politely.
Wilden cleared his throat and gestured for the team to follow as he entered a room with the requested white board and circular table. After the BAU had gotten situated, Wilden walked around the table, flipping through four files he had in his hand. He threw one down on the table.
"Hanna Marin," Wilden said, putting the remaining files on a side table. "Used to be a self-conscious, insecure servant for Alison. Now, the popular mean girl who went through a complete transformation. And I mean complete transformation," Wilden chuckled, glancing at a picture of ninth grade Hanna that Rossi had pulled out of the file. "Her father left her and her mother, so she's been without a father figure for a few years. She has her fair share of issues, least to say. Agent Hotchner, I believe that you offered to watch over Hanna?"
"Yes," Hotch responded. He was beginning to regret his decision now, after witnessing the blonde's fiery attitude.
"Have fun," Wilden chuckled grimly, tossing another file onto the table.
"Spencer Hastings. Now this is an interesting one. She was born into a well-known family with a shining reputation and lots of money to spare. She was considered Alison's right hand man. As a stellar student with lots of extracurriculars, she feels a lot of pressure from her parents to maintain her image. Special Agent Prentiss, I believe you were assigned to her?"
Emily Prentiss nodded. "Yes," she responded, skimming through her file. "She was considered a suspect?"
"She still is," Wilden corrected. Prentiss raised her eyebrows as she looked through Spencer's file, skimming over her academic achievements and her interrogation transcript.
"SSA Morgan, this is your assignment. Emily Fields, a star athlete who's relying on a scholarship to get her into a good college. Not much to hide, her father is stationed in Texas, so that's taking a toll on the home life, I presume," Wilden said nonchalantly. Morgan tensed as he thumbed through her thin file. The detective was already getting under his skin with his snide comments.
"And finally, Aria Montgomery. Her family left the United States after Alison DiLaurentis disappeared. They stayed in Iceland for a year, and they just got back this month. She's the oddball in the group. She went through many phases before the abduction, as she was obviously unsure of her identity. Special Agent Rossi, I believe she's under your charge." Wilden finished, handing Rossi the file. Rossi thumbed through numerous pictures of Aria, finally stopping on a recent one taken in Iceland. He briefly wondered how Wilden had gotten these pictures.
"Any questions?" Wilden asked the group. The team looked up, and shook their heads.
"Alright, the girls are in the next room over. Do whatever you need to do to get information from them. Let me know if you have any questions," Wilden said, opening the door and striding away. Morgan glared at the Wilden's back for a second before standing up.
"Well, let's get this over with," Morgan muttered, opening the door into the room next to them. As the team walked in, the four girls seated on the couch immediately turned away from each other. Aria and Emily watched the floor carefully, while Hanna inspected a painting on the wall. Only Spencer watched the agents enter, her calm countenance and her intelligent eyes scanning the group before her.
"I'm Special Agent Jennifer Jareau, but you can call me JJ," the blonde liaison said, watching the girls carefully. They didn't respond.
"You have all been assigned an agent to protect you at all times. What happened to your friend Alison may not be a one time occurrence and her killer may target you next," JJ informed them gently. There was no reaction from the girls. JJ glanced at Hotch, looking for him to take over.
"Aria, you'll be with SSA Rossi," Hotch said, glancing at the Italian agent. Rossi stepped forward to shake Aria's hand, his demeanor uncharacteristically kind and gentle. Aria stood up, and gently shook his hand, her smile not extending to her eyes.
"Nice to meet you, SSA Rossi," Aria said quietly, glancing at the agent. He smiled at her.
"You can just call me Rossi," he said softly. Aria smiled hesitantly, and sat back down.
"Emily, SSA Morgan will be watching over you."
Morgan stepped forward. The tall and statuesque tan beauty shook his hand firmly, smiling slightly.
"Hey, you can just call me Derek if you want," Morgan said, grinning. Emily nodded awkwardly, quickly sitting back down. She clasped her hands in her lap and watched Morgan out of the corner of her eye.
"Spencer, SSA Prentiss will be with you," Hotch said, watching as the slender girl stood up, looking Prentiss directly in the eye.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Spencer said calmly, shaking Prentiss's hand with a strong grip. Prentiss immediately knew that Spencer liked to be in charge, and didn't let her emotions show easily.
"The pleasure's all mine, Spencer," Prentiss said evenly, staring the girl down. As soon as Spencer retreated back to the couch, Hotch looked up to see the one remaining girl looking skeptically over the remaining agents.
"Hanna, you'll be with me. I'm SSA Hotchner. You're free to call me Hotch."
Hanna's eyes opened in disbelief as she looked at the grim agent. She huffed as she stood up, and she stalked over to the agent and shook his hand quickly. Hanna whirled back around and sat down on the leather couch, arms crossed, glaring at the wall.
"Dr. Reid and I will be staying at the station, but we'll be checking up on you all. You're all free to go home." JJ watched as the four girls stood up and walked out of the room, Hanna and Spencer leading the pack.
"Have fun," Reid murmured quietly as his teammates left the room. He wondered what was in store for them. He had a feeling of dread, like worse things were to come. Reid looked away from the retreating backs of Rossi, Prentiss, Morgan, and Hotch. He hoped he was wrong.
R&R, please!