Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds – It hurts to say that.
'So what are we looking at here?' Emily asked as she settled back into her chair and looked at the information JJ had just displayed to her and the rest of the team. 'A repeat of 9/11 but on a smaller scale?'
'It's more police and FBI that are the target but nothing like the Pentagon.' JJ added showing a burnt out police unit. 'There's a warning moments before but the explosives have been in the basements of the buildings when they were detonated.'
Derek sat forward the file in his hand as he read. 'How do we know we aren't a target?'
'Well, we don't, but we have security checks on the basement, so far we're clear.'
'Do we have leads? Statistically based terrorism is aimed at majority groups, religions acting out. There's nothing that would point a terrorist group to take out precincts one at a time. Things like the twin towers show us that. Terrorists like things on a grand scale.' Reid added as he mulled over the case presented.
'Working up to greatness?' Penelope dropped in as she wrote notes, everyone looked at her. 'The way I see it is that they're getting the puppies of the superheroes and branching out.' Still everyone looked at her shocked. 'I've worked with profilers long enough, mama's gonna become in on some aspects.'
'Garcia's got a point.' Hotch commented thoughtfully.
'Of course I have.'
Hotch laughed slightly before continuing. 'All precincts have been of same sizes, nothing measuring out, most have been 3 stories and that's it.'
'Sir, I'm gonna go and run some searches with the information I've got.' Penelope tried to excuse herself. 'If there's anything else can someone bring it down? I just have a few ideas.'
'Go ahead Garcia, good job.'
'S'okay Sir, all in a day's work.' She added with a smile and they all watched her leave, Derek's eyes watching her intently before she was gone entirely.
'She's not okay is she?' JJ asked Derek as soon as she knew that Penelope was out of ear shot.
'She's got every right to be scared about this but she'll work and do her hardest like the rest of us and she'll go home and chill and come back more prepared for it.' Derek told them and looked at the notes he had. 'So do we profile a group or an individual?' He asked getting back into the job at hand. When they disbanded to set to work, Derek went down to Penelope's office as Emily followed Hotch.
'You doing okay Hotch?' She asked softly, she could see he was in turmoil.
'I don't want us to be a target and as much as I know I should walk away for Jack's sake at least I can't.'
'Where's your head wanna be Aaron?'
'Here, it needs to be here, to help the team suss this.'
'And where does your heart want to be?'
'With Jack, with you, with the team.' Hotch admitted and looked up from his desk to look at her directly, Emily just walked in further and perched on the corner. 'What do you think I should do?'
'You need to listen to your gut on this. If you don't want to be here, then fair enough. Jack lost his mom, don't let him lose his dad.'
'I don't want to be the coward in all this.'
'You'll never be the coward.' She told him and went to the door. 'Oh and Hotch, just keep your head in the game.' He watched her leave and he couldn't help but smile.
Derek waltzed out of the bullpen and into the corridor, he clocked onto Penelope's office door and headed towards it, with one knock he went in. 'How you doing Baby girl?'
'Well, there's no link to any cults with the explosives. There's a lot of dynamite compacted into the basements but nothing exclusive to gangs Handsome.' She said sounding disappointed. 'They're knocking out the main support from the underneath and that's causing the weak points to be exacerbated but even that's not conclusive to specifics, it's just logic.'
'Well don't worry about it baby, you'll think of something.'
'After how many families lose loved ones?' She said and put her elbows to the desk and rubbed her temples. 'We're supposed to be the good guys and we're the targets. That's messed up even for this kooky world.'
Derek went and crouched next to Penelope. 'Look at me mama.' He told her and Penelope slowly looked at him. 'I don't want you to start doubting all of this because we can't get anywhere. We will but we just need you to do what you and wait for us to find something.'
'You heading out?'
'We are indeed but we'll be back within the hour.' He said and stood up, he then bent and kissed her forehead. 'I'll take you down for lunch but don't you dare doubt this.'
'I'll try not to gorgeous.'
'That's what I like to hear Beautiful.' Penelope smiled at him and watched him leave before she turned back to her babies with a new battle plan developing in her mind. The day lolled by slowly, nothing at all was helping them crack this except for another precinct being taken out ,this one bigger than the others.
Penelope was shutting down at the end of the day feeling like she'd wasted a whole day. Likewise everyone got ready to head home. Emily, Reid and Derek were talking animatedly as they tidied their desks in preparation, Rossi finished a call and JJ finished off a new report. Hotch was shrugging on his coat when his cell rang out, he answered it and frowned.
'3, 2, 1.' Was all he heard and the building shook. He wanted to believe it was an earthquake but little did he know other team leaders had received the same call, another shake followed and consequently more did. Then things spend up.
Hotch went to flee his office knowing that the Bureau had just been bombed but he was too late. The whole place began to fall down around him and every other agent that worked there.
-=-=-=-=-=-100th-=-=-=-=-=-
A/N: SO I'm hoping for an epic mix of everything in this! Cos it's my 100th fic!
Hope you like where this is heading! More so I promise!! =)
R&R!
