I walked into the airport wondering if he would remember me. We had grown up together; done everything outside of school together. The best of friends that had to grow apart, due to distance. I live in Colorado; he lives in Virginia. Sharing e-mails every once in a blue moon was ok, let us know that the other was still alive. It brought comfort to our hectic lives to some small, very small, degree.
Someone came on the intercom saying that my flight was delayed by half an hour; great by me since I was strangely running late. I had just quit my job since there was an opening in Virginia for my perfections and arriving here ten minutes before my plan was to board. Lady luck was on my side for once.
Placing my bag and small belongings on the conveyer belt to be scanned, I stepped forward through the metal detector. The alarm went off making me sigh. So much for lady luck being on my side. I walked over to the security officer to get scanned. He waved his wand to just have it go off right in my ear. Asking me politely to move my hair, which I did, he realized that I had a metal earring. Nodding for me to go on ahead, I grabbed my belongings and headed towards my gate.
Just as I was arriving at my gate the announcer informed us that the plane was still five minutes out. Sighing I shook my head wondering why lady luck loved to mess with me so much. Sitting down I waited; not much else I could really do. Finally the plane got to the gate, let the passengers off, and readied for the on boarding passengers.
As we boarded the plane I wondered if he still looked the same and how his son was. Never meeting him but hearing so much after he was born made me slightly nervous. Finding my window seat I placed my bag up in the compartment and quickly sat. I hadn't heard from him for a good year now and it bothered me. He was, and is, my only true friend, well other than my elder brother. Never being able to tell him to his face, I felt horrible at the thought that if he was dead he would never know how I truly felt about him. Shaking the thought from my mind the plane took off.
The plane landed, three fucking hours later. I hated sitting for long periods of time. My body needed to move, stay active unless sleeping, sitting never sat well with me. Quickly, I grabbed my bag and exited the plane. Exiting the airport I caught a cab and headed to the FBI Behavior Analysis Unit (BAU) headquarters in Quantico. The ride, yet more sitting, was longer than I wanted. Finally getting there, I paid the cabby, got my bag, and headed inside.
The receptionist at the front desk questioned me upon entry. Stating that I was here to see Supervisory Special Agent (SSA) Hotchner. She called for an escort to lead me to his floor. Feeling relieved that she hadn't stated that he was dead I stood there not as edgy. A thought suddenly occurred to me; she never stated whether he was dead or alive. There was still that chance he was and she just didn't know.
Butterflies filled my stomach as my escort arrived. I nodded to him, picked up my bag, and followed him to an elevator. We entered and rode it up to the fifteenth floor. My escort pointed me over to a group of people who he said was part of Agent Hotchner's team. Thanking him I headed over.
"Excuse me," I stated as I got closer to the group.
"Hello, can we help you?" the youngest member of the group asked.
"Yes, I'm looking for SSA Hotchner. Is he here?" I asked politely.
"I'll show you to his office Honey." An African American man said as he rose from his desk.
My right eye slightly twitched at the pet name. He was a charmer but yet never truly meant anything by it. It was just in his nature to act like that. I thanked him, and the other gentleman, as I followed his lead. He introduced himself as SSA Derek Morgan. Smiling I nodded to him not saying a word. I was too excited about surprising my dear friend. Agent Morgan knocked on the door to Hotchner's office. His voice, still the same as I remembered, invited us in.
"You have a guest Hotch." Morgan informed.
"Send them in." Was all Hotchner said.
I walked in and found myself smiling happily. He rose from his desk with a true smile. Derek left so we could have some privacy. Hotch walked over to me and embraced me in a loving hug. Hugging back I took in the familiar scent of my friend. We separated and sat on the small sofa that was sitting against his windows. He caught me up on his life and explained why he hadn't e-mailed me in quite some time. I laughed sarcastically telling him that it's been over a year since the last e-mail. Chuckling lightly he apologized and rose from the sofa. Extending his hand to me, which I accepted and rose to my feet, Aaron led me back down to where his team was, which was called the Bull Pin.
"Everyone, I would like to introduce you to my dear friend Cassie." Hotch announced.
I blushed slightly at my old nickname as I raised my hand. Derek smiled and went to shake my hand. Smiling politely I accepted his warm hand.
"I'm Emily Prentiss." A black haired woman smiled as we shook hands.
"Jenifer Jareau. Everyone calls me JJ." A blonde smiled warmly. "This quiet one is Dr. Spencer Reid."
"Doctor? You look too young to be a doctor." I stated shocked and in awe.
"Yes well he's a genius."
"Really now?" I smiled thinking that now I had some competition in chess, which I hoped he played.
"And this is-"
"Dave Rossi. We know each other very well." I smiled as I went over to said man for a long awaited hug.
"It's been a while Cass." Rossi smiled as we released each other.
"It's only been what, ten years?" I laughed.
"That's too long." Dave lightly chuckled.
"So how do you two know each other?" Dr. Reid questioned with curiosity.
"She's my little sister."
"Adopted sister, sadly enough." I smiled.
Everyone looked shocked. Apparently Dave never mentioned me to his friends. That or they never asked if he had any family. I smiled as I felt Dave's hand rest on my shoulder.
"How do you know Hotch?" Dave asked what was on everyone's mind.
"Oh, we kind of grew up together. We went to college together and what not. He was never so stuck up though. I guess the BAU has that kind of effect on people."
"I'm sorry to interrupt this little gathering, but I need to steel Miss Night." A blonde woman stated with authority.
I nodded to the others and followed the woman. She led me into what looked like her office. Knowing what was next, after realizing that she was the director of the BAU, I put on a calm exterior. The interview commenced and I thought it was going well. As the interview ended Erin, the director, requested me to step outside. Doing as I was ordered, I stood nervous as hell outside of her office. After a while she exited her office and handed me a folder. Looking down I realized that it was a case file. I looked back up at her as she instructed me to give it to Aaron. Walking back into her office she said over her shoulder that I was now part of his team. Smiling I tried not to run back to their location.
As I walked back to where everyone was I couldn't hold back my smile. They all looked at me with the expression, "Why so happy"? Walking past them I knocked and entered Aaron's office. He looked up from some paperwork and stared at the folder in my hand. Handing the file to him I smiled joyfully. Shooting me the same look as everyone else I finally stated that I was now part of his team. His head shot up from the file and stared at me with shock and awe. My smile grew as I nodded towards the door. Nodding in agreement, Hotch rose from his seat and followed me down to the Bull Pin. He led the way to a room with a round table.
"Not that I'm complaining, but what's Cassie-"
"Cass." I interrupted Derek.
"Ok, what's Cass doing here?" Derek questioned.
"She's part of the team now." Aaron announced as I smiled proud of myself.
Everyone smiled, obviously glad to have me, especially Dave. Clearing his throat, Aaron began to go over the case at hand. There had been multiple animal attacks in a west coast town. I scanned the file quickly and instantly put in my input.
"I know the area; there aren't any wolves and not many coyotes. The only creature in this area that could cause this kind of damage is a human."
"Please tell me that you're not suggesting that a werewolf is responsible." Derek joked.
"No, I'm not. I'm saying that these marks aren't canine. They're human. We're dealing with a cabalistic unsub." I stated ignoring Morgan's joke.
"How did you come to that conclusion Cass?" Reid asked.
"I have a PHD in Veterinary Medicine, Zoology, and Forensics. Please don't call me Dr. Night." I sighed. "I specialize in canines but I know all deadly predators. Now that we have that out of the way, these marks here on the Humerus," I started again as I pointed to where I was looking, "these marks are from a canine. I won't be able to say from sure what kind of canine until I get a better look."
"Alright, wheels are up in thirty." Hotch stated as he gathered up his set of files and headed for the door.
Doing the same, I quickly joined him. We walked side by side without saying a word. I felt my stomach sink at the thought of having to encounter the creature/unsub. It was my first case and I was nervous about it. Maybe it was just being around new people or maybe it was the thought of being on a plane again. Either way I knew that I couldn't slip up.
The team boarded the jet and took up our seats. It wasn't anything like what I was use to. This was made just for us. Giver take an extra seat or two. I sat next to Morgan and across from Rossi. Reid was looking over the case file again while Hotch was staring at me. Looking up I smiled at him and then lightly tapped Reid on the shoulder.
"You know you can ask me what you want to know. It really won't bother me." I smiled knowing that he had questions of his own to ask.
"How did you-"
"I'm a pretty good profiler. I could tell by the way you keep side glancing me that you had something on your mind. Profiling has become a hobby of mine. When Hotch and I were younger, we would watch mystery/crime shows," I chuckled lightly at the memory, "we would guess who the killer was or if it was done by accident. I guess you could say we profiled our way through every show that we watched together." I smiled as the memory lingered.
"How many degrees do you have?" Reid questioned bluntly.
With a slight laugh I started to count, "nine."
"And how old are you?" Morgan gasped.
"Forty-eight; why?"
"You're forty-eight years old and already have nine degrees. It's shocking is all," Morgan sighed.
"Is it? I never comprehended it I suppose."
"What degrees?" Prentiss questioned now interested in getting to know Rossi's younger sister.
"Veterinary Medicine, Zoology, Forensics, Music, Spanish, German, French, Japanese/Chinese, Romanian and Criminal Justice. I guess that's ten." I lightly chuckled.
"You've changed a lot since we last saw each other then." Hotch stated.
"You too."
"We're almost there we'll have to finish this later." Rossi said as the jet started it's decent.
My stomach lifted making me feel nauseated. That was the main reason I hated flying. We got off the plain and saw two Onyx Black Yukon Hybrids. I smiled when I saw an old friend leaning against a Black 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback GT with red phantom flames on the front of it. My smile grew as he jingled the keys. Tossing them to me I raised my hand up and caught them. Looking back at the team I smiled and invited all who dared to ride with me.
Morgan was the first to get into my car. Rossi and Hotch shook their heads and got into a Yukon. Prentiss and JJ got into the other. Reid stood between the two Yukon and my Mustang.
"I promise not to kill ya Reid. There's plenty of room in the back if you want to come with us. It won't hurt my feelings any if you don't want to." I smiled sweetly waiting for his answer.
Surprising to everyone he walked over to the Mustang. Pulling my seat forward so he could get in I smiled happily. They trusted me enough to drive them in a classic car even though they didn't know shit about me…or my driving habits. Setting my seat back in its place I turned to my friend. He smiled and started to walk away. I knew that it wouldn't be the last time we saw him around.
Quickly getting in I buckled up after asking Reid if he had enough room, which he said he did, and started my baby. She roared to life and gave a pretty purr. My smile turned into a grin as I revved the engine. Reid's look changed from curious to slightly frighten. Chuckling I revved the engine again and popped it into third gear. Tearing out of the parking lot I sped past the rest of the team. Morgan was laughing his ass off while Reid was clutching the seat for dear life. I laughed as I drove off towards the police station.
By the time the rest of the team had arrived, the conference room was already set up and Reid was happily sitting in a chair. JJ and the rest of the team introduced themselves to the Police Chief and a few deputies. I waved them over so we could get started.
"How fast were you going?" Hotch snapped.
"I wasn't breaking the speed limit if that's what you're asking."
"How fast."
"50mph. Are you done interrogating me Agent Hotchner?" I growled.
"She doesn't like to be interrogated. PTSD kicks in and she gets overly defensive." A deep masculine voice stated from the door way.
"Who are you?" Hotch questioned.
"James, it's good to see you again. When did you join the force?" Rossi asked.
"I'm not at liberty to say Dave. I would if I could but I can't without killing you." James laughed along with Rossi. "Her car is supped up for speed. She can go 25mph and it'll look like she's going 50."
"I'm sorry Cassie." Hotch stated turning to me now.
"Yeah whatever. Here James," I snarled turning my back to Hotch and tossing James my keys, "since my boss doesn't want me to drive would you mind taking my car?"
"Of course not my dear; oh and it's her PTSD. Don't take her hostility to heart. The military really fucked with her mind." James informed.
"When did you go into the military Cass?" Dave asked slightly concerned.
"Shortly after you left home." I stated. "I needed an outlet for my frustrations and my kickboxing wasn't helping." I turned to the Police Chief, "May I see the body?"
"I wouldn't advise that little lady."
I slightly twitched, "I need to examine the body to identify what kind of canine took a bite out of our victim's arm and neck."
"Very well; follow me." The Police Chief stated as he led me down to the morgue.
He opened the door allowing me to enter first. Happy to do so, I walked in just as the coroner was covering up the body. Looking up from the body the coroner smiled at me. Smiling back I pointed to the body. The Chief nodded with approval and the coroner moved the sheet down. I put gloves on and started my examination.
The marks looked human but where indeed canine. Morgan's werewolf joke popped into my head and I let out a light chuckle. Maybe, just maybe we were dealing with werewolves. An off white fragment caught my eye. Taking tweezers, I pulled it out and examined it.
"May I look at this under a microscope?" I questioned.
"Our only microscopes are up in the labs." The Chief stated.
"May I take this fragment up there to examine it closer?"
"You'll need to sign it into evidence and then sign it into your custody." The coroner said as he recovered the body.
"Very well." I stated as I looked over at the Chief.
We signed the fragment into evidence and then into my custody. Placing the fragment into an evidence bag the Chief and I headed out of the morgue and towards the elevator. Once in the elevator I pressed the button for the floor that we needed. Waiting for the doors to open I continued to examine the fragment. As the doors opened I walked out and right into my boss' strong chest.
Looking up I smiled while apologizing for not paying attention. Walking around him, not letting him respond, I headed towards a trace lab. Entering I introduced myself as FBI Agent Night and that I needed to use a microscope. The lab tech. pointed me to one that wasn't being used. Thanking him I walked over to it, opened the bag after putting gloves on, pulled out the fragment and started my examination. My findings came to my conclusion that the fragment was part of a canine tooth. Turning to the lab tech, I asked him if he could run this fragmented tooth for DNA. He nodded and did as I asked. Surprisingly enough, the tooth had DNA. The most surprising thing though, was that the DNA was a cross between wolf and human.
Derek's joke ran through my mind again making me laugh. I thanked the lab tech, sealed the tooth fragment in its bag, and checked it out of my custody and into the lab tech's. Pulling the gloves off and throwing them away, I headed off to look for my team members. Heading towards the conference room I found all of them trying to find a lead.
"Don't laugh but Derek's joke might not be a joke." I stated as I walked in. "Hotch, I'm sorry for running into you. I was more focused on a tooth fragment I had recovered from the victim's jugular."
"It's fine."
"Why do you say that Morgan's joke might not be?" Reid asked.
"I asked the lab tech to run the tooth fragment for DNA. The test came back and the results were shocking. The DNA was from a strain that was made up of both human and wolf DNA. He ran the human DNA against our victim's and it wasn't a match or even close to it.
Another thing, the bite marks that I had earlier said were human are actually canine. They look human from a distance but that's only because the canine bit in the same place more than once and from different angles. This is definitely the work of some weird wolf hybrid." I informed as I sat next to Rossi.
"So what do we do Hotch?" Prentiss asked.
"There isn't anything that we can do. This isn't in our-"
"Sorry to interrupt Hotch but I think that we should stay on this case. Look, the first victim was a healthy active young blonde woman. The second was a healthy middle aged blonde mother of two. The third was a healthy blonde woman about twenty-eight. All these victims have been blondes from about nineteen to thirty years of age. Every attack has gotten worst Hotch. That and there are no wolves in this area. Not even a wolf sanctuary." I said as I looked my boss in the eyes.
"Cass, do you were contacts?" Reid asked throwing all of us off track.
"Wow Reid, that was random. To answer your question, no."
"Why Reid?" Rossi questioned.
"Her eyes look almost like a wolf's." Reid pointed out as everyone looked.
I swallowed hard and then cleared my throat, "That I'll explain at a later time. Right now we need to focus on the case. This isn't a wolf and it's hardly possible that a human can have wolf DNA mixed in with their own."
"Alright Cass, we'll stay for a few more days. If nothing comes up then we're heading back." Aaron said finally giving in to my logic.
"Thank you Hotch." I smiled as the Chief burst in.
"We have another body."
We all hurried out of the room and headed to our next victim.
