Chapter 1: Impulse Control

The evening shadows were beginning to gather as JJ finally got in her car to drive to her empty apartment, wishing she didn't have to wait until morning to go get Henry from where he was staying at Will's apartment across town. She tried her usual method of letting thoughts of her son fill her mind to push away the darkness that had been threatening to overwhelm her during the day of never-ending reminders about the case from Richmond. Even though the team had unanimously decided to turn off the news and ignore media outlets they still couldn't escape the reminders as well-meaning fellow he agents would stop by to express their sympathy or to discuss the general black eye the agency had received as a result of acquittal. With all the commotion continuing to interfere with their work the trickle home began much earlier than usual as Blake left soon after lunch, followed by Reid and then Morgan by late afternoon. She didn't know when Rossi left, he was good at slipping out unnoticed. It wasn't until she finally gathered her completed reports and scanned the offices that she realized she was the last member of the unit as Hotch had also left only thirty moments before she had. Barely speaking to her as he passed the bullpen, but from the brief glimpse of his face and the weariness in his step she could guess that Jack was probably weighing on his mind also.

As she thought of Jack and Henry and their happy smiling faces she could feel some of the lightness beginning to take effect, especially as she started remembering Henry's laughter from their last trip to the playground, how she had pushed him on the swings against the backdrop of his giggles and pleas to go higher. She felt a smile begin to form as she could visualize her happy son in her mind as they had stopped at his favorite ice cream shop on the way home. But as she pictured him with chocolate ice cream smeared on his delicate features the image in her mind was suddenly replaced by Tommy Dawson, the fourth victim of The Icecream Killer as he was dubbed by the media. There had been no denying a resemblance to Henry when she recalled his wispy blonde hair and blue eyes. He had been at the park with his mother when he suddenly vanished before being found those two days later. She could still almost hear the anguished sobs of his parents when they had been notified that their son had been found. As she recalled the resemblance and began thinking of how all the little boys had simply been going for ice cream before they met their untimely deaths she could feel the darkness begin to invade her thoughts once again. Suddenly filled with purpose she found herself turning away from her usual route home to take a completely different direction.

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As Hotch drove through the dark streets of Richmond the attempts of his conscience to intervene were futile as his mind stayed consumed with a single purpose. Once the idea had struck his mind quickly became adept at rationalizing that he was going to remedy a miscarriage of justice and to protect children from a known predator. He had stopped by Jessica's on his way home to pick up his son for the weekend trip home but Jack had already fallen asleep. As he stepped into the bedroom intending to wake his son he saw the dim light illuminating the delicate features and just stopped to watch as Jack peacefully slept, oblivious to the day's events that continued to weigh on his father's heart, with a sigh Hotch turned, asking Jessica if he could pick Jack up in the morning. Considering how tired he looked she did not consider it an unusual request as she cheerfully agreed and invited him to come back and have pancakes with them in the morning.

As he continued to drive toards his destination he knew his thoughts that he was protecting Jack with what he was planning to do were not completely logical, but that was not enough of a deterrent and before he knew it the quiet street on the outskirts of Richmond appeared. His grip tightened on the steering wheel even as he saw the ice cream truck still parked in the driveway of the small house. he drove slowly by taking stock of the small rundown neighborhood. He was satisfied to see that the street appeared quiet and houses were dark as he circled back out of the street to park at a nearby empty church parking lot. He paused for a moment as he into heavily shaded corner in the back parking lot, feeling a spike of adrenaline as he pulled into the shadows and his lights glinted off the metal of another deserted vehicle that for a moment looked vaguely familiar but he shook the thought quickly as he refocused on his goal and the internal reminder that time was of the essence tonight.

He was thankful for his dark suit and hair that enabled him to blend into the shadows as he skirted the treeline towards the small rundown home of James Starkey. A privacy fence in the back afforded him even greater security as he moved towards a broken down back porch. The setup couldn't be better he thought as he moved purposefully towards the door, no bright security lights and a gravel path surrounding the house that made it more likely that he would be able to move undetected and without leaving behind footprints. The FBI agent's heart rate continued to accelerate as he reached the door, realizing he had not really thought this through well but knowing he had come too far to stop now.

As he stepped into a dirty kitchen he listened for a moment, hearing nothing in the house he cautiously turned on his pen light to begin making his way through the narrow corridors in search of his quarry.

Meanwhile JJ crept down the hallway, her nerves prickling and her senses heightened as she navigated the unfamiliar home with her own penlight. Her gun drawn she worked quietly and efficiently as she began to work her way through the house. Just as she had begun to think she was the only one there she froze as she heard the slight scrape of a door opening. Instinctively she turned her light towards the floor and flattened herself against the wall, her breathing shallow as she knew that she had come too far to stop now. Staying frozen she listened, just barely hearing the soft footsteps coming down the hallway towards her location, taking a steadying breath she turned the safety off her gun as she prepared for the confrontation.

Hotch drew his gun out of its holster and steadied it as he could feel the presence of another person in the darkened hallway. His eyes worked to focus in the dark as he inched forward listened intently for any sounds to alert him, he continued to move forward slowly, ready to shoot as soon as his target was visible though suddenly wishing he had thought to take his FBI vest from the trunk of the SUV at work. A floorboard squeaked loudly as he took one more tentative step towards the corner and the next moment seemed liked a lifetime as a figure stepped out in front of him obviously in a shooting stance as the light hit his face.