Ten Years Later...

Another day at the BAU for Agent Hotchner. He sat behind the wheel of his car in the early hours of a Tuesday morning. He had gone home around one a.m. the night before to catch some sleep, only to wake up four hours later. Jack had been peacefully asleep that entire time, which at least gave Hotch some comfort. At least his son wasn't as haunted by memories as he was.

Hotch walked briskly out into the chilly rain that was falling that day, climbed into his car, and started the engine. He was headed back to the office, the one place that could distract him from his own lonely life and gave him at least some sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. Once there, he filled the coffee maker to start the first pot of coffee for the day. The clock read 6:30 a.m. when he began diving into paperwork.

It was about an hour later when he heard some noise from out in the bullpen. He assumed it was simply the first of his team to arrive for the day, but when he glanced over through his blinds he did not recognize the figure. Looking closer, he saw whoever it was look around and eventually make their way towards his office. Moments later he heard a soft knock at the door. "Come in," Hotchner said.

Tentatively, a woman in a long brown raincoat stepped into his office, her brown heels making the only noise. "Agent Hotchner," she said. "I hope I'm not interrupting you…" she trailed off.

"You're not," Hotch replied, standing up and taking a good look at the woman in front of him. Brown hair pulled back, olive skin with an oval face and gray eyes. She was so familiar to him, he knew he had met her before…

"I don't suppose you remember me," the woman continued, "We met once quite a while ago, I'm – "

"Lucy," Hotch finished. "Special Agent… Harris, I believe?"

Lucy breathed a sigh of relief. She was glad he remembered; it made her feel less entirely weird about the situation. "That's right," she said, starting to feel more comfortable.

"That was quite a while ago," Hotch said thoughtfully, returning to his seat. He motioned for her to sit at the seat in front of his desk. "What brings you here?"

"Well," Lucy said a little playfully, "You being a profiler I'm sure you probably already know," she teased.

"Profilers aren't mind readers," Hotch replied with a slight chuckle. "But your accent is just as strong if not more then I recall from when I last saw you. You've been back in the Midwest?"

A smile formed across Lucy's face. "Running the Minneapolis field office," she said. "And I've come here to plead for your help."

"Agent Harris – " Hotch started

"Please," she interrupted. "It's Lucy. And I know what you're going to say. There are certain channels I need to go through, there's a procedure to all of this. Your liaison is supposed to be contacted. But there was another murder just last night, and I went right from the crime scene to the airport."

"Another?" Hotch asked, allowing for her to continue.

"The sixth in two months. They're all the same. Someone is… throwing people into the river," she said darkly.

"Throwing them?" Agent Hotchner inquired.

"More or less, yes," Lucy responded. "The first two bodies were found washed up along the river, but with the last few, there have been some witnesses. We think they're being drugged, and then convinced to go along with the killer for a walk across a bridge. Once halfway he, well, he picks them up and chucks them over the edge. That's what every witness we've had describes. But none of them have been close enough to give a decent description… and the crimes usually occur late at night, so… a number of our witnesses were intoxicated at the time. Oh, and all the victims have all been students. These crimes have been happening near college campuses."

"You have a case file with you, I presume?" Hotch asked.

"And plenty of copies," Lucy replied, pulling a folder out of her bag and placing them on Hotch's desk. "My cell phone number is on there as well as the numbers for the Minneapolis PD and the FBI field office."

"Well I'll look it over and discuss it with J.J." Hotch said. "The rest of the team will be arriving in a couple hours, so…"

"I'll find myself something to do until then," Lucy finished. Hotch nodded curtly in response while Lucy rose and gathered her bag, slinging it over her shoulder. She walked toward the door and then turned back to Hotch to speak. "I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me, sir," she said. "I know your team is busy, and in high demand. But keep in mind… these are just college kids, waking up to find that their friend is dead and washed up along the Mississippi. This is my city, and it is very dear to me, as are its residents."

"I understand," Hotch replied kindly. "And Lucy?"

"Yes?" she responded.

"You don't have to call me sir," He said. "You don't outrank me. You could even call me Aaron."

"I know," Lucy said, "But you just… seem like a 'sir'. I'll be waiting for your call," she added before walking out the door.