Okay, second chapter up, and it was a lot of work ! This will be some chapter about a case to describe the team interaction and give some leads about the real subject of the story ! Thanks everybody for your reviews ! It was just awesome and gave us the will to work even more quickly.
As always, constructive criticism, ideas and comments are welcome and hoped for !
Disclamer : Criminal Minds still belongs to CBS. If I had any right on it, Paget Brewster would still be on the show !
« Only five minutes late ? I'm impressed. »
As she stepped out of the elevator, Emily looked up at JJ and saw the smirk on the young blonde's otherwise angelic face. She could not help smiling :
« And I see you aren't wearing tennis shoes. Do you think you're going to be able to outrun me, balanced on those four-inch heels ?
-You're wearing heels too, and I have the advantage of age, » retorted JJ, provocatively.
Emily could not hold back an outraged expression :
« A joke about my age ? That's just cruel ! »
JJ laughed sweetly, her blond hair flipping backward over her shoulder, and she could not help sticking out her tongue at the older woman.
« Very mature, Jareau, » Emily protested.
« So what, angel face, you're becoming a child again ? » exclaimed Morgan, suddenly materializing right behind Emily.
JJ shrugged her shoulders suggestively and turned on her heels :
« Briefing in ten minutes in the conference room. Get ready ! »
Emily nodded and moved towards her desk, accompanied by Morgan. Each of them dropped off the go-bags they were carrying at their desks. Reid was already there, buried in files, as always, and Rossi's and Hotch's office doors were closed, signaling their presence.
« Hey, kid, » Morgan called out after his young genius of a colleague.
Reid glanced up, seemingly jolted by Emily and Derek's presence.
« Oh ! Hello !
-What are you reading ? » asked Emily, with interest.
« These are the government circulars from this month, » Reid responded, as innocently as usual. « They did a study on the modification of travel time and traffic intensity as a function of different climates and weather patterns. Did you know that one hail storm slows traffic circulation by . . .
-Woah, kid, slow down, it's not even eight AM ! » Morgan interrupted, raising his hands in surrender.
Reid blushed, used to being rebuffed in his theoretical monologues, and reburied himself in his file while Emily decided to change the subject, amused by their childish quarreling :
« Cup of coffee before starting the assault ?
-How about two ? » grunted Morgan. « You coming, Pretty Boy ?
-Uh, yeah, okay, » Reid agreed, standing up.
The two men walked off together and Emily was amused, as always, to see them standing next to each other. Undeniably, as co-workers, Derek Morgan and Spencer Reid made quite the odd couple. The former was a veritable mocha Adonis, a muscular giant and former football player, tattooed and accustomed to breaking hearts. A great seducer and adrenaline junkie, he was also incredibly stubborn, with a body that could have belonged to a professional athlete, a gigolo or a gangster. The latter was just as tall, but all resemblance between the two ended there. He was scrawny and gangly, like an adolescent who has grown up too quickly. He had pale skin and light hair, an angular face and the look of an awkward valedictorian whose overdevelopped brain presented a serious social handicap. Night and day. However, they got along very well. Derek loved playing the rowdy older brother, always protective of the genius Doctor Spencer Reid and his army of diplomas.
Emily followed them to the break room and accepted the cup of coffee that Morgan offered her, playing the gentleman. She brought it to her lips and took a sip while her colleagues poured some for themselves. Then, Morgan turned toward her, and she could tell that he was about to make an idiotic remark because of the machiavelian look transforming his seductive face :
« Princess, what did you do last night ? You look like you've been hit by a bus !
-Thanks, » retorted Emily glancing at him with feigned outrage.
This made Derek laugh, as he suggested in a malicious tone :
« You had a crazy night, admit it !
-Mmm, » murmured Emily, playing his game, « you'd love to know every gritty detail, wouldn't you ?
-Of course I would ! What type of man can tame the heart of the sexy but badass FBI agent Emily Prentiss ? Or if not tame her heart, get her into bed !
-I don't need a bed, » teased Prentiss before adding. « But you're out of luck, Derek, because no matter who it was, it will never be you !
-Ouch, » exclaimed Derek putting his hand to his heart. « That really hurts, Princess.
-Your oversized ego will recover in someone else's arms. »
Morgan giggled while Emily reached for the cardboard cups to serve herself another coffee.
« Cafeine increases the heartrate, » Reid specified. « Copious amounts are medically contraindicated.
-Thank you for that, little genius, but it's not for me. You know perfectly well that JJ doesn't function without her dose of black gold.
-The expression ''black gold'' is more appropriately used to refer to oil.
-And given the fact that coffee is JJ's fuel, I think I can borrow the expression, don't you ? »
Reid just nodded. Like always, he finished by giving up any attempt to reason with his colleagues about the correct use of vocabulary and left them to enjoy the expressions that struck him as entirely inappropriate and, for this reason, incomprehensible. Emily smiled before the disarray of the little genius and left the men together in order to join JJ in her office.
She knocked on the door of the tiny dark office where JJ was working, leaned over the file that the team would probably be tasked with within the next five minutes. The place was not very nice, situated in the busiest hallway on the floor, too small to allow for a personal touch in the midst of the hundreds of papers, files and notes that dominated her desk and all the cupboards. Emily knew that they, the profilers, received all the praise whenever they managed to solve a case, but she was perfectly aware, along with all the other team members, that JJ was the cornerstone of the whole operation. She was the first to come in each morning and the last to leave at night, spending her days and weekends reading the hundreds of files that she was sent, looking at the victims' faces, examining the photos of their dead bodies and of the crime scenes, analyzing their molestation, all in order to choose just one case for the team to take on. The team was given a case and sprang into action, trying with all their might to stop these animals. When they were unable to prevent a perpetrator from committing another crime before being locked up, they felt powerless, angry with themselves and unable to sleep. JJ had to live with more than one crime weighing on her conscience. Each case that she waited to take or refused altogether might give a killer the chance to find a new victim. Each time, she ran the risk of not helping people who needed it. It was precisely for this reason that she took her work so seriously.
But JJ's job didn't end there. In Emily's eyes, this alone would have been enough to make JJ the most important part of their team, and also the colleague she esteemed and respected the most. Yet the blonde, the youngest member of the team besides Reid, was also in charge of logistics, booking hotel rooms, planning flights, taking care of everything and then some, battling the egos of the police officers who oversaw the cases they worked, flattering politicians, managing the press, facing the sometimes aggressive public, taking responsibility for the team's actions since she was the group's poster child. She also helped Garcia from time to time, as well as the profilers in the field, deftly avoided the traps of bureaucracy, confronted the FBI big-wigs in order to justify their expenses, handled the team's accounts and more. Emily could not believe that JJ was generally considered one of the least important members of the team when she was ultimately the only indispensable one. Her absence had been strongly felt while she was away from the Bureau on maternity leave.
« Come in, » called JJ through the door.
She looked up as Emily entered and could not help smiling, an action reflected in her cobalt blue eyes. The brunette soon returned the smile so naturally that it was almost a reflex, an inevitable reaction. How was it possible to not smile within view of JJ's angelic face ? Nonetheless, something, she didn't what exactly, was bothering Emily. For some time now, JJ had seemed more somber than usual, more tired.
« Has Henry been keeping you up all night, or what ? Or maybe it's Will ? »
JJ smiled. She had given birth to her young son, Henry, almost a year earlier. When she became pregnant, her relationship with William LaMontagne, the father, was just beginning, but the New-Orleans detective that she had met on a case was overjoyed with the development and had moved to Washington DC to live with her and their child. It had not been easy getting used to life as part of a couple and as a mother at the same time, but she loved her son. Nonetheless, it did not escape Emily that JJ's smile did not ring true.
« The joys of motherhood, » she responded flatly.
Emily gave the hint of a smile, handing JJ the cup of coffee that she had prepared for her :
« Here, this will help lift your spirits. »
JJ's smile grew as she took the cup :
« Oh God, Em, I love you, » she exclaimed.
« How many cups does that make this morning ?
-Four, and I could still drink double that ! »
Emily could not prevent herself from laughing :
« That's worse than dependance !
-I'm addicted to coffee, you to dangerous situations. Which is worse ? » JJ taunted.
Emily shrugged her shoulders, choosing not to respond, and JJ glanced at the clock on her wall :
« Come on, the briefing is about to start. Are you ready ?
-Now that you pulled me out of bed against my will, I have no choice, » Emily teased.
JJ nodded, amused, and stood up, the file under her arm, on her way to the conference room with her friend.
The entire team was seated around the table, in front of the plasma screen. JJ distributed copies of the file to each profiler, who immediatly plunged into the notes, while the media liaison began to explain the case to them :
« Olathe, Colorado. A dog belonging to a couple of hikers unearthed a mass grave in the woods on the edge of the town. At this point, we have found five victims, young caucasian women between twenty and thirty years of age.
-Five bodies ? » grunted Rossi, slumped over in his chair. « There are what, two thousand inhabitants in this backwater town...
-One thousand five hundred seventy-three inhabitants according to the census of the year 2000, » announced Reid. « And the use of the term ''backwater town'' in this case is completely inappropriate because... »
A glacial stare from Rossi shut him up and he immediately dropped his gaze, his cheeks tinted pink, while the rest of the team held back amused smiles. Rossi shook his head :
« It was just rhetorical, kid. » And Reid had the good sense not to hold forth on the correct use of the word ''rhetorical''. « In short, all that to say that five disappearances of young women in one little town of one thousand five hundred and some inhabitants...
-One thousand five hundred seventy-three, » corrected Reid before clasping his hands to his mouth with the horrified realization that he had let himself go off again.
Rossi sighed despairingly but choose not to react and continued :
« That five disappearances shouldn't have gone unnoticed. »
The remark, although laboriously explained, was pertinent and the whole team turned to JJ in expectation of a response which, of course, she had :
« None of the victims lived in Olathe. They were all simply passing through the region, travelling alone, and had no one in their lives who would notice their absence. Their disappearances had not caused much worry. Their cars were found several hours away, in different states, near major highways. If the bodies hadn't been found in Olathe, no one would have made the connection between these women and the town. And no one had ever known that there was a serial killer there. Up until now, the sheriff had not even noticed that five kidnappings had taken place in his town. »
The profilers sighed all together, saddened by a reality in which five young women could disappear in a tiny town without anyone being aware of it. JJ began speaking again in order to finish explaining the file :
« All the disappearances took place during the summer, whereas the exact dates and circumstances remain unknown. They all coincide moreover with the Olathe Sweet Corn Festival, which we know at least three of the victims attended. The first kidnapping happened five years ago, during the summer of 2003. Clearly, he would keep his victim for about a year before murdering her and kidnapping another, probably during the festival. »
She sighed, discouraged at being able to summarize so much tragedy in just a few minutes, and allowed herself to fall back into her chair. Around the table, the team's five profilers looked over the files open in front of them while Garcia typed furiously on her keyboard to avoid concentrating on the crime scene photos wich covered the conference table, the screens and the boards.
« Full debriefing on the plane, » Hotch announced, standing up. « The Olathe festival finished over a week ago, meaning that if the kidnappings truly take place during that weekend, our unsub already has his next victim. Takeoff in one hour. »
The whole team got up and dispersed, and Emily was preparing herself to do the same when she noticed JJ's pained expression. It shocked her and she looked over at the young blonde :
« JJ ? Are you okay ?
-Yeah... Yeah. I must have eaten something that disagreed with me, » answered the blonde, gently massaging her stomach.
She seemed to be suffering, and that was not like her. Emily frowned :
« Are you sure that you're okay ? I probably have Advil in my bag if you want it.
-No, it's okay, » smiled JJ, getting up.
But she had barely gotten to her feet when a groan of pain escaped her and she fell back into her chair. Right away, Emily furrowed her brow and hurried toward her while the blonde muttered :
« Okay, fine, one or two Advil won't hurt.
-JJ, it looks more serious than just indigestion, » Emily remarked, running her nervous fingers across her friend's forehead. « You should see a doctor.
-I will. »
Emily frowned again, immediatly convinced that something wasn't right, but JJ stood up and sweetly took her hand :
« Thanks, » whispered the blonde.
And she smiled. Her brightest and most sincere smile. A smile that could light up a room, light up a sky. A smile that could make Emily believe, inspite of the horrors that her job showed her every single day, horrors that she had endured herself over the course of her life, that life could not help but be beautiful as long as smiles like this existed, and what's more, as long as people like JJ were able to offer such smiles. A smile that could make her forget her worries and the questions that she prepared herself to ask of the blonde.
Before Emily got the chance to gather her thoughts, JJ had already left the room, but not without sending a conspiratorial wink her way. Emily sighed. She could do nothing against the pretty blonde when the latter played on her feelings, and that was hardly fair. She resolved to think no more of the ease with which her colleague could manipulate her and re-entered the open-space where Morgan, Reid and she had their desks, ready to prepare her belongings for the departure. In any case, JJ had already disappeared into her office, probably to take care of administrative hassles and to settle with Will on the details of her absence.
Emily forgot her worries as soon as she noticed that Reid and Morgan had used their three minutes together to launch back into an animated debate on the usefulness of filling their go-bags with books :
« Kid, » whined Morgan in a sorry tone, « for a genius, you have a pitiful sense of organization. Eight books, seriously ?
-Reading helps me think, » retorted Reid with a pout.
« Well, maybe you should stop, that would certainly help your chances of getting laid ! And we are sure to be working non-stop. When are you planning to do all of this reading ? »
Reid stuck out his tongue, and Morgan turned to Emily to take her aside :
« Princess, you aren't planning to tell the mastermind that bringing eight books on... » He paused and picked up one of the books resting on the table, reading the title. He soon looked up at their gangly genius of a colleague with consternation : « The mechanic-transduction of the zebra fish : microfluidic stimulation and functional imagery by aquatic laser ? Seriously ? »
Reid smirked proudly and Morgan shook his head in an afflicted manner before turning back to his female colleague :
« So, well, can you please tell Mr Big Brain here that bringing eight books on... incomprehensibles things is completely stupid ? Seriously kid, you're worse than a girl with her shoes ! »
Emily held back a smile and took hold of an eraser that was lying on her desk, throwing it at Derek's face. Having turned his attention on Reid, Morgan did not see the projectile until the last minute, just in time for it to hit him right between the eyes :
« Hey ! » he vigorously protested. « What was that for ?
-Watch what you say about girls and their luggage, » warned Emily, in a falsely threatening tone. « You could never understand the love that exists between us and our shoes, you Neanderthal. What's more, have you never seen Reid read ? He'll have finished his eight incomprehensible books before you can say ''I never date the same girl for more than one week. »
Morgan wanted to seize this chance to appear outraged, but he could not help smiling. He shrugged his shoulders slightly and contented himself by retorting :
« I work for the greater good ! »
Then, looking proud of himself, he grabbed his go-bag and walked toward the elevators to join Hotch and Rossi, who were already leaving. Reid hurried to throw his eight bricks of eight hundred pages each in his bag and turned back to Emily, a timid smile on his lips :
« Thanks, Em.
-You're welcome, Pretty Boy, » smiled the brunette, giving him a friendly pat on the shoulder, touched as always by the impression that he was a nine-year-old boy trapped in an adult body. « If you really want to thank me, » she added in a low voice, « simply avoid talking to me about zebra fish fluids. On the other hand, I'm sure that Derek would love for you to teach him all about them ! »
Reid nodded and they joined their colleagues in front of the elevators.
There it is. As always, reviews are sun, joy and mojito on my heart, so don't hesitate to write them. Tell me what you think, liked or disliked !
PS : The title of Reid's book is a true thesis' title. We have not the least idea about what it means.
Love ! Pegaze