JJ and Spencer exchanged surprised glances before walking back into the hotel room.
"Hayley, look, we're sorry." JJ apologized, sitting in the chair next to the one the teenager was sitting in.
"It's fine. I'm used to it." Hayley replied somewhat bitterly. JJ gave her an understanding smile. Before anyone could say anything else, there was a knock on the door.
"JJ, it's me, Prentiss." Came the familiar voice on the other side of the door. JJ nodded as Spencer, who walked over and opened the door.
"Spencer, Hotch and the rest of the team are about to leave for the police station. You're supposed to go with them." Prentiss informed the younger man. He nodded, gave Hayley a small wave, and left the room.
"Hi Hayley, I'm agent Prentiss, but you can call me Emily if you'd like. JJ and I will be staying with you during nights until Mr. Rouse is caught." Prentiss said, shaking the teenager's hand.
"So why'd the FBI get called in? I thought you guys were more….federal stuff?" Hayley asked, pulling her phone out of her pocket.
"We're in the BAU, which is Behavioral Analysis Unit. It's a branch of the FBI. We get called in to try to track down unsubs based on their actions and signs." Prentiss explained, taking a seat in the last chair in the room.
"What're unsubs?" Hayley asked without looking up from her phone.
"Unknown Subjects. It's basically what we refer them to until we know their identity." JJ piped up.
"Why do I have to stay in a motel? I mean, why can't the police just sit outside my house instead of dragging me here?" Hayley sighed, shutting off her phone. The service in the area was crap.
"Because he already got into your house, which means he knows your address and how to break in. Police are stationed at your house with your, um-" Hayley cut her off.
"You can call them parents. They're the closest thing I have." She told the struggling agent. Prentiss nodded, glad that the teenager was so understanding.
"Right, with your parents in hopes he may come back to try to contact you again." Prentiss finished. Hayley nodded.
"And they're safe? He can't hurt them?" She asked next. Emily and JJ both nodded and Hayley finally seemed content that she had got some answers.
"So, I'm basically on lockdown, right? Can't go to the mall or take a walk?" Hayley apparently found a few more questions to ask after a couple minutes of silence.
"I wouldn't say lockdown. But you can't leave the room without one of us with you." JJ said, trying to make it sound less harsh.
"Oooh, body guards." The teenager said sarcastically. She once again started fiddling with her phone.
"Look, we know it sucks. You have to be stuck in a less than ideal motel room with a couple of FBI agents. But the important thing is that you're safe." Prentiss told the teenager. Hayley nodded in somewhat reluctant agreement, but sighed.
"Then can we go for a walk? I've been in this room for the past 36 hours." Hayley asked hopefully. The sparsely furnished room had seemed to turn into her prison cell.
"Sure." Prentiss said, standing up. JJ and Hayley followed the dark haired woman out of the motel room.
"Hayley, do you remember what Mr. Rouse looked like?" JJ asked once they had made it down the stairs, into the parking lot. A concerned police officer got out of his cruise, but JJ waved him off.
"Yeah. He was big. Like not fat, but he was tall and just….wide. And he had really pale eyes, like he almost looked blind. I remember he had a beard, and his hair was really long and messy." Hayley recalled thoughtfully. Both Emily and JJ noticed her jaw clench as she described him.
"So you caught a clear glance of him?" Emily said as they walked out of the parking lot, onto the sidewalk. Hayley nodded.
"I walked into my parents' bedroom after…after he was finished. He started walking towards me and I ran. He chased me down the stairs and caught me by the back of my shirt. He had the knife at my throat when we heard the neighbors at the door. So he spun me around, winked, and ran out the back door." Hayley's account was crystal clear, like it had happened yesterday.
"Seems like you remember that night pretty well." JJ noted, walking beside the teenager. Hayley smirked bitterly.
"You'd remember it too Agent Jareau." Came her reply. Her voice had thickened and she swallowed, no doubt trying to keep her emotions locked under control.
"If you saw him today, do you think you'd be able to recognize him?" Emily asked as they rounded a corner, signaling that they had walked one block.
"The eyes, probably." Hayley replied. She was getting pretty damn tired of the questions.
"We should probably head back now. The sun's going down." JJ noted, staring at the setting sun. The sky was painted with oranges and pinks. It reminded her of the sunsets in her old small town.
Hayley and Prentiss nodded and all three started back towards the motel. A couple pedestrians passed them on their way back and Hayley seemed to know most of them. They seemed to know better than to stop and try to talk, considering the two women with guns who were accompanying her.
JJ and Emily both kept a careful eye on all of the people they passed, looking especially for pale blue eyes. However, most of the people were young, high school aged, and seemed to pose no threat.
A couple minutes later, the two agents and teenager were back at the motel. JJ and Prentiss stared disapprovingly at the police officer they had seen before they left. The overweight, middle aged man had fallen asleep in the front seat of his cruiser. Prentiss knocked a few times on the window, waking the man. He jumped and then shrugged sheepishly at the agent. Prentiss glared before following Hayley and JJ back towards the hotel room.
"What's that on the door?" JJ asked as she and Haley neared their room. Hayley's eyes widened, and she subconsciously stepped closer to JJ, which she recognized as a sign of fear, or uncertainty.
Prentiss came up behind JJ and Hayley and noticed the white rectangle on their motel room's door. She put a hand on her gun and hurried up beside them.
"It's another letter." JJ said as they stopped in front of the room. Hayley's face had paled significantly and she tried to force herself to look at the piece of notebook paper.
"Hayley, we need to check the room first. Do you have your key?" Prentiss asked, drawing her gun. Hayley nodded and handed the woman the motel key.
JJ and Emily nodded at each other and unlocked the door. The opened it quickly and scanned the small room, guns drawn. JJ hurried forward, into the bathroom and returned moments later.
"He's not in here. Hayley, it's safe." JJ called. But the teenager was frozen outside the door, reading the letter.
Hey guys, thanks for the one review. It's going to get a bit more eventful, as you can tell. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, feel free to PM me. And please leave a review, thanks.