"What's wrong, Aaron?" Rossi asked as soon as he had entered the bureau. "Why did JJ have to whisper that you want to see me?"
Hotch looked at him, clearly irritated. "Is there a problem, Dave?"
"Well…", slowly the star-agent made his way to Hotch's desk, "when I joined your team the first lesson I learned was that there is no "I" in here. No secrets, no solo attempts, it's always teamwork."
"It's not a profile case we're talking about right now." Hotch ignored the allusion to his own words. "It's about catching a murderer, not an UnSub. They only need us because we know his criminal background…and I need you to make sure there won't be a mistake anymore."
"Anymore?" Now Rossi was interested. "You mean you've already worked on that case? What happened? Wrong profile?"
"No, the profile was right…but once we got him, it was almost too late", the supervisor admitted. Anxiously he looked out of the window. Morgan and Prentiss were talking, standing at Reid's desk – the one that was the nearest to the stairs. As Morgan suddenly lifted his gaze his eyes met Hotch's and what he read there let him fall silent. The other agents followed his glance, but Hotch had his attention turned to Rossi again. The elder man had noticed the silent conversation, but he too didn' t say a word.
"I'll tell you all the details once we're on our way. The flight goes in forty minutes, and JJ will be with us when she's given the rest of the team a new case."
Rossi nodded thoughtfully, then turned to the door.
"Dave!"
Hotch took a deep breath. " I don't like this any more than you do. But I think it's the better way. So please…no contact to the others till we solved this one. Hopefully, we'll be back tomorrow morning."
There was something in his face that stopped Rossi from arguing. He nodded again and left.
"Hey, Rossi! Rossi! What's going on?" Frustrated by his colleague's ignorance, Morgan faced Emily and Reid. In their eyes he saw the same hurt and the same questions as he knew were written in his own.
"Dave and JJ will accompany me on a short trip", a voice said from behind. Calmly, Hotch closed the door to his bureau and went towards his team. "You'll have to get by without us for now."
"But…but why? Where are you going? Hotch, what's wrong?" Reid's gentle voice was filled with confusion.
"It's personal, Reid", Hotch declared. "We'll join you as soon as possible." Morgan started to say something, but he stayed quiet as he watched the expression on Hotch's stern face.
"Right" The SSa nodded and left.
Suddenly – far too late – Emily cried after him, "Hotch, what the hell's happened?"
"So what now?" Morgan asked. The others kept silent.
"JJ!" Emily saw the blonde woman first. She stood at the conference room's door and tried to smile, but it was a weak attempt.
Morgan stormed up the stairs, followed by the others, determined not to let her go without having an answer. As if she was a suspect, JJ thought – and again visions of the night appeared in her mind.
They had divided to examine the barn, one from behind, one through the front door. She had a bad feeling about it; it was too dark around the farm, too quiet. The open door smiled at her like a gigantic jaw, confirmed by its blood-red colour. Shivering, she entered the building, her hands tightly clasped around her gun. She turned around after every step to check the door.
She heard the growling too late. The cry that shook the night turned out to be her own as two Rottweiler galloped in her direction. Their flews were as red as the door as they showed their sharpteeth, ready to tear her apart…
"JJ! JJ, what's wrong with you?" Worried, Emily grabbed her friend's arm.
JJ smiled again, more convincing than before. "Nothing. I'll give you all the information Igot, and then…"
"…then you fly away with Hotch and Rossi to settle something personal, we know", Derek interrupted her. "JJ, family is the only thing Hotch keeps away from us, from work. He'd never take one of us with him. So what's it all about?"
JJ closed her eyes. "I can't tell you, Derek", she whispered, her voice thick with guilt. "None of you."
Surprised, the agents stared at her.
"But there's enough work to do", the media liaison added, "there have been three women killed in L.A., all at home, all kind of stabbed." She handed them the files. " "The first victims were prostitutes, which led the LAPD to the conclusion that drunk suitors killed them." The others nodded. Alcohol revealed the most destructive parts of a person.
"The last victim, however, was Julia Talbot, a state lawyer. Okay..the LAPD awaits you, and I gotta go or they'll fly without me!"
JJ laughed, but it sounded more like a whimper. With a last, long glance to Reid, she fled the bureau.
Morgan watched her leaving, then turned around to Reid. "Why did she stare at you this way?"
The genius shook his head. The answer he gave was quite odd from him to be given:
"I have absolutely no idea."
