Author's Note:

Thank you all for continuing to read my story! If you like it enough to leave a review I'll be grateful but either way enjoy!

Disclaimer: It comes to my attention that I haven't done one of these yet so none of the characters you recognise in this story belong to me; I just get to mess around with them a little. :)

Chapter 5.

Her fingertips trailed slowly up and down the length of his arm, admiring the contrast. She liked to see their skin together. Pale white against mocha, it was beautiful. Her gaze lifted to scrutinise his features, soft, kind. Especially now that he was sleeping, all of the tension had drained away from his face, making him seem younger, innocent. He muttered something under his breath and his arm tightened around her, pulling her closer to his chest. Elariah took a deep breath. Before she had met him she never felt safe. She was always on guard, always waiting for the moment when something would go wrong, the moment when her entire world would fall away. But here, now, in his arms, she felt protected. Safe. Nothing could harm her as long as she was with him, she could finally rest. And that's exactly what she did. Elariah felt her eyes flutter shut.

Elariah's eyes snapped open. She felt as though she plunged her head into ice cold water. The warmth she had felt in her sleep was gone, replaced by fear and pain. This was not right; this was not where she was supposed to be. Instead of a solid body next to hers all she could feel was the hard, rough surface of the wall. Everything was harsh, unyielding; the floor beneath her, the walls around her, the pain that blocked her thoughts, pressing against her head. She felt no peace, no safety, only a vice that continued to tighten around her chest. Her head began to spin; inhaling was a feat of strength she was not prepared for. I'm having a panic attack, her reasonable mind tried to tell her, but it was no use, all she felt was crushing terror. She was going to die, she was going to die and no one would ever know. Her brains would be splattered all over the floor just like that young girl and all because she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings. It turns out that all the training, all the effort to protect herself was for nothing. In fact, it was the reason she was here in the first place. Elariah laughed, loudly, with a hysterical edge to it. Look at me now Mom and Dad. . .

It was that thought that helped to calm her. Her parents had died on the street, helpless, that wasn't going to be her. She was strong, she had made herself strong. Her entire life had been training her for this moment. She could do this. She could survive. If anyone could find their way out of this it would be her, she had a Master's degree in Criminology for Christ's sake. If she couldn't get out of this then no one could.

Elariah clutched to this thought as though it were a life raft in the middle of a stormy sea. It was her lifeline. I can do this, She repeated it over and over in her mind, out loud. Until slowly, the vice began to loosen, her breathing returned to normal. Now it was time to think of a way out. It would be her turn next and she was going to be ready.

8888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

"We advise that all residents of Chicago exercise extreme caution until the perpetrators of these crimes are apprehended. Places of high risk include the parking lots of gyms and other self defence institutions. Please do not travel by yourselves at night, and make sure all of your doors and windows are locked at all times. Be assured that the BAU and the Chicago Police Department are pooling every available resource in order to find the missing persons and bring the assailants to justice." As soon as JJ paused the noise began, questions being thrown from all corners of the room. The small conference room based in the front of the department was currently filled with reporters from every major news station in Chicago. Apparently every single one of them felt that what they had to say was the most important. JJ took a deep breath, trying not to feel overwhelmed, she always hated this part. Self consciously she pulled at the bottom of her lavender blouse.

"That is all the BAU have to say on the subject, anyone with information is encouraged to call the hotline. Thank you for your time." JJ stepped back from the podium, amidst the rabble of the reporters all clamouring for a response. She turned to leave, the deputy police commissioner stepping in to handle the flood. JJ had read his motives after two seconds of meeting him. This middle aged man in an expensive suit did not want the BAU anywhere near his city; the city currently facing the greatest crime rate rise in thirty years. He wanted the entire thing to be dealt with quickly and quietly, preferably with credit given to his department and of course, all due to his management skills. She detested this part of her job, liaising with the media was always a pain, but dealing with bull headed politicians was definitely worse. She left the hot stuffy room, and walked down the narrow corridor, into the large conference room around the corner. The BAU had turned it into their base of operations. A large, pine table sat in the center, ten uncomfortable straight-backed chairs placed around it. In one of these chairs sat Dr. Spencer Reid, staring intently a map of the city, placing different coloured pins in a methodical manner. At the back of the room was a large glass board. A photo of each of the six victims was posted on it, and underneath was listed information about their personality, their medical examinations. Aaron Hotchner stood beside it, adding a large photo of Elariah to the group.

"How did the conference go?" he asked, turning to see her more clearly. Reid looked up from his papers to hear her answer.

"Usual drill, although I'm think the commissioner rather enjoyed himself." JJ replied pointedly.

"Yes he did seem. . .eager." Hotch walked forward to take the seat beside Reid, taking some papers from the center. "This latest case is a publicity nightmare for his department. He took the time earlier to inform me exactly how fast he wanted this case solved."

JJ raised her eyebrows, "I'm glad he's showing such concern for the citizens of Chicago." She stated dryly. "How's the geographical profile going Spence?"

Before he could answer Morgan strode in, "Emily called." He said by way of greeting. "There's another body."

8888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

The air was cold; it was an October morning in Chicago and Prentiss was shivering despite her heavy wool coat. But maybe it wasn't entire due to the cold wind. She and Rossi stood in the center of large grassy field in one of the better known parks of the city. Tall trees encircled them; russet coloured leaves dotting the already sparse branches, decaying foliage littered the ground, the colour of caramel and chocolate. It was a beautiful scene, marred dramatically by the body. Emily looked down over the prone figure of a young girl, barely out of high school. Her mussed blonde hair shifted with the breeze to fall across her face. Her features were petite, her long lashes casting shadows across her cheekbones. Lying on her side, knees drawn to her chest and arms crossed over herself, Emily could almost believe she was sleeping. That was except for the blood that was matted in her hair and the large indent of her skull. Her body was wrapped securely in plastic, like a protective cocoon.

"Remorse." Stated Rossi, kneeling beside the figure, "Look at the way he's positioned her, just like she's sleeping. He's trying to distance himself from the fact that she's dead. Just like the others."

"She isn't like the others though," Emily replied, her brown eyes falling over the girl's youthful features. "She is much younger and she doesn't look like she could take much of a hit, what made the unsub choose her?" Prentiss asked, her face pulling into a puzzled frown.

"You're right, she's what, 5"2, 100 pounds? Not exactly the seasoned fighter." Rossi replied.

"And look, she isn't as beaten. Her face is hardly bruised."

"She was killed more quickly than the others." Rossi nodded. His mouth twisted into a grimace as he appraised the wound to her skull. "I think we can assume cause of death as blunt force trauma."

Emily stepped back from the body under the guise of looking around the scene, in reality she was trying to put some distance between the girl and her. It was always hard, but this girl was just so young. Her gaze fell unto the large crown that was pressed against the crime tape, trying to get a close look. Something occurred to her, "This is a high profile location, a popular park. A high chance someone would see a man staging the body of a young girl, even at night."

"He's confident, we've established that." Said Rossi, eyes meeting Emily's curiously.

"Well we've profiled a team, and it's clear to see the submissive is the one disposing of the bodies, so where does the confidence come from?" She asked, her brows twisted in thought, "it's almost like he's unafraid, like he wants to get caught."

They fell into contemplative silence, silence that was broken by a shrill ring.

"Yeah Garcia." Emily said into her phone, "What going on?"

"You have to get back to the team," was the response "I've found something."