Disclaimer: see chapter 1

A/N: In response to some of the questions that I've gotten in reviews, everything (JJ's evolution, the creation of the team, its goals, etc) will be revealed… eventually…

Complimentary reviews attached to the words "update soon" means new update less than a week after the last (thanks for the motivation).


"JJ!" "JJ, what?" confused voices rang out around her.

"Drop your weapons," JJ reiterated to the BAU and SWAT teams.

Suddenly amused more than anything else, C quipped, "Well that wasn't part of the plan."

In no mood for games, JJ snapped, "Neither was one of us getting shot."

"Touché," C said, appropriately chagrined. Then to the others, "I'd drop the weapons if I were you."

"Or what?" Hotch turned to JJ and indicated her hostage. "You'll shoot him? I very much doubt it."

Despite whatever changes JJ had undergone in her time away from the BAU, Hotch was certain she hadn't turned into a cold-blooded killer.

And it was apparent that no one else believed it either.

JJ was on thin ice. She was bluffing, and she knew everyone knew it.

Silently thanking whatever gods were out there for her insanely good aim, she quickly shot a nearby SWAT member's gun, which then exploded in his hands, and moved her gun back to her hostage's neck. The explosion was extremely small and non-fatal but proved she wasn't messing around.

"You don't want to know what I'll do, Hotch," JJ said with much more confidence than she actually felt. "Drop your weapons and kick them forward."

She edged her way over to her team, hostage in tow.

"How many times do I need to say it? Drop your weapons," she repeated when a few remaining SWAT members stubbornly retained their weapons. As she neared C, she shoved her hostage towards him and headed for F.

C wasted no time in grabbing him roughly and dropping him to the ground. Keeping his gun trained on the hostage, he gestured for G and M to collect the surrendered weapons.

"Grab their cell phones too. And don't forget to check for hidden weapons," JJ threw over her shoulder as she knelt beside F and opposite H. "Agent Hotchner has an ankle holster."

As she took one of F's clammy hands in both of her own, she evaluated the condition of the wound. Through-and-through, so no bullet in there to cause problems. But that also meant it was quite the bleeder. They had to get her out of here soon.

Noticing the concern in her eyes, F squeezed JJ's hands. "Hey. I'm ok, darling."

JJ couldn't help but smile. Even with a bullet hole in her leg, F was still focused on the job and had spoken with an English accent that matched the one JJ herself had used in the team's first encounter with the BAU.

She reached down and affectionately adjusted a stray lock of F's hair.

"No, you're not."

"I will be," F said with her best attempt at a reassuring smile.

Standing, JJ turned to C. "Go. Take one of their SUVs – H, you know where they're located – and get her to Y. He should be on stand by. Have him patch her up."

One SWAT member muttered stubbornly, "We're not giving up our keys."

"You don't need keys to start a car," M scoffed in an easily generated Chinese accent. There were perks to having grown up in Chinatown, but of course the law enforcement teams wouldn't know that.

"We haven't completed the objective," C reminded JJ.

She looked over at F and said resolutely, "I'll complete it. Go."

"Then what? What're you going to do?"

"I'll head to the coal shaft. I need to talk to the miner, figure out what to do next."

"I'll come with you."

"No, go with her. I can't risk having you identified as well. We," JJ stopped and amended her statement. "She doesn't have time for us to debate this. Go!"

"The rest of you go," C commanded. "I'll stay with Jareau and finish the objective."

JJ and C exchanged death glares.

The rest of the team watched the two, torn between the two conflicting commands. They ended up complying with C's orders. Ironically it was JJ's words that compelled them to do so: they really didn't have time to linger.

"M," JJ called one of them back. "Don't forget to disable the GPS tracker, change the license plates, and whatever else you need to not get caught."

She nodded and said, "They wouldn't find us in their own backyard."

JJ shot C a dirty look as the other helped F out of the building. Why did he have to be so stubborn?

When only C and JJ remained, Hotch asked, "JJ, why are you doing this?"

"Isn't it obvious, Hotch? One of my people was shot," JJ replied, knowing that she didn't really answer his question.

He immediately called her out on it. "That's not what I meant, and you know it."

"I'm preventing a blood bath."

"Still not what I meant."

"Hotch."

"JJ."

"Aaron."

"Jennifer."

They stared at each other in a battle of the wills.

Hotch's eyes clearly said, "I know there's something bigger at play. There has to be. I know you. Let me help."

And JJ's responded, "I can't. I'm sorry."

Their unspoken conversation continued in that vein, each trying to get the other to understand their own points of view.

The BAU, being accustomed to JJ and Hotch's unique relationship, simply watched the silent exchange, and the SWAT team followed their lead.

C, on the other hand, grew impatient.

"Jareau."

"It's a long story," she said apologetically.

"We have time now," Hotch insisted.

"Complete the mission, Jareau," C said before JJ could respond. "I'll watch over them."

"You don't trust me with them?" JJ asked, turning to face him.

Instead of answering, he merely said, "Go."

JJ's eyes flitted between C and the hostages.

She trusted C not to do anything stupid. F was on her way to being taken care of, and he had no reason to harm the hostages in any way. And even if he did, he wouldn't. She was sure of that.

But a small part of JJ still felt like she needed to keep an eye on the BAU, to look after them.

"All right," she said finally and slipped out of sight.

C began to pace.

It wasn't that he didn't trust JJ. No, he trusted her implicitly. It was more a matter of objectivity and practicality.

The BAU knew of JJ as a friend. He doubted they'd genuinely believe she'd pistol-whip or shoot one of them if they got out of hand. She could be a badass – there was no doubt about that – but her being in any way violent or harsh towards the team she'd called a family for so long was a different story entirely.

On the other hand, he was a complete unknown, giving him the upper hand. They couldn't possibly know what to expect from him.

His musings were interrupted by Hotch who echoed JJ's earlier question, "You don't trust her with us?"

C stilled and said, "No profiling, Agent Hotchner."

The last thing he needed was for the profilers to figure him or the rest of their operation out. After all that had been what JJ worried about when he decided to stay with her.

"Did you blackmail her into this or something?" Morgan asked. At one of C's glares, he added, "Not profiling. Just asking."

Exasperated, C retorted with a question of his own, "Does she look like she's here unwillingly?"

"You said 'no profiling'," Rossi responded with a smirk, despite knowing the question was rhetorical.

Reid, on the other hand, aimed for clarification. "Unless… wait… what exactly is your definition of profiling? Because technically given certain specifications of any particular definition, even the smallest little observances count as profiling, and we naturally do them all the time."

"And were you referring only to Hotch?" Prentiss added.

C cursed his luck. Of all the possibilities, why did he have to end up with a bunch of profiling smartasses for hostages?

"No more questions," he ground out tersely and resumed pacing.

They miraculously managed to maintain silence until JJ returned several minutes later.

"It's done."

"Good. Let's get out of here," C said quickly, eager to leave. He hauled their first hostage to his feet. "All right, buddy, to the car we go."

Then to the other hostages, "Give us five minutes to get out of your hair. That's all we need. You don't comply, and I do something unpleasant to him."

JJ tried to think of the right thing to say, but words were evading her. She did an unintentional but brilliant impersonation of a goldfish before settling on a simple "I'm sorry" and following C out the door.

They made their way to the SUV JJ arrived in. C handed their hostage over to JJ and proceeded to hot-wire the car.

After he got the engine started, he gestured for their hostage to take the wheel and sidled into the backseat while JJ rode shotgun.

"Where to?" their new chauffer asked.

JJ leaned back into the car seat and shrugged. "Wherever."

Confused, he glanced over at her and then at the rearview mirror to check with the man in the backseat. He too seemed unconcerned about their destination.

"Wherever?" he echoed for confirmation.

"Yeah," JJ said. "Just drive."

As their hostage began to drive, JJ put her gun away. Their new chauffer seemed too nervous to try anything stupid, and if he did, C was more than ready to set him straight.

"Sorry about that," she said as she began to relax and for the first time actually observed the man she had taken hostage. He was younger than she expected, which explained the strangely timid behavior uncharacteristic of most SWAT members.

She racked her brain for his name.

"It's Gannon, right?" JJ asked kindly. "Neil Gannon?"

"Yes, ma'am."

JJ laughed. "Gannon, the moment a federal agent breaks the law and takes you hostage, you stop calling her 'ma'am'."

"Yes, ma'am," Gannon said instinctively. It seemed to him that being taken hostage was in fact the time to start addressing one as "ma'am" if he didn't do so already. At JJ's raised eyebrow, he tried amending his response. "Yes… Ok."

After a few minutes of checking to make sure they weren't being tailed, JJ asked, "Gannon, where exactly are you heading?"

"I… umm… I don't know," he responded nervously.

"Why don't we head to wherever you were going to go after the raid?" JJ said gently. "You can get off there, and then we'll take the SUV and head to wherever we're going."

"Umm…" Gannon hesitated. "That would be FBI Academy in Quantico."

"That's ok," JJ replied calmly.

Gannon glanced at the rearview mirror to once again check for the man's reaction. "Are you sure?"

"Think about it. That's the last place they'd expect me to show up."

He had to concede to that point, so he simply nodded and began to navigate his way back towards Quantico.

"And, Gannon, you can stop checking the mirror," JJ added. "Just assume everything I say is the way it'll be."

Despite what he'd just been told, his eyes flashed towards the mirror again and saw the man give a nod of confirmation.

JJ saw the look and smirked but said nothing about it, instead changing the subject to a much more mundane topic.

"So, Gannon, are you a fan of the Redskins? I won't kill you if you say 'no.'"


Thanks for reading!