"May I direct your attention to the pictures which I have just sent to your iPads," Garcia told the team. "But, first, let me warn you that if you have just eaten looking may not be the best thing to do."
"I see what you mean," Rossi was holding his screen at a distance and squinting at it.
"Not what I would care to stumble across in a dark ally, or any place else for that matter," Morgan contributed.
"Are these even human?" JJ questioned, her face twisted in disgust.
"What can you tell us about these pictures?" Hotch asked.
"Those are the disarticulated remains of several individuals who apparently crossed paths with the Brodsky family – And not in a good way," Garcia replied. "The plastic garbage bags their – parts - were packed into washed ashore on a beach not too far from where you are now. All individuals have been identified and their names are in the file I sent you and please don't ask me to look them up again because those pictures are attached to their files."
"This appears to be quite a change," Blake observed. "From a massacre of this type to the neat, tidy killings of the last three victims."
"Maybe they changed hit men?" Rossi suggested. "Possibly as a cost saving measure?" he smirked.
"Things are tough all over," JJ added blithely.
"Dirty deeds done dirt cheap," Garcia intoned.
"More likely these were designed to send a message to someone while the others were just cleaning up loose ends," was Morgan's opinion.
"Reid?" Hotch looked over at the young agent who was staring intently at the pictures. "Reid?"
"I think – I think I need to go outside." Reid stood up, knocking over the chair he had been sitting in, and rushed out the door.
"Spence?" JJ stood up to go after him. "Spence?"
"I had better go," Hotch motioned her to sit back down. "I suspect I already know part of what is going on."
"We'll keep reviewing the case with Garcia's input," Rossi suggested. "You go talk with Reid."
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
"Spencer, talk to me." Hotch had found Reid in the parking lot, leaning against one of the Bureau's SUVs with his eyes closed, breathing hard. "You saw something in one of those pictures – What was it?"
"When I was originally – Recruited - By the CIA," Reid opened his eyes to look at Hotch. "There were several other students who were also being recruited. We were never in the same room together so we never talked or even met, but I did get a glimpse of them from time to time."
"One of the – bodies – in those pictures looked just like one of the other students. And, another one looked like Dmitry - The flight attendant from the plane."
"You have a good eye as well as an excellent memory, Dr. Reid." The deep voice came from the other side of the SUV. "Those are going to be useful in the coming weeks."
As the hulking man strode around the SUV to where the two agents were standing, there was no question in Hotch's mind as to who he was.