Chapter 14: Open Season

"Seriously! We've only been here 5 minutes" Garcia said to JJ as they watched Lilith getting chatted up by a guy at the bar.

"Yeah, but look at her, broke away from the group. Guy saw her alone, felt confident, and made his move" JJ said as Lilith asked the guy to join them.

"It must be serious" Garcia whispered as Lilith and the guy walked over to them.

"Ladies, this is Brad, a real F.B.I. Agent" Lilith said with an amused tone as she passed a beer to JJ and Garcia.

"Really?" Garcia asked as they tried not to laugh.

"Really" Lilith said grinning

"No way" JJ added amused.

"That's exciting. What's it like at Quantico?" Garcia asked, purposely miss-pronouncing the word.

"It's, uh, quite impressive" Brad said

"What department are you in?" JJ asked taking a sip of her beer.

"That's classified" Brad said grinning

'Ooh, must be really tough keeping all those secrets' JJ teased

"You know, it's a skill like anything else. Carpenters are good at building stuff, measuring. F.B. good at keeping secrets and kicking criminal ass" Brad explained as Lilith tried not to burst out laughing.

"Wow…" JJ muttered

"Well, somebody has got to do it. Oh, do you have to carry your gun and badge with you everywhere you go?" Lilith asked

"Affirmative" Brad said seriously

"Can we see it?' Lilith asked

"See what?" Brad asked coyly

"Your badge" Lilith replied and Brad laughed.

"Please" Garcia begged

"I'm sorry, that's..." Brad started to say

"Classified" The girls finished for him.

"Figures" JJ said disappointed.

"Tell me, Brad, does it look anything like this?" Lilith asked holding up her badge.

"Or, uh, this?" JJ asked holding up her badge.

"Or maybe this?" Garcia said holding up her badge as well. The smile on Brad's face fell as he walked away defeated.

"Poor lass, it's a tough job" JJ joked as they all burst out laughing.

"Agent Jareau" JJ said answering her phone and walking outside.

"Lady, you are officially in my top 8, and I am so blogging about this later. Clink me." Garcia said as Lilith and her clinked glassed.

"Sorry, ladies" JJ said walking back over to them.

"A year ago victims and their vehicles disappeared from Washington state. They were found over 200 miles away in the remote woods of Idaho. Courtney Jacobs, 24, and Shane Everett, 25. Autopsy revealed similar entry and exit wounds through the chest" JJ explained as Lilith walked over and sat next to Reid.

"Ballistics?" Morgan asked

"No bullets were found" JJ explained

"Looks like they were out there for a long time before they were killed" Lilith commented

"At least 6 or 7 days" JJ explained

"Then, what happened in that week?" Morgan asked

"I don't want to know" Garcia said simply

"Look at the way they're dressed, they didn't voluntarily go into the woods like that" Reid explained

"Yeah, neither did this man. Found yesterday with similar wounds, there's still no I.D" JJ explained, changing the picture on the screen to the latest crime scene.

"Ok, so, I'm gonna look for missing persons in Washington" Garcia said

"Look everywhere, we don't know where this victim came from we only know where he ended up" Gideon said

"Kills both males and females" Reid stated

"Victims were found with their clothes on, no degradation No experimentation, doesn't look like he's interested in either" Hotch added

"A serial killer with no sexual preference?" Lilith asked confused

"That'd be a first" Reid commented

"Broken nose and bark is embedded in his face, looks like he ran into a tree" Hotch explained as he read the M.E file.

"Now, how do you miss a huge tree?" Morgan asked

"Too busy looking behind you" Hotch replied

"None of these are defensive wounds" Reid commented

"Courtney Jacobs' hands are torn up" Lilith stated

"Shane Everett has only got one shoe on, it's like he ran out of the other one" Morgan added

"He sustained numerous injuries and just kept going" Hotch explained

"Only one thing you run that hard for… your life" Gideon said simply

…..

"Did you and the girls have a good time at the bar?" Reid asked sitting next to Lilith on the jet before the others arrived.

"Yeah, before it was cut short of course" Lilith said, grinning as she remembered the fake FBI guy.

"I'm glad that you and the girls are finally getting to hang out more, you need some female friends in your life" Reid commented and Lilith grinned.

"I enjoy having female friends" Lilith agreed as the rest of the team got on to the jet.

"But the only thing I need in my life is you…" Lilith whispered to herself but Hotch handed her a file.

"Transporting young, fit victims from Washington to Idaho poses huge risks" Hotch explained as the jet took off.

"Must have a good reason to chance getting pulled over, or have the victims escape" JJ explained

"It says here that every year 100 or so people go missing in Idaho's wilderness. With millions of acres to cover, 1/3 of them are never found" Reid explained

"Sounds like the reason as to why this place" Lilith stated

"Well, it offers privacy and the possibility the body will never be recovered" Gideon explained

"An area this remote and rugged suggests that the offender is more comfortable in the woods. Something like a second home" Morgan explained

"My, uh, parents owned a farm outside of Ohio. We lived there until they were killed. There was a good 10-year stretch where we didn't come down off the mountain. We had no running water, no electricity and our food supplies, everything, all of it came from the land" Lilith explained softly as the team looked at her. It was the first time she had voluntarily talked about her parents. Reid grabbed Lilith's hand underneath the table, silently telling her he was proud of her.

"How did they kidnap…" JJ went to asked but stopped after seeing Reid's glare.

"It's okay, Reid. I wouldn't have brought it up if I didn't expect questions. My father would take the boys from the park while my mother distracted the parents" Lilith explained softly

"Guess who's getting a gold star?" Garcia asked appearing onto the laptop.

"Oh, that'd be you, baby girl, if you got some good news for us" Morgan asked

"Well, I started my missing persons search in Spokane county and wouldn't you know, there's been 10 in the last 5 years, all in their early twenties. And isn't this interesting? It's always in the spring and their cars are never recovered. And fret not, I'm looking for the cars, too" Garcia explained

"Anything else?" Morgan asked

"Mmm, oh, local P.D. Identified the latest victim through dental records. His name's Alex Harrison, he's from Washington" Garcia explained

"Where was he last seen?" Hotch asked

"Family statements say he was traveling to work in Spokane and both victims last year were traveling outside of Spokane, too" Garcia explained

"All victims headed to the city" Morgan stated

"And none of them reached their destination" Lilith added

"Garcia?" Hotch asked

"Already on it. There are 4 major roadways into Spokane, highways 395, 195, and highway 2. There's also interstate 90" Garcia explained

"Were there any police reports or roadside assistance calls from those highways?" Lilith asked

"You're going to know that as soon as I do" Garcia said disappearing off the screen.

"Ok, we've got 2 locations" Hotch stated

"I'm happy to go to Idaho. Woods is like your second home, right, Fallon?" Gideon asked

"Yes, sir" Lilith replied

"Hey, Reid, why don't you go to Spokane? I could use the fresh air" Morgan asked as Reid nodded, just now realising that he was still holding hands with Lilith, who didn't seem to notice or care.

"We'll touch base every couple of hours" Hotch said

"I'll call you when we get on the mountain" Gideon said simply