I've Just Seen A Face
The first time Anastasia Luciferous met Matteo Cruz, she was walking into the Behavioral Analysis Unit's bullpen. Off in her own little world, humming 'Blackbird' by the Beatles, she didn't think to look up from her case file to turn the corner. Matteo was running late to his first meeting with Aaron Hotchner, where he'd be explaining who he was and ask to tag along on their newest case. He was looking down at his phone, walking faster than he normally would while holding a hot coffee, and ran directly into Anastasia. Her shirt was drenched with the coffee, effectively destroying the delicate fabric, and she dropped the case files in a mess of ruined paper. Cruz mumbled an apology as Spencer Reid and Penelope Garcia came running up to them, and he made his way into Hotch's office.
"I just bought this sweater, and it's ruined. He barely even acknowledged that he just did that." Ana was close to tears, and Reid bent down to help her gather her papers as Garcia texted Ana's twin sister Alyss to bring her a backup shirt from the car. 10 minutes, and several near-miss breakdowns later, Alyss sprinted out of the elevator holding a shirt for her sister. The deep blue set off the redhead's pale skin and set off the green in her eyes.
"I told you not to wear that shirt to work, Ana." Alyss was teasing her sister about being right, but her tone softened when she saw the upset look cross her sister's face. "What happened?"
"It's nothing. We need to get to the conference room, judging by the look on Hotch's face." Ana strode off, her deep red hair in a cloud of soft curls around her face. Reid and Alyss shared a look as they followed her up the stairs to the conference room.
"Good morning, everyone. As you know, we recently lost Director Strauss in a terrible tragedy. The bureau has been searching for a suitable replacement for her, and it seems they have found someone they deemed suitable for the job." Hotch directed everyone's attention to the man standing in the door, and he stepped forward. "This is Assistant Director Matteo Cruz. He wanted to meet our team, and join us on this case."
"It's a pleasure to meet everyone. Can you please introduce yourselves, so I can put names to faces? It gives me an opportunity to get to know you a bit before we have to hop on the jet for a few hours today." His voice was gruff, but pleasant. Ana found herself thinking that she wanted to hear more of it, but she quickly cleared her thoughts.
"Well, I'll start. I'm Penelope Garcia, and I'm the technical analyst slash Wonder Woman of the team. Garcia stepped up and waved, before returning to her spot near the screen to set up the case presentation.
"I'm Doctor Spencer Reid." He stood and leaned across the table to shake Cruz's hand. "I'm the youngest member, but I'm highly capable of doing my job." He sat back down, red tinting his cheeks from the embarrassment of pointing out the obvious.
"I've heard great things about you, Dr. Reid. You're the team's resident genius and boy wonder, right? I look forward to working alongside you." Cruz smiled at the younger boy.
"Alyss Luciferous, special agent attached to the B.A.U.." Alyss stood, pulling her long, deep red braid over her shoulder, then sat back down, choosing to ignore the hand Cruz had extended to her.
"Luciferous? As in the twin daughters of millionaire David Luciferous? You were the top of your class at Quantico. This is shaping up to be an interesting morning." Cruz's smile widened.
"Supervisory Special Agent Derek Morgan." Morgan waved from his seat at the table, not wanting to stand on formality.
"Derek Morgan, agent extraordinaire and renowned ladies man. Your reputation proceeds you, especially among the new graduates."
"Supervisory Special Agent David Rossi." Rossi stood and shook his hand.
"The man, the myth, the legend. It's an honor to meet one of the three original members, sir."
"SSA Jennifer Jareau, but everyone calls me JJ." She stood and shook Cruz's hand.
"You were the team's media liaison until fairly recently, right? You stood out in your field, JJ." He shook her hand back warmly, almost familiarly.
Ana sat up straight in her chair, her head held high. Everyone subconsciously held their breath. "Special Agent Anastasia Luciferous, attached to the B.A.U.." Cruz was taken aback. Her voice, while melodic, was sharp and her words were concise. Cruz flinched inwardly as he recognized her as the woman from his earlier encounter.
"We have both the Luciferous daughters on our team, how exciting." His smile wavered as Ana's face stayed cold and stonelike. "Well, I'm pleased to meet you all. I look forward to working alongside you, and learning your dynamics."
"Alright, team. We're actually not going too far from home on this case." Hotch motioned for Garcia to start the presentation as he continued. "A young man was recently admitted to a Baltimore hospital with obvious signs of torture, and is unable to communicate due to the extent of his injuries. Baltimore police are asking us to assist with the case, as they believe there is at least one other person still missing."
"So, it's a road trip, not a plane ride, then?" Morgan asked, trying to lighten the mood, but it only earned a dirty look in return for him.
"Not exactly. We're taking two SUVs. Reid, Alyss, Rossi. You're with me. Ana, Morgan, JJ, and Cruz, you're in the second unit. We leave in 20, so grab your gear." Hotch dismissed them, and Cruz stepped out of the way as everyone left.
As Ana and Alyss walked out, Ana fixed Cruz with a glare. "Alyss, I don't have another shirt in my go-bag, do I?" She loudly asked her twin as they passed the two men.
Alyss snickered. "Nope. Just the ruined sweater."
Cruz sighed, and Hotch looked at the other man. "Why do I get a sinking feeling that Ana was the one you ran into this morning?" Cruz looked at him, defeated, and Hotch smiled at the other man. "She'll behave during the case, but after that, I'm sorry."
"Why are you sorry? I made the mistake, didn't stick around to fix it, and stuck my foot in my mouth with the comment about the twins."
Hotch shook his head. "I'm saying sorry because of the twins. They can be scary and vindictive. I left them in a room with one of the most dangerous men I've ever met to take a call from Strauss. When I came back in, Alyss was leaning against the wall, and Ana had the guy on the floor. She was standing on his chest, one heel firmly planted in his diaphragm, and the other heel hovering above his throat." Hotch smiled at the memory. "I had forgotten they had taken extra self-defense classes due to who they were. I was about to rush in to stop everything, not because they couldn't handle it, but because I was positive that she would hurt him. What I heard her say to him solidified my trust in them both, and it hasn't wavered since."
Cruz's eyes widened and he raised an eyebrow. "That's a high compliment from any of you. What did she have to say?"
"My team is my family. You touch, comment about, or breathe the wrong way to any of them, and I will not hesitate to do everything I have to in defense of them." Hotch rubbed the back of his neck. "We got a full confession. His lawyer tried to have it dismissed as a duress confession, but he told him to shut up. He later told the judge and jury that he had given the confession out of sheer respect for the only two women who had ever told him no and been able to back it up."
"Did they ever tell you what he did to incur the wrath of the Luciferous twins?" Cruz asked, curiosity written plainly on his face.
"He tried to 'charm' Alyss into giving him what he called a 'little appreciation' for his cooperation. When it didn't work on her, he turned his attentions to Ana, while sliding his hand up her arm. When he faced the same non-receptive outcome, he suggested that JJ would have done it. Ana slammed his head into the table and dragged him out of his chair, before pinning him to the floor in the position I found them in. He went to prison, clearly afraid of 'The Little Viper', as they call her now." Hotch walked to the door. "Some of them call her a siren, as her voice can seem enchanting, and her beauty is haunting."
"Hey, Hotch. We're all ready to go. You guys finished?" Morgan called up to the conference room, go-bag in hand.
"Yeah. We'll be right down." Hotch grabbed his go-bag and joined the team at the elevator, and they rode down to the garage in silence. When they reached the ground level and split off into their assigned groups, Cruz noticed the twins were clinging to each other. Noticing Cruz's confusion, Reid pulled the man off to the side.
"They hate being separated, even for a short ride like this. There was a mission where JJ and Ana got kidnapped, Alyss was pulled from the case, and was unable to help find her. We later found out that the twins had been the original targets, and now they hate being apart. At least Alyss has someone to anchor to when they are apart, but Anastasia doesn't. Not many people can accept that where one goes, so goes the other." Reid's eyes focused somewhere in the distance. "When we found them, JJ was fine, but Ana had been tortured for information about her sister. Their reunion was heartbreaking, but we were all relieved to have her back. When we got home, Alyss treated us all to a homemade meal."
Cruz's face, softened by the story of hardship, immediately sharpened into stone again. "We? Dr. Reid, if you are implying an inter-office affair..."
"What? No! Alyss invited the team over to their house to make dinner. Rossi was relieved to not host our 'family dinner', as the girls have a much larger kitchen." Reid shook his head and walked away. He hugged Ana and grabbed Alyss' go-bag as he led her away. Cruz stood for a moment, watching Ana's shoulders shake as she fought to control her emotions. He walked over to her and grabbed her bag, and she stared at him.
"It's time to go, Agent Luciferous. The car is waiting."
"I can carry my bag on my own, Director Cruz." Her eyes flashed in anger, and he was struck by how truly green they were.