For a fleeting moment when first waking the next morning, both LaMontagnes considered calling in to their places of work for a day off. So much had had happened.

But…

They knew that Will's partner wouldn't buy it.

Nor would JJ's.

Back to the grind.

"Hey, you."

JJ snapped out of her thoughts when she realized that someone was walking beside her in the lobby.

"Good morning, Em." JJ greeted her.

Emily checked her watch. "Made it in early, I see. It's only just a quarter to eight now."

The regular clock-in time for them was wight in the morning.

JJ shrugged. "Everyone was unusually cooperative, but I think Henry was extra motivated."

A memory triggered in Emily's brain as they boarded the lift and it began to ascend. "Oh, that's right. A field trip to the college for a production of The Jungle Book."

"Mhm. Then it's lunch at the dining hall afterwards." JJ sighed. "My baby is going to be hanging out at a college campus. The other day he told me out of the blue that he wants to go to CalTech—nowhere else."

"Wow. California. JJ, your firstborn is eleven."

"Don't I know it. The first time Spencer held Henry, he promised me that he would help get him into Yale if he needed the boost, but then he told Henry that had been the safety school for him."

"Of course it was. I went to Yale. What did Spencer tell Henry after that?"

JJ smiled at the memory. "That he could get him into CalTech with one phone call. I've never told Henry about that before, but I congratulated him on picking a fine school and encouraged him to ask Uncle Spencer about it. He's going to have a video call with him later."

"Adorable. And you still managed to leave the house in one piece this morning. Impressive. How's Will?"

"Mostly just pinching himself. I imagine he's on a rollercoaster he's not in control of." JJ sighed. "Will also adores his new sister but has mixed feelings about Amaya."

"Totally understandable, given the circumstances… oh…"

Emily touched a hand to the underside of her middle and wrinkled the bridge of her nose.

"Jellybean doesn't like elevators?" JJ guessed as they disembarked theirs and moved off to the side of the lobby.

"Not one bit," Emily supported her middle with both hands now. "And that's a bummer. The easiest way to get into Virginia's apartment is via elevator."

"Speaking of your your girlfriend, something occurred to me about her." JJ shuffled her feet in a childlike way. "Remember when we profiled Will's parents with the team?"

Emily nodded. "Yes."

"What comes to mind is that we profiled something of an event like the conception of a secret child that caused the first LaMontagnes to split. Remember that?"

"I do. Jennifer, what are you driving at? Virginia fitting this bill?"

"Uh-huh. There's nobody else she could be in this puzzle."

"That's also occurred to me. Knock on wood," Emily tapped a nearby wooden bench with one foot. "That we won't have to talk about it."

"Please." JJ scoffed. "The others will find out because there are absolutely no secrets in this case."

"How about we just pray that we don't encounter Virginia's mother before the end of this case. You can't take back a first impression." Emily fixed the strap of her purse when it slipped off her shoulder. "And why are you smiling?"

"Because you're so happy. The Rainers are the family that the universe had waiting in the wings for the right time." JJ said approvingly. "Have you told Zion about the baby?"

"Yes. That boy is over the moon." Emily said proudly. "After he asked me if he was going to be a big brother and I said yes, we watched him actually run laps around the living room. That is how much joy-filled energy he had just at the idea. He slept hard last night. I even spent some time holding him this morning before Virginia drove me to the train station."

"You're Zion's other mama now. He knows it, but I don't think he knows how to express himself in that department."

"On the nose. Virginia and I also know that we're it for each other for good."

"That's all so wonderf—"

BOOM! WOOSH!

Her words were cut off by a tremendous thunderclap outside. Immediately following came an immense downpour.

JJ sighed. "Back to reality."

Emily nodded. "Yep. Come on, JJ. I have to put my lunch away. Reality awaits."

The rest of the team arrived not long after this. It didn't take them long to all settle into their morning office routines. Emily hoped they would have a new adventure.

Sometime soon.

Emily's hope came true sooner than she thought it would. Just… in a way that was quite outside of 'the usual.' Because of course.

It started with a case that Penelope presented.

"My ladies and gents," she began when they were all gathered together in the round table room at ten o'clock. "I have a real head-scratcher for us today. No one even has to bring a go bag."

Emily arched an eyebrow. "Then how local are we talking?"

"The Metropolitan P.D., more specifically the squad that Will belongs to."

JJ actually jumped where she sat. "Really? I haven't spoken to Will since I left the house!"

Penelope sighed. "How come I never have good news to bring in the room? Approximately one hour ago, the body of this man was discovered. It's my unfortunate duty to report that his name is familiar to us."

As the profilers checked the prepared information, they saw the image of a dead man in an alleyway, but it was JJ who reach the following screen first. Her heart promptly turned over.

She turned to Penelope in slight shock and motioned towards the screen, where a bigger image of the picture was displayed now. "That is Chase McCann. Son of June?"

"Yes, JJ. That would be correct."

Emily slouched a little in her seat. "Then this is the part where I have to eat my words about June being off-limits."

"Chase McCann's manner of death is a little unusual." Spencer said as he looked up from further investigating the death files in his file folder. "He was shot through the heart with an arrow. Garcia, do you remember the last time we saw that modus operandi?"

"Like I could forget." Penelope shuddered. "Alaska."

"Alaska?" chimed Matt, Tara, and Luke together.

"Another story for another time." Rossi said swiftly.

Luke touched the frame of his tablet in thought. "Shooting someone through the heart is already cold, but the trajectory here shows that the unsub was close-range. That makes it personal. I also see something on the edge of the arrow, but I can't read it because it's in Japanese. Does anyone at the table read or speak it?"

Tara nodded and held a hand out for Luke's tablet. "Me."

"Okay. Here you are."

They watched as Tara took the device and studied the picture. Attached to the end of the arrow could be seen a scrap of plain cloth with what Emily supposed was a warning written on it. Emily found it extra curious that just above that someone had taken the time to attach large bird feather.

Tara looked at them when she finished translating. "It says, 'death becomes all.' But… Oh, God…"

"Just talk it out." Emily urged. "Tara, you look upset."

"Because I am. That specific phrase is exclusive to a notorious crime syndicate in Japan called the yakuza."

Curiously, Matt reacted to this information by accidentally spitting out the coffee in his mouth.

"Simmons?" Emily inquired as her colleague was quickly passed paper towels to clean the mess up.

"I am so sorry." Matt mopped the mess up. "It's just that… my family… well, there's history with the yakuza."

"Excuse me?!"

Matt sighed as he felt every eye turn in his direction. "My family is fully Korean on my side, but my parents immigrated to New York from Seoul. The real tale is in why traditionalists like them would even the place they loved so much."

"What's the story?"

"My parents fled in fear. Thanks to a misunderstanding during a trip to countryside, my uncle and his wife were killed by the local Korean yakuza gang. The response my parents had was to immigrate from Seoul to Manhattan." explained Matt. "The people responsible were caught, but my parents never went back. I guess it was just too much. Our family name was changed from Jeong to Simmons because the main goal was to start over completely. My oldest sibling, Hosea, was born ten months later."

A stunned silence followed the story. The rest of the team knew about Matt's family in D.C., but not much about the family he'd grown up with. It startled them that a person so private had this much tragedy in his life.

"We are so sorry that that happened," Emily told him. "And we're even more sorry that you recognize the bad people for such a terrible reason."

Matt bobbed his head understandingly as he dispensed of the soiled paper towels. "Let me remind everyone that I'm not the only person who had a moment of recognition just now."

And the spotlight shifted over to Tara.

She kept a determinedly straight face. "Amongst other people, I once interviewed a member of a local yakuza faction here. It was about eight years ago. Particulars are escaping me."

"That's okay for now." Emily told her. "Penelope can help jog your memory with research."

The woman in question opened a new screen. "I might end up having to tag along with everyone today. Exhibit the next: Chase McCann's damaged electronics."

'Obliterated' would have been a better word. McCann's phone and laptop had been smashed with something like a heavy boot.

"These were at the crime scene?" she asked Penelope.

"Affirmative. His ID, wallet, and keys were there, too. That's how the PD knew who he was."

"Understood. Those electronics probably have some valuable information on them... otherwise they wouldn't have been reduced to smithereens. Do you think you can restore them?"

"Yes." Penelope said with confidence.

"Then you're definitely coming with us."

Rossi spoke up, addressing Penelope. "Know anything about the tail feather at the end of the arrow?"

"All I can say at a preliminary glance is that it looks like it belonged to an eagle."

Spencer looked at her in surprise. "It's definitely an eagle feather. How did you know?"

"I paid attention when Jason talked about his favorite birds. Eagles were on his list."

Luke added his two cents. "Eagles aren't endangered anymore, but they're still protected under a number of laws. Those birds also aren't small. By a long shot. Dollars to donuts, the unsub has a property big enough to keep one or more of them around."

Penelope jotted this down on a Post-It Note in her binder. "I'm marking that down to remember later on."

Rossi voiced another thought aloud. "So we've been invited in, but is there anything else connecting Chase McCann's body? Like more victims?"

Penelope nodded as she presented them with images of two more sharply-dressed men, both of who had been killed in ways identical to McCann. "Here are Peter Castro and Asher Silas. If anyone had read ahead yet, you'll have noticed some very interesting bullet points by now."

Spencer had already made the connection. "Castro was the Castro of that Castro & Webber law firm in downtown D.C., but his death became a cold case. The same become of Silas' death. He was a real estate tycoon mogul, selling lavish properties to the rich and famous."

"Why don't you share with everyone what McCann did for a living, then?" Spencer encouraged.

"He was a high-powered attorney for IntelliCorp Enterprises."

This was a local internet, phone, and cable service.

JJ remarked, "All three of the unsub's victims were men of power and locally well-known."

Matt nodded. "We still have the yakuza angle. In spite of what they say about themselves, those people are their own mob. Now it looks like there's a faction operating somewhere in the area. Have the people who committed these murders bothered their victims' families?"

"No." Penelope reported. "Only one family stands out because of who the widow is."

"Don't leave us hanging, here." said Rossi.

"I'd say she's one of the most elite to ever cross our path. All of you have to recognize her."

They were met with a professional photograph of none other than Amaya Rainer, herself.

JJ's heart skipped a beat as she processed what was happening. Calling Will was now at the top of her to-do list. As quickly as all this went through her mind, she looked to Emily. And with reason.

She was blushing.

Spencer noticed. "Are you acquainted with Amaya Rainer?"

"Not exactly…"

JJ cut to the chase for Emily's benefit. "We learned last night Amaya is Will's mother."

"What?!"

Emily's blush deepened. "I guess I can't keep this quiet much longer... But a little bit less than a day after I parted ways with my child's father, I met someone while I was out. She just so happens to be the eldest daughter of Amaya Rainer. We've been in a dating relationship ever since then."

Spencer simmered back down as her remembered back to a certain evening in the Prentiss family kitchen. "Alright. I'm glad that you're happy now, Emily."

Luke waved his tablet to get their attention. "The rest of us are also happy for you and we'll celebrate later, but I think we're digressing. Who is Amaya Rainer's daughter?"

JJ answered him. "Ginny Lynn. The author."

"How... Never mind." Luke sighed. "When was the connection about the familial ties made?"

"Last night at dinner. Ginny came over with her son."

JJ's and Emily's company looked at them expectantly.

So the partners gave a quick rundown of all that had been learned and revealed at dinner.

"That's on the fantastic side of incredible." said Luke when they had finished. "We know who Will's mother is now, and also that he has a younger sister."

"There are actually four of them. We've only met one so far." JJ admitted. "It's more important now that Will's mother is connected to one of the dead men."

Penelope spoke up. "If I may—Amaya Rainer is also a person of interest because she was divorced from Asher Silas by the time he died."

Emily suddenly realized she was on the cusp of learning the secret that Virginia had been so worried about. "Why did they divorce?"

"The records are sealed up tight. I don't even have a clue."

"Could you work your voodoo to unseal them?"

"Of course I can, but being practical for the sake of time, I'd have to say no. Restoring McCann's electric devices would be easier. I just can't do both."

Across the table, Spencer steepled his fingers. "Which means that one of us will have to get Amaya Rainer to talk somehow—after collecting her. Any idea who is going to do that?"

Emily already felt like her brain was breaking. "Let's decide that when we get to the station."

JJ stood. "Then I'll call over to tell Captain Walsh that we're coming."

"Very good." Emily also rose to her feet. "Come on, everyone. Time to roll out."