Here we go. These chapters have been particularly fun to write because the Fisher King episodes are my absolute favourite in all 10 and a bit seasons of Criminal Minds! Plus i love writing Jessa into established stories. Anyways, enough from me.

Xoxo


The body was laying on a bed in the middle of the room, a sword sticking out of him.

"That can't be accidental." Jessa said, holstering her gun.

"Hotch, Gideon." Morgan called, "You're going to want to see this."

Almost instantly, both Hotch and Gideon were standing with them.

"A sword?" Gideon asked.

Jessa made a move to enter the room, but Hotch held out his arm to stop her. "It could be rigged." He said.

"I doubt it." Morgan reasoned, "Everything he's done so far has been to draw us in, not to harm us."

The other agents stepped into the room to begin collecting evidence, but Hotch's eyes couldn't leave the bloody message on the wall.

"Here thy quest doth truly begin." He read. "He's definitely playing with us."

"Well," Jessa said, going through some of the things in the corner of the room, "His identification checks out. This is definitely Frank Giles."

"There's a big old bag of money sitting right here on the dresser." Morgan observed.

"So Giles took Harris to Jamaica to kill him, then the unsub killed Giles?" Hotch speculated.

"But he paid him first?"

"He left the cash, so he's not short of funds." Jessa said.

"He said these were 'unrepentant bad men', are we looking for some sort of vigilante?" Hotch asked the group.

"No." Gideon answered, "The bodies are nothing but a way to get us interested. They're game pieces; the killings are secondary."

"Well, he certainly likes to write things on the walls in blood." Jessa mused.

"There's all kinds of cult and demonic significance to that." Morgan stated, but Jessa shook her head.

"It's more than that." She stared at the writing, "All the other messages have been in modern English, why switch it up now?"

"Maybe this is the first message the unsub actually wrote?" Morgan tried.

"Great, now we're looking for Shakespeare." Jessa said dryly.

"Hey, guys?" The forensics woman who was inspecting the body called for their attention, "There's something etched on the blade.

Hotch crouched down to the sword's level and began to read, "To learn of what should next be done, leave the blade 'til the hour be none."

"Hour be none?" Morgan asked, his confusion evident.

"Leave the blade." Hotch repeated. "The bed's in the middle of the room."

"Which isn't by chance." Jessa cut in.

"And maybe the light from here casts a shadow and points to something?"

"Come on, are we in the middle of an Indiana Jones movie?" Morgan asked.

"The hour be none?" Hotch went on.

"Midnight is 0000 hours in twenty-four hour time, would that be none?"

"Midnight wouldn't cast a shadow." Hotch shut down his theory.

"Hour be none." Jessa thought out loud.

"Three pm." All the Agent's turned to see Reid enter the room, "Garcia told me where to find you."

"Three pm?" Gideon asked the young genius.

"It's medieval. The days used to be broken into hourly intervals, the canonical hours of breviary. Prime: six am, Terce: nine am, Sext: twelve noon, None: three pm and Vespers: six pm."

"Please don't ever leave again, Reid." Jessa told him.

"Medieval." Gideon ignored the banter, "That's why the language changed."

"Everything this guy does is a clue." Hotch told them.

"Yeah, but its four thirty-five. What are we going to do? Leave the blade in until three pm tomorrow?" Morgan asked logically.

"Not if we can block that window out." Reid said, "Do you have a spotlight in your car?" He asked the forensics woman.

She nodded and rushed from the room.

"Winchester, can you grab the curtains?" Hotch asked.

Jessa obliged and the thick curtains managed to block out most of the afternoon light. Hotch stood from his position and began pacing the room while waiting for the torch to be brought to them.

Moments later, the forensics lady return and handed the light to Reid.

"Ok, so the sun is here at five pm." He shone the light from low and a shadow appeared on the wall, "Morgan, follow the shadow as I move the light higher."

He moved a nightstand and a few odds and ends as the sword's shadow sunk lower on the wall "Ok… And do what?"

"Knock." Hotch told him, crossing his arms across his chest.

Morgan obliged, and knocked on the wall where the shadow of the hilt crossed the blade. He followed the shadow, until his knock was met with a hollow sound.

"Ok, now it's definitely an Indiana Jones movie." Morgan said. "It feels like the wallpaper's been replaced."

"Tear it open." Hotch ordered.

Morgan felt his pockets for his pocket knife, realising he didn't have it.

"Here." Jessa pulled her switchblade from her back pocket and cut into the wall where it was hollow.

"What happened to your other knife?" Morgan asked as she cut. "The one you usually have strapped to your ankle?"

"I left it in…" She was about to say 'someone' when she thought it best to censor the conversation so she opted for, "Chicago."

Once she had cut into it, she used the heel of her hand to cave in the rest of it. Nestled in the hiding place was a wooden box.

"It's a box." Morgan said.

"Take it out." Hotch ordered.

Jessa reached into the hole to grab it but Reid stopped her, "Are we sure it's safe?"

"What? You think it's a bomb? You think he'd be playing this game just to blow us up?" Hotch said, his tone clipped.

"He would have already done that." Jessa said, pulling the box free of its nook. She placed it down on the floor and attempted to open it. "It's locked."

"Break it." Morgan suggested.

"No, we have to process it first." Hotch informed them.

"The youngest holds the key." Gideon interrupted.

The wheels clicked over in Reid's head and he fished a small yellow envelope from his breast pocket and pulled a skeleton key from it.

The key fit perfectly into the lock and with a click, it unlocked. The youngest agent lifted the lid, everyone in the room bracing themselves for what they would find inside.

Instead of a bang, or body parts, the box played soft, sweet music.

They all stared at it for a moment, shocked at what it actually was.

"Schubert." Gideon announced, "The Trout Quintet."

Jessa was about to ask how he knew that when Reid pulled a note from inside.

"Never would it be night, but always clear day to any man's sight." He read.

"Well, that was worth it." Jessa spat sarcastically, but closed her mouth when Hotch sent her a warning look. "Sorry." She mumbled her apology.

"The lid." Gideon said, studying the inside of the box. "There's a little tab right under the lock."

Reid looked to where he was pointing and found it. Gently pulling on it, the false top came off to reveal a lock of blonde hair tied up in a pink bow, and a CD that read 'THY QUEST'.

Jessa grabbed the lock of hair and slipped it into an evidence bag.

"Thy quest." Morgan said, picking up the disc. "This is some sick game."

"Hopefully we get DNA from the hair." Hotch said.

"That's what he wants." Jessa said it more to herself than anyone.

"What do you mean?"

"Everything he's done, the murders, the letters, it was all to lead us here. And now this." She gestured to the box. "He wants us to know who 'she' is. That's part of the game."

"Alright." Hotch agreed, "Gather up the evidence and we'll head back."


Jessa ended up in the car with Hotch for the drive back to the FBI building. Hotch kept a steady grip on the steering wheel, and his stern expression didn't leave the road.

"Go on." Jessa told him, knowing he wanted to say something.

"What was the nature of you vacation with Morgan?"

"Is it relevant, or do you just want to know?"

For the first time his gaze left the road and he studied her for a moment before returning his eyes to the road. "As Unit Chief, any change in relationship between any members of my team is relevant." He said, not a trace of emotion evident in his voice, "Any relationship between you and Agent Morgan should have been reported to me immediately."

"There's no relationship." She told him.

"So you aren't sleeping with him?"

Jessa's silence was answer enough, but she spoke anyway, "We dated, sort of, in the past. It was a bit over five months while I was in the Academy and before, but that relationship ended when I was sent to Omaha."

"That should have been declared during your interviews."

"It wasn't relevant then. We left things as friends and it never affected our ability to work together." She said, anger seeping into her voice, "And besides, as long as it isn't affecting the team, I really don't see why it should be your business, sir." She added as an afterthought.

"And Jamaica?" Her outburst seemed to not have fazed him.

"It was just a holiday." She told him solemnly, "Two weeks, that's it."

Their conversation was brought to an abrupt halt when they arrived back at the FBI building, and Jessa was all too happy to climb out and leave that conversation in the SUV.


When the whole team was assembled in the briefing room, JJ slipped the disc into the DVD player she had set up.

The video showed a large study, with the unsub—naught but a silhouette in the foreground—sitting behind a grand desk.

"I assure you," The unsub started, "You'll all understand in the end why it must be that way. You might even thank me. You know now you're on a quest. A young girls life depends on the successful completion of it. As you can see, she's quite beautiful..." The video cut to an image of a young blonde girl manacled to an old bed, there was no audio, but the girl appeared to be screaming as she threw objects toward the camera that, no doubt, the unsub was behind. "And in distress. Now please listen closely," It cut back to the study, "for there is one rule and this rule must be followed. The one rule is... Only the members of your team may participate in the quest. Jason Gideon, Aaron Hotchner, Derek Morgan, Jessamine Winchester, Spencer Reid, Jennifer Jareau, Penelope Garcia." When he listed their names, images of them flashed across the screen, each one taken at a different crime scene to the last. "A quest must be completed in the proper way or it isn't a quest, is it? That's it. One rule. Simple. Now, you will be receiving an item soon that will hold the final clue you'll need to finish the quest. You will find you will also need a book which has inspired many an adventure like mine. Believe me when I tell you I'm truly hope to see you all soon. It will mean a successful end to this adventure... For all of us." The screen went black.

"This guy's got pictures of us?" JJ asked in shock.

"He's clearly been stalking us, all of those pictures were from different crime scenes." Jessa shared.

"What do we do now?" Reid asked.

"Well, the lock of hair is being analysed for DNA." Hotch told them, "There might be something on file."

"I'll get video to enhance the shots of the girl." JJ said, standing and taking the disc from the player and exiting the room.

"Let's get the clues up on the board, maybe we can make sense of something."

"Wait, we're going to play this guy's game?" Jessa asked almost accusingly.

"Do we have a choice?" Reid answered.

"The kid's right." Morgan agreed, "The girl has to be our priority and this is the fastest way to find her."

Suddenly, Gideon fled the room.

"You guys keep working." Hotch said, getting up and following.

Jessa stared at the clues in front of her, rubbing her tired eyes. "A book." She said, "What book do we need?"

"It's got me beat." Morgan said, leaning back in his chair and stretching out his arms, "Kid?"

Reid just shook his head.

The three sat in silence for a few minutes until Hotch entered the room looking stressed.

"We've got another clue." He told them, pinning a large sheet of paper to the whiteboard. It was a list of number sets spaced out evenly across the page.

"Where did you get this?" Jessa asked.

"It was delivered to my house." He said.

"Haley and the baby ok?" Morgan asked.

Hotch just nodded, "It was delivered by messenger. Find out what it means." With that, he disappeared again.

Jessa stood up from the table and began to pace in front of the board in an attempt to stay awake.

"God, I am so damn tired that this isn't making any sense."

"I think it's a coded message of some sort." Reid said, getting up to get a closer look. "The unsub said we needed a book, right?"

"Yeah." Morgan answered, "'A book that inspired many an adventure'."

"It's a book code. Each one of these sets of numbers represents a particular word." Reid explained, "For instance, page one eighteen, line thirty, word three. We need to figure out what these words are and fill in the blanks."

"Yeah, but from what book?" Morgan asked.

"I don't know."

Jessa stared at the board, "The clues he gave us. They must point to a book."

"The trouble is that it has to be the exact same edition of the exact same book that he used."

"Just got a DNA hit off the lock of hair." JJ announced, walking back into the room, "Rebecca Bryant. She's been missing out of Boston for two years."

"Two years?" Jessa asked, "If he's had her for that long, why bring us in now?"

"I don't know." Reid answered.

JJ stuck Rebecca's image on the board.

Jessa sat back down at the table, folding her arms in front of her, and resting her chin on them.

"He said we have everything we need to complete the quest." Reid mused.

"Well, the answer is up there somewhere." Jessa yawned.

"JJ," Gideon stuck his head inside the room, "Get some reporters here as soon as possible."

"For what?" She asked him with a frown.

"Just say we need help on a new case."

"No way." Jessa got up and followed him into the hall, "Gideon we can't do that!"

"Why not?" He turned to face her, "Who says we can't?"

"He did!"

"And when do we ever play the unsub's games?"

"But this guy is dangerous! I mean, he killed two people just to get our attention! Who's to say he won't kill more if you hold this press conference!" She tried not to yell, but the exhaustion as taking over and she couldn't control her temper.

"Winchester." Hotch had stepped out from his office, and he gestured her inside. She followed him in, "I get that this is personal for you."

"Damn right it is!"

"It's personal for us all. How much sleep have you gotten in the last thirty-six hours? Be honest."

She sighed, "I don't know, maybe fifteen minutes."

"Alright. I'm sending you home."

"No, Hotch, I'm fine."

"No, you aren't. You spent most of last night in an interrogation room before flying straight back here and working this case. You are losing control of your temper, and I need you on top of your game if we want to catch this guy. Do you understand?"

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, "Yes, sir."

He got up from his desk and led her to the bullpen, "Anderson. Take Agent Winchester home."

She sighed, and went to her desk to grab her things before following the young agent out of the building.

As soon as they pulled up at her unit she climbed out and thanked him.

"Are you sure you don't need me to stay, Agent Winchester? I don't think Agent Hotchner will be happy with me if I just leave you here."

"I can take care of myself, Anderson."

He just nodded and pulled the car away.

Jessa unlocked her door and dumped her bags on the floor. Too tired to bother with anything else, she kicked off her shoes and crashed on the couch and was asleep before her head hit the cushions.

She wasn't sure how much later it was, but she woke with a start to find a gun pointed at her head.

"I told you," The man hissed, "There was one rule. One."

She sat up and stared at the man. She couldn't quite make out his face under the hood he was wearing, but she tried to drink in as many details as possible. "You don't call the shots." She told him defiantly. "We won't play into your sick games."

She glanced around for her weapon. She had her gun well out of reach on the table by the door and her switchblade in her back pocket. Neither weapon was easily accessible without risking this madman shooting her.

"One rule, Agent Winchester." He repeated.

"Stop with the games."

"Do you not consider that holding a press conference is going outside the team for help?" He roared. "One rule!" The gun began to shake in his hand as his anger took over. "I told you this was important!" Without any more warning, he pulled the trigger.


:O Jessa got shot!

Next chapter's coming in a few days. Sit tight.

Xoxo