Okay - chap 8! Same goers for the A/N before - only this time it's Carol (Anacharlie's) chapter! And Andrea helped! lol.

Read on, soldier!

Chapter 8: Human

He had warned her. More than once, in fact. Marcus Camerez had told Foxie it was better to tell the staff they were working with all the information she had instead of letting them figure it out and jump to conclusions. But every time he'd even think of asking her to do so or do it himself, she'd say 'no'. And it is common knowledge that when Foxie says 'no' she means 'no'.

((Hours earlier))

"Marcus, what were you thinking? I've said a zillion times why I cannot tell it." Foxie couldn't believe the detective had come so close of saying it.
"We both know they're not dumb. It's only a matter of time until they put two and two together."
"I'll catch this guy without endangering them." Foxie disagreed.
"Don't you think that by now he already knows how to get to your family? He killed over twenty people, Foxie." Camerez pointed out.
"I'm not taking my chances. Not on this." Foxie shook her head.
"You took your chances with me. This could be over sooner." He insisted. Camerez tried as hard as he could to understand her motive and, truth is, he understood. But he still thought she was sacrificing innocent people.
"The minute I tell them, it will certainly be over." Foxie agreed sarcastically "He'll find out, kill more people or just get to my family at once."

"Charlotte, it's only a matter of time until they figure out there's no copycat. Once they do, Garret will question you. And the whole staff will stand by him. Since there's something between Hoyt and Jordan and Cœurvay and Bug and Kade Houston is Hoyt's little cousin, they'll stick with Garret too." Camerez was sure of that "And trust me, you don't wanna get on these people's bad side. Jordan can be a serious pain in the ass."

"I'll handle it." Foxie ignored the comment "Do you know how you keep a secret between eight people?" she asked serious "You don't! In fact, you don't keep it between four."
"This could be over in Boston. How much longer do you honestly thing you can pull this off?" he placed his hands on her shoulder.

Foxie sighed. Camerez had a point. She couldn't pull it off much longer. The red-haired was so tired of dealing with her family, the killer, suspecting everyone in the FBI. Now she also had to handle her ex-boyfriend, Marcus ex-girlfriend, rookies and that stupid clock that kept ticking as if it was enjoying very much working against her.

"I said no." she let out a little louder than a whisper.
"That's so you!" Camerez dropped his hands "We got this close of getting this guy!" there was less than half-inch between his thumb and index finger to indicate what he was saying "So close, Foxie! My partner got killed and he ran." Camerez reminded her "Again." He added.

Foxie swallowed a little harder. "I understand you're grieving, but…"

"But what?" he interrupted her "You're working hard to keep your family safe? What about other people's families? William's parent and his fiancée are devastated while you're sitting on evidence!" Marcus accused her.

"Sitting on evidence!" Foxie felt as Camerez could have accused her of everything, but that "Those bodies are a direct message to me! I am not sitting on evidence; I'm trying to figure out what they mean."

"Have anyone ever told you that two heads think better than one? Your parents live in a military base, no one will get near General or Professor Fox. And your aunt is protected by local PD 24/7."

"The second this guy flashes his badge, he'll get to anyone. The military base might be a little harder, but do you honestly think the Kewaunee PD will keep him away from my aunt?"
"The longer you keep this going, the longer you endanger those you claim to protect." Camerez stated.

"Now you listen very carefully." Her eyes were on fire "I'm gonna solve this case and it's gonna be on my way. If you don't like it, fine! Then back off and let me work."
"I can call Connelly and tell him this got too personal. He'll pull you out of the case." Camerez threatened.

"And it didn't get personal when he killed your partner? William Scott had his whole life ahead of him, like many other people this psycho murdered."
"Fox, if you push this, I'll call Director Connelly." He assured her.
"I'll tell Connelly you moved from Nebraska to Boston to get this guy after he killed Detective Scott. He'll pull us both out of the case."

They stared each other for a minute.

"Fine." Camerez sighed "Do whatever you want. It's your case, right?" he lifted his hands up in defeat and walked by her.
"Marcus." Foxie called out "Marcus,…" she turned around, but the detective had already left.

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They were all looking like kids ready for the story. Nigel and Bug took the computer chairs, Jess, Caroline and Jordan sat on an empty autopsy table, Garret had his back against a wall and his arms crossed over his chest, Woody was standing by Jordan's side.

"The story begins with the first body. Local PD didn't even bother on fighting over this case because it was the daughter of a Senator. Everybody thought it was a political thing, Senator Hobbes is not an easy man to handle…" Foxie started.

"Wait," Caroline interrupted "are you saying this guy's first vic was Lindsay Hobbes?"

"Yeah." Foxie nodded "A few hours after they found Lindsay in an alley near their house with a stab wound, the case was mine. The following day, a woman was found. Stab on the neck, but she smelled like roses. There was this mix of oil and roses all over the place, but there wasn't a thing to be traced. Except for the fact she was about my aunt's age and roses are my favorite flowers." She told them.

"Doesn't your aunt Leah grow roses on her garden?" Woody remembered.

Foxie nodded again. "At first, we just found it weird. It was just a Jane Doe. There were two other murders like Lindsay's one. When the second body smelling like roses came up, we all assumed it was a copycat. Until we found an ID. The woman was a Lit professor."

"Oh, my God!" Woody sighed.

Five heads turned to him waiting for an explanation.

"Professor Elizabeth Fox is her mother." Woody pointed Foxie with his eyes. "The killer is after Foxie."
"What about the watches?" Jordan asked.
"My father has a very similar one." Foxie answered.
"What else should we know?" Garret inquired.
"This guy knows me. Not Agent Fox or Foxie, he knows Charlotte." She said. "There was no alert in Quantico about any research on me, so I think it's someone who has access to my personal file."
"Like another agent?" Bug asked.
"That's possible." Foxie placed a wick of her red hair behind her ear. "Now, if you'll excuse me." She normally walked out of the room.

"And you knew all of this?" Garret shot Camerez with his eyes.
"It's not what it looks like." Camerez tried to defend himself.
"It looks like you already knew." Garret said.
"Then it's what it looks like." Camerez admitted. "Hey, where're you going?" he saw Woody heading for the door.
"After Foxie." Woody answered almost reaching the door.

"Do you really think it's a good idea, Hoyt?" Camerez stopped him "She's not that found of you and there's a black eye to prove it."

"I can handle it." Woody ignored the detective and exited the room. He walked down the hall towards the break room. "Hey." He gave a small smile while entering the room.

"Hey." She answered putting some coffee on a mug.

Woody locked the door behind him. "That better be decaf." he joked pointing the coffee with his eyes.
"What do you want, Woody?" she asked softly. Foxie was too tired to fight with him.
"How are you?" he took a step forward on her direction "And don't lie to me, Charlotte."

"I'm worried sick." She admitted "I keep thinking that if I don't get this guy behind bars fast, I'll be woken up by a phone call saying one of them is dead." Foxie sighed "I know I never had a good relationship with my parents, but it doesn't mean I don't care. I… It…" words failed on her as they had never done before.

"You know you're just human, right?" Woody hugged her protectively. "How long has this been going on?"
"About ten months. Massachusetts is the sixth state. He's killing faster here. I don't know why, but he is."

"We'll find him and lock him away for life." Woody assured. "I promise."

Foxie sighed for what seamed the thousandth time that day. Somehow, Woody promising to catch the killer helped calming her down. Even though since the message on her answering machine Foxie kept telling herself Woody was an asshole, having him there made it seem… safe.

"I'm sorry for your black eye." Foxie said with her face buried on his chest.
"It's ok. I deserved it." Woody answered "Do you wanna grab a bite? Get your head out of the case for a little." He suggested letting go of the agent and took a step back to look at her into the eyes.

"You mean like dinner?"
"You can call it that." Woody agreed.
"No way, Woody! I remember what happened last time we had dinner together." Foxie teased him.
"I had never realized how hard it was to get a pregnancy test." He chuckled at the memory.
"When you live in Kewaunee and don't want people to know, very hard." Foxie laughed too.
"That was a long week."
"Tell me about it!" she agreed raising her eyebrows.
"Can we settle for coffee?" Woody smiled and pulled a chair.
"Coffee is ok." Foxie nodded pulling another chair. "So, how does it feel to have Kade back?"

"I wish Kade had told me before she was moving to Boston. I would have helped her with anything she needed."
"Always the big brother." Foxie rolled her eyes with a smile.
"Something's never change."

When Camerez walked down the hall, he took a quick look over the break room. Woody and Foxie were sitting and having a friendly conversation. She was… smiling? He couldn't remember ever seeing Foxie smile before. Half-smile, sarcastic smile, cynic smile, yes, but not just a smile. When people mentioned the 'Wisconsin charm', Camerez didn't really buy it, but now he was starting to think that maybe, just maybe, those people had a point saying there was something about that stupid 'Wisconsin charm'. He shook those thoughts out of his head and kept on walking to the elevator. But something stopped him. The cell phone started to ring in his pocket.

"Camerez." He answered it. "Where? Okay, I'm on my way." Putting the phone back in his pocket, Camerez returned to Foxie and Woody.
"Foxie, sorry to interrupt the old friends talk," he said half sarcastic, half angry.
"What?" she answered, looking at him.
"We have a body." He finished.
"When? Where?" she sighed, "Never mind, let's go."
"Can I…?" Woody started to ask.
"No," Foxie cut him off, "but thanks for the coffee." She stood up from her seat and walked with Camerez to the elevator. Woody followed them with his eyes until they disappeared.

"What you looking at?" Jess said mischievously appearing from behind him, seemingly out of nowhere.
Woody jumped. "Nothing." He lied, trying to calm himself down.
"Oh I see, you used to date the Carrot. What happened, did she use to beat you? Abusive?" Jess observed the angry face. "Ok, ok," she gestured with her hands. "Relax Detective, gee! Detective Coervay called asking for you to go with her and your cousin."
"Why do I have to go there?" Woody asked with a puzzled look.
"I don't know, but it seems they have a clue on the first copy cat. I mean the rose body, the old lady"
"Jess!" Caroline sounded urgently.
"I'm coming!" she shouted. "Gee! What is wrong with you people?" she left Woody, who was already on his way to the elevators. The doors opened.
"Wait Woodrow!" Nigel screamed.
"Hmm?"
"That… Stop the elevator!" Nigel said. "Come on, love!" He said to Caroline who was trying to put her jacket on.
"What's happening?" Woody asked.
"New Rose-body. Hannah called." Caroline finally said, managing to put her jacket on.
"Come again?" Woody asked surprised.
"Yeah, this time it was fast. It is getting more urgent that we catch this guy." Nigel worried.
"Jordan and Doctor Macy?" Woody asked, getting worried too.
"Gone to meet Agent Fox and Camerez," Caroline responded.

--------------

"What do we have?" Camerez asked.
"Female, 22," Garret started, "dead maybe 24 hours, no ID, and, well, the personal mark of our killer." He pointed to the neck of the girl.
"Poor girl," Jordan said. "That bastard!"
"We've already checked the scene. Nothing to find as usual," Foxie growled. 'When are you going to make your first mistake,' she thought ' so that I can catch you.'Marcus laid a hand on Foxie's shoulder. She quickly glanced at him before starting to walk the scene again.
"What was that?' Jordan thought, "It looked pretty… close"
"Jordan, look at this," Garret pointed to the victim's shoes.
"Grass, or something like that?"
"Maybe…I think that we may have something." Garret called. Marcus and Foxie turned immediately.
"Something on the shoes, it's a very small sample," Jordan pointed. "We need to get the body to the morgue, as fast as we can and…Excuse me." Her cell phone interrupted. "Cavanaugh," she answered, "Woody… What!… Oh god," Jordan swallowed hard, "Okay… yes… we were heading back there now… Yeah, we'll meet you there."
"What kind of bad news was that?" Camerez said darkly.
"Very bad news, they found another rose victim. It had a message this time."
"You mean aside from the watches and the smell?" Camerez pointed out.
"Yes." Jordan nodded.
"And what is that?" Foxie asked slow and serious.
"'I'm keeping an eye on you'" Jordan replied bitterly.

This time Foxie's expression changed, as the mask was lost for a couple of seconds. She turned to Marcus, her eyes mirroring true fear. Quickly it passed and the mask was fixed back in place.
'So she is human after all,' Jordan thought, then spoke aloud. "What do you want to do, Agent Fox?"
"Let's go back to the Morgue, and this time you must analyze both bodies and find the killer."

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"Aren't four people for one body, a little too many?" Kade asked whilst watching the group of ME's working.
"Well we need all the hands we can get, Kade." Hannah replied. The whole group was at the morgue, working over the two bodies, hoping that one would have the answers they needed.

"Another guy, died about 4 hours ago. Age 30 -35, I guess. He didn't really have a chance" Nigel said.
"Do you smell that?" Jess asked.
"What? The roses?" Caroline joked.
"Ha, ha, so very funny. No, the smell in his nose," Jess said, moving closer to the body, "is cyanide gas."
"How do you know? That was too fast." Caroline said, not convinced.
"I'm in toxicology. Trust me, it is" Jess said in her best military mode.
"Jess is right, it is." Nigel pointed to the screen.
"What do we have?" Hannah said, entering with Woody and Kade.
"So far, nothing that can be used. Except this time the killer knocks the victim out with cyanide gas. That is all we've got for now." Nigel said.
"Hmm, there is something in his pocket," Bug said, extracting two small pieces of paper "Okay let's see what we can do with this."
"What?" Jess asked Caroline, who was contemplating the body.
"Well," Caroline sighed in defeat. "I don't know, I mean it's weird, but it looks like someone I know. I just can't place the face."
"Now that you say that, I see it too," Jess said, both women looking to each other. "But I only just met you, so it must be someone… from here." Caroline's voice faded.

"What did you find in the pocket?" Hannah addressed Bug.
"Patience. It looks like something is written here. Got it, it's an address. 'Apartment 128 Block C'."
"Victims address?" Hannah asked.
"And this other paper, another address, far from downtown," continued Bug. "It seems to be a garage or something like that. Look; B-12." He pointed the number out to Hannah.
"Well, so we have two places then," Hannah started.
"Anything here?" Camerez interrupted, entering the room.
"Yes we have something," Hannah responded. She made her decision. "This is the deal. I'll go with," Hannah turned to choose someone.
"Sorry we can't," Caroline said pointing to herself and Jess. "The boss doesn't let us out."
"Okay, so then." She continued and stopped on Nigel.
"Nigel!" Garret said entering the room.
"Yes Doctor M."
"I need you to trade this and come help Jordan and me."
"I'm out too, sorry love." Nigel said leaving the room.
"Okay," Hannah was getting a little annoyed. "I will go with Bug to this one, the B-12 garage. You Camerez, you can go with Detective Hoyt to the other. That sounds all right to everyone?" Hannah asked, looking at the others.
"What about me?" Kade replied.
"Oh well…"
"Can I have a hand?" Lily said entering the room. "I need to do the ID."
"Kade will help you." Woody said.
'Why?...Always the big brother' Kade thought. She agreed and went to help Lily.
"Hey guys," Hannah started. "Try to be very careful, and keep in contact," she warned.
"No problem," was the reply from Woody. "Let's go." And the Detectives left the autopsy room.

"Look at this Jess" Caroline pointed.
"It's a tattoo, pretty normal for a guy"
"M.C. Hmm…Initials?" Caroline asked her friend.
"Probably. It could the initials of a girl, like Mary Cate, or Mia Christine. Shame if he wasn't with her anymore."
"Jess"…Caroline said with a warning voice.
"Sorry I couldn't resist" Jess said with a childlike expression "Okay mister, let's see if this tattoo can be useful."

-------------------------------------------------------------

"Again, like the manual said, far lonely, dirty and dark." Hannah commented, thinking in what Woody said.
"B-12"...Bug said…
"It can't be." Hannah said. "Look around. There are only odd numbers"….Hannah said pointing to the different warehouse.
"Wrong place?" Bug
"Wait" Hannah took his cell phone. "Coervay. Oh Dr. Townsend Inverted? Thanks! Nigel said the numbers might be flipped."
"B-21." Bug said
"That is the place" she answering smiling. They walked to the B-21 warehouse, trying to find a door.
"Does this place really have a door?" Hannah said, getting desperate.
"Our killer probably doesn't want to be found….there is a window up there." Bug said.
"And you suggest what?" She said annoyed.
"Well, I could…"Bug start slowly
Hannah frowned. "Okay …don't make me fall."
Bug put his hands together and helped Hannah climb the window.
"Can you get it open?" Bug said, trying to keep Hannah feet in his hands. He was losing his balance, and Hannah's weight wasn't helping.
"Almost" she said, concentrating on the window. "Got it!" Hannah disappeared inside.
"That was the door?" Bug said incredulously when Hannah opened a small door to let him in.
"Well, as much fun as that was, let's get going." Hannah commanded, trying to find a switch or something similar. After a short while with groping in the dark, she found it. "And then there was light!"

They both looked around. The place had some old pieces of cars inside, olds books and stuff they assumed hadn't been seen by the light in at least 10 years.
But it was the stuff in the middle that caught their attention. Four panels, filled with photographs and some sticky notes. Then 2 tables loaded with books and maps of Boston, agendas and some kind of collection that Bug was trying to understand. Hannah moved closer to one of the panels.
She gasped. "Those pictures...The people in those pictures…It's-it's us….the entire morgue staff...The news ME…Brief histories, relationship…..everything, piece by piece." Hannah felt like she was about to throw up, as she paged through the papers, forgetting all about prints. Every little detail was there and all the persons were connected to one …"The red haired….FBI…," She read. One of the photos caught her attention. It said "target" and the person in the picture was.
"Oh, my God!" Hannah screamed. "This is not a coincidence!" She swallowed hard. "We are here because he wants to us on this case. We are simple pieces in a Chess table," she thought, before the anger and the fear grew fast in her brain and mouth.

"We need to do something!" Bug saw the horror in Hannah face.
"That son of a...," she dialed Woody's number on her cell the fastest she could, panic striking her again. "Pick up phone. Come on, come on. God damn it!"

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"You look pretty serious, Caroline," Jess told her. "Is there something wrong?"
"No, I mean, nothing happened to me, it just…something is pissing me off, driving me crazy….I don't know what," her eyes traveled around the room, before they again stopped, looking at the body for the millionth time.
"What?" Jess said curiously.
"M.C, the tattoo on him… M.C. It could be initials you said?" Caroline looked briefly at Jess.
"Yeah, you were annoyed because I joked about it. Wait," The expressions on Jess' face went from confusion to horror as a thought went through her head.
"Are you feeling well? You look so pale." Caroline noticed. Her friend was definitely not ok.
"The message! It said ''I've keeping an eye on you''. Agent Fox," Jess looked as if she was about to faint. She pointed at the tattoo.
"MC!" Caroline screamed as she understood. "Marcus!... Marcus Camerez!"

-----------------------------------------
Check Mate!
It was a little too late, and it was better than he was expecting. Not just one, the two men were exactly in the same place.
'It must be fate,' he thought, and smiling to himself, he prepared the cyanide gas.
Slowly he took his position in the apartment, trying to decide which one to kill first, and if it was a good idea to let the other watch how he did it. 'It may be more painful,' he thought
So my dear Fox, I catch two birds with one stone. I'm so glad you sent them together. You should've been more worried about they safety, you know? Especially since they're young ones. Well, I guess that they'll never get to have a chance. Pity.
Here they come….say goodbye, dear Fox. Goodbye forever.

"Boston PD! Open the door!" Woody yelled.
"You need to make that noise?" Camerez said sarcastically. "Look, its open."
"Woah, woah", Woody said. "Stop. Don't you remember what Detective Coervay said?"
"Are you going to get in or not?" Camerez said.
Both men got into the apartment. It was too quiet, it wasn't normal.
"It smells like," Woody thought," roses".
That was his last thought, and before he could think, Camerez was on the floor and now that shadow was right behind him, he felt cold and a deep pain. He tried to look, call someone, at least give some resist, but the gas already surrounded him, and slowly, like a sweet but lethal dream, the light turned to shadows.

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Come on! ..Pick up the phone! Damn it!" Hannah said after marking the number on the cell hundred of times. She was driving frenetically, trying to get the fastest the she could to the victim rose place. She even left Bug behind, her only thoughts were to get to the detectives and try to save their asses.
"Men's!Why don't men ever pick up the phone?" Hannah yelled. "Out of the way!" She screamed to the cars "Don't you hear the siren? Move!"
The last minutes before she got to the address Bug had found, seemed like an eternity, she turned the sirens off. Her thoughts were with them. "Please, let them be safe, please let me get there in time". Two streets…just two streets left.

What? He could swear he'd heard a noise coming from outside. But who could it be? Something had to be wrong, very wrong. Looking through the window, he couldn't see anything. "It could be the neighbors" he thought, and turned his attention to the men again. "Which one first?" he asked himself, although there was no doubt. "Camerez, of course, he must die first".
He started to move close to Camerez, who was still unconscious. "Shame our little Fox is not here to see this", he thought, taking the knife in his hand. He got down to the neck, finding exactly which vein he wanted, the one which would make it all the most painful, not giving to him a chance to survive. A shadow appeared slowly for the bedroom window. "A slow, painful and certain death", he said. The shadow started moving closer to him. "Goodbye, Camerez". Putting his hand to down the shirt, the knife in his hand was claming for blood, to take the life away, to take the soul and only let an empty body. The shadow took something in its hands and…He turned.

She tried to beat him with a table, but he noticed and ducked, only barely avoiding it. The shock made him lose his balance, but the knife was still in his hand. Hannah reached for it, but he was quicker, hitting her so she fell on the floor. He then aimed the sharp object at her, but a short moment of hesitation was enough for Hannah. Raging, she kicked after the arm he held his knife in, making it fall onto the ground. They both struggled to get it, rolling on the floor. Being stronger, the man had an advantage, and won the wrestling. Hannah quickly got up on her feet. She reached for her gun, cursing herself for not thinking about it before, but he read her move and sent the gun over the room.
"You bitch!" he said
"You bet!" Hannah replied. "I need to get that knife" that was her focus, take the knife and save the unconscious men.

"You can win. You have the advantage". He thought, before hitting her in the stomach. Hannah got dizzy for a moment, not being able to fight back. But the thought of the lives at stake, and the ones he had already killed strengthened her. She picked up a tank containing cyanide gas and threw it at the psycho. He barely escaped it, but the surprise made him lose the knife.
He saw his mistake, and made a rush effort to catch again, but Hannah tackled him, not letting him move. If she only could take the table again, or her gun. The table was very close if she…
He was still trying to fight her off, when her hands suddenly loosened the grip, and he lost his balance again. This time Hannah was faster and took the table. She punched him in the face twice, and in his back, forcing him to the ground.
"Who has the advantage now!" she spat.
"Me!" He screamed, throwing his cigarette lighter to the kitchen.
Hannah only had seconds to react.
She wanted to run to get Woody and Camerez, try to keep them away, but the only thing the she could do was protected herself from the asphyxiating darkness from the smoke. The last thing she heard was laughing. Then, the room blew.

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"Cavanaugh."
"Doctor, this is Hannah", she said with sad voice, so weak and slow.
"Hey." Jordan said, noticing Hannah's tone. Suspiciously she continued "Is everything ok?"
"Actually, no" Hannah said. "Something happened and, and…"
"What's wrong?" She said, swallowing hard as a huge fear grew in her heart.
"Hoyt and Ca-Camerez, they..." Hannah's voice was even weaker.
"Oh my God," was the only thing Jordan could say, it felt like time froze, and with a few nods and scared looks, she said "I'm on my way", throwing the phone into her purse.
"Jordan, Doctor Macy wants the…," Nigel said, walking into her office.
But Jordan was already running to the elevators.
"Jordan! Jordan!" Nigel yelled after her.
But Jordan was not aware of him, all of her energy was focusing on getting to that hospital fast. She needed to know if…if.
"What is the hurry? Got a date?" Foxie asked sarcastically, but one look into Jordan eyes changed that mood. "What's wrong?' She swallowed hard too.
"Come with me", was the only thing Jordan managed to get out.

The both got into the elevator, leaving the morgue without an explanation.
When a deep fear runs into one's heart, there is no room for rational thoughts, only that rising fear, which takes away all the senses and defeats all hope, takes a small piece of life with every breath drawn, with every passing moment. All accompanied by an agony which shatters all what is considered safe.