"Are you really certain that you want to do this, PG?

She turned to look at JJ, giving her a frustrated look as she nodded her head. "It's now or never, Jayje. Since we both agree that there is more to this than mere coincidence, I need to have the correct resources at my disposal so that I can track down any new cases that might tie to these previous ones. I just hate to imagine what might happen if we don't get a handle on it sooner rather than later. There's always the possibility that not only are there more cases out there, but this unsub could snap and start to go on a spree, leaving death in his wake."

"I'm not so certain that it is a man."

Penelope felt her brow furrow as she tried to parse what JJ was saying. "What makes you think that it's a woman?" she finally asked as the elevator came to a stop on their floor.

Stepping out, she followed her friend over to her desk and then took a seat on the corner of it as she watched JJ get settled in for the day. "I just have this feeling. Things are too neat and purposeful, while also being unobtrusive. I don't know, it just feels like this is a woman, deep in my heart."

"Huh, I'll put that into the barebones dossier I have on this unsub, then. I'm going to run up to my office, start my systems, and then grab coffee before we head up to Emily's office. Do you want me to get you anything will I'm in the break room?"

"No, I'll get my coffee while I'm waiting for you," JJ replied absently as she turned her computer on, and Penelope gave her shoulder a soft squeeze before getting to her feet and heading up the stairs to her office. After hanging her jacket up on the hook, she went over to her desk and turned on her system, listening to the soothing sounds of the fans whirring in tandem as she stuffed her purse in the drawer and then grabbing her coffee mug off the desk and heading down to the break room. JJ was there, along with Anderson, and she gave the man a little nod as she went over to the coffee pot and poured herself a full mug, leaning against the counter as she watched them talk.

"What do you think, Garcia? Will the Director finally move personnel around on the Alpha team? You've been at seven members plus you for a little too long, and there's no way that that is sustainable."

She rolled her eyes a little as she shrugged, pouring more coffee in the mug to replace what she'd drank. "I think that as long as we're getting the results that the Director likes, we won't have to worry about losing any members. Why? Have you heard differently?" she asked as she went over to their sides, looking Anderson in the eye. He squirmed a little under her scrutiny, and she tried to smile in order to put him at ease, even though she felt her heart lurch in her chest a little at the thought of perhaps losing one of her friends to another team. Though she wouldn't be that sorry to see Luke go, since his flirting had gotten a little out of control over the last few months, and knowing that he was still dating Lisa just made her feel all the more unsettled by it.

"No, I haven't heard any more rumblings about that lately, just that the Director is thinking of retiring, and you know that there are usually structural changes to go along with that before he leaves. In the past, there's always been bloat trim, and with your team being as large as it is, well, I would expect that to start here."

"I'll keep that in mind," she replied absently as she saw Emily enter the bullpen, a placid smile on her face telling Penelope that it was a good morning so far. "Well, I hate to cut this chat short, but Jayje and I have to see Emily about something before we get down to business today. Swing up and see me at lunchtime, I want to pick your brain a little more about this topic."

"Sounds like a plan, Garcia. I'll bring by Thai food around one, and we can have a nice long chat." He waggled his fingers at them before they turned and made their way out of the breakroom.

"Do you have any idea how you're going to frame this, Penelope?" JJ asked as they started up the stairs.

"With the same pictures that I showed you. When she sees it, she'll be certain to put us in contact with Clyde, or whoever is in charge now, and we can proceed from there. Do you want to wait here for me, or come into my office?"

"I'll wait here, since that means you'll be quicker to get back here."

Penelope let out a little chuckle as she nodded, patting JJ's arm before hurrying over to her office and grabbing her tablet before making her way back to JJ's side. "All right, let's get this done." JJ nodded and followed closely at her side as they went over to Emily's office. Penelope didn't knock before entering, knowing that they'd be briefing a new case in a little bit anyway. "Good morning, Em."

Their boss looked up from her paperwork, giving Penelope a confused smile as she motioned for them to take a seat. "What can I do for you?"

"I need you to look over some crime scene photos for me. Well, they're not all crime scenes, per se, since some were just suspicious deaths that needed to be investigated, but well, take a look for yourself, and then I'll fill you in. It's better to look without my tainting your thoughts."

Emily pursed her lips a little as she accepted the tablet from Penelope, starting to scroll through the images, pausing a few times to zoom in on certain parts. Penelope felt a little deflated when she didn't pick out every origami cat. Finally, she reached the end of the pictures and passed the tablet back to Penelope. "All right, so I'm assuming that what you wanted me to find were the origami cats in each scene. Yes?" She nodded. "And I'm also assuming that you think there's a connection here?"

"Yes. I know, there doesn't seem to be much of a connection beyond that, but we've worked with less as a team. It's just that these cases are so spread out over time and geography that I don't think anyone has put it together before. I know that it's unorthodox, but do you think that it would be possible to perhaps keep tabs on this? And to contact Clyde and use his resources?"

Emily shook her head. "I'm sorry, but no. This would be a waste of our resources, and with the way things are going right now, I just can't sanction something like this happening. You need to keep your focus on the cases that we can close well, not some ghost that you're trying to chase. Drop it, okay?"

Penelope struggled to keep her face a placid mask as she nodded, though she did throw a quick look JJ's way as she got to her feet. "All right, we'll see you soon for the briefing," she replied shortly before leaving the office, JJ hot on her heels. "Are you coming to my office?" she bit out, feeling sadness and anger at war in her heart.

"That is the plan," JJ replied evenly, and she gave her a short nod as she tried not to stomp over to her door, though she did enter her passcode with a little more force than normal, letting out some of her aggravation that way. "All right, what's your plan now? We're not going to give this up, are we?"

"You suddenly want to help me out with this? What changed your mind?"

"Seeing how dismissive Emily was of you. Like, even I know that there is a link there, and that it should be explored, and we were just shut down. So, what are we going to do about that?"

"Since this can't be an officially sanctioned case, we're going to need a mobile command center of sorts. My place does not have an extra room, but I know that you have a home office. Do you think Will would mind if we took it over for as long as it takes to figure this out?"

"If he does, that's on him. I'll tell him that you're coming over tonight to do some work in our home office, and I know that the boys will enjoy having their auntie Penelope over for supper. Somehow, we are going to figure out if this is mere coincidence or if there really is something more sinister at play." Penelope nodded, smiling back at JJ before stuffing the tablet back into her purse and starting to get things ready for the day ahead.