Serena was about to turn around and look, but Reid slammed her down onto the pavement. Then, they started to hear sounds. Sounds of bodies collapsing on the ground. Serena turned her head to face Reid. Her eyes were wide with terror. The doctor had instinctly placed his arm protectively over her back, and he was too terrified to let go.

Serena lifted her head. 4 bodies. Two looked like police officers, the two others were media reporters. She gulped and laid her head back down, heart pounding. She reached into her phone and called Hotch. He would know what to do.

NYPD Station

"W-why would anyone do this?" Mrs. Gomez wailed. Hotch had tried to comfort her all afternoon, but to no success. God, he hated it when the families weren't cooperative.

"Mrs. Gomez, we-" His cell phone interrupted him. He pulled it out, and saw that it was Serena. "Excuse me." Hotch murmured, and stepped out of the room.

"Hotchner." He replied.

"Hotch?" The young agent's voice quivered.

"Yes, what is it?" He began to get worried.

"H-he's here." The feeble voice came.

"Who's there?"

"The unsub. He's here, shooting. Four people are dead, Hotch."

Shit. Hotch raced to find Rossi and JJ, and he told them the news. JJ went to tell the officers, and Morgan and Prentiss.

"Serena, do not move!" Hotch yelled as he and Rossi jumped into their SUV.

"Okay. It's okay. Reid and I are lying on the ground. We're not moving at all Hotch."

"Alright, hang on, we're coming!"

Times Square

Reid's heart was pumping rapidly. He had seen the officer nearby bleeding, and instinctfully ducked. Reid hoped he hadn't hurt Serena too badly by slamming her into the pavement.

What a great first day for her to have. Reid thought sarcastically. Joining the BAU, then almost getting shot by a LDSK in Times Square.

Serena hung up. "Hotch is coming." She reported, and Reid sighed in relief. Hotch always knew how to solve things. They lay in silence for a couple of minutes, not daring to say a word. Then suddenly, two black SUVs drove up. The team was careful to lie low and use the big vehicles for cover. Reid's phone rang. He grunted to pick it up, as he had been lying on his gun for a while.

"Hey, Reid. We're here." Hotch's calm voice rang from the phone.

"Yeah, we saw you."

"I'm sending in SWAT."

"Be careful."
"We will. You too, Reid. We'll tell you when it's safe."

The pair watched nervously as Hotch and Morgan led SWAT into the buildings. Prentiss gave Serena a sympathetic look. For her first day, this wasn't exactly what everyone had had in mind as a welcome.

After what seemed like forever, Hotch's voice came again.

"He's gone. We've searched the whole place." The two sighed and got up. Their legs were shaky and Reid was still clutching Serena. She gave him a weak smile and walked to the rest of the team. They all gave her hugs and patted her on the back.

BAM. Morgan's fist connected with the wall of the NYPD conference room. The team had headed back to the station to discuss the events at Time Square.

"Morgan!" Hotch gave him a stern look.

"Hotch, that son of a bitch shot two cops and jeapordized the lives of two federal agents. And he got away with it! Hell, not just any federal agents, it was Reid and Chen! How can you remain calm after that?!" Morgan yelled. Reid gave him a wary look, and Serena looked down. She had barely known Morgan for less than a few hours, and he was this angry for her.

"Morgan, I understand you're upset." Hotch said.

"You're damn right, I'm upset." Morgan scoffed, and crossed his arms.

"But right now, everyone needs to keep their cool and catch this unsub. You're right. He's killed two officers and could have shot Reid and Chen. But punching walls isn't going to do anything."

Morgan sighed, and sat down. He seemed to have cooled down.

"This unsub had no problem facing a law enforcement crowded area. He's either really good at hiding, or...he's in law enforcement himself." Prentiss said thoughtfully.

"Detective Harvey's a proud man. He won't ever admit that one of his own men is the guy." Serena replied.

Morgan's phone rang. "It's Garcia." He reported. "Hey, Baby Girl, I'm gonna put you on speaker."

For a while, Garcia was silent. Morgan looked confused. "Mama, what's wrong? Talk to me."

"The unsub s-sent me something. I-I tried to track it but the IP address got rerouted to some tiny town in Jamaica. And, I-I don't think that's where our unsub is…" Garcia's voice shook. Serena imagined her alone in her dark office, shaking with fear.

"Goddammit." Morgan hissed.

"Garcia, what did the unsub send?" Hotch asked.

"I-I'll send it to you." And soon enough, a small ding signalled from one of the computers. Morgan left to calm down Garcia, and Serena hit the play button.

"Stop it! Stop interfering! It has to be right. Just right. It HAS to be. I can't do too much, but I can't do too little. Just, please, let me do it! I just need to prove myself! So stop coming after me!"
"Pfft. He sounds desperate." Prentiss remarked, rolling her eyes.

"A robotic voice, so we can't identify him." Rossi shrugged.

"But, his choice of language can help." Reid countered. He stared off into space for a few seconds before Rossi replied,

"I can hear that genius brain of yours whirring. What are you thinking?"

"Well, even for a robotic voice filter, it's pretty emotional. So, it's not scripted. He said 'I just need to prove myself!' meaning, he's doing this for another cause. He's not doing this out of anger. He's doing this, probably for someone else."
"And we know how men are soooo desperate to prove themselves to women." JJ replied. Prentiss and Serena laughed.

"Well, women are hard to please sometimes!" Rossi tried to reason.

"Yeah, you failed 3 times." Hotch teased, and left to tell Detective Harvey.

"So, he does have a sense of humor." Serena remarked, staring after Hotch.

"Sometimes." Prentiss shrugged.

Detective Harvey was in a frenzy. Four of his men were dead, with the entire city on the verge of panic. New York City was always hard to control, with all the thieves and such, but nothing like this. He was pacing around, barking out orders and spilling coffee. The sight of those FBI agents didn't help either. Why were they just standing there, talking? They were supposed to help!

"Sir, this came in for you." An officer handed Harvey a note. It read:

Sorry about your officers. But it had to be done.

~ The Times Square Sniper (TTSS)

"DAMMIT! OFFICER, WHO SENT YOU THIS?!" Harvey exploded. The officer looked stunned.

"U-uh I don't know, sir! Some white guy, uh baseball cap. Black jacket!"

The detective raced around. He noticed an FBI agent walking towards him.

"Detective, what's wrong?" Hotch asked.

Harvey shoved the note in his face. "This is what's wrong! Four of my men are dead, and the killer was right here!"

Hotch took the note, read it, and said calmly.

"Gather your men. We need to deliver the profile."