Spencer was still in a dreamy state when he reached the heart of Quantico. The short ride to the office wasn't enough for him to get Alex out of his head. That was probably why Hotchner was able to sneak upon him.
"You all right, Reid? You don't completely seem... here," Hotch asked him. From the look on Hotch's face, he knew he thought that there was something wrong. He couldn't be more wrong.
"Everything's fine," Spencer told him, bringing a smile to his face.
Hotchner gave his younger teammate a slight squint before shaking it off. He kept walking to the briefing room while Reid followed shortly behind. The briefing room already contained Morgan, JJ, Kate, Rossi, and a slightly queasy looking Garcia. Garcia looked up when Spencer and Hotch walked in and took seats around the giant table.
Alright, my awesome crime fighters," she said, "You are being called into Asheville where they are having a small serial killer problem. There have been ten within the last four weeks."
"I thought it was eight, Garcia?" Hotch asked her.
"Oh, it was, sir, but then the police department added two more possible victims since... Well, you guys can see for yourselves."
Pictures of ten women in driver's photos and then the same women in crime scene photos filled the screen. The only difference was that two of the victims were in slightly different poses than the other eight. Those other two of the victims were in somewhat different poses than the other eight. Those other two also had different types of knife striations on their bodies.
"If I didn't know any better," Rossi states, "I would assume that they were the same woman."
"Yeah," Kate added. "They look eerily alike."
Every single woman on the screen had long, curly blonde hair that framed their entire face. The same button nose was found in the center of their faces. Large green eyes were framed by long eyelashes. Their lips were a subtle aspect of their features. The only difference was the amount of makeup that they were wearing in their pictures, but it was never more than what would come across as natural.
"All of these women seem to be placeholders for someone else if she isn't already among the victims," Morgan added.
"It doesn't seem to be sexual either," Spencer stated, "But I would also suppose that love could be an aspect of it since all of the victims were stabbed several times in the heart."
"Well, whatever the reason, we'll figure it out," Hotch stated. "Wheels up in twenty," he said as he walked out of the room. Everyone else packed up their files and filed after him.
While Reid was walking out of the briefing room, Rossi snuck up behind him. "You looked kinda distracted back there. What's going on, kid."
"Nothing really," Reid replied. After getting a skeptical look from the older man, he continued. "I promise that nothing is going on. Nothing bad."
"So, it's something good?" Rossi asked, leaning into the genius.
"I think so. I hope so, was the reply before Spencer was off into his own little world again.
The two of them walked into the bullpen and to their desks. All of them had go-away bags stashed into their desks when cases came up out of the blue like this, freshly washed from when they went out on a case last month. The four members of the team stationed in the bullpen had their stuff gathered and met at the elevators. As soon as the elevator opened, JJ and Hotch rounded the corner with bags in hand. Piling in, as the elevator doors closed, Reid rubbed the card that was in his pocket.