A/N: I would really like to apologize for taking forever to update. Life's been crazy, but that's no excuse. I know what it's like to get in to a story, and then have to author go MIA. Just know that I will never completely abandon this fic. I just hope that people are still interested in this one.

It was time for the big guns, and the resources that Garcia had at her disposal far outweighed those of Miami Metro. Emily had tried the office landline repeatedly, but Penelope wasn't answering. A rare occurrence to say the least, it was something that had never happened during Emily's tenure with the B.A.U. Their situation was somewhat pressing, so she had resorted to the next best thing. The line came to life on the third ring. "Agent Jareau?" she heard her friend's standard greeting.

"J.J., finally." Emily felt a bit like her number had just been called at the D.M.V. She'd spent far more time trying to get ahold of the technical analyst than she had hoped to. She had been calling since they had left the abduction site, and had been milling about the parking lot of the precinct for a while as well. "Is Garcia around? Rossi and I could really use a good sleuth right about now."

"Oh," J.J. had the innate ability to completely empathize with any situation, and her voice had conveyed that empathy to Emily with just that one syllable. "She's out for a late dinner with Morgan and Spence. We're probably going to be working for a while yet. Anything I can help with?"

Emily inhaled the first response that came to mind, and then decided on something a little nicer. She was frustrated, and didn't want to take that out on her friend. "No offense, but I don't think so. Victimology looks to have just taken a major turn, but we're not even sure if it's the same guy yet. We need Garcia to see if there are any possible connections we've missed."

J.J. let out a breathy chortle on her end of the line. "Now, why is it," she began thoughtfully, "that that phrase always seems to precede something offensive?"

Emily's free hand went up to her forehead. "I'm sorry. It's just this case, and Dave." She had added the second justification reluctantly, not wanting to gossip about anything really, but J.J. was a profiler too. It was just as likely that she had noticed the change in Dave's attitude over the past month, as it was that Emily had.

"Say no more." J.J. put an end to Emily's moment of self-loathing. "Remember, I'm the one who had to call him in at three this morning."

"Right," Emily mumbled, still a little upset with herself.

"What's the big development?" J.J. asked. She certainly had a talent when it came to placing blame, and simultaneously forgiving others for their wrong doings.

"There was a woman abducted a few miles from the station. The circumstances were similar, so we're working under the assumption that it's connected." Emily gave up the information, but she still didn't see how J.J. could help. It was nothing against the other woman, but she didn't have the technical prowess that Emily and Dave needed at the moment.

"That is a big deviation," J.J. concurred. "How about you give me the name of the abductee, and I'll get Garcia on it first thing when she gets back?"

"Well that sounds great," Emily couldn't stem the sarcasm that flowed into her words, "but we don't even have a name to work with."

"You must think very highly of Garcia's abilities then?" Her friend hadn't missed a beat.

She bit her tongue briefly, knowing that J.J. was getting a little innocent revenge. "I've sent all the information we have to Pen, along with some closed circuit footage. We're hoping she'll be able to make an I.D. from that."

"Alright," J.J. replied. "I'll watch the elevators like a hawk. Hopefully you'll find something soon, and then you can just come back and let them tie up the loose ends."

Emily had often underestimated the degree of her friend's kindness over the years that she'd known J.J. The fact that the other woman was so willing to add another task, albeit undemanding, to what Emily knew to already be a full schedule said a lot. "Thank you for putting up with me, and I'm sorry for the inadvertent hostility."

"It's fine, really. I'm just glad it's not me, stuck in that place with grumpy Dave. Any fresh leads on the... other case?" J.J.'s tone had dropped unconsciously, to fit the secretive nature of the new subject.

"No," Emily replied, checking her surroundings. "That lab tech still gives me the creeps though."

"Oh," she could just see J.J. rolling her eyes and tossing her hand to the side. "You're just looking for a reason to not like that guy because he expressed an interest in you."

Emily sighed. "Maybe," she conceded, "but I don't like him regardless. I gotta go," she added, walking toward the entrance. "Thanks for the assist, and tell Garcia we'll probably be up late down here as well."

"You got it. Good luck."

"Anything?" Dave asked before she'd even fully entered the room.

Her head jerked to the side slightly and she mentally cursed herself, hoping that she'd stifled the action before her senior agent had noticed. That was her tell. Not that she was lying, but that she was irritated. It was not something that she generally liked to let show. She met Dave's eyes, and easily read his knowing there. She straightened her top and walked farther into the room. "No," she answered shortly. "Garcia was out, that's what took me so long. I got in touch with J.J. though, and she promised to fill Pen in as soon as she gets back."

"Good," he nodded and turned back to the conversation that had been in session. "The Lieutenant here was telling me about the witnesses to the abductions of the other victims."

Emily's head cocked to the side because of curiosity this time. "It seemed like they weren't very helpful from the reports in the file that we received?"

"Right," Debra nodded. "Most of them weren't. But this last victim, Michael Costos, we haven't interviewed the bystanders from the initial scene yet. I thought that you and Rossi might like to split the interviews with us." She offhandedly gestured to Angel. "There are two guys: Robert Fullman, and Jessie Alvarez."

"Of course, yeah," Emily agreed easily.

"First thing in the morning," Dave added. Ten o'clock was a little early to pack it in for their standards, but they hadn't gotten much sleep on account of the late night call-in. Emily couldn't help but think that it probably also wouldn't go over very well with the men they were going to speak to, showing up so late in the evening.

After everyone was in agreement, he and Emily headed off to their hotel. She found herself dreading the inevitable early start that they would get tomorrow. She had been growing increasingly infuriated all day, and she was almost certain that a few hours of sleep in a stiff hotel room was not going to help. She would take the reprieve for now, but she did not like it.