Chapter 52
Hotch drove the SUV away from the crime scene and once he was sure no one could see them, he looked at Jimmy. "No offense, but could you shift into something? You're too close for me to be able to concentrate on hearing its heart."
"Oh, of course," Jimmy agreed and then shifted into a big black Labrador Retriever.
Hotch looked at him and then huffed. "Goliath? Really? I think Sampson would have been a better choice for a hunt," he joked knowing Jimmy knew about his dogs from touching him.
Suddenly a Doberman was sitting beside him and Hotch chuckled. After going around a curb, he looked at Jimmy again. "And just so you know, Sampson is bigger than that."
The Doberman whined and stuck its head out the open window. Hotch focused on the trees he was driving by and then slowed the vehicle down as the faint heartbeat he could hear got stronger. "Getting closer," he uttered in a quiet tone.
The Doberman looked at him and then looked out the window and towards the sky. Hotch glanced at him and had to wonder if shifters had the ability to speak telepathically as he saw the two black birds swoop close to the SUV and then off into the trees to the right. I really hope it doesn't see them.
When the heartbeat started to get fainter, he brought the vehicle to a stop and got out, and the dog joined him. Hotch searched the trees and then looked at his four legged companion. "I'm decent in the dark, but is there anything you can become that would give you a really good advantage?" he asked in a hushed tone.
The dog suddenly shrunk into a tarsier and it jumped onto Hotch's leg, grabbed his shirt, and proceeded to climb onto his shoulder and settle itself as its large eyes searched. Hotch nodded and started into the trees, but inside he was smiling. Damn, it would be awesome to have one of these guys on the team.
When Hotch heard the heartbeat even stronger, he glanced at the small animal. "Hold on," he instructed and the long fingers of one of the tarsier's hands wrapped around his shirt collar and the other wrapped in back of Hotch's hair. Once Hotch was sure it wouldn't fall, he darted into the trees in the direction of the sound trail he was following.
After several minutes, he came to a halt so quickly the little animal lost its grip, but Hotch caught it and had it back on his shoulder before it fell. "Easy," Hotch uttered as he looked around with confused eyes.
The tarsier grabbed at Hotch's face and Hotch looked at it. "It's gone. I can't hear it. I. . . I think I might have past it or. . ."
The tarsier jumped and Jimmy landed next to Hotch. "Or it shifted and you can't hear whatever it shifted into as well."
Hotch winced. That is exactly what he was thinking. "Do you think it heard me or saw. . ."
"No. It probably just shifted to move more quickly. We do it all the time when we know no one can see us," he explained as the two birds flew close and then shifted into their human form.
"Nothing. We're sorry, but the foliage is so thick. . ." the woman started but Hotch held up a hand to stop her.
"It's not your fault. I just can't believe I lost it."
"We can still search, if you want," Jimmy suggested. "It's almost like daytime out here to a tarsier's eyes."
Hotch searched the trees as he considered it.
"And Hawaii only has a few wild animals. If it has shifted into anything out of the ordinary it will be obvious when we find it," the other man injected.
Hotch sighed and then looked at his watch. "It's getting late. I don't need the sleep, but I better get the team to the hotel and then go back to your place to take care of those hunters."
Jimmy wilted. "They're fine, Agent. My grandfather would never. . ."
"I didn't mean that, I just mean it needs to be taken care of in case they have any friends here who are looking for them. The quicker they show back up, the better it will be for all of us."
"Oh. I didn't think about that," Jimmy offered sheepishly.
"Let's go," Hotch ordered and then turned to make his way back towards the road.
"We'll go and get things prepared at the estate," Jimmy suggested and Hotch nodded so the three shifters turned into hawks and flew away.
Hotch watched them fly for a few seconds and then darted through the trees. When he got to the SUV, he unlocked it and as he opened the door, the hairs on the back of neck stood up. He slowly turned and let his eyes trail over everything. He could hear several different heartbeats, but none of them sounded like a shapeshifter.
When something big started through the underbrush and a horrible growl accompanied it, Hotch tensed. When a giant bear came out onto the road, he took a deep breath. I know grizzlies aren't inhabitants of the islands. His hands balled into fists and he stood up straight and looked the massive animal in the eyes. "And here we go," Hotch said quietly.
The bear's lip rose as it snarled and advanced slowly.
Hotch eyed it's huge paws and the claws that were at the end of them and he hoped that his new found strength would be a match for the beast. He knew he could shoot it. Even his pistol would kill a grizzly bear if he aimed properly, but he also knew that his pistol wouldn't kill the shifter within the bear, and he wanted to capture it and interrogate it, not kill it, and he wasn't sure what killing the animal would do to the shifter. Damn it! I should have talked this out with Jimmy and them a little more.
Before he could decide what to do, headlights illuminated the road behind him. When he glanced towards the approaching vehicle and then back, the bear was gone. "Shit!" he hollered as his eyes searched for anything moving, but there was nothing, even the bugs had stopped making noise.
Rossi got to Hotch first, but the team quickly joined him. "Was that a bear?!"
Hotch took a deep breath as he nodded. "A grizzly if I'm not mistaken."
"That was our unsub?" Morgan asked as he pulled out his pistol. Even though there wasn't a target for him to aim it at, he felt better with it in his hand.
"I believe so."
Mack studied the trees and then looked at Hotch. "So it knew you were looking for it?"
Rossi winced with that statement, but Hotch shrugged. "I don't know. It could have just thought I was an easy target."
"How did you get back to the car?" Reid asked.
Hotch shot him a look and when he winced, they all knew he had used his vampire abilities, and JJ huffed. "So it could have seen you and now knows what you are?"
When Hotch wilted and looked at the ground, Rossi shook his head. "Damn it, Aaron! If it knows. . ."
Hotch sighed and opened his door. "We don't know that, and we won't know until we find it again, but I need to get back to the Schewel's." He turned to the rest of the team. "You all go ahead and grab dinner and go back to the hotel. I need to go take care of those hunters."
Morgan nodded. "You got it."
"Yeah, you all go ahead. We'll be there as soon as Hotch is done," Rossi put in as he moved to Hotch's passenger side.
Hotch thought about arguing for a split second, but he could tell by all of their looks that none of them were going to let him leave without Rossi, so he took a deep breath and kept his mouth shut.
XXX
Jamison, the Schewel family patriarch, met Hotch and Rossi at his door. "Jimmy told me about your uneventful hunting trip."
Hotch winced. "I'm sorry, had I not lost it we might. . ."
"I don't care about that," Jamison cut back in. "But I have to admit, that I was concerned when Jimmy said that you let him go with you."
Rossi frowned. "Concerned?"
Jamison took a deep breath. "My grandson has never been in a fight to the death with anything, let alone a shifter fueled by bloodlust." He looked at Hotch. "I'm not exactly sure he would be all that much help if the need arose."
Hotch nodded. "I understand, but let me assure you, I would do anything within my power to keep anyone with me protected."
Jamison took in a deep breath and then nodded. "I believe that. You better get started. Depending on how much you want to do with them, it could be a very long night."
Hotch nodded and went towards the big barn where he knew the hunters were being held.
Rossi looked at the old shifter. "Be honest with me?"
Jamison appraised him for a second and then nodded.
"How worried do I need to be about Aaron going against a shifter fueled by this bloodlust?"
Jamison licked his lips as he considered it and then he shrugged. "I'm not sure. I can't quite get a handle on him," he started as he looked after Hotch. "In some ways he seems so young and innocent in all of this but in others, the way he handled those hunters and Heather, it makes me think he's been doing this for centuries." He studied Rossi. "Be honest with me and tell me how old he really is."
Rossi locked eyes with the older man. He liked the guy. In fact, he thought if they'd had the chance, he could actually be friends with him, but he wasn't sure how smart it was to share that kind of information with him.
"It's obvious you love the boy. Knowing how old he is could help me gauge how easy or how tuff this pending fight is going to be."
Rossi took a deep breath as he considered the man in front of him. "Literally, he's only been a vampire for a couple of weeks."
Jamison bust out laughing. "Yeah right! A bloodsucker that young would have burst into flames within five minutes of this sun."
Rossi's face showed his shock. "What?!"
Jamison frowned. "You're not joking, are you?" he asked and then looked towards the barn.
Rossi shook his head. "No, but the man who changed him was astonished by his abilities. I believe he equated him with being an ancient, something about it not being normal but it wasn't unheard of either."
Jamison nodded as he smiled. "I guess all species have their superhumans, if you would." Rossi's eyes asked for an explanation, and he grinned. "My own father could shift human form at the age of two. He astounded all of the elders and they said he was a unique shifter and one of those was only born once in a several centuries."
Rossi's brows rose as he smiled. "That sort of sounds like the story Sebastian told us. Something along the lines that since Aaron was such an exceptional human, that it was only natural that he changed into a rare and exceptional vampire."
Jamison chuckled. "Then you are a lucky man."
Rossi frowned. "Me?"
Jamison smiled widely. "To have such a wonderful son must make you proud." When Rossi went to explain that Hotch wasn't his son, Jamison held up his hand to stop him. "Family doesn't require blood, in my book, and it's obvious he loves you, too."
That made Rossi smile. "Yep." After several seconds he sighed, though, and looked at the older man. "So. . . About that fight?" Rossi wanted to know. No, he needed to know. He needed to know that Hotch was going to be able to survive it or he was going to do everything within his power to make damn sure Hotch wasn't able to get into the fight in the first place. Even if I have to call Kahlan to come get his ass, we will protect him!
When Hotch and Jimmy emerged from the barn, both men looked towards them. "He's done," Jimmy stated with a grin.
Jamison's face showed his shock and then he looked at Rossi. "I think your boy is going to be fine."
Rossi nodded and smiled at Hotch once he got close. "It must have worked, huh?"
Jimmy nodded enthusiastically. "It was great. Agent Hotchner has them all believing that their whole trip had been a waste of time, that the islands are full of nothing but obnoxious tourists and non-English speaking natives, that there isn't a nonhuman to be found, and that the FBI has decided that the killer of these people is a perfectly normal human serial killer. He did such a good job in fact, that one of them, the leader, immediately got on his phone and called to get his flight changed to the morning so he could head back to the states. "
Both men gave Hotch looks of approval and he shrugged. "Hopefully they spread the word and convince the rest of their friends to not even bother ever coming here."
Rossi put a fatherly hand on Hotch's shoulder. "That's my boy."
Jamison looked at his grandson, though. "We are making sure it lasts, that they follow through with leaving and such, correct?"
"Yes, Tutu. Bryan and them are following them closely and will make sure everything Agent Hotchner has done works."
Jamison nodded and gave Hotch a grin. "Then I guess I owe you several 'thank yous'."
Hotch frowned. "Several?"
"Heather woke up about three hours ago, and the change is done. She is doing wonderfully. Helen will be healed in a couple days, and now with the way you handled the hunters, we don't have to worry about them. We owe you so much that. . ."
"But it will all be for naught if we can't catch the shifter doing all of this," Hotch put in in a disgusted tone, always being the one to try and escape praise, and that made all of them sigh.
