A/N: Hey guys, I know this chapter is short, I apologize. I promise I'll make it up to you next time.
As the team gathered around the table, Hotch stood up. "Before we begin, I have an announcement. Reid's been called to work on a special case in New York this week. In his absence, Dr. Lance Sweets will be helping us out. We'll also be observing Dr. Sweets's time profiling and in the field." Sweets stood up straight, and waved slightly to the group.
"Let me guess, he's not a full agent, but he wants to be a profiler?" Rossi asked.
Hotch nodded. "He's been cleared to work in the field for a while now, we're mostly observing and reporting on his profiling."
Morgan leaned back in his chair and smiled. "So he gets practical experience, and his review from the best team in the FBI and we get an extra pair of hands when we're down a set. Nice. Kill two birds with one stone. Come on, Curly-Top, come grab a chair."
Sweets did as he was told, glad to already be accepted by the group. As soon as he sat, Garcia stood up. "Alright my super muffins, we've got a case in Pharr, TX."
"What," Sweets joked, "a case of the stolen dentures?"
Morgan looked over at the new guy and shook his head. "No, we have a case involving the brutal murders of six men," Garcia said, losing her normally perky attitude.
Lance coughed. "You're right. Serious. Sorry."
Garcia winked at the kid, a smile breaking out on her face, before she returned to the somber seriousness of a moment earlier. "Back to the icky-stuff. We only have three ids. Victim #2, Juan Hernandez, and Victim #6, Matthew Cortez, were American citizens while victim #5, Emmanuel Alvarez, was here on a green card. The others were all illegal immigrants. I'm still searching through Mexican databases for their information, but it's a long shot."
"And no one is going to want to talk to us. Great," Rossi finished.
Garcia nodded, a sad look on her face. "Um, what we do know is that all six men were scalped alive, before having their hearts ripped out."
"Aren't those rituals typically associated with Native American tribes?" Emily asked.
"Various in North and South America have used rituals similar to these," Reid started, before the team cut him off. "Yes, Emily. The short answer is yes."
Morgan thought for a moment. "He's got to be strong. Otherwise, how does he keep them neutralized while he scalps them?"
Garcia shook her head. "Actually, all of them had traces of mescaline in their systems."
Reid thought for a moment. "Mescaline? That's in LSD, it's a natural compound it's also… Peyote. Mescaline is in Peyote."
"Another bastardization. I think it's pretty safe to say our Unsub is white," JJ postulated.
A look of confusion passed over Sweets face. "I thought most killers targeted their own race."
Emily nodded. "No, you're correct. But do you see the way the three illegal immigrants were beaten more than the citizens and legal immigrant? That points to hate crime, and the way these native rituals are bastardized points to someone non-native."
"Coupled with our knowledge of racial tension at border cities, a white male is our most likely unsub," Morgan finished after picking up smoothly where his partner left off, like the well-oiled machine they were.
Sweets just nodded, clearly impressed. Hotch cracked a half-smile, if the kid thought the trouble-twins were impressive, he should really work a case with Emily and Reid together. "Wheels up in 30. We'll talk more on the plane."
Everyone nodded and went their separate ways. Fourty-five minutes later Hotch was surveying the team. Normally, pairing them off and assigning tasks wouldn't be a problem, but Sweets threw off their dynamic. "Do you speak Spanish?" he asked, startling the doctor.
"Uh, si? Un poco," Sweets said. "I'm not fluent, but I know enough to have a conversation."
Hotch nodded. "Good, JJ, you and Sweets should have enough Spanish between you to get by. You two head to the crime scenes, Emily, you and Morgan go talk to the families. Hopefully you'll get somewhere. Rossi and I will head to the local PD; start working on the geographical profile from there."
The team nodded and went back to their normal plane routine. Emily and JJ sat on the couch watching a movie, Hotch did paper work, Rossi typed away on a laptop, Morgan read and Sweets sat in a corner observing it all.
