"So, you are getting better at talking about the Blackwell's" Reid said proudly to Lilith as they got ready the next morning at the hotel room.
"I guess I just don't let it control me anymore. I mean, despite my childhood I have the career of my dreams, I am dating my best friend and I'm not having nightmares every week. I'm happy" Lilith said grabbing Reid's hands and pulling them around her.
"I'm glad because so am I" Reid whispered before kissing Lilith lightly on the lips. They were interrupted by a knock on the door.
"What?" Lilith yelled out making Reid chuckle.
"We need to deliver the profile. You two lovers can play later" Morgan called out laughing at the end as Reid groaned embarrassed while Lilith just kissed his nose and they left the hotel to go back to the police station.
"We're looking for 2 men, probably white, given the neighbourhoods that they hit, mid to late twenties, intelligent, and organized" Hotch said as the team stood in front of the local police to deliver the profile.
"These are career criminals. One or both has done hard time, but neither presents as a convict. They would appear clean-shaven, well dressed..." Morgan started to say.
"Neighbourly. This helps them talk their way into the homes. They may also be using a ruse" Lilith finished for Morgan.
"What kind of ruse?" Nellis asked.
"Given that the invasions have taken place in the evening, it could be anything. Could be door-to-door sales, person in distress, car trouble" Hotch explained.
"Uh, Derrick Todd Lee used a tape of a baby crying to get women to open their doors in Baton Rouge. Never underestimate their creativity" Reid added.
"These men share a very tight bond and a mutual compulsion to kill, but their signatures reveal 2 very distinct personalities" Lilith said.
"One brutalizes the parents. This is the dominant one... Sadistic, remorseless, extremely volatile" Hotch explained.
"The other prefers a needle. His injections are consistent with an angel of death. He's more withdrawn, sensitive, and he has a warped sense of mercy" Lilith added.
"Agent Morgan is passing out a list of places where he might have access to the drug he uses. It's long, but..." Hotch started to explained before JJ walked into the room quickly.
"Hotch. There's been another one, and they're sending an ambulance" JJ said quickly.
"Ambulance?" Lilith asked confused.
"There's a survivor?" Hotch asked shocked and JJ nodded before Hotch looked over at Lilith.
"Fallon, go with JJ to the hospital" Hotch ordered and JJ and Lilith took off to the hospital and Hotch, Morgan and Reid went to the newest crime scene.
"You can inform the next of kin, but ask them to keep it close. I don't want the media to know there's a survivor" Hotch said as he walked into the house to find Morgan staring at the parents bloodied bodies.
"Kid's in his room down the hall" Morgan said.
"How old?" Hotch asked thinking of his own son.
"7. You all right?" Morgan asked.
"Least they left the flowers alive, right?" Hotch asked sarcastically.
"Looks like the bodies were moved post mortem" Morgan explained.
"The daughter had blood on her when they found her?" Hotch asked turning to face Morgan instead of the dead bodies.
"She must have woken up, come out here, and found them" Morgan explained.
"You answer your door, and the next thing you know, everyone you care about is gone" Hotch said before walking off.
"If it was me, I'd wanna be gone, too" Morgan muttered looking back at the bodies.
"Hey, Hotch! They only take things with monetary value, right? Jewellery and cash, no souvenirs?" Morgan asked as he looked through the loungeroom.
"Far as we know" Hotch said.
"One of them just broke pattern" Morgan said looking at a missing photo on the wall.
…
"She's lucky to be alive. The injection went into the soft tissue of the arm, missed the vein" The doctor explained to Lilith and JJ as they walked towards the survivor's room.
"That's a first. This guy doesn't miss" Lilith stated.
"Like I said, she's lucky" The Doctor agreed.
"She conscious?" JJ asked.
"She's in and out. Keep in mind she's suffering the effects of an acute barbiturate overdose. She's drowsy, confused" The doctor explained.
"Given what's happened, that's probably best" Lilith said thinking back to when she was taking to the hospital after the FBI arrested her parents.
"I went to get a bag... but when I got back, there were 2 of them" The survivor, Carrie explained once Lilith and JJ got to her room.
"What did the other one look like?" Lilith asked softly.
"Heavier... Hispanic... Quiet. He never looked straight ahead" Carrie explained.
"What do you mean?" JJ asked confused.
"Like... A few times, I felt him staring at me. When I looked up, he always looked away" Carrie explained.
"Avoiding eye contact?" Lilith suggested and Carrie nodded before continuing.
"Then my dad came in from the study, and... They jumped him. They made Danny call for my mom, and they tied them up. And then one of 'em went over, got the thing from the fireplace, he started hitting them with it. And they made us watch" Carrie said starting to cry.
"Ok, you know what? We can take a break..." JJ started to say.
"No. You need this, right?" Carrie said quickly and JJ nodded.
"After a while, the quiet one took Danny away, and the other one just started going through drawers, looking for stuff. And I ran" Carrie explained reliving the memory in her mind.
…..