Title: Transhuman
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Characters/Pairing: Garcia-centric, team - gen
Genre: Science-fiction/Drama
Summary: In a dystopian future, hacker Penelope Garcia finds herself being hunted by a corrupt organization. Fearing for her life, she must search for help in the strangest of places.
Author's Notes: Betaed by Windy City Dreamer.

Chapter Seven

The tiny flashing green display at the bottom of the computer screen told Aaron Hotchner that it was almost one-thirty. Technically speaking, he had a client booked, but said client was more a friend than anything else.

First, though, he had to take this call.

'WSS, this is Hotchner.'

'Hotch, it's Morgan.'

Hotch tightened suddenly. He had been waiting for this call all day; waiting to see if all their hard work was going to be sent hurtling back to square one.

'Morgan. How's the day off going?' He leaned to the side, trying to get a better view into the lobby. As far as he could tell, she wasn't there yet.

'Productive.'

'You've got them?'

'Yeah, I've got them. Source is making contact tonight, but they've got the file. They don't know what it is, but they've got it.'

'We'll brief tomorrow, then,' announced Hotch. 'I'll make sure everyone's there. You bring what you need to bring.'

'A'ight. I'll see you then.'

The phone went back into the cradle with an audible click, a sound that was shortly followed by a knock on Hotch's open door. He looked up.

The woman the stood before him had long blonde hair, drawn into an elegant bun. She was wearing a dark skirt-suit, and carried a dark leather handbag. Giving Hotch a significant look, she shut the door behind her.

Jennifer Jareau, reporter for the Lassiter Daily. Ally to their cause. They had cross paths just months ago, as Jennifer – JJ, as she liked to be called – was investigating a story on several missing persons. Believing that the Corp had something to do with these disappearances, her investigation led her to the privately run Weber Security Services, a front company for the resistance. Their numbers weren't particularly high; most people were perfectly happy to let the Corp keep doing what they were doing. Those were the people that didn't know what was going on behind locked doors.

'It's good to see you, Hotch,' said JJ softly, shaking his hand, and then, in a more intimate gesture, kissing him on the cheek.

Hotch immediately picked up on the fact that something was wrong. JJ was never this reserved.

'What's wrong?'

She gave him a half smile, and sat down across from him. 'Will's missing,' she revealed.

Hotch frowned. William LaMontagne Junior was JJ's husband of three months. He'd been at the ceremony, sitting with Morgan in a pew near the back of the church, as the two exchanged their vows. He'd never seen her so happy as on that day.

'I'm sorry,' he said shortly, before adding, 'What happened?'

'He was investigating one of our leads in the slums. That was two days ago. He should be back by now, Hotch.'

There were tears in her eyes, Hotch saw. And with good reason; if the Corp had apprehended Will, then he was as good as dead. That wasn't even the worst of it; if they tortured him, then their covert plotting would be uncovered.

'Are you sure it's the Corp?' Hotch asked, with slight hesitation. Either way it went, he knew that this was no laughing matter. 'The slums are a dangerous place without the Corp. He could have had a run in any number of people that might have kidnapped him.'

JJ bit her lip, wringing her hands against each other. 'I know,' she said. 'It's stupid, but I can't help but get the feeling that this is all going to come crashing down around us.' She took a tissue from the box on Hotch's desk, using it to wipe away a few wayward tears.

'I want to go find him,' she announced resolutely. 'There is no way I'm letting the Corp – letting anyone – take my husband like this. Not now.' She rested a hand against her abdomen – against the baby bump that barely showed.

Hotch was torn. He knew that they needed to get Will back. Not just because he knew their secrets. He was one of them. They didn't leave a man behind. On the other hand, he couldn't let JJ go storming into the slums alone. It was practically suicide. He could go with her, of course, but that wouldn't even come close to evening the odds.

'There's a meeting tomorrow,' he told her. 'Morgan's contact led us to something that could bring the Corp down. You should come.'

He saw her falter. Waiting one more day could make all the difference – he might be dead by the time they made it there. But if they went in with a half-cocked plan, then he'd be just as dead.

Finally, she nodded. 'I'll be there.'

She took a tissue again, making sure that she was presentable to the outside world. Hotch was willing to bet that anyone who asked would be told that Will had taken a sudden leave of absence. It wasn't worth the drama of informing people of his disappearance. Not if the Corp were sniffing around his associates.

As she reached the door, JJ turned back towards Hotch.

'Thank-you,' she said.