A.N: Sooo... Long time no see. I am so sorry for the delay in getting this chapter together. A small case of my muse going on holiday without notice then coming back jet-lagged and hungover. Also having Uni slap me in the face with mid-terms didn't help. Then I got a job so that cut into potential typing time. No excuses though for leaving you all hanging for this long and I feel horrible for doing so. As a gift for you all I will have another chapter done by Monday so yay! This story has a general outline for how it will play out. Jemily WILL HAPPEN but it will take time. Also we will have some guest appearances from some other people from the CM verse at some point. If any of you have a particular request for anything they REALLY want to see happen shoot me a message and I can see if I could fit it in! Or I could do a one-shot that takes place in this verse but isn't extremely relevant to this particular tale, if you really want.

Thanks for all the follows and feedback is always welcome :) This is all un-beta-ed so all mistakes are mine and I make no profit from anything I write (if I did Emily and JJ would have gone at it like rabbits and kicking unsub ass from the moment they met so...)

Stay Golden~


The jet back to D.C was near silent as the members of the B.A.U plus one assassin rested while they could. They had run around for hours with bodies piling up left and right but with few leads and even less evidence. One agent in particular was particularly quiet.

Emily felt frozen. The shock of hearing that name after so many years had settled once she had boarded the jet. It was as though someone had dumped a bucket of ice on her back. Her breathing became shallow and her legs shook slightly as she processed what she had just heard. Ace had said she would discuss her knowledge further once they had some time after the case. For now the case was the priority. She closes her eyes as she struggles against memories that she thought were long gone and buried in her compartments.

Shit. She probably knows about Doyle.

The very thought of that man sent chills down her spine and made her nauseous.

"Hey are you alright Em? Are you cold?"

Emily turns her head slightly and meets the brightest blue eyes she has ever seen. Her breath hitches as she gets lost for a moment in the eyes of the young blonde agent.

Before she could respond however, two cell-phones ring in perfect unison.

"Hotchner."

"Ace."

The young assassin and the Unit Chief answer their phones, aware that they are probably being notified of the same thing. Their mirrored grim expressions were clear. There was another body.

"Ok send the data to Penelope Garcia back in Quantico and get back to me later. Good. We land in 15 minutes." Ace says to the caller before hanging up.

"We will head over once we land. Thanks." Hotchner looks over at the young assassin as he hangs up his phone.

"I'm assuming your call was about the new body as well?" the agent asks the assassin.

"Yes and my people are sending what they believe is some new information. It seems that other than our vic from the Lincoln Memorial, all the other victims were in the public sector. Our first vic was an executive for a news company around ten years ago while our second vic was a low-key member of a political group. We also have our dead F.B.I agent. It may seem generic but these fields are all very heavily in the public eye and its the only lead we've got. The info has already been sent to Garcia."

Hotch nods as he takes in this new info.

"Well D.C police have just received a call in for a dead body found at Ford's Theatre that seems to match our M.O" he says looking at the rest of his team.

"Wait isn't Ford's Theatre where Lincoln was shot?" asks Emily,

"The very same."

"Somethings not right."

The agents turn to the assassin with questioning looks.

"What do you mean?" says Rossi,

"These murders are a message. We are trying to decipher what that message is but we have yet to figure out whom that message is for."

The other agents absorb this before Ace continues,

"If these murders are both taunts and clues left by my brother. He is basically saying 'You can't catch me.' At the same time it is as if he wants me to catch him. Why kill these people otherwise? It doesn't make any sense. Gathering so much attention goes against everything that an assassin is trained to do."

she pauses,

" There is more to this than we are seeing." frustration leaking into her tone, and with that she turns and heads towards her car, pulling those signature shades on as she went.

The agents stand there and share glances, each deep in their own minds, searching for the connection between the victims.

After a moment Hotch says, " We should head to the theatre now. There are units posted outside waiting for us. They want us to have fresh eyes on the scene before the CSUs touch anything. Maybe we will see something there that will lead us to our unsub."

As the rest of the B.A.U turn towards their SUVs J.J stops and turns towards the young assassin's car, concern written across her face.

" Hey Hotch, I'm gonna go with Ace if you don't mind."

Hotch blinks before answering,

"We will meet you on scene then." he replies before getting into his vehicle.

She turns to Emily, making eye contact for a moment, before walking towards the idling BMW. She reaches for the passenger door and opens it, climbing into the car. Ace's expression is blank as far as J.J could tell, the sunglasses making near impossible for the blonde agent to read the assassin.

Ace puts the car into gear and follows the two black SUVs to the street, the engine purring quietly like a jungle cat as they go. Neither women speak as the assassin drives. Ace stares straight ahead, one hand on the wheel and the other on the armrest between her and the agent. J.J sits back staring out the window, casting occasional glances at the woman next to her with her piercing blue eyes. J.J notices a faint scar running beside the assassin's ear which is mostly hidden by her hairline along with the glint of a thin silver chain around her neck.

The thick silence remains until Ace suddenly speaks up, her expression unchanging, startling J.J,

"You can ask you know."

she turns her head slightly towards the blonde for a moment before gluing her eyes to the back of the SUV in front of them. Before J.J could respond, the black BMW is cut off by a red light. The two women watch as the two SUVs were lost in the traffic ahead of them.

Cursing under her breath Ace whips out her phone and quickly dials a number,

"Agent Hotchner, J.J and I will meet you at the scene. I'm going to take a different route."

Putting her phone away, she does a right turn and drives down several streets trying to avoid heavy traffic and weaving around side streets that even J.J was unfamiliar with before being forced to a near stop in a particularly congested area. From what the blonde agent could tell, there was a broken water pipe which meant only one lane was open on this street.

"Looks like we might be a while. I think we are ahead of the others though." Ace says turning to J.J with a small smile that lasts for a blink of an eye.

"So as I was saying, you can ask you know." the assassin continues, turning to look out the window her left and hiding her face from J.J, "However, I may not be able to answer your questions completely. At least not yet."

J.J thinks for a moment before responding, "What's your number?"

Ace chuckles, a smile creeping out on her face. She takes her shades off and hangs them on the neck of her shirt while inching the car forward, before turning to the blonde.

Making eye contact for the first time since J.J had gotten into the car she says with a playful tone,

"My my Agent Jareau, are you this direct with every girl you meet? Asking for my number already and you don't even know my name." the smile now fully plastered on her face.

J.J blushes and turns to look away from the suddenly playful assassin.

"No- I didn't mean- I just- ugh!"

J.J exclaims, suddenly flustered and slightly embarrassed, "It's just that if we ever need to contact you..."

"I get it agent, I was playing with you." replies Ace with her patented smirk in place, " There really is no need for you to have my number. I use disposable cells and even if you had my number there would be no reason to call me." she says, her tone becoming serious, "I always initiate contact. If I haven't made contact it is either because I don't need to or I am in no place to."

Her brows crease before continuing, "It keeps both the people I work with and myself safe. If you don't have even a temporary number for me there is a smaller chance you will become a target. It protects my clients and the few people I happen to work with."

" I can protect myself."

"I don't doubt that Agent."

J.J turns her body to face the brunette, "I don't remember if I have said this yet but please, call me J.J."

Ace glances at the older woman, " I apologize J.J."

They were traveling at the speed limit at this point and were almost at the theatre.

"I can't tell you my name. Not yet at least but I can tell you that I was born in Europe. My mom died having me and my dad died soon after in a plane crash soon after. He was on his way to Russia on business. I was raised both here and there by my grandfather with my older brother until I was around five which was when he died and left everything to me and my brother. That is when the training started. That is about as much as I could tell you about my personal life." the assassin tells J.J, surprising the agent with her openness. "Oh I love hockey and detest celery. That's about it."

" How old are you?" the blonde asks after taking a moment to process what the assassin had revealed.

"Old enough to drink but young enough to occasionally be asked for my I.D when I go clubbing." she says with a small laugh.

J.J laughs before replying,

"You go clubbing?"

"Occasionally. They are a good place to pick up chicks." she adds with a wink.

The blonde agent blushes slightly then asks, "Got a special girl waiting back at home?"

Sadness fills the assassin's expression for a moment before becoming neutral,

"No. Not anymore." she says, her voice hard and clipped.

J.J knows she hit a nerve and immediately tries to backtrack,

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have mentioned it." she says apologetically, upset that the assassin might become more closed off.

Ace's expression softens, "Don't worry about it. It's not your fault. I'm sorry I lashed out. It was unexpected that's all." the agent replies, turning to the blonde, "This chat will have to pause though cause we're here. Before the others too."

J.J looks out and realises that they have parked near the theatre which had two squad cars and a CSU team waiting just outside the entrance. She was so focused on the conversation that she hadn't noticed the car stop.

As the agent and assassin walk up to the building, the two SUVs with the other agents arrive on the scene. As the agents pile out Morgan turns to Ace,

"How'd you get here before we did?"

"We took a shortcut." she says walking in step with the agents past the LEOs and into the building.

Emily walks up next to J.J, curious about whatever conversations had been had between the two women on their way here.

"How was the ride?" the raven-haired agent asks nonchalantly to the blonde agent.

"Pleasant and faster than yours." J.J says with a coy wink in Emily's direction before walking ahead into the main theatre with the others. Emily sighs in slight frustration at the blonde's antics before following the other agents and assassin into the dark theatre.

The assassin, agents and a few law enforcement officers walk down the aisles towards the main stage where the body is supposed to be.

One of the officers behind them says to the agents, "No one should be in here. The building is closed for restorations. Only a few of the lights work at the moment as they had to cut the power in certain areas while working. The caller said the body in on the main stage behind some leftover stage props."

When the group of agents reaches the main stage Hotch turns to the officers,

"Can you guys check around back and the rest of the building. We will stay here and look for the body."

The LEOs nod before spreading out to canvas the rest of the large theatre.

"Hey I got a bullet casing over here."

Emily turns to find J.J leaning over a set of large wooden crates, giving herself a fine view of the woman's behind.

The dark-haired agent quickly turns her gaze away and is thankful for the somewhat dim lighting which is hiding her blush. As she turns she spots the assassin also gazing appreciatively at the blonde agents figure. Ace spots Emily glaring at her and raises an eyebrow in response. Emily feels a sudden surge of anger towards the assassin. She takes a second to calm down before becoming confused with her reaction.

What the hell? Was Ace just checking out J.J? Was I just checking out J.J? Did I just get jealous? Why the hell should I be jealous I mean it's not like J.J is mine or anything. We are good friends, right?

The young assassin's voice pulls Emily out of her thoughts.

"Do the rest of you smell that?" says Ace to the agents.

They sniff the air for a moment when Rossi responds, "Smells like an old building with a hint of mothballs. Why?"

Ace turns to face the agents with a scowl on her face. "Exactly. There isn't the smell of a dead body." she walks towards J.J to check out the bullet casing that she found.

She is about to take the casing from the agent when she hears it.

Click

"EVERYBODY GET DOWN!" yells the assassin as she turns to shield J.J from the shot.

The agents dive for cover and pull out their weapons, searching for the source of the sound.

"Hotch! Ace is hit!" yells J.J

Morgan, Rossi, Reid, Emily and Hotch turn to see the blonde agent kneeling next to Ace, whose white t-shirt was becoming stained with crimson around the torso. J.J had pulled the assassin behind cover once she realized that she had been hit.

Hotch is yelling orders to the officers situated both inside and outside the building to contain the shooter. He turns to J.J and Ace, "Medics are on their way. Rossi, you and Morgan take the East side while Emily, and I will take the West side. Officers will meet you at the stairs. We don't have vests so be careful. Reid, you stay with J.J and help protect Ace."

The agents nod.

"J.J, he used a fucking crossbow. It's not fatal, I think, but it will be if we don't get it out." the young assassin says to J.J taking pained breaths. "You can't put pressure on it until the bolt is out. He missed my vitals but I could still bleed out."

The blue-eyed agent nods, "What do you need me to do?"

"Get it out." Ace says, grimacing slightly in pain.

"Doesn't that make it worse?"

"Just trust me!"

Blue eyes meet onyx and they exchange a silent plea . J.J nods before turning to her younger colleague.

"Spence, I need your help."

The young agent kneels down next to J.J, "Here you pull out the bolt. As soon as it is out I will start applying pressure to the wound. Got it?" the blue-eyed agent instructs.

He nods before turning to the assassin, whose breathing has become slightly more laboured "This is going to hurt."

"I've had worse, now hurry up before I bleed to death..."

J.J resists the urge to roll her eyes." Ok Spence on three. One...Two...Three!"

Reid pulls out the bloody bolt in one tug trying to reduce the pain that it would cause by moving swiftly. The assassin doesn't make a sound but her jaw clenches as J.J moves in to put pressure on the wound.

"Thanks." says Ace to both agents, "Can you show me the bolt Agent Reid?"

Reid holds out the blood soaked bolt for the assassin to look at. The assassin glances at the bolt for a second before cursing angrily.

"Its fucking coated in lead those damned sons of bitches. I knew it wasn't right. You wouldn't use a fucking crossbow with such shitty aim if you didn't have some sort of back up plan. Damned idiot thinks it the fucking 15th century?! Lead bolts are kept mostly for show. This ass probably doesn't even know how to properly load a crossbow. Which is probably why he only shot once. Stupid moron is gonna get his ass kicked for this stunt. He got a damn lucky shot. Using a high-end crossbow is the only reason this did this much damage."

J.J listens to the assassin's small rant while applying pressure to the wound worried about the potential lead poisoning that the assassin may now bleeding is slower but still too much for J.J to be comfortable with when the paramedics arrive mere minutes after.

"She got shot with a crossbow. We had to take the bolt out because it was coated in lead." J.J explains to the medics.

They begin working on the assassin, gauze pads and bandages replacing J.J's bloodstained hands.

They load the young woman to the gurney before rushing out of the theatre. J.J's eyes fill with worry and she bites her lip subconsciously as she stands there when Reid intercedes,

"Go with her. I'll tell Hotch and we will meet you at the hospital."

J.J sends a grateful look at him.

"Thanks Spence." she says before running out to the ambulance.


On a side note: PAGET IS BACK FOR THE 200TH! QUEEN P IS BACK PEEPS! Feb 5 is 4 days off my bday so I'm just going to pretend its a present from the writers to me. Another plus is that the ep is mainly focused on J.J. The ep is going to be hard to watch though cause *SPOILER* J.J is apparently kidnapped. This ep mainly focuses on what happened to our fave blonde agent during her little stint with "homeland security" during season 6 where she wasn't with the BAU.

See ya soon!