A.N: Ummmm Hi... I am soo sorry for the delay guys. Real life sucks. University sucks. But that is no excuse for leaving you hanging for 2 months. To everyone who has patiently waited for this chappy. I have a crazy long plan for this story so please stick with it guys! Jemily will happen at some point too I promise. Did you all see the 200th btw? We will now officially be known as OTP: Blackbird in case you didn't get the memo :P

Thank you to herdorkiedork, MsZachrisson, myshipsaretitanics, Angelsheart85, jhickson001, rmpcmfan, bball21, Sleep and Dream, and everyone else who has reviewed so far (I LOVE YOU ALL 3)

To my followers, thank you for your unwavering patience :)

Now on with the show!

All mistakes are mine :P

~Stay golden


Emily and Hotch had been meticulously searching the upper levels of the theatre when the raven-haired agent had detected movement out of the corner of her eye.

"Hotch, over there!" she said, running after the unsub, with Hotch and two officers close behind. She rounded the corner with her gun drawn only to come to a complete stop. A man in dark jeans and a sweater, whom she presumed was their unsub, was being held against the wall with one large meaty paw, the other held a gun to the unsub's chest.

That was how they had met Tiny.

After they had arrested the unsub and dragged him out to the nearby squad cars, the agents plus Tiny were standing in front of their vehicles. Tiny explained Ace's condition to the agents and give more insight into the case.

Emily didn't whether to laugh or cringe at the irony of his (hopefully fake) name but found him vaguely familiar. A man of his stature was difficult to forget but somehow Emily managed to draw a blank.

A deep, baritone voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

"The guy we just caught now is a lowlife lackey. He probably pulled this little stunt to try to gain some recognition with whomever he is working with. Wrong kind of attention this time. He probably doesn't know much either if his boss is any good, which, they are."

"Then we are back at square one now aren't we?" Morgan said with a frustrated tone.

"Not necessarily agent. We can let the unsub simmer for the next little while and question him tomorrow. Even though we probably won't get much out of him you can still profile him. I will go and pick up Agent Jareau and Ace from the hospital and meet up with you at Quantico. Knowing her, she probably has a theory in that crazy little head of hers but is too damn stubborn to share."

"I agree with Tiny. We will profile him tomorrow. Let's head over to the precinct to wrap up what we can. Then we should get some rest. It's been a long day." Hotch said.

The agents split off into the two SUV's while Tiny heads off to Ace's car.


A couple of hours later

The smell of antiseptic laced with that indescribable stench of disease that permeates the halls of hospitals assaults her nose as her mind crawls up from the depths of her unconscious. Her eyes flutter open, her vision blurry and unclear.

The first thing the assassin registers, outside of the smell. is the dull burn in her abdomen.

The next thing she realizes, is that she isn't alone.

Her head whips around as fast as her drug induced state allows to the man sitting in the corner of her hospital room.

The assassin's eyes widen when she recognizes him. Her hand instinctively reaches to her thigh where she keeps her knife, only to grasp at the hospital gown that has replaced her usual attire. The man still hasn't moved from his seated position, although a small smirk plays at the corner of his mouth. That familiar smirk. Her smirk.

His short, dirty blonde hair is shorter than she remembers and his lightly tanned face is older, but thinner, slightly weathered from the elements. If a stranger were to walk into the room they would probably not notice the resemblance. They were polar opposites in most respects; but the one physical characteristic that they share is their eyes.

Dark pools of onyx and brown. The only difference between the two pairs was in what lay behind their gazes. While Ace's eyes are guarded and observant, his were cold and filled with contempt and ice.

Those same eyes stare into Ace's, holding her gaze. He is leaning back in his chair, arms crossed and head cocked slightly to the side, as if he's trying to decide his next move. He is wearing navy-blue jacket, grey shirt and jeans- casual attire that makes him indistinguishable from any other civilian. He is anything but an ordinary citizen.

Thick silence settles in the room.

He unfolds his arms and gets up from his seat, making his way casually across the small space separating him from her bed.

"Don't worry. Your stuff 's here." He says pointing to a chair next to the bed where there is a neat pile of her clothes with her weapons on top.

Ace stays expressionless, eyes boring into her brother.

"Long time no see little sis. Still sticking your nose where you shouldn't. Look at how that has worked out for you."

"Still a self-righteous ass, Miles?" She replies, her tone as neutral as her expression.

"That smart-mouth will get you killed someday you know."

"It's a wonder why I'm still alive now since you have decided to make your presence known dear brother." She retorts with anger trickling into her tone.

He laughs a little at this and shakes his head.

"The bolt ruptured your spleen so the docs had to remove it. Minor surgery. You should be back to your pleasant self in no time. Too bad the idiot missed. Would have saved me the trouble. Then again, we still need you to finish this little game."

"What the hell is this about Miles? Everything you are doing goes against everything that we were ever taught."

His expression shifts into that of rage, his fists clench and his jaw tightens.

"You're one to talk! Everything is easy for you! You're the favourite. You're the one who took from me what was my birthright. My inheritance!" he spits out.

His posture relaxes suddenly and his voice becomes neutral again in the blink of an eye.

"No matter little sis. Things are way above your head anyways. I suggest you to leave this whole case behind. You don't want to risk the lives of others for this stupid case anyhow right? I hear you are getting along with that agent that is waiting for you outside. Agent Jennifer Jareau? Yes I know about her. She reminds me of-"

"Don't you dare." Ace says, teeth clenched and hands curled into fists. "Go near her and I will make you beg for death."

"I am the least of your worries Squirt, trust me." He says unfazed by the ice-cold tone of his sister and her threat. "Well it was nice to catch up. The rest of the BAU should be here soon, I believe."

When he reaches the doorway of the hospital room he stops and looks over his shoulder,

"I will see you soon Squirt." And with that he walks out.

Ace visibly relaxes, leaning back into her pillow and massaging her forehead with her hands. The morphine had worn off and she didn't want to take more painkillers because it inhibited her reactions. She tears out of the bed and begins to redress, thankful that her jacket hadn't gotten any blood on it. Getting stains out of leather is a real bitch. She groans in frustration when she notices that her shirt is ruined. She is standing there in her bra and jeans, re-arming herself, when she hears a knock.

"Heyo boss no need to put on a show for me."

She turns her head to see a large man standing in the doorway of her hospital room. His muscled body barely fits in the doorway so he has to stand at a slight angle to accommodate, with his head mere inches from the top of the doorway, practically creating a wall with his body. Short, well-trimmed black hair, strong jaw and kind eyes, his massive physique is in a black t-shirt and jeans with combat boots. In his right hand he carries a duffle bag and in his left a clipboard.

"Tiny, if you call this a show you need to get out more." She says with a smile.

"Can't my boss hands me the craziest hours. She's a real pain in the ass."

The young assassin rolls her eyes as she walks over to him and grabs the bag from him.

"Thanks. Needed a new shirt." She says as she ruffles through the bag.

"Yeah I figured since you got shot and all. I was thinking of trying to convince you to rest in here for a bit before we move on but then again, it is you we are talking about." He says with a laugh, "So I'm not even going to bother with that since it hasn't worked the first hundred times you've been hospitalized." he hands her the clipboard, "I've filled out everything else for you. Just sign your AMA and we are good to go."

Ace puts the duffle bag on the bed and takes the clipboard from him, scribbling her signature on the required lines before handing it back to him. She turns to the bag with a small huff, annoyance written across her face.

"Where the fuck is my shirt damnit…."

"Well maybe if you organized your stuff you would be spending forever looking for it."

"Thanks for the help smartass but I haven't had the time yet...Aha! Here it is." she says, pulling out a black tank-top from the depths of the bag. "Did you happen to run into Miles on your way here?"

Tiny's eyes widen, "You would think I would remember running into your asshat of a brother-no offense. Why?" he says confused.

"He was here."

"Shit, he was here?! Why didn't you call for me? He could have killed you damnit!" the large man says with anger.

"I would have but he didn't stay long enough for me to tell you. At least we got confirmation that he is involved in this mess somehow..." she says, deep in thought.

Tiny shakes his head before turning around to find the doctor to hand the forms in. As he turns, he runs into J.J who stumbles back.

"Sorry about that Agent Jareau." he says to her with a smile before heading down the hallway.

The blonde agent watches him leave for a second before entering Ace's room, in time to see the young assassin pulling her shirt over her abdomen. Even with the bandages, J.J could see the well-defined abs which are still slightly visible with the tight-fitting top. She also caught a brief glance at the scars that marred the surface of the tanned skin.

She looks up to meet Ace's eyes and blushes slightly when she realizes that she's been caught staring.

"Um, I thought you were supposed to rest?"

"We don't have time for that Jayje. I've signed my AMA and I'm good to go." the assassin replies, pulling on her jacket.

"Are you sure? You've just had surgery. Maybe we should-"

"We need to leave. Now." the young assassin says with no room for argument.

J.J stops and notices the tension in the young woman's shoulders and the white-knuckled grip she has on her duffle bag.

"Ace, what's wrong?"

The assassin shakes her head as she walks past J.J and out the door.

"Not now. Later."

J.J is startled by the sudden aggressiveness of the other woman and rushes after her down the hospital hall. She catches up to the young assassin who was talking to the herculean man who had nearly run her over earlier.

Ace turns to J.J, "Agent Jareau this is Tim. He is my second-in-command of sorts. Everyone calls him Tiny though. Long story."

Tiny nods his head at the agent and then turns back to the assassin.

"Agent Hotchner and the others managed to catch the idiot who shot you. They have him over at the precinct. The other agents have wrapped up what they can there and are headed here."

"More like already here."

Ace, J.J, and Tiny turn towards the familiar voice of Derek Morgan, who is walking down the hall towards them with Prentiss, Reid, Hotch and Rossi in tow.

Emily and J.J exchange small smiles while the others pester Ace about her decision to leave the hospital so early.

"I've had worse agents trust me. My cat could probably do worse." the young assassin jokes after deflecting the concerned questions from the group. "I see you have all been introduced to my friend Tiny over here." she says as she gestures towards the large man. "Morgan, can you call Garcia? I have a few questions for her."

Morgan pulls out his phone and calls the Oracle of Knowledge that currently resides in Quantico.

"Tell me our little dark and broody kitten is alright my chocolate thunder." asks Garcia, concern clear in her normally bubbly tone.

"She is fine princess, and out of surgery. She wants to talk to you actually so I'm going to put you on speaker."
"Hello Garcia. I wanted to ask if any of our victims other than the agent from Buffalo have any connections to the Bureau. Thanks for asking by the way."

"Glad to hear you're all business as usual my mini-female-non-italian Auditore. Wait- are you Italian? Cause that would be so cool! You would be like a real life version of Ezio but again without the male bits and not in Renaissance Italy. I tried playing the games and they are so addictive and that Ezio is a real charming-"

"Um Garcia. The info?" the assassin interrupts the tech analyst before she really got off-topic.

"Oh yeah right. Um according to my records there doesn't seem to be any direct link. However, now that you mention it, all of them have very loose ties. One of them has a cousin in the Bureau, while another did a brief internship before switching to another field."

Ace absorbs this information and then frowns.

"Agent Hotchner, what if the target all along is the Bureau?" she says. "Let me explain. I know for a fact that my brother is involved in this mess somehow and that the first three kills at least were not his. I also know that if this was just about killing a bunch of random people he would dispose of the bodies properly. I think that the first three vics were killed by the idiot sitting in the precinct cell and that he is mainly a lure. To get the feds involved in this case."

She looks at the Unit Chief who nods his head for her to continue.

"Furthermore, I don't think the target is just the Bureau, I think the main target is the B.A.U."

This revelation stuns the agents who had not considered that this is a deliberate ploy against them.

Reid is the first one to speak, "Your theory makes sense. We have been looking at this through the eyes of a serial killer who is doing this for some sort of gratification or mission but we have yet to consider if the mission was against us. That would explain why there were so many holes in the profile."

"They are playing a game with us. The first murders were just to lure us in. They probably let the guy who tried to kill me today get caught because they didn't need him anymore." she says to the agents.

"Wait. How do you know for a fact that your brother is involved?"asks Reid.

"Well he paid me a visit just moments ago."

J.J whips around to face the young assassin, "Is that why you were acting weird in the room earlier?"

"He has a flare for the dramatics... He did hint that things were about to get far worse though." Ace shrugs off J.J's worried tone. " Garcia, I need you to compile a list of everyone who would have a vendetta against the Bureau, specifically the B.A.U."

"I will be on it like white on rice! Talk to you soon crime fighters!" she says and hangs up with a small click.

"What worries me about our unsubs is the nature of their group relationship." Emily says, startling the others out of their thoughts. "Usually there is a dominating partner and a submissive partner. Then again, I don't think we have ever had more than two unsubs working together, outside of terrorism, before."

"Here is what I propose. I will set up protection outside of your homes for the next little while. I don't think they will target any members of your family directly. They would have done so already if that was their plan but this will be a precaution. I think we should stay as close together as possible as well. Tiny, can you go set up the security detail?" she says.

"On it boss." he says, phone already out and dialing.

"I agree with Ace. Hotch, you Reid and Morgan can stay at my place for the time being." Rossi says to the other agents.

"I have plenty of room in my condo. Pen, J.J and Ace could stay with me. Plus it is closest to you Rossi." Emily responds.

Hotch nods his head and replies, "Get some rest everyone. Meet at the precinct early tomorrow."

The agents walk towards their vehicles. Reid, Morgan, Hotch and Rossi into one SUV while J.J and Emily get into the other.

"I will go pick up Garcia and met you two at Agent Prentiss's condo." Ace says getting into her car.

"Sounds good." J.J says, and then she watches as the car speeds off into the night.