Hotch walked briskly into the briefing room before addressing the team, "What do we have?"

Reid squinted before responding, "Her name is Abigail West. She's been in the FBI for almost 6 years. Interesting fact, it turns out the she applied to be placed in the BAU about 4 years ago, but she was moved to the white collar division. She's 29 years old, single; her mother passed away to cancer 6 years ago and she doesn't appear to have had any contact with her father in the past 13 years. According to her record she's an exemplary agent and was, according to her supervisory agent, on the fast track up. None of the reports taken by the agents at the scene indicated any of the neighbors heard or saw anything out of the ordinary. No suspicious vehicles, no disturbances to the neighborhood; everything was quiet, by all accounts. The only reason that this was even called in, was because she didn't show up for her morning shift."

Reid grabbed the remote to bring up the picture of Abigail's body on the coroner's table. "Based on the autopsy report, the unsub's blade wounds were surgical in their precision. He knew which areas of the body to cut that would create the most blood loss, slicing all the major arteries and veins. As you can see," Reid tapped the remote to bring the crime scene photos up on the screen. "The blood pool around her body was intentional. He washed the rest of her body and then redressed her in the white dress, before laying her to rest back in the bed. We can assume that the bed is where he killed her. Based on the bruising on her neck, he probably strangled her first to knock her unconscious and then used the knife to kill her. The coroner is still unable to determine the type of blade used but based on the cut marks it is some type of hunting knife." Reid took a second before continuing, "It is actually quite masterful, his method of bleeding her out. Our unsub is most likely a male, a skilled hunter in his early to mid-forties. He's clearly above average intelligence; from what forensics can tell so far, the scene is completely clean and undisturbed beyond the actual bed. There is nothing else to take away from the scene except for the murder itself."

Rossi then cut in, "Look at the amount of slashes on her body. The unsub clearly wanted to make a point. Was this an act of rage? Anger? A crime of passion? He wanted to send a message obviously. But who is he so angry at?"

Reid shook his head before cutting back in, "I don't get the feeling that this is about rage. It may be personal but it is controlled aggression. Regarding crimes of passion, those are often an impulsive act meaning it's not planned, making it more likely the killer would make a mistake. This is a personal vendetta, but the aggression behind it is controlled. Everything was meticulously done and executed, almost surgical. This unsub must have been planning this for a while. He picked a time of the night when most the neighbors were asleep so the likelihood of anyone noticing anything out of order was next to nil. Her alarm wasn't triggered and there were no signs of forced entry, which would imply that he knew her access code and may have possibly had a copy of her key. There is the possibility that she simply allowed the unsub into her house but there were no signs that indicated she was expecting anyone. Also based on her psych eval she tended to avoid personal relationships citing work as her only focus right now. He had time to learn the layout of her house so that he would know where everything went. That way there wouldn't be an item out of place after her was done carrying out the murder. This murder seems to be more about the message than the victim herself."

"It's clear that this message is meant for the FBI, killing an agent in Virginia so close to bureau headquarters; more specifically us at the BAU with the brutal nature of this murder. When you look at his method of killing it is also the opposite of aggressive; patient and calculated. It's almost ritualistic how he cut up her body. The coroner actually said that if the cuts weren't so clean, they could have been mistaken for claw marks. Notice the blade patterns, the slashes are in fours with the middle two slashing the major arteries and veins at every point. This unsub is proud of his work and wants to display it for everyone to see. An artist. If you look at the picture from this perspective it's almost a painting, a moment frozen in time. He believes himself to be creator and he wants the world to see his work, his art. I think we're meant to be his guests of honor to the unveiling of his show." Reid finished succinctly.

"So he's a narcissist." Gideon cut in quickly. "He's screaming look at me, look at me. He wants spotlight, attention and fame. This unsub wants to be the next Ted Bundy or BTK. There's no remorse with this unsub. No sense of right or wrong. He's pragmatic and he's not led by his desire to kill." Gideon huffed before continuing, "A true sadist; it's the act itself more than the results that drive him. The problem is now that this unsub has found a focus, a purpose; and that makes him more dangerous. He's aware of himself and everything that he's doing, making it unlikely that he devolve or make a mistake. He didn't even return to the crime scene to take in the aftermath of his work which means that he's careful. Killing an FBI agent was his bold introduction; His breakthrough performance. Through the media attention alone, it puts the FBI on the hot seat and on a timer, because the more he kills, and the longer he kills, the more it makes us look like glorified rental cops. If we can't protect our own, then how can we protect those who put their safety in our hands? This is his way of stating that he's testing us and he just threw down the gauntlet."

"Does that mean that he wants to be caught?" Rossi interjected, "This unsub doesn't strike me as the type that wants to be stopped. He wants to leave a long a bloody trail. He wants to carve his way into the history books. He wants them to talk about his grand murder spree and eventual disappearance with people scratching their heads years from now always wondering who this killer was. He wants people to talk about him for years to come on how the FBI was never able to catch him. He wants to be the next Ripper. They'll write books about him and have history documentaries on the multiple possible suspects that we were never able to confirm nor deny was the killer. This unsub prepping to be the ultimate serial killer. We can assume he's killed before and he intends to kill again. He'll kill indiscriminately which will make him harder to track." Rossi sighed before shrugging and commenting, "There's nothing about this kill that gives off a signature. The only thing we truly have is that he's killed and he wants our attention. I wonder if his next kill will be another agent or if he intends to send his message through a different type of victim?" Rossi posed the question open ended for anyone to attempt to answer.

"And then there is other obvious question; what message is he trying to send with the poem?" Gideon added.

"Well, I'm assuming that the beginning of the poem may be a direct message to our unit, or maybe another unit in the FBI, that agent West previously worked at. From what I can tell, she hasn't been brought up for any kind of infractions, and actually her record is really clean; no meetings with any supervisory agents for breaking the rules and every one of her evaluations and assessments have her marked for outstanding. You could almost say she was a perfect agent. I'm curious as to why she wasn't screened for the BAU?"

Hotch cut in, "We already had a pedophile behavior analyst on the team? It would have been a waste of resources when she could have been more helpful in another unit, which turned out to be right based on her case closing rate." Hotch quickly flipped through his copy of her FBI record. "For now we should assume that this murder is directed at the FBI."

"Okay, assuming that the poem is directed at us as a whole, does that mean that this is a unsub suffering from conspiracy delusions? Maybe the law failed him somewhere in the past and now he's lashing out by trying to bring in the big dogs instead of the local law enforcement." Rossi posed as a thought. "To attack a law enforcement agent is personal but to attack a federal agent is to declare war. This unsub must know that every office in every state is on the lookout for him. That agents everywhere are going to want his head on a stick. This is beyond bold, this is audacious." Rossi paused before throwing out casually, "Though we can't overlook the possibility that it could be another agent seeking revenge for some injustice. Maybe there's someone she was working with that was upset that she got a promotion, or maybe she ruffled a few too many feathers." He left it as a statement but the question was still hinted at in his tone.

Reid replied, "Not from anything we can see. Like I said, her record just has her down as an exemplary agent and most of her colleagues claim that she was a hard-working agent that more-or-less got along with everyone she worked with. She followed orders and never appeared to break protocol in any situation. Her arrest record was superb and all her presented cases to the federal courts were all airtight. Her last SSA said, 'Agent West is a rising star in the FBI and has the potential to become a household name around the bureau, on her path to becoming the Director of the FBI.' I'm assuming that while the rest of the poem is unclear I believe that it's the unsub's way of sharing his plans with us. It's a clue to what he plans to do next. None of that intimates a disgruntled FBI agent, there's too much mystery and intrigue." Reid responded without dropping his eyes back onto the page before him.

Rossi sighed before concluding, "So we're back to an unsub outside of the FBI then. Although I know that no one is ever that 'squeaky clean', if we are to assume this crime wasn't against her specifically, then she's just a messenger. And since she's not the actual target, we return back to the question: who exactly in the FBI is the unsub targeting?"

"More specifically why did the unsub mention you by name at the end, Hotch? This unsub must have some connection to you or know you." Gideon put in. "If he was directing all of this at you, why not mention the BAU directly? Why use all this smoke and mirrors and why target this agent in particular? If this was a direct attack on the BAU, why not just come after one of us? He clearly had the time and he clearly has the physical capabilities to subdue and seasoned FBI agent." Gideon pondered out loud before focusing back on to Hotch. "Can you think of any unsolved murders in the past that are similar to this one? This feels like a direct attack on you Hotch and yet it also feels like an attack on the whole bureau? How are you at the center of this?"

Hotch turned to face Gideon as he thought back on the files that have crossed his desk over the years. This killer had to have a genesis victim. As far back as Hotch thought back through all the slashing victims and he remembered them all, they were all pretty much open and shut cases (most were impulsive crimes of passion) and those that weren't that straight forward, were eventually closed as well. There were no cases that Hotch could think of, in which he had played a part, that required this focused attention from the unsub. He looked Gideon in the eye before responding, "None of my or our previous cases come to mind. I don't know of any connection I might have with this unsub or if there is a connection to me or us at all. For all we know this unsub may have seen us, me on the television and learned that we are brought in on specific types of cases. His attacking an FBI agent could be a move to ensure that we get involved, and mentioning me by name, killing agent West in such as fashion is his way of calling us up to bat. This could also just be to ensure that if he gets away with a murder spree, the books will say that he went toe-to-toe with an elite FBI unit and outsmarted us." Hotch continued to stare Gideon in the eyes as he responded, before bringing his eyes to meet Rossi's, knowing that with all their history, there were cases that were personal for all of them. Cases that affected them harder than the rest, and became part of a personal vendetta that the agents weren't willing to share with the others.

While the team had been through a lot over the years; had their loyalties questioned, their dark pasts aired out (in some cases the world) for everyone to see, there were still things that each member wanted to keep to themselves. There were no secrets in the BAU and while that may be great in many instances, especially when it came to trusting one another in the field, there were things that they still fought to keep private. Family or not, some things had to remain sacred for each team member; some things had to remain their own, things they didn't have to share. For men like Gideon, Hotch, and Rossi it was their work. She was their wife and their mistress and the reason why those they loved most were hurt and destroyed in their wake. They couldn't separate from the BAU because they gave so much of themselves to this life. They built it from nothing and they were continuing to dance the fine line of keeping it together and having it brought crumbling down around them. There were cases that couldn't be solved, answers that have yet to be found and for some of them, they were too close to heart and would follow them into the night, into their nightmares, till it became an obsession. That was the danger working for this unit presented. Once ensnared there was no escape and it becomes the only thing you know; facing a new evil every day until you find you can't look into the darkness any longer or it kills you. Hotch knew that Rossi and Gideon would both wonder if this was connected to a crime that Hotch might have been working behind their backs, as they've all been often known to do in the past. Reid would never question; it was not his place and while he was curious, Reid understood that as close as he and Hotch were, there were lines that he did not and would not cross. "As far as I know, I nor the BAU have any connection this murder." Hotch finished firmly.

"Unfortunately Agent Hotchner you're wrong on both counts." Hotch flinched as Strauss' voice sounded from behind him. He turned to find their Supervisory agent standing in the doorway of the briefing room holding a file in her hand. She looked down before sighing and entering the room. She pulled a file from her side and dropped it on the table before continuing, "As I'm sure you are all aware by this point that Agent West once requested to be placed in your unit some time ago. What her file doesn't read is that she recently attempted to do so again and requested a transfer to your unit. She was vetted and accepted last week. She was to report to your unit as of this morning. This unsub somehow managed to find out and killed her with the intention of targeting your unit." Strauss finished stringently.

Rossi's faced was filled with disbelief, "She was to join our unit? When was this decided? If the unsub isn't a member of the FBI then how would he know that she was joining our unit today? And even so, if this unsub wants revenge against us, why target her when she has yet to participate in anything that we have done?"

Strauss' face turned grim before addressing Rossi, "Agent Rossi, due to past happenings the directors felt it best to add new members to the BAU to spread the work load and more importantly give you all the chance to fully right the ship. This unit has fallen under major scrutiny in the past couple years and it can't afford another muck up. And while the higher ups feel that having the BAU work this case would be a liability, especially considering the focus this unsub seems to have on this unit, I managed convince them that there isn't a better task force suited for resolving this tragic loss." Strauss' eyes dipped again before she looked up to meet each member of the team in the eye before demanding strongly, "You are to close this case as quickly as possible and without further loss to our bureau. It's now also my ass on the line now, so don't make me regret this. Agent West was a brilliant agent and I had high hopes for her here. I want the full force of your efforts in solving this murder, is that…" Strauss was cut off by the appearance of a flustered Penelope Garcia.

"Oh God, I'm sorry to interrupt but you all need to see this! This takes murder to a whole 'nother level on the disturbingly sick and twisted scale." Garcia huffed out.

Hotch tried to intervene, "Garcia, Agent West's murder is taking prio…" Hotch's voice trailed off as Penelope switched the screen to show pictures of a new crime scene.

Garcia turned away from the screen, her first viewing making her throw up right in her office at the first sight. The memory of the image still burned into her mind's eye made her stomach turn before she swallowed back the bile that rose in her throat. "The jet is already on standby."

Rossi's voice was barely able to choke out, "Good God." Before the sound of Strauss' retching filled the deafeningly silent room.

A/N: Hey guys. I'm glad you are all enjoying the story so far. So recently, I've been getting quite a few messages asking me to finish 'The Right Man'. I just want to clarify, '44' is the sequel to 'The Right Man'. So I will be continuing and eventually finishing 'The Right Man' storyline, in '44'. I just wanted to give my characters more time to grow their relationships, since it felt a little rushed in TRM. Anyways, I hope that helps clarify things for my readers. As always, please leave a review.