Questions

Sorry for the break but I have just stated a new job and been completely snowed under - will try a catch up now.

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Half eaten cartons of Chinese food were strewn across the table. Pots of coffee were on the go; as soon as one was emptied another was put on. Files were open; photos and reports spread out. People had paired up, shared ideas, split and reformed. Hotch sat watching, contemplating, as his team did what they do best: work relentlessly until whoever they were hunting was tracked down and stopped. No-one in his team was in it for the glory. Each had made sacrifices beyond what was expected, yet they never complained. He was proud to see them in action, proud to be their team leader, proud to be their friend. He just wished sometimes they had come together under different circumstances, but then could any of them do a regular job? He knew he couldn't. Each member of the team had a reason, something that made them take this path and drove them on through all they witnessed over their time in the BAU. For some their reason was a fact they had shared with all, or some, of the team, for others it was a hidden secret, but there still the same, still as powerful motivator.

"Are we going to sit here all night while you try and figure this out single-handedly or are we going to do something constructive?" Hotch had been completely unaware of Rossi sitting next to him until he spoke. He had no idea how long he had been there. He turned to face his colleague, who was sat quietly beside him watching the others do their thing, just as he had. Rossi had a point; they needed to be proactive on this one. Hotch stood and moved to get a cup of coffee without saying a word. Everyone else begun to settle down, taking the cue from their boss. Knowing that within moments they would receive their instructions and split to take on their various roles.

"Ok" Hotch started as he returned to the table. "I think we can safely assume our UnSub is tracking down and killing the members of 'The Platinum Collection'. I feel we must also assume Rebecca Henry is his current victim. Baring all this in mind our first priority tonight must be to secure the safety of the five remaining women."

"What about Rebecca, if our UnSub has her, she is going through hell. Surely finding her is out priority." Prentiss butted in.

"We don't know enough to make that a possibility. Where would we start to look? We have to be realistic. We know he keeps them 24 to 48 hours, depending on when she was taken she may well be dead already." Hotch hated making such choices.

"And if she's not?" Prentiss challenged.

"She probably wishes she was" Amy muttered, a little louder than she realised. Prentiss shot her a glare which Garton matched. She was only speaking the truth, what did Prentiss know about being in such a situation.

"How can you say that?" Prentiss was furious, how could Garton be so cold? "She may well be holding out, praying for a rescue."

"And she could be praying for it all to end, quickly" Garton didn't want to get into a debate with Prentiss, she respected her. She was very aware of the tension between them now and everyone's eyes on them as they faced each other. No-one said a thing, the silence was suffocating. Rossi and Hotch exchanged a look.

"As I was saying," Hotch added particular emphasis to the I, hoping that both of them would back down, he needed a team right now. "Our priority is the remaining five women. Rossi and JJ you have already made contact with the other three local members. I want you to go out with some locals and talk them into coming in. Back here for tonight. We can relocate them into a safe house tomorrow. JJ can you also contact the forces nearest to the other two members and ask them to collect them and bring them in. We'll make arrangements tomorrow for them to join us here. Morgan, you and I will be working on finding Rebecca Henry. We'll start with the worse situation and go to the next possible dump site then work backwards. Garcia I need the address of the next venue in Emerson's string of clubs. If we're really lucky we can catch him in the act and it will all be over tonight." Hotch saw Prentiss move her mouth to interrupt again, "Emily we have to be realistic the odds are she is dead." He hated being so matter of fact, "Prentiss, Reid and Garton, you three work vicitimology, background and the profile." He could see the team's surprise at pairing Prentiss and Garton, none more than Rossi who gave him a look that clearly said he thought Hotch was mad. Reid has physically sunk in his chair at the prospect of getting caught in the middle. "Lastly everyone needs some sleep; please take it in turns to get at least a couple of hours." With which he started towards the door.

Morgan stood, patting Reid on the shoulder: "Good luck" he said giving him a look of sympathy. Rossi was quick to follow Hotch out of the room.

"Sure that was a wise choice?" Rossi hissed as he came level with Hotch.

"Are you questioning my decisions?" Hotch snapped back, turning to face Rossi square on. Hotch was tired and he let the comments get to him.

"Far from it" Rossi physically backed down a little as his voice softened "I'm just curious as to you putting Prentiss and Garton together. They are both obviously tired and need a break from each other. We all rub each other up the wrong way sometimes. You could swap me in, JJ and Prentiss work well together."

"They need to sort it out among themselves, you can't defend her if she is to truly be part of this team" Hotch hadn't got time for this. He would not tolerate Rossi having favourites on the team. Yes Rossi had chosen Garton, but she was part of the team not some personal trainee handpicked to follow in Rossi's footsteps.

"Woh, hold it! I'm not defending anyone. We both know this is going to be a personally tough case for Amy and I for one think she is handling it better then we both expected, so can we not just cut her a little slack 'til she's ready to tell the team what happened." Rossi was getting pissed by Hotch's attitude.

"She chose to come; I offered her out at Quantico. She wanted in; she's in, so leave it." Hotch turned to walk away leaving Rossi standing staring at the space he had once occupied.

Morgan was standing by the door, waiting, wandering what was happening between Hotch and Rossi. He guessed it was something to do with Prentiss and Garton. He liked Garton, in the few weeks she had been with the team he had got on well with her. She'd joined Garcia and him on a couple of movie nights and she was more than willing to go out clubbing, which worked well, especially on the rare night when he wasn't interested in pulling a date, as people assumed they were together the way they played it. But now he had a number of burning questions he wanted answered. He suddenly realised that even though they had spent time together since she joined the team he knew nothing about her. She knew plenty about him, which was strange as he didn't tend to trust people easily but he had her. As Hotch walked towards him Morgan realised how much he hated it when the team argued, it was rare, but it happened. Even the closest families bickered sometimes.