A/N: I'm actually thinking of doing a day trip to Merredin soon to do a bit of looking around. I have been to Merredin before but it was about 14 years ago and if I recall correctly, we never actually stopped. My sister was a toddler, we were doing the hard slog 7 hour drive to Kalgoorlie, and I think my dad just wanted to get there before he killed someone. The other time I have been to Merredin was on the Prospector rail service. We never disembarked, but ten minutes after leaving Merredin, the train stopped. In the middle of the night. In the middle of freaking nowhere (go look at a map of WA, pull up Google Images, and follow the Great Eastern Highway). Some stubborn cows had wandered onto the tracks. Fun times.
Also, if you haven't guessed, I'm slightly fascinated by our highways here. They play such a vital role to Perth since we are so isolated, but I'm especially fascinated with Great Eastern, and I honestly could not tell you exactly why. Oh well.
This story won't be very case focused, hope that's ok.
Merredin proved to be dusty. Dusty and red.
And small.
"I hate small towns," JJ grumbled as she followed Morgan to the front door of the police station. It was nothing like the beautiful high rise building in the center of Perth City. It was a small, dingy looking building that had clearly at some point been a house.
"Chin up JJ. Australia's a beautiful country. Did you ever think you'd get to come?" Morgan chirped, pulling open the door and walking over the threshold.
"No," JJ shrugged. "I guess it's not so bad when you look at it that way"
Their feet thudded loudly against the old floorboards, the floors creaking with every step as they walked down a long hallway towards the main room at the end. As they approached the end of the hall, a burly officer stepped into their path.
"G'day. Senior Sergeant Robert Hillier. Call me Rob," he said with a grin, extending his hand. "You guys look too clean to be from out here. You those feds they were sending from Perth?"
Morgan nodded, shaking the man's hand. "Special Agent Derek Morgan. This is Special Agent Jennifer Jareau"
"Pleasure. Now, you'll have to forgive the lodgings we've arranged, I hope you weren't expecting the Hilton. We're pretty much the arsehole end of the earth out here," Rob replied, beckoning them through. JJ sniggered; she could get used to the Australian slang.
"I'll have someone show you to the motel, and then I'll get you up to speed on what we're dealing with out here"
Hours later, night had fallen. Merredin proved to be surprisingly cold at night, and JJ had found herself wearing a second layer of sleeves as they worked into the night.
The first hour had been spent examining every inch of the original cases in San Diego and matching them to the details of both the Perth and Merredin cases to confirm that they were well and truly dealing with the same people.
They had deduced that all victims but one had vanished from Perth. All had been sold to an unknown buyer, as was typical of this particular trafficking ring. And all of them had turned up dead a week later, two of them on the outskirts of Merredin.
But whoever was responsible had slipped up. The last victim had disappeared from Merredin, and it was such a small town that JJ and Morgan knew they would find the clue they needed before too long. Someone had to have seen who was responsible.
It was almost midnight when JJ's phone rang, the screen lighting up with Hotch's name.
"Hey Hotch," JJ answered immediately.
"JJ, we've had a major breakthrough already. We need one of you to come back to Perth, even if it's just for a day. We need an extra set of eyes from someone who knows the San Diego case inside out, and I know you had time to go over it while you were on maternity leave. I also think Morgan would be more comfortable staying out there on his own than you would"
"When do you need me back by?" JJ asked, perking up. After fleshing out all the details, they were getting nowhere with the Merredin file. JJ had wondered how it was possible to feel so disheartened on the very first day of working on it. Maybe reconvening with the Perth based team and getting the new information would give them the push they needed to crack the case in Merredin and get home sooner rather than later.
"I need you in the hotel lobby ready to go by half past seven. We'll fill you in when you get here"
She had to be back in just under eight hours. That would be interesting.
"Alright, I'll be there as soon as I can," JJ replied before hanging up. Looking up at Morgan, Rob, and the other cops who had joined them, she let out a heavy breath.
"Hotch wants me back in Perth and ready to go over the new information," she explained. "But I'm going to have to drive through the night"
Rob shook his head. "The train, The Prospector, stops here every day around ten in the morning. You'd be in Perth by early tomorrow afternoon"
"No, he needs me there by half past seven," JJ sighed. "I'll have to drive"
"We haven't even been here twelve hours, why's he calling you back?" Morgan asked.
"Big breakthrough. They needed either you or me to head back, and he just asked me. Must be big or he would've just relayed everything over the phone," JJ explained.
"Ok. Take the car, no doubt he'll have you back here by tomorrow night or the day after. I'll manage on foot or hitching a ride," Morgan chuckled.
"No worries mate," Andrew, one of the younger cops, nodded.
Rising from her seat, JJ gathered up her notes and other belongings. As Morgan pressed the keys into her hand, Rob stood up.
"Do you know the way?" he asked. JJ shrugged.
"Vaguely"
"Well your motel is the next street over. Follow Barrack Street to the end when you leave, and you'll hit Nungarin Road, it loops straight out to the highway. Turn right onto Great Eastern and follow it all the way back to Perth," Rob said.
"Ok"
"Be seriously careful out there though," Rob warned. "Most of us Aussies hate driving the highway in the day. At night, there's a higher risk of hitting a roo. If you're feeling nervy, don't be afraid to go under the speed limit, and always, always, always drive it with the high beam headlights. Some of the bends between Northam and Perth come up really fast in the dark and if you're not high beaming, you'll run off the road"
"Duly noted," JJ replied, draping her coat over her arms. "A roo is a kangaroo, right?"
Andrew nodded. "And trust me, you don't wanna hit one, especially going 110 kays"
Nodding, JJ made to leave, walking quickly and quietly to the door with Morgan at her side.
"Call me when you get to Perth, I don't care what time it is," he said gently, giving her a quick hug. "I know it sounds like they're trying to scare you, but they're not, it's a high risk country road"
"I'll take extra care I promise, and I will call you when I arrive. Get some rest and then keep going tomorrow, ok? We have to end this," JJ said forcefully.
"We will. Now go, before Hotch calls and asks where the hell you are," Morgan pushed. JJ chuckled, walking over to the car and getting in straight away.
Before long, Morgan was watching her tail lights disappear around the corner at the end of the street.
Now, all he could do was wait.
The road was darker than JJ had ever imagined it could be. She was tired, but not tired enough to sleep. She was used to functioning on no sleep, and thankfully, that would help while navigating the treacherous rural highway.
Her hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, the high beam lights heavily illuminating the road before her. She had no spatial awareness, no idea of what was around her. All she did was follow the road, the white lines before her paving her path back to civilisation.
She had been driving for over an hour and had just passed through a small town called Cunderdin. The highway was winding tighter and tighter, and tall trees seemed to tower on either side of the road from what she could see within her headlights.
Bright blue lights coming from the bend up ahead told her that a road train was coming in the opposite direction. Dipping the lights down so she wouldn't dazzle the driver, she slowed down slightly as the turn approached.
The road train came around, passing quickly with a loud whoosh past her vehicle. Just as she was preparing to turn her high beams back up, she caught a glimpse of something to the right.
Gasping, she swerved, barely having time to register what it even was before it shot out towards her. Halfway through the bend, she felt the car leave the road, the gravel flying up and hitting the underside with sounds akin to gunfire. She was already screaming as it started to roll down the embankment, the windows shattering as it toppled down to the ground below.
With a loud crunch of metal on concrete, the car came to a sudden stop in the ditch at the edge of the road.
And as if the world wasn't black enough already, JJ faded into nothingness.