It was another case; another victim and another sadistic unsub. Bryan Madley had already viciously murdered 4 women in the Wichita area. They had his DNA, his name, his address and even car, but the damn unsub had continued to evade them. It was driving Hotch to his boiling point.
"Prentiss! Reid!" He nearly hollered across the police station. They hurried over, and he could tell by Emily's face she was in no mood to be yelled at. Hotch was in no mood not to yell.
This case had been disastrous from the start. Slack police work; 3 woman had already been murdered with the same MO before the Sherriff could put two and two together and figure out they were dealing with a clever sadistic bastard. Or serial killers as they were conventionally called. Madley killed to shock people and display his power over women since he never had any in his pathetic little life. They could have caught him already if they had been called in sooner.
"Do you have anything?" He asked, praying they got a break. No such luck.
"We're working on a geographical profile-" Reid started.
"Have you found anything useful?"
"Well not exactly."
"What the hell does 'not exactly' mean?" He knew he was making Reid flustered but he didn't care at this point. Madley could be onto his next victim by now.
"That means we have the same information we did an hour ago when you asked us." Emily drew herself up to her full height, almost daring him to challenge her.
"Have you heard anything from Morgan or Dave?" He would let it go for now.
"No, they're still checking all the crime scenes, again."
"Hotch, we've given them the profile, they have every available cop out on the streets looking for him, we should be out there too. We should be warning the public! We know what type of victims he chooses. Low risk, middle to upper class women, usually with one or more children, they have steady jobs and loving husbands." Emily recited from memory.
"JJ is handling the press and all the warnings. And we're not going anywhere. We are here to assist Prentiss. We can do everything we need to from the station." Plus he stepped on a few too many toes and his boss was not too pleased. Emily didn't help matters by grating on his nerves. He didn't need to be reminded the mistakes in the case, he wanted it solve, and as soon as possible. If not for the women of the city, then for his own sanity.
"Well we have nothing to do but wait around until Madley shows himself again! Which according to Reid's statistics, could be days or even a week!"
"Find something to do." He said through gritted teeth.
"Yes, sir." She snapped back and went grumbling to their table of notes.
*~*
"I still think we should be putting our best efforts into warning these women." Emily said to Reid's back. She still was on tense terms with everyone except Reid and Dave. She suspected that Reid felt bad for the way he treated her when she first joined them team. But he was going through a drug withdrawal, so she could understand on some level that he wouldn't be the friendliest of people. Dave was another ballgame. Plus he did not pay much attention to their personal lives.
"We could, but that may lead to devolution and a killing spree. When he realizes that we are on to him, I presume he will become more violent." Reid coloured in his little map on the board.
Emily tapped her pen on the table, chewed her lip and went through all the possibilities in her mind. "I wish we could get just one good tip off the hotline."
"Agent Prentiss, you should hear this." One of the officers held up the hotline phone.
"I should wish more often." She said to herself. She listened to the recording.
"It was sent one minute ago, from a cell phone." The officer informed her.
"Hello? This is Brittany Harvey. I'm calling about that man, Myran Bradley? Or was it Bryan Bradley? I saw his picture on the news last night and anyways, I think I saw him driving around my street. He's in a dark green pick-up with some wood in the back. He was wearing a blue vest and had a baseball cap on. He looked just like the picture on the news..." Emily jotted down the address and then yelled, "Hotch!"
He rushed over to them. "We got a hit on the tip line. Was seen driving on second street, in the Schiff district."
"That's in my geographical profile!" Reid pointed out.
"We're closer then Morgan and Dave are. Get a few cars together to patrol that neighbourhood. Reid, Prentiss, JJ; with me. Madley most likely will be carrying a gun looking for his next victims. We predict he would rather go down shooting so wear your kelvar vests."
Emily cleverly kept her mouth shut. Hotch did not need to treat them like probies. They were senior field agents after all.
*~*
They arrived at the end of a roadblock. "We have both sides of this neighbourhood blocked. If he's in here we'll get him." The Sherriff informed him.
"Good." They had made it here within 10 minutes. Madley had to be close. Hotch could feel adrenaline running through his veins.
"We haven't seen him on the street; he may have stashed his truck in someone's garage. The next roadblock is four blocks away and every two blocks after that." The Sherriff continued.
"Fine. I'll spread my out agents between blocks. JJ stay here, call me if anything happens." He stressed the anything.
"Reid, Prentiss." He motioned them to follow him.
The sun was beating down on them. It felt like 80 degrees in the sunshine. And it was only 9:30 in the morning. "My geographical profile kind of worked." Reid said for conversation.
"Yeah, good job Reid." Emily patted him on the back and laughed a little.
"You need to focus Prentiss. This is serious, lives may be endangered." He reprimanded her when they got to the second roadblock.
"Yes, sir. I am very well aware of that." She said tightly, her anger at him rising. The two of them left for the third roadblock.
"You know, you can stop biting off my head at any time." She said suddenly.
"What?"
"I said, you can stop biting my head off, any time. Everything I do somehow is not good enough for you."
"I'm not biting your head off." He said defensively. Where was this coming from? Especially at a time like this. They had stopped in the middle of someone's drive way.
"Yes, you are. You constantly put me down; make me feel inferior to everyone else on the team. I've had nothing but complaints from you. I am a damn good agent. You are lucky to have me on this team. No one else has a problem with my performance. What the hell did I do to piss you off so much?" Now that she had started talking, she just could not seem to stop. She knew this was a very bad place to bring it up.
He was very surprised by her outburst. He had been a little harsh in pushing her away, but nothing outrageous. Had it really come off that callous?
She was waiting for his answer with her hands on her hips. What should he tell her; that he had a secret crush on her or that she was imagining things? He knew nothing could ever happen between them so he chose the latter.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." He denied. "If you have such a problem with-" He was cut off by the sound of a revving engine. They both turned toward the darkened carpool and in a split second a truck was racing towards them. Hotch didn't have time to think; he just pushed Emily out of the way and collapsed on top of her on the sidewalk. He had been inches from being road kill.
Officers were immediately on the scene; bullets flying in all directions. The two agents stayed close to the ground, knowing that they may be shot if they ran for cover. He was so close to Emily he could feel almost every contour of her body. Her eyes were open but they were dazed. That sent worry right to his heart because he pretty much had tackled her to the ground. She might have a concussion.
"Emily?" He whispered her name as the drama around them died down. Madley could not have possibly survived that shoot out.
"Yeah?" She half moaned. She was seeing stars and her head was pounding. Hotch pulled her to her feet. The world tipped precariously for a few seconds but righted itself after she breathed deeply. She vision returned to normal to see Hotch gazing at her intently.
"Are you alright?" He had his arm around her. Aaron Hotchner was a very strange man. One moment he was reproving her the next he was thoughtful and attentive. This constant tug and pull was driving her crazy.
"Fine." She answered pulling away.
"We need to get you to an ambulance." He insisted, trying to lead her to the roadblock.
"Really Hotch I'm fine."
"No Prentiss. That's an order." He told her and escorted her to the ambulance.
*~*
Emily checked out fine and was released within a half hour. By that time the team had packed up and were heading back to the airport. Madley had died instantly and the city was safe again for now.
It was dark when they reached drove into Quantico. Emily stared out of the window watching the cars pass when she saw a random car sitting beside her own coupe. There was a man whom she couldn't quite see sitting on the hood. His figure seemed so familiar.
"Do you know that man?" JJ asked, sitting next to her. It was getting the attention of everyone on the team.
"Nice car." Rossi remarked.
Emily thought she knew who it was but it was impossible. The person she was thinking of was supposed to be in France.
The SUV pulled into its parking space. "I think it's....my father." She said, getting out and rushing over.
"Hello princess!" It was her father! "Hi daddy!" She threw herself into his arms. This was perfect. She had rarely seen him in the last few years. Not since he made the move to Europe.
"How are you?" He asked walking her into the office. She could not get over how good he looked. He still had his white hair and beard but he looked younger and healthier.
"I'm great." She could not stop smiling. "How are you? Where did you get that roadster? Are you staying in town?"
He laughed heartedly. "One question at a time, my darling. I am so well but am only in town for this evening. I thought I would take my precious daughter out and spoil her rotten."
"That's a shame. I just have to grab my bags. Then we can leave." She loved the attention her father gave her. He was the only person who made her feel incredibly special. She was a daddy's girl through and through.
She took him up to the bullpen and introduced him to the team. Somehow section chief Strauss got an introduction as well.
"How nice to meet you Mr. Prentiss." Strauss was wearing her nicest face. Nothing good would come from that but Emily ignored her. No one could ruin this moment.
*~*
"Prentiss, a word." Hotch said, standing in his office door.
"Sure." She left the group surrounding her father. He should likely wait until after everyone had left but it could not wait. Her little outburst had to be addressed and corrected. He could not let something like that happen again, especially during a case. They could have been killed today.
He wasn't in the best mood either. Strauss had railed about amateurish blunders in this case. It did not bode well for him. On top of that, he was informed of all the budget cuts happening in the next month.
"Yes, sir?"
"Your behaviour today was inexcusable. You put both yourself and the case in jeopardy. Do not question me again."
"What? If we hadn't stopped we might not have found Madley." Emily pointed out.
"We would have when we searched the houses. You were unprofessional at the scene. If you value your position here, you will not let it happen again. You can leave now." He knew he was pissing her off, but she seemed to get the message. She stalked out.
*~*
"What's the matter princess?" Her father asked. Was it that obvious?
"Nothing daddy. My boss is just being an ass again." They left.
"I know something that will cheer you up." Her father handed her a velvet case. Was it jewellery? Earrings or a pendant? She smiled and opened it. It was a key.
"A key to what?" They exited the building. He pointed to the roadster. Her mouth dropped.
"But it's such an expensive car."
"Nothing but the best for my darling." He said as she checked out her new car.
"I love it!" It was a shiny black roadster. Leather interior and a brand new GPS system.
"Come on princess, let's go to the Westend Bistro and have some dinner. You can tell me everything happening in your life. Hopefully I can meet some nice gentleman prepared to marry my favourite daughter."
"I'm your only daughter and no, I'm not even close to being married."
"You're running out of time Emily. When am I ever going to get any grandchildren to spoil?"
She didn't answer him. He always asked these questions. She always gave him evasive answers.
"Daddy can we not talk about that." She asked. "You know my answer." He sighed.
"I only want the best for you, Emily."
"I know."
*~*
Hotch was in his office, getting ready for the morning meeting when he saw two men come up to Emily's desk. They spoke a few words, and she left with them. That was extremely strange. He did not recognize those agents. He watched JJ rush from her office to the stairwell Hotch was standing at.
"Hotch." She said breathlessly.
"What?"
"Emily's fathers plane crashed last night. No survivors. Strauss is telling Emily now. I thought you should know. They think it might be a professional hit." She informed.
*~*
So a whole chapter dedicated to Hotch/Prentiss. Thanks to who reviewed or gave me an alert. Don't forget to review this time and tell me whether you'd like a baby girl or baby boy!