Chapter 6: Keep it in the family

Aaron Hotchner closed his eyes just a second before the door creaked open and Erin Strauss's blue eyes shot up from the file she was reading. Without a word, he penetrated in the office and closed the door behind him, standing somewhat awkwardly in the middle of the room, waiting for the Department chief to offer him a seat. The blonde held his gaze for a few more moments and Hotch almost expected flames to come out from behind her glasses and burn him down. Or maybe she would go for the slow way and torture him a few hours before putting an end to his sufferings. Either way, the man was going to endure it without even flinching.

"Sit down, Agent Hotchner."

"I thought I told you to keep me in the loop." She said, gathering the papers in front of her. Peering down, Hotch's eyes fell on similar pictures as he had taken with his own cell phone.

"I'm sorry, the night has been quite busy."

"So I hear."

Hotch waited for her to continue, expecting some more reprimands or maybe an order to get home and get his head off the case. Instead, she handed over the file for him to look at.

"I thought you might want to know the outcomes of the crime scene unit's work."

Raising an eyebrow at the extremely rare kindness she was showing, the dark-haired man looked at the few pictures and lab results.

"CSU found the man's fingerprints all over the place, including the murder weapon. Agent's Prentiss' own fingerprints were found on the knife, but it is believed that she killed the man in self-defense. I wanted you to know that she is no more considered as a suspect."

"I didn't know she had been." Hotch's voice was cold and unforgiving, although he had half expected this trick from the Bureau.

"We still need her statement to clear this up. I suppose you know about the girl."

Hotch didn't try to deny it, so he just nodded and held his direct superior's gaze, unsure about what she was thinking at the moment.

"Do you know where Agent Prentiss' is or the reason for her disappearance?"

"No, Ma'am. I haven't heard from her yet although I've tried all morning to reach her." The last part was true. Hotch had been dialing the well-known number every twenty minutes since he had left her apartment before it was even daylight, and Garcia had taken up when Hotch had been called to the chief's office.

"Well, let me know if you have any news regarding your agent. What is your team up to?" From the sarcastic tone in her voice, Hotch was very well aware that she knew about them working the case. How could they not? Since Erin Strauss had accompanied the team in the field and witnessed from the first row the warm bond tying the coworkers, she had become more understanding, although saying she had become humane still would be a gross exaggeration. Hotch knew however that he had to give her something. Otherwise she might snap and send them all home, refraining all access to the FBI database. This would help none of them, let alone Emily.

"We tried to dig into the victims' lives and discovered that the man – Jeffrey Richards – was a decorated prison guard. We think maybe it is one of the inmates we helped putting away who is behind all this."

Strauss nodded, not truly surprised at the news. Hotch was dismissed after promising to keep the blonde Department chief informed of their doings. Although homicide was still working the case, Strauss had agreed that no other case was sufficiently urgent to keep the team from giving a hand to find Emily Prentiss.

The brunette parked her rental car right in front of the roadside bar and walked into the old-fashioned place, heading straight to an isolated table without even looking up at the few men occupying the premises. She waited for the barman to come over and found herself hesitant on what to take. Her first thought had gone to a shot of vodka with orange juice, although it was not yet midday. Since it was her second sleepless day in a row, no hour was technically "too early" for this kind of drink. When the bold man came to stand over her, she changed her mind and ordered a tonic water, forcing a smile to make up for her cold attitude as she had penetrated in the bar. She had to keep her mind clear, she repeated to herself, getting Joseph Schrader's file out of her briefcase. Since she had left Washington DC, the brunette had held onto these few pages like a lifeline. It had brought her all the way to Kansas City and would help her find the man who had commanded her daughter's death. Emily drank a mouthful of her tonic water, swallowing quickly to fight off the tears that were welling up in her eyes. Although she usually was not a highly sensitive person, the short intrusion of Lizzie in her life had broken her ability to compartmentalize. Every time pictures of the young woman clutching her bloody throat would invade her, Emily had to fight the sobs willing to come out. Shaking her head as if it would help her to get rid of these dark thoughts, the brunette decided to concentrate on the list of addresses in front of her.

"Did the dragon let you out alive?" Morgan said, peering between the dark-haired man as he was walking back into the conference room.

"With the promise to keep her informed. Anything new?" Hotch's eyes went directly to Garcia, who was still concentrated on her screen. Since they didn't know where exactly Emily was nor whom she was looking for, there was no doubt that the technical analyst was their best asset for now.

"We found Blair Jeffrey's address. The man was released three months ago and moved not far from here, to Baltimore. Reid and Rossi are on their way to talk to him."

"JJ?"

"On the phone with Lizzie's parents. She should be back any time soon. But Hotch… watch this."

The supervisory agent came to stand behind the blonde to see what she was referring to. He couldn't help noticing the repeated glances Morgan shed him from the side. He hated the feeling of being watched by his coworkers, as though they were expecting him to crumble under the pressure. Frowning, Hotch crossed both arms over his chest and tried to concentrate on the video currently playing on Garcia's tiny computer screen.

"I hacked the surveillance system from the ATM near Emily's apartment building…"

"How did you hack it?... Never mind." Hotch shook away his excess of curiosity.

"To answer your question, Boss man, most systems are now managed from distance and can be traced back online. Anyway, I just wanted you to see… this."

To be honest, there was not much to be seen on this video. The angle was unfortunate, principally concentrating on the ATM, and the light was too dim to really recognize anything or anyone. However, Hotch followed Garcia's finger, pointed on a silhouette walking by the ATM. He took back the negative thoughts he had just had when he recognized Emily Prentiss. One hand pressed against her forehead, with blood seeping through her fingers, and the other clutching her handbag. She almost stumbled on her own feet at one point, and Hotch held his breath until she was out of sight and Garcia had turned off the video.

"She's hurt." This, and the state of shock betrayed by her body language, was the only detail he could retain from this footage.

"Well, I think we should concentrate on the positive: she made it out alive and wasn't abducted at gunpoint by some psycho." Garcia said, looking over her shoulder to Derek Morgan, in search of some optimism.

"Alright." Hotch said although his voice lacked belief and enthusiasm. Morgan frowned, wondering how much more time would pass by until the man would finally break down and let the others help.

"Well, keep on the good work. Garcia, I want you to stay on Emily's footsteps. Trace her cell, her credit card, everything you can think of. When JJ comes back from her phone call, send her to my office. I also have a phone call to make."

With that, Hotch left the room and walked through the bullpen to his own office, oblivious to the agents watching him pass by.