HOTCH

He stayed well into the evening finishing every possible report that Strauss might ask for. He updated the Unit Chiefs for the other BAU teams and received nothing but total support and offers of further assistance from each of them. Hotch assured them it wasn't necessary, and they would most likely be back by the end of the next week. Rossi had reviewed the candidates and scribbled his thoughts in the file before grabbing his things and darting out the door. All that was left was for him to make the choice.

He packed the file in his briefcase and decided to do that tomorrow. It was late, and the toll of the last couple of days was finally hitting him. He switched off his desk lamp and stood, stretching his cramped muscles. In his pocket, his phone vibrated and a short ring filled the silence. He checked the number before answering.

"Hotchner."

"Hotch, it's Dan." The NTSB Chief didn't sound like himself, though Hotch couldn't blame him. Sifting through that kind of horror was bound to take its toll.

"Dan, I appreciate you calling with updates." Hotch remembered the call he'd placed to Fran Morgan earlier that morning. She'd been understandably upset when he'd told her that they'd found a handful of survivors, but none of them were her son. "It means a lot to me, and to my team."

"Well, I've got another one for you," he sounded tired. "I waited to call you before we were sure, but there's been a change in the case." He paused for a moment before taking an audible breath. "Hotch, we think someone crashed this plane intentionally."

Hotch sat back down, all traces of exhaustion evaporating instantly. His mind immediately shot back to the phone call he'd received yesterday and the woman who had insisted the very same thing. Should he have paid more attention to her? Taken her more seriously? Could he have made a grave mistake by dismissing her words as grief?

"Hotch?"

"Sorry," the agent shook his head. "Was it hijacked? Could it be another Flight 93?"

"We don't think so," Hotch heard the rustle of papers on the other end as Dan sifted through his notes. "Nothing in the logs indicate a hijacking - no pilot communication, no frantic phone calls from passengers, nothing. This is something I've never seen before."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, it means this investigation just got about a hundred times more difficult. It also means we have to coordinate with even more federal agencies." His intent was clear, but Hotch was already a step ahead.

"You think someone on the plane was the target." It wasn't a question; there were very few reasons to intentionally crash a plane. If it wasn't a hijacking, then the only reason to take one down in a sparsely populated area was to kill a passenger without causing too much collateral damage.

"I was hoping you and your team could come down here and figure out which one of these poor souls was worth crashing a plane for. And maybe find the sick son of a bitch who killed 108 people in the process." He sounded almost ashamed for having to ask, but Hotch knew that was probably because of Morgan. Having his team investigate this would be ethically irresponsible; he also knew once they knew the details there would be no stopping them. He thought back a few years to when Garcia had been shot, and how the entire team had rallied to catch the man before he could finish the job. Hotch himself had cleared their caseload, even being so bold as to refuse other cases until Garcia's attacker had been caught. He'd taken some heat from Strauss for that, and he knew he'd take even more for this. But there was no doubting the answer to Heffield's request.

"Give me a few hours to get the team together. I'll call you when we're leaving."

He called Chief Strauss first, dialing her cell and praying she hadn't gone to bed yet. She picked up on the third ring sounding alert but relaxed.

"Strauss." Hotch could hear voices in the background, and sighed inwardly.

"Ma'am, I apologize for calling so late. Details have come to my attention and I wanted to check in with you immediately."

"Is this about the crash?" The background noise disappeared, and he guessed she'd excused herself from her friends. Her voice had also lilted just a bit, and Hotch could hear the faint note of sympathy in her voice.

"Yes ma'am. I've been in contact with Colonel Dan Heffield at the NTSB to keep updated on the investigation. He's come across evidence that suggests the plane was crashed intentionally." He waited then, knowing the next words out of her mouth would either make or break his team's morale.

"Has he requested assistance?" She sounded wary, like she knew it was a bad idea but also knew there wasn't anything this team wouldn't do for one of their own.

"He has." He swallowed, then offered information that could damn him. "I should also tell you that I received a phone call yesterday from a young woman claiming that the plane had been crashed on purpose. At the time, I'd dismissed it as a loved one needing an outlet for her grief, but in light of this new information..."

"I would have made the same conclusion, Agent Hotchner," she dismissed his self-reprimand and paused, mulling over her decision. "In your opinion, will your team be of any assistance in this investigation? Are they too emotionally invested?"

"In my opinion, that will only make them better in this case." He knew he'd have to fight for this one, but there was no way he was letting this go.

"What if their personal attachment gets in the way? Can they be objective in this case?" She sounded worried, and he knew she was only asking the same questions any good supervisor would. They had to be so careful when they involved themselves in any case; personal involvement could skew observations and distort perceptions.

"With all due respect, ma'am, I think it would be inadvisable to let another team work on this case. If this plane was crashed intentionally, then that means someone on that plane was a target. Investigators will need to pinpoint which one, as well as motive, means, and suspects. And with respect to the other teams, there isn't a better group of individuals suited to the task. Or one more motivated."

"Very well," she consented, albeit reluctantly. "Gather your team and brief them. Will you be leaving tonight?"

"As soon as possible," he confirmed. "Thank you."

"You can thank me by finding the person responsible. I may have not always agreed with his methods, but Morgan was one of ours, Aaron. If your team can do this, then maybe we can all make a bit of sense from his death." She bid him goodnight after one more reminder to keep her updated. Hotch keyed his phone off and settled back down in his chair.

So much for going home tonight.