When Hotch gets the okay the plane can take off, he grabs his briefcase and go bag. He walks into the bullpen. "Wheels up in 10," he reminds everyone as he heads out.
Emily slides the file she is working on in her briefcase and disconnects her laptop from its docking station. She stands to get it put away.
"Reid, can I hitch a ride to the airstrip?"
He nods. "Works for me."
"Great. Meet you in the lobby. Jen is down with Garcia looking over preliminary info for us."
Reid nods as Emily grabs her bags and goes out the bullpen door. She walks up to the analyst's office and hears giggling, followed by Garcia's astounded voice.
"It's like a frackin' aerobics class in there, Jayje! How fucking weird is that?"
JJ laughs. "Very. I mean, it was strange with Henry but with two it's even crazier. I hope they are just jockeying for position and not fighting."
Emily watches from the door as the two blondes watch the strange undulations of JJ's stomach as the twins are having a rather active moment. Garcia shakes her head in awe.
"That is so amazing, Jayje. I can't wait to have babies."
JJ smiles, rubbing her stomach as the twins calm down. "There really is nothing else like it, Pen. God, I'm so…so…"
"Beautiful," Emily supplies from the doorway.
JJ turns to her, beaming. "Charmer."
Emily shrugs happily. "Honest."
"She's right, Jayje. You're so glowy and preggy and pretty," Garcia agrees.
"Thanks, guys, you know how to make a bloated woman feel better." She studies her wife. "So, looks like you're ready to go?"
"Yep. Less than 10 minutes. Reid's giving me a ride over but I wanted to say a proper goodbye to you."
JJ stands. "Brilliant idea, Agent Prentiss."
Emily pulls her close. "Thank you again for staying behind."
"No thanks needed. Thank you for forgiving my outburst. I love you, Em." She pats her stomach. "And these two love their Mama."
Emily rubs JJ's tummy. "I love all three of you so much. Give Rocky and Henry hugs for me."
"You know I will. Be safe."
"Always."
"Riiiight. Oh, and try not to get arrested this trip?"
Emily pretends to sulk. "Geez, Jen, you steal all my fun."
JJ just rolls her eyes and pulls Emily into a deep kiss. When it ends, JJ strokes a hand down her wife's cheek.
"I love you, Em."
"Love you, too. Talk to you later."
"I look forward to it."
Emily gives Garcia a wave and goes out to meet Reid in the lobby. JJ drops back down into her chair with a forlorn sigh.
"Awww…you miss her already, don't you?"
JJ nods. "Yep. Pathetic, right?"
"Nope. Absotively awesome. So, help me with these searches and let's get our family back here quickly."
JJ nods and turns her attention to the computer she had been using before the twins got active. "Right. Let's see what we can find in the backgrounds of the victims."
Once the team is in the air, Hotch moves to the center to address everyone.
"It's a relatively quick flight. Let's hit the ground running. Morgan, the head of the bomb squad will meet you at the airstrip and take you where he has the bomb parts. Go over them looking for anything that can help us figure out the profile of this guy." Morgan nods. "Reid, coordinate with JJ. She's weeding through victimology to eliminate anything that isn't pertinent and trying to find what connects them. Work up a geoprofile with her so we can see if there is a way to get ahead of this guy. Prentiss, Rossi, talk to family members and start on people they work with. I'll be going to the police station to get with the spokeswoman. As you can imagine, she says she is in over her head with this case as she's never seen anything like it before. The media is using her inexperience to paint the police as incompetent. Tread lightly if you run into a reporter. Don't let them put doubt in the public's mind about the public safety." The agents all nods. "Any questions?"
"Is there still no contact between the bomber and media?" Reid asks.
"I talked to the chief to let him know we were in the air. So far nothing that he knows of. As I get to know some of the media contacts I'll press them about letting us know if they receive something and try to convince them not to just run with it to sell ads," Hotch replies.
Emily is studying the pictures of the bomb sites. "Can I just throw something out there for the masses to consider?" The others nod. "These explosions were pretty big if we're going with the theory the bomber is after specific people. A smaller charge would get the job done. But he or she is decimating not only the victim but everything around them." She looks up. "Are we sure the targets aren't the businesses versus the person on the package?"
"Then why address it to anyone in particular?" Rossi points out.
"Most of those offices would be towards the back or center of the businesses," Morgan notes. "Prentiss could be on to something. A package sitting up front wouldn't be as devastating as one placed towards the back of the business."
The profilers fall silent, all considering that angle. Hotch pulls out his phone. "Garcia, pull anything and everything you can find on the businesses themselves. Lawsuits, mergers, anything that would have made widespread news or just the business journals."
"Wow. That will be a lot. And who will be the lucky agent that receives this largess of information?" Garcia asks as she gets the search started.
"Send it to Prentiss. She loves looking through business news," he answers with a grin as she groans and glares at him.
"Tell Princess to get her cute little reading glasses cleaned and ready as the numbers of hits is already skyrocketing."
"She'll be thrilled," Hotch tells her with a smile. He pockets his phone.
"You know, I saved your ass by dealing with the wrath of JJ. This is cruel repayment, Bossman," Emily tells him.
Rossi just pats Emily's leg as the team falls silent to study more of the crime scene photos and determine what questions they need to ask once they hit the ground.
Morgan offers his hand to the man waiting by a police cruiser. "Derek Morgan."
"Before I shake that I want to know is your knowledge of bombs what you can read in books or do you really know what you're looking at?" the man demands to know.
Morgan gives the man a smile. "I was a Chicago cop before I went to the FBI Academy. I spent 2 years on the bomb squad. Trust me when I say I have a very personal knowledge of bombs and their makers."
"I see." The man studies him a second. He finally smiles and extends his hand. "Seth Lindall."
Morgan shakes his hand. "Good to meet you. Can I ask are you going to be this 'friendly' during the entire investigation?"
Seth chuckles. "Naw, I'll be friendlier. Just wanted to make sure you knew what you were doing from a practical standpoint and not a classroom standpoint. Did 4 years bomb removal in the Army and got sick of lieutenants fresh out of the Point coming in like they knew what they were doing because they read a book."
Morgan starts to chuckle. "I get that. I promise, I've seen bombs before and know what to look for to give us this guy's signature and how to use that to solidify our profile of him."
"Good. Then hop in and I'll take you down to our lab. Got all the bombs spread out and I've noticed something in all of them." He grins and stops Morgan's next statement. "But I know you want to see them yourself and see if you spot what I did. Will prove to me you know what you're doing."
Morgan chuckles and nods. "Sounds good. But when I prove I do, you owe me a coffee."
Seth nods. "Done."
The two get in the car and start for the lab. They haven't gone far when Seth gets a call.
"Sgt. Lindall," he answers. He groans. "Son of a fucking bitch. On our way." He hangs up and looks at Morgan. "Bomber struck again. Clothing store at a strip mall near the high school."
Morgan moans. He pulls out his phone and calls his boss. "Hotch? Change of plans. Bastard struck again."
JJ stares at the phone as if it will change what Emily has just told her. "Again? Already? Shit, that means he has a target list and the bombs ready to go. He's not going to be knocked off his schedule."
"Well deduced, Profiler Jareau. Hotch and Reid are on their way to the scene to confirm it's our guy. Let's face it, it's him," Emily says as she pinches the bridge of her nose. "Tell Garcia to add the store, its employees and their families to her searches. This guy is on a mission and we need to get a damn good idea of who is next on his hit list."
"Will do." JJ looks at the map she has up on a whiteboard. "I will say I don't see anything in the location of the strikes that speaks to a pattern or a comfort zone. Maybe Reid will but for me it looks so damn random it has to be about people, not locations."
"Good to know. We'll be in touch. Love you."
"Love you, too, Em."
JJ hangs up and stares at the map. In her mind she draws lines between the businesses and even between the homes of the victims and the businesses but sees no discernable pattern like they had in Seattle with the Santa killers.
"Nope. Nothing. At least not to a non-homicidal mind on a mission," she notes and grabs the next stack of papers so she can plot some other points of interest on the map.
Hotch and Reid stand beside the fire marshal. The man shakes his head.
"Been at this job 20 years. Only explosions I ever dealt with were kids with cherry bombs or idiots who set their gas can on fire somehow. Now suddenly four bombs in less than 2 weeks."
"Anything our labs can do to help you with processing the scene I can get you," Hotch offers.
The man shrugs. "Don't need help with the scene. Just damn tired of pulling the bodies out after the fact."
"Understandable. Any idea how many?"
"Not yet. Couple guys have reported in so I know at least 2. Hell, until the flames are extinguished and the bomb squad clears the scene we won't know for sure."
Reid frowns. "Is there any chance we can be there when you are allowed in the first time? It will help us see the dispersal pattern of the bomb and the damage it did, not to mention who was in its direct path."
Marshal shrugs. "Fine by me. I want this bastard found and found soon. Whatever we can do to help reach that end you have."
Hotch offers the man his hand. "Thank you."
He and Reid step away to survey the scene.
"Any feeling he's watching?" Hotch whispers.
Reid shakes his head. "I've been glancing around. If he's here he's where he can't be seen. No one is paying undue attention to the building or the first responders. Most people just seem shocked and a little excited."
Hotch sighs. "Kinda what I thought, too." He turns back to the business. "This makes no sense to me. A clothing store? It just doesn't seem…I don't know, as cutthroat as the others. A realtor, a tax firm, an office supply company…the heads of those businesses fight to get business and work their asses off to keep it. A clothing store relies on others, the whim of the fashion industry if you will, to determine their success."
"But it's a small boutique. If they did a lot of custom orders that could mean…" Reid trails off. "You're right. I can't see another boutique owner setting off a bomb just to get rid of competition."
"There has to be something in their backgrounds. Some connect." He pulls out his phone. "Garcia, how close are you to finishing the backgrounds on the boutique employees and owner?" He listens a second. "You have an hour. He's broken pattern by bombing early. The next bomb could come any minute. Finish it, get it to JJ and tell her to find the connection to the other three bombs sooner rather than later."
He hangs up and drops the phone in his pocket. He turns back to the smoking remains of the building.
"Why the acceleration?" Reid ponders.
"I have no fucking clue," Hotch admits with frustration.