A/N: I've added small details and rewritten some stuff here as well. The chapter is mostly case-related. All mistakes belong to me. Please review and tell me what you think!
"What is your interest in this case anyway Mulder?" Scully asked once they were back in the car, after having looked at the crime scene.
"Did you see those marks on the chest? Someone ripped their hearts out with their bare hands. I'm betting that it was used in some kind of ritual. I have multiple cases, happening all over the country, always the same: five victims buried in a row, hearts missing, and no clues of anything. Then nothing for about 2 years, until it shows up again in another state, another town. The connection were never made because it happened in different state jurisdictions."
"And you suspect witchcraft?" she deadpanned, obviously not buying his theory for a second. You could almost see her eyes rolling already.
"It would explain the strength it takes to rip a heart out, the unexplained circumstances of their disappearing, why nobody has seen or heard anything. These crimes dates over a 100 years back."
"If it's true that this is in some way cult related, which I'm not saying that it is, wouldn't it be possible that it's their children continuing where their parents left off? And why the 2 years cooling off period?"
"I don't know yet Scully. That's why we're here."
"Nobody knows anything, or at least they aren't willing to talk." Morgan said dejectedly when he walked into the room the police department had granted them during their stay. They had decided to all meet up and share notes on the case, to determine what to do next.
"Who is this?" Morgan asked when he saw the new addition to the group.
"Morgan, these are agents Scully and Mulder. They're with The X Files department in the FBI; they've come to help us with the case." Hotch answered, as Morgan shook their hands. "This is special agent Morgan and these are agents Rossi, Jareau and Doctor Reid. Prentiss you've already met." He figured he might as well get introductions over with now, rather than later.
Mulder and Scully's eyes slowly went over the crowd, nodding their hellos. Scully took in all the different people around her. They were a lot more colorful than what she had expected, a more diverse group. She could see how each and every one could have their own role. You had the more buff looking Morgan, the older and more experienced Rossi, the friendly and calm Jareau and the nerdy looking Doctor Reid. Hotch, the leader. Of course it was all guess work on her side, but she could see the way they interacted with each other. She could see how this could work great together in solving different cases. When her eyes finally came to Prentiss, their eyes met and she paused there, looking still curiously at her for maybe a second too long, before returning her gaze back at agent Hotchner. For some reason this agent Prentiss seemed to mystify her. She wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or not and what to do about it.
"Spooky Mulder?" Morgan asked with a smile on his face, looking over at Emily, who nodded discreetly, her own smile showing. Scully suddenly thought that this might be a long day if everybody decided to fangirl over Mulder. "It's a pleasure sir, we've heard a lot about you." He said, with the same excitement as Prentiss had had earlier.
"So I gather." Mulder said, smiling at Scully, not sure whether to be amused or concerned about the rumors at the academy, but not wanting to make any big deal out of it. As long as they could separate rumors from reality they wouldn't have a problem.
"Right now, they are only here to help solve the case, if the things agent Mulder says holds any kind of truth, we could be looking at the possibility of 2 more bodies turning up."
Hotch knew that most of the team wouldn't believe in Mulder's theories, but they let him present his material anyway and let him help lead on the case. Even if they could handle the case by themselves, it never hurt to have help, and with The X Files success rate and the fact that they consisted of only two people and not an entire new team, chances were that internal problems might be avoided and that they could get the case over with more quickly.
"We have the autopsy back from the victims." Prentiss said, looking over her folder. They had gotten the news from the coroner on the way back in the car. JJ was handing the paperwork around, but Prentiss had already taken the trouble of reading it over herself. "The bodies dates a bit over 3 weeks back, the newest being only around 1 day old. This means that have about a week before another body turns up. It seems that all victims had moderate to high alcohol levels in their systems, as well as larger traces of cannabis. Nothing lethal though. They only found traces of distilled kumis, which is a drink derived from fermented mare's milk, mostly found in Central Asia." Prentiss looked up from the paper she was reading from. "This could support the theory of some sort of ritual."
"Distilled kumis and cannabis, that sounds like something that would have occurred amongst the Scythians in the 5th-Centry BC, not some sort of modern ritual." Reid jumped in.
"But that wouldn't make sense. According to Herodotus a Scythian sacrifice with include strangulation, flaying of the skin and boiling of the flesh. Nothing like this." Mulder said, not quite sure what to make of things anymore.
"Maybe it's some sort of new interpretation of the old religion." Emily looked to Mulder as she spoke, while Scully looked at Emily in disbelief. Was she trying to help Mulder out on his theories?
The whole room seemed to be silent as all eyes went to Prentiss and Mulder. Were they really taking all this into consideration?
"Maybe it has some other sort of significance, drugging their victims to make them more suppliant? Maybe we should be looking at places like bars as a possible pick up place?" Morgan said to ease the growing tension in the room, trying to find a middle ground some place.
"How far are we on the map?" Hotch said, promptly changing the subject.
"I have narrowed it down to be in the area of The Valley so far." Reid informed, nodding his head as he looked to Hotch.
"We've tried to talk to families of the victims, but without much luck. Most of them had little to no contact with their families." Morgan continued.
"Do we know if this was any kind of hate crime? I could only imagine a place like this getting a lot of attention." Scully jumped in. Morgan looked at her for a silent second, not sure how keen he was on these new agents jumping this much in, before answering.
"It seems like all of these men were straight, had a reputation in town as skirt hunters. None of them resided in The Valley. Two of the victims were on the road, while the last guy was a newcomer to Salisbury, just moved in about 2 weeks ago. He's also the most recent of the victims. Plus, there's no signs of overkill or violence. This unsub knew what he was doing. Everything indicates planning, experience. And the way the ways the bodies are posed indicates signs or remorse, not hatred."
"Have you tried to talk to any of the citizens in The Valley, asked if they'd seen or heard anything?" Scully asked. Emily registered Morgan beginning to reply, but her eyes were momentarily fixated on the redhead. She was fascinated with how she was able to speak so casually with the team, as if she was already a part of it. Most of the police officers they worked with were more conscious about asking too many questions or demanding too much during the first meeting. Emily turned her attention back to Morgan's reply.
"Yes, but none of them are too keen on talking with outside law enforcement. It's going to be hard to get anything from them."
"Sheriff Brown said that most of the people come here to get away from their home towns, meaning that some if not most is going to have had bad experiences with the justice system. It only makes sense that they don't feel like helping outsiders snoop around in what's supposed to be a safe haven for them." Prentiss added.
"What if we send an undercover agent inside?" Mulder asked, gaining the attention of the group.
"Isn't that a bit drastic?" JJ said, not sure where this was going. Normally undercover agents were only used for longer investigation, not for cases like this.
"It would make sense." Reid supported Mulder. "If the general opinion is that foreigners from the law enforcement means bad news, it would be hard for us to get them to cooperate. Moreover, if the cult theory is true, they are not going to give anything up unless we earn their trust. The best way to do that could be by sending one or two agents in. Even better, if we had someone going together as a supposedly homosexual couple, the community would welcome them as one of their own, so to speak, and be faster at opening up to help us in the right direction. Maybe a female couple. Women are usually quicker at earning trust and pose less of a threat."
"What about Prentiss and JJ?" Morgan suggested.
"No, we need JJ here to handle the press; and she's also not a trained field agent." Hotch replied. Mulder slightly pushed Scully with his elbow, signaling her to jump in any time.
"I- I'll go." She stuttered quickly, maybe a bit too quickly, but it was too late to change now. She quietly touched the table for a second before straightening up. "I mean, I'm a trained agent, I can handle it. That is, if you don't mind?" she asked, looking over at Prentiss, not so much asking as stating. Her heart was beating slightly faster, but her confidence was in order. All this, the team, Prentiss, the working together (especially undercover), it was still very new and she hadn't quite figured out her place in it yet.
"Not at all." Prentiss answered. She had a calm and slightly curious smile on her face. It had a very reassuring effect on Scully, which she appreciated.
"Have you ever had any undercover experience before, agent Scully?" Hotch asked, considering the new plan.
"Yes, it's not a problem."
Hotch knew that an insider might end up being helpful in the long run and that they were enough people in the team to continue with the profile as on any other case. Especially with an extra addition to the team. He too had heard of Mulder, and knew that he had a background in profiling, which would only be helpful to them.
"Good, then I guess it's settled. The rest of the team will stay here and continue the investigation as normally. I will talk to Sheriff Brown about getting you settled in somewhere and possibly move either tonight or tomorrow. I want you to be wired when going out and report back as soon as you have anything. If they stick with the MO, we have about a week before they kill again. I want you to snoop around as much as possible, get to know these people and their stories. The key is to fit in as much as possible. I'll get Garcia to create a new ID for both of you." Hotch stated, ending the conversation.
"It's going to be a pleasure getting to know you better." Emily told Scully, when all of them got up. Her smile was impeccable and was that a faint blush on her cheeks? Scully was sure she must be imagining things.
"I just hope we can help catch these killers." Scully replied, a faint smile on her own lips, before they exited the room.
While Emily went off with the rest of her team, Scully joined Mulder to get to their car so they could retrieve their stuff. Scully was completely stuck in her head, trying to imagine what the future days might bring. What would it be like, to be so close to the other woman, trying to fake a relationship? Were there any sort of differences between a hetero relationship and a homosexual one that she should know about? All she kept seeing in front of her was Prentiss's brilliant smile.
"Getting excited about your new love interest, Scully?" Mulder teased, looking at with an almost mocking smile.
"Keep dreaming Mulder." She replied with sarcasm, a curious smile tainting her lips. This might be interesting.