Chapter 23

Two days later Kahlan and Wyatt went back to South Dakota to get their things packed. Hotch and his team ended up being in Georgia for six days. Once they were home again, Hotch took Jack to the park. Jack was trying to teach his dad how to roll the ball up his leg, but Hotch wasn't paying attention well enough to really get the move down. He kept feeling like he was being watched, but every discrete look around the park never revealed anyone who seemed to be focused on him or his son. Hotch tried to shake the feeling off, but his gut was warning him. Jack would have said his 'Spidey Senses were tingling', and while he couldn't figure out exactly what it was that was bothering him, he still cut the trip short. When Jack complained about it, Hotch promised ice cream for dessert, so Jack agreed with a smile.

The next morning, as Hotch was taking Jack to school, he thought he noticed an SUV following him. Two turns away from the school, though, it went in another direction. Hotch shook his head. He told himself that he was just being paranoid, but his gut laughed at that. Once he pulled off the street into the parking garage, he saw the SUV drive past. You don't even know if it was the same one, he tried to tell himself, but his hand unconsciously went to his pistol as he got out of his car and started for the building.

Within thirty minutes they had another case. A serial killer was targeting gang members in Denver, Colorado, and while the police weren't upset about it; they were worried about an all-out gang war starting, so the team was on the jet within twenty minutes.

After three days and only two more bodies, they solved the case and were heading back home. It was after 10:00, so Hotch asked Jessica if Jack could stay the night. She agreed and Hotch joined most of the team for drinks at their favorite bar. Well into his second drink, Hotch's gut was warning him again. The hair stood up on the back of his neck as he felt someone watching him. He took a quick look around, but he couldn't see anyone that was showing him too much attention. Morgan nudged his arm, and Hotch looked at him questioningly. He noticed everyone had stopped talking. "I'm sorry. What?" he asked as he looked at the team.

JJ laughed at him. "Wow. Kahlan got you daydreaming?"

"Huh? No."

It was Morgan's turn to laugh. "Yeah, right."

Rossi noticed Hotch's unusual behavior. "Leave him alone. You know he doesn't kiss and tell," Rossi joked with them. He got up to get them another round and told Hotch to come and help carry the drinks. As they walked away from the table, the teamed laughed. Once they were out of earshot Rossi looked at Hotch. "What's wrong?"

Hotch tried to laugh it off, but he could tell Rossi wasn't having any of it. "It's probably nothing."

"What would 'it' be?"

"I keep feeling like I'm being watched," he told him and explained about the park and everything else.

"But you haven't been able to actually see anyone?" Rossi knew Hotch's senses were good, and it worried him that Hotch was worried.

"No. It's just a feeling so far," Hotch told him as they made to the bar.

Rossi ordered the round and they carried the drinks back to the table. A slow song started and Rossi smiled at JJ. "Give an old man a twirl around the dance floor," he asked her.

She shot Garcia a look but said yes and accepted his hand and moved to the dance floor. The rest of the table laughed as they watched them go.

Rossi's plan worked, though, as he noticed a tall muscular man watching the team a little too closely. "You have your phone on you?" he asked JJ while they danced.

"Of course," she told him a little apprehensively. "Why?"

"See that guy in the black leather jacket at the table by the bar?" he asked her as he turned to let her look without being obvious.

"Yep," she told him as he turned her again.

"Think you can get a picture of his face without him seeing?"

"Oh yeah. Do I want to know why?"

"Don't know yet."

They went back to the table and the next fast song had Garcia jumping up and grabbing JJ and Morgan and dragging them to the dance floor. JJ used that opportunity to get a good picture of the man Rossi had pointed out. Hotch excused himself to use the restroom, and Rossi noticed the man watching Hotch. Rossi held his breath as he wondered if the man was going to follow Hotch, but he didn't so Rossi relaxed a little.

"So?" Hotch asked when he came back. He knew Rossi had been watching the crowd.

"He's seems more interested in you than in the team as a whole. JJ should have a couple pictures of him by the time that song gets done."

Hotch nodded. "Which one is it?"

"The guy in the black leather jacket at the high top by the bar," Rossi told him with a laugh as cover.

"Think I should go bump into him?" Hotch asked with an evil grin.

Rossi looked around. "Too late."

Hotch turned to see the back of the man as he left the bar. "Maybe we were wrong," he mused.

As the dancers rejoined the table JJ shot Rossi a look. Rossi just shrugged.

XXX

They didn't have any time to do anything about Hotch's growing concern as they got a case the next morning. The new case took them to New York City. Someone was targeting lawyers and three were already dead, so they asked for the BAU's help because of the brutality of the crimes. As Hotch stood examining a new crime scene, he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He paused in his verbal account of the crime and looked around. There were a lot of people gathered at the end of the alley behind the yellow crime scene tape. Hotch didn't want to be too obvious about it, and the quick search didn't reveal anyone he recognized. He tried to ignore the feeling and concentrated on the task at hand.

A man put the binoculars down that he had been using to watch Hotch. He was impressed that the agent always seemed to be able to tell when he was being watched. Being impressed, though, didn't matter him. He would soon find out how good of agent he actually was. He smiled. He wasn't sure where or when he would confront the man, but he was looking forward to it. He flipped a knife in his hand and walked away from the window.

Hotch worried that whoever was watching him was responsible for the murders. It was the first time he felt it away from home, and he didn't like the coincidence of lawyers being killed. It wasn't a secret that Hotch got his start in the justice system.

The next morning, Hotch's feeling doubled as he and Rossi looked at the newest victim. The man lying in a dirty alley with his intestines sprawled on the ground around him looked an awful lot like Hotch. Hotch tried to ignore the likeness as he worked the scene. Rossi, picked up on his worry, though, and made sure Hotch was never alone again. Later, when Reid joked about the resemblance, he almost choked on his drink of coffee at the look Hotch gave him.

JJ and Blake shared a look.

After hours of looking over evidence and files they decided to call it a night. As they walked to their SUVs Hotch noticed someone step back into the shadows of the parking lot. He wasn't the only one to see it as Morgan took out his pistol and ran after the man into the shadows. "Morgan," JJ called after him as they all drew their weapons and raced after Morgan. After a few turns they all came to a stop when they found Morgan looking flabbergasted at the dead end he had ran into.

"I saw him run this way," Morgan explained when they came up to him. "It's like he just disappeared."

Hotch looked around at the tall buildings that had formed the dead end. A dumpster, a few boxes, and some trash were the only things around.

"Could he have climbed that?" Reid asked as he pointed to a fire escape ladder that was a good six feet above the dumpster.

"Well, if he did, he's got way madder skills than I do," Morgan told him as he put his gun away and started back towards the SUVs.

Hotch shook his head and started to follow him. He stopped as soon as his neck started prickling. He slowly searched the roof tops. He wouldn't have been able to see anyone in the dark, but he still looked.

Rossi put his hand on his shoulder. "Come on," he told him but didn't leave until Hotch was walking in front of him.

XXX

It took them three more days to finally catch the unsub, but they caught him red handed. They all knew, though, that it was not the man from the parking lot. Once the case was wrapped up, they had the night to spend on the town. While they were in New York City, and they normally loved to spend off time enjoying the city, Hotch's mood had rubbed off on them. Instead of going out and partying separately, they were sharing a quiet dinner in the back of a local restaurant together as his team silently circled the wagons around their boss.

"So you think this son of a bitch is following you?" Morgan asked him.

Hotch told them about what had happened since the park. Garcia had tried running facial recognition on the pictures JJ provided, but she had come up empty.

"Any idea why?" Reid asked him.

"None, and that's what has me worried the most."

"At least you can assume he's not after Jack since he has followed you here," JJ pointed out.

Hotch nodded his agreement as he had also came to the same conclusion.

"It is just me, or does it seem kind of funny that he showed up since Kahlan's been here?" Blake asked.

"She was here before," Reid pointed out.

Hotch shared a look with Rossi. They hadn't shared Kahlan's history with the team. Hotch figured if she wanted to share it with them, she would tell them. He didn't want to admit that Blake may be right, especially since they all knew the man had disappeared out of a dead end that no normal person should have been able to do. He silently wondered if Kahlan would have been able to.

"But he hasn't made any threats or anything toward you," JJ pointed out. "Not that being watched isn't extremely creepy, but maybe he isn't really a threat."

"That or he's just waiting to get you alone," Morgan told him in a tone that said he wasn't going to be let Hotch find out the hard way.

"This could all just be me overacting. I don't have any proof that I am even being watched," Hotch pointed out.

"Then who was that back at the parking lot?" Morgan asked defiantly.

"Hell, for all we know it was just some dealer that took off because he was suddenly faced with six FBI agents," Rossi pointed out. He knew Hotch was not liking the attention his team seemed bent on giving him.

"You all go. Have your fun, and I'll see you in the morning at the hotel. Jet leaves at 9:00," Hotch told them as he got up to leave the table. They started to protest, but he stopped them with a hand. "I do not need a babysitter, especially five of them."

Morgan shot Rossi a look. "Go," is all he told them, and Morgan knew Rossi had no plans of leaving Hotch alone.

They bid him goodnight and Morgan herded them out of the restaurant.

"Damn, now I even have the team paranoid," Hotch told Rossi as they walked back to the hotel.

"They care, Aaron. There's nothing wrong with that." Rossi didn't need to point out that the last person watching Hotch was Foyet.