The dawn was approaching quickly as Deeks, Emily and the rest of the BAU team moved through the woods, going to the cross location on the map. Deeks was the only cop with them. Emily could feel Goosebumps on her back as she moved through the woods with her hand close to her Glock 17 in case something alarmed her, there was just something about the wilderness far away from civilization that just spooked her to no end, especially if it' the kind James likes.

She could see in to part of James's mind. She had known him for only a year then most of another, but it was enough for her now with her profiling skills to understand a few things. When he was a kid he probably treated the hunting grounds that were closest to Seattle like his own haven from the problems he had at home. He feels alone, secluded and safe from a world he had come to loath. From the moment when they first met each other years ago when they were young adults. Emily knew, she could see it, the way he treated people, how he kept people at an arm's length, even his older brother. Once James got to know Emily better, he told her lots of things about himself, but there were some things about James that he never told her about, like what happened between him and his parents or his little brother Scott.

As they continued to walk through the woods, Deeks took a notice to Prentiss in her deep train of thought as she moved through the woods in a very alert matter and asks "So… Prentiss, you got something on your mind?"

"Huh?" Emily asks, coming out of her complete focus in her thoughts. Deeks then says "You seem a little distracted."

"Just thinking about this place, how James always seems to be attracted to places like this." Emily says, only giving half of her thoughts out in the open while withholding the other half to herself, keeping her cards close to the chest, unsure if she could truly trust Deeks with his information. He then asks "So how is it you know Greaves so well?"

Emily took a look at Deeks, unsure of what his intention was in the question and asks "What makes you think I know him at all?" to which Deeks replies "Look I know you feds like to think you know what's best but don't try the whole need to know basis bull shit with me. I saw the recording from when you interviewed him; it was like watching a friendly conversation between two old friends."

"You really want to know or are you just fishing?" Emily asks, making her uncertainty of the detective clear and he in turn makes his intentions clear "I just want to make sure I trust the right people with this one."

"So you want to know if you can trust us with this, and to do that you need to know Prentiss's relationship with James." Morgan asks sarcastically and Emily decides to let it out now then later, thinking it be better for the rest of the team to know now and not risk any more problems than they already had "He is, was my Fiancée when I was a college student."

Deeks was surprised by her statement, not as much as the rest of the team excluding J.J. who were flabbergasted at the sound of hearing Prentiss say she was engaged, something she never once brought up in the years that they had worked with her.

Deeks himself did not know much about James, he had known him a bit after he first transferred to Parker one year ago. He then hears Prentiss ask "What about you? You don't seem to be close to James, but you certainly seem to hate him or think he's the killer. So why do you think he's innocent?"

Deeks took a moment to sigh as he gathered his thoughts before saying "I transferred here a year ago from Chicago a year ago. I was on my seventh day when they brought Greaves in. Stabler's partner Beck brought this mechanic in from this new salvage yard. Dragged him from his home in the middle of the night, accused him of raping a woman that had been found dead a few hours earlier. His partner was no better than him, a fanatic on a witch hunt looking for someone to blame, she constantly took a crack at him on any case. They kept him in there for two days, no recording of the interviews, refused to let him see a lawyer. When they eventually were told to let him go I took him back to his home, but he was quiet the whole way, eventually I got to know him better as he was brought back in more and more, he is a good guy; never hurt anyone who didn't deserve it."

"What happened to Stabler's old partner?" Hotchner asks and Deeks replies "One day Beck went too far, she repeatedly denied him the right to a lawyer and eventually he wound up being physically assaulted by the cop so I eventually reported her to internal affairs. She lost her badge and was charged with multiple crimes before going to jail. Unfortunately I ended up taking her spot when I was promoted to detective."

"You know, most would probably see what you did as being no better than Benedict Arnold." Morgan says, reflecting on his own time as a cop himself and Deeks says "Well if I'm a traitor what does that make Beck and Stabler, huh Chrome dome? Criminals, tortures, monsters?" Deeks then took a moment to calm down before looking onward in the wilderness as he walked and he says "Look, I'm not proud of what I did, but people like them are the reason people don't trust cop that much anymore. Unless you show them that not all of us are like that they'll never fully trust us."

There was another moment of silence before Morgan asks another question "Did You say that you were from Chicago?" to which Deeks replies "Yeah, transferred here a year ago." Then Morgan asks "Why?"

"I grew up in small towns like Parker."

"How well do you know James?" Emily asks with her own question and he replies with a blank expression "Not that well, from time to time when I first moved here I went on hunting trips with him and a few of the other hunters, we're sort of friends but he doesn't talk that much about himself."

"Yeah he does that, although I never took for the Navy type, I always had him pegged for the army man type of guy-"

Suddenly they hear a gunshot and Deeks asks "What the hell was that?" Prentiss then takes hold of Her Glock 17 as do the rest of the team with their weapons and says "Let's go find out."

A couple of minutes earlier

James sat against the tree of the camp site he and Steve had set up. His rifle was at a distance from himself with only his concealed M1911 in the back of his pants, covered by his olive green jacket, for self defense. Steve was on the other side of the fire still finishing what was left of his meal as James was preoccupied with his reading.

In James hand he held one of his favorite books Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. The book was like a trip down memory lane for him. The book had been one of his most prized possessions throughout his life growing up, it had been a gift from his older brother Nolan back when they were still kids and got along better than they do now, and he then later on in life before running away gave a copy to his younger brother Scott as a birthday present. He could even remember how his grandfather, the first James Greaves that he was named after, would often read books like this one along with other Steinbeck and Arthur Miller's the Crucible.

Steve took a look across from his food, cook squirrel meat, as James was reading, his Winchester rifle by him, he noticed how James seemed to enjoy reading the book like a teenager enjoyed playing video games and asks "Hey James, what is it with you and that book any way?" then follows up by says "You treat it like it's the freaking Holy Grail of books."

James then took a break from the book to respond "When I was a kid, my older brother Nolan gave me this book for my fifteenth birthday. My Grandpa used to read it to me when I was a kid having trouble going to sleep. Later on when my parents were getting divorced I came out to a hunting ground like this one near Seattle with a similar book, I would read it and all my troubles melted away for a moment, and everything was okay for a bit. Plus it's a classic."

"No, To kill a mockingbird was a classic." Steve argued in replacement of a reply and then James replies in kind right back "I never got why people liked that book so much. An innocent man went to jail after a bull shit trial and then was killed, and then the real bad guy was killed by the quiet creepy guy while attacking the Lawyer's son." James and Steve then exchanged a few witty replies before they were finally done. He then resumed reading his book before hearing Steve ask "So Greaves, who was that lady you were talking to the night before?" James then drops his book in annoyance and say "What is it everyone in this town and asking about every beautiful woman I talk to?"

"Small town. Your business is everyone's business." Steve says, bringing up the general rule and penalty of living in a small town where people with almost nothing to do with their lives is gossip if they do not have any work to do or personnel business of their own. It was a policy he despised and loathed to no end. "She's no one Steve, just this girl I was in a relationship with years ago." James says, trying to blow Steve's attention away from Emily, it doesn't work. Steve could see he was lying on one part of his words and telling the truth on the other and says "Nice lie, mind telling me the real version."

James sighs before telling himself Might as well. He then says "Back when I was working this mechanic job in New Haven I came across this Yale student, I met up with my Brother at this party on his street and him and his girlfriend introduced to this beautiful young woman named Emily, she was funny, witty, had a mind of her own, she was perfect. We were together for about a year when we were engaged then things fell apart and I joined the Navy Seals."

Steve was surprised by the story, but before he could respond they both hear a familiar and hated voice say "Well that certainly explains a lot about you."

They both turn, look and behold Detective Stabler stood with his Glock 17 raised, James reached for his rifle but Stabler took a shot in front of his hand causing dirt to shoot up and says "Don't think about it Greaves."

James then says "Detective Stabler, still as pathetic as ever." To which the bastard detective replies "You would know all about pathetic, your nothing but a murder, a rapist and a low life whose life amounts to nothing." James then decides to attack the detective with words rather than bullets or fists "And you're a self righteous son of a bitch who's a fanatic like your old partner, you put your work before your marriage, you blame me for everything bad that has happened in your life, the things that were your entirely fault."

Stabler then fires another shot over James head, causing pieces of tree to fall down on him. James did not even flinch for a second, then without hesitation he took a rock and threw it at Stabler, hitting him on the head and knocking him to the ground. James then kicks the detective's gun to the side and punches him across face when he tries to get back up.

Before James had any more time to decide what to do with Stabler he hears the click of a gun and then a voice say "James Greaves, put your hands in the air and get down on your knees." He looks in the direction and sees the BAU and Deeks, he considered just surrendering, but then the idea came that they would just arrest him and he would go to jail for a crime he did not commit and justly assaulting Stabler who started the whole thing.

Without consideration to either he bolted away from them all, heading into the darkness of the forest with Emily and Deeks the first to chase after him.