Sorry this took so long. Hopefully it was worth the wait :)
The ride back to town was extraordinarily quiet with David glancing over at Karen with a tense expression on his face.
"What is it?" she asked quietly after she had caught one of his curious glances
"Nothing" he replied as he reached over and gently grasped her hand "I was just thinking about the case"
"I suppose it would be pointless to ask what the case is about."
"Unfortunately, yes. I can't really discuss the details yet" he said as they approached the parking structure.
"Instead of taking me to my car, would it be possible for you to just drop me at the door? I have a few loose ends to tie up before heading back home," she asked
"No problem" he replied as he turned into the circle drive
Once the car had come to a stop, Karen quickly unfastened her seatbelt and moved to open the door, but not before David had reached out and caught her arm
"I'm really sorry about this," he said apologetically
"No need for apologies. I better than anyone understand the nature of your job and its informational limitations," she said with a laugh "It was once my job to enforce those rules"
"I'll call you as soon as I can," he said leaning over and lightly kissing her cheek
"I'll be waiting, and David...Stay safe," she said as she got out of the car.
Rossi sat and watched as Karen disappeared into the building. He had to admit that she was a beautiful woman, and not just because she looked so damn much like Erin. There was something about her that immediately put him at ease. Erin was a strong willed, independent woman who usually got her way, but there was something about Karen he just could not put his finger on. Maybe it was the fact that they had both suffered tragic loss', maybe it was the fact that they both seemed to be at a crossroad in their lives, both trying to figure out where to go from here. He was abruptly pulled from his thoughts by the annoying ringing of his phone.
"Rossi" he said, sounding slightly annoyed at the interruption of his thoughts "Right...On my way. I should be there in ten minutes"
When Rossi entered the bullpen there was an eerie silence, as the team appeared to be thoroughly engrossed at whatever was on their tablets.
"Sorry I'm late" he said as he took his seat "What did I miss?"
Aaron was noticeably absent, meaning that the briefing had yet to begin.
"It's all there on your tablet" said Penelope with rather stoic expression "In the last seventy two hours, two bodies have been recovered in the DC area..."
"Nothing like a case in our own backyard" interrupted Rossi
"Yeah, well it gets weirder" she replied
"What's so weird about two bodies?"
"It's not just any two bodies..."
"Which is why we have been called in" relied Aaron as he entered the room with Chief Cruz close behind
"Good Afternoon" said Cruz as he stood in the back of the room "As you know two bodies have been recovered in the DC area. This alone does not warrant the involvement of the BAU, however the identities of the two individuals does. Both victims either worked for or were closely associated with a former National Security Advisor. In addition to the discovery of the bodies, there have been numerous threats against this particular individual..."
"Our job primary job is to evaluate these threats and build a profile..." interrupted Aaron
"What about the former Advisor?" asked Morgan "Shouldn't we be working on protecting this individual since all of the threats appear to be directed at them?"
"That duty has been tasked to the Department of Homeland Security. Our Job, as I stated earlier, is to determine who and why" said Cruz
"Due to the nature of this case, it is an "all hands on deck" situation. We will be working with the Metro DC police department, the FBI and possibly the CIA." replied Aaron in his usual no-nonsense, monotone voice "Reid, Alex...I want you to get to FBI Headquarters and analyze the written and audio threats. Morgan and JJ, I want you to go over the crime scenes and see what you can come up with, Dave you're with me"
"And just where are WE going?" asked Rossi
"To talk to the individual these threats are directed at"
"Which is?"
"That will be all," replied Aaron as he motioned for everyone to leave the room
As the team filed out of the office, it did not go unnoticed that the name of the target was not readily revealed.
"I wonder what that was all about?" said Agent Reid with a puzzled look
"Yeah. It's not like Hotch not to reveal critical details of a case" said Morgan as he looked back at the now closed door "Baby Girl, do you know who it is?"
"Unfortunately my little super sleuth, that information is above my clearance level" she replied with an equally puzzled look "But I could do a little poking around..."
As the last of the team filed out the door, Chief Cruz closed the door, leaving Hotch, Rossi and himself in the room.
"Anyone care to tell me why this case is veiled in secrecy?"
"I wanted to be the one to tell you who the target is" said Cruz "Given what happened to Erin, I thought it best to tell you personally"
"Tell me what? Erin is gone so the threats can't possibly be directed at her, besides she was never a National Security Advisor" replied Rossi suspiciously
"No, that's true, but Karen Buchannan was" said Hotch as he took a seat
"Karen? but she's been basically off the grid for a couple of years"
"She may not have been working, but she has never been "off" the grid so to speak, and given that there is talk that she may be asked to return...," replied Hotch
"Agent Rossi. As you know, part of your special mission was to determine if she had any interest in returning to her former position. That Particular bit of information was a closely guarded secret, or so we thought. Only a few people knew that the administration had any intention of contacting her about the position, and given what happened to Erin, I wasn't sure how you would react to Karen being a target..." said Cruz as he studied Rossi carefully
"Does she know about any of this?" he asked in a slightly demanding tone
"No, not yet. You and I are going to drive out to her house and explain the situation"
"Don't bother" interrupted Rossi "She isn't there"
"What do you mean she isn't there?"
"I just dropped her off at FBI headquarters. She said she had a few loose ends to tie up"
Cruz and Hotch exchanged concerned glances.
"You two had better get over there and speak to her, and make sure she understands the seriousness of the situation," said Cruz firmly
"Just how serious IS the situation, if I may ask?"
"Let's just say that she shouldn't be running around the city alone" said Hotch as he rose and headed toward the door. "Chief Cruz, could you call and have them detain her at the office," asked Hotch
"Will do," he said pulling out his phone
"Aaron, if the threats are that serious, why didn't you or Cruz just call and have me bring her here?" asked Rossi as they headed toward the parking garage
"Cruz didn't think that was a good idea...something about it being too much of a shock for the team. You wouldn't happen to know what he was talking about would you?"
Rossi thought for a moment before the realization hit him like a ton of bricks.
"We need the team to focus on the case and with Karen around...well let's just say that may be a bit difficult" replied Rossi as he picked up the pace to the car.
It was only a few blocks to the FBI building but as they neared the parking garage the immediately saw all of the fire trucks and ambulances, not to mention the every imaginable public safety vehicle within a five mile radius surrounding the structure. Rossi hardly waited for the car to come to a complete stop before he opened the door and ran thru the crowd, flashing his badge. Once inside the structure he was hit by the unmistakable smell of burnt rubber and fuel.
"Who is in charge here?' he asked one of the officers
"Agent Todd. He's over there with the whom we believe was to be the intended victim," replied the young officer as he pointed across the structure
David felt as though the air had been forcibly sucked from his lungs and the color drained from his face as Agent Todd moved aside just far enough for him to be able to see a visibly shaken Karen standing next to him. When Hotch reached him, Rossi was speechless as he stared across the garage. It was only when he followed Rossi's gaze that his own jaw dropped. "It can't be," he said as he stared in disbelief.
Karen was about to give her statement to Agent Todd when she looked up and her eyes immediately filled with tears as she pushed past him and nearly ran across the structure to David. Without even thinking, he opened his arms and pulled her to him as she buried her head in his shoulder and began to sob uncontrollably.
"It's alright Karen, I've got you," he said as he held her close
Aaron struggled to regain some sort of composure as he stared at the blonde woman clinging to Rossi for dear life.
"Dave...how?" was all he could manage to say
"We'll talk about it later. Let's get her out of here," said David as he turned and escorted Karen back to the car, leaving Aaron standing there, still in a state of shock.
To be continued...