Hopefully this worked. I finally get back on track with the story and decides to act weird.
Attempting to leave the scene of a crime, even if you do have a badge with FBI stamped all over it is easier said than done when you are trying to take the only eyewitness with you. A still stunned Hotch stayed behind to sort out the details with a less than thrilled Agent Todd while Rossi tended to the intended victim.
"Stupid rookie mistake" muttered Rossi under his breath as they changed directions and were escorted back into the building and into the nearest empty office, giving them some much needed privacy
"Karen" he said quietly as he kept a firm, protective grip on her "Can you tell me what happened?"
"I don't really know," she said as she wiped away a tear with her trembling hand "I finished my business here and had just entered the parking structure. It was a bit cold so I pushed the auto-start button to warm up the car, but as soon as I pushed the button, there was a flash and a loud explosion and then smoke and alarms began to go off and...I...I...I'm sorry David I know that I'm rambling but, I just don't know what happened" she said looking up at him with a mixture of confusion, anger and fear in her eyes
"Shhh, its ok Karen" he said reaching to caress her cheek
"No! It's not ok" she said flatly "We need to find out who is responsible for this attack and..."
"We're already working on that," he said in an attempt to calm her
"We need to contact Homeland Security, they should take the lead and we need to alert..."
"Karen, it's already been done," he said, gently rubbing her back in an attempt to calm her down.
"And I think the BAU should start checking into any other possible threats against..."
"KAREN!" he said a bit more sternly than he had intended, causing her to jump and pull away
"It's already being done as we speak" Karen looked at Dave, suddenly realizing that he was THERE, but she hadn't called him. In fact, this was not the type of crisis that the BAU would normally be present at in its initial stages. Their presence would normally be requested later once the evidence had been collected.
"David" she said in a shaky and somewhat suspicious tone "Not that I mind, and I am certainly not complaining, but why are you here? I mean now, Why are you here now?"
"I was on my way to find you," he said quietly as he brushed a few stray strands of blonde hair out of her eyes, the concern in his eyes not going unnoticed
"But why?"
He was about to answer when he heard a light knock, followed by a collective, audible gasp from the doorway. David and Karen turned their attention to the door, only to be met by the exceptionally confused gaze of Agents Blake, Reid and Hotchner. Dave motioned for them to enter, sensing that this was going to take more than a quick introduction to relieve the awkwardness of the situation.
Alex felt as though she had been kicked in the stomach, while Reid shook his head in disbelief mixed with a hint of anger, both of which were completely understandable, given the incident of Agent Prentiss and her supposed death and reappearance, and Hotch did his best to maintain some sort of composure, but to be quite honest it was a losing battle.
Aaron was the first to speak, although it was quite a struggle to find the words, as the use of the English language seemed to have escaped him.
"Dave. How is this possible?" he said as he stared at Karen as though she were some sort of alien
"Hotch, it's not what you think" replied Rossi
"It seems pretty clear" interjected Reid, noticeably angry "But you would think after what happened with Prentiss..."
"It's not like that Reid," said Rossi defensively
"How could you not tell us?" whispered Alex as she stared at Karen for ANY sort of reaction
"I hate to tell you, but you've all got the wrong end of the stick," said Rossi, instinctively pulling Karen closer "I would like you all to meet Karen...Karen Hayes Buchannan" he said
Karen glanced back and forth between the agents and David with a look of confusion before she realized that THIS was his team...Erin's team, and then it all began to make perfect sense.
"I can only assume you are Erin's team," she said softly as they all continued to stare in silence
"Now you understand why bringing her to the office for questioning could create a bit of a distraction," said Rossi quietly
"Please forgive us for staring, it's just that you..." said Hotch apologetically
"Look like her" replied Karen, finishing his sentence "I can't tell you how many times I have heard that over the years"
"Then you knew her" said Alex skeptically
"Yes. I knew Erin Strauss, we were at the academy together" she replied quietly
"Now that you've all been introduced, Alex, what have you and Reid been able to decipher from the text and audio threats?" asked Dave in an attempt to change the subject
"Nothing really stands out that would point the threats in the direction of..."
"Karen...Please call me Karen"
"Karen, right, well as I was saying, the threats are rather juvenile and cryptic in origin. They reference the old adage hear no evil, see no evil speak no evil and a few random references of letting the dead stay dead but nothing that directly ties Karen to the unsub" replied Reid in an almost clinical tone
"That is because it was the victims and not the written threats that pointed in her direction" interrupted Hotch
"Victims? What victims?" asked Karen as she took a step forward
"We have two victims. The first is a Lesley Horton, and the second has been identified as Paul Mitchell"
Karen swayed a bit as she heard the names, causing David put his arm around her to keep her steady.
"You alright? Do you want to sit down?"
"No, I'm fine" she said weakly "Please continue"
"Both were found this morning in the DC area, although cause of death is still to be determined" concluded Hotch as he looked at the pained expression on Karen's Face
"Were they..." started Karen as she searched for the most tactful way to ask, "Were they damaged?"
"There was some mutilation," replied Reid quietly as he also noticed the pain and anguish now flashing across Karen's Face
"We don't need to go into that right now," said Rossi softly as he pulled Karen to him
"Dave is right. Once you have given your statement to Agent Todd, Homeland Security has orders to take you home and give you round the clock protection while we work out how to proceed from here with the evidence we have" said Hotch
"I'm going with her," said Rossi firmly as he narrowed his eyes
"Dave, can I have a word with you?" said Hotch in an equally firm tone
Dave placed a gentle kiss to Karen's forehead and unhappily released her to follow Hotch into the hall, closing the door behind him.
"Dave...What do you think you're doing?" asked Hotch
"Aaron. I lost Erin because I wasn't there to protect her. I'll be damned if I'm going to lose Karen the same way" he said sharply
"Look, I understand what you're saying..."
"Like hell you do! Come on Erin died in your arms...Do you really want a repeat of that situation?"
"I just hope you know what you're doing. Sometimes our personal feelings can get in the way of our ability to..."
"Yeah I know the drill. Believe me I WILL NOT make the same mistake this time," replied Dave as he turned to go back in the office
"I'll take Reid and Blake back with me. You two meet us at the office when you're finished. If we're going to keep her safe it's going to have to be a group effort, and part of that effort is going to be getting the rest of the team to accept her and look past her resemblance to Erin."
As the two men reentered the room, the tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Reid and Blake on one side of the office and Karen, standing uncomfortably on the other side with a look of total desperation on her face, a look that quickly dissipated as soon as David crossed the room and put his arm around her.
"Reid, Alex...you're with me, Dave...We'll see you back at the BAU and decided then what to do next" said Hotch in his usual no nonsense tone as he motioned for them to follow him
Once they were alone, Dave let out a long sigh.
"Well that went well," he said as he flashed a weak smile toward Karen
"Well what did you expect?" she said dryly "They loved and respected Erin, and here I come, looking like her...It's going to be hard for them..."
"They'll manage" he said pulling her to him "And I wouldn't necessarily say they loved Erin, at least not at first, but toward the end, they came to care a great deal about her," he said with a tremendous amount of sadness in his voice
"I'm sorry David...about all of this," she said as she leaned against him
"You have nothing to be sorry about" he replied as he lightly kissed her forehead "Come on, let's get this statement over with so we can get you out of here"
"David, if it's alright with you, I would like to call in some old friends to help" she said as more than a statement rather than asking permission "Why don't we see where the evidence leads us first?" he said guiding her out to meet Agent Todd.
To Be Continued...