I've been apart of the Gideon's team for exactly 21 hours and I was already late. Quickly, I hurried through the bull pen. I couldn't believe amidst my excitement the night before I hadn't set my alarm. I woke up twenty minutes late.
Ahead of me the door was closed and I cursed under my breath, readied myself for all the stares I was going to get and turned the knob. Just as I thought, everyone looked at me, but only for a split second as I averted my gaze and sat next to Garcia.
"Everyone, this Agent Elise Flynn she'll be joining us," Gideon introduced me and I shared a tight lipped smile with the voices who said their hellos.
I shouldn't have been late. I can't believe I was late. We've all worked in the bullpen together for a few years now so I shouldn't be this nervous, but I was. These people weren't new to me at all, well except Elle.
Garcia, next to me nudge my knee and smiled at me mouthing hello. I smiled back and turned my attention to the case. Agent Morgan glanced at me twice now-and I tried not to look at him again, but then he did it again. This time I held his gaze until Gideon spoke out.
"Flynn, what do you see?"
Now not only was the man who kept looking at me now actually looking at me, but so was everyone else. In the quick seconds I had before I had to answer Gideon, I noticed Agent Greenaway raise her eyebrow, Agent Reid just simply looked at me. J.J who I've spoken to a few times smiled what I believe to be a genuine smile, and Agent Hotchner just stared.
My eyes immediately went to the board. Scanning over the photos of the case.
"What is it you want to me to tell you?" I asked, hearing a scoff come from Agent Morgan's direction. I forced myself not to avert my eyes and just kept eye contact with Gideon.
"Do you want me to tell you that on the first victim he lost control, you can see that by the way the ligature marks on her neck are not consistent. He was more aggressive with the second and third victims. He keeps getting more and more aggressive with each victim. He also has either a limp or is carrying a second fire arm," In this moment I looked around to see faces that weren't judging me, but faces that seemed amazed.
"You got all that from looking at those photos for just a few seconds?" Agent Morgan asked me leaning forward,"Hot damn, Reid you may have competition," Agent Morgan winked at me before slapping Agent Reid's arm who looked a bit uncomfortable.
"I'm not here to be of competition," I shot back eyeing Agent Morgan who just looked away, his lips taunt.
"Wheels up in twenty, we'll finish this on the way to Jacksonville," Agent Hotchner said.
I stood up with everybody else and watched Garcia walk towards her area before Gideon pulled me aside.
"Did I do alright?" I asked.
"Yeah, just fine. I need you to go with Garcia. Help her back here," Gideon told me.
"Wait, why am I not going with? I did well enough with my answers, right? Did I say something wrong-," my mind began to shoot off all the different ways I could have worded things.
"No, you did everything right, but I need you back here with Garcia, I need your mind back here, Flynn," He assured me.
I nodded and watched Agent Morgan glance at me from the bull pen. I averted my gaze and headed the other way while my new team headed another.
For the next two weeks I was sent to stay with Garcia while everyone else flew off. At first it really bothered me, but after the first case I began to understand why I was sent there. Between helping here and the training classes I had to finish there wasn't a point for me to be flying out with them as well.
The way she communicates with everyone is downright comical and I'm left wondering what will be said to me once I'm in the field. Reid never has a satisfied tone when she calls him honey or throws out a sexual joke. Amazingly, she keeps it pretty professional with Hotch and Gideon, minus the few times she speaks before knowing who is on the other end.
Garcia's and Morgan's relationship however, is as plain as day. The way they banter back and forth is quite a treat to watch. I'm sure a few people find it uncomfortable, but I'm just amazed at how quickly some of these words fly from her lips.
"Hey yo, Garcia! One tofu stir fry for you and one pepper steak for me," I excitedly declared carrying in our Chinese food. The meals were hot against my skin and for a brief second I wondered if I could get burned through Styrofoam.
"You are a sweet, sweet angel!"
"I try to be on occasion," I smirked when she laughed.
"Naughty, naughty,"
"Anything popping up?" I smiled at her as she dug into her food trying to concentrate on the screen at the same time.
"You know you can look away for a second to eat, Garcia,"
"Not when there's an undercover cop missing," Her voice was stern and angry before I noticed her shoulders slump and she turned to me,"I'm sorry sweetie, I'm just not used to them being-,"
"Alive?" I answered.
She nodded her smile not reaching her eyes.
"We'll find him Garcia."
TWO WEEKS LATER
"The Popular Kids"
Every week I keep a bag of clothes and things I'd need if I was able to go with them, under my desk. Every week it's been a "No", a "Not just yet". And every week I bring fresh clothes. I twirled in my chair drinking my coffee as I watched the clock.
9:46.
New cases were discussed at 10 and I noticed to the right of me Morgan and Reid talking in the kitchen. Elle was busy scrolling through something on her computer screen so I turned my attention to the two men before me.
Reid and I hit it off after a few days. He was a bit stand offish at first. I genuinely like hanging out with him. The way our minds work so similar, but at the same time so differently piqued my interest. His IQ is exceptionally higher than mine, but he's not one to try to one up another person. I watched him pour a copious amount of sugar into his coffee and wondered if he was sleeping alright.
The only other person I had yet to gel with-per say- was Morgan. We kind of just flit around each other like hummingbirds do with a flower. I've tried to interject myself into conversations with him in a way I think might stop him from side eyeing me. Nothing has worked as of yet.
"Flynn!" Morgans deep and slightly annoyed voice shakes me from my thought process. He seems to be waiting for me.
"Let's go."
I perked up at this and quickly stood up smoothing my top, and it's in this moment that I realize he and I are wearing the same color scheme. My eyes roll and I open my mouth to have say on the thought, but shut it when we catch up to everyone else. The moment we all round the corner into the room JJ begins to speak.
"McAllister. Western slope of Massanutten Mountain in Virginia. Two bodies discovered in the woods, both with apparent blunt trauma to the head,"
The moment she placed the photos and file on the table we all converge onto it like moths to a flame.
"Skeletons?"
"One of them. The second victim was just killed this morning."
I glance at JJ before looking at the photo.
"How do we know there's a connection?" Elle wondered looking up at Gideon from her seat.
I'm glad she asked because I was starting to wonder the same thing.
"Found about seventy-five feet apart with nearly identical head wounds." Hotch explained as if that part was all that was needed for us to get involved.
Next to me I felt Morgan shift,"Where's the rest of the case file?"
"There isn't one. The sheriffs are on the scene waiting for us."
"There location is only half hour by plane," JJ told us.
I picked up the photo of the skeleton,"This body has been there for weeks if not months, and that's a fresh kill. What else is there besides these two deaths connecting the cases?"
"I'm with Flynn on this, what's the rush?" Morgan looked at me in agreement.
"Well, there was evidence on the scene that could cause a bit of public uproar,"
"Satanic cult," Gideon dropped the photo he was holding onto the table before us and all of our eyes took in the engraved tree.
"Wheels up in twenty everybody. Flynn, you can finally make good use of that bag under your desk,"
My breath caught in my throat and I looked up at Gideon wide eyed, the biggest smile spreading across my face.
En Route-
"JJ, we obviously need to keep this out of the press as long as possible," Hotch told her as he walked past. I sat in front of JJ who was going through a few files. I looked up from my book when Elle spoke up behind me.
"There was a nationwide scare in the 1980's involving satanic ritual killings and abuse. The satanic panic, it was called," Reid explained.
I didn't have time to change before we left and now we had less than 15 minutes until we landed and Derek was taking his sweet old time.
"Didn't they find all that to be false, though?" I asked turning in my chair to look at the group,"I mean even in the Memphis Three case, they claimed killing those boys were because of a satanic ritual, but nothing could be found to back that up,"
Morgan tapped my arm as he passed me. I nodded, taking in his changed clothes.
As I changed in the back room I listened to them talk. I began to wonder if this could actually be a satanic cult.
Quickly, I unbuttoned my light blue blouse and folded it into my bag. I pulled a dark red sweatshirt over my head and pulled down my black dress pants tucking them into the duffel. After I pulled up my dark jeans and slipped on my black tennis shoes I made my way out, and in good timing too because we were beginning to land.
The crime scene was deep into the woods and we split up. JJ, Gideon and Reid went to look at the tree and the old body while everyone else went to the new one.
The body was already removed and I was standing near Hotch and one of the sheriffs, looking out at the vastness of the woods.
"...I know he used to run out here on the mountain all the time."
"Was he out here running today?"
"He was wearing sweats,"
"Was this a crime of opportunity or was the unsub laying in wait for this kid specifically?"
"You think he targeted the kid?" I asked Morgan.
"It's a possibility,"
We discussed the case for a moment coming to the conclusion that the victim was killed by a weapon of opportunity. Hotch thought maybe a rock, but Elle brought up a good point: why was he killed on such a well traveled path.
"What if someone was with him? Someone he wasn't expecting? That's why he was killed here?" I wondered aloud, just as a woman came rushing down to the crime scene, livid, screaming that her daughter was missing and that she was here.
I exchanged a worried look with Morgan who had looked at me the moment I opened my mouth. This case just got a bit more cutthroat.