Blake wasn't all too happy about staying longer in L.A… and she made that very clear as soon as JJ stepped off the elevator. JJ did her best to reassure her that this was where they needed to be because in her heart, she truly felt it was.

Blake, however, didn't see it that way. "I'm not sure why Hotch would even sign off on this, much less leave me here as well. I mean, I understand that you couldn't do it by yourself, but I feel like my skills would be more beneficial to a case that's within our field."

The insult wedged between a complaint and self-praise didn't go unnoticed by JJ. This was what she had been dealing with ever since the older agent joined the team three months ago. "The rest of the team will be on the ground in Quantico to handle anything that comes up, and as far as your little quip about me not being capable, Hotch rarely leaves or sends anyone by themselves. We are a team, we handle things together even if it's not within the full unit."

She felt as though she wasn't getting anywhere with her. "This case is a big deal, Blake. I get that you're not happy to be staying, but we could really do some good here."

Blake sighed. "Well the jet's already in the air so I guess there's nothing I can do about it. Let's go." She strode over to the elevators. "What floor?"

If there was ever another agent JJ wanted to throttle, it was the one standing right in front of her. Instead of replying, she reached around Blake and pressed the button to take them to the fifth floor.

…

Brian was still surprised that he was receiving assistance from the BAU. He honestly thought asking them to stay would be a long shot, but he was eternally grateful to Agent Jareau for even hearing him out.

The beautiful blonde soon returned to the conference room with another agent in tow, and he stood from his seat for the introduction.

"Agent O'Conner, this is Agent Alex Blake. She-"

"Dr. Blake." The other woman cut Jareau off as she stepped forward to shake Brian's hand.

He was a bit taken aback by her abruptness, but managed to give a polite smile as he returned the gesture. "Nice to meet you. Have you been told the matter of this investigation?"

"Jareau mentioned a few things in the elevator ride up, but I don't know much other than the fact that this isn't a BAU case." Her cold and clipped tone surprised Brian again, and he could've swore that he saw Jareau roll her eyes.

Thankfully, she stepped in before Brian had the chance to respond. "Forgive me, Blake, but this is a lot of information to cram into a minute long elevator ride. We can fill you in while we do the same with Garcia."

"Ladies, I truly am sorry for the inconvenience. I was out of options here, and my unit clearly isn't able to take care of this on our own. I know this isn't what you typically handle, but I do appreciate you taking your time to help."

Jareau held up her hand. "Please, there's no need to apologize. There's nothing wrong with making exceptions to our caseload. We go where we're needed."

Brian smiled at her sincerity and nodded his gratitude. "Well in that case, let's bring Blake and your TA up to speed."

The three agents took a seat around the conference table and after a few seconds a cheerful voice came through Jareau's phone that she placed in between them.

"To what do I owe this pleasure, my lovely sugar plum?"

"Penelope, you're on speaker. I have Blake and Agent Brian O'Conner here with me."

"Ooh, hello mister O'Conner. I'm the BAU's fabulous tech goddess, Penelope Garcia."

Brian laughed and shared an amused look with the blonde beside of him. "Well it's very nice to meet you."

"It's nice meeting you, and if you're half as good looking as you sound, then I'm jealous of my fine furry friends that are there with you."

Brian wasn't exactly sure what to say, but just like moments ago with Blake, Jareau jumped to the rescue. "Uh, Garcia, we're going to fill you and Blake in on the case we're working here, then I've got something for you to run through the system."

"Okay, hit me with it, gorgeous."

Brian laid out the case details just like he did with Jareau, but this time she was able to provide the others with her initial take on everything. Once he was finished, she took point again.

"Okay, Garcia, I want you to run the name David Park. We have around 500 names on our end but we're hoping you can narrow down the search. We're looking for someone affiliated with Braga, in the down-town L.A. area."

"Um, is there anything else? That's vague even for my awesome abilities."

This time Brian spoke up, leaning a bit closer to Jareau so Garcia could here him better. "Yeah, we don't have a lot right now, but the David Park we're wanting may also be associated with the list of names Agent Jareau is about to send you. There is one more thing. Look for anyone with the name that has had any charges related to drugs or illegal street racing… and if you could please send over the makes and models of all their vehicles, that would help a lot."

"Okay, I'll get back to you in a flash!"

"Thank you, Pen."

Blake didn't have a lot to say throughout the phone call, but she started speaking as soon as Jareau hung up the phone. "Are we sure David Park is the key to all of this? I mean, Garcia may be able to narrow the list down, but there will still be a lot of names. What if following up with all of them is just a waste of time?"

"Nah, I don't think so. Our source that gave us the name is reliable. So far this is one of the only things that check out." In Brian's mind he knew it was one of the only things they had.

Just as Jareau was reaching for another file on the table, Blake stood from her seat and announced, "I'm going to get some coffee and sandwiches while we wait."

"There should be some in the break room."

"No, I mean from an actual coffee shop."

Jareau turned questioning eyes in her direction. "We just got here, Blake."

Blake shook her head. "No, JJ, we've been in L.A. for a few long and exhausting days. I need some real coffee. I'll be back soon, probably even before Garcia sends the files. Don't worry, I'll bring you and O'Conner something." With that, she was headed out the door.

Jareau looked as surprised as Brian felt, and she immediately spoke up. "I am so sorry about this. I don't know what her problem is."

"No worries, I understand. I know your team has been busy this week, and I'm sure you're ready to go home."

She shook her head. "It's not unusual for us to have back to back cases, but Blake is still new to our unit. Some of our agents worked with her in the past, but the rest of us are trying to find our groove with her."

"Like I said, it's okay. You don't have to explain. I'm just glad you're here, Agent Jareau."

She met his eyes with a small smile. "JJ, most people call me JJ."

"Well, then… JJ it is. I like that. Please, just call me Brian." He returned her smile, one of the first in the past while that actually felt real, as he held her gaze for a few beats longer than he probably should have. Wow, her eyes were gorgeous.

Footsteps from the hallway interrupted the moment, and Brian realized he was being unprofessional. Clearing his throat, he turned his attention back to the files. "Okay, so these are the files we have on Braga's known associates, the same ones you emailed to your tech analyst. Right now, only three of them are still alive: Ramon Campos, Fenix Calderon, and Gisele Yashar."

"Okay, let's focus on them until we hear back from Garcia."

The two agents got to work, side by side at the conference table drinking weak coffee from the machine down the hall. Their eyes poured over the details of Braga's associates, desperate to find any sort of connection. They made comments here and there about certain pieces of information, but most of the files were pretty vague and Brian used the time to fill her in on the details of their failed and tragic undercover operations into the cartel.

Thirty minutes later, with no sign of Blake, JJ's cellphone lit up with an incoming call. "Alright, Penelope, you've got me and Brian this time. What have you got?"

"What I have is a still super long list of David Parks that meet your criteria. The only exception is that I can't find any overlap between them or the names from your list… including Arturo Braga."

JJ nodded. "That makes sense. I'm sure Braga would take precautions as to not be affiliated with a lot of people. He's already taking a chance with the ones we do know about."

"How many names do you have it down to?"

"That, Mr. L.A., is going to be 52 names which I am sending to Cupcake right now."

Brian looked over at JJ, mouthing 'cupcake?'

She just chuckled and shook her head. "That helps a lot, thank you."

"No problem my lovelies. Anything else you need?"

"We'll let you know, Garcia. Talk to you later." She hung up, immediately checking her email.

"She's… unique."

This time JJ fully laughed. "Yeah, that's as good of a word as any. I'm not quite sure what the BAU would do without her though." She found what she was looking for and turned her phone so that Brian could see.

He let out a low whistle upon seeing the length names. "Okay, it's okay. We can make that work… right?"

She jokingly bumped his shoulder. "Right. Believe me, I've made a list this long work with a lot less to go on before. We can do it now."

Brian appreciated her confidence, because until she showed up, he hadn't been feeling too bright about the trajectory of this investigation. He did, however, believe fully in the abilities of the BAU. "Okay, you're the expert here. Where do we start?"

"Well, the first thing we need to do is pull the original files on all the 52 possible matches Garcia sent us. You mentioned to her that the vehicles driven would help with the search, so we'll use the makes and models to narrow the list down even further. After that, we'll pull the new and detailed files on the remaining matches, and one should lead us to our suspect."

The agent shook his head at JJ's ease of explanation. That was definitely going to take some time and willpower. He looked at her and grinned. "So, more coffee?"