Chapter 1 Under new management

Opening the following file from the seemingly endless stack, Hotch started to examine the scene of the crime from the gruesome crime scene photographs provided by the Las Vegas police. Hotch scrutinised each photo studiously as he began to develop his profile. His concentration was broken when his desk phone started to ring. He glanced at the caller display and sighed, wondering what she wanted this early Monday morning as Erin Strauss's name appeared on his screen.

"SSA Hotchner, good morning, Ma'am," he answered her call politely.

"Aaron, muster your team in the briefing room immediately," Announced the BAU section chief, ending the call abruptly. Her subordinate was not able to answer before she finished her call. Hotch raised his eyebrows; Strauss was often abrupt with him on the phone. Their working relationship had always been contentious. She clashed with him on many of his decisions in the field, not understanding the need to make split-second decisions to save a life. Following FBI procedures and protocols was not always possible. Strauss had tried to have him removed from the unit a few times, even trying to make Prentiss spy on him. Surprisingly, for the past three years, she had seemed to think highly of her flagship team, not causing any unnecessary waves. It seemed she had grown to respect his team.

"Yes, Ma'am, right away," Hotch sarcastically responded to the electronic dialling tone in his ear. He stood up and walked out of his office to assemble the team. Wondering what Strauss could need, the team made for urgent cases with national security issues sometimes came directly to the BAU section chief from the director. He decided he would wait to find out.

"Team briefing room," announced Hotch as he left his office.

Derek, Ashley and Emily look up from their case files as Hotch summoned the team. He collects Rossi from his office and follows Reid into the round table. Sitting around the table with the others, he looks at the empty seat beside Emily.

"Where is JJ?" he inquired.

Wearing a pair of pink glasses matching her bright pink unicorn dress, Penelope Garcia strolled into the room; she smiled and sat. She looked around a little confused, wondering why they had been summoned together, knowing they had yet to receive a new case as JJ hadn't been down to her lair to tell her.

"Where is Jayje?" asked the technical analyst. "She hasn't told me anything new," asked the puzzled woman.

Ashley looked at Hotch. "I saw JJ talking with Strauss in her office earlier this morning. They seemed deep in discussion; JJ closed the office door when she saw me waiting. Come to think about it, I haven't seen her back down in the bullpen," announced Ashley

Concerned looks flashed across the team's faces, remembering the time Strauss had forced JJ to leave the BAU and join the state Department five years ago. JJ had been missed for the two long years she had worked for the state department, returning after Rossi had managed to persuade the FBI director she was needed back at the BAU. Everyone knew how hard the State had fought to keep her as she was exceptional at her job—worried about losing their media liaison again to the state department.

"I can do a thing this time: make her a security risk or so unwanted...I will not permit my Jayje to leave again," announced an upset Garcia.

Erin Strauss walked through the briefing room door, followed by JJ. Six sets of eyes followed the BAU's section chief as she walked to the front of the room.

Without any prelude, Strauss started dropping her bombshell, "Supervisory Special Agent, Aaron Hotchner, you are suspended immediately; please hand me your service weapon, credentials, and security passes. Agents from OPR will interview you at a later date under caution. It has been brought to my attention that some of your actions have been questionable in the field, resulting in the injury of your team members—failure to inform the chain of command that Dr. Reid had an addiction to narcotics. Suspecting former agent Elle Greenaway killed William Lee in cold blood. Suspecting Greenaway of murder, you allowed her to leave the bureau when you should have reported your suspicions to me for investigation. In light of the allegations against you to my office, I feel it prudent for OPR to investigate you thoroughly, SSA Hotchner, including the death of George Foyet. I will consider your future with the bureau after completing the investigation." Strauss told her subordinate. Hotch remaind outwardly stoic, his face devoid of emotion as Strauss dropped her bombshell, no doubt loving every minute of it. Internally, his stomach was in knots; Strauss knew about things only team members knew. There was no way anyone outside his team could learn about his thoughts on Elle or how he helped Spencer overcome his Dilaudid addiction after Tobias Hankel had kidnapped him. He felt a chill descend his spine when the realisation hit him; somebody from the team had told Strauss, but whom he pondered.

Strauss held her hand out; Hotch placed his credentials and security pass in her outstretched hand, informing her his service weapon was secured in his desk drawer.

"That will be all these men will escort you out the building," Strauss told Hotch as she beckoned the uniformed security guards into the room. Hotch remaind silent as he handed Strauss his credentials, wondering why she had now chosen to attack him and his position as unit chief of the BAU. She had mellowed and almost seemed to respect him. She was bidding her time, waiting for her moment to strike.

"Agent Morgan, take charge. The team is yours as my number two; carry on with all the paper consults everyone has on their desk and take the team out of rotation. The other teams must cover us while we are down an agent..." Hotch was interrupted by Strauss. Holding up her hand to stop Hotch from continuing his instructions to Morgan, he managed to stop his face from reacting internally. He was furious with her attitude and began to get angry with this power-mad FBI bureaucrat.

Annoyed at the audacity of her suspended subordinate, Strauss turned to face the seated members of the team, "Ignore Agent Hotchner's last order, Agent Morgan. SSA Jareau is the new unit chief with immediate effect. She will designate who her number two is in due course, and the team remains in the rotation as usual; Dr Alex Blake has agreed to join Agent Jareau's team while you're an agent down. If you have any further questions, ask your new unit chief," Strauss told the shocked faces of the assembled team.

"Don't you mean JJ is our temporary unit chief?" Garcia questioned Strauss; concern filled her voice. Of all the BAU family, Penelope hated people messing with her team. She always considered them hers and didn't like people messing with her team.

Scowling, Strauss turned and looked at her technical analyst, making the flamboyant analyst uneasy about being the centre of her attention, " No, Ms Garcia, SSA Jareau is the new permanent unit chief of this team. Do you have a problem with my decision?" Strauss glared at the technical analyst, daring her to continue to question her.

Rossi stepped in, knowing Garcia got flustered when dealing with the higher-ups, as she refers to senior management. "Erin, Penelope was asking for confirmation. That's all we know how you can be," Smirked Rossi, knowing how far he could push his old flame without crossing the line of professionalism, not that it bothered him if he did. He had far too much-amassed credit with the director or deputy director for her to hurt him.

"That's enough, Dave," scolded JJ, to the team's surprise. "Garcia, please stay. Everyone else back to work," ordered JJ,

EJ

Leaving Garcia and JJ in the round table room, Rossi walked into his office, surprised to find Alex Blake sitting on his sofa, making notes on her iPad. She looked up and smiled at her old friend.

"Dave, good to see you again; it's been a while since we last spoke. I think you asked for my help with a consultation on that bomber's manifesto. He was blowing up toy stores." she smiled as he pulled her into a welcoming embrace.

Rossi pulled away from his old friend, a puzzled look on his face. "You got here quickly. Were you already in Washington when Strauss called and asked you to help?" asked a curious man.

Shaking her head, "No, Strauss didn't ask me to help. Jennifer called me three days ago while I was a guest lecturing at Berkeley. She asked me to take the spare place on her team." she answered, looking a little puzzled knowing how tight this particular team was.

Contemplating her answer, he beckoned Morgan, Reid, Prentiss and Ashley into his office and closed the door. Indicating for everyone to sit around his coffee table, he turned his blinds to obscure the view, enabling him to keep a watch still. He introduced Alex to Ashley, whom she had never met before, having already worked with Morgan and Reid on previous cases she consulted. "Alex, explain to the team what you just told me, please?" he requested as he paced his office.

"Jennifer contacted me three days ago while I was lecturing at Berkeley and asked me to fill the space on her team. Accepting her offer, I returned home so I could start today." answered a perplexed linguist.

"Alex, she asked you Friday to fill the vacant spot on her team?" Morgan asked in disbelief

Alex nodded her head in confirmation. "What am I missing, guys?" asked a curious woman, wanting to know precisely what was occurring.

"JJ, She already knew about Hotch on Friday, if not sooner. You don't think..." Ashley Seaver paused, trying to make sense of her chaotic thoughts about her friend. She felt a little queasy at the notion that Jennifer Jareau had something to do with Strauss's vendetta against Hotch.

"Strauss knew things that only our team members knew," Emily announced as she remembered sitting in Strauss's office years ago and being told she had only been brought into the BAU by her so she could spy on Hotch. Erin Strauss had offered her... 'Damn', she thought as she flashed back to that heinous offer.

'Feed me the information I need to oust Hotchner and you, my new unit chief. We can do good work together. Emily'

She shivered just thinking about it.

Ceasing his pacing, Rossi gaped at his old friend. "It would seem Jennifer knew about Hotch's removal from the team before anyone else on our team. I need to have a little chat with our new unit chief." Rossi told the team as they all tried to consider everything that had just been revealed. The implication of the circumstantial evidence led them to conclude that JJ had foreknowledge of Strauss's actions against Hotch. No one wants to be the first to say it audibly.

"Jennifer Jareau sold Hotch out to Strauss for his job," Emily announced. "She tried to get me to give her enough to remove Hotch from the BAU, and she offered me his job as an incentive to betray him. Jennifer wouldn't, would she?" asked an unusually emotional Emily Prentiss, concerned about her friend.

EJ

Garcia remained behind, as asked by JJ. She was confused about what had just happened to her BAU family. Hotch is suspended under investigation by the wicked Witch of the West, and her best friend is now the new head of her BAU family. The technical analyst needed clarification and was ready to demand answers.

"Jay, please explain what just happened to me, please?" Requested the confused analyst. Penelope wasn't a profiler, but she could read her friends competently, especially her best friend, Jennifer Jareau. Shame, JJ's face was filled with guilt, and her usually crystal clear blue eyes were dulled with tears forming yet to be spilt.

The new unit chief just nodded and took a seat, "Strauss uncovered issues with Hotch's actions during his tenure as our unit chief. OPR is looking into decisions he made in the field, some resulting in injury to team members. His handling of Elle is one of the significant issues. They believe he gave her a pass and dismissed her criminality. the case has been reopened, and federal prosecutors are scrutinising the case file to see if criminal charges can be brought against her—Hotch's handling of the aftermath of Reid's kidnapping and subsequent drug addiction by Tobias Hankel." JJ waited to see if Garcia had any questions. The shock on Penelope's face told her she was still computing everything in her mind, trying to make sense of events. "One more thing, Garcia, about your appearance," JJ started.

"...What about my appearance?" demanded Garcia, glaring at her blonde friend

"It is not appropriate for the BAU Penelope. You will start adhering to the FBI dress code for employees tomorrow..." JJ stopped suddenly when Garcia slammed her palms down onto the table. The furious technical analyst glared at the blonde Unit chief, loathing her at the nerve of the woman who dared fault her dress sense.

"Yes, Ma'am...by your command!" Garcia saluted JJ, then ran from the room towards the sanctuary of her computers in her lair.

Cringing at her friend's rebuke, she sighed and sent a quick text message.

'Ma'am,

Penelope Garcia - Completed

SSA Jareau

Unit Chief '

Pressing send, JJ waited for a reply on her cell phone; her cell bleeped a few minutes later. Opening her new text message, she sighed as she read her message.

'Good Job, Chief Jareau

My office at 08:15 to discuss how I want things to run with your team. ;)'

"Bitch!" uttered JJ tossing her cell phone onto the desktop in disgust. 'Suck it up, Jareau. What's the worst that can happen to you?' She chuckled to herself. 'You will become the second wicked witch in the BAU, and everyone will despise you.' she sighed, knowing that once Penelope had control of her anger, she would be busy hacking her way to the truth. Her transgression against them all would be unearthed; her guilt is indisputable as it was her signature on the statement she had given to OPR last week.

EJ

Emily noticed the upset analyst first as she watched for JJ's return; Garcia speed-walked as fast as she could, wearing her platform shoes, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Guys!" announced Emily, not taking her eyes off her upset friend.

Six profiler eyes tracked the upset blonde analyst as she retreated to the BAU's glass entrance doors.

"Come on, let's see what, or should I say, who has upset my baby girl," Announced Morgan as he started to chase after Garcia. Rossi, Reid, Prentiss and Alex Blake followed him, heading toward the analyst's lair.

Not bothering to knock on her door, Morgan just walked into Garcia's domain to find her madly typing on her keyboard,

"Not appropriate for the BAU, Penelope, " the frantic BAU analyst said as she hammered the keyboard keys. " You will start adhering to the FBI dress code." she continued angrily, venting as she worked her magic on her electronic baby.

"Baby girl!" Morgan spoke gently so as not to frighten his furious friend. "Baby Girl, look at me, please," he repeated slightly louder, trying to obtain her attention. Once again, the angry Penelope Garcia persists in typing rapidly. "Penelope, please stop and look at me... look at me, please, Penelope," Morgan's subdued voice asked her.

Her frenetic typing ceased, and she pushed herself backwards and twirled about-face in her computer chair to face Derek, tears falling from her reddened eyes. Garcia accepted Derek's hug, burying her face into his neck.

"She... She... She..told me." Garcia stuttered into his neck, her voice muffled. Squatting down in front of his seated baby girl, he gently lifted her head from his neck so he could look into her sad eyes. A sad smile appeared on Penelope's face as she could see the concerned faces of Rossi, Emily, Reid, Ashley and Alex watching her from the door to her lair.

"Sorry," Sniffed Penelope. "She...JJ told me my appearance is inappropriate for the BAU; I have to dress like one of you now, monochrome, no vibrant Penelope in my rainbow colours anymore," Sniffed Garcia. Suddenly, the analyst gasped as she looked at her stuffed animals surrounding her computers, "Oh, and you're next, my sweet. I won't let that evil ice queen vanish you from my realm," Snatching her unicorn from behind Derek, she returned to her computer and started typing.

"Baby Girl? What are you doing?" asked a curious Morgan as he intently watched her working.

Emily walked up to her partner, placed her hand on his shoulder, and watched Penelope work her computer trickery; she was surprised to see her friend hacking into the OPR case files. "Pen, are you hacking the FBI file on Hotch's case?" Emily asked, not overly surprised by her friend's actions.

She continued her cyber incursion into the office's computer system of professional responsibility, looking for the file she wanted. "Yes, Emster, I will deal with the..." Garcia abruptly stopped midsentence as she found her prize, the case file on SSA Aaron Hotchner. Scanning the files, Garcia unlocked a file and started to read.

"Oh, Jennifer, why would you do that to Hotch?" Gasped Emily, looking over Garcia's shoulder. Displayed on Garcia's computer screen, glaring at them, was the official statement of Supervisory Special Agent Jenifer Jareau, her digital signature adorned at the bottom of the official document. Viewing her best friend's signature on the screen felt like JJ had stabbed her in her heart.

"Emily?" Demanded Rossi

Emily turned away from the computer's screen, quickly trying to wipe off the tears before anyone noticed she was crying. Her best friend's betrayal of Hotch was too monumental to fit into one of her boxes. Her emotions are out of control. Emily lost any control she had left and just cried. Garcia helped her distraught friend to a chair and comforted her while she allowed the others to see what had upset Prentiss so much.

Rossi swore in Italian after looking over the statement on the screen. Ashley, Derek and Alex looked astounded, not wanting to believe a member of their little BAU family could sell out Hotch to Strauss for a promotion.

"This must be a fake; Jennifer wouldn't sell out Hotch to Strauss for a job. I know her. She doesn't have an evil bone in her entire body. That must be a fake," Reid announced, pointing at the computer screen.

Still soothing Emily in her arms, Garcia looked up at Reid with silent tears falling from her eyes. "Sorry, Reid, that is an official office of professional responsibility statement signed by our new unit chief, Jennifer Jareau. Sorry boy-wonder our Jennifer is not so snow white as we think" replied a sad analyst.

"Time to see our new unit chief," announced Rossi as he stormed out.