Chapter 4
"What are you guys laughing about?"
The team stops laughing abruptly and all give Emily an awkward smile.
Dani pauses, with a complete Poker Face. She turns around to face the brunette. She gives Emily a nervous smile, trying her best to play it off smoothly.
"Nothing," she said innocently.
"How is my favorite BAU Unit chief?" she asked nervously while scratching the back of her head.
"Nice try kid," Emily says while ruffling the girl's hair,
"Reid, what was the joke?" Emily asked, grabbing a chair and sitting next to Dani.
"They were just talking about you and the power you have when it comes to repelling any male counterparts away from Dani," Reid says.
"With the Alpha dominance that you display, I can't say that they are wrong."
"Well, in that case, I will continue to display my dominance," Emily says looking at Dani.
"I don't think you can stop intimidating them, even if you tried," Dani mumbled.
The team started to laugh. Emily nudges Dani's shoulder playfully. In response, Dani sticks out her tongue. She loved messing with the agent.
"Wait a second. Is that a soda can?" Emily asked, eying the green beverage.
"What?" Dani said while slowly putting the can down.
"I don't know what you are talking about. I think you are tired and starting to see things."
"I am tired but not delusional. What is that thing you are hiding?" she asked with suspicion.
"It's umm..." Dani said while looking around.
"Oh... wait look at that. Someone wants me to go over there," the girl said while pointing at the hallway.
All the agents look up, trying to see who it is.
"Who?" Emily asked with confusion.
She was looking at the hallway but no one was there.
"Me!"
Dani quickly replied as she stood up as fast as she could and ran out of the lounge with her soda in hand. She broke free out of Emily's view.
The team all chuckles in response to the girl's quick thinking as Emily sits there in pure shock. Damn, that girl knows how to get out of trouble alright.
She shakes her head and smiles, looking back up at her team.
"What can we say? She is as clever as a fox," JJ said while patting the brunette's shoulder.
"Clever indeed."
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The team all went back to work in their respective areas. Garcia invited Daniela inside her cave of wonder.
The teen admired how colorful the woman's desk was. Filled with cool pens, colorful mini plushies, and all sorts of knick-knacks. Her whole desk had the name Garcia on it. Dani was glad to meet someone like her.
Garcia is one of a kind person who radiates love and positive energy. Dani wished she had half the energy Garcia had.
"How was the first week of High School?" Garcia asked.
She was typing out some documents but this task was a breeze for her.
"It's going pretty well. I'm just not sure about French though. Bribing Emily is pretty hard."
Garcia chuckles.
"I don't think that trick is going to work sugarplum. Emily is a pretty hard person to try to bargain with."
"That is very true," Dani states.
"I mean, it feels okay to be back at school. It's such a weird relationship I have with that place. Yeah, I prefer not waking up early and going to some boring lectures but that place is where I see my friends the most. Not to count the classes I enjoy."
"Enjoy the good parts and push through the work," Garcia told the girl.
"Just don't get into that high school drama. You can watch it but don't get involved in that stuff. All that drama can get nasty."
"I agree with that. I will just be the person in the background watching with popcorn," said the girl.
"Seriously, some of that drama is just pure nonsense and dumb."
"That is true but you will learn to ignore it," Penelope said while finishing typing up her work.
"You won't have to deal with that silly nonsense once you enter college or if you don't go to college you can always join the cyber underworld."
"Oh, I see. You want me to join the dark side," said the girl.
"That sounds tempting. Cool and partially illegal. I love it."
"As long as Emily doesn't know about it. She would probably end me if she were to know that I am dragging you to the dark side," the blonde said while turning her chair.
"I still want to live until I'm at least one hundred."
"Your secret is safe with me."
Just then, Emily walks into the room, holding some files.
"What can we do for you my sweet brunette?" Garcia asked. Dani smiles.
"Hey, guys. We have a case. All the information is here. It's in Boston," she says, handing Garcia the file.
Emily looks at Dani, whose smile fades away slowly. Dani looks up and sees Emily looking at her so she quickly flashes a smile.
"I'm sorry I have to go, Dan," Emily says, giving her an apologetic look.
"It's no problem. When duty calls you have to answer," Dani replies.
"Someone has to catch the killer," she looks at Emily, trying to sound unbothered. Dani stands up and stretches.
"I should get going." She walks towards Garcia and hugs her.
"So yes to the dark side?" Penelope whispered to the girl.
"I will take it into consideration," Dani answers back. Penelope smiles with excitement.
Emily looks at the two and wonders what they are talking about. Dani walks towards Emily, ready to leave.
"What exactly would you take into consideration?" she wondered.
"Oh, it's nothing," Dani simply replied. "I will go home and catch up on homework for the weekend."
"Do you need anything before you go?" asked the agent.
"No. I think I'm good," Dani replies. Emily looks at Dani and hugs her. She releases Dani, looking at her.
"Cuídate por favor, hmm?"
"No te preocupes. I promise I won't get arrested," Dani says, giving her a smirk.
Emily shakes her head, smiling. She gives Dani a quick kiss on the cheek. Dani walks out, giving Emily a small wave.
Emily watches as Dani leaves and heads up to where her team is waiting for her to debrief their new case.
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Dani wakes up the next morning feeling very well and rested. She sits up and stretches, looking at the time on her phone.
It was roughly eleven in the morning. Dani enjoyed the fact that she wasn't woken up by an alarm and was able to sleep in with no problems.
The girl went downstairs to watch some morning TV. Well, not watch TV. The only reason she turns on the television is so that it can make background noise while she is scrolling through her phone.
She would be alone for the next few days and didn't want the house to feel so empty.
Of course, the idea of having the place all to herself sounded delightful to the teenager. Who wouldn't want a whole house to themselves?
But the girl could get lonely from time to time when Emily wasn't around. She enjoys spending time with the woman. Emily is a great person to hang around with her sense of humor and charisma.
Daniela truly enjoys spending time with her and would never admit to anyone how much she misses her when she travels to work.
Yes, Emily would call or Facetime her every day when she is away but it isn't the same. Dani knows it's just part of her job and accepts it.
She doesn't want to tell Emily how she feels when she is away because she doesn't want to worry her.
After about half an hour of scrolling through her social media feed, Daniela prepared herself a bowl of cereal.
While eating, she receives a text from Antonio, Dani's friend from her hometown. A smile goes through her face as she sees his text.
Antonio: Hey, Dan. The gang and I were wondering if you wanted to join us for lunch later. It's been a while since u came down to el barrio
Dani: Hmm... sounds good. Where do you guys want to meet up?
Antonio: How about at the Deli we used to go to? I know how much you love the fries over there
Dani: Perfect. Te veo luego
Dani finishes her cereal and washes her plate. After she is done she eagerly starts to get dressed. The weather was pretty warm, so she just wore some light blue jeans with a tee.
She was very excited to see her friends again. Dani has known Antonio, Jose, and Camila ever since her elementary years.
She was close to all of them, especially Antonio. She knew him practically from birth.
They both bonded almost instantly, having similar pasts and hobbies made their friendship stronger.
Through the years they met Jose and Camila in which they created a strong friendship.
The group of four were known to be troublemakers, though they never caused harm to anyone. All of them had a love and passion for music which brought them closer.
With Antonio's guidance, they all formed a musical band. His uncle would get the kids into small gigs in restaurants and small parties.
As they grew, so did their friendship and talent.
Ever since Dani moved away two years ago, she hasn't been able to visit them as much. She used to live in neighboring blocks with her friends but now it was farther to go.
Another reason she would try to limit her visits is due to the growing high tensions between rival gangs and their territory.
Daniela is a pawn in this war, whether she likes it or not.
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While flying to Boston, the BAU reviewed files concerning the 8 murders that have occurred in nearby lakes.
"The M.O. for these murders are the same. Stabbed four times in the back and then the body is disposed of in the lake," Rossi says, looking at the pictures of the latest crime scene.
"All of these victims were visiting the lake," Matt says.
"They are most likely caught off guard when the Unsub attacks them. A blitz attack."
"We also can't disregard the possibility of these victims being brought here," Emily adds as she scrolls through the crime scenes.
"The thing is, why tie a bag on the victim's head once they are dead?" JJ asks.
"It is very unlikely for it to be a forensic countermeasure. The bag is covering the face but there is no attempt to destroy the face to push back the ID of the victims" Reid tells the team.
"It could be a signature from the Unsub. He most likely has a personal meaning that involves it."
"Garcia, any connections between the victims?" Emily asked.
"Zilch. None of the victims have similar jobs, families, hobbies, or super dark secrets," Garcia answers.
"The only connection that they have is that they were all murdered."
"What if it has nothing to do with the victims? What if it's just about the location?" Reid asked.
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Daniela walks down through the streets of her hometown, El Barrio.
Nothing much has changed in the last several years. Everyone is running through their daily day-to-day lives.
The supermarket is still running with full success. Mostly because it is the closest one around this area.
The taco stand is still intact, having customers come and go. Daniela is one of them. Doña Claudia's Tacos is the number one place to go for the best Mexican food.
She has had her stand for years and Daniela doubts it could ever be replaced.
As she continues to walk she sees that the small community center is still running. She sees some kids planting in the small garden they had at the front while older kids were playing at the basketball court.
They built that place years back to reduce the number of kids out on the streets. It would lower the possibility for them to end up in the gangs.
Daniela believes this is a great idea but deep down she knows that the center can only protect the kids under their roof.
Outside of the building, they were on their own.
She knew something was missing when she arrived until she heard them.
Sirens.
Either police or ambulance, a siren is always heard around this town. It meant that something bad went down and 9/10 times it involved gangs.
She watched four police vehicles dash down the street until they made their way to the end of the road, stopping at an abandoned convenience store.
That damn convenience store.
The same convenience store she went to with her brother years back where he died in a drive-by shooting.
The place where she saw him bleed to death. The place where he took his last breath.
The place where she was hugging his lifeless body until the paramedics came.
Daniela knows that is a hotspot where rival gangs would clash with one another. It is considered the border between two neighborhoods where two gangs had power over.
On the south side was Los Bravos territory while on the north side was the famous Reyes Del Barrio. The kings of the streets.
Dani is quite familiar with that name. She is related to the one and only leader of this gang.
Marcos Rivera aka La Muerte.
Much to Daniela's liking, she shared blood with the man whom everyone considers death himself.
Just my luck, the girl thought to herself.
Dani doesn't consider the man anything. Yes, by blood he was her father but she never really interacted with him.
Hell, she doesn't even know what he looks like. She only saw him once and after that visit, it was a wrap for the two of them.
Neither of them would contact each other. Daniela knew better than to do that. She already has a lot on her plate to be dealing with him.
Dani eventually arrives at the Deli. She immediately sees her friends and walks up to them with a smile. Jose notices and waves at her.
"Dani! Long time no see, Mija," Jose says with a smile. The three friends get up and hug Dani.
"Hola, chicos," Dani says, greeting her friends.
They all entered the Deli. It was relatively small, only having four tables to est inside. Most people preferred delivery or takeout.
This would always be a place where Dani and her friends would hang out after school. The four of them sit at a table near a window.
"We already ordered for you. Hope you still like seasoned fries with cold lemonade," Antonio says.
"Or did you get used to the rich food you eat now?" Antonio asked with a raised brow.
"How dare you say that. I am very loyal when it comes to food." Dani replies.
Their food is ready and Jose brings it to the table. They all start to eat, catching up on their lives.
"How have you been Dan? You still living with the cop?" Jose asked her.
He was very surprised when he first heard Dani was moving in with a federal agent. All of them were.
"It's been going pretty well. I still live with the cop. I figure I am better off with her than somewhere else," Dani replies while dipping her fries in ketchup.
"That's good to know," Camila said. "Now you have someone to keep you on track," she said with a smile.
"Who would have thought that Daniela Hernandez would be living with a cop," Antonio says while patting her shoulder.
"And not just any cop, you live with a fucking FBI agent."
"I know. Out of everywhere I could have landed, I wouldn't have ever imagined living with an FBI agent," said the girl to the group.
"Life has some very unexpected turns."
"Esta de locos," Jose stated.
"I mean, you are the daughter of Marco Rivera. Damn girl, you went from being the daughter of the most powerful man in town to a fed's kid."
Dani slightly rolls her eyes when hearing that name.
"I have nothing to do with Marco. We don't communicate in any type of way. He lives his life and I live my own," she tells them.
"We are strangers to one another."
"Unfortunately that doesn't matter to other people. Los Bravos still look at you as a pawn," Antonio said.
"You are the only kid Marcos has left. If they want to get to Marcos they will go through you."
"But I won't give them a chance to do that," Daniela said with confidence.
"I know that as long as I keep up my guard and don't go down south I will be okay."
"Just make sure to watch your back," Antonio told her.
"Trust me. Nothing bad will happen to me."
Dani thinks about what Antonio said. She knows he is right. She is the daughter of a man who rules over this town.
She is the only one who has his blood. She knows for sure he wants her to take on his business. She also knows the risk of her stepping into the wrong neighborhood.
Her head has a price and she knows it. She has learned to accept that this is her reality.
"Ten mucho Cuidado, Dani," Camila states. "You have to take care."
They finish their food and hang out for a few hours. Dani had no one waiting for her at home so she figured out she should stick around with her friends.
They chatted and even played soccer like in old times. Eventually, Dani knew she had to get going.
She said bye to her friends and promised she would be back soon.