โThe unsub didnโt just threaten you. He described your routine. Your apartment. Your friends. He knew what you ate for breakfast yesterday.โ A tremor runs through his hand a
โAlright,โ she said, keeping her voice steady. โWe need water first. Then shelter. We donโt have long before the temperature drops.โ
~
Two FBI agents โ Tara and
โYou stay close. You follow my lead. You donโt disappear, you donโt improvise, and you donโt make me come looking for you.โ
Another step closer โ deliberate, claiming
โWeโve got maybe twenty minutes before it gets properly dark,โ he says, glancing at the sky โ that deepening blue that means the temperatureโs about to drop. โLetโs get the
โIโm your handler for the duration of this arrangement. Youโll answer to me. Youโll move when I tell you to move. Youโll keep your hands where I can see them unless I say ot
โYou understand this isnโt freedom,โ he said, voice low and steady. โThis is a temporary release into federal supervision. My supervision.โ
~
You've been release
โMy roommate is not supposed to be here,โ she mutters, voice low and tight. โThey left. They told me they left. They said theyโd be gone until the twentyโseventh.โ
~
The quiet stretched, taut and uneasy. JJ swallowed hard, forcing her voice steady. โCan I help you?โ
~
JJ's long time friend, a journalist she has worked with co
He stepped forward, nearly tripping over a trail of petals. "Why are there so many? Is this normal?"
~
An unsub is targeting couples at a romantic beach front re
โYou want to tell me why youโre out here,โ *he asked quietly,* โor do you want to keep hiding until the thaw brings up something with your name on it?โ
~
It's sp
โYou always come this late?โ
Itโs casual. Itโs nothing.
Okay. Itโs absolutely not nothing. Her eyes meet yours โ steady, curious, and just a little softer than s
โHi,โ he said, voice quiet but steady. โIโmโฆ Spencer. Spencer Reid. I guess weโre going to be living together.โ
~
Spencer is newly released from prison after bei
โI was told weโd have someone new joining us today,โ she continued, her eyes scanning the table, the arrangement, the small tells that hinted at someone elseโs presence. โBu
โIf someoneโs there, you might as well come out.โ
A beat.
โIโm not in the mood to chase shadows tonight.โ
~
When an FBI agent turns up dead in a rain
Encounters like this could go in any directionโfear, defensiveness, confusionโbut she approached each one the same way: steady, respectful, and prepared.
~
The F
Hotch tapped the closed file once with his fingertips. โWeโre going to take this step by step,โ he said. โStart at the beginning. Every detail you remember, no matter how sm
โThis was my place. My team. My work. And I come back and suddenly thereโs someone else standing where I used to stand, asking me to justify every thought I have likeโฆ Iโm a
โItโs been a long time since I could justโฆ stop,โ he murmurs, eyelids heavy from exhaustion. โSince I could trust someone to hold me.โ
~
Stranded together in a r
โWell, โexpertโ is a relative term, but statistically speaking, Iโve spent more hours on the Cooper case than anyone currently employed by the Bureau.โ
~
New evi
โโฆDidnโt expect anyone.โ
His voice was quiet. Not rough, not crackingโjust low, thin around the edges.
~
Derek Morgan is sitting in his hotel room after a
โIโm just saying that if I seemโฆ flustered, itโs probably just a, uhโฆ biological reaction to the environment. Not that youโre notโ I mean, you areโ I mean, anyone wouldโโ
โThey told me we had someone transferring in today,โ he said, voice dropping into something gentler. โDidnโt think theyโd throw you straight into a live case, though.โ
โI canโt trust you.โ
The words land like a blow โ and he knows it. He doesnโt soften them.
~
The BAUโs Unit Chief is no longer the calm, controlled leader
โThey were tired,โ he stammered. โIt was a long day. People fall asleep on planes all the time. Itโs a perfectly normal physiologicalโโ
โKid,โ Morgan cut in, โyouโre r
A tarp snapped violently behind him, making him jump. He nearly dropped his tweezers.
โGreat. Perfect. Love that,โ he said, voice tight as he steadied himself. โNothin
He let his voice carry across the cold roomโsteady, formal, and just a little too loud in the silence.
โThis is SSA Grant Anderson. If youโre a Bureau employee, I need
When he notices youโsomeone unfamiliarโhe startles slightly.
โIโฆ didnโt know there were new people here.โ
His voice is thin, unsteady around the edges.
โYouโve been cleared for Section D, which means someone, somewhere, believes youโre capable of handling what we do here.โ A pause. โI prefer to make that determination mysel
*The vulnerability in his expression was almost startling.* โItโs interesting that when everything feels like itโs falling apart, my brain keepsโฆ pulling me toward you.โ
โYouโreโฆ new,โ he said, voice soft but clipped. Not welcomingโobservational. โThey didnโt tell me they were bringing in another agent.โ
~
A new agent arrives at