The Element of Surprise

Limelight - Part 3

Back at the station, I can't split up from my male companions fast enough to escape to the break room for the sole reason to have so peace and quiet. As if that's not what I've been getting from Rossi since this morning...

I approach the coffee bar to consider my options - of course, Agent Morris would have espressos and cappuccinos instead of just the regular coffee. Why wouldn't she? She's perfect in every other way. She's older than me, clearly more successful judging by the trillions of awards decorating her office walls, she's good looking for her age, she has an impeccable taste in coffee, and she's more in Rossi's league then I'll ever be. Not to mention the part where she's not his colleague whereas I am.

Every fibre in my being despises her although I know it's just jealousy speaking. I have no right to judge her when we haven't had the time to formally get to know each other. Who knows? Maybe she likes an evening out like Emily does, maybe she constantly craves Cheetos like JJ, or maybe she even has a picture of Prince William stuck inside her closet that only she knows of.

But being stubborn and a hard head, I push those thoughts aside. Why should I reach out first if she refuses to even acknowledge me when I'm in the same room as her? Clearly, she doesn't like me and I don't trust her.

"There you are," my head jerks to the door to find JJ entering the break room, "I thought you'd be with Hotch and Rossi."

"I've had enough testosterone for today," I mutter and slide a mug underneath the coffee machine to pour myself a cappuccino.

"Now that you mention it, they have been acting weird around each other lately," she frowns, "Any idea what's causing it?"

"No idea." Lie. It's me - I think. But I don't know why though.

"Men, am I right?" JJ smiles kindly and manages to cheer me up a bit.

An odd glint in her eyes tells me something is wrong, "Did something happen while we were gone?"

"I don't know if you can call it that, but yeah," she steps closer to me and peer at the door before whispering, "I just came from Agent Morris' office. There's a white board and she's figuring out names for our unsub."

"But we don't mythologize them," I frown and shake my head.

"That's what I told her. I don't know, something about her - her approach towards this case - something just bothers me."

I nod in understanding, "Almost like she's too excited about the concept of having a serial killer running around, abducting women, torturing and killing them."

"Precisely," JJ's eyes grow slightly. Then she blinks and change the topic, "Speaking of serial killers, Garcia found more bodies of women related to his signature. Three of them, all between thirty-one and thirty-eight."

"All naked and burnt?"

She nods, "You weren't in the briefing, that's why I came looking for you."

Yeah, I was kinda trying to escape Hotch and Rossi for a bit because the one hates me and the other wants to set me up with the said one that hates me, I want to say but keep my mouth shut. Instead, I rather listen to JJ as she updates me on what was said during the briefing.

We're dealing with an unsub who disposed of his victims' bodies in different states to avoid detection. The three she spoke of were found off freeways in Maryland, Jersey, and New York in the same condition as Dana Foster - naked and burnt. These bodies were also found between 2002 and 2003, but he does double the time between each murder and it's likely we have found the other bodies yet. Keeping in mind the time he discovered this sick fantasy, this would make our unsub either late-twenties or thirty.