anyway.”
“As profilers?” asked Alex. “I can understand Manny, but Sophie and me?”
“You two are very good at what you do, and the three of you have been a team for awhile. You can kick around ideas with each other, and it’ll help.”
“It won’t take long to profile three drug runners,” said Manny.
“Yeah. They want you to leave tomorrow and probably come home in a day or two. Home, as in Quantico. You’ve all got a shitload of paperwork to finish and you haven’t met everyone you need to meet. Then there’s the swearing-in ceremony for Alex and Sophie.”
“That’ll be a switch. Sworn in instead of sworn at,” said Sophie.
“For you,” said Alex.
“Bite me.”
“On your own time, you two,” said Josh, not hiding his smile.
“I’m assuming you all brought your travel bags,” he continued, “so go ahead and get a hotel. You’ll leave tomorrow morning, early.”
The phone on the nightstand rang, and Josh picked it up.
“Corner here. Yes sir, thank you. We’re glad we made it, too.”
As Josh listened, Manny saw his friend’s expression change like a dark cloud had just blocked his sunlight.
Josh hung up the phone, then swung his bare feet to the floor. “Circumstances have changed.”
“How?” asked Manny.
“The rangers in the El Yunque rainforest have just discovered four bodies. Two near a campsite and two in a tourist attraction, the Mount Britton Tower.”
“And . . . ?” prompted Alex.
“They were all four hacked to death, and it looks like the killings could have been less than twelve hours apart. They want our help.”
“What does hacked to death mean?” asked Manny.
“I don’t know, but we’re going to find out.”
“So we’re invited and still leaving tomorrow morning?” said Manny.
“Yes to both. Well, we’re going to leave as soon as the weather clears and we can get a jet here. I’ll talk to the doctors and find out their bottom line for when I can leave. I have an ‘in’ at the rainforest so I need to get there ASAP.”
“In?” asked Manny.
“I’ll tell you later.” Josh paused then added, “There’s another thing. We need to talk about you and Chloe getting tight when this one’s over. There are regulations that address relationships at the Bureau, let alone in the same unit. Especially when it could affect judgment in a dangerous situation. Is that a problem here?”
Manny nodded. “We kind of thought this was coming, so no surprise. But no, there’s no problem, so far.”
“He’s right, none so far,” said Chloe.
“Okay. We’ll talk more later on. Right now, let’s get the docs to do their job so we can get the hell out of here.”
“Are you going to be able to fly so soon?” asked Alex.
Raising his palms to the ceiling, Josh shrugged. “What choice do I have? I either fly or take a bus to DC and get a job serving burgers.”
“I guess that’s true, but that may be easier said than done,” said Manny.
“It might.”
Manny noticed that Josh was trying to avoid eye contact and knew immediately there was more. “What else?” he said.
“Two things,” Josh quickly responded. “We will be meeting the new CSI assigned to this unit in San Juan. His name is Dean Mikus. We just hired him away from the Los Angeles PD. Very bright, but a little quirky.”
“He’ll fit right in,” said Sophie.
“He will. And the other thing?” probed Manny.
Agent Corner glanced at the floor, then to the ceiling, finally settling on Manny. “This might be my last case in the BAU.”
Chapter-12
“We’ve got six bodies, all killed the same way. I think that qualifies as freaking rampage, a serial-killer trifecta. Shit. Why us?” said Detective Julia Crouse.
Detective Carlos Ruiz started to answer his partner, but paused to look at her for a moment. She was taller than he, better-than-average-looking with huge, dark eyes and short, black hair that perfectly framed her oval face. She was damn near attractive when
“As profilers?” asked Alex. “I can understand Manny, but Sophie and me?”
“You two are very good at what you do, and the three of you have been a team for awhile. You can kick around ideas with each other, and it’ll help.”
“It won’t take long to profile three drug runners,” said Manny.
“Yeah. They want you to leave tomorrow and probably come home in a day or two. Home, as in Quantico. You’ve all got a shitload of paperwork to finish and you haven’t met everyone you need to meet. Then there’s the swearing-in ceremony for Alex and Sophie.”
“That’ll be a switch. Sworn in instead of sworn at,” said Sophie.
“For you,” said Alex.
“Bite me.”
“On your own time, you two,” said Josh, not hiding his smile.
“I’m assuming you all brought your travel bags,” he continued, “so go ahead and get a hotel. You’ll leave tomorrow morning, early.”
The phone on the nightstand rang, and Josh picked it up.
“Corner here. Yes sir, thank you. We’re glad we made it, too.”
As Josh listened, Manny saw his friend’s expression change like a dark cloud had just blocked his sunlight.
Josh hung up the phone, then swung his bare feet to the floor. “Circumstances have changed.”
“How?” asked Manny.
“The rangers in the El Yunque rainforest have just discovered four bodies. Two near a campsite and two in a tourist attraction, the Mount Britton Tower.”
“And . . . ?” prompted Alex.
“They were all four hacked to death, and it looks like the killings could have been less than twelve hours apart. They want our help.”
“What does hacked to death mean?” asked Manny.
“I don’t know, but we’re going to find out.”
“So we’re invited and still leaving tomorrow morning?” said Manny.
“Yes to both. Well, we’re going to leave as soon as the weather clears and we can get a jet here. I’ll talk to the doctors and find out their bottom line for when I can leave. I have an ‘in’ at the rainforest so I need to get there ASAP.”
“In?” asked Manny.
“I’ll tell you later.” Josh paused then added, “There’s another thing. We need to talk about you and Chloe getting tight when this one’s over. There are regulations that address relationships at the Bureau, let alone in the same unit. Especially when it could affect judgment in a dangerous situation. Is that a problem here?”
Manny nodded. “We kind of thought this was coming, so no surprise. But no, there’s no problem, so far.”
“He’s right, none so far,” said Chloe.
“Okay. We’ll talk more later on. Right now, let’s get the docs to do their job so we can get the hell out of here.”
“Are you going to be able to fly so soon?” asked Alex.
Raising his palms to the ceiling, Josh shrugged. “What choice do I have? I either fly or take a bus to DC and get a job serving burgers.”
“I guess that’s true, but that may be easier said than done,” said Manny.
“It might.”
Manny noticed that Josh was trying to avoid eye contact and knew immediately there was more. “What else?” he said.
“Two things,” Josh quickly responded. “We will be meeting the new CSI assigned to this unit in San Juan. His name is Dean Mikus. We just hired him away from the Los Angeles PD. Very bright, but a little quirky.”
“He’ll fit right in,” said Sophie.
“He will. And the other thing?” probed Manny.
Agent Corner glanced at the floor, then to the ceiling, finally settling on Manny. “This might be my last case in the BAU.”
Chapter-12
“We’ve got six bodies, all killed the same way. I think that qualifies as freaking rampage, a serial-killer trifecta. Shit. Why us?” said Detective Julia Crouse.
Detective Carlos Ruiz started to answer his partner, but paused to look at her for a moment. She was taller than he, better-than-average-looking with huge, dark eyes and short, black hair that perfectly framed her oval face. She was damn near attractive when
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