i walked into the bau and sat down across from spencer at my desk. he was staring intently at a chess board in front of him.

i looked at him with confusion,"hey, spencer..."

he glanced at me for a second and smiled,"hello."

i watched as gideon approached reid and moved a knight a few spaces to the left.

"check," he said nonchalantly, spencer looking dumbfounded at the strategic placement, "checkmate in three moves."

i nodded, confirming his statement,"he's right. he's got you in three."

gideon shrugged,"you'll start beating me when you learn to think outside the box."

i smiled lightly in amusement, knowing that thinking outside the box was not spencer's specialty. in fact, i would say he lived inside the box. he's never left, it was his home from childhood.

"question for you guys." elle made her way to our desks, resting her hands on mine and leaning in. almost like i was being interrogated.

hotch had approved her transfer after the time in seattle. she had been dying to get into the bau and frankly, now that she was here i wasn't being treated like the new girl. i guess new just means most recent and not actually new.

"shoot." i turned my chair and looked at her.

"the footpath killer," she started, causing me to sigh. gideon had told me about it as soon as he could. it was some kind of test, i had managed to crack it, but it took longer than expected, "why did he stutter?"

morgan shook his head, chuckling slightly,"come on elle, we've all asked. he won't say. he wants us to figure it out."

i knit my eyebrows. was no one able to understand? it was more of a trick question than anything and when i told gideon that, he swore me to secrecy. wants the rest of the team on their toes.

elle smiled smugly, crossing her arms over her chest,"i'm always up for a challenge."

"good," i watched as jj approached her. she was carrying a stack of files and plopped them onto my desk in front of her,"cause these are for you."

elle looked at the stack with distaste and i laughed inwardly.

"i'm jennifer jareau, jj if you like." the pair shook hands.

"elle-" she started to introduce herself, but jj was one step ahead. as always.

"greenaway: highest number of solved cases in seattle, three years running. specialty in sex offender cases."

elle shot the girl an impressed look, not aware that anyone would know that much about her. i sure didn't.

"not bad." elle shrugged, the look stuck on her face.

jj smiled, acknowledging the compliment,"well, i'm the unit liaison. my specialty is untangling bureaucratic knots. you'll probably be talking to me a lot. my door's always open, mostly because i'm never in my office, so just call me on my cell, okay? we'll talk."

jj made her way to hotch's office, him stepping out as soon as she got there. they had a brief discussion before he turned to address the rest of us.

"bau team, can you meet in the conference room please? i need to show you something." he said before swiftly walking to the room.

i stood up, grabbing my phone and pocketing it. i trailed behind with elle, i guess deciding to stick together. new girl's bond or something.

"so," she started casually,"i haven't heard of your specialty."

morgan laughed aloud, turning to face us, now walking backwards,"her specialty is being able to harmonize with any song after hearing it once."

i rolled my eyes playfully. he had in fact been testing that ability frequently.

"just watch where you walk, morgan," i shot teasingly as he stumbled over his own feet. he smirked and turned around. i looked over at elle,"specialty has not been declared."

she nodded and casually told me,"well, then you must be good at everything."

i shrugged, not exactly sure that was the truth. it would be nice to be good at everything, but that had never been what i was known for.

we entered the room and i took my usual seat between reid and jj. reid watched me until i sat down, something he tended to do.

i couldn't exactly pinpoint why, usually i just tried to ignore it. as soon as my butt hit the seat, his eyes were back on the desk.

part of me wanted to ask why, but part of me was nervous for the answer. for instance, if the answer was 'i hate when you sit next to me, i can't even look at you when you're next to me'. i wouldn't like that.

hotch drew me out of my thoughts when he started to speak on the case,"this is from the phoenix office, the bradshaw college in tempe has experienced six fires in seven months."

i looked at the tv, a video of the fire not yet playing as gideon asked,"who recorded it?"

"a student with a digital camcorder. he was watching a fire in the building across from their dorm. the other person you'll see in the video in his roommate, twenty year old matthew rowland." jj informed us before grabbing the little white remote and pressing play.

i watched intently. it started out as lighthearted, well as lighthearted as arson could be. they even called the fire cool. the film continued, matthew rowland walking to the door to investigate fluid coming from under the door.

i looked at the video with distaste as matthew was promptly set on fire. the video ended seconds later with the roommate dropping the camcorder and trying to put out matthew with a rug.

we all turned to hotch, trying to silently process what we had seen.

"wheels up in thirty," hotch told us,"i don't think i need to tell you, that time is of the essence here."

•

"guess what i'm doing." morgan smirked at me, his laptop on the desk in front of him.

i turned to face him from my seat on the couch,"enlighten me."

morgan had taken the liberty of being the guy that teases me. i assumed it would be him, that just seemed to be his personality. i just didn't know it would happen so quick.

i didn't exactly mind, most of what he did entertained me.

"did you know laguardia high school films all of it's productions?" he asked, though it was a rhetorical question, because of course i knew that,"i am watching a young lainey as charity in the musical sweet charity."

reid and gideon looked up from their chess match. gideon came to my defense, i suppose he was tired of the remarks,"you know why i hired a girl with extensive acting training?"

morgan shrugged, replying jokingly,"so she could recite monologues for our entertainment."

i looked at gideon, wondering why he had hired an actor. it surprised me too, i guessed he just didn't want what laguardia was.

he moved a piece and stated frankly,"actors are the biggest behavioral analysts out there," the rest of the team clearly needed him to elaborate a little more. i understood instantly what he meant, but he continued for the others,"from the moment they get a script in their hands, they've already begun to profile the character. they take on their role and understand them better than anyone. every choice they make has to do with human behaviors and emotions. they can read others because they've mastered mannerisms and know exactly why people make the choices they make."

i smiled, the statement making me happy. there was an actual tangible reason for my acting background. i thought it was more of a weakness, but knowing it was a strength made me actually feel useful.

morgan nodded, opting not to speak again. probably for the best.

•

after morgan's escapade we went over the case, like we always did. we went over the facts of the case and determine one thing: this arsonist was out for blood.

the black suv carrying half of the team, the other half in another suv, pulled into the college campus.

hotch opened the door and we stepped out, my eyes begging to be shielded. i grabbed the sunglasses out of my pocket and slipped them on.

i turned to see spencer, who was still sitting in the car, waiting to get out.

i chuckled,"waiting for an invitation, princess?"

he looked at me, once again not keying into my
joke, even looking a little flustered,"wh- no, i just...i don't-"

i shook my head, his wires seeming to short circuit a little bit,"reid, i was kidding," i offered him my hand to help him out of the car,"come on."

he stared at my hand for a moment, deliberating in his mind. eventually, he grabbed it lightly and i pulled him out of the car.

morgan watched us, his face contorted as he popped his gum,"stop flirting, we have work to do."

i scoffed and let go of spencer's hand. spencer glanced at me for a second, but i was busy looking around.

"did you go to a college like this?" he asked, referring to it's old-style architecture.

i nodded, it looking the least bit familiar, despite me never being here before,"originally i was going to nyu tisch for a bfa in musical theatre, but after..." i trailed off, not wanting to rehash the memories of something we both already knew about,"well, after what happened, i managed a transfer to columbia."

"right," reid pressed his lips together awkwardly, knowing that time of my life was a sore subject,"i went to caltech when i was twelve."

i laughed, temporarily forgetting he was a genius. sometimes it slips your mind.

gideon got out of his suv with the rest of the team and we began walking to the administrative officer.

"no badges," he said firmly, which led to me pocket mine,"i don't want to satisfy the unsub's need for attention by letting him know the fbi's here. try not to look official."

i laughed silently, looking at hotch and morgan in their freshly pressed suits. reid was wearing a tie, elle wore a power suit.

finally i had done something right. i looked at my doc martens, black jeans, cheetah print button down and chain belt. gideon always dressed pretty casually, so he never found himself in the dilemma that the rest did.

gideon glanced at us and sighed, knowing he probably should have said this sooner,"try to look less official. like laine," he gestured to me,"she looks like she has a poly-sci class in fifteen minutes."

i winked at him and clicked my tongue,"you know it, boss."

as a woman approached us, i pushed my sunglasses down the bridge of my nose to see her better. my glasses were grey tinted, which made it difficult to see things how they really were.

i recognized her as the dean of students, her picture had been passed around during the plane ride.

it was then i noticed the timid man next to her. i suppose it was the determination the dean had pouring out of her. it overtook everything else, including the lesser man next to her.

she didn't give a friendly smile, just got straight to it,"i'm ellen turner, dean of students here at bradshaw college," she shook our hands as she stated,"obviously i'd rather be meeting you under different circumstances," she gestured lightly to the man next to her,"this is fire inspector zhang."

he nodded, spilling the information he had immediately,"this morning the chemistry department reported several bottles of highly flammable chemicals missing."

i nodded slowly, clearly the arsonist wasn't quite finished yet.

"i'm prepared to evacuate the campus. i cannot and will not have this threat hanging over this school." she said sharply.

"we understand that ma'am, but evacuating brings its own problem. you might evacuate the arsonist as well." hotch explained to her.

i added onto him so she understood exactly why this wouldn't work,"the fires stop, we can't catch him. then when you reopen they start again. it's best to keep it open."

"wait, hold on," morgan said abruptly, his eyes calculating as he looked to fire inspector zhang,"you said the chemicals went missing today."

"yeah." zhang confirmed, waiting for the point to reveal itself.

"one of the previous fires was set with diesel fuel that was also stolen from campus. how long after it disappeared was the fire set?"

dean turner and zhang looked at each other grimly as he stated,"one day."

i muttered a curse under my breath, it going mostly unnoticed,"if he keeps to the same pattern..."

"who's to say there won't be a fire today?"

•

after reid and i had thoroughly investigated matthew rowland's dorm, the result being inconclusive at best, we entered the makeshift command center made for the team.

it was technically a computer lab, not much going on. a whiteboard, two tables, and chairs to go along with them.

morgan, reid, and i were instructed to find out how the first three devices that started the fires worked. i wasn't much of an engineer, i let morgan and reid take the ropes.

"so," morgan took a seat next to me,"the timer set off the road flare, which then lights the chemical mixture inside the canister. simple."

i grabbed the device in my hands, looking to see if there was anything special on it. marks, drawings, symbols. when i came up empty, it confused me. no signature.

"yet, sophisticated in its simplicity," reid told us, holding his hand out so i would hand the machinery to him. i set it in his hand, mine lingering for only a second. but the second was enough to fluster him. he cleared his throat,"i mean, there's a meticulous structure to it."

i shrugged, stating the most obvious,"could mean chemical student. it makes the most sense."

"or chemistry professor."

i shook my head, the thought irking me slightly,"no..." i trailed off trying to think of the reason why that conclusion bothered me,"no. you need self confidence to lecture in a classroom of a bunch of kids. serial arsonists are typically awkward. they lack social skills. this guy...this guy doesn't go to parties, and if he does he stands in the corner. doesn't ask anyone out, probably doesn't date at all. total loner."

reid looked at me with offense, and i realized i had just described him to a t. i chuckled awkwardly,"and he's obviously a psychopath."

"obviously." he nodded, but didn't look any less relieved.

i was going to speak more when i heard the fire alarm blare. i immediately covered my ears, wincing at the piercing noise.

"what the fuck?" i looked to spencer, morgan had ran out the door as soon as he heard the alarm.

"we need to go!" he yelled, grabbing my arm and pulling me out of the room.

he unintentionally ripped my hands from my ears as we ran down the hall together.

his hand stayed around my arm as we tried to navigate through the young adults panicking and shoving at every second. at one point i definitely felt someone's hand brush against me in the worst place possible. i ignored it, hoping it was an accident.

we managed to get to the exit, the sun beaming. but it was nothing compared to the smoke and flames coming from the west wing of the building.

reid and i stopped in our tracks, looking up at the tragic scene in front of us. i placed my hand over my mouth, shocked at how much smoke was produced.

i had hoped no one was hurt, but i knew that it was improbable at best.

•

the victim had turned out to be a professor. his office was set on fire and he burned. it was gruesome, and the campus was devastated. he was a favorite around here and i just didn't understand why it was him specifically.

i stared at the pictures that elle had taken of bystanders during the course of the event. they all presented either fear, sadness, or shock. no one was smug, or entertained, or even remorseful.

morgan was pacing, reid leaned against the wall, and hotch sat next to me. elle was across from me and gideon stood at the whiteboard.

"when asked about his motives, peter dinsdale said 'i am devoted to fire. fire is my master.'" reid told us, though it didn't stand out to me.

"so who's our boy's master?" morgan asked, pulling our a lighter and letting the fire show, "ten thousand plus students and one has a serious fascination for fire."

"fire starting is one third of the homicidal triad. look into this guy's childhood and we'd find bed wetting and cruelty to animals." elle said.

gideon nodded thoughtfully,"an absent or divine father. trouble with the opposite sex, chronic low self esteem: the m.o. would be dynamic. evolving. as the fire starting escalates, they thrive on panic, fear. it's the standard profile of a serial arsonist."

i shook my head,"we're off the mark."

gideon agreed with me, i suppose that's where he was going with his little spiel,"because of two missing elements."

i looked up, trying to think of what he meant. after a little deliberation, it floated to the top of my mind,"sex and power- the two motives that drive a serial arsonist."

"and without them we have no profile."

•

i stood with hotch and reid at the chemical department of the school. they supposedly knew how the most recent fire started.

in the lab there sat three girls and one boy. i noted the female power, glad to see it.

"reid, since you're more their age, why don't you do the talking?" hotch suggested, though nothing he said was ever a suggestion.

i knit my eyebrows, knowing that i was a year younger than him. but i didn't say anything, wondering how spencer would do.

he looked at us nervously, not confident in his ability to talk to others. i patted his shoulder softly,"dude, they're just college kids. you can do this."

he smiled awkwardly,"thanks...dude."

hotch and i shared a weary look, his chances of keeping his foot out of his mouth were bleak at best. nevertheless, we made our way to lean against the wall, letting spencer fully take the ropes.

spencer looked at the young adults, they were engrossed in their outside work. he cleared his throat and they looked up with blank faces,"hi- hi, guys. uh, my name's, uh, dr. spencer reid. i'm a, uh, agent with the- the bau, the behavioral analysis unit of the fbi, which, um, it used to be called the bsu, the behavioral science unit, but not anymore. they changed it to the bau-"

i wiped my face with my hand, his rambling threatening to ruin this whole situation,"what he's trying to say, is he'd love to know what you know."

he looked to me and nodded,"right."

i walked to spencer, relieving him of his position. he let out a breath, silently thanking me as he went to hotch and inspector zhang, who had entered during his speech.

the boy closed his binder, and stood up. his eyes met mine, which i found peculiar. usually people have to look down at me, i'm not known for my insane height. but he was right at my eye line, meaning he couldn't have been any taller than me.

despite his small frame, i could tell he felt tall. cocky, self-assured, thought he was the smartest person in the room. it half ruled him out as our unsub. but you never know.

he grabbed the light bulb that was sitting in front of me and held it up to my face. the men came to stand with me, so they could get a clear picture as well.

"see this?" he pointed to the side of the bulb and made a twisting motion with his finger,"drill a hole in the side, fill it with gasoline, or whatever. turn it on and boom!"

i looked at him skeptically, it seeming all too simple.

"this stuff's all over the net," the girl in the back piped up. she was clearly shy and reserved, but kept talking anyways,"do you wanna know how to make a molotov cocktail that sets itself on fire? potassium, sulfur, and normal sugar. sugar, sugar which is-"

i looked at the girl with confused eyes. i found it strange that she said sugar three times. i thought maybe it was for emphasis, but one time was enough. it had to be something else.

"not exactly plutonium," the guy cut her off,"you could get this stuff anywhere."

"sugar from the super market." she reiterated, twisting her cross necklace in her fingers.

i stared at the girl blankly, not playing into her incessant need to talk about sugar.

"do you think it's a chemistry student?" zhang asked the boy, disregarding miss girl over there.

"you know what i think," he handed me to lightbulb and walked back to his work station,"i think it's a good time to take the semester off."

•

after we had gotten a lead, which just so happened to be a weird voicemail of the arsonist telling us he does this for karen, morgan and i were given the special job of interviewing every karen in this godforsaken place.

"thanks, karen." i called out as morgan let karen number seven leave.

i could see a line of karen's as he opened the door and i dropped my head onto the desk. i was tired of talking to karens. i would kill to speak to a catherine or an amber.

"there's gotta be a faster way to do this." morgan sighed as he crossed a name off the list.

there was no indicators of arsonists related to these girls so far. my head was pounding, i think my brain was trying to physically leave my head. and i don't blame her.

i shrugged, jokingly suggesting,"let's change the first question to are you dating a serial arsonist?"

morgan chuckled and shook his head,"efficient."

i nodded and stood up, walking to retrieve karen number eight.

•

"can't believe we interviewed all those karen's for nothing." i muttered to derek as we watched clara being wheeled away in ambulance.

he laughed,"that's all you took out of this? her reasons were religious prosecution, completely out of the box and unique, and you're concerned about the karen's?"

i looked up at him through lashes, popping my gum,"yep."

he shook his head and smiled,"at least we got her, huh?"

i nodded, happy to have another solved case. even if clara did have to get shot for this one to be successful. she killed multiple people, i didn't exactly feel remorseful whether she could help it or not.