we walked into a house in baltimore, having gotten called in by morgan who was briefing us on the case.

"baltimore pd's seen greasy stuff, but never anything like this. we got two bodies, william and helen dimarco, retired, fifty seven years old, no kids. a neighbor reports a white male, twenty to forty years old fleeing the scene and i quote 'hopped-up on those damn drugs'." derek explained as we walked to the staircase that led to the crime scene.

"so far it sounds like a standard double homicide," gideon told him as we hopped up the stairs and to the master bedroom,"why are we here?"

we entered the room and i gasped, clamping my hand over my mouth. blood sprayed the walls and furniture, dripping down from the ceiling. the shower looked no different than the room, and the bathtub had rings of dried blood in it.

morgan spoke, as we all realized why we were brought in,"massive overkill. helen dimarco was found here," he walked over to the vanity,"tied to the chair in front of the vanity. no defensive wounds. ligature marks on the wrists. one clean laceration from ear to ear."

i looked at the blood that had sprayed up to the ceiling,"he obviously hit the carotid, so at least she went quickly."

derek nodded,"the husband wasn't so lucky. he was found in the shower. ligature marks on the wrists and ankles and one long laceration up the abdomen through both layers and muscles."

i sucked in my breath, the description making my abdomen ache.

reid, who was standing behind me, spoke up, "evisceration, that's typical of disorganized behaviors."

elle did a quick walk through the bathroom,"despite all the blood, this crime scene shows method, order, control, i'd say it's pretty organized."

"there's also evidence of torture with the husband. burns, contusions, lacerations...you name it this guy tried it."

i bit the inside of my cheek, empathy wrapping around my body and constricting my airways. he had to watch his own wife be killed, which was torture enough, and then get his own special segment of hellish and psychological torture.

"the torture is the unsub signature, the methodology is usually unique. a person, who burns someone doesn't normally use a knife." hotch said thoughtfully.

gideon shrugged, not thinking too much of that,"maybe we have more than one killer or we have one killer with more than one personality. we also have three victims. one on the vanity where wife's body was found, her husband was in the shower. for the looks of the level of the ring in this tub, whoever was in it lost their entire blood volume."

"approximately ten-point-six pints." reid and i said in unison.

we met eyes and i smiled sheepishly as he looked at the floor.

"which means the victim was dismembered. looks like our guy took all the parts with him." elle concluded, making my eyes widen.

•

"third victim was positively i.d.'d as a low level mob guy," morgan walked into the conference room slapping a picture of a man onto the evidence board,"fredrick 'freddy' condor. he was the nephew of the older couple. body parts were found in seven different trash cans two blocks from the scene."

"were they able to completely reassemble the body?" i asked from my seat, looking at the file in my hands.

"he didn't keep any trophies."

"is there any evidence he got off?" elle questioned, walking over to derek.

"no." morgan answered.

spencer decided it was time we bring in another thing that might be able to help,"garcia has a number of unsolved murders in d.c., virginia and maryland over the past fifteen years. many of them have ties to organized crime. all different m.o.'s."

"what's the connection?"

i looked up from the file i was holding,"torture. marks on the bone are consistent with the same cutting tool. tortured victims, most tied to organized crime. no signs of sexual sadism."

elle looked at the table, pieces of the puzzle clicking in her head,"we're looking for a hit man."

derek shook his head, her statement not making sense to him,"no, a hit man doesn't need to torture to get the job done."

"what if he wants to?" i asked, my question hanging in the air for the rest of the team to consider.

it was very possible that, despite the fact that there could just be a quick shoot to the head and the job is done, this particular killer loves to torture. whoever was hiring him didn't have to know that, they just needed to know that the job was successful.

jj walked into the room, holding a piece of paper,"two things: baltimore just forwarded a sketch of the man running from the scene and, uh, you've got some agents out there who think that you're poaching on their turf."

"i'll handle it." gideon stood up and walked out of the room.

jj handed us the sketch and walked out with him.

we all looked at it, and i couldn't help but notice this guy's feminine features: high cheek bones, big lips. i didn't know if it held any significance, but it was notable.

after a few moments gideon walked back in. he was supposed to drop the case, but he didn't mention it as he started on the profile.

"condor worked at a scrap metal yard in baltimore. i'll take hotch and check it out." i stood up and grabbed my blazer off of the chair.

"be careful." spencer said, causing the team to give him a weird look.

"aw," i pushed my bottom lip out,"are you worried about me?"

he got visibly flustered, clearing his throat and looking down at pictures of possible victims, "i-i don't- just...."

i chuckled and ruffled his hair,"i'll be careful."

morgan smirked and nudged me as i walked by.

•

hotch and i walked into the scrap yard, and trying to make conversation before we approached russo, i asked,"you ever been to a scrap metal place?"

he shook his head,"not until now. you?"

i chuckled,"no, one of my dad's is a surgeon and the other one is a criminal justice attorney."

hotch nodded as we found russo and what i would assume is some kind of bodyguard, "michael russo?"

"what do you want?" he asked blankly, not taking kindly to our presence.

i pulled out my badge and showed it to him,"agents harris-tran and hotchner, fbi. what can you tell us about freddy condor?"

russo shrugged,"he didn't show up for work today. he didn't call, nothin'."

"probably because he, his aunt, and his uncle were murdered last night." hotch informed him.

i watched as his face showed almost no emotions. he didn't seem surprised, nor did he seem stricken,"really? that's too bad."

i narrowed my eyes at him,"yeah, i can tell you're all busted up about it."

he scoffed, getting annoyed with me,"look, i don't speak smart ass, so if you've got something to say, say it."

"it was a professional hit," hotch interjected, "either you're in charge of your business or you're not."

"what kind of business do you think i'm in" russo attempted to act dumb, but he knew exactly what we meant,"look around. i'm in scrap metal. all about recycling. that's where the money is, my friend. saving the earth."

i lightly laughed. this guy didn't exactly give me the environmental activist vibe.

i stepped closer to him, my heel crunching on the pebbles and dirt that made up the ground, "you know, the mob isn't what it used to be-"

"and just, what do you know about the mob, princess?" russo asked, amusing himself.

i rolled my eyes,"enough to know thats it's not always easy fighting for respect. one of your boy's steps out of line and you have to hit him hard and make it count. that's what happened to freddy condor, right?"

russo looked less than suspicious,"look. you got a case to make, run along, get your papers and come back with the bracelets. otherwise, i got a business to run."

•

derek and hotch had hit an address of a man named jimmy baker. reid and i looked through files of unsolved murders, trying to find a connection other than torture.

by the time we had finished looking through every file the sun had started to come up and agent cramer from organized crime had joined us. turned out, baker is an undercover agent, trying to get the right amount of evidence to arrest russo.

now, he's missing and we need to find him, and hopefully that'll lead to our unsub.

my eyes shut, not able to hold my own anymore. my head hit the desk, involuntarily, and i yelped, rubbing my forehead with my hand.

"are you okay?" i heard spencer ask me.

i laughed, thinking it was funny how i smacked my head,"i'm fine, but there's gonna be a stupid bruise right in the middle of my head, so that's cool."

"right. maybe we should get you a helmet." spencer said, and though i was unsure if he was joking, i chuckled anyways.

i rolled my eyes playfully and shook my head, "they sent me in with a guy who could read these files in six seconds, and now he's offering me a helmet. funny how that works."

spencer pressed his lips together, in an awkward smile,"sorry. you're probably tired, do you want me to get you coffee?"

i looked up at him and smiled. the gesture was very sweet, and it made my heart flutter. he had been extra attentive this week, i think it has something to do with being sucker punched with a gun last time we worked on a case. i was either pity or genuine caring.

either way, it made me feel nice,"that's okay, i can get it myself."

"it's really not a problem i was going to-" he was cut off by hotch walking into the room.

"we're gonna go see russo again. i think we can break him," hotch told me, but then looked me up and down disapprovingly,"but first, we're gonna stop by your house so you can change. if he sees you in the same outfit he won't take you seriously."

"fair point, let's go," i grabbed my blazer and smiled apologetically at reid,"you got this?"

he nodded, looking a little disappointed. he probably just didn't want to do all the work himself, which i get.

"i can send in garcia." hotch told him and walked out of the room with me.

•

"how can i help you, agents?" russo asked from his seat.

we were in his little mob club thing, i wasn't exactly sure how to describe it. it was darkly lit, probably to crest an ominous feel, and eyes were on me with every step i walked.

"we're worried about you." i answered, crossing my arms over my chest as we stopped in front of him.

he looked me up and down, amused by my words,"what's got you losing sleep?"

"we hear you didn't order that hit on freddy."

"i told you, i had nothing to do with that." russo reiterated.

i rolled my eyes and tossed a folder on the table in front of him,"why don't you open that folder?"

he opened the folder, which held pictures of all the over kill, something we were sure he had no idea about.

"seems like you have a problem within your organization." hotch said, all but smirking.

russo looked less than threatened,"is that right?"

i nodded, stepping closer to him as he stood up,"so your hitter doesn't just kill for a paycheck. he kills for pleasure. it's what makes him good at what he does. he's paranoid, he's a psychopath, and he's free-lancing. he's killing civilians now and he's drawing a lot of attentions. and you can't control him," i grabbed a picture that had been taken of mr. dimarco,"that's what he did to freddy's uncle. russo, if he's not a problem for you now, he will be."

"why don't you let me worry about that." russo answered, still trying to seem like none of what we said affected him.

i looked at the floor, trying to think of something that could shake his confidence. i needed to know that we had him where we needed him.

"how do you think your buddies would feel about you being friendly with the fbi?" i questioned, hoping that would strike a nerve,"just a thought."

•

hotch, gideon, cramer, our hitman, and i walked into the bau, heading straight for the interrogation room.

"hey, we've got this, laine," gideon told me, looking at me with sympathy,"why don't you go check out what was in his car?"

i rolled my eyes, but nodded and walked away. when we were trying to get the hitman he had grabbed him, started beating me up and choked me until he was finally tased and i got the room the breathe.

my entire body ached and my mouth had been bleeding since he let me go, which was about a half hour ago. it should stop soon, but if it doesn't i'm gonna have to head to the emergency room.

i walked into the bullpen and headed straight to the evidence boxes elle and morgan were rummaging through.

"laine, what happened?" spencer saw me, getting up from his desk and walking towards me.

i sighed and continued to walk to the boxes,"our hitman got a hold of me."

spencer frowned,"that's the second time in a row our unsub has assaulted you."

i nodded, deciding to make a joke of it,"yeah, well maybe i just have a punchable face. that's what lacey gengrich told me during junior year, so..."

morgan laughed, finding my joke amusing,"your mouth is covered in blood."

i sat down on top of my desk and raised my eyebrows,"really? thought i just ate a lot of beets," i hit hit shoulder lightly,"shut up, derek, i know."

he raised his hands in surrender,"i was just letting you know. do you need to go to the emergency room? isn't there a time limit for these kinds of things?"

i shrugged, pulling my knees to my chest, "yeah, probably. anything good in the boxes?"

morgan gave me an annoyed look,"i'm serious. i don't want you to bleed out."

i gave him an exasperated look,"bleed out? sir, i've lost maybe like half a pint of blood, i'm not gonna die."

he stared at me for a second before dropping it.

•

i sat in the emergency room with reid, my mouth had turned out to be persistent. it probably has to do with the incidents happening so close together, my mouth didn't have the time to heal properly.

the curtains were drawn and i sat in the hospital bed, reid vigil at my bedside.

"you don't have to stay, you know. i'm sure they need you at the bau." i looked over at him.

he shook his head,"they don't need me."

i frowned, knowing that wasn't true. he's essential to the team, way more so than the bleeding actor who can't even take a second to not get decked in the face.

"well, thank for you staying," i smiled lightly, though it was closed lipped, so he couldn't see the mess behind them,"and driving."

he nodded,"yeah, well accidents are fifteen percent more likely to happen if the driver has some sort of bodily harm."

i loved when he did that. most find it annoying that he has a fact for everything, but i thought it was about the cutest thing that ever happens.

i heard the curtains drag open and looked to see kyle in his scrubs,"laine, what happened to you?"

i looked over at spencer, who was staring at the male nurse who bursted into my partition of the e.r.

"um, hey kyle, how'd you know i was here?" i asked.

"jane called me from the peds floor." he answered, sitting down at the edge of my bed.

i rolled my eyes and cursed,"jane!"

"so what happened?" kyle pressed on.

"our unsub beat her up when she wasn't looking." spencer answered, causing kyle to look at him for maybe the first time.

"who are you?"

"dr. spencer reid, i work with laine." spencer answered.

kyle gasped, but it quickly turned into a smirk, "oh, this is spencer."

my head snapped to spencer, as he gave me a confused look. i tried to backtrack kyle's words immediately, trying to save some pride,"um, that's not...i wasn't- i didn't, i-i wasn't talking about you or anything."

kyle stared at me with narrowed eyes, knowing i was lying, but he dropped it,"have they injected your gums with the clotting agent yet?"

i chuckled,"if they did, do you think dr. reid would still be sitting here and not running for the hills?"

kyle laughed,"true, that shit is nasty," he turned to spencer, getting ready to embarrass me,"once, during sophomore year, we were practicing our tap number for the musical and i accidentally hit her in the mouth, so we went to the hospital and i watched her get her injections to stop the bleeding. i almost threw up."

i rolled my eyes,"don't you have tiny bedpans to change up on the peds floor?"

he knit his eyebrows together,"well, the bedpans are...just regular sized."

"um, since he's here, do you want me to go?" spencer asked, starting to stand up.

i inwardly groaned. kyle just had to ruin everything, didn't he? spencer was literally at my bedside, and now he's leaving. i had him right there. i was very close.

"no, don't-"

"thanks, it's getting pretty cramped in here. these bed's suck." kyle cut me off, looking up at spencer.

spencer smiled awkwardly,"right. um, i'll see you at work, laine."

"bye." i waved, watching him leave.

as soon as he was out of earshot i hit kyle's arm,"what is wrong with you?"

kyle laughed,"what? you need me here."

i scoffed. the one thing i did not need was kyle james.

"i need you to leave me the hell alone." i quipped, deciding to pout.

"sorry i got rid of your crush, but-"

"i don't have a crush on him." i cut him off as we walked over and plopped into spencer's former seat.

kyle scoffed, taking a drink from the water i had gotten,"i've been around you for ten years. i know what it looks like when you like somebody. and hey," he added, trying to save himself,"at least i didn't tell him anything about your ex-girlfriends."

i deadpanned,"get out."

he laughed, throwing his head back,"isn't that worth something?"

i rolled my eyes. it was not worth anything,"just go find a doctor to inject my gums."

"fine." he sighed, annoyed that i wasn't playing into his amusement.

i watched him walk away before throwing my head against the back of the bed. i love him, but he ruins everything.