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𝑷 𝑶 𝑽
❝ 𝚘𝚑, 𝚒'𝚍 𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚞𝚙, 𝚊𝚕𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 ❞

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ㅤ"𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐋𝐎𝐏𝐄 𝐆𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐈𝐀," Finley greeted almost teasingly as soon as said woman entered the jet. "You know, I thought I'd be the last one on the jet. I packed everything I could possibly need and still ended up being the first. Can you imagine that?"

Penelope giggled, sitting across from her. "I certainly can't, because rarely do I actually join the team out into the field."

Finley chuckled. "Speaking of, I didn't know you were coming."

"Yeah, Hotch told me that I had to be on site," the redhead shrugged. "I'll be the eyes and ears throughout the whole operation. Also, can I just say how excited I am to see you in action? Finley Barrett, finally being the model she actually is. I can just imagine the look on Spencer's face once he sees you wearing a swimsuit."

"Penelope..." Finley slightly warned. "We've talked about this. Me and Spencer? Not gonna happen any time soon."

"So that means there's still a possibility, got it." Finley could only gape at her. But before she could retort, the rest of the team came filing in, and JJ was quick to hand Finley a file.

"Here's everything you need to know about yourself," the blonde joked, before heading over her usual seat on the plane, sitting next to Rossi. "We'll debrief once we're in the air."

"Gotcha."

As soon as the entire team settled in, the captain got prepared for take-off. Finley quickly strapped her seatbelt on and opened her file, reading through it meticulously; she knew very well that a single mistake in an undercover mission could cost the entire thing to crumble. And she wasn't about to make herself seem like a failure to the team, not when they were counting on her.

Once they were cruising through the air and the captain's switched off the fasten seatbelt sign, they went straight to business.

Hotch spoke first, beckoning Finley over to sit beside him on the bench where he typically sat during brainstorming sessions. The brunette didn't hesitate to comply, and leaned back against the bench, copying his posture.

"So, Finley, I assume you've got everything in order," Hotch began, his eyes trained on her so intently that she almost wanted to squirm. Keyword: almost.

"Yes, sir," she nodded.

"Good," he nodded. "With your background in undercover work, I trust that this mission will go on smoothly. This case is very publicized, and the everyone knows that the FBI is on duty. It's not just the victims that are at stake, but also the Bureau's reputation. I'm not one to usually care about politics, but since we were personally chosen to deal with this case, I'd prefer to wrap this up as cleanly as possible. You understand?"

"I understand." Finally, Hotch turned his gaze away from her and nodded towards JJ, who took it as her cue.

"Finley, you will be posing as the replacement for Miss District of Columbia," the blonde started, a little unnerved by how much pressure Hotch was putting onto her team member. She could understand why, though, and was a little surprised at how Finley was taking it all in stride; she didn't even look the least bit bothered. "Your name will be Catriona Moran. The first thing we'll do is that we'll set up camp right at the hotel; Garcia and mine's shared room will be our base of operations. Emily will have the room right beside us. We'll be on the floor below Finn's. Morgan and Hotch, Rossi and Reid, you will be sharing a room as well on the same floor."

Hotch nodded after she spoke. "But, because this is an undercover operation, we'll all have separate roles. Morgan and I will be there posing as guards; JJ, Prentiss, and Garcia will be posing as members of Catriona's hair and makeup team since we didn't hire anyone for the job."

"What about Rossi and Reid?" Derek frowned.

"I'm still technically a public figure," Rossi informed them. "I'm there as a guest, and a known FBI agent. People will be turning to me, and it's better that none of you stick too close to me in public if we wanna keep this under-wraps."

"And Reid will be Rossi's assistant," Hotch continued, ignoring how Rossi sent smug looks toward the boy genius, who had began to pout a little at his given role. "Morgan and I will be part of the security team.

Derek nodded. "After that, what's next?"

"The preliminary competition starts in two days. And as we all know, the unsub's been killing one candidate a day, leading up to it. She's not giving us a lot of time."

"Most of the work will be done by Finn alone," JJ added. "She's got to do an interview, a swimsuit walk, and then an evening gown walk. If by some miracle she gets through prelims, she's gonna move on to semis, which we'll worry about once we get down to it. She just has to do her best to fit in and figure things out from the inside."

"So in every stage of the competition, Finn will try and get close to the candidates, which is a pool of potential unsubs and victims," Emily nodded as she thought the mission through. "Will we be wiring her somehow?"

"Of course," their boss nodded. "Except for maybe swimsuit segments, we won't be able to hide a wire in there so Finn will have to go in there alone."

Spencer frowned and looked up at Finley, who was calm and collected, not even looking worried at the possibility of her going alone at some point. He wanted to say some things, but decided that it would be better aid if they were alone. He just sighed and looked down to fiddle with his fingers.

"You sure you ready for this?" Derek directly asked Finley, brows furrowed with concern.

"As long as you guys have my six," she smirked. "Now, do we have any specific list of possible unsubs and victims?"

Penelope sighed loudly at her question as she opened up her laptop and began tapping furiously on the keyboard. "I did background checks on anyone and everyone, and as much as I hate to say it, I've got nothing. Like, all candidates have squeaky clean records, which they annoyingly all have to have if they wanted to compete for a pageant as big as Miss USA. However, I did realize that all three victims were neighbors; Miss Illinois was to the right of Miss DC, and right next to her was Miss New Jersey."

"Then the next victim could be a candidate whose room is right next to theirs," Rossi pointed out.

"Of course, and that's why I took the liberty of looking at their other neighbors and I came up with two possible victims which are Miss Kansas and Miss Arizona."

"Were their room orders in the same order as the killings?" Spencer asked.

"Sadly, no," Penelope shook her head as she looked up at him. "Other than that, I've got no clue who could be the unsub. All of them are at risk of being one."

"Well, the unsub's gotta have knowledge of where the girls are staying in," Derek shrugged.

"Yeah, and that's still most of the girls, plus the organizers, all members of each girls' hair and makeup team, the hotel manager, the receptionist--"

"Right, so, basically everyone."

Penelope could only give him a grimace and a nod.

Hotch sighed. "Like I said, we only have another day before the unsub strikes again. She's been killing everyday leading up to the preliminary competition, so we have to get started immediately. We don't want any more casualties on our hands."

As soon as they arrived in Memphis, the team headed off to their separate posts. Finley got into her room and immediately pulled out all of the stuff she was going to be wearing. Luckily, the swimsuits were provided by the organization so that all the girls were matching and color-coordinated, so the only thing she really had to figure out were evening gowns, plus all the stuff she can wear during press conferences, and the like.

Since she got into the competition rather late due to the unforeseen circumstances, she had to do her preliminary interview late compared to the other girls. Her interview was set to be done in two hours, just so she could catch up, so she didn't waste any time to admire her room and instead focused on finding an appropriate outfit.

She decided on a double-breasted jacket dress that made of Inaul fabric, a traditional hand-woven tapestry design found in Maguindanao, Philippines. The dress reached mid-thigh, and she decided to wear black heels with them. The heels were at least four-inches tall, which made her tower over the other women of the BAU, who had finally entered her room, posing as members of her glam team.

"Oh, wow," Emily gaped, staring up at Finley as she closed the door behind her. She was the last one into the room.

"Finn...you're gonna sweep the judges off their feet," JJ chuckled, scanning her up and down. Finley was still barefaced and her hair wasn't even done yet, but she already looked ready to walk the runway. "Like, seriously."

"I know we're only fake makeup artists and hairdressers but now I really want to help you get ready," Penelope told her, jumping up and down slightly in excitement.

Finley giggled at their words. "You guys are so sweet. And yes, Penny, you can help."

"Ooh me too!" Emily jumped up, ushering Finley onto her vanity chair. "Wait, what can we do? I'm pretty sure you can do your own makeup."

"Penny can do my hair, while you and JJ pick out my accessories," Finley smiled. "Sound good?"

"Absolutely," JJ answered, sharing a look with Emily as they looked through her little accessory box.

Finley turned her attention to the mirror, looking up at Penelope through their reflections. "You've got any ideas?"

Soon enough, Finley was ready. Penelope pulled her hair up into a tight bun on top of her head, spraying a decent amount of hairspray just so her fly-aways would stay in place. JJ and Emily found a pair of thick hoop earring that matched the style of the buttons on her dress. She also had her makeup done.

She was ready to be Catriona Moran.

"You ready?" Emily asked as she was fixing the wire into the inside of Finley's dress.

"As I'll ever be," the brunette replied. As soon as Emily was done, she let out a long breath, sharing looks with the others. She tested out her mic and ear piece, and once she could hear every single member of the team clearly, she strutted out of the room and plastered a grin on her face as she greeted a few of the other candidates who were all curiously lingering around.

Back in the room, JJ nudged Emily while teasingly saying, "I'm straight, right? I'm straight."

"Well I'm not," the raven-haired woman joked back. "I'd honestly tap that if it weren't for Spencer staking his claim."

"I did not stake any claim," Spencer protested through their comms, his voice squeaking a little.

Derek snorted. "Yeah you did."

After the interview, Finley found herself sitting with the other candidates for dinner. She was sat between Rachel, Miss Alabama, and Chelsea, Miss Vermont. The three had gotten along swimmingly well, and were chatting as they waited for their food, sitting at a massive table laid out for them in the hotel restaurant.

"So, Catriona, I love your dress," Rachel complimented, reaching out to touch the fabric.

"Oh, thank you so much," Finley giggled. "So, uh, is it weird for me to ask what happened to Pia? I was only told that I was going to compete instead of her. They never gave me any details."

Rachel and Chelsea shared a look, before the latter took the initiative. "You seriously haven't heard?" She asked, lowering her voice a little. At this point, the three were all practically leaning against each other as they gossiped. "Well, Pia and two other girls, I honestly don't know their names, but apparently someone murdered them in their rooms."

Finley let out a quiet gasp. "Are you serious? What happened?"

"Well, we don't really know the details, but us girls," Rachel gestured around the table. "We think it's pretty bad. I mean, I heard that even the FBI's involved now."

"FBI, seriously? Wow," her eyes widened a little before clearing her throat. "Do you have any idea who could've done this?"

Rachel look around again to make sure no one was paying attention. "Well, I personally think it was Miss Louisiana—Kimberly, I think. The night before Pia's manager discovered her body, we were out partying at a club the organization arranged for us, and they got into this huge fight."

"Oh yeah," Chelsea nodded frantically, agreeing with her. "They were arguing over their swimsuit, because I think Kimberly wanted the color that Pia was given. If you ask me, she doesn't look good in either."

Finley scoffed under her breath. "But that can't be enough to murder someone."

"Yeah, but there's a motive," Rachel gave her a look.

"How about the other girls then? Kimberly couldn't have murdered the others."

Chelsea sighed. "That's true. But it's a start. Rach and I were talking about telling it to someone, but one of the organizers advised us not to, because apparently it was 'unnecessary'. Don't know about her, but I think the police should at least have a possible suspect."

Finley nodded, frowning a little at their words.

"Enough of that," Chelsea shook her head, smiling. "Let's just enjoy tonight. Eat some good food, and appreciate the view."

"The view?" Rachel wondered, before following Chelsea's line of vision, Finley following suit.

Finley almost burst out laughing when she realized that Chelsea was looking at Spencer, who was sitting beside Rossi at the bar, casually looking around the restaurant before making eye contact with her. She smirked a little before looking away as to not rouse any suspicion.

"He looks like my English professor from college," Rachel grimaced. "He's cute though."

"Cute?! What do you mean cute?! He's hot," Chelsea rolled her eyes. "I'd like to...taint him. Just a little."

"Oh my God, Chelsea," Finley couldn't stop herself from finally laughing at the blonde's words. "You need to calm down a little. You look like you could eat him up."

"Oh, I'd eat him up, alright."

"Chels!" Rachel laughed, pushing away her coily hair as she face-palmed, elbow on the table as she tried to shake away her second-hand embarrassment.

Finley woke up to the sound of screaming. She pushed away her comforter and slipped on a robe and a pair of slippers as she exited her room. All the other contestants were also panicked and looking out of their rooms.

"It's Kimberly!" A random candidate called out, and Finley quickly rushed to grab her phone and call the others, hiding back into her room.

Hotch answered. "Hotchner."

"Hotch, there's been another body."

author's note: i keep forgetting to say tell y'all how much i dislike cm seasons 13-15 and how me and other fanfic writers could probably write a better conclusion to the show. sorry not sorry.

and the inconsistencies!! bro, i hate how i have to fix so many things once this story progresses because cm writers really dont stick to what they wrote at the beginning sometimes. 

anyway, would you guys be interested in me writing a new character in and *maybe* pairing her off with hotch???? i mean,, i'm tempted to continue this story in a future spin-off with hotch and a new character i'm thinking of, but i want to hear yalls opinions before i do anything.

also, be ready for spencer's reactions to finley competing in the next chapter hihihihi

i'll def be publishing the next chapter pretty soon so that i can write those HAHAHHAAHA

easter eggs — 0

thanks for 13k!! please point out any mistakes, thank u!!!