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"Hazel, we got a case." I groaned as I was woken up by a phone call from JJ, at 5:15 in the morning.

"When?" I mumbled.

"Right now actually."

"Ill be there." I hung up and rushed to the closet.

"Case?" Luke woke up from the ruckus I was making. I jumped into my pants and button up my shirt.

"Yes. I don't know if ill see you tonight, love you." I kissed him. "Dont wait up okay?"

"Thats fine, go. Love you too." I grabbed my heels and my go bag and ran out the house. I finally made it to work, going through security.

"Hold the door!" I heard as I got in the elevator. I stuck my hand out, a woman came running in. "Thanks."

"Yeah no problem, what floor?" I asked her.

"6th, but it looks like you already heading there." We both chuckled. "Im Emily Prentiss."

"Hazel Santos." We shook hands.

"BAU?" She nods. "I just transferred."

"Really?! Wow! Its actually my first day here, hopefully we become desk buddies." They laughed. The two of us walked out, smiling as they went to their different places. I placed my bag on the table, looking around. Ive made it.

"Lets go Bambi." Derek said as he taps his fingers on the desk. We all walked to the conference room. "Ready to see the horror of this job?"

"I signed up for this." We laughed. We all sat down, waiting on Hotch and Gideon to come in.

"St. Louis is in trouble." JJ started as she puts the folders on the table.

"They've got two serial killers." I picked up my folder, looking at the crime scene photos they sent in.

"This killer abducts his victims from public places, dumps them in the woods. They consulted us months ago after the third murder." Gideon said as he looked closer to the photos on the board.

"Well, now it might be up to 6." We all looked up on the tv, showing us the victims. "Ellen Carroll's been missing since yesterday. The first two victims were found near Mill Creek, in Mark Twain national forest."

"No wonder it takes days to find the bodies. The forest is 1.5 million acres and 78,000 of that is wilderness." Spencer spoke up as he looked on the map.

"What's the story with these women?" I asked, as I gave the photos to Morgan.

"Eight victims. All prostitutes. Latest is Marci Mitchell. She was killed last night with a. 44 magnum. All are tied to a serial shooter claiming responsibility. He's contacted Jim Meyers, a reporter at the Missouri Herald."

"So he's not getting the attention he thinks he deserves. He signs it the Hollow Man, names himself for the press."

"Why Hollow Man? What, he feels empty inside or something?" Derek asks as he was sitting down. I went to get myself a cup of coffee.

"He uses hollow point bullets. No one even knew this guy existed until he sent this letter."

"Well, he's killed more victims, but look who he's chosen. Hundreds of victims go unnoticed because they're social outcasts, they never make it to the front page."

"When Mill Creek kills, the Hollow Man shoots another prostitute."

"So one doesn't want to be outdone by the other. Sounds like sibling rivalry to me."

"Probably competition? See who gets the most body count." I stated.

"They've been killing independently of each other for a year now."

"With each kill they're learning something... From the other." We all looked at the newspaper clippings. We all went to the jet, everyone sitting down, waiting for the folders to be passed down .

"Thanks." I smiled at JJ, who gave me the folder. I sat next to Reid, who was fidgeting his fingers.

"What's wrong?" JJ asked.

"Did you know there are roughly 30 serial killers at large in the U. S. at any given time? It's an incredibly rare occurrence to have them operating in the same city."

"How many times has that happened?" I asked him.

"To my knowledge, three times. There was a guy killing at the same time as the Son of Sam. And then again in New Orleans, and most recently with the Phoenix murders."

"Serial shooters are typically loners." Hotch speaks out, grabbing our attention. "This guy likes to kill at night. His victims are prostitutes, so he may lack confidence with women or have poor social skills."

"There's no rape. The guy could be impotent."

"He's a wannabe tough guy." Gideon says as he was in the corner.

"It's not hard to be tough holding a. 44." I pointed out.

"The gun gives him power and lets him maintain distance from the kill. This guy doesn't want to touch the bodies with his hands."

"Mill Creek killer." Gideon gets up and showed us the photos of the victims. "Hunts during the day, targets educated, middle-class women. He'd have to look and act like they do."

"The women died from blunt force head traumas. This guy wants to be close, he wants to feel the life leave their bodies. These guys are polar opposites." I pointed out.

"Just like their victims. They live in the same city but they're worlds apart. I'm gonna see if the shooter's victims have any families I can talk to."

"That's a good idea. I'm already familiar with the Mill Creek case."

"Reid, can you take a look at the letter for handwriting analysis and psycho linguistics?"

"Of course."

"Santos, you'll be with me." Hotch ordered.

"Yes sir." I nodded.

"Looks like I'm with you. I'll go have a talk with Ellen Carroll's husband." Derek looks at Gideon.

"I'm meeting Jim Meyers, the reporter from the Missouri Herald." JJ told us.

"Tell him not to write about the Hollow Man. If we want to draw the shooter out, best way to do that is to act like he doesn't exist." Moments later, we had arrived and went our different ways. I got into a car with Reid and Hotch, going to Marcie Mitchells apartment. Hotch knocked on the door and we showed our badges to the woman inside as she opened the door slightly.

"Agents Hotchner, Santos and Reid, FBI."

"What do you want?"

"We'd like to talk to you."

"Hold that badge up again." Hotch pulled up his badge again. She closes the door and lets us in.

"We're here to talk to you about Marcie Mitchell." I told her. I saw two boys, one watching tv and the other was just a baby.

"I'm her mother."

"I'm sorry for your loss, ma'am." The little boy ran to us.

"What's this?" He asked the grandmother.

"They're for me. Take your brother inside." The baby started to cry.

"Is this about mom?" The little boy said.

"I said inside." The boy picked up the baby brother and went to other room. We looked at the kitchen table, which had booze, almost empty. "You gonna judge me or ask questions?"

"Is there anyone who can help you with the kids?" I asked her.

"Is that what you came here for?" She sassed.

"Ma'am, we've just been assigned your daughter's case. We're in the process of gathering information, but so far no witnesses have come forward." Hotch notified her.

"Well, around here guns go off like those damn car alarms, every 15 minutes. Nobody's stupid enough to talk, nobody cares."

"We do." Reid added.

"You wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for them." She referred to the kids. She picked up the newspaper and started to read it out loud. "Heinous crimes against upstanding members of the community. Nobody writes about prostitutes being shot because they won't admit they think they're cleaning up the place."

"You're right. Cases like your daughter's usually go unsolved. The problem is people aren't looking for them because they don't know that they're missing. Part of her job was... To stay below the radar."

"Doesn't mean she was any less important." I looked at her.

"She made bad choices. But she was a good person. She loved those boys. Whoever shot her should pay for what they did. So don't come in here and say you're sorry. Just do something about it." She growled, but keeping in her sadness.

"We will, Ma'am." We shortly left the apartment, feeling bad for the children she had left behind. Hotch got a call from JJ.

"What?" I squinted as me and Reid got our coffee.

"They just found two bodies." We jumped in the car and went to the crime scene.

"Two victims at once. That's a first for him. You think he went out looking to kill more than one woman or is it just happenstance?" Reid questioned as he took a look around, i stood with Hotch, looking at the bodies.

"He chose a different hunting ground." I added. Looking around the alley. "Yeah, we're in an alley, but we're behind an expensive hotel in a nice neighborhood. You get a different class of prostitute, ones that don't walk the street alone."

"He was looking for a challenge."

"Question is, what gave him the confidence to stray out of his comfort zone?" The man picked up the newspaper that was displayed. "Make sure to run that for prints."

"He displayed the newspaper between them. He took the time when he could've just tossed it aside."

"It's placed carefully. He wants us to know he's angry." I crossed my arms.

"Angry enough to change his M. O." We went to meet up with the rest of the team back at the station. JJ and I put up the photos on the board, while Spencer was looking through the letters.

"Too bad we couldn't trace any prints from the newspaper. What have you got?" We turned to him. He turns on the projector, showing us the letter.

"He only sent this to an individual, which shows he's not confident enough to initiate contact with the masses." He zooms in the words. "Emotional indicators are analyzed through slants. The shooter maintains vertical, narrow-lettered writing, both signs of repression. And the pressure, if you look closely, is excessively heavy, which shows that he's uptight and can easily overreact."

"You got all that from his handwriting?" I chuckled. I don't believe it.

"Graphology is an effective and reliable indicator of personality and behavior."

"My writing's always different." I nodded to JJ's response.

"That's because it symbolizes your emotions at that given time, just like your facial expressions parallel the way you're feeling while you're speaking."

"I'm surprised this guy writes in cursive. His message is so clear. I would've thought he'd print everything."

"Actually, his connected writing shows that he deals with problems in a practical and direct manner."

"Like shooting someone."

"Exactly." We gathered up the team and the officers for the profile. "The Hollow Man uses simple statements, all first person. For example: "I won't be ignored." He's obviously tired of feeling this way. It's quite possible he has a job in solitude or one that he feels strips him of his identity. His job might require him to wear a uniform, something that shows absolutely no individuality. Or he may be overqualified for his menial job and feels that he doesn't get the respect that he necessarily deserves."

"But today he's killed two women, which tells us he's growing confident. This makes him unpredictable and dangerous. And because he has no physical contact with his victims, it's going to make him that much harder to catch him." I said as I made eye contact to every officer in the room.

"We have more information on the Mill Creek killer because he spends a lot of time with his victims before and after his kills."

"Because his victims willingly follow him in broad daylight, he appears harmless. He's most likely handsome."

"Handsome?" One questioned.

"Yes." Gideon moves around the room. "These women wouldn't follow an unattractive man. They just wouldn't."

"He's handsome, and he's got the socials kills to trick his victims. Those who know him well, they'd be shocked to learn that he's the man that we're after."

"He's been able to get his victims away from family, friends. Obviously, this makes him feel powerful."

"If this guy is so smart, why would he risk driving his victims from the abduction site to the woods?"

"Because of the ritual. It's become the most important thing to him. Dominates his thoughts. Woods provide the privacy he needs."

"The Hollow Man is motivated by external pressures. This is a guy who simply wants attention. The Mill Creek killer, on the other hand, he's driven by internal forces. He's a sexually motivated offender. This makes him a lot more predictable but don't think for a second it makes him any easier to catch." Morgan finishes. We went back to the room as we finished the profile.

"Meredith Dale. 25." JJ said as passes us the new victims photo. "She was supposed to meet her friend for a bike ride but disappeared."

"Disappeared when?"

"An hour ago."

"How do we know it's him?" I put down the photo.

"Well, look at her. She's his type physically, she vanishes into thin air. It's got the Mill Creek's M. O. all over it." Morgan pointed out.

"I'll set up road blocks in and out of the forest." Sheridan stood up and tell the other officers.

"Well, based on the other timelines, we have to assume he's hiding her body right now."

"Best chance of catching him is find Meredith Dale's body and sit tight. We know he'll be back." We all sit back, trying to think of why.

"What if these dump sites aren't random?" I stated as I sat back on my chair. Derek and Sheridan looked at the map.

"The bodies were scattered all over. Look at this. There's no pattern."

"No, I see that, but we're talking about a lot of area to cover here." Morgan looks at the map. "He had to have some kind of plan going into these woods."

"Must have done his homework."

"Okay. The first body was found deep into the woods. That's a three-hour car ride from the city."

"The first time, he's more careful in disposing of her."

"Her body was discovered by a forest ranger five days after the abduction. And all the other victims, look at this, they follow the same pattern."

"What are you saying? You think he works up there?"

"He might. All I do know for sure is that he has to be familiar enough with these woods to know when a ranger is on duty. He knew precisely when and where to drop the bodies. Santos, call Garcia."

"On it." I grabbed my phone and dailed her number, we told her the same thing Derek had said.

"Now that is an awesome place to dump a person." She gasps. I kinda smirked.

"Come on, Garcia."

"What? I'm just saying, angel fish. A million acres converts into over 2, 300 square miles to cover. Evil knew what he was doing." Over the speaker, you can hear her slamming her keyboards.

"Yeah? Well, now so do we. Talk to me. How's the ranger schedule break down?"

"Okay. The national forest is divided into 6 ranger districts, which are patrolled every 3 to 5 days. Now, the Potosi-Fredricktown area must be where he's headed to next because the rangers were just there yesterday, which means they're not scheduled to revisit it for at least another 3 days. And look at that, it's the district closest to the city."

"Well, that makes sense. He's in a hurry. He wants to get in and out of there without a lot of trouble. Which area has the easiest access to the main road?"

"That would be... Saltgrass Cove."

"Saltgrass Cove. Yep. He'd have plenty of time to revisit her." Derek looked on the map.

"What? Forget it. No, no. I don't want to know that. Bye-bye."  She hangs up.

"Think I know where he took Meredith Dale." Derek said as he turned to us. They went to Saltgrass Grove, while the rest of us stayed and looked at some more clues to catch this guy. Almost an hour went by, they came back.

"So our plan to catch the Mill Creek killer was ruined by the Hollow Man?"

"And now the Hollow Man's on a high. He hasn't pulled the trigger since he took two victims yesterday. Is he satisfied or is he just getting started?"

"We'll find out." JJ said as she came in with the newspaper. She passes it to me.

"Hollow Man helps FBI find the Mill Creek killer's victim. Wonderful." I sighed as I threw the paper onto the table.

"Nice. He's alerted the media and injected himself into the investigation."

"He's getting the attention he's been craving."

"But if the shooter really wants to get the other guy arrested, he would've called us and not the media."

"He must know the Mill Creek killer needs to revisit the body."

"If he can't defile the woman again, it'll become so strong, it could push him into a frenzy."

"And if that happens, this guy is just a time bomb waiting to explode." We all sighed. I sat down looking through the papers and photos. We got a call from a women saying she was almost kidnapped, so Morgan, Sheridan and Gideon were on their way.

"Great. Thanks, Morgan." Hotch hung up the phone. "The witness got a good look at the Mill Creek killer."

"You know, if it's the Hollow Man's intention to force him into a frenzy, he's getting what he wants. He knew exactly where to find meredith dale's body. He figured out the route to the dump site the same way we did." I added in, sitting up from my chair.

"They always say serial killers make the best profilers."

"Yeah, but this guy's dead-on." Hotch went to the newspaper and read it. "Yeah.The headline doesn't mention the shooter at all. We talked to Jim Meyers, the reporter, asked him not to respond to the letter, he doesn't, and then the guy goes out and shoots two more women."

"In a better part of town."

"What gives him this confidence?" I shrugged my shoulders. "And what's the significance of the paper at the scene?" Spencer was reading the papers, seeing what we had probably had missed.

"We know he wants to be newsworthy. He could've just tossed it aside. Instead, he displayed it. There's something he wants us to look at. There's definitely something in the paper."

"I figured it out." Reid said as he flipped the page of the paper.

"What is it?" Hotch sat across him and I leaned in.

"They're talking in the classifieds." We called in The team to show what Reid discovered.

"Classifieds, code names. This feels like an old spy movie." Sheridan scuffs.

"It's low-tech, simple, but very effective. They've been doing this for months, and nobody ever knew it."

"This is the first one that I found. The references are what made me suspicious. "Sunny, are you an artist too? I'd love to see your work sometime. Holden." Reid stated.

"Sunny? Holden?"

"They're characters from Catcher in the Rye." I told Sheridan. I hated that book. I never understood it and Im not a big reader at all.

"Widely accepted as a loved book of sociopaths. Mark David Chapman quoted it after killing John Lennon."

"Deranged minds identify with Holden's alienation and detachment."

"I found the initial contact. It ran in the paper unchanged for months. We have different tastes, but I can appreciate your art. Sunny."

"Sunny's the Hollow Man. He initiated contact."

"What's he getting out of it?"

"A mentor. Offered admiration and respect. In return, he gains encouragement and confidence."

"But when the Hollow Man remained unnoticed by the press, he resented his mentor and turned it into a rivalry."

"Hollow man became jealous. They were both killers, but they weren't seen in the same playing field. What else did you find?"

"An overwhelming area and you never get lost? Then the answer to this question. I do my research. It's not so random when you know the area. I like cotton wood in SGC."

"SGC? He's talking about Saltgrass Cove. He told him how to find Meredith Dale." Derek point out.

"Why?"

"Teaching his student a lesson."

"We understand their relationship. Let's use it against them." Derek went to call the one and only Penelope Garcia. "Garcia says they covered their tracks." He said as he came back into the room. "How's it going in here?"

"Reid's imitating the Hollow Man's language patterns to send a message to the Mill Creek killer. He's offering condolences on losing Meredith Dale." I told him.

"If he can't get to Meredith Dale, he's gonna need a body."

"He's gonna need it real soon."

"You guys worried that the hollow man's going to ruin our plan again?" Sheridan commented.

"He wants the Mill Creek killer to get caught. The pupil's trying to kill the teacher?" There was a knock, JJ came in.

"Hope you're close, Reid. You got less than an hour to meet the deadline."

"Santos, you can be the body." Gideon looks at me. My head snapped at him.

"Im sorry?" I looked up at him.

"No." Morgan fought.

"Will it help us get him?" He nods. "Ill be the body." I stood up. Everyone looked at me. "Ill be okay." We got ready to go to the woods. I laid down on the leaves and grass as they put makeup on me, making me look dead.

"You'll be surrounded." Morgan and Gideon kneeled down.

"Need you to relax... as best as you can. This guy's going to want to get close to you, and he's going to want to examine you."

"He's going to touch me. Great." I sighed.

"Since you're a gift, not a marked victim, he might try to make you his own, But we're not going to let him get that far." Morgan assures me.

"We need him to get close to confirm he's the killer." The things I do for my job.

"There's nothing normal about this guy. Nothing. You got your gun?" I nodded.

"Let's do this. Okay." Gideon helped me lay down.

"Down you go. Close your eyes. Try to relax." I hummed. They covered me with the leafs. All i can think about is he better not touch me. I laid still. First day on the job, this is going to be a story to Luke. I heard footsteps coming my way, I gripped  onto my gun. The man pushed the leafs off my face.

"Hello." I heard.

"FBI! Get down! Stay down!" Morgan tackles the unsub down. I quickly stood up and pointed my gun at him.

"One down, one to go." I said. We arrived at the station, reporters were already outside. I made my way into the station, going straight to the bathroom and wiping the makeup off me. Its over, you just need one more. I came out of the bathroom, seeing the unsub being taken away. I met with the team.

"I've alerted all news outlets that we'll be holding a press conference in 10 minutes." JJ announced.

"And you have the script?" Gideon asks her.

"Right here." She waves the paper.

"Be sure to say exactly those words. The wording's important, JJ."

"Relax. It's not my first party, boys."JJ tells them.

"Gideon, we don't have much on mill creek, especially if he says he stumbled on the body."

"So what are we going to do?" I asked the team.

"I'll go try and do my job." Gideon sighs and walks in to interrogate. We all followed him with our eyes. We went to the conference room, listening in the conversation. After the conversation, it was JJs time to hold the press.

"The women of St. Louis can rest easy tonight... After a long year, the Mill Creek killer is in custody. This man is highly intelligent and he uses a sophisticated ruse when luring these women in public places. The mill creek killer is someone the BAU will want to study as one of the most complex criminals we've dealt with in years. Questions? Right here. Yes?" JJ picks an reporter from the crowd.

"What's the FBI doing about the other serial killer?"

"We have new information about that case. We no longer believe the shootings are related. Yes?" She picks another one.

"What's the new information?"

"We believe they are isolated incidents, and we're looking into the possibility that the last two were copycats. Jim Meyers?"

"Are you referring to the killer who calls himself the Hollow Man?"

"We believe the person who wrote that letter is nothing but a street thug. We have evidence that indicates that the letter was just a prank to throw us off the investigation of the Mill Creek killer. This is no longer a BAU case. It lacks a certain sophistication, class, there's just nothing elegant about it. That's all the questions we'll take for now. Thank you." There we go. Now we wait for the killer to come up. The reporters gathered their things and left. We waited and waited for something to turn up, and then there it was.

"Where is he? I want to see him right now." A man had a gun to a securitygaurd. We all pulled out our guns and pointed at him. "You tell him the Hollow Man's here. He told you to say those things about me, didn't he? He told you to use those words." The hollow man puts away his gun and Derek went for it. He cuffed him.

"Get him out of here." Aaron demanded the officers, taking him into custody.

"I'm no less elegant than he is. I'm no copycat. Shut your mouth. I left you the newspaper! I gave you the Mill Creek killer! What else do I have to do?" He kept yelling as they took him away.

"Go! Get him out of here!" I yelled at them, as they struggled to get him out. We got them. After that, we headed to jet, going home. I sat down, texting Luke that ill be home soon.

"This is the story for tomorrow." JJ shows us the newspaper, the women who lost their lives in the hands of those bastards. As we landed, driving home, putting away my stuff, i saw Luke sleeping.

"For four days, you were gone. I thought I was going crazy."Luke mumbles as he woke up as I stepped out from the shower.

"Aww you need me." I crawled into bed. I placed a gentle kiss on his lips.

"How did it go?" He whispered, hugging me from behind.

"We caught them." He kissed my cheek.

"Good." We laid there, all I cant think was, imma stay in the BAU, this is where I wanna be. I placed my head on his chest, hearing his heartbeat. I played around with his curls, making him fall back to sleep.