It was five am when the members of the BAU arrived to work. All were clinging to coffee and worrying about what could have happened to require their early presence. Agent Hotchner walked in and threw five case files on the table. His entrance startled them. Garcia looked troubled.
"Thank you for coming in so early," he said as each member picked up a file and started to read it. "To give you the short version, Andy and Michael Conrad are two brothers who have been on police watch lists for a number of years now. You may remember a case a few years back in Denver where three girls went missing,"
"They never found the bodies." Morgan finished.
"Wait," JJ suddenly interrupted, "are you saying the bodies have been found?"
"Unfortunately no. It appears over the years the brothers have built up their abduction total by taking high risks victims. Most bodies never found. They want to be 'the best' and they want to show us."
"Okay, so eight months after the girls go missing they attack again. Except this time in Minneapolis," Morgan read from the file.
"And again six months later in San Antonio, then Nashville, Atlanta, Charlottesville. To name a few. But each time they resurface, less time has passed."
"They're gaining confidence." Prentiss stated.
"It doesn't make sense," Rossi added, "they started out, all over the place. But now they've developed a pattern, it's like coming across high risk victims no longer satisfied them. They know what they want, and they're going to kill as many as they can before they get there."
Hotch looked downcast, "Sir?" Garcia asked, concerned.
"I got a call about an hour ago from Andy Conrad. He told me that he knew we know their profile, and that we're the best when it comes to finding serial killers. He said if anyone can stop him and his brother it's us. And for that reason he's putting us to the test. He has to beat us to win. And he's confident he will."
"Oh no," Garcia said. She could tell something was off. From the moment Hotch put five case files on the table.
"They've taken Reid."