The team gathered including Hotch who had been discharged early in the morning. JJ had informed them that they had a case.

"This is bad guys. The victim is a six-year-old boy. His name is Brian and his family reported him missing three days ago.

"He was left outside a police station ...ummm in a duffle bag."

All looked grim even Hotch looked grimmer than usual as they scrolled through the pictures downloaded into their tablets. There were several pictures of Brian with his parents and he seemed like a happy boy whose parents loved him very much. The big goofy grin of Brian struck an eerily resemblance to Jack. A cold chill went down his spine.

Then JJ turned to look at Hotch and said: "He was holding a red toy car."

Hotch felt he had just been punched in the gut. He was too shock to say anything. But his expression said volume, from horror to guilt.

"It is not your fault Aaron," Rossi told him.

"If only I could remember maybe, just maybe, he would still be alive."

"You don't know that."

"But it is possible, isn't it," Hotch snapped at the older agent and immediately exited the meeting room, heading to his office.

Morgan wanted to follow Hotch, but Rossi told him to give Hotch some space and knowing his friend, Hotch would never abandon a case, no matter how difficult it was on him.

True enough, the BAU unit chief walked into the meeting room few minutes later looking more composed and everyone noticed the steely glint in his eyes.

"Sorry about that, I should not have lashed out like that," Hotch said.

Garcia, the goofy but genius IT tech, went up to him and gave him a bear hug.

"No sir, you have nothing to apologise for being a decent human being. If this plutonic and friendly hug is out of line I don't give a damn because you are family a very important member in this family sir."

"Thanks Penelope," Hotch whispered.

"Ummmm...baby girl, you can let go of him now. I swear his face is turning blue," Morgan teased.

"He did not," Garcia let go and gave Morgan a friendly punch to the shoulder.

Everyone in the room was amused and few of them smiled resulted in the earlier tension to fizzle out.

"Reid and Garcia, both of you cross check the M.O. with past cases and pull out any that seem remotely similar."

"Of course sir. Come on handsome boy, we get to be Butch and Sundance today," Garcia pulled Reid from his chair.

"Huh?" The flustered young genius nearly fell as he tried to keep pace with Garcia.

"Morgan, you and Prentiss go to the M.E. office and Rossi and I will meet the boy's parents. JJ, be ready for the media blitz on this case. It will be crazy once the news hit national."

"Morgan before you go, did you find anything in my car?"

"The lab techs have collected all possible samples needed. Should they find anything, we will be the first to know."

"Good. Thanks."

At the police station

Mr and Mrs Galen thank you for coming in. This is Supervisory Special Agent Hotchner and I am SSA Rossi.

"Do you know who did this to my boy? For God sake, he is only six. Who kills a six-year-old?" Brian's devastated parents could not believe they had lost their boy.

Both Hotch and Rossi kept their silence to allow the Galen to grieve for their young child.

"I know it is hard to lose a child because I am a father myself. But anything you can tell us about the day Brian went missing will help us to get the monster that did this to your son," Hotch told the Galen.

Both shared whatever they could recall from that day.

In a room with cracked mirrors

"Stupid...stupid...stupid," said the lone figure softly as it rocked back and forth. Suddenly the rocking stopped. Pulling a gleaming blade from under its coat, the hunt begins. So many preys. So many to choose from. So many to kill. It will be a busy night.

"Run...run...run. I am so hungry. Hungry...hungry...hungry," the figure said to no one as it sharpened the blade, taking extra care not to nick the smooth blade.

At the M.E. office

The medical examiner who did the autopsy on Brian's body gave Morgan and Prentiss his report.

"The boy died from asphyxia. See the ligature mark here on his neck here. It looked like rope burn. The killer tried to sever his head with a knife, a very sharp one. But when the knife hit the spinal cord, it would take more than a knife to cut through it.

"But, that is not what I want to show you guys. Here. Look inside the bag," he urged the two agents.

Both looked inside and Prentiss looked paler and Morgan immediately called Hotch.

"Hotch. We may have another victim."

Prentiss carefully took out a long blond hair with a blue butterfly clip still held the hair and a piece of paper together from inside the bag.

The note stated: "I have her."