Undercover Blues

Chapter 1: Prologue: Rolling with the flow

Garcia stuck her head into JJ's office and looked at JJ and Emily, "Conference room in 10, my lovelies. We have a case." She announced, interrupting their discussion of a file JJ had assigned to Emily.

Tossing the folder on JJ's desk, Emily crossed her arms over her chest and all but stomped her foot. "Ugh," she groaned, "We just got back; can't we get the weekend off, Garcia?"

Garcia shook her head no. "As much as I'd like to grant your wish, it's not my call, sweetness. This is Chief Strauss' show all the way. I'm just the messenger."

Gathering their iPads and coffee, the three ladies of the BAU made their way to the conference room. Leaning close to the tech goddess, JJ whispered in her ear, "She didn't tell you anything?"

Garcia shook her head, "Not a peep."

"So what did your snooping turn up?" Emily asked Garcia in the same conspiratorial whisper JJ used to broach the initial question.

"I didn't snoop. The last time I tried, she threatened to fire me and ban my access to computers forever. We'll all find out together and my snooping fingers will be all the happier for it." Garcia shivered at the memory of Strauss' threat and walked behind the two agents into the conference room.

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The rest of the team was already assembled at the round table when the ladies walked in and took their seats. Before anyone had time to speak, Chief Strauss and her aide walked into the room. The aide briskly handed out folders to the agents and left the room, closing the door behind himself.

Picking up the remote from the table, the Chief initiated the slide show. "There is a serial killer targeting young women in Iowa. We've sent in two undercover teams so far and both teams were killed. One team from the local law enforcement office and one from the FBI; the word "liar" had been carved into each of the women's foreheads."

"What was the significance of this word to the unsub?" Reid asked as he read through his folder.

"This unsub is targeting young urban professional women who also happen to be lesbians. The word, "liar," we believe, refers to the fact these undercover agents were not actually a couple, just pretending to be."

Hotch looked up from his own reading to lock eyes with the Chief. "I'm not sure this is a good idea, how will we be able to protect them?"

The rest of the team, except for Rossi, looked questioningly at Hotch. Rossi closed his folder and leaned back in his chair. "Now don't be too quick Aaron, we can send you in as a brother, you look enough alike to pass. That would give us one extra person on the inside, and we could probably even get Garcia to pass as a sister or cousin."

"You read my mind, Dave." Chief Strauss once again took control of the conversation. "We'll need to not only establish them in the community but also their family and friends. We can have Agents Morgan and Garcia arrive ahead of them to establish themselves as neighbors; they shouldn't raise any eyebrows in this community. Reid and Rossi, you'll be sitting this one out, working it from back here and feeding data to Agent Hotchner."

Emily's mind wrapped around the plan a second before JJ, and she was on her feet before she thought about it. "Wait a minute, you're sending me and JJ in as a couple?"

Chief Strauss fixed her with an unfriendly glare, "Yes, is that a problem, Agent Prentiss?" She challenged.

"You mean other than the last two couples you sent in undercover were killed? Yes, I think it could be a big problem."

JJ broke out of her stunned silence to ask the question none of the others thought to ask. "Why do we have to go undercover at all? Why don't we just work with the local police as usual and profile this like any other case?"

"We tried that with Johnson's team, and the unsub killed the women."

"With all due respect, ma'am, "Derek spoke, "We aren't Johnson's team - we can do this."

"Agent Morgan, I'm well aware of the skill sets in my division, and Agent Johnson was the founder of the BAU, so, with all due respect, your team can't do better than his. He's had many more years experience at this than any of you. Wouldn't you agree, Dave?"

Rossi held up his hands in surrender. "Don't put me in the middle of this pissing match. What kind of timeframe do we have to work with?"

"Three weeks. Agents Morgan and Garcia will move in next week and begin establishing themselves in the community. Agent Morgan will be in residential construction; we already have a job lined up for you. Garcia will work from home in a telecommuting position as an IT developer. We've set you up in a dummy corporation as a development lead working on a government contract. You'll have access to all your equipment and a few new items."

"What about me and JJ?" Emily asked, still trying to wrap her mind around how she would be able to pull this off and still keep JJ safe. The media liaison turned profiler might be a crack shot but she still had zero experience with undercover work. Emily, on the other hand, had her years of experience in the CIA and the FBI to fall back on and she had no doubt she could pull it off.

JJ interrupted before Strauss could speak, "And what about Henry, I can't just leave my son behind for weeks. Are you expecting this to wrap up in a few days?"

"No, we expect this could take months because this unsub has been active for at least the last five years. Your cover story, Agent Prentiss, will be Wall Street whiz, retired early after making a killing in the market. You work freelance now as a consultant to small companies looking to break into the Fortune 500. Agent Jareau will be a stay at home Mom to your son Henry and also a burgeoning writer of children's books. To help sell the story, you've convinced Emily to move there so you can raise your son away from the big city.

"It doesn't really sell the story, Erin. People are going to wonder, why Iowa over any other Midwestern state?" Rossi asked, trying to pull any loose threads from the cover story.

Strauss addressed JJ and ignored Rossi's comments, answering him indirectly as she all but spat her reply. Her distaste at even saying the words was patently obvious. "Homosexual marriages are legal there and that helped you pick Iowa. You'll be able to bring Henry with you if his father agrees. You'll work with Agent Garcia to create your backstories and to fill in any other gaps and you, Agent Garcia, will need to make sure no one can poke any holes in their story. This is where the assignments fell apart before."

Rossi spoke interrupting the Chief once again. "Pardon me Erin, but where exactly did the last team fall apart?"

"We believe the unsub had the couples under constant surveillance. While we paired the women up into couples and told them what to do, we weren't explicit enough in our instructions. The women would hold hands in public and be semi-affectionate with each other, but once back in their houses, they slept in separate rooms, called lovers and spouses back home and would meet up with significant others late at night. For this mission to work, you two will need to become lovers, in every sense of the word."

"Excuse me?!" Emily sputtered, "Lovers?"

Before Strauss could answer Emily's question, Hotch raised his hand for silence. "Rossi, Reid, Morgan, and Garcia, give us the room please." As the agents picked up their iPads and drinks, Emily and JJ just stared at each other, neither betraying what they were feeling.

As the door closed once again Hotch turned his glare on Strauss. "What are you trying to accomplish here, Chief? Is this another way to break up my team, because I won't stand for it this time; I will go over your head to the Director."

"Sit down, Aaron. I assure you, my only intentions are to stop this unsub before we lose any more women. The reason your team is involved is because we don't have anyone else that works closely enough to suit our unsub's proclivities. He likes butch brunettes and femme blondes and he targets women that assume breadwinner roles while the little woman works in the home."

"What guarantee do we have that you won't fire us after this case is over? I mean, you are asking us to engage in a relationship that is in no way sanctioned by the Bureau and is cause for immediate dismissal, am I right?" Emily asked, the wheels of her mind were fully in motion now and realizing all the angles.

"Yes, you're right. I had legal draw up a binding contract." Strauss paused in her statement as she passed around a sheath of papers to each of the agents. "Agent Hotchner as the lawyer of this group you should scrutinize these to make sure there are no loopholes. What the documents you're holding state is that you'll suffer no consequences due to this mission. You'll be expected to fully engage in a lesbian relationship and whatever that entails. Once the assignment is complete, if you choose to continue the relationship there will be no consequences to either of you within the bureau. You will not be reassigned to another team so long as your relationship remains professional while in the office and in the field. If at any point it becomes detrimental to the team, then you may be reassigned at Agent Hotchner's discretion, not mine."

"We'll defer to Hotch for his opinion on these documents, but, ma'am, we aren't lesbians. Well, actually, I can only speak for myself and not JJ, but I'm not a lesbian so how do you think we're going to pull this off any better than the other teams?" Emily asked.

"Not a lesbian either." JJ muttered under her breath, still reading the stack of legal mumbo jumbo.

"You have three weeks to work this out before you move to Iowa; I'd suggest you start by dating and getting to know each other. You should move in together this weekend and begin getting comfortable sharing the same space. You should also begin doing couple things outside the home, like holding hands, hugging and going to places where you can be affectionate together. I'd suggest lesbian bars and coffeehouses."

"Prentiss and Jareau take the rest of the day and start squaring away any loose ends. I'm sure the team will help whichever of you decides to move this weekend, just let us know."

JJ and Emily nodded and left the room, leaving Strauss and Hotchner to stare at each other. "Why did you pick them, Erin? You know this is going to cause issues on my team and we work together too well to risk it all on this operation."

Pouring a glass of water from the carafe on the table, the Chief took a minute to think of her answer. "I think we both know that these women are close already. I've been out in the field with them, they move in and out of each other's personal space like it doesn't exist. They share hotel rooms when they don't need to, share clothes and toiletries. They even ride to work together every day; you can't tell me you haven't noticed?"

"I've noticed, but I also notice they're both straight women, one in a serious relationship with the father of her child. This mission is going to ruin that relationship, not to mention how confusing it's going to be for Henry."

"I have no doubts they can handle themselves, they're bright intelligent women who know how to conduct themselves. If they think this is going to cost them too much emotionally or with their families, then they'll come into the office Monday and decline the assignment. If you get a call tomorrow to help JJ move, then you'll know they've thought it through."

"Why JJ?"

"Emily has the better apartment; I anticipate JJ will leave Henry with his father for at least the first week while they work out how to be in a relationship with each other."

"You've given this a lot of thought Chief, how long has this been in the works?"

"Two weeks, it took me that long to get these papers through legal." She fanned the stack in front of her. Now, it's after five, let's call it a day shall we? We can talk more on Monday."

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Emily grabbed JJ's elbow and steered her into a seldom used broom closet, away from prying eyes, as soon as they exited the conference room. She could sense JJ's impending meltdown, and she didn't want the blonde to have it in front of the rest of the team.

Closing the door behind them, Emily held out her arms and staggered back a step as JJ launched herself into them. "Easy, Jennifer, I've got you." Emily soothed, stroking the blonde's hair as she held her tightly against her chest. "It's going to be okay; we'll figure out how to make it work."

"I'm going to lose my son." JJ hiccupped against Emily's chest, "Will is going to sue me for full custody for sure."

Emily stroked JJ's back, trying to reassure her through touch. "He was a cop, he knows about undercover work, he'll understand. Besides, he'll still be with Henry every night until we have to move."

"He left me, Emily, almost three months ago. After the Kansas case, he made me choose him or my job. He lost. He accused me of being in a relationship with you then, how is he going to believe me now?"

"Come on, we're going to my place." Emily wiped the tears off JJ's face and straightened her clothes, assured JJ was presentable and the other profilers wouldn't be able to tell what transpired in the cramped little room, they exited. They retrieved their purses and walked out of the bullpen without encountering any of their team.