Disclaimer: I do not own or make a profit off of Criminal Minds.

Hi all! I just wanted to let you know that this chapter is really all about the set up of the story. The title of the story won't make sense until the next chapter. Enjoy.

It started out like a typical day. Reid had gotten into the office early in order to get a head start on paperwork. He sat at his desk with his chin propped up on his right knee while his left leg was twisted beneath him in the chair. It was amazing how he could fit his long and lanky legs into yoga like positions, especially when restricted to something as small as an office chair.

Abruptly, he pushed off of his desk in order to twirl around in his chair to get a good look at the bullpen. A couple of hours had passed since he had gotten in and he was curious to see which of his coworkers still had yet to arrive. He could see the light on in Hotch's office, Dave's door was open, but Morgan's office still looked dark. Across from him was Alex's desk, which had been occupied for over an hour. She looked up from her work and gave him a smile.

"Morning!" he said.

"Good morning. I would have said something when I came in but you looked like you were in the zone," she explained.

"Yeah, that's why I love coming in early. I can really get a lot done when there's no one here to distract me."

"Well, it looks like you are already half done with your files. I'm kind of jealous, Dr. Reid," she quipped.

"If you're nice, maybe your pile will be a bit lighter later," he said with a smile.

"In that case, would you like me to refill your coffee?"

"Naturally," he replied as Blake got up to go refill both of their coffees.

With a sigh he turned his chair toward the elevator, mentally betting himself on who would walk in next, JJ or Morgan. He figured it would be JJ because Morgan overslept at least once a week. Looking at the clock it was coming close to the team's scheduled arrival time, and with a ding the elevator doors opened. Reid redirected his attention to see who had arrived. Much to his chagrin both JJ and Morgan barreled out of the doors and walking in right on time.

"Morning, you two!" Reid said cheerfully.

"Awww, come on man. It's too early for you to be this chipper," Morgan groaned.

"It's already eight a.m.," Reid said incredulously.

"Yeah, well some of us like to sleep past sunup because we go to bed way past sundown," Morgan retorted with a sly smile.

"And some of us have children," JJ said as she walked past Reid and up to her office.

Reid smiled as he watched his two best friends get settled for the day and decided to get back to work. He was able to work another two hours without interruption. In fact, he had only about three more of his own files to go, and then he planned on lightening Blake's load. He pulled his eyes away from the file and glanced at his coworker. She was intently focused on her computer screen and did not meet his gaze. He was about to break her concentration when a strange feeling tingled down his spine. Whatever it was made the hairs on his arm stand at attention. He didn't like this feeling; it was like he was being watched.

As inconspicuously as he could Reid slowly turned his chair to look out over the workroom. His eyes roamed over each face and couldn't find one that was in any way hostile. In fact, no one was even looking his way. Of course throughout his reconnaissance he saw quite a few agents that he didn't know on this floor, since the BAU wasn't the only division that shared the space. But, he had seen all these faces before; it was just that he had never bothered to get to know them personally. That was way too scary for an antisocial individual such as himself.

Deciding that he was just being paranoid Reid grabbed his and Blake's coffee mugs and set off on a mission to refill them. Much to his disappointment there was no coffee in the pot. Some idiot had left the empty pot on the burner to overheat and turn the last drops of coffee moisture at the bottom into a syrupy mess.

Grabbing the fresh grounds from out of the cabinet Reid set to working making a new pot. "Seriously," Reid exclaimed aloud. "How hard is it to make a fresh pot of coffee? Why does it seem like I'm always refilling this thing?" he said more to himself than anyone who might be within earshot.

"Well, I bet it's because you drink more coffee than anyone else on the floor," said an agent that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

Reid jumped in surprise at the response. He wasn't expecting anyone to hear him and was shocked that this stranger knew about his coffee obsession.

The man laughed at the confused look that Reid gave him. "It's no secret on this floor. We all know the Bureau is going bankrupt keeping you caffeinated every day," the agent with the dark green eyes joked. "Hey Lou, you know who this guy is don't you?" He yelled to a fellow agent that was sitting at a desk nearby.

"Yeah, it's Dr. Coffee. Oops, I mean Reid," Lou responded with a playful smile.

"See, told you. You're famous around here," Sam said triumphantly.

"Uh…well...it seems you know who I am, but I don't think I have ever had the chance to formally meet you," Reid said clearly uncomfortable with the whole situation.

"Ahh, sorry. Let's rectify that shall we? I'm Agent Sam Cruz, counterterrorism," he said stretching out his right hand.

Reid just waved at the man and responded, "Nice to meet you."

Noticing that the conversation was at an end, Sam reached around Reid and lifted the coffee pot off the burner and held his mug underneath to catch some of the new brew that Reid had started.

"Thanks for making a new pot. See you around," he said as he sauntered off to his desk.

Reid kept an eye on Sam as he walked back to his seat. It was amazing that he could work here for so long and still meet new people every day. After shaking himself out of his thoughts he took a cue from Agent Cruz, and decided to hold the two mugs he had under the stream of steaming coffee.

By the time he got back to his desk he noticed that Blake wasn't there anymore. He looked up to the round-table room and saw a peek of blue coming through the blinds. There must be a case. Slightly confused as to why no one sought him out to tell him, Reid made his way up the steps to join his colleagues.

"There you are boy genius," stated Garcia joyfully. "We were just about to get started."

"I noticed. Why didn't anyone come to find me?"

"I knew you were getting coffee and decided you would figure it out when you got back to your desk," Blake said nonchalantly as she took the proffered coffee mug and nodded her thanks, while Reid took a seat between JJ and Morgan.

They all steadied their gazes at Garcia and waited for her to start the briefing.

"Alright crime-fighters, we got a local one," Garcia said as she launched the case.

It turned out that there had been two local FBI agents murdered within the past week. Both of the men had worked on separate floors and in different divisions than each other. There were no other details to tie the men together besides their occupation of choice and the fact that they were both single.

"Why are we just hearing about these agents' deaths now?" questioned Rossi disbelievingly.

"Well, at first it looked like each man had committed suicide. There was no suspicion of murder until the autopsy results came back from the first death. The local police got suspicious when the ME reported there were marks on the body that the local police didn't take seriously."

"How could the local police dismiss something like that?" asked Morgan.

"Well, victim number one, Howard Giraurd, was thought to have hung himself from a beam in his house. The locals didn't think anything of it. It was his sister, who found his body by the way, that insisted he wasn't suicidal and she wanted his body autopsied. Upon her request they sent his body to the ME and had it analyzed. The ME found obvious signs of restraints in the form of ligature marks on his ankles and wrists. In addition, there was a large bruise on his skull, suggesting that he had been knocked out at some point," Garcia clarified.

"Okay, what about the other victim?" Hotch asked as he shifted his eyes to the electronic version of the case and flipped through the photos that had been uploaded onto the IPad.

"Well, Clarence Paynes was also found in his house with slit wrists. Again, the local law enforcement assumed suicide and left it at that. It was his unit chief that insisted that something was wrong. Upon further investigation they found the same signs on his body as Giraurd's," she said all the while clicking through pictures for everyone to analyze on the big screen.

"Well, this clearly seems like an attack on the Bureau itself. Two agents murdered within the past week. Both made to look like suicides. Someone is trying to cover something up," Rossi commented.

Listening intently throughout the meeting Reid kept getting a disturbing feeling in the bottom of his stomach. He didn't like the fact that local agents were being targeted. What if one of his friends was on this list? They needed to move on this quickly to prevent another agent coming to harm. Chewing on his lip Reid looked around to see the reactions of his fellow agents. They all seemed disturbed by the patterns that Garcia pointed out and were looking to Hotch to figure out their next steps.

"Okay," Hotch began. "Blake and Reid you two stay here. I need you to work on the geographic profile and work with Garcia to gather as much information as you can about the victims' histories. Morgan and Rossi you two check out the crime scenes to see if the locals missed anything else. That leaves JJ and me to interview the families and friends of the deceased agents. I don't have to tell you how high profile this case could become, so let's try to solve it quickly," Hotch said as he got up to leave with JJ.

Reid walked back to his desk to grab his things; it looked like he would be stuck in the round table room for the rest of the day. While he was bent over to retrieve something from his satchel he felt the same uneasy feeling he experienced earlier. He straightened his body and turned around trying to see what was triggering this uncomfortable sensation.

Nothing.

He didn't see anything out of the ordinary. All the agents in the office were working or goofing off with their teammates. The offices were lit up and no one was standing in the windows watching. The break room was empty and there was half a pot of coffee stewing on the maker. Everything was as normal and nothing was out of place.

"Get a grip," Reid muttered to himself and shrugged off the feeling, chalking it up to the fact that their current case was hitting a bit too close to home.