"Why are you all looking at me like that?" Reid asked, bewildered, as he noticed everyone gathered around him, even Hotchner staring intently.
"How much time has passed?" Emily asked Garcia anxiously.
"One more minute," Garcia replied, sweating nervously.
"What's going on with you all?" Reid was completely lost, slightly intimidated by the group's behavior.
"Don't ask questions. Just tell us, how are you feeling right now? Are your fingers or lips tingling, or is there discomfort anywhere else?" Emily interrupted Reid's questions, reaching out to check his eyelids.
Reid, still in a daze, only realized something was wrong when Emily flipped up one of his eyelids. He weakly asked, "Are you worried about my health?"
Before he could finish, Emily suddenly screamed, "Rossi, you're cheating!"
By the large refrigerator in the office, Rossi had quietly opened it, taking out a large jelly-like dessert, scooped out a big piece, and satisfied, closed his eyes as he tasted it.
Garcia, Emily, and even Hotchner, who usually locked himself in his office to write reports and maintained a leader's demeanor, all grabbed spoons and rushed towards the plate in Rossi's hands.
"Is that what you let me taste this morning? That incredibly delicious fish jelly?" Reid frowned, only realizing it now and asked Jack, who was watching the scene unfold, "What is it made of?"
"Fresh pufferfish skin and porcini mushrooms, flown in from Ceres 24 hours ago. I managed to get a few from a licensed restaurant. I ate the fish last night."
Seeing Reid's face turn pale, Jack chuckled, "Don't worry, I used the safest kind—dark-patterned tiger pufferfish, raised by the most professional breeders in Ceres. It's perfectly safe."
"But... but what about them?" Reid, looking fragile, clutched his chest dramatically.
"If you don't go grab some now, there won't be any left. If you want to taste this again, you'll have to wait until the season between March and May next year."
Before Jack could finish, the sound of high heels clicking rapidly on the floor approached. As the footsteps got closer, everyone turned to look.
"Let me guess, another big problem somewhere?" Emily put down her spoon, disappointed.
"Chicago. Illegal entry, severe violent assault, four dead, blunt force trauma, no knife or gun wounds."
JJ led the way to the conference room, explaining as they walked.
"Just one case? Did the Chicago PD send us a request for assistance?" Rossi, wiping his silver spoon with a handkerchief, asked, puzzled.
"The request came from their chief. There have been a series of vandalism incidents near the crime scene recently, and they're worried this case is an escalation in violence, meaning there could be a series of related cases."
"The crime scene is in a newly developed residential area, close to some working-class Black neighborhoods. The security isn't terrible, much better than the South Side, which is full of drug dealers and gangs."
"But as you know, the wealth gap is still significant, and protests happen from time to time."
Hotchner found a chair and sat down. "Were the victims wealthy?"
JJ nodded. "Yes, two married couples, both new middle-class residents."
"Was there any property stolen?" Reid raised his hand to ask.
"The sheriff said nothing was taken. It wasn't a burglary," JJ answered.
"And the victims' race? Were they all White?" Jack inquired.
"No, one Black couple and one White couple," JJ clarified.
Emily raised an eyebrow. "So it's not racially motivated?"
JJ waved a thin folder in her hand, which didn't even contain a single crime scene photo. "The incident happened last night. The local police want us to meet them at the scene."
"JJ, notify the plane to be ready. We're leaving immediately," Hotchner said, decisively standing up.
"From simple vandalism to four deaths, that's quite an escalation. Could there be other victims?" Reid muttered.
"That's what I'm worried about. Let's get our things ready. Jack, you might need to check the armory," Rossi said gravely.
Jack gave an OK sign and went off to prepare.
Since they were always ready for a trip, everyone had some emergency clothing prepared at the office, so they could leave quickly. Only Jack spent a bit more time in the armory.
Each person was equipped with bulletproof vests and plates. In addition, Jack packed his Barrett MK22 sniper rifle, three Noveske N4 carbines, ammunition, magazines, tear gas, and stun grenades.
As the third-largest city in North America, Chicago's crime rate was much higher than Los Angeles, especially after the recent election of a Black female mayor. Her liberal policies had turned the already chaotic city into something resembling a war zone.
For anyone unfamiliar with Chicago's chaos, there's one thing they should know: around the Hyde Park neighborhood, home to the University of Chicago, there are over 20 gangs, and gunfire is a constant.
The last time Jack was in Chicago, he was helping the Wolfe brothers, over a year ago. Now, he had no acquaintances left in the city, as he had managed to convince both Chris and Braxton to move to a rural area near Los Angeles to raise pigs.
Both times Jack had been to Chicago, he hadn't had a chance to explore the city known for its gang activity.
Chicago was a city with a vastly different style from Los Angeles, and as Jack drove through the traffic between skyscrapers, he felt a strong "Gotham" vibe.
Although Gotham City in the Batman comics is often thought to be modeled after New York, its original design was actually based on Chicago.
Driving the black Suburban, Jack brought the BAU team to the crime scene. As soon as they got out of the car, Jack saw a stern, hard-lined face with a sour expression waiting by a police car.
"Detective Hank Voight? I'm Jennifer Jareau, and these agents are Rossi, Hotchner, Jack, Prentiss (Emily), and Dr. Reid."
JJ, the first to step out, introduced the team enthusiastically, making Hank Voight's stiff expression crack slightly into a rather unsettling smile.
"Chicago PD, District 21, Intelligence Unit. I'm Hank Voight. Welcome to the Windy City."
The two attractive female detectives standing beside him were much friendlier, extending their hands to shake JJ's.
"Hi, I'm Kim Burgess."
"And I'm Erin Lindsay."
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