Mysterious Connections ✔️

The Scene

"Thank you for coming back. I'm not sure what happened." The detective greeted Aaron again, not bothering with the pleasantries.

"Dr. Reid and JJ will help you man the tip line, Morgan and Prentiss have followed a lead of our own. Can you take Rossi and I to where he escaped from?" Hotch asked. The detective nodded, telling the pair to follow him. The detective drove them to the location, giving them the information before they arrived.

"Two officers were in the front with Cunningham in the back. He was handcuffed and prepped for travel. The officers got about halfway to the prison before Cunningham attacked them. The cuffs were found in the backseat, and the car was pulled off to the side of the road. Officer Smith was found next to the back door, shot in the gut. Officer Moore was on the other side of the car, a bullet to the neck. From preliminary assessment, it looks like they were shot by a police gun. Smith's gun is missing."

He pulled up to the police barrier that blocked off one side of the road. Greeting the police at the barrier, Hotch and Rossi ducked under the tape and approached the scene.

"From the way the car is parked, Cunningham must've found a way to get the attention of the officers." Rossi pointed out to Aaron. He walked around to the driver's side, peering into the backseat.

"He could've complained about a stomach ache. Hunched over, the officer wouldn't have noticed his cuffs were off." Hotch contributed from the other side of the car.

"So, he takes off his cuffs and doubles over, making the officers pull over. One comes over to check and make sure he vomits out of the car..." Rossi trailed off, imagining the scenario.

"He helps Cunningham out of the car, who takes his gun and shoots him in the stomach. Officer Moore gets out of the car and tries to pull out his weapon. It's still in the holster, so he didn't get the chance." Hotch continues, troubled over the scenario. "But why take the gun? And why the officers? He's never killed men, and never shown trouble towards law enforcement."

"Victims of opportunity. He didn't want to go to jail, and needed a way out. He knows we will keep track of his places of comfort, so he can't go back to any of his weapons." David explained, circling the police car. Hotch's phone rang, drawing his attention away from the backseat.

"Hotchner." He answered, hoping for an update from his team.

"Aaron Hotchner. It's me, Senator Jackson. I'm calling for an update on the case."

Hotch's hands gripped around the phone as he turned away from the scene.

"With all due respect, sir, I can't freely give out that information."

"You're a man of tradition, and you respect our justice system. I admire that about you, I do. That's why I personally check in with your office, Supervisor Strauss and I are very close. She told me to give you a call so I can hear the new information first." He alluded, making Hotch internally groan. He hated whenever political powers passive aggressively threatened him.

"Officers Smith and Moore were shot 2 hours ago by Cunningham, who had managed to get out of his cuffs and subdue the officers. We are working under the assumption that he is armed with an officer's gun." He told through gritted teeth.

"Wonderful. Sounds like you have a lot of work to do, so I'll check in with you later for more information." The senator hung up the phone with no goodbye. Aaron pocketed his phone, turning back to Rossi. The detective walked over, wondering what they had found.

"Was Cunningham still in the clothes you arrested him in?" Rossi asked.

"Yes, we were going to change him, but with the pressure of the media we thought it best to get him immediately transferred before they saw we had made an arrest."

"Cunningham had sewn some tools into his clothes, probably his sleeves or the cuffs of his pants, and used those to get out of his cuffs." Rossi told the officer, watching Hotch who was looking over the scene.

"He's smart, but he's devolving." He said, scanning over the scene. He could feel the throb of a headache trying to creep into his head.

"How do you know that?" Detective asked, trying to see what the agent was also seeing.

"He killed them out of opportunity. There's no additional damage to the body, this kill was done out of necessity. He knew to sew in those tools, but this was quick, messy."

"So, what does this mean for us?"

"Either he will disappear, or we will have many more bodies soon." Rossi shrugged, walking back towards the car they had arrived in.

80 miles away, Adrielle's plane had just landed. She always enjoyed flying, especially when it was on a rich man's private plane. She grabbed her small black bag and exited the plane. A man in a suit nodded at her before handing her the keys to a motorcycle.

"The FBI has returned, the senator has gotten more information and would like you to call him as soon as possible." He told her. He looked young, perhaps in his late 20's, but was obviously well-trained. It reminded Adrielle of a dog.

"Remind him that I don't call, I answer." She picked up the sleek black motorcycle helmet and pulled it on. She gave a dismissive wave to the man and hopped on the bike, revving the engine. Her hand came up to pull down the visor before she peeled out of the landing strip.

On the way over, Adrielle went over the finer details of the assignment. She had never dealt with the BAU before, who she had learned led the capture and is now leading the manhunt. The perks of being hired by a senator was the detailed information he received, way more than the media provided her.

The team, led by unit chief Aaron Hotchner, had a successful track record. She hated to admit it, because then that left her with fewer jobs. The team contained a wide range of people, including a young genius, a diplomat's daughter, ex-bomb squad technician, criminal hacker vigilante turned analyst, middle of nowhere blonde, a divorcee and a stuck-up leader. Some team they were.

As her motorcycle entered town, she considered where to go first. She pulled into a gas station to get her bearings, getting off her bike and answering her ringing phone. Adrielle's eyes rolled at the thought of listening to the Senator. Twice in less than 24 hours was too much.

"Here's what I know. Cunningham was being delivered to a high security prison to await his trial, but en route he undid his handcuffs, got an officer's gun and shot the two officers transporting him. He has one of their guns. Seems like the FBI doesn't know where to look." The senator spoke lowley. Adrielle hummed in recognition.

"I'll let you know when I have the job done." She firmly said before hanging up. She looked around at the empty station before pulling out her laptop. On the plane she was given special access from the senator that will make her job that much easier. She plugged her phone into the laptop before opening a secure browser.

It was a perk working for someone from the government sector, they had access they didn't want their citizens to know about. She knew and exploited this access, using it for her advantage. She pulled over all the data and transferred it to her phone. Adrielle looked down at her phone and unplugged it, happy the new features had worked.

6 red dots scattered across the map of Virginia, blinking slowly. Two of them moved towards another pair, while two of the dots were in a whole town over. It looked like the dots in town would convene at the police station. She pocketed her phone and put away her laptop before climbing back on her bike.

It was important to know where the FBI were at all times. She didn't need them interfering with her work. A scoff left her mouth at the thought of it. She had finished many jobs evading the FBI, this time would be no difference. Still, after the case a month ago had her in a close call with the FBI, she wanted all the resources she could get.