Criminal Minds: Danika

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Blake's POV:
I'm about to head to my desk to finish up so I can head out. I'm stopped by Strauss and she tells me she was hoping we could talk over coffee. To 'bury the hatchet once and for all'
are her exact words.

She tries to apologize for what she did to me and that she wants to make amends. I look over into the bullpen and see JJ staring at me. I also notice Danika is still here as well, which is odd for her, she usually leaves the first chance she gets.

I head back into the bullpen only to see everyone with concerned looks on their faces, everyone but Danika. This isn't about me and Strauss.

JJ has a boquete of flowers on her desk and a note that says one word; ZUGZWANG.

"What if this is The Replicator?" Reid suggests and I notice that Danika's fists clench.

"Hotch!" Danika shouts and Hotch bolts out of his office at once.

They explain to him what's going on and we meet up in the conference room.

"I just came back from the director's office. They don't like the idea that their agents are being taunted, and wants me to keep them personally in the loop." Strauss explains to the group.

"Catch me up please." Strauss tells Garcia.

"Okay. So the flowers cleared all of our security checkpoints, which means there's no explosives and no chemical residue, nothing. They were ordered from a local florist, Wendy's Bloomers. I checked her, her bloomers, the employees, the delivery service. They all came out clean." Garcia explains.

I can't help notice that Hotch has his hand on Danika's knee, giving it a light squeeze. It's not in a sexual way, more like a grounding technique to keep her mind from wandering off or to keep her from snapping. If he notices anything in her body language change, he gives her a light squeeze and she seems to calm down once again.

"It's all about the message he's trying to send." I offer.

"But they were sent to JJ. Why her?" Morgan asks.

"If it's directed at one of us, it's directed at all of us." Rossi points out.

"It's only a matter of time before his taunts turn to threats." Morgan adds.

"I'm posting security details at each of our homes." Hotch states and Danika rolls her eyes.

"Well, he's communicating directly. What exactly is he trying to say?" I question.

"That the game has changed. First he was chasing us, copying the cases that we'd solved, and now it's our turn to chase him." Hotch says.

"Tag, we're it." Rossi adds.

"I'll fucking tag him with a bullet." Danika states, starting to get riled up but Hotch pulls her back down to her seat.

"What do we know about The Replicator?" Strauss asks.

"So far, he's committed three murders in three different states." Hotch starts out.

"The first one was Maxwell Holmes, 28 year old contractor, husband and father of two, from Dallas."

"He was found with his mouth down shut after we closed The Silencer case." JJ explains.

"Next is an unidentified John Doe. He was found in New Mexico near the Mexican border."

"His leg was severed and someone else's was transplanted on." JJ adds and Strauss look horrified.

"Do we have any idea where the limb comes from?" She asks.

"None." Morgan answers.

"Finally, Megan Lewinbuck, 31 year old paralegal, single mother. She was found in Phoenix."