Shadow Of Hearts (Emily Prentiss X OC)

Chapter 39: The Hunter's Mark

The BAU had barely settled back into the routine of paperwork and debriefings when the next case came in. The team was scattered around the bullpen, each member trying to shake off the remnants of their last mission. Emily and Echo were at their desks, an unspoken understanding passing between them as they navigated their workload. The quiet between them was comfortable, the kind of silence that spoke of trust and shared experiences.

But that peace was shattered when Garcia's frantic voice came over the intercom. "Guys, we have a situation-an emergency," she said, her usual bubbly tone replaced with a tight, controlled panic. "Get to the briefing room, ASAP."

The urgency in Garcia's voice had the team on their feet immediately. They exchanged worried glances as they hurried to the briefing room, where Hotch was already waiting. Garcia's face was pale, her fingers flying over her keyboard as she pulled up the case details on the screen.

"What's going on, Garcia?" Hotch asked, his tone calm but firm.

Garcia swallowed hard and pointed to the screen. "It's bad, sir. Really bad."

The team turned their attention to the screen, where a series of gruesome crime scene photos flashed by. The victims were women, each one brutally murdered in a manner that left little doubt as to the unsub's viciousness. But it wasn't just the violence that caught their attention-it was the signature.

"This looks familiar," Rossi muttered, leaning forward. "The way they were killed, the positioning of the bodies..."

"That's because we've seen it before," Reid said, his voice tinged with dread. "This unsub is mimicking the M.O. of a killer we took down years ago."

Hotch's eyes narrowed as he recognized the pattern. "The Hunter," he said, the name sending a chill through the room.

Emily's stomach tightened at the mention of The Hunter-a sadistic serial killer who had terrorized the Northeast a decade ago, targeting women with military precision and leaving behind a trail of terror. The team had tracked him for months, and they had eventually caught him, but not before he claimed several victims. The case had haunted them all, and seeing it resurface was like reopening an old wound.

"But The Hunter is dead," Morgan said, shaking his head. "We took him down ourselves."

"Exactly," Garcia said, her voice trembling. "Which means this guy is a copycat. But there's more." She hesitated, her eyes flicking nervously to Echo. "And it's personal."

"What do you mean, personal?" Echo asked, her tone sharp.

Garcia took a deep breath and pulled up the most recent crime scene photo. The woman in the picture had been posed in the same manner as The Hunter's previous victims, but there was something new-something that made Echo's blood run cold. A message had been carved into the woman's skin, a name etched with deliberate cruelty.

"Elena," Garcia said quietly, the name hanging in the air like a curse.

Echo's face went pale, her eyes locked on the screen as she tried to process what she was seeing. "That's my sister's name," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Emily felt a surge of protectiveness as she watched Echo's reaction. She placed a hand on Echo's arm, offering silent support, but Echo barely seemed to notice. Her focus was entirely on the image in front of her, the horror of the situation sinking in.

"The victim wasn't your sister, Echo," Garcia quickly clarified. "But the unsub is sending a message. He's targeting her."

"Why?" Echo demanded, her voice rising in panic. "What does he want with her?"

"That's what we need to find out," Hotch said, his voice calm but resolute. "But first, we need to get to your sister before he does."

Echo's mind was racing as she tried to make sense of it all. Her sister, Sophia, had always stayed out of the public eye, living a quiet life far from the dangers of Echo's world. But now, she was in the crosshairs of a killer-a killer who was using her as bait.