This isn't what I want

chapter 40

** JJ's POV **

We are lying in bed when we hear the shot. Then the screams. Coming from downstairs. Immediately, Spence stands up, grabs his gun from his bag, and moves towards the door.

"Spence, you're not going alone." I shout, and pick up my gun which I kept in my purse.

Together, we sprint down the stairs to reception, where there are a crowd of people gathering. There's a young woman lying on the floor by the desk, blood pouring out of her stomach and her right leg. She's dead. Instinctively, I run outside to try to see the unsub, but there's no movement outside. Nothing. Back inside, someone calls 911 and Spence is attempting to calm down a group of young women. I put my gun away and go to talk to the receptionist, who is clearly in shock.

"Do you know who she was?" I ask gently.

"Um, Klara Lenkov. She arrived with a group of women, over there, and had just finished checking in when the attacker burst through the door, took two shots, and ran back out again before we even realised what had happened."

"It's alright." I say. "Did anyone else see the shooter?"

"No, just me and the women. They were all huddled in the corner over there when attacker came. Only Ms Lenkov was at the desk, and it was only for about half a minute."

"Thank you."

"Are you a police officer?"

"No, FBI. We'll take care of the situation. I suggest keeping all of your guests in the dining hall until we can tape off the crime scene and talk to any witnesses, and then they will be free to leave."

"Alright, anything else I can do?"

"Sure, do you have a copy of CCTV footage from the entrance to the hotel?"

"Yes, we have five cameras surrounding the entrance and two and the gate at the very front. I'll get you a copy of the feed." She says and hurries to her computer.

I look over at Spence, and he's struggling. It appears none of the women can talk much English.

"Приве́т, меня зовут Jennifer." I say.

Spence looks at me, so I explain. "I said hello, my name is Jennifer, in Russian. They don't speak English."

He raises an eyebrow at me but I ignore him and turn back to the women who seem to understand.

"Lena. это Polina. и это Anya." The tallest of the three says.

"Lena, Polina and Anya." I translate to Spence, who nods and writes their names down.

After five minutes of talking and translating, I find out that Klara was their friend, and Lena and Anya are sisters. Polina grew up with Klara, and they all moved to the US about two years ago. Nobody knew anyone who would harm Klara, but then I realised they lived in a Russian colony, where things were settled differently, away from the eyes of the law.

We thank the girls, and allow them to leave after saying that we'd be in touch. Spence is still looking confused.

"My brother lives in Russia with his wife. He visits about three times a year, and he always talks in Russian. I learnt years ago from him so he wouldn't need to keep translating everything him and his wife said. My whole family know the language now." I explain as we walk to get our things.

"There's so much I don't know about you." He says.

"And there's a lot I don't know about you, Dr Reid." I say playfully.

As we are heading to Spence's car to drive to the BAU, I get a call from Chief Strauss.

"Agent Jareau, I need you at the BAU in ten minutes. It's urgent."

She doesn't say anything more, so Spence steps on the gas and we hurry to the BAU, where the entire team are gathered. Hotch looks angry. Emily and Penelope look worried, and Morgan looks as though he's about to punch something. Rossi looks serious, and he doesn't smile like usual when he sees me and Spence.

"What's going on?" I ask nervously. 

"Chief Strauss has been given a report on the latest in a series of attacks at a string of five-star hotels across the district. One person killed in each attack, two bullets to the stomach and leg. All female, late thirties, but with no obvious connection." Hotch says.

"Wait, we're just hearing about this now? How many victims?" I ask furious.

"Eight. But the police had no reason to assume they were connected." 

"It's not a coincidence that all the victims were female, with blonde hair and blue eyes, and were all of Russian origin. And the MO is exactly the same. Two bullet shots. We have an unsub." I explain.

"Agent Jareau." I hear the familiar voice of Chief Erin Strauss. "You have a very important mission."

"What is it, Ma'am?" I ask her.

"To go undercover and find out the link between the eight victims."

Next to me, Spence's grip on my hand tightens.