A FRACTURE IN THE CONSCIOUSNESS ✓

JENNA

Solving cases without Tyler and Josh on standby was hell. They still helped by feeding and receiving information through Dallon, but it wasn't the same as having them present. Tyler worked better when he could see the crime scene, and Josh worked better with Tyler around.

As tempted as Jenna was to call Josh up and ask them to come back into the office, just this once, she knew it would be better for everyone if they took a break to focus on themselves. Or maybe being the 'temporary' leader of a team of adult children was finally starting to get to her.

"You two must be so bored, watching shows and being all lovey dovey," Jenna overheard Dallon saying in his phone as she walked into his 'lair,' having a new case in hand that she wanted him to join them on. She cleared her throat, and he jumped. "Talk to you later. Kisses."

Dallon spun around wearing a full face of makeup, his hair sprayed silver. He wore a bright metallic suit and bowling shoes. He always looked like he belonged in a circus, which wasn't new. Jenna admired him for embracing his masculinity and feminist, even if it was in... bizarre ways.

"Yes, my liege?" He squeaked, throwing his phone over his shoulder.

It slid across his desk that held several computer monitors, knocking over a framed picture of him, his wife, and their kids. Jenna could only wonder how much they missed Breezy after she was killed in the Chicago ambulance bombing. She didn't know how Dallon could be so cheery after losing the love of his life. That must've been what Josh felt for those three months of not being able to find Tyler.

"We want you with us on this next case," she said, tossing the file onto his lap and beginning to walk back out. When he didn't move instantly, Jenna stopped halfway through the doorway and tilted her head. "Is there something wrong?"

He shook his head at first, but then stopped when Jenna raised an eyebrow. "Something's been bothering me for a while now. Joseph and I were- we looked into Parrish right before... He thought she was the second killer and wanted everything there was on her. We had her history and address and everything. Do you think she knew that, and she killed her daughter and herself because of it?"

Jenna crossed her arms. The way the case ended never sat well with her, and despite how many discussions she and Brad had, they could never figure out what bothered them so much.

"I believe Parrish was a coward who thought she was doing the world a favor," she said. "Nothing you did it could've done would've influenced her in her decision making."

Dallon nodded, although he didn't seem too convinced by her reassurance, and stood, flipping through the file without looking. "Where are we going now?"

"A small town in Alaska," Jenna explained as they walked to the board room. "There's been a couple of locals murdered in their houses and we won't have any WiFi up there without you."

Inside, Sarah and Judah were having an intense discussion about which cereals were the best to eat dry; with everything they've seen on the job, Jenna sometimes forgot they were only in 19 and 22 respectively. Brad say at the head of the table, staring out the window towards the rest of the building. Mark was just outside the room, speaking to a handful of other communication liaisons from Counter Terrorism.

When Jenna waved to him, he excused himself and followed behind her, closing the door once everyone was inside. Jenna took her seat beside Brad with Sarah readjusting to a serious face across her. The chairs beside Judah sat empty, untouched for almost two months. Mark and Dallon set the projector up to start the meeting.

Once the pictures loaded, a woman's body appeared, mutilated and seemingly stabbed several times. A man's showed up beside the first one with the same injuries. Dallon shivered at the sight.

"There have been two murders in the small fishing town of River Fork, Alaska," Mark began,fiddling with his clicker. "Marcus Grant was found stabbed in in his home and dragged into the woods in his backyard. The local police believed it to be a bear at first, but then the body of Elizabeth Tracy, killed in the same fashion as Grant."

"Gross," was Judah's single contribution.

Jenna noticed Sarah was fidgeting, pulling at her sleeve and looking towards the bathroom. She caught her eye and mouthed a silent question. You okay?

Sarah nodded, smiling weakly, but she'd been acting odd for weeks now. Jenna knew what was going on, but she wasn't going to push the issue since it was obvious Sarah wasn't ready to open up about her resurfacing drug problem.

"- and we'll be setting up our own personal internet connection since a population of 347 in a tiny forest town isn't going to have the best service," Dallon said, concluding their meeting.

All eyes shifted to their new leader. Jenna straightened her posture, blocking all emotion from her face so they couldn't see the anxiety welling up underneath. She wasn't the right one to lead this team, but Bureau be damned, she'd do the best with what she had.

"Wheel's up in thirty," she said, seeing them start to move immediately. "Heaton, a word?"

Brad stayed back as the others filtered out of the room. "What is it?"

"Do you know if Tyler ever took his follow up psychological?"

"I'm not sure, but they would've pulled him back in if he hadn't. Why?" Brad leaned against the projector, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Weekes told me that Tyler thought Parrish was the partner and they weren't the only ones to know her address before we found her. If Tyler had suspected her, why didn't they tell us?"

Jenna knew what he was thinking, and he knew that she knew. They both had a terrible feeling when it came to Tyler. The change in his personality made them apprehensive, Jenna more than most. She'd been the one to recruit him, after all.

It was a risk in all their parts bringing someone so young and unstable in their team, but he improved them greatly and Jenna still had hopes that the pros outweighed the cons. She knew he was capable of great things, but someone of his intellect and background being the perfect fit for many of the serial killers they take down meant he was capable of unimaginable things as well. Just like Brendon Urie was. If something ugly were to happen and Tyler was responsible, Jenna would have nobody but herself to blame.

She tried to portray this to Brad with no words, and he seemed to understand, because he brought his hands down in her shoulders, squeezing them in reassurance.

"We've worked with him since he was nineteen, Black," he said softly, looking her in the eyes. "If he was doing something as bad as what you're thinking, we'd know. Tyler is... a force to be reckoned with, that's a sure thing, and Brendon's death showed us that front and center, but he's still just a kid. A scared, traumatized, and healing kid. He needs us now more than ever. Now, let's solve a case for our boys at home."