Criminal Minds Series Rewrite: Season One

Machismo: Part Two

"Agent Gideon," the head officer greets.

"Captain Navarro."

"You're shorter than I remembered," he laughs. "This is Lieutenant Borquez."

The officer next to him nods his head welcoming.

"This is my team," Gideon motions to all of you. "Captain Navarro has been put in charge of the case by the assistant attorney general."

"You guys got history?" Derek asks.

"We met at a seminar I gave in Mexico City a few years ago."

"Sexual Homicide in Latin America. I just read a chapter on the subject in Max Ryan's book. I'm glad you all came. I was never sure how much you liked me," he chuckles.

"Why is that?" you ask.

"I've often told agent Gideon that his profiling technique would not translate accurately in Latin culture without a better understanding of our cultural values."

"Now is a good time to find out, right?"

"Uh, Captain," JJ interrupts, "I'd like to get a handle on the type of press this has been getting and meet some of the local police here."

"Of course, but I imagine you would all like to settle into your rooms and rest before we go?"

"No, we're ready to go."

"Alright then."

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Your entire team along with Navarro and Borquez head over to the latest crime scene in two separate cars. You, Spencer, Borquez, and Derek are in one car with the rest in another. The crime scene is next to a cemetery, so when Borquez pulls up to it, you can see just how much culture is around this place. The entire cemetery is decorated for "Day of the Dead". While you love the idea of this holiday and the appreciation that surrounds it, the spirits that linger aren't the ones people hope are there.

You get out with a sigh and scan the entire area. There are a few spirits lingering around the place, all with sad and somber faces, wishing they could find peace and move on. That's the thing with your ability, you can only see the spirits that are stuck in limbo. The ones that have moved on have no business on Earth anymore, therefore, you can't connect to them.

"Can you see them?" Spencer asks when he approaches you from your right.

"Yeah, but it's not the ones they wish were here. I'm sure their loved ones come to visit, but I'm not able to pick them up. They have already passed on, and I can't connect with what's already gone. However, the ones stuck in limbo, I'm able to grasp onto."

You shrug and cross your arms as you slowly head over to the crime scene.

"What is all this?" Derek asks, motioning to the cemetery.

"Dia de Los Muertos," Borquez answers.

"Day of the Dead is a three-day Latin holiday where souls of dead relatives are said to return to earth to enjoy the pleasures that they once knew of," Spencer explains.

"It sounds like he was reading that out of a book," Borquez mutters to Derek.

"No, trust me. He always sounds like that."

"Actually, I was reading. I picked this pamphlet up at the airport."

You giggle and head over to the house to join the rest of your team.

"As profilers, I thought you'd want to see the crime scene first, before meeting the suspects, yes?" Navarro asks the team.

"You remembered something from my lecture, huh?" Gideon chuckles.