The Intelligence Control and Analysis Program

Chapter 1

Hotch frowned slightly, but Morgan pulled the words from his mouth before he had a chance to say them.

"Kid, there's a couch in Hotch's office."

"Rossi's, too," JJ added.

Genius opened his eyes but made no attempt at getting up. "But Agent Hotchner is in here. And Agent Rossi went to get coffee."

Hotch tried to gently correct him, remembering what the file said about his reactions to being contradicted. "Yes, but you can go in my office and sleep on the couch. I don't mind."

Genius shook his head, eyes closing gently. "I can't be alone."

JJ folded her arms and set them on the tabletop. "Is it the dark? Or the quiet? Because I have—"

Genius let out a heavy sigh underlined by a groan. "No, I mean I am not allowed to be alone. I can't be unsupervised, especially in a government facility. Obviously." Genius curled up a little tighter, irritated by their questions. "You could handcuff me, if the couch is made for geniuses, but that's a hassle. I'll sleep here."

There were a few beats of silence, and then JJ got to her feet. She left the room, Hotch and Morgan quietly comparing notes in her absence, and when she was back, she had a blanket and pillow in her arms.

"You are welcome to sleep on the floor if you want, but this should make things a little more comfortable."

Genius looked at her strangely, almost as if he were afraid of the gesture, and then he cautiously reached out to take the items. "Um... thank you? That's... uh... it's very..." he struggled with his words for a moment. "...ethical of you." He looked her up and down, squinting, and then he put the pillow on the floor, curling up like a cat and wrapping himself in the blanket.

"Goodnight, Genius."

There was a moment of hesitance, and then came, "Goodnight, Agent Jereau."

Genius seemed to nod off immediately afterward, clearly needing the rest more than his behavior let on. JJ turned away and rejoined Morgan and Hotch at the table, looking at them with heartbreak in her eyes. Hotch met her stare with a less-than-expressive look of his own, glanced briefly at Morgan, and then looked down to the files.

It was sad, but they were accustomed to sad stories, and they had a job to do.

Hotch inhaled. "Let's try and get the TAD more parameters to work with. Emily can start working on the geographical profile when she comes back." It was a relatively new method, and she was the only one who had any experience in the field, but with the new information, maybe she could make it work. "Morgan, use what Genius gave us and try to narrow down some more information about this mystery woman."

Morgan nodded and grabbed a marker from the table, walking over to the whiteboard and getting to work.

Hotch turned to look at JJ. "Call a press conference. Plead with him to release Angela Hayes, or to at least call the tip line and talk to us. Make it convincing. If he thinks we're completely stumped, he might not be able to resist gloating."

JJ nodded and got to her feet, phone in hand before she had even reached the door. "I'll tell Rossi and Emily to come back in," she said over her shoulder, and she was gone before Hotch could respond.

Hotch let out a soft sigh and looked at the papers on the table, his mind flickering back and forth between the case and the cocooned body in the corner.

It worked.

Genius had found something they couldn't, and while he didn't possess the profiling skills necessary to give them an unsub, he was able to give them the information they needed to profile. He clearly had problems working with others, he had a mouth on him, and his temper was none too stable, but he had done good work. He had done good work in less than a half an hour.