𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐎𝐖 ━━ 𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐤 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧

『15』

"We've only been here an hour, and you've already made two calls." I overheard Derek say as I walked in through the BAU doors.

"And?" Elle asked him.

"Elle, you despise anything phone-related." I dropped my bag at my desk before sitting down.

"I do not hate the phone." She argued.

"Actually, you do." Spencer spoke up. "Did you know that Alexander Graham Bell and Eli Gray simultaneously invented electronic sound transmission devices? It came down to a race betwixt the two." And the brainiac genius side shined through.

"Yeah, and Bell beat Gray to the patent office by a matter of hours." Elle finished the little history lesson. "Common knowledge." She retorted when she saw Spencer's look of confusion.

"Why are you acting so weird?" Derek drummed a pencil against his fingers.

"We're sitting with a guy who knows that there are eight hundred kernels of corn on the average cob—" Elle began.

"Arranged in sixteen separate rows." Spencer mentioned while continuing to work.

"And you're calling me weird?" Elle pointed a thumb back at him.

"You're getting some loving, aren't you? You got a boyfriend." Derek accused her.

"You are basing this on what exactly, the fact that I don't like the phone? That's all you got? That's seriously your best? You've been a profiler for how long, Derek. That's-That's weak. That's weak." Elle retorted.

"No need to get all defensive, Elle." I leaned against Derek's desk.

"What's weak?" JJ came over to us.

"Nothing." Elle muttered as she got up from her chair.

"Morgan thinks Elle has a boyfriend." Spencer caught her up.

"See? Nothing. You just denied it." Derek pointed his pencil at her.

"Do you?" JJ glanced back at her.

"It's more fun not to answer that question." Elle smirked.

"That right there is a yes, baby. I knew it. I told you." Derek followed behind us, handing me a cup of coffee.

"She doesn't want to admit anything, man." Spencer defended Elle.

"Reid, trust me. You have got a lot to learn." Derek pat him on the back.

"Well, if everyone's up for getting into each other's personal lives, Morgan, how come you're always making Suparna a cup of coffee every day in the morning?" Elle questioned him.

"Oh, look, we're here in the conference room. Better get started on the briefing." I rushed into the room, making the others chuckle.

"FBI Tampa has been investigating a series of murders over the past two months along Florida's Central Gulf coast." JJ started us off.

"I consulted with the SAC down there. They had a strong lead." Gideon spoke up.

"And DNA evidence. All four women were killed by this man—Mark Gregory." She pulled up a picture of the guy.

"If they know who he is, he's not really an UnSub." Spencer pointed out.

"Why do they need us?" I furrowed my brows.

"They were unable to arrest him before he disappeared." JJ glanced back at me.

"They let a serial killer get away? How long has he been missing?" Hotch leaned against the table.