When the team finished passing on the profile of the unsub and the officers were released, they all gathered together.
"I think I'm going to stay here and take care of the tip line." Spencer said. "Clubs aren't really my thing."
"No way, kid." Morgan interjected. "I need a wingman."
"We're going to work, there, handsome. Not picking up dates." Lily rolled her eyes as Derek chuckled, throwing an arm over her shoulder.
"Well, I think you should consider picking up some guys."
"Excuse me?"
"Actually..." Rossi interrupted the banter. "There's another angle we need to pursue."
"We still don't know what made the unsub change his victimology." Hotch nodded. "What made him stop killing prostitutes and move it to the clubs."
"The answer might be something in Viper's class, but, to figure that out, we need to... Profile the teacher."
"We need to bate him in. With someone he sees as a challenge." Morgan said.
"To study his style up-close and personal, is gonna take someone he's already attracted to." Spencer said.
As soon as the words left his mouth, Morgan and Emily turned to Lily with a smirk. She turned to Hotch, but the man just stared right back at her.
"Ugh..." She groaned. "This is gonna suck in so many levels."
***
As soon as she finished putting on her heels, she exited the bathroom of the station and met up Hotch in the room the BAU had during their stay.
"You're really okay with this, right?" He asked, as she sat down and crossed her legs.
"Do we have an option?" She sighed, letting her hair flow behind her back.
"We could send Prentiss." He offered, but Lily shook her head.
"It's fine, Hotch." She assured. "She has other things to do. Better things."
Hotch smirked.
"I'm sending Jordan with you." He said.
"You're testing her?" Lily asked. He shrugged. "Okay."
"Well, look at you, doll..." Morgan wolf-whistled from the door. "All dressed up."
"Not for you, though." She smirked as he pretended to be hurt.
"How about for Pretty Boy?" He asked, as Spencer stopped at the door beside him.
"You look... Amazing." He said. Lily giggled, looking down to hide her blush.
"Thank you." She whispered.
"Well, are we ready to go?" A very nice-looking Jordan asked, as she stood behind both boys.
They turned around and Lily got up.
"If anything happens..."
"Don't worry, Hotch." Lily smiled at him, interrupting his protective speech. "I can handle it."
***
The club was full, the music was loud, the drink on Lily's hand was cold. She knew Spencer, Morgan and Emily were there, but she still felt uneasy surrounded by that many people, being watched by some men like she was a piece of meat. But she needed to focus. She took a sip of her drink and smirked as she saw Viper walking over to her.
"This is a nice surprise." He smirked, as he stood before her.
"Well, the Atlanta P.D. and the FBI are coming to all the bars you go to and looks like I pulled the short straw." She said, tilting her head to the side just a little.
"Lucky me, then."
Good. She was flirting alright, then.
"So..." She asked, after a giggle. "Why'd you do it? Why do you teach guys to be somebody they're not?"
"Because it's a game." He shrugged. "One that I'm good at. And I want to help other guys to get good at it too."
"So... Affection, sex, emotional commitment... That's all just for fun, huh?"
"No. The fun... Is in the initial spark. It's the thing the guy does in the first five seconds that makes you go... Him." He snapped his fingers close to her face and she raised an eyebrow. "What you're talking about is a different beast. You can't fake it. You have to want it. Now..." He smirked, as she nodded. "Why are you really here?"
He leaned in to kiss her and so did she, but before their lips could actually meet – thankfully – Jordan stepped up.
"Is this, hum... The guy you were telling me about?" She asked, and Lily nodded.
"Hum, Viper... Meet SSA Jordan Todd from the BAU, Jordan, this is Viper. God's gift to women."
"Wow..." She chuckled. "God sure has a sense of humor."
"Ha..." He fake laughed, before turning to Lily. "You brought a friend."
"You promised if I met you on your territory you'd show me something special. So... Let's see it."
"Yeah, Viper..." Jordan smirked. "Who gets pushed and who gets pulled tonight?"
"Let's start with you, then." Viper smiled at Todd, before taking a sip of his drink.
"All yours..." Lily said, picking up her glass and stepping aside, as Jordan leaned against the table.
"Work your magic." She challenged.
"Give me fifteen seconds, and I can make her weak." Viper announced.
"Go ahead then." Lily said, watching as he talked to Jordan about eye-contact and chemical responses.
Counting fifteen seconds in her head, she smirked, before stepping forward.
"Alright, time's up." She said, as Jordan turned to her.
"What do you see?" She asked.
"Nope, no change. No dilation."
"I guess chemically we're not a match." Jordan shrugged, as Viper dismissed her with a wave of his hand.
"Only because you have someone else in the mind." He said. "Once that happens the attraction center in the brain shuts down." He travelled his eyes from Jordan to Lily. "Your turn."
"No." She shook her head. He laughed.
"You're scared I might be right?"
"No, Paul..." She laughed as well. "I'm baffled. I cannot figure out what the unsub could've learned from you."
"What do you mean?" He asked, clearly offended. "He took my look, my words, everything that makes me successful with the opposite sex."
"Really?" Jordan mocked. "Because that guy could get beautiful women inside his apartment and I wouldn't let you in my Facebook page."
"Oh, you have Facebook?" Lily asked, turning to Jordan. She smiled.
"Yeah, you should friend me."
"Yeah, I will."
"I have-"
"Hey, hey, hey!" Viper called, wanting the attention back to himself. The two woman tuned to face him. "I gave him the routines that made him what he is."
"Hum... I don't really see that." Lily frowned.
"Yeah, we've been watching all the women in the club..."
"And not one of them has looked at you. So who do you really go home with, Paul? Or... Or do you go home alone?"
The both of them gave him mock pity faces and he laughed.
"That's really good, ladies. That was really good." He said. "Don't you think I know why you're here? One of my students copies my moves and you're here to get inside my mind. Don't you see? I confronted my Queen B a long time ago."
"What's a Queen B?" Jordan asked.
"You are." He spat. "And so is every other confident girl in here who's loud when she's drunk."
"The social butterfly." Lily concluded. "The alpha-female."
"Every student who's ever taken my classes had one in his life." He said. "And the first exercise my students have to complete is to confront their Queen B. Could be the girl who cheated on you, or the prom date that stood you up. But you find them, and squash them."
Without a second look, they both left the club. As soon as they were out, Lily pulled up her phone and called Hotch.
"Lily?" He answered, after two rings.
"He knew her."