The two of us walked up the stairs two the roof, and I scanned everyone.
They were all lounging on the outdoor couches, drinking a variation of beers and hard lemonade. I chuckled at the sight of Spencer holding a Bud Light, mainly because I didn't usually see that often. Aaron sat down with his own drink, and I turned my head a little to look at Derek. He was about to sip his beer, but I took it from him.
I needed to get the taste out of my mouth. So I took it and let a large amount enter my mouth, swooshing it around. I then went to the edge of the boat, spitting it out. I glanced at everyone.
They were staring at me like I was crazy, all but Aaron. He had both his eyebrows raised as a cocky smile appeared on his face, taking a sip of his drink.
I shot them a sheepish grin, "I haven't had anything in almost a month, give me a break" I defended, and Morgan shrugged. I handed him his drink,
"I don't blame you" He believed me, and I sat down next to Spencer, enjoying the rest of my night.
000
It was two days later, we were finally home. Well, by home, I meant Virginia. I wasn't allowed to to my house, I was staying with Spencer.
Aaron and I barely got the change to talk for the past 32 hours, he had Jack for the day when he got back. I didn't mind, I loved that Aaron was spending time with him.
Everyone got home early yesterday, however Spencer and I got back late last night, so we didn't go into work that day. I wasn't supposed to be going in at all, but the team was called in by JJ on a local emergency.
"JJ said not to bring a go bag, that means it has to be local" Spencer started as the elevator door opened. Emily, Morgan, Spencer and I stepped out of it, examining the scene. The office was packed, basically swarming with people of higher authority.
Oh no...
"What's the army doing here?" I narrowed my eyes,
"What the hell is going on...?" Emily asked, and I shook my head. Holding my messenger bag closer to my side, I spoke,
"I don't know, but whatever it is, it's not good" I ensured, and the four of us exchanged nervous looks. Spencer tugged my hand right before rushing towards the meeting room, and the three of us followed instantly.
We entered, seeing a woman putting pills into different small cups. Next to her stood JJ, who put her cup down when she saw us. "Guys, this is Linda Kimura, Chief of special pathogens with the CDC" JJ introduced, and then Hotch and Rossi walked in. I looked at him, and he was noticeably antsy.
Great, this was going to be lovely.
"I'm sorry we have to meet under these circumstances," Linda started, but was cut off by a worried Spencer.
"What circumstances?" He asked, and Hotch looked down at the table.
"We need to get started" Aaron basically tried shutting Spencer up, and I clenched my fist. I narrowed my eyes at him as my left one almost twitched.
I hated when he did that.
"Last night, 25 people checked into emergency rooms in and around Annapolis" JJ explained, opening a case file, "They were all at the same part after 2 pm yesterday. Within ten hours, the first victim died. It's now just past 7 am the next day, and 12 more are dead" My eyes went wide at her statistics, but I tried to hide my shock.
"Lung failures and black lesions" Morgan read off of the case file. I grabbed my own, opening it to see what was inside.
It had to be anthrax.
"Anthrax?" I looked up from the file to see which one read my mind, seeing it was Derek. Spencer shook his head, flipping through the pages.
"Anthrax doesn't kill this fast" He defended, and Linda eyed my tall best friend.
"This one does" She revealed, and that's when every one of us looked at her. I was nervous, and I could tell everyone else was too.
"What are we doing about potential mass targets-- Airports, malls, trains?"
"There's a media blackout" My eyes went wide,
"We're not telling the public?" it almost made me angry. What the hell was he talking about? Was he delusional?
"We'd have a mass exodus" Derek cut in, directing it towards me. He could tell I was fuming.
Aaron and I didn't usually get along when it came to doing things during a case. Everyone listened to him because he was the big boss, they wouldn't even question him.
I was different, I tested that man way too much.
"The psychology of group panic would cause more deaths than this last attack" Rossi started,
"Yeah, and if it does get out, whoever did this might go underground or destroy their samples" Reid finished. I started to fix the collar under my argyle sweater, trying hard not to just walk right out of the room.
I wasn't even supposed to be there, but I guess being shot in the stomach by your psychopathic twin sister who was still loose wasn't enough for an extra few days off. I was weak and tired, I was having trouble sleeping. I constantly had the same two nightmares every night, it was dreadful.
"The remaining survivors have been moved to a special wing At Walter Reed hospital. Our offices will become a small command center" JJ explained, making me snap out of it. I grabbed my coffee off of the table and took a sip to wake me up.
"We'll be working with military scientists from Fort Detrick" Hotch told everyone,
"General Whitworth is coming here?" Rossi did not look very pleased, and honestly, neither was I. My stepfather and Whitworth couldn't stand one another.
"He's in charge of site containment and spore analysis. Determining what strain this is will help inform who's responsible" I couldn't even look at Hotch. For some strange reason, I was overly angry.
"My team is in charge of treating all victims" Linda said.
"Reid, go with Dr. Kimura to the hospital. Interview the victims. Morgan and Prentiss, there's a hazmat team that will accompany you to the crime scene. There's Cipro, everybody needs to take it before we go"
"We don't know if it's effective against this strain, But it's something"
I stood straighter, finally giving Aaron the time of day. "Where do I go, sir?" I flinched. I hated calling him that,
"You're staying with Rossi and I"
Oh, fucking wonderful.
"This is really happening?" Emily cut in.
"We knew this could happen, we've done our homework. We've prepared for this. This is it" Hotch then downed the two pills in his small cup, and I picked it up for myself. I looked down at it, and then I followed in Aaron's footsteps.
"Jin Dan, may you live 100 years"