Burned Ruins {Hotch - Fire plot}

[Dr. Spencer Reid]

~~Morgan's House~~

Reid soon found himself in Hotch's car, with Hotch driving. It was almost like he was moving in a fog. he didn't know what to expect. He had seem the flames on the TV screen, seen the horror that was the burning house, but he wasn't sure what it would be like actually going and seeing it in person. Reid had seen thousand of crime scene. Only a few had been related to one of his teammates, his friends. And none of those had been a fire. Luckily Morgan was okay. But what if it was arson? Then there was a chance that he could try again, or hurt one of his other teammates. One of the things that Reid couldn't get out of his mind was that most arsonists like to stay and watch the fire burn. What if when they got there the guy was in the crowd watching? What if he was there? Reid shock that thought out of his head as he tried to call his other teammates. Once again none of them answered. Reid looked at the glowing numbers on the dash board. It was almost midnight. Still they got called in in the middle of the night, why weren't they answering this time? It was a terrible day for them to decided not to answer there phones.

Pushing that thought out of his mind he watched the road in front of them. Reid wanted to talk, break the silence that had formed but he didn't know what to say. They could talk about what could have happened, but that wouldn't do them any good. They needed to see the house to decided anything. So instead Reid sat there trying to push the panic out of his mind. This was just any other case. There was no reason to freak out. He had to keep his mind clear and focused if he wanted to profile the scene with any accuracy. That was what was going to help them now. It was the same thing he did when Elle was in the hospital, or Gideon was thought to have murdered his date but was really out there being stalked by Frank one of the worst serial killers ever, or when Garcia was shot. Or even when Kate and Hotch were in the car bomb. This was no different than any of those.

Finally the car cam to a stop and Spencer realized he had blanked out for a while. Swallowing hard he looked out the window and the dozen emergency vehicles, and the ruins which was once Morgan's house. It was all chaos, people running to and fro. Reports standing against the crime scene barrier. Looky-loos blocking the road. It was a familiar chaos that made Reid feel over whelmed. Sighing he watch it all play out before his eyes, forgetting to get out of the car.

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[Aaron Hotchner]

The drive to Morgan's house was cloaked in silence, each of them lost in their own thoughts. Hotchner's expression was carefully blank as his hands clenched the steering wheel with grim determination. The black Chevy Tahoe slipped through the night like a shadow: Hotch had taken the back roads to avoid any late hour traffic, so the road was as dark and silent as the night around them. Hotch would've said something to break the quiet, but he was too caught up in his own thoughts to pay attention to anything other than the road. We'll know more once we get there, that was what he kept telling himself, kept telling Reid. We'll know, we'll know. But Hotch hadn't seen the footage, he didn't take the time to turn on the tv he hardly ever used to watch his friend and co-worker's house go up in smoke on national television. Truth was, he didn't know what they'd find once they got there.

And what if it is an UnSub? His mind was back to possibilities. Of course, that one explanation was as plausible as the next, but twenty plus years in the bureau had thought Hotchner to analyze every situation as though it was a crime scene. It wasn't something he did consciously, it was second nature now. At times it could get very irritating, finding the worst in an otherwise harmless, innocuous situation. Anyone else would have told him it was a gas leak -- as far as he was concerned, that's what the stations on the news had been saying: he would have known had they mentioned the possibility of arson. But being who he was, being what he was, he took things in, and analyzed them from every angle he could think of. And right now, arson was number one on his list. It could have been a gas leak, of course it could have. But his gut was telling him this was something else, something far more sinister than it seemed to appear.

And if he was right, that brought a whole fresh wave of worries into his already throbbing head. Who could have done this? Are they targeting Morgan specifically? Are they after the whole team? Or was Morgan's house a blitz attack, completely randomized and nothing to do with vengeance? Will they strike again? If so, where? When, and why? or was this just a one time deal? It seemed the questions just kept multiplying, appearing in his brain faster than he was able to comprehend them. But the most important question remained absent from the storm of inquiry, Where is the rest of my team? The thought caused Aaron's grip on the steering wheel and the muscles in his jaw to tighten. He noticed Reid out of the corner of his eye, diligently pressing the numbers into his phone before listening for moments that seemed to drag on forever, until finally his hand lowered, the frown on his face deepening. He was worried. Hotch could tell, and he shared the sentiment. If this is an UnSub and he's already struck one of us down, whose to say he won't go for the rest of us? and then, Why aren't they answering?

Outwardly, his expression was calm, if not a little strained, the lines of his face creased with worry. The silence dragged on, broken occasionally by Reid in the passenger seat, dialing numbers. The steady, unanswered ringtone echoing with a kind of dread certainty. Finally, after what seemed like hours but was, in reality, only a ten minute drive, he pulled up at the curb across the street from Morgan's house. Or what was left of it. Even in the din of night it was impossible to miss, crowded with emergency vehicles and flashing lights, Hotch was glad he hadn't changed out of his work suit before leaving for the hospital. He still had his credentials in his suit pocket. Taking a moment to ready himself for whatever he might find, the unit chief cut the ignition and stepped out of the car. He was ten feet from the car when he realized Reid still hadn't moved.

Frowning, he stepped back towards the SUV, leaning down to the younger agent's open window. Hotch could read the overwhelming emotions that crossed the younger profiler's face and empathized. But Reid didn't seem to see anything, his eyes fixed on the charred remains of his friend's house. He reached through the open window to place a gentle hand on the younger man's shoulder, shaking him softly to get his attention. "Reid," he said, voice professionally level as he readied himself mentally to face whatever was coming. "Let's go take a look."

[Dr. Spencer Reid]

Its wasn't until Hotch touched Reid and said his name that he realized that he wasn't moving. Looking over at the Unit Chief he tried to smile, but it didn't work. "Sorry, coming." He said softly getting out the the SUV. He had forgotten that he was wearing what he knew as his pjs, in truth it was just navy blue sweat pants and a white t-shirt, but being FBI he was used to wearing somewhat nice cloths, not a suit like Hotch, not at least slacks and a tie. Luckily Reid had grabbed his messenger bag, which carried his wallet, badge, and gun in it. Approaching the police barrier Reid remember why they were there. Pulling out his badge, which he knew Hotch was doing also he showed it to the police officer at the front of the house. He didn't say anything though, leaving the introductions to Hotch.

Instead he looked at the house in front of him. Though is was not much of a house any more more a pile a smoldering ruins. The sight sickened Reid. It was amazing to thing that Morgan had gotten out of the house with little more than a simple burn on him. Then Reid thought of Clooney. Reid remembered Garcia saying that she had seen him on the TV and that's why she knew to get him. Yet Reid didn't see the dog, and was worried that he had run back into the house trying to find his owner. That's when he heard the soft barking of a dog. Looking over just out side the yellow tap Reid saw the large dog trying to be pushed into a animal control van. Reid tapped Hotch on the shoulder and pointed to the scene. Then he walked off figuring he would get the dog as Hotch started to talk to the police, totally forgetting the fact that all animals seemed to hate him, especially dogs.

When he reached the van he pulled out his ID and said, "Hi, I'm agent Spencer Reid." The men stopped and looked up at him. "I'm... I word for the man that lives in this house, and well, he asked me to come down and get his dog." Reid said pointing to the dog, who only started to bark at the young agent. "What's his name?" one of the guys asked in referral to the dog. "Clooney." Reid answered. The dog looked up a little, but did not stop barking. "His all yours." The man said handing the leash to the young doctors. "Um..." Reid mouthed as Clooney started to sniff him, luckily he had stopped barking. "Okay, Clooney, leasts get you to the car..." He said but as soon as he started to walk the dog started to bark again and refused to move. "Um... Come on..." With a little work Reid finally got the animal to the car and got him in to the back. That being over he found his way back over to Hotch.

((ooc: I figured I'd get the dog out of the way early.))[/size]

[Aaron Hotchner]

"Sorry, coming." Hotch nodded in acknowledgment and turned to make his way back to the scene. He managed to step onto the lawn before a weary-looking cop stopped him, his face a mask of stoic professionalism that Hotch knew quite well. The unit chief nodded politely, pulling his badge from his pocket and holding it up to the light of the officer's flashlight. "I'm Special Agent Aaron Hotchner with the FBI," he explained briskly, "And over there is Special Agent Dr. Reid," he waved vaguely to indicate his agent's position. Once the cop nodded and turned, silently inviting him to follow, Hotch kept pace with him, his eyes on what was left of his friend's house. Once they reached the front porch he stopped, waiting for Reid to finish with Clooney before entering the smoldering remains of the house.

"So officer...." "Garrison," the cop offered, "David Garrison." Hotch nodded. "What happened?" Aaron's face was unreadable, but his dark eyes betrayed his fear: fear that someone could be targeting his agents. He was determined not to let Garrison see the emotion, his gaze bouncing from the officer to the house and back. David Garrison stood taller, squaring his shoulders to erase the previous notions of his weariness. His stance was respectful, but Hotchner detected the slight spark of irritation that was a familiar occurrence when crossing paths with state police. "With all due respect, sir, this isn't your case." Garrison's beady eyes held steady with the profiler's and Hotchner's lips twitched downward in a frown. Case? a chill seemed to grip him, So this wasn't an accident. He didn't back down from the cop's challenging stare. Instead, he lifted a hand, innocently. "I'm not here to intrude, officer Garrison," he explained. "I'm here as a friend. This house belonged to one of my agents. I wanted to take a look at the damage myself." he paused for a moment before venturing, "This wasn't just an accident, then?" though the question was merely a courtesy. Garrison's initial comment had said it all.

Garrison's frown deepened, but he answered, confirming his suspicions. "We found evidence of foul play." He paused, deliberating, and then added grudgingly when Hotch said nothing, "There were traces of kerosene in the basement." He turned to look back at the house, which was little more than a charred skeleton of its former self, the walls were almost all intact, but badly scarred by burns, while the left side was little more than ash and foundation beams. Aaron assumed the arsonist lit the fire on the left, but something was missing. A kerosene fire wouldn't take out that much of the building in a handful of minutes. "How long had the fire been burning?" he asked, inclining his head to indicate the incinerated half of Morgan's house.

Garrison offered another stern look, but spoke anyway, "The call came in to the fire department around quarter to eleven, some Mrs. Jones, one of the neighbors, who first saw the flames. The Fire Chief arrived about five minutes later. I got here a few minutes after that." He waved a hand at the right side of the house. "The fire reached the boiler before the fire team could subdue it, but your agent and his dog were already out of the building by then." Hotchner nodded grimly, his mind already piecing together a scenario without prompting. The UnSub had clearly intended to kill, the thought chilled the unit chief to the bones. But is it just Morgan he's after? Shaking off the coldness and the train of thought, Hotchner nodded politely to officer Garrison, noticing Reid heading towards him. "If you don't mind, officer, we'd like to take a look inside for ourselves."

Garrison looked like he was going to refuse for a moment before his eyes hardened and he stepped down, out of the way. "Of course," he said stiffly. Hotch ignored his tone and nodded to Reid, heading inside to take a look.

[Dr. Spencer Reid]

When Reid started for the porch, where Hotch and an officer stood, he expected the worst. It was a good thing that Reid wasn't there when Garrison explained what had happened because unlike Hotch he wasn't as good at hiding his emotions. He wasn't sure why that was such a big deal but they didn't want anyone to know just how emotionally attached they where to this case, bad things always happened when you let you emotions take over.

As Reid got closer he could tell that the news wasn't good. Hotch's eyes were a blaze of hate and worry, though his face had stayed neutral. When he got closes enough he heard Hotchner ask if they could go inside, and that was when he knew that it wasn't an accident. As the office walked away Reid asked, "Is it that bad?" He didn't look at the senior agent though, instead at the ruins of Morgan's house. It was obvious that there had been an explosion, yet Reid still didn't know they details. Who could have done this? Was it aimed at Morgan or was it a random attack? At this point anything was possible.

The two agents started into the house, though it wasn't much of a house left. For the most part the right side was in tacked, enough that you could tell it had been a house. Almost everything inside had been chard, however. Pictures, painting, and furniture. Reid felt sick again thinking that this was Morgan's house. What was worse was the thought that they might have to profile him again, victimology, to find their killer. That made Reid want it to be a random act. Then Spencer got an idea. Looking over to Hotch he said, "What if this isn't the first fire? What if there have been others, others that the police aren't connecting to arson. If no one died then they wouldn't think it high priority, and thus it might slip through the cracks un-noticed." if it was then that meant that this wasn't about the BAU.