"You're gonna hate this." Fleur hummed to Elijah as they walked into the lift of the BAU.

"God, what now?" Elijah sighed.

"I heard a rumor." Fleur nodded.

Elijah raised a brow,"Go on."

"You're gonna have to remember another name."

"Fuck." Elijah groaned.

"His name is Stephen Walker. He came in a few days ago but obviously we were off because of the kids." Fleur pointed.

"Stephen.. Do I know Stephen?" Elijah asked slowly.

"Nope, we haven't met him yet." Fleur chuckled.

"Goor. I was worried id forgotten him."

"Don't worry. I've got you." Fleur assured him.

"Thank you." Elijah smiled.

"There he is." Fleur pointed as they exited the elevator.

"I see." Elijah nodded slowly,"We've got this."

"Hi, you must be Stephen?" Fleur walked up to him.

"I am." Stephen held out his hand,"You must be Fleur Howards."

"How'd you know?" She shook his hand.

"Emily told me a lot about you." He answered.

"She did?" Fleur smiled,"That's sweet. This is Elijah."

"Yes, hi." Elijah nodded.

"And Emily's told me a lot of you too." Stephen shook Elijah's hand,"Your husband is Reid?"

"Yes, he is." Elijah hummed,"He's uh, handling some stuff right now."

"I understand." Stephen nodded,"It's great to finally meet you two."

"It's great to have you on the team, Stephen." Elijah agreed.

"Elijah will say your name all the time by the way." Fleur chuckled.

"Emily did mention that be was a little forgetful." Stephen mentioned.

Fleur chuckled and nudged Elijah,"We don't mind."

"Jokes on you both, I'm not going to forget." Elijah pointed.

"As long as you stay longer than a few months." Fleur pointed back.

"I plan on it." Stephen chuckled.

"Good." Fleur hummed as Emily walked out.

"Guys?" Emily sighed.

"Case?" Elijah turned.

"You know it." Emily nodded.

"Let's go then troops." Elijah started walking.

"Troops? You sound very Luke." Fleur laughed.

Elijah shuddered,"I am nothing like Luke."

"Alvez? He's great." Stephen chucked as they walked.

"So I've been told." Elijah mumbled.

*********************************

"Rick and Lenore Purcell are the latest victims of burglary homicides in wealthy San Diego neighbourhoods." Emily began.

"Last week, the same happened to Janelle Klecker while her husband was out of town on business." Stephen continued.

"Janelle Klecker lived in Del Mar. That's seven miles away. The Purcells were in Rancho Santa Fe." Garcia finished.

"Well, quite the party." Elijah commented,"Narcotics, booze, vandalism. Seems there was a fashion show."

"Yeah, those are all women's clothing. Looks like our gangs both male and female." Fleur looked through thr pictures.

"Yeah, girls are just as susceptible as boys to gang recruitment. Uh, according to the National Youth Gamg Centre, about 20% are females." Alvez told them.

"Often people join gangs for the sense of belonging, and if they're socially isolated, it provides them with a sense of family for the first time." Stephen added.

"Yeah, gangs also tend to follow a hierarchy. Alpha on top, then muscle, devout right hand and then the soldiers." JJ shook her head,"So, ti looks like both times they grabbed cash and electronics but avoided jeweld and art."

"That could be because they know what's easy to sell and hard to track. That makes them criminally experienced." Luke shrugged.

"Which is likely, considering they moved in and out without witnesses or triggering alarms. But it is hard to maintain that level of organization when you're high." Stephen sighed.

"An MO mismatch like that could have been caused by group dynamics. Too many cooks in the kitchen." Rossi suggested.

"Well, they should have waited until the house was empty but didn't. The gang could be thrill-seekers." JJ pointed.

"Could have been why the residents were there when it happened. Once is an accident, twice a trend." Fleur nodded.

"Garcia, see if any of the victims have secrets." Emily looked up at her.

"Skeletons in the closet, my specialty." Garcia hummed.

"They could be targeting random victims or working off a list." Elijah shook his head.

"Yeah, it's difficult to tell which from the files." Emily nodded.

"Look, I know I'm new here, but to me, it seems like they won't stop." Stephen sighed.

"I'd rather fly out there and see nothing than stay here and see more bodies drop. Wheels Up in twenty." Emily pointed.

*********************************

"Rick Purcell was a financial planner. His wife, Lenore, ran a high-end boutique." Emily told them as they sat on the jet.

"Says here they have no kids, no extended family either." Rossi shook his head.

"Janelle Klecker, our first victim, she was the CFO of a major accounting firm." Alvez added,"Her husband, Dan, owns strip malls along the West Coast."

"They also don't have kids, but plenty of nieces and nephews." Fleur pointed.

"Childless couples could be part of their victim selection criteria." Stephen nodded.

"Okay, I have looked inside and out these people's lives and their closets are void of Skeletons.

Aside from geography and class, there's zero overlap." Garcia pinged herself into the screen.

"What do we think is motivating this gang? Murder? Theft?" Elijah questioned.

"Maybe its both. We have evidence of cocaine, marijuana, speed, alcohol.." Stephen listed,"The level of drug use must affect their focus."

"But to pull off a coordinated attack like this, at least one of them was sober." Emily pointed.

"Well it could be the Alpha. Maybe he's using the drugs to control the others." Fleur suggested.

"Well, if the shooter's the same for each one, my money's on the aloha." Alvez agreed.

"It depends. Some gang leaders are willing to get their hands dirty, others aren't." Rossi sighed.

"Okay, when we land, Luke, Rossi, head to the M.E. Walker, set up with the local PD. And JJ and I will go to the Purcell crime scene." Emily instructed.

*********************************

"COD is a single gunshot wound to the forehead. Ballistics confirms a suppressed, compact 9 millimeter was used both times." The M.E told the men.

"Relatively common firearm." Rossi nodded,"Any sexual assault?"

"None." She answered.

"Home invasion victims are usually blitz attacked. But not here, no defensive wounds, no blunt force trayam." Alvez shook his head.

"Then the Unsubs likely used the gun to control them. Ligature marks on the wrists, not overly abrasive. What was used?" Rossi raised a brow.

"Household items. Janelle Klecker, man's tie. Probably her husband's. The Purcells, a woman's belt and a phone charger."

"You see this?" Alvez pointed,"The contact wounds look the same."

"Did the first victim have one in roughly the same spot?" Elijah asked.

"Yes. Exactly." She nodded.

"Hm.. Same weapon, same barrel placement, same downward angle. You add it up, it's a single shooter." Rossi shook his head.

"Whoever it was had to be sober to maintain this level of self control." Alvez pointed.

"So, there's one shooter. Clear-headed, controlled, mature, on the hunt while the others go along on a drug-filled party binge." Elijah crossed his arms.

*********************************

"Eli, Alvez and Rossi figure the shooter was sober enough to maintain self control throughout." Fleur told the girls.

"Which means he is likely our alpha." Emily nodded.

"It seems our Alpha has a muscle, because whoever did this is strong." JJ pointed out,"Given the physicality, it's likely a male.. Whose rage is easy to set off but also manage. Anger created by a violent childhood, maybe?"

"It's hard to see evidence of it, but based on group dynamics, we know this leader has a devout right hand." Emily continued,"That person's an unwavering extension of the alpha, providing him with unconditional support."

"But the level of immaturity right here is a 180 from the Alpha." Fleur sighed.

"That's the problem with group dynamics. Different personalities, different agendas." Emily sighed.

"This vandalism is likely courtesy of the gangs soldiers. Impressionable and eager, they're probably rhe youngest members." JJ pointed,"Could have escaped a negative loneliness, too, with the leader acting as the father figure they crave."

"And if the Alpha supplied them with drugs and alcohol, it would make them easier to control." Emily added.

"Police said the music was cranked up when they arrived." Fleur pointed.

"Now, with the distance between the houses, I doubt the neighbors heard anything, even gunshots." Emily shook her head.

"So the shooter could have killed them out here, but instead.. He kept them isolated in here." JJ pointed as she walked through.

"Maybe.. One of them can't stomach the violence?" Emily suggested.

"Yeah, but still the shooter wouldn't need a suppressor." Fleur shook her head.

"True. Unless.. He didn't want someone in the house to hear." Emily pointed.

"What if the other members don't know about the killings?" JJ suggested.

Emily nodded as they walked outside,"Nothing here about these victims says they were targeted. So far, they all seem random."

"In an area like this, a ruse would work best. A fake injury, claim to be looking for a lost pet." Fleur agreed.

"Well, whatever it was, they would need to quietly see the most potential victims in the shortest time." Emily nodded.

"I've seen houses in the area with a 'No Soliciting' sign. Suggests it happens. Maybe that's the ruse." JJ added.

"Well, around here residents wouldn't hesitate to call the police if a peddler about a peddler. Unless, maybe they're young and innocent looking. They could be selling magazines or candy for a cause." Emily crossed her arms.

"That would definitely tug at the heartstrings. It would also allow them time to canvass thoroughly." Fleur pointed.

"Okay, the local PD needs to re-interview both areas on the lookout for that ruse." Emily nodded as she took her phone out.

*********************************

After a while, the team had gotten another call.. More victims.

"Victims are Claire and Joe Vendl, two adult children. Neither live at home and no pets." Fleur walked in, looking at Elijah.

"Who called it in?" Elijah asked.

"A private security patrol saw the front door open, lights on. Gang was long gone." Fleur sighed.

"Well, whether or not they're getting bolder or sloppy, the party's over." Rossi looked around.

"The wounds match the previous victims. It looks like the same shooter." Fleur crouched down.

"The geography of the victims, the way they fell, means the shooter was likely.. Here." Elijah pointed.

"Based on this blood spatter pattern shadow, a gang member could've been in this spot. Janelle Klecker and the Purcells were murdered in private, away from the party." Fleur realised.

"This time the alpha made a choice to kill in front of the gang." Rossi agreed.

"But why the change? Is the shooter devolving?" Fleur raised a brow.

"Could be part of it. A shift like this demands the other's attention and respect. The alpha could be loosing control." Elijah suggested.

"So this could be a last ditch effort to reassert his dominance." Fleur pointed.

"Hey, Agents. You might wanna see this." One of the cops told them.

*********************************

The cops lead the three of them into a room and handed them a picture of the family, faces burnt out.

"Their faces were burnt out." Fleur blinked.

"Vandalism is normal, but this is the first time we've seen this kind of tage." Rossi shook his head.

"Yeah, for one of the gang members, this pictures personal." Fleur agreed.

"This type of anger is usually directed toward a person. This is directed towards a group, and not just any group, a nuclear family." Elijah pointed.

"So one of them has an issue with theirs even more so than the rest." Fleur nodded slowly,"If the Alpha did this, it's likely his family lives in the area."

"Why not go after them first?" Elijah asked,"Hanging around is dangerous."

"The family could be out of town. Maybe the gangs waiting for them. That's not rhe only change here. The UnSubs usually take liquid assets, like cash, electronics but here? They took nothing." Fleur pointed.

"It seems out gang is becoming unglued quicker than we expected." Rossi sighed.

*********************************

Once everyone was in the same room, Emily called Garcia,"Garcia, the real Alpha is one of the women. She's from the area. Probably comes from money."

"She's likely a user, which means she might have had an accidental overdose or been injured." Alvez added.

"So start with hospital records, then." Fleur nodded.

"Last month, Ezekiel Daniels was the emergency contact for a Bethany Elise Adams, twenty-one, from Escondido which is another wealthy, San Diego suburb." Garcia told them,"Okay, so she spent the night in a Jackson, Mississippi, hospital due to an accidental oxy overdose. And just because a girl's not been arrested don't mean she's never gotten in trounle. This Bethany chick, she has pin-balled all over the San Diego prep school scene. I mean, from Kindergarten to 12th grade, she was in five different schools."

"Expelled from each one of them I presume?" Alvez guessed.

"Uh-huh, but each time she got expelled, she would consistently get admitted into a new school because her parents would make a hefty financial contribution to the new school." She answered.

"What are they like?" Fleur raised a brow.

"They're maddeningly, maddeningly normal. I mean, according to all things, Michelle and Paul Adams, they're loving, indulgent parents. She has a younger sister Kendra, who works at the family's real estate firm. Oh, sweet Christmas." Garcia sighed,"Okay, thr dad just recently updated his Facebook family picture. It's him, his wife and the daughter, Kendra. No sign of Bethany, not even a shout-out."

"So, Bethany's been cut out of the perfect family. It explains why she attacked that photo." JJ pointed.

"By and by, the little sister was promoted to junior assistant two weeks ago." Garcia added.

"Right before the first kill. So if this was all about the parents, why not go after them right away?" Emily blinked.

"Oh, I know, because mom and dad dhave been away at a work conference. They arrived home early this morning." Garcia told them.

"If Bethany knew that, she's already there." Elijah shook his head.

"Okay guys, you head over there, I'll coordinate from here." Emily pointed.

*********************************

Thankfully the team managed to apprehend Bethany, but it was too late for Ezekiel who she'd shot. Now, they were all on the jet back home.

"So, how's Reid?" Fleur raised a brow, sitting down next to Elijah.

"Stressed." Elijah shook his head.

"What's going on?"

"His mum." Elijah sighed,"She's getting worse."

"I'm sorry." Fleur nudged him.

"It's alright, he said he's got a plan." Elijah assured her.

"I'm glad. And if you need any help- With Diana or Lizzie. Or even if you need a break, me and Morgan will always help."

"Which is why I'm thankful you're here."

"I love you, cherié." Fleur smiled.

"I love you too, darling." Elijah told her.

"Don't let your husband hear you talk to me like that." Fleur laughed.

"Oh, I won't." Elijah chuckled.

"I think he'd get jealous." Fleur hummed.

"Jealous? Reid?" Elijah shook his head,"I'm the jelaous one."

"Don't we know it." Fleur smirked.

"Hey, I'm working on it." Elijah shrugged.

"Working on it for how many years?" Fleur pointed.

"Like.. Ten."

"Give or take." Fleur shrugged.

"I've gotten.. Somewhat better." Elijah told her.

"Somewhat." Fleur chuckled.

"Hey, practice makes perfect." He hummed.

"Let me know how he is." Fleur pointed.

"I will." Elijah nodded.