'reflections'
act one.

chapter fifteen: what's eating  vienna prescott?

"some memories never leave your bones. like salt in the sea, they become part of you, and you carry them."
-unknown

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ONCE AGAIN, SHE WAS BACK TO THAT DAY AGAIN.

She was in the bathroom, she remembered exactly how it looked, of course she did. Not only because of her eidetic memory, but because of the trauma as well.

She remembered how heavy the door into the bathroom was, she remembered how the rusty stall doors squealed as she came out of them. She recalled how little water pressure was in the sink when she lathered her hands with the tiny bar of soap.

But most of all, she recalled the sudden screams from the outside of the bathroom, the dust in the air as she ran out of the heavy door. The screams, the rocks rolling, her dad's crushed body. How her eyes watered, both from tears and the dust collecting in them.

The dust, her mother, her brother. The dust, the soap, the door, the bathroom. The dust, the rusty hinges, her dad's tear streaked face as he said his finally goodbyes.

The dust, the dust. So much dust.

Dust, dust....

She woke up, nearly paralyzed in fear. She soon realized that she wasn't in that horrible landslide, but she was in her bed.

She brushed some hair from her face, beads of sweat clinging to her dark hairline. It was just a dream, not real life.

But it was real life, it had been Vienna's life seven years ago.

Her breathing was heavy as she fumbled across her bedside table for her glasses. She needed to take a walk around the house.

As she began shuffling towards the door, she kicked something. No, someone,

"What the-" She whispers to herself.

Then, of course, she remembered.

She had hardly slept these past few days, and she had been refusing to sleep alone. One night, she slept in Lia's room, and the other nights Michael had slept on the floor next to her bed.

She felt bad about that, but he was insistent on the matter.

Maybe because of her nightmares, but he had been a bit more overprotective of her since she received that letter in the mail.

There he was, of course, still on the floor curled up in a sleeping bag. It had appeared to be a cozy setup despite being on the floor, but now of course he was awake. Vienna had accidentally kicked him in the head, after all.

"What the hell?" He mumbled, rubbing his head. He then looked up to see a rather frazzled Vienna standing over him. "Vi, are you okay?"

"Mhm." She mumbled. "Sorry I kicked you. I, uh, forgot you were there,"

"It's alright. Why are you awake?" He sits up, looking at the alarm to see that it was just past 2am.

"Bad dream, i'm going to take a walk." Vienna walks toward the door.

"Outside? Vienna, absolutely not."

"No, just to the kitchen." She slips out the door, shutting it gently behind her before he can protest.

She walked down to the kitchen, sitting on the barstool closest to the door. She originally came down in hopes for a midnight (technically 2am) snack, but her stomach was flipping upside down from her nightmare, and the idea of eating was the last thing on her mind.

She sat in silence. She missed her dad. This was not the time to be missing her dad who had been dead for seven years, but she really wished she could have his guidance right now.

She'd call her mom, but her mom was unstable. She'd talked to her recently and she was also doing better according to Ronan, but she figured calling her depressed mom at an hour like this wasn't the best idea.

She could call her brother. She fumbled in her pocket of her sweatshirt which had her phone in it, and she went to the favorites section of her selection of phone numbers. There were six people in that section. Ronan, her mom, Briggs, Sloane, Mabel, and Michael.

Though she didn't call Briggs, Michael, and Sloane much considering how much she sees them anyway, it was still nice to know that she could call them if needed.

She quickly dialed Ronan's number, even though she knew it was 2am, she really needed to talk to him. And if he didn't pick up, she would leave him a message. She just needed to hear someone's voice.

The phone rang only twice before he picked up. "Vienna? Is everything alright?" She'd obviously woken him up, but she only felt a little bit bad.

"No." her voice was quivering. "I really miss dad, Ronan. I know it's like 2am but I really needed  to talk to you."

"Ok," She heard shifting on his bed as he presumably sat up. He was in college, his sophomore year to be exact. He was in pre-med, and he was going to be a surgeon. He had decided this career path after their dad died, he knew he wanted to help people. Vienna supposed that's why he was willing to be on the phone with her at this hour. "I miss him too, Vienna."

"And I miss you and mom, and I-" she cut herself off, unfortunately she couldn't tell Ronan that her life was in danger, because he thought that she was simply at a school for gifted kids.

Though this was partially true, after two years, Ronan, along with everybody else in Vienna's life back in Connecticut, had no idea that she was affiliated with the FBI.

She wasn't sure if they ever would, though at some point they'd probably figure it out, when she becomes an Agent herself most likely.

"I miss you too, but you're doing great things, Vienna. You're meant to be there, at your smart kid place." he lets out a chuckle, though his voice sounded sad.

"I love you, Ronan. Thank you for picking up,"

"Of course." There was a beat of silence before Vienna spoke again. "I love you so much, I just wanted to tell you just in case-"

"I love you too, but 'in case' what? Is everything okay?"

"Yes, I just wanted to tell you. I'll-I'll let you get back to sleep."

"Alright. Are you sure you're alright? Because I can stay on for as long as you need."

She smiles at the sincerity of his words. They used to call every week, but because of Ronan's course-load, their calls had become a bit more scarce.

"Yes, I'm  fine Ronan. I'll talk to you soon,"

"Love you, Vi,"

"Love you." she replies, before Ronan'd end of the line went dead.

As if on cue, the door to the kitchen opened.

"Who were you talking to?" It was Michael, of course he had followed her down here. "Secret boyfriend?"

"Why? You jealous?"

"Was it?"

"Of course not. It was Ronan."

Michael nods, leaning against the counter next to her.

"Why aren't you asleep?" Vienna questions, eyes avoiding Michael. This was because he wasn't wearing a shirt. God, why wasn't he wearing a shirt?

"Because you kicked me awake."

"Oh, sorry about that." Vienna grimaced.

"Are you alright? Like really?"

Vienna stirs in her seat just slightly. "I think we both know the answer to that question, Michael. The psycho killer that's after Cassie sent me a letter saying that i'm not as smart as i think i am because I wasn't able to figure out his 'riddle'."

Michael paused before continuing to speak, choosing his next words incredibly carefully. "It's not your fault. I know you think that since you didn't figure out who the UNSUB is that's why the killer is still trying to pursue Cassie."

"I don't think that." Vienna lies through her teeth. Unfortunately for her, she is not a natural liar, and it is quite obvious to tell when she is lying. "Fine, maybe I do think that, but I can't help myself."

"I know." Michael mumbles.

"I've just always been able to figure stuff out. And now...."

"Hey, don't beat yourself up. You're amazing, and you can't figure everything in the world out."

"Well yeah, but Cassie's in danger-"

"And Briggs and Locke are sorting it out. There's nothing more that you can do. Just...,don't be too hard on yourself. I think you're great, genius or not."

She smiled. "Thanks Michael."

"Of course. You should get some sleep, Vienna. I can tell you need it."

"Wow," she stands up "should I be offended?"

"You are." He was able to read her face even though it was very dark in the kitchen.

"Maybe I am." She walks to the kitchen door, but Michael was still in the center of the kitchen. "Are you coming?"

"I'll be back in a few." He walks to the pantry, Vienna assumes for a snack.

"Alright, night Michael."

"Good night, Vienna."

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VIENNA AWOKE A FEW short hours later to a scream. Sloane's scream, to be exact. She had heard it many times before, but she sounded in more distress than she usually was. And she was screaming Cassie's name in an urgent voice.

Vienna sat bolt-upright in bed, fear bubbling in her veins.

Was Cassie okay?

Despite just waking up, she practically jumped out of bed, relieved to see that Michael had woken up and left her bedroom.

She slammed the door open and walked to the room right next to her's. In the time it had taken Vienna to get out of bed, Cassie had managed to get from the bathroom down the hall to her bedroom. She knew this because Cassie stood in the doorway with just a towel around herself, water dripping on the floor.

"It's not stealing if it has your name on it." Sloane was looking to Cassie, but her worried look traveled to Vienna as well.

"Who did you not steal from?" Cassie asks.

Sloane looked instantly guilty. "one of the agents downstairs."

They'd been screening all of the mail since Cassie's box and Vienna's letter.

The mail that Sloane had swiped was a thick white envelope.

"Why did you scream?" Vienna asks.

Sloane bit her lip, she looked more afraid than Vienna had seen her in quite some time, maybe ever.

Vienna angled her head, craning over Cassie's shoulder and looking to the contents in the envelope.

In that moment, she understood why Sloane had screamed.

Sitting inside the envelope, a perfect fit, was a small black box.

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THE FBI HAD CASSIE under their watchful eye, yet the unsub still wanted her.

Why was she so different from the others?

Vienna caught herself profiling the UNSUB, but then again, when was she not?

"You three didn't open the box?" Briggs' voice was laced with surprise.

Like clockwork, about ten seconds after the three girls had figured out what was inside the box, two of the agents whom had been guarding their house had burst into their bedroom. They had called Locke and Briggs instantly, Cassie hardly had enough time to get dressed before the dynamic duo showed up, but this time it wasn't just the duo, they'd brought along an older man.

"Vienna told me not to compromise the physical evidence." Cassie explains.

"You girls did the right thing," The man who had come with Briggs and Locke speaks. This wasn't just any man, no, it was Director Sterling.

Vienna had met the man a few times, he wasn't necessarily mean, but he was sort of rough around the edges.

"I just want to be present when you open the letter-"

"I don't think that's necessary." Sterling cut in.

"The more I know about the UNSUB, the safer I am, right?"

"We can keep you safe." The director answers, his words firm, like he was used to having his words taken like law. Which, he probably was.

"That's what Agent Briggs said four days ago, and now the UNSUB is coming at me through Sloane, and he sent Vienna a letter too."

"Cassie-" Briggs began talking in the same voice that Sterling had used, the way the director always spoke when he was taking to the Naturals, like they were little kids. He speaks to them as if they weren't brought here to solve cases in the first place.

"The UNSUB struck again, didn't he? And he'll keep striking until he gets what he wants." Vienna says.

"And i'm what he wants." Cassie says. Their argument was met with total silence, as the adults looked at the girls. "And if he thinks you're keeping this from me, that'll only make it worst, won't it?"

Sterling looked to Briggs, nodding silently before ordering him. "Open the box,"

Briggs nodded in response, as he pulled on a pair of gloves. He pulled the edge of the ribbon very gently, causing it to detach from the box, along with the lid to the box that he pulled off.

Clean, white tissue paper.

Carefully, he pulled the tissue away. A ringlet of blond, not red, hair laid in the envelope.

Vienna's eyes immediately dart to Cassie. "Open the card," Cassie pleas, though her voice caught in her throat just slightly.

Briggs extracts a card from the envelope, and a photograph fell out.

Vienna, Cassie, and Sloane caught side of it before the agents could obscure it from their views.

The girl's wrists were bound, dried blood had collected itself on her hairline. Her eyes were filled with tears, plain fear.

"She's too young," Cassie mumbled.

The girl had blonde hair and a baby face, she looked fifteen, maybe sixteen, but that was pushing it. None of the UNSUB's victims had been minors.

Vienna gulped, and she wished it hadn't made an audible sound, but she really couldn't help it. The girl was so young, probably the same age as Vienna when  she had joined the program. And she was dead, or dying.

"Briggs." Locke picked up the photo. "Look at the newspaper."

They'd been so focused on the girl's face that they hadn't noticed the newspaper carefully placed upon her chest.

"She was alive this time yesterday." Briggs says.

All the pieces fell into place. That explained why this gift was different than the past ones, why the hair in the box was blond instead of red.

The girl may still be alive.

"You took her," Cassie begins profiling. "because they took me."

Locke caught her eye, and strangely enough, there was something in her eyes that agreed with Cassie.

It was clear that guilt was eating at Cassie, and Vienna for that matter. This girl had a whole life out in front of her, with endless potential. And here she was, her life stripped away from her like it was nothing. And if she wasn't dead, she would have endless trauma.

And even though she knew it wasn't, Vienna felt somewhat guilty. She couldn't help it, it was just how her brain worked sometimes.

She had to hold it together, for Cassie, for herself, for the agents, and for that girl for that matter.

"Who is she?" Cassie asks, taking the words from Vienna's mouth.

"Ms. Hobbes, I appreciate your interest in this case, though this is above your pay grade."

Vienna scowls. "Last time I checked, you don't pay us." She gives the director a look. "And besides, the killer is obviously watching, and if you keep Cassie locked away, he won't stop trying, it'll only get worse from here.

How could they not see? The FBI wanted Cassie out of this case, but the killer wanted her in.

The director nor Briggs replied to Vienna's words, and Locke followed it up with a question.

"What does the card say, the picture is only part of it."

Briggs looked briefly at Locke, then to Cassie, and Vienna for just a second.

He flipped around the card so they could read it.

"CASSIE- WONT IT LOOK BETTER IN RED?"

That answered all of the questions that hung in the balance. The girl was alive, but she likely wouldn't be for long.

"Who is she?" Vienna echoed Cassie's question from earlier.

Briggs clamped his mouth shut. He was a man of many priorities, and keeping his job was one of them.

"Genevieve Ridgerton." Locke answers, her voice flat. "Her father is a US senator."

The director took a step toward Locke. "That information is highly classified, Agent."

Locke waves this off. "Cassie and Vienna are right. This girl was taken as a strike against us. We protected Cassie, kept her in this house. This is the killer's reaction. We're no closer to catching this monster than we were four days ago, and he'll kill Genevieve unless we give him a valid reason not to."

"I understand why Cassie is here, but why is Vienna Prescott?"

Vienna swallows. The director clearly didn't want her here, which was understandable, this case didn't really involve her. Except for the fact that the killer did send her a letter.

"She's here because I want her to be." Cassie said. "And I trust her."

The director clearly didn't want her there, but he didn't object.

"What are you suggesting, Agent?" He asks, referring back to Locke's previous statement.

"I suggest that we deal Cassie in. Give the killer what he wants, if we take Cassie to the crime scene, maybe the killer will follow.

"We're not training these kids to play bait for a serial killer." Briggs says firmly.

The director shifts his attention from Locke to Briggs. "You promised me three cold cases this year, and so far your Naturals have only delivered me one.

At once, the dynamic in the room instantly shifted, Vienna could feel it in the room. The Naturals hadn't solved as many cases as they should've this year, that much was true.

Briggs didn't want to risk any of his precious Naturals, and the director was skeptical that their abilities were worth the cost of the program.

Sending a 17 year old to a crime scene would be a serious liability, but everything about this was a liability.

Cassie turns to Vienna, mouthing the words, 'will you come with me?' silently.

Vienna nods, giving her a reassuring look, though she was freaking out inside.

Cassie turns to the director again. "I'll come, but i'm bringing backup of my own."

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CLUB MUSE WAS AN 18+ establishment that only served alcohol to those who wore 21+ wristbands. Yet somehow, Genevieve, who was neither 18 nor 21, left the establishment looking rather tipsy when she left the bathroom nearly three nights ago.

Director Sterling had reluctantly agreed to letting Cassie bring three of her fellow naturals, which is how Dean, Sloane, and Vienna had managed to come along with the Agents and Cassie.

Briggs and Locke had been the ones to select who would come along, and they escorted them to the crime scene.

Sloane was currently walking the inside perimeter of the establishment doing some sort of calculation involving max occupancy, the popularity of the band playing, total amount of alcohol consumed, and the line for the bathroom.

Dean and Cassie were with Locke retracing Genevieve's final steps  in the bar.

Vienna followed Sloane.

"Given that Genevieve wasn't the only intoxicated person here, nobody remembers her leaving." Vienna reads aloud the reports given to her by Briggs.

It was scary to think how easy it would be to drag a drunk, maybe even drugged girl, out of the bathroom, out of the bar, and into the parking lot.

"Nine seconds." Sloane says suddenly. "It would've taken only nine seconds, even with a sluggish gate, to get Genevieve from here." She points to the bathroom exit. "To there." she gestures to the closest exit.

You had chosen Genevieve. You only needed nine seconds, you just waited for the perfect time to strike.

"This guy is meticulous." Vienna speaks aloud. "He'd probably planned on taking Genevieve all night. Probably stormed up some great idea, but everything that this UNSUB does is for a reason-"

"Alright kiddies, playtime's over." Locke walked over to them, Cassie and Dean following closely behind. Vienna took a good look at Cassie and Dean, and she realized that Dean's arm was wrapped loosely around Cassie's waist. Vienna had noticed that since Cassie arrived, they sometimes acted out the UNSUB and victim. This time, they clearly had blurred the lines between acting and real life. As if on cue, Dean removed his hand from her waist.

"I came to the same conclusion that you all did." She directs her eyes to Vienna and Sloane. "When Cassie and Dean were in the bathroom, they theorized that the UNSUB could've slipped something in Genevieve's drink to make her easier to 'transport'. Two of the victims had traces of GHB in their systems." She turns to Dean and Cassie. "Given Sloane and Vienna's number estimate and analysis, he probably slipped something in her drink and walked her out that exit like it was nothing, and nobody batted an eye."

The four teens nodded.

"Any sign of the UNSUB outside?" Dean asks.

"Plainclothes agents are canvassing the streets as we speak. They're pretending to be volunteers, and people who are wanting to know more about this girl's disappearance."

Vienna couldn't get past the fact that Locke referred to Genevieve as 'the girl' more than she used her actual name. It was probably nothing, but still a bit weird.

She shook the feeling off as Dean questioned locke. "You're really just writing down the names of everyone who talks to the agents?" he raises one of his light brows as he leans against the wall.

"we're doing exactly that. And i even have a video streaming to Michael and Lia at home."

It was clear that Locke thought she was above the 'no using the Naturals on active cases' rule.

She pushes a stray red hair from her face.  "Cassie, we need you to make a few more appearances outside. I'd have you handing out fliers, but I don't want to give Briggs another headache. Have you seen everything you need here?"

Cassie took a moment to answer this question. "No." she says at once. "I'm missing something,"

Vienna crinkled her eyes as she thought of what Cassie may be missing. The entirety of this place had been searched by one of them. Maybe something that she thought the UNSUB would want to see?

Vienna scanned the graffitied walls which were filled with cuss words, hearts, doodles, slurs, song lyrics, and everything in between. This was not a very neat place by any means.

Then, she saw it. At the same time as Cassie, apparently.

"There," The two girls say in unison. A single line of text had caught Vienna's eye. They were not quite cursive or print. They were very messy.

'For a good time'  the sentence cut off there. Vienna traced her nails, which had their nails painted a striking pink color, credit to Lia.

She looked frantically for the sentence to continue.

'Call 567-3524. Guaranteed"

A phone number.

Could it be...?

She kept scanning. the wall for the rest of the sentence, it had to be here, right?

She found another clue near the mirror.

'Plus one. Kola and Thorn."

Cassie looks at Vienna. "Kola and Thorn? What does that even mean? It's gibberish."

"It's not gibberish, it's-"

"Cassie, we need to get you outside," Briggs ordered.

"He's not out there." Vienna speaks.

"What do you mean?" Locke gives Vienna a quizzical look.

"I need a pen." Vienna says, dodging the female agent's question.

After a moment, Briggs handed her a pen.

"Do you have any paper?" She asks.

Briggs pulls a small notebook from his lapel pocket and handed it to her.

"The UNSUB left a message." Vienna mumbled, as Cassie and the others stared at her in confusion. She scribbled the message onto the paper and turned it around to face Briggs. 'For a good time call 567-35-24. Guarantees plus one. Kola and Thorn."

Briggs brings his eyes back to Vienna's. "You think this is the UNSUB?"

"Yes, the handwriting is the same as it was on my letter." She looks to Cassie. "Right, Cass? Isn't it the same from yours too?"

"Yeah, it is. But I don't know how you're going to figure out what it means, it sounds like gibberish."

"The numbers have to mean something, I feel like that's what'll crack the code."

"Why don't we call the number?" Cassie looks to Vienna.

"Sure, try it."

Nobody attempted to talk as Cassie and Vienna as they fired back and forth, and neither of the agents nor Dean questioned as Cassie dialed the number.

A loud automated voicemail screeched into Cassie's ear. "I'm sorry, the number you called is not in service. Please try your call again later."

She hung up quickly.

"No area code." Sloane said quickly.

"Starmans." Briggs was on his cell immediately. "I'm going to read you a telephone number. I need you to try every area code within a three hour driving distance from this location."

"Cassie, can I see your phone?" Sloane's question tears both Vienna and Cassie away from Briggs's phone conversation.

Cassie obliged, handing over her phone. Sloane studied the numbers on the screen, her lips moving rapid-fire, though no sound slipped from her mouth. "It's not a phone number. At least not one you're supposed to call."

"Does it spell out to a word? A message?" Vienna asks.

"Lorelai." Sloane naming Cassie's mother shocked both Cassie and Vienna. This was the nail in the coffin. This was tied to the murder of Lorelai Hobbes.

"What?" Cassie's voice was dry.

"567-3524 corresponds to the word lorelai. Also lose, lose-lag, Jose-lag. But the only seven letter option is-"

"Lorelai." Cassie finishes.

For a good time, call Lorelai. Guaranteed plus one. Kola and Thorn.

"Plus one? Is he trying to tell us that we've got another victim on our hands?" Vienna read the message that was scribbled on the small pad of paper, committing it to memory.

Genevieve Ridgerton. Plus one. How far is this going to go, how will it end?

Everything was playing out in the way that the unsub had intended. Cassie was playing the part, they were playing right into the UNSUB's hands.

They turned their attention to the final line of text.

Kola and Thorn.

"Symbolism?" Dean questions, looking over Cassie's shoulder. Sloane also gathers around them, resting her chin on Vienna's shoulder as she gazed at the words in the page, the wheels in her mind turning at a rapid pace.

"Kola. Cola. Drinking. Thorn. Rose. Blood?" Dean says.

"An anagram?" Sloane had a faraway look in her eyes. 

"Maybe if we rearrange the words...." Vienna's voice trails off.

"Ankh onto lard. Hot nodal nark. Land rand hook Oak land north."

"North Oakland." Vienna cuts in. "That's in Arlington. She writes a new line with their new discovery beneath the previous ones.

'For a good time, call Lorelai. Guaranteed plus one. North Oakland."

"We need a list of every building on North Oakland." Vienna's body buzzed with adrenaline. They may actually have a lead, this could be something.

"What are you looking for?" Briggs asks.

None of them really had an answer—a warehouse, maybe, abandoned apartment, anything that could be suspicious.

Vienna looked to Cassie, who was deep in thought.

She finally spoke, causing everyone's eyes go fall upon her. "I think we may be looking for a theater."

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"WE'VE GOT A BODY at a small, independent theater in Arlington." Briggs delivers the latest news. "And it isn't Genevieve Ridgerton." His fingers curled into his palms, but he didn't quite clench his fist.

Vienna's mind raced, somewhere out there, Genevieve was still alive. She didn't know if she should be relieved or upset. They were dealing with body number eight, after all.

"Our UNSUB's plus one." Dean mutters.

"Starmans, Brooks, Vance, I want the three of you to take the kids back to the house. I want one of you posted at the front door, at the back door, and one of you with Cassie at all times." Briggs walked out of the room, he was so confident that they would follow his orders that he didn't even feel the need to stay in the room to watch them follow through.

Though, it didn't take Michael or Lia here to tell them that his confidence was phony, that was clearer than day.

Cassie chases after Briggs, and Vienna runs a stressed hand through her hair. 

"You okay?" Dean looks at her.

"Fine. They're sending us back to the house, and we won't be able to help."

"You know we can't work active cases, Vienna. I'm shocked that they let us come today."

"I guess so. But this is different, we're in danger. Cassie is in danger, Dean."

Dean bit his lip, avoiding eye contact. "I know this is bad, but we just have to trust the agents. They're trained, and they know what they're doing-"

Dean's somewhat pep-talk was interrupted by Locke's voice raising. She had followed Briggs and Cassie outside. "If Cassie is old enough to play bait for a serial killer, she's old enough to learn from the experience." She paused. "For that matter, they all are."

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PER LOCKE'S ORDERS, they arrived at 4587 North Oakland Street 45 minutes later. The local police were there, but had not touched anything, the FBI wanted a clean slate when they arrived.

As clean of a slate that a crime scene could be, that is.

The halls were narrow, as the theater as a whole was very small. Dean, Cassie, Vienna, and Sloane followed agents Locke and Briggs down the narrow hallways to the only dressing room present. Agent Briggs stepped in front of the room, blocking the entrance, his eyes focused on Cassie.

"You don't need to see this, Cassie." He spoke.

The smell was potent. Not rotting exaclty, but copper, rusty with a hint of decay. The room was rectangular, blood smeared across the light switch, pooling near the door.

This was Vienna's first time at a crime scene, she'd only seen pictures. But this was on a whole different level.

The entire left side of the room was covered in mirrors, like a dance studio, reminding Vienna of when she did ballet back in elementary school.

She looked to Cassie, whose face was the palest shade of white, all color and life drained, and she jolted slightly as Dean placed his hands on her shoulder. "Stay in control." He mumbled to her.

Suddenly, Vienna got an anxious feeling, she wished Michael was here. That was strange, to say the least, but he wasn't here. She'd survive without him.

Vienna pushes these thoughts from her head, studying the mirror, she could make out ginger prints, hand prints, the woman had struggled. She'd put up a fight.

"Time of death was late last night." Locke approached behind Vienna, she could see her coming through the mirror. "We're getting Forensics in here soon to see if there are any more finger prints other than the victim's." She informed her.

Vienna nods, swallowing the lump in her throat. She had looked at hundreds of crime scene photos, but being there, seeing a fresh scene, felt almost too real.

Locke seemed to pick up on her distress. "How are you doing?"

"Fine, why?" Vienna replied quietly.

"This is your first crime scene." She pauses, gazing at the blood smear on the mirror. "It's not exactly fun."

"Yeah, I just hope we find this UNSUB." Vienna sighs, making brief eye contact with Locke in the mirror.

"Me too, Vienna." Locke gives her shoulder a light squeeze before walking back to Briggs and the other agents.

Vienna walked over to Sloane, who was kneeling next to the body, seemingly unfazed by the state of the woman. Vienna shoved any nerves away, and kneeled next to her blonde friend.

"That's not her blood." Sloane states. "The medical examiner would tell you the same thing. She is merely 5 feet tall, 110 pounds. She's wearing a cashmere sweater and jeans. Given her size, we're looking at death by exsanguination, with the loss of three quarts of blood, maybe less. Cashmere and other forms of wool can hold up to up to thirty percent of its moisture without even appearing damp."

"That's because it's three times finer than average sheep wool." Vienna continues. "So are you saying that she'd have to bleed through the fabric before dripping all of this," Vienna looks at the blood in nearly all corners of the room. "on the floor?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Sloane nods. "She's too small to expel this much blood, and she wouldn't have been conscious enough to make the UNSUB chase her around the room after making a puddle of that size." Sloane points to the largest puddle by three door. "The numbers don't add up at all..."

"She's right." Briggs says. "There's a knife mark on the floor over there, and you'd think there would be traces of blood, but there's not. And the UNSUB likely didn't miss at his first stab of the woman. He's experienced, and had the element of surprise. Which means that he most likely deliberately made these stab marks, and with a clean knife."

"He didn't kill her here, there's virtually no blood around the body." Vienna caught on. "He brought her to a secondary location."

"This scene is just a prop." Cassie says. "Set up to look exactly like my mother's dressing room."   She shivers.

"Okay." Locke said. "So I'm the killer, i'm fixated on you, and your mother. Maybe she was my first kill, but this time, i'm not fixated on your mother."

"It's about you," Dean picked up where Locke left off, looking at Cassie. "If i'm not trying to relive her death, i'm trying to get you to relive discovering her."

"The UNSUB wanted Cassie here, the presents, the coded messages, and now a corpse in a room exactly like her mother's crime scene." Vienna recalls what Lorelai's Hobbes's crime scene looked like. About a year ago, she'd been snooping in files she shouldn't have been when she was left alone in Briggs's study. And she had to admit, this was the spitting image of that crime scene.

"Briggs." One of the agents, Starmans, stuck his head  into the room. Medical examiner and forensics are here. Should I hold them off?"

Briggs looked to Vienna, to Cassie, Dean, and to Sloane who was still kneeling next to the body. Obviously, Briggs and his team knew about the Naturals, but Vienna wasn't sure if the rest of the FBI did. Bringing four teenagers into an active crime scene wasn't exactly the best thing to do, they had been aware of this when they had arrived here. Briggs looked to Starmans and Locke for a moment before speaking.

"Get them out of here," His voice had a strange sense of urgency. "I want someone with Cassie at all times. Director Sterling has offered me some of his best men for protection. They'll keep careful watch on the house from the outside. And someone tell Judd that the house arrest is still in full effect. Nobody leaves the house at all until the killer is caught."Briggs looked to Vienna.

"I know how you and Michael like to get the mail, but no more of that, even walking to the end of the driveway is risky since everything is still up in the air."

Vienna nods, accepting his orders like her life depended on it, because maybe her life did depend on following these guidelines.

She had done her fair share of sneaking around, but not now, not with Cassie's life on the line.

Sloane slipped her arm around Cassie's waist. "There are fourteen varieties of hugs." She says. "This is one of them."

As they walked out of the room, Locke placed her hand on Vienna's shoulder just as she had in the mirror minutes before.

"We'll catch him Vienna. Then everything will go back to how it should be, I promise."

Recalling Dean's words from earlier that very same week, this is a game, but Vienna thought that there could be a chance that the good guys may not have the upper hand this time. 

This may be a losing battle.

•.¸¸.•'¨* •.¸¸.•*'¨•.¸¸.•'¨'

cam's notes!!

LONGGG ass chapter (over 6k words omg)

locke literally admitting that she is the killer is insane work wow.

this is my last chapter of 2024 so i wanted to make it a good one, hope you like it! ;)

qotd: any goals for the new year? i want to write more (im starting my own original story outside of wattpad too) and work out more!

lmk what you think and i'll see you in the new year <3