Chapter 11: Undercover at the club

Lina's POV

It was the first time that Rossi and I worked together on a case so I was super nervous. He is like a legend at the BAU and I love reading the books he wrote. Thankfully, I didn't do anything stupid while we were at the crime scene. We are silent during the car ride back to the police station so I just look out the window, watching cars pass by.

Rossi clears his throat. "So how are you liking the job, kid?"

I glance over at him. "Umm, not bad."

"Not many people can do what we do."

I nod. "But it's worth it when we save people's lives." A few minutes later, we arrive at the station where the rest of the team is waiting, and my face lights up when I see Spencer.

"Hi, Lina," he greets me with a smile.

I grin back at him. "Hi, Spence."

"Alright, now that everyone's here, we can gather our information together," Hotch announces. "Reid and Morgan. go ahead." Everyone listens as Spencer and Morgan share what they learned.

"So she picks up a guy every Wednesday when it's 'Cocktail Wednesday'," JJ says and Morgan nods.

"And brings him to her male partner," I state.

Spencer has a worried look on his face. "It's most likely that they'll strike again since it's Wednesday."

"That's why we can't waste anymore time," Hotch states, "it's time to deliver the profile." Five minutes later, everyone in the station gathers around us to listen to our profile.

Rossi clears his throat. "We believe we are looking for a white woman and man in their mid twenties. Based on security footage and evidence from the third and fifth crime scenes, the woman has red hair."

"She most likely uses a ruse to lure men and takes them to a location where she ties them up," explains Prentiss.

Lina paces around. "And the male UnSub is a sadistic serial killer and enjoys torturing his victims before killing them execution style."

"When there are two UnSubs, there is typically a leader and a follower. In this case, the male is the dominant and the female is the submissive," I say. "He gets her to lure their prey in and he finishes the job."

"They strike every Wednesday so we will have cops and agents surveilling the club tonight." JJ crosses her arms across her chest. "So be on the lookout for a woman with red hair."

"Also, it is important that the media does not know about this, if the UnSubs are following the news they will likely wear a disguise to prevent leaking their identity." Morgan stresses and everyone nods.

"That's it for now, thank you." Hotch nods. Then he turns around and faces the team. "It's important that we dress like we're clubbing, we need to blend in with the crowd." we all nod and leave to change. Suddenly, I feel someone tug on my arm and I see that it's Prentiss.

Beaming at me, she says, "Come on, let's go get ready."

"Get ready for what?" I ask. "We're still working, you know."

She rolls her eyes at me. "Just because we're working doesn't mean we can't look nice." Before I can say anything else, I am standing in the bathroom with Prentiss and JJ, watching them fuss over which dress I should wear.

"How is it that you guys packed dresses?" I stare at the dresses in disbelief.

JJ rummages through her bag. "This isn't the first time we had to go undercover at clubs."

"Tell me about it," Prentiss says and I chuckle. Since I didn't pack any dresses for myself, I borrow one of JJ's. I watch in horror as she pulls out a red piece of fabric with skinny little straps and smiles at me.

"Oh, hell no." My eyes widen in shock. "JJ, there's no way I'm wearing that."

"C'mon, Spencer would like it," JJ teases.

I turn the same shade of red as that dress. "First of all, he's not that type of guy. And second, there's nothing going on between us."

"Sureeee," JJ mumbles sarcastically.

I put my hands on my hips. "I mean it!"

"Alright, alright. JJ, leave the poor girl alone," Prentiss says with a chuckle. "Now back to the dresses."

"Well since you're not a fan of the red dress..." JJ purses her lips. "How about this one?" She whips out a dark navy bodycon dress with a halter neck and open back. The length is perfect, not too long but not so short that my butt will hang out.

"Oh, JJ!" I smile brightly at her. "It's perfect!"

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go try it on!" She pushes the dress towards me.

I giggle. "Okay, okay!" I take the dress from her and lock myself in one of the stalls to change. The dress slides on easily and is the perfect fit. In the stalls next to me, I can hear JJ and Prentiss changing into their dresses, too. After I finish changing, I walk out and see the other two waiting for me. JJ is wearing a black spaghetti strap dress that tightly hugs her curves, and Prentiss is wearing a dark red silk dress with a deep V-neck—they both look absolutely stunning.

"Oh my gosh, Lina!" Prentiss exclaims. "You look gorgeous."

"Thank you, Emily." I blush. "You and JJ both look so beautiful."

"Time for makeup," JJ announces and pulls out her makeup bag. I open my mouth to argue with her, but she shushes me. "Don't bother arguing." She quickly removes the current makeup I have on my face and starts drawing on my face. "There." JJ looks proud of herself. I glance in the mirror and see my eyes are lined with thick eyeliner and some mascara.

"Wait." Prentiss pulls out a clear lip gloss and applies a bit of it on my lips. "Perfect." She smiles at me. Thankfully, I packed a pair of strappy heels so I don't need to borrow JJ's 6 inch stilettos.

"Thanks, guys," I say. After that, I wait for Prentiss and JJ to finish doing their makeup and we walk out of the washroom. I see Hotch discussing something with the detective and walks to our direction when he sees us. He also changed and is wearing a shirt with a few buttons undone and jeans—I'm definitely not used to him without his full suit.

"We have a problem," Hotch states, "someone told the press about the female UnSub having red hair, so we have to move quickly before the UnSubs see it on the news." We nod and then he gives us our earpieces to put on. "I already sent Morgan and Reid to the club first. Yang and Prentiss can ride together. The rest come with me."

Two minutes later, we are in the car, driving to the club. I can feel my heart racing as we pull into the parking lot. The last time I was at a club terrible things happened. I shiver as I think about how Phoebe was killed and I was tortured.

Prentiss looks at me with concern in her eyes. "Are you alright? You're shivering."

"I'm fine, it's just cold," I say. I didn't completely lie, it is pretty chilly here in Hibbing, and I'm wearing an open back dress. We finally get to the club and see that Hotch and the others are already there. I check my earpiece to make sure it's working and we all walk in.

It is loud, really loud inside. There are people dancing, screaming, and the smell of alcohol is strong. I feel myself getting dizzy as flashbacks of the last time I went clubbing go through my mind. I am about to faint when a large hand grabs my arm. I look up and see Spencer staring at me with worried eyes.

"Lina, are you okay?" he asks. I notice that he isn't wearing his usual preppy outfit. Tonight, he's wearing a red, plaid flannel shirt and a white T-shirt with black jeans. But his hair is the same as usual, messy in the perfect way.

I blush at his new appearance. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"I know you've had a bad experience at clubs, but I'm here for you."

"Thanks, Spence." I smile, feeling better already. He goes quiet and I catch him staring at me in my dress.

"Umm, y-you look nice," he squeaks.

"Not too bad yourself." I raise an eyebrow at him and flash a smile. Just then, Hotch comes over to us.

"We're splitting up in groups," he states. "Morgan and Prentiss are by the entrance. Rossi, JJ, and I will be a group of friends at the table. And the two of you can go to the front of the bar and pretend to be couples." Even though we are only going to be pretending, I can't help but imagine Spencer and I as a real couple. Once Hotch leaves, Spencer and I order water and sip on it.

I surveille the people in the room." Have you ever gone clubbing?"

"Nope," Spencer answers with a grin. "I'm not much of a partier."

I laugh and clink his glass with his. "Neither am I." Suddenly I feel a hand grab my waist and pull me. I turn my head and see a man with dark hair smiling at me. His breath reeks of alcohol.

"Hey, sweetheart," he slurs. "I'm Freddy, what's your name?"

I push his hand off of me. "Leave me alone."

"C'mon." Freddy insists and grabs onto me tighter.

"Hey!" Spencer growls. "Back off, man."

"Who are you?" he asks aggressively.

"I'm her b-boyfriend," Spencer stutters.

Freddy turns to look at me with an eyebrow raised. "That scrawny little thing is your boyfriend? Is he rich? 'Cause I got money."

"Go to hell," I hiss. I guess the way Spencer and I were standing together doesn't look very couple-like because Freddy is looking at us suspiciously. So I quickly wrap my arms around Spencer's torso and kiss him on the cheek. "C'mon, babe," I say and walk away with him. I look up and see Spencer blushing and I feel my face getting hot as well. Once we can't see Freddy anymore, I let go of Spencer.

"Nice save." He grins and I smile back. At that moment, we lock eyes and I can't seem to look away. I stare at his beautiful hazel eyes and perfect smile, but I quickly snap out of it when someone bumps into me and I fall towards Spencer.

"Sorry!" a timid voice behind me apologizes. I turn around and see a pretty lady with blonde hair and a black dress smiling at me.

"That's okay." I smile back and she quickly rushes away from me.

"You alright?" Spencer asks and I realize I'm in his arms.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." I awkwardly move away from him. Will Spencer and I ever be more than just friends? I wonder to myself.