Fearful Dawn.

6:00 AM (GMT8)

Despair didn't have time to lay in bed an extra five minutes– Neither did she. Dressed in her best attire from head to toe. A white turtle neck was held under a gray suit buttoned at the waist, and long gray pants that hovered over her black heels. Her black hair straightened, cascading down her back. The usual makeup with smokey eyes and red lips made themselves known in the mirror in her guest room. Hooking her one golden hoop into her left ear lobe, before making her way out of the bedroom altogether.

She meets with the scene of her father sitting on the couch with a newspaper in his hands. His old friend, Brenden sits next to him as they both are in front of the television. Amelia walks in behind them, the background noise of the news buzzes as they speak over it.

The young woman begins to grab her black gloves off of the kitchen counter, pulling one over her fingertips. "Charlie, did you hear the forces of the NY and LA BAU are working together?"

Her ears perk up, looking in the direction of the older men's conversation. Slowly sliding on the other black glove, eyes flicking between the men and the television. She had yet to hear about her own department working with the New York City Police Department. Amelia was the leader of the entire thing, how was she finding out through the news?

"How come?" Her father asks, folding his newspaper in his lap.

Until it clicks, she had been notified of a body being found in the area of Lake Erie. Completely decomposed, only skeletal remains of someone. Locked inside of a trunk, with no way of escaping. The person most likely suffered in that little box, with no air being filled within the cracks. If water seeped in, the person would have drowned within a few hours. The identity of the body still unknown.

"They found a body in a trunk at the bottom of Lake Erie." She places her hands on the top of the couch, both men looking back to her. Brenden has a smile on his lips, while her father looks shocked at her words.

"Good morning Amelia."

Amelia smiles, "Good morning Brenden, dad."

Her father shakes off the shock from his face, giving his daughter a light smile. "Good morning honey, off to work?"

"Yes, I need to get back to the agency. I've been absent for far too long." Amelia pushes herself away from the couch, beginning to grab her bag to sling it over her shoulder.

"Just be cautious around–"

She looks back to her father, "I'll be fine dad, I promise." Tilting her head, Amelia lets a light smile grace her lips. "I'm not a little girl all the time."

With her words her father stands from his seat on the couch, quickly wrapping his arms around his daughter to bring her into a tight embrace. Amelia returns the hug, wrapping her hands around her father's torso. She can feel his racing heartbeat against her chest– Charlie was truly worried about her just leaving his home.

Amelia was even more worried leaving him without any supervision with everything going on. Her father knew nothing of the deal she had taken to spare his life, an unknown target directly bulleted on his back.

"I know Amelia, I just want to always be here to watch over you." Charlie sighs, rubbing his hands on her back. "I didn't do well enough all those years ago."

"Dad, you should never blame yourself. What happened only made me a stronger person."

That was ironic, telling her father not to blame herself when that's all she did from the moment she awoke to the moment she slept. Constant blame and guilt toppled one over the other until momentarily spilling.

She pulls back to face her father, a reassuring look on her face. "For both of us."

There's a brief pause between the two, but the older man smiles at his daughter. Pulling her back into the hug and squeezing her as tight as he can, causing a wheeze to come from the younger woman. Yet she laughs when he pulls back, placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Be safe honey, I love you."

At his words she pulls back, fixing her bag as she walks toward the front door. Grabbing onto the handle, looking back at home. "I love you too, dad. Have a good day Brenden."

The other man waves in her direction as she opens the door. "You too, Amelia."

With that, she steps out of her father's home, closing the door behind her. Pulling the keys of her father's Mercedes out of her pocket, and clicking for the doors to unlock. Amelia makes it to the side of the car in the driveway, almost yanking the door open to get herself seated. The car engine is turned on by the twist of a key, looking back to pull the vehicle out of the driveway. Once in the clear, she begins to drive down the street.

No music, only the commotion of the life around her as she zoomed by. Even the noise of civilization wasn't as loud as her own thoughts. Screaming every scenario possible into her ears. Never ending, it felt as if the world was filled with nothing but those screams.

Driving was once a blessing, a safe haven to brush the world off of her shoulders. Drive off to somewhere secluded, dark, to take her mind off of everything in her little world. If the blessing of peace was only for a few hours, even minutes– She would accept it. That's all she truly wanted in this world, peace.

How could she cling to something that would never be, she had done so for so many years. When life had finally begun to look up, that the past was simply forgotten. Now here she was, completely amiss of her happiness– The feeling of security and comfort pulled from under the shoes on her feet. It was madness, a never ending nightmare that looped in circles.

Not even she knew when the torment of her own mistakes would end. Perhaps with her own demise, she would fight with all her might to prevent such an ending.

What a cruel life to live. The only way to end her suffering, felt to be death itself.

Her father's car comes to a halt, pulling into a parking spot to then exit the vehicle. Slamming the door behind her, walking away with the click of the car's locks. Strutting with her radiating confidence, her cold demeanor as she did every day. In public, her gaze was as cold as ice– She shot daggers with a single stare. That was all it took, that was all it ever would take.

So she enters her usual conference room, already filled with the booming voices of conversations overlapping one another. Amelia's eyes scanning the room to find four of her main team to be sat together. Conversing with one another, albeit a bit too happy for the job description.

That is until they realize she has walked into the room, the once rumbling room of chatter becomes dead silent. All that could be heard were Amelia's movements to set up her laptop, hooking it up to the projector behind her. She waits before pulling up the next presentation for their cases, turning on her heels to then meet with her agent's gazes.

Amelia clears her throat, "Good morning to all, and even with the past events I am very happy to be back in a familiar environment." Her words were supposed to sound gentle, but came out with no sentimental tone.

"If there is anyone who is able to fill me in on what has happened while I was gone, please do."

There's no answer to her request, nothing but the echoing silence. The wandering eyes avoiding her stare, murmurs and whispers between one another. The leader's eyes scan the room once more, growing quickly to the conclusion– Zackary Linch was missing from the table.

"Where is Agent Zackary Linch?" Amelia questions, crossing her arms over her chest.

Most likely he had decided the meeting was not of importance, or slept over his alarm as he had done many times before. Scrambling to get his things in his hands while rushing into her conference room– Late. His tardiness had always disappointed her, he was an agent for a reason. Zackary Linch was a smart man, technologically savvy in his late twenties. He had so much potential if he was not so tardy.

Yet the feeling in her stomach was not appeased with such a light heartened idea. Brenden had brought a theory of looming death with one of her own agent's heads beneath it. Stating his own younger brother, had planned to have him thrown to the wolves for unknown purposes.

It was knots– Double knots in her stomach.

Carter in the far back comes into her view, raising his hand in silence. Amelia points to him, "Go ahead."

"Agent Zackary Linch is dead."