DINERS WERE WHERE KATHARINE SPENT MOST OF HER ADULT LIFE. On missions that ran particularly long, it was safe to say that you could find Katharine and her team sitting in one of the corner booths. They would all look tired, worn down, and beaten, but just about nothing would stop them from wearing smiles on their faces as they told each other stories about themselves and how they viewed the world around them.

Now, at eight twenty-three in the morning, not much has changed. Once again, Katharine found herself sitting in a diner and enjoying what the chef had proclaimed as his best wake-me-up meal. This time, instead of occupying a corner booth with her equally distressed teammates, she was sharing a two-person table with the one and only Dr. Spencer Reid.

They were silent, for the most part, just enjoying each other's company. Occasionally Spencer would prattle off some facts about diners and the food, which Katharine found endearing. She would smile as he told her about the first diner, which was thought to have been established in Providence, Rhode Island in 1872. By a local entrepreneur, Walter Scott, to which Katharine sent her thanks to.

"But the oldest standing diner is the White Horse Tavern in Newport, Rhode Island. It wasn't a restaurant until 1673 when William Mayes bought the property," Spencer said, working his way through the rest of his scrambled eggs.

Katharine nodded, raising the ceramic coffee cup to her lips. She reveled in the warmth the beverage gave off, even if it was roughly sixty-three and climbing outside. Fahrenheit, not Celsius. "I think I've been there before. In 2009, I think. A mission in Providence where our unsub booked it South. We tracked them to the Newport area and had a meal there. It's a fancy little place now. It's even got its own raw bar and everything!"

"I don't think I've ever been to Rhode Island," Spencer told her truthfully, having finished his scrambled eggs and moved onto finishing his coffee.

When Katharine looked back at her watch, she noted that they had about thirty minutes before Spencer had to be in for work. She looked up and signaled to their waitress, asking for their cheque nonverbally to which the waitress smiled wide and nodded.

"You're not missing out on much," Katharine said, graciously accepting the little black tray and thanking the kind woman. "Rhode Island isn't known for much besides its plantations and silverware, I think?"

"And tennis," Spencer tacked on to the end of her list.

She smiled and nodded, "And tennis."

While Katharine paid the bill, as she had insisted on at the beginning of their meal, Spencer took up the tray of coffees he had paid for. One for Derek, one for Emily, and two more cups for both Spencer and Katharine.

Katharine dropped the cheque off at the hostess stand, having paid in cash plus a generous twenty-dollar tip, before leaving the diner with Spencer in tow. She would drop the genius off at work and then head back home, maybe tend to her garden a bit more. She still had about four days before she was to start work.

She started up her car and pulled out of the parking space when Spencer's phone rang. The brown-haired boy struggled to find his phone for a second, checking both his pants pockets before remembering he had tucked the device into one of the little pockets that decorated his messenger bag. He answered the phone, holding the device between his ear and his shoulder as he tried to close his bag up.

"Reid," he answered, trying not to give away the struggle he had just gone through in trying to answer the phone.

Katharine stayed quiet, a satisfied smile resting on her face. She turned down the radio and tapped her fingers gently along the steering wheel as she tried to ignore whatever conversation he was having. It wouldn't be any of her business until Monday.

"Yeah, no. I'm on my way," Spencer informed the person on the other end. "I was just out at breakfast with Katharine, I'm five minutes out."

Katharine accelerated a bit, taking the next left toward the Quantico campus.

"Yeah, I'll let her know," Spencer said, nodding slightly though the person on the other side couldn't see. "Okay, bye JJ."

He hung up, sliding his phone into his pocket.

"You got a case?" Katharine asked, taking the next right. She looked both ways before taking her legal turn on red.

"Uh," Spencer fiddled with one of the coffee cups. "Actually, we've got a case."

Katharine blinked. "What?"

"Yeah, I just got off the phone with JJ. Hotch was going to call you in a bit, but they were wondering if you could start today."

"But what about my credentials? Am I even cleared to be on the field?" Katharine asked, pulling into a parking spot by the side of the building. The sign in front of her read employee parking only, but if she was going to be working today she figured it'd be fine.

"According to JJ, you were cleared for everything the second you got that call back from Strauss." Spencer opened his door as Katharine processed what he was saying. She could have been working as early as yesterday?

He ducked his head back into the car. "Kat, are you coming or not?"

Katharine shut her car off and opened her car door. She stuffed her keys into her pocket and snatched her phone from the cup holder. "Yeah, I'm coming." She plastered a smile onto her face. "Let's go."

"WHAT'S THE ARMY DOING HERE?" was the first question past Katharine's lips when they exited the elevator.

Her question was quickly followed by Emily asking, "What the hell is going on?" It was valid, considering the army had invited themselves to the BAU's desk and information as well. They were everywhere.

Shortly after leaving Katharine's car, they had met up with Derek and Emily who both had no clue what was going on as well. JJ had told the three of them not to bother with their go bags, which meant that the case was local, but had not told them anything else.

Spencer led Katharine through the swarming uniformed men, heading straight for the round table room. Once inside, Katharine settled her things in the chair that had been slotted in between Spencer and Derek. She, along with the rest of the team, remained standing.

"Guys, this is Dr. Linda Kimura, Chief of special pathogens with the CDC," JJ introduced once everyone had sat down.

Katharine nodded at the woman as Emily greeted her with, "Hello."

"Hello," the doctor greeted back. "I'm sorry to meet under these circumstances."

Katharine furrowed her brow. Between the army's appearance and the urgency of the situation, there were a lot of situations to consider. "What circumstances?"

Hotch entered the room through the door behind Katharine, walking around the table and taking his own spot between where Rossi and JJ stood. "We need to get started."

JJ nodded, passing around case files to each member. "Last night, twenty-five people checked into emergency rooms in and around Annapolis. They were all at the same park after two PM yesterday. Within ten hours, the first victim died. It's now just past seven AM the next day, we have twelve dead."

Derek read the information from the file. "Lung failure and black lesions," he said. "Anthrax?"

Spencer shook his head. "Anthrax doesn't kill this fast."

"This strain does," Dr. Kimura interjected, her lips pursed. The woman looked thoroughly stressed, which was valid considering the situation.

"What are we doing about potential mass targets--Airports, malls, trains?" Emily inquired.

"There's a media blackout," Hotch said.

"We're not telling the public?" Emily asked, disbelief written across her face.

"We'd have a mass exodus," Katharine pointed out. Believe it or not, this was not the first time Katharine had to deal with something like this. It was similar, but not the same. At least anthrax didn't cause its victims to levitate in the air before their deaths.

"The psychology of group panic would cause more deaths than this last attack," Rossi reasoned.

"Yeah, and if it does get out, whoever did this might go underground or destroy their samples." Spencer looked around at the group.

"Or if they wanted attention and didn't get it, they might attack again. Doesn't the public have the right to know that?" Emily argued.

Hotch remained as firm and serious as he always seemed to be. He stopped flipping through the pages of the case long enough to counter Emily's words. "If there is another attack, there's no way we'll be able to keep it quiet. Our best chance of protecting the public is by building a profile as quickly as we can."

Spencer was flipping through the pages of the file again even though Katharine was sure he had already memorized the entirety of what they had been given. "What do we know about this strain?"

"The spores are weaponized, reduced to a respiral ideal that attacks deep in the lungs. Odorless and invisible," Dr. Kimura said.

Katharine bit the inside of her cheek. She looked up at the doctor, an ever-present frown stuck on her face. "But that's a sophisticated strain. Only a scientist would know how to do that."

Derek brought their attention to the pictures, pointing at the before and after photos they had of the wounds. "These lesions are doubling in size in a matter of hours."

"It's not the lesions I'm worried about. It's the lungs. We don't know how to combat the toxins once they're inside. And the reality is, we may lose them all."

Katharine looked over the photos. If this really was as bad as Dr. Kimura was making it out to be, there was a possibility of there being more casualties than the first thirteen that had already succumbed to the bacterial disease.

"The remaining survivors have been moved to a special wing at Walter Reed hospital," JJ said. "Our offices will become a small command center."

"We'll be working with military scientists from Fort Detrick," Hotch continued.

"General Whitworth is coming here?" Rossi asked.

Katharine narrowed her eyes. The last encounter she had had with the man hadn't gone too well. She couldn't say the man was terrible at his job because that would be lying. He was good at his job. She could, however, say that he and SHIELD didn't get along too well. Especially when it came to how they wanted to deal with alien matters.

"He's in charge of site containment and spore analysis," Hotch said. "Determining what strain this is will help inform who's responsible."

"My team is in charge of treating all victims," Dr. Kimura told them as well. Katharine almost whipped out her phone to call up the expert in biological sciences half of Fitz-Simmons out of habit. Jemma Simmons was always the first she'd call in situations that required her expertise but she hadn't heard from any of them since her last official SHIELD mission back in April.

"Reid, go with Dr. Kimura to the hospital. Interview the victims," Hotch delegated. "Morgan, Katharine, and Prentiss, there's a hazmat team that will accompany you to the crime scene. There's Cipro. Everybody needs to take it before we go."

Katharine accepted the little plastic cup she had been given but made a face at the little white tablets. She debated on hiding the medicine in her hand and tossing it later, but she figured that would get her in more trouble than it was worth.

"We don't know if it's effective against this strain, but it's something," Dr. Kimura offered.

"This is really happening?" Emily asked, disbelief still heavily littering her voice.

"We knew this could happen. We've done our homework," Hotch lectured. "We've prepared for this. This is it."

Rossi raised his little plastic cup to the rest of the team. "Jin dan," he toasted. "May you live 100 years."

Katharine watched as they all downed the Cipro, taking water with the tablets. She made her decision and handed her Cipro back to Dr. Kimura instead of trying to sneak around it.

"Agent Morgan, is something wrong?" Hotch asked, watching as she gave the medicine back to the doctor.

Katharine shook her head, glancing nervously at the white tablets. Along with Cipro, she was allergic to latex and avocados. It really was a tragic allergy list but it also wasn't listed in any of her files in case they fell into the wrong hands. "No, it's just I won't be needing the Cipro. Anthrax doesn't affect me no matter the strain, extensive testing proved that. Cipro, however, will kill me. I'll be fine."

Hotch's lips tightened into a thin line. She didn't blame him for the distrust, Katharine was hiding a lot of secrets and it really was only a matter of time before they all came out. He tossed his cup into a bin before dismissing them, keeping his eye on Katharine as she offered him a nervous smile and a weak thumbs up. What a great start to her first day.

"SO THIS IS WHERE IT ALL STARTED," Katharine observed through the tinted window of the SUV. Despite Katharine's begging, Derek hadn't allowed the girl to drive to the park, and Emily had already claimed the front seat. That left her to sit in the backseat and feel like a child, as always.

Derek parked the car and Katharine was the first out, blazer draped across her arm rather than on her shoulders. No matter how professional she had to be, she refused to put the article of clothing in. It was a hot day, despite the nice breeze that blew through the park every so often.

The trio approached one of the men dressed in a hazmat suit. Emily took the lead while Katharine reviewed the notes another man had handed them upon their arrival.

"What are you telling people about why the park is closed?" Emily asked.

The man looked up at them, squinting a bit seeing as the sun was shining directly into his eyes. "Methane buildup in the sewage system."

"And they believe it?" Emily's voice was still filled with disbelief. Katharine suspected that wouldn't go away until the case was closed. She watched as the other brunette almost rolled her eyes and sarcastically answered her own question."Oh, well, yeah, of course, why wouldn't they?"

"Hot zone and all surrounding areas have been neutralized. You're safe here," the man told them, gesturing around to the areas that he had mentioned.

"Are you sure?" Emily looked around the park, watching as the team of people in the hazmat suits ran around with sanitation equipment. Precautions, Katharine suspected.

"Yes, ma'am," he confirmed.

Emily thanked the man for his work and then let him get back to the rest of his team. Katharine passed the paper report over to Derek.

She walked up the grassy embankment, pointing at a spot across the park. "So high levels tested over there, which is probably where the unsub released the attack."

"And there was a prevailing wind out of the northeast yesterday," Derek read off the paper. "Airborne spores scattered that way, hitting everyone below it."

Emily joined Katharine, standing next to the woman to get a better view of the area where she had pointed at. "This park doesn't scream 'target' to me."

"Terrorists usually target symbols," Derek noted, also joining the two women where they stood. "White House, Pentagon, World Trade Center... I mean, it's a nice park, but it's not a symbol."

Katharine nodded, her attention now focused on the trees that almost seemed to arch over the pathways that branched off to lead through and around the park. "Ok, so, maybe it's symbolic for the unsub."

"Well, we know that Kaczynski sent bombs to Berkeley where he taught, Michigan where he went to school, and Chicago where he lived," Derek counted off on his fingers.

"And the Amerithrax suspect sent letters to two pro-choice senators whose politics he opposed," Emily followed up, trying to make sense of why this park, in particular, was so special.

Katharine was stumped as well. If the area was important to their unsub in any way, Katharine would think it was because they had experienced some sort of trauma at a park... but why was it this park in particular?

"They can't help attaching a personal motive to the places they've targeted," Katharine said. She turned on her heel to try and see if there might have been any other area around that might have also been a cause for a trigger. Looking into the sun, Katharine wished she had grabbed a pair of sunglasses from her car before leaving Quantico.

"Ok," Emily said. "So, what does this place mean to our unsub?"

Derek's phone beeped in his pocket, signifying that he had received a text message.

"I don't know," he read the message on his phone, "but we've got another location to check out."

ONCE THEY HAD ARRIVED AT THEIR SECONDARY LOCATION, Katharine, Derek, and Emily were told to wait outside while the hazmat team went in and checked out the store. Derek had gotten on the phone with JJ not too long after their arrival, leaving Emily and Katharine to survey the area.

"All right, JJ," Derek finished up his call. "I got it, thanks."

" Look at all these people just going about their lives," Emily crossed her arms, rounding back on the Morgans. "If they only knew what we were doing here."

Derek frowned. "Better that they don't. JJ says the store's been closed since the owner died. Gale Mercer's credit card purchase happened right before closing."

"Well, that explains why only three people were hit."

Their communication devices that settled in their ears crackled to life. On the other end was one of the men in hazmat suits inside. "We tested hot," they announced. "I'll alert command."

"This was his test run," Derek observed.

Katharine nodded. "So he's got to have some sort of history with the place."

"We need to get a list of current and past employees," Derek listed off. "Customers with grievances against the owner. See if anyone of them had a science background."

And then there was Emily, still in disbelief about the situation. "Can you believe there is only a quarter-inch-thick pane of glass between all of us and a WMD?"

"Attack anthrax wasn't made to kill three people inside a bookstore. It wants to be right out here in the open," Derek said. "Where it can feed and multiply."

"Just a small amount could wipe out everyone here," Emily spared Katharine a glance. "Well, almost everyone here."

"Yeah, and they'd never see it coming. Extremely morbid, Em." Katharine laughed, bumping Emily's hip slightly as she started to walk back to the car. 

She tried to play it off as first day jitters, but her nerves were skyrocketing. The last time she dealt with a WMD it turned out to be alien and while she knew it couldn't be in this situation, it still had her on edge.

Hopefully, this wouldn't end in someone jumping off a plane again. Katharine would keep her fingers crossed.