"You can leave the battlefield, but the battlefield doesn't always leave you." —Jason Cole
Location: Coldwater Ridge, Colorado – 6:38 AM
Snow fell soft as breath on glass. It blanketed the forest in a hush so complete, it made even the birds hesitate to break it.
Jason stood on the porch in a thermal shirt and gloves, coffee steaming in his hands. Rust sat beside him, ears perked to every rustle beneath the frost-hardened trees. The air smelled like pine, smoke, and silence.
Behind him, the door creaked open.
JJ stepped out in one of his flannels, her hair still sleep-tousled, lips pursed against the cold. She leaned into his side without saying a word.
Jason handed her the coffee. She took it.
"You always this calm in the morning?" she asked after a beat.
"I'm always waiting to hear what the silence is hiding."
JJ sipped the coffee and leaned her head against his shoulder.
"God," she whispered. "You talk like that, and I start to forget the Bureau doesn't own you anymore."
Jason smiled faintly. "Some ghosts haunt quieter than others."
A sound broke the air. Distant. Sudden.
Crack.
They both went still.
Then Jason's body snapped into motion.
"Stay inside."
JJ handed the mug back without question. "Not happening."
Quarter Mile North – Frozen Creek Bed – 7:01 AM
They reached the spot in under five minutes. Jason moved like breath across ice—measured, silent. JJ followed close behind, sidearm drawn but tucked low.
Rust growled and held at the treeline.
The sound had come from the far bank. And there, half-submerged in the jagged mouth of the creek, was a body.
Male. Late thirties. Flannel jacket. Jeans soaked and torn.
The blood in the snow was stark and fresh.
Jason crouched, careful not to disturb the footprints—there were many, but no scuffle. No sign of struggle.
"This wasn't an accident," he murmured. "He didn't fall in."
JJ glanced around. "Snow's shallow. No recent tracks beyond this area. Which means—"
"He was dumped."
Jason stood.
And something about the scene—it wasn't just the blood. It was the pose.
One hand up. The other beneath him.
As if he was crawling. Reaching.
Trying to escape something that had already claimed him.
Local Sheriff's Station – Coldwater Ridge – 8:47 AM
Sheriff Tess Graham was exactly what Jason expected from a mountain-town lawwoman: flinty-eyed, zero-nonsense, and clearly unimpressed by government credentials. Especially when they weren't technically active.
"You two just found him, huh?" she said, arms crossed as JJ filled out the incident report.
"We were hiking," JJ answered smoothly.
"Convenient."
Jason didn't react to the tone. "We're not looking to get involved. But that man wasn't out there overnight. There's no frost in the mouth or ears. Means he died within the last six hours. And if you check for bruising under the collarbone, I'd bet there's a fracture from blunt force trauma."
Graham narrowed her eyes. "You're not a profiler anymore."
Jason's voice was calm. "Neither is my gut."
Graham sighed. "Fine. Autopsy's in six hours. But if this turns into something big, I don't want tourists getting in the way."
JJ stood, slipping on her jacket. "We'll stay out of it."
Jason remained seated.
But his mind was already circling the body like a hawk.
Jason's Cabin – That Evening – 6:22 PM
JJ stared out the window as the snow fell heavier. She'd called Garcia out of instinct, asking her to check local records. No name on the body yet, no missing persons filed in the area in the last 72 hours.
But the positioning, the symbolism… it stuck with her.
Jason stood by the fireplace, poking the logs, but his mind wasn't on the flames.
"He was posed," he said, more to himself than her. "One hand out, one under. That's not panic."
JJ turned. "It's shame."
Jason nodded.
She moved toward him slowly. "You're already in this."
"I didn't want to be," Jason said. "I meant to be done."
JJ stepped closer. "I don't think people like us ever really get to be."
They stood face to face.
"I came here to find you," she said. "To live."
Jason's voice cracked slightly. "So did I."
JJ reached up, placed her hand against his chest.
"Then we live through this."
Jason covered her hand with his.
Coldwater Ridge – Crime Scene Re-examination – 7:03 PM
They returned under cover of dusk. Jason moved with care, brushing away light snowfall with a gloved hand. JJ walked the perimeter, flashlight scanning tree lines.
"There," she said. "Two boot prints. Facing away from the creek."
Jason studied them. "Second party. Watching. Not assisting."
He knelt down and pulled something from the snow.
A bullet casing. 9mm. Clean.
JJ looked around. "Execution?"
Jason turned it in his hand. "No. Warning."
He stood. "Someone killed him to say something. And they left the body in my woods."
JJ's spine straightened. "This wasn't random."
Jason pocketed the casing. "No. This was bait."
Elsewhere – Unknown Location – 7:40 PM
A man in a wool coat stood over a desk lined with photos. The newest showed Jason and JJ walking together through the snow.
He circled a photo of JJ. Scribbled a word next to her name.
Anchor.
Then he moved to Jason's face.
He didn't write anything.
He just smiled.