It's been two weeks since Barnes has reassigned the BAU team members, and no one is settling into their new position well. Besides Rossi who was forced into retirement and who has his own issues in his post-FBI life, Prentiss arguably has the biggest adjustment in what is obviously designed to be a disciplinary demotion. Even those still in the skeleton BAU - JJ as conditional chief, and Alvez and Simmons as the remaining profilers - are facing challenges in that Barnes has not approved any of the cases JJ has brought to her. JJ calculates that twenty-six people have died as a result of Barnes denying the BAU these cases. But Garcia stumbles onto some material in her work in cybercrimes that JJ believes is appropriate. Despite Barnes denying that case as well believing it to be a fake, JJ convenes the old team who agree to work on the case on the sly with Prentiss back at the helm. They all go into it knowing that Barnes will eventually find out, and regardless of if they are able to solve the case, Barnes may end up firing them all. They believe that the case is a serial murder case, the unsub who has taken a series of three time stamped photographs of a young woman, the first a posed photo, the second where she is seemingly drugged, then third and final photo taken post-mortem with her dressed in white lingerie. A fourth later time stamped photograph is included of a different but similar looking woman in that posed position, she who the team knows is meant to be the next victim. As the team works on the case, they may find that they have a few simpatico people in the FBI. However, they hit a roadblock when they know to solve the case, they need Barnes' assistance. As such, they have to decide if it is worth the risk to approach her directly about what they're doing.
—Huggo