Part VIII

It was nearly 3 am when they were finally able to take a quick look at Reid. Looking was all that they were able to do as he was sleeping soundly by the time they reached the room and none of them had any intentions of waking him. They just took a moment and then headed back to the room they were being allowed to use.

Once back inside, Hotch locked the door behind them.

"We're going to be moving early, people. Spread out and get what rest you can. I've already made arrangements for breakfast and coffee at six thirty."

Taking off his jacket and draping it over a chair, Rossi shook his head in amusement.

"Nothing like a catnap in a hospital consultation room."

J.J. was philosophical about it.

"Beats the hard plastic chairs in the waiting rooms."

At 8 am, the morning programming was interrupted for a special live report. There was one very interested viewer who had been waiting for the morning news to hear the report on the fire. Mather turned up the volume as the camera shot showed J.J. standing before the assembled press to release an official statement from the FBI. It took a moment for him to confirm that the statement was being given from the hospital. That gave him pause. Why the hospital? They were all dead. They had to be dead. They wouldn't take dead bodies to the hospital - would they?

"Good morning. I am FBI Special Agent Jennifer Jareau. As many of you are already aware, there was a fire last night in the 800 block of Warren Avenue. The fire appears to have been deliberately set and we are asking for assistance for anyone that might have been in that vicinity. Please - if you saw or heard any unusual activity or spotted any vehicles that you did not recognize in that area around midnight, contact either our office, the local police or the local fire department."

"Pardon me, Agent Jareau?"

"Yes?"

"Why is the FBI involved?"

"There was an assault on a Federal agent in connection to the fire and we believe that the fire itself was an attempt to cover up that assault. We are unable due to the ongoing investigation to give out further details on that assault at this time."

"Is the agent alive?"

"Yes, but beyond that, all I can say is that he is receiving treatment."

"Were there any other casualties?"

"I'm afraid so, however the identity of those individuals will not be released until we have been able to contact their families."

"Damn! Damn him!"

Mather yelled at the set, then stopped watching closely as he began to pace. It was ss he'd feared - the consort was more powerful than the other magic users that he'd purged in the past. He was trying to consider what he needed to do next when movement behind the blonde agent addressing the press caught his attention. Quickly, Mather returned to the television, leaning closer. It was a private ambulance pulling up and one of other members of the FBI team was walking over to it. A slow smile formed. Of course. They must be planning to move the consort to a safe house.

Leaving the television playing behind him, he grabbed his jacket and keys, heading out quickly. He didn't live far from the hospital. If he hurried, he should be able to get there before the ambulance left and follow it.


Morgan's eyes were going between J.J. - who was still answering questions for the press - to the back of the ambulance. His tone was angry as he spoke to his nearby unit chief.

"I really don't like this move, Hotch. We're putting him into the line of fire. Literal fire at that."

Keeping his own eyes moving and on the lookout for anyone resembling the picture of Mather, Hotch kept his own voice low.

"I know that and he knows that. He knew that before he volunteered to be transported to the safe house. If you can think of a better way to draw him out before he tries to kill again, please don't hold back on the ideas."

The words deflated Morgan's anger. It wasn't Hotch he was angry at - it was this whole messed up situation. All this death, pain and suffering that could be traced back to a man who had fallen through the cracks. A man who apparently couldn't control his obsession with witches.

"Hotch?"

"Yes, Morgan?"

"Do you think his time in the mental health facility helped this guy or made him worse?"

"What do you mean?"

"Before he went in, he was a protestor. After, he's a killer."

"Hard to say for certain, but it would appear that he was already escalating. It was his move from simple protest to arson that had him placed there to begin with. His time there may have simply delayed the step from arson to murder."

"I suppose. But I don't guess we'll ever really know, will we?"

"Probably not. Heads up. They're coming out now."

"Still don't like this, Hotch."

"Me either, Morgan."