Emily feels a hand stroking down her face. She leans into it as her eyes flutter open. She smiles.
"Hi, baby."
"How are you feeling?"
Emily thinks about it a moment. "Groggy but no headache. What time is it?"
"Almost 6."
"Shit. I've slept all day."
JJ smiles. "Hotch will be glad to hear that. He's been feeling guilty about this headache."
Emily shakes her head. "Not his fault. I pushed too hard. I'm sorry, Jen."
JJ leans over and kisses Emily's forehead. "We're still learning what you can and can't do. There is no fault with anyone. It's just proof your head isn't nearly as hard as we thought it was."
Emily chuckles. "Thanks…I think." She sits up against the headboard. "So, what's the status?"
"We're 99.9% sure that Garcia found our unsub."
Emily's eyes widen. "Are you fucking me?"
JJ raises an eyebrow. "You're head must be really messed up if you think we're fucking."
Emily pulls her wife into a hug. "Smart ass. Seriously, Garcia found him?"
JJ relaxes into her wife's arms. "If we're right, he was picked for the exchange program. He's a religion major with a minor in psychology."
"Which is how he could find his mark," Emily understands.
JJ laughs. "Great minds think alike. That's what made me call Garcia for a new search."
Emily smiles and kisses her wife's temple. "My hero." JJ giggles. "So, what's the plan for tonight?"
"We're going to set up a trail. You'll be with Talib, Elliot and Hotch in two communication vans. The rest of us will be teamed up with a plain clothes cop and simply tag off following him until he finds a mark."
"And if he doesn't find one tonight?"
JJ sighs. "Then we do it all again tomorrow. And if we're wrong we'll probably be driven out of town for using so much money following the wrong man."
Emily smiles. "We're right. I'm sure of it. So, guess we need to get dinner."
"Already ordered the comfort special for us."
Emily hugs her wife closer, kissing her temple again. "I love you, Jen. Thank you for taking care of me."
"I love you, too, sweetheart."
Talib glances at Emily. "You okay?"
Emily nods. "Yep. Headache is gone and I'm eager to take this guy down tonight so I can get home to my kids and my bed."
Talib grins. "I understand that."
"Jareau to van 1. Suspect leaving his apartment moving east. We're following."
Emily keys the mike. "Copy, Jareau. Van 1 to Rossi, be ready to take over pursuit. Suspect heading your way."
"Copy," Rossi calls back.
By the time Shane McCollum reaches yet another bar not on their list, Paradiso, Reid and the female undercover with him are the ones following him inside. As they find a table with a view of the bar, Reid keys his mike.
"Suspect is at the bar. He's ordered a drink and is now surreptitiously scanning the crowd."
"Copy," Hotch says. His van is the one closest to the bar so it will be him running the operation from this point forward.
Two hours later the suspect is talking to a sad looking woman at the bar. Reid watches as they both stand.
"Van 2, suspect is leaving the bar with a woman."
"Copy, Reid. Morgan, be ready to tail them."
"Copy, Van 2."
Morgan, then Rossi follows McCollum and the woman to a car park near the suspect's apartment.
"Van 2, Van 1, they are getting into a late model Corolla. License plate is New York Delta Tango Bravo 5-6-0-3," Rossi reports.
When the car pulls out, it turns left. Emily taps the driver on the shoulder. "Follow it."
"Van 1 in pursuit," she reports over the mike.
"Copy, Van 1. We'll turn around and get behind you. We'll call you off when we get close enough so he doesn't make you," Hotch says.
"Copy," Emily says.
The Corolla takes two turns, Emily relaying them back to Hotch both times. Finally his van is right behind them.
"Van 1, take the next right, circle around and get back behind us," Hotch orders.
"Copy."
Hotch watches as the Corolla pulls up in front of a brownstone, double parking with its' hazard lights on. The van driver turns down an alley. Hotch gets out and moves to the corner to watch. The woman gets out and jogs up the steps. Once she gets the door open she waves and the car pulls away once the door closes behind her.
"Son of a bitch," Hotch mutters. "Van 1, do you have him?"
"Got him, Hotch."
"Elliot, find out who she is and get someone over there to speak with her."
The vans alternate tailing him all the way back to the lot. Once he is parked, JJ and her partner tail him all the way back to his apartment. She leans against the building. "Now what, Hotch?"
Hotch glances at his watch. It's just after 1 a.m. It's doubtful he's going back out tonight. But just in case.
"Elliot, arrange two patrol units to watch for him. If he goes out tonight they need to follow him and contact us."
Elliot nods and makes the call. Hotch keys his mike.
"All teams report back to- -"
JJ interrupts him. "Hotch, McCollum has just walked back out. He's now dressed all in black."
"Follow him," Hotch orders. "All teams, be ready to trade off pursuit."
"Not going to work, Hotch. We're not heading back towards the bars. You need to get the others ahead of us."
Elliot shakes her head at Hotch. "No way. He's heading away from populated areas. He'll notice the switch off."
"Fuck. JJ, he's heading into barren land. You two are the only ones on foot. The vans will be following on parallel streets. Foot teams, get back to your vehicles and get after us."
There is a round of copies, though Emily's seems rather tense. Hotch sighs, knowing a headache is probably moving back in as her wife goes into a dangerous situation with an unknown officer backing her up.
"He's turning left," JJ reports.
"Copy. Van 1, that means they are heading towards you."
"Copy, Van 2," Emily responds.
For three blocks JJ and her partner follow the suspect. When he stops at a small row house, they walk past him. JJ relays the address to Hotch. Elliot immediately types it in.
"Each floor is an apartment."
"Got to be going to any one but the basement if he's going in the main door," Hotch says.
As Elliot is texting the owner's names to JJ, her phone rings. "Elliot." She listens a second then looks at Hotch. "Hotch, the woman's girlfriend lives on the second floor."
Hotch relays the information to JJ and her partner. The two hurry up to the doors just as Emily's van arrives. The agent and Talib join them on the stoop. JJ hits the buzzer for the second floor apartment several times. Finally a sleepy voice responds.
"What the fuck?"
"Myra Hoffer? My name is Jennifer Jareau with the FBI. I need you to buzz us in but do NOT open your door. Do you understand?"
"What? Bullshit. Did Marissa put you up to this? I swear if it's her outside the door I will press charges."
"NO! DON'T OPEN YOUR DOOR!" JJ yells.
Seconds later screams are heard coming from the building. Emily shoves her wife, the cop and Talib out of the way…then shoots the lock off the door. JJ rips the door open and the four LEO's race up the stairs. They see the door to the woman's flat starting to close. JJ races forward and executes a perfect slide tackle to kick it back open, her gun ready just in case McCollum is waiting for them.
"SHANE MCCOLLUM! THIS IS THE FBI! SURRENDER YOURSELF!" JJ yells.
They all hear screams and the sounds of a struggle coming from a room farther into the apartment. JJ scrambles to her feet and the group moves farther into the apartment.
"STAY BACK! I'll kill her! I swear ta ye, I'll kill her!" an Irish accented voice yells at them.
JJ steps closer to the room the voice had come from. "We can't walk away, Shane," she says. "We need you to let Myra go."
"NO! She has ta pay fer her sins!"
"What were her sins, Shane?" JJ asks him.
"She knows! She knows and that's all that matters! I am bound ta settle tha score!"
"Bound by who?" JJ presses.
"I hear tha words and understand tha message. I mus' settle all tha scores!"
Just then the earbuds activate. "Myra broke up with her girlfriend earlier today. Girl didn't see it coming," Elliot reports.
"Shane, what did you hear when you spoke to Myra's girlfriend?" JJ asks, staring at her wife.
Shane starts to sing,
"She can't seem to stop C.R.Y.I.N.G;
People look and her and think,
There she goes the missing link."
Emily closes her eyes. It's from Starlight Express…what's the lyric, what's the lyric, what…she opens her eyes.
"Shane, yes, Marissa is hurting right now but killing Myra won't help," Emily says. She holsters her gun and steps into the doorway, ignoring her wife's hiss.
"What the fuck are you doing?" JJ whispers angrily.
Emily raises her hand peacefully. "Don't you remember how it ends, Shane?" She clears her throat and starts to sing, paraphrasing the gender.
And she's just U.N.C.O.U.P.L.E.D
But she'll get her R.E.V.E.N.G.E
She'll come crawling back one day
And she'll turn to her and say
Go away, you B.A.S.T.A.R.D
Shane is frowning. Myra is petrified and crying. Emily stares into Shane's eyes, stepping so her wife will have shot if needed.
"Shane, all of Andrew Lloyd Webber's works have a happy ending. Yes, the characters go through hardship but in the end they come out on top if just given a chance."
"No! No, they have ta be- - "
"Pearl ends up with Rusty in the end, Shane. And Myra and Marissa can end up together, too." She looks pointedly at Myra. "You probably just needed a break, right, Myra? But tomorrow you'd have called Marissa and made up, right? You just needed time."
Myra nods as best she can with a knife at her throat. "R- -right. I…I love her. She…she's…I l- -love her. Sw- -swear."
"See, Shane, but if you hurt her the musical can't end correctly. You'll have destroyed Lloyd Webber's masterpiece. You don't want that. I know you don't."
Shane's hand is starting to drop as he contemplates what Emily is saying. She spares a glance over her shoulder and sees JJ has stepped into the room and has her shot ready.
"Please, Shane, let her go."
She can see that he is going over the song in his head, trying to see a flaw in Emily's logic. Finally he looks at her.
"I…I donnae want ta hurt tha songs," he says.
"Then let her go, Shane. Please."
He steps away from Myra and lets the knife drop to the ground. Emily grabs the girl and puts herself between Myra and Shane. Talib and JJ leap forward and wrestle Shane to the ground, cuffing him. As they finish, Hotch and Elliot step into the room. JJ and Talib stand up the cuffed man. JJ hands him off to Elliot.
"He's all yours, Detectives."
They start to read him his rights but he turns to Emily. "Can ye be tha one wha' talks ta me? Ye understand tha songs."
Emily slowly nods. "Sure. See you down there."
Talib and the officer that had been with JJ escort Shane out. Elliot bends down and bags the knife Shane had used.
"I'd venture a guess this is the murder weapon."
Hotch nods. "Most likely. Jareau, Prentiss, nice job."
JJ just nods as she watches her wife comfort the woman who was nearly victim #7.