Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds
A/N: Shout out to Hippichic81, Natasha, Aleona, Charis, Tegan, Kyla, and Cara for reviewing chapter 25.
Since I received a request from lunatik65 about having Gideon make an appearance, I decided that I could have him appear in this chapter so this chapter starts the day after the ending of chapter 24.
Spencer was working on his consults when his cellphone rang causing him to answer without checking the caller ID.
"Dr. Reid." answered Spencer softly.
"Spencer." said Gideon.
Spencer instantly straightened causing Emily to look at him.
"Why are you calling me?" asked Spencer before seeing the concerned looks from Morgan and Emily.
"Yesterday, I arrived in DC to check on you and I found out that you moved out of your apartment and your former landlord refused to tell me why you moved. So if your currently not on a case, I was hoping that we could meet up." said Gideon.
"Right now I'm working on paperwork from the case I returned from yesterday, but I'll see if I can leave earlier than I planned since I have to give a guest lecture at Georgetown University this afternoon." said Spencer.
Gideon gave a time and address before hanging up, and a few seconds later Emily looked at Spencer.
"You OK, Reid?" asked Emily.
"Just got a phone call from the last person I expected to call me." said Spencer.
"Your father?" asked Morgan.
Spencer shook his head.
"Think about who we haven't heard from in over a year." said Spencer.
Morgan's and Emily's eyes went wide.
"Gideon?" asked Morgan.
Spencer nodded.
"He showed up at my old apartment to check on me, but he ended up finding out that I moved." said Spencer.
"What did he want?" asked Emily.
"He wants to meet up with me." said Spencer.
"Are you going to?" asked Morgan.
"I know that I should tell him about I feel about him leaving, so I'm meeting up with him alone." said Spencer as he signed his case report, "I should go give this to Hotch and tell him what's going on." said Spencer.
30 seconds later Spencer was knocking on Hotch's open door.
"Reid?" asked Hotch.
"I finished my report, and I should tell you about the phone call I got." said Spencer.
"Everything OK?" asked Hotch.
"Gideon called me and he wants to meet up with me today." said Spencer.
"Are you planning to?" asked Hotch.
"Its better that I tell him how I feel, and I told Gideon that I'll see about leaving for lunch earlier since I am giving a guest lecture for Dr. Blake today." said Spencer.
"Are you going to tell him about Maeve and Jocelyn?" asked Hotch.
"Only if he sees my wedding band." said Spencer.
Two hours later Spencer entered the diner that he and Gideon agreed to meet up at and a 20 seconds later he was sitting across from Gideon.
"Hello, Gideon." said Spencer.
Gideon took in the appearance of his former protégé.
"Other than looking a bit tired, you look very healthy and happy." said Gideon.
"A lot has happened to me since you left over 13 months ago." said Spencer as he rested his hands on the table.
Gideon's eyes went wide when he saw a gold wedding band.
"Is that a wedding ring?" asked Gideon.
Spencer nodded.
"Two weeks after you left I met someone at my favorite coffee shop, and we got married after dating for two months." said Spencer before smiling a little bit, "And the reason why I look a bit tired is because of this." said Spencer as he pulled out his phone and showed Gideon a picture of Jocelyn.
Gideon instantly saw a picture of a smiling baby girl who had her father's curly brown hair and brown eyes.
"Your a father?" asked Gideon.
"I held Jocelyn Elizabeth Reid for the first time on August 3rd." said Spencer.
"She's breathtaking." said Gideon.
Spencer smiled a bit.
"Just wait until you see this." said Spencer as he ended up showing Gideon a picture of Jocelyn and Henry together.
"Who's that?" asked Gideon.
"JJ gave birth to a baby boy less than two weeks ago, and I'm Henry's godfather." said Spencer.
"Who's the father?" asked Gideon.
"Remember Detective LaMontagne from New Orleans?" asked Spencer.
Gideon nodded.
"Even though you tried to push JJ and I together, I'm glad that I met Maeve." said Spencer.
"What's Maeve like?" asked Gideon.
Spencer instantly told Gideon about Maeve before he ended up telling Gideon about his in laws, and when he was finished, Gideon looked at him.
"Maeve definitely seems like the right girl for you since she helped put your fears of inheriting schizophrenia to rest." said Gideon before looking at Spencer, "Do you think I could meet Maeve and Jocelyn?" asked Gideon.
Two days later Spencer and Maeve were sitting across from one another in a booth with Jocelyn's car seat next to her father on the table when a family of three approached them.
"Agent Reid?" asked Amy.
Spencer turned around and smiled when he recognized Craig, Amy, and Michael Bridges.
"Well this is a nice surprise." said Spencer as he pulled a quarter out of Michael's ears.
Michael giggled.
"I remember you since you were the one to find me." said Michael before looking at Spencer, "Who's that lady and baby with you?" asked Michael.
Spencer quickly remembered his manners.
"This is my wife Maeve and our nearly four month old daughter Jocelyn Elizabeth Reid." said Spencer.
Amy gasped at the sight of the wide awake baby girl.
"She's beautiful." said Amy.
"Thank you." said Spencer and Maeve in unison.
"Did Agent Jareau have her baby boy yet?" asked Amy.
"She gave birth to Henry a few days after she and the rest of the team left Vegas." said Spencer as he ended up showing a picture of Henry.
"He's beautiful." said Amy.
Spencer looked at the family of three.
"If you guys just arrived, would you like to join us since we just got here too?" asked Spencer.
Michael looked at his parents.
"Can we?" asked Micheal.
"Sure." said Craig.
A minute later Spencer, Maeve, and Jocelyn were on one side while the Bridges were on the other side.
"How long are you guys in Vegas for?" asked Amy.
"We arrived this morning and we're flying back to DC on Saturday." said Spencer.
"DC?" asked Michael.
"We live in our nation's capital Washington DC which is on the opposite side of this country." said Spencer.
"Then why are you in Las Vegas for Thanksgiving?" asked the five year old boy.
"I was born and raised in this city, so we're spending Jocelyn's first Thanksgiving with some of my family." said Spencer.
"I wish you can join my family and me." sighed Michael.
Craig and Amy looked at each other before looking at the Reid family.
"How about you guys come over for dinner on Friday." said Amy.
"Are you sure?" asked Spencer.
"You owe us so much, Agent Reid." said Craig.
"Please call me, Spencer." said Spencer just as a waitress came over and took their orders.
Two hours later Diana smiled when Spencer handed her Jocelyn.
"Even though I saw you two weeks ago, I can't believe how big your getting." said Diana as she gently cradled her granddaughter in her arms.
"We're getting more sleep at night too." said Maeve.
Diana looked at her son.
"I invited your father to join us for Thanksgiving tomorrow." said Diana.
Spencer looked at his mom in shock while Maeve took Jocelyn who started to get fussy from her mother in law's arms.
"And you didn't decide to ask me if we could invite the coward who left me in a dangerous situation if its OK to invite him?" asked Spencer with venom lacing in his voice as he got up and stormed out of his mother's hospital room.
Diana sighed as she looked at her daughter in law who was now calming a crying Jocelyn.
"I just want him to forgive his father." said Diana.
Maeve looked at her mother in law.
"Even though Spence was able to put those nightmares to rest, I'm not going to convince Spence to forgive his father since this is Spencer's choice." said Maeve.
Later on that evening Spencer and Maeve were sitting in their hotel room while Jocelyn was at her great aunt Ethel's house when Spencer looked at his wife.
"With finding out that my mom invited dad to join us for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, now I don't want to go since I'll be in the same room as that coward." said Spencer.
Maeve looked at her husband.
"Its already been planned that Josie's first Christmas will be spent in DC, and we don't know when we'll be able to visit your mom again." said Maeve.
"Are you trying to tell me that I should still spend Thanksgiving with mom?" asked Spencer.
Maeve nodded.
The next evening Spencer entered his mother's hospital room with Maeve and Jocelyn to see his father talking to his mom just as his work cellphone rang causing Spencer to see that it was Hotch causing him to go into federal agent mode.
"I thought that we're off for Thanksgiving this year?" asked Spencer.
"We are, but I just got a call from the Las Vegas police department about needing assistance." said Hotch.
"And with me already being in town you want me to go assess the situation?" asked Spencer.
"Yes, and I told the detective that your already in town for Thanksgiving so you can go solo and if you need help the rest of the team and I will arrive tomorrow." said Hotch.
"I'll be glad to do a quick consult." said Spencer.
Hotch quickly gave the name of the police department and the detective who called him.
"OK." said Spencer before looking at Maeve, "Hotch asked me if I could do a solo consult for one of the police departments in town, so I'll go see what they need help with." said Spencer.
"Go ahead, and I'll stay here with Josie." said Maeve.
A few seconds later Spencer was heading to his rental when he spoke up.
"You just saved me from dealing with World War 3." said Spencer.
"What do you mean?" asked Hotch.
"My mom invited my dad to join us for Thanksgiving dinner, and I really didn't want to face that coward." said Spencer.
"Then I'm glad to get you away from your father, and I'll make sure that you can take a day off next week to make it up to Maeve and Jocelyn." said Hotch.
"I'll be by my rental in a minute, and I promise to keep you updated." said Spencer before hanging up.
A half hour later Spencer entered the police department to see Detective Ashby.
"I wish that I could meet you again under better circumstances, detective." said Spencer.
"I'm sorry to have you leave your family for Thanksgiving, Agent Reid." said Detective Ashby as he shook hands with Spencer.
"You calling my boss ended up me saved me from having to deal with World War 3." said Spencer.
"World War 3?" asked an amused Detective Ashby.
"Even though I love my mother and saw my father for the first time in over 17 years the last time I was here, you asking for help got me away from that coward." said Spencer before noticing the file in the detective's hands, "Mind if I look over that file so I can get back to my wife and daughter?" asked Spencer.
"Sure, and before you get started, you should fix yourself a plate of turkey and other dishes that a caterer brought by earlier." said Detective Ashby.
A few minutes later Spencer was quickly going through the file while eating dinner before he got started on a geographical profile.
Four hours later Detective Ashby was shaking Spencer's hand as two officers escorted the person he was trying to catch.
"Thank you for agreeing to help me out." said Detective Ashby.
"Your welcome." said Spencer as he sent Maeve a text message.
I'M FINISHED WITH THE CONSULT AND THE POLICE HAVE BROUGHT IN THEIR SUSPECT, SO I'LL BE LEAVING THE POLICE STATION SOON. ~ SR
Detective Ashby pulled out a card and passed it to Spencer.
"The next time your in town to visit family and need a favor, please give me a call and I'll be glad to try and return your favor since your practically a celebrity in this city." said Detective Ashby.
Spencer's cellphone vibrated causing Spencer to see a text from Maeve.
JOSIE AND I ARE BACK AT THE HOTEL, SO WE'RE WAITING FOR YOU. ~ MR
"My wife and daughter are back at the hotel, so I'm going to go join them." said Spencer.
"Do you need a ride?" asked Detective Ashby.
Spencer shook his head before shaking hands again with the detective before leaving.
Spencer entered his and Maeve's hotel room only to find Maeve nursing Jocelyn.
"Sorry about missing dinner." said Spencer.
"Its OK since I know that serial killers don't take a break on holidays, and I hope that you ate dinner." said Maeve.
"Before I could start looking through the case file, Detective Ashby forced me to help myself to some turkey and a few other dishes that a caterer brought by for officers who had to work today." said Spencer.
"Good." said Maeve.
"So did dad stay after I left?" asked Spencer.
"He did, and he gave Josie and I a ride back here." said Maeve.
"What did you two talk about?" asked Spencer.
"He just asked me questions about myself, and I didn't tell him about anything you have gone through since he left." said Maeve.
"Was mom upset?" asked Spencer.
"A little bit, but I ended up talking to her about books." said Maeve.
Spencer nodded.
"Do you want to burp Jocelyn?" asked Maeve.
A few seconds later Spencer was burping his daughter.
The next evening Michael who was playing with his father on the floor looked at Spencer who had Jocelyn in his arms.
"May I please hold, Josie?" asked Michael.
Spencer looked at Craig who nodded at him.
"Yes." said Spencer.
A few seconds later Michael was holding Jocelyn in his arms before Spencer looked at Craig.
"Mind if I take a picture?" asked Spencer.
"Go ahead." said Craig.
A few seconds later Spencer was taking a picture of a smiling Michael holding Jocelyn, and a few minutes later Michael was showing Jocelyn his stuffed animals before Spencer looked at Craig.
"Remember how I woke you and your wife up with that nightmare?" asked Spencer.
Craig nodded.
"Apparently I was remembering a crime that happened in my old neighborhood when I was four years old that eventually led me to join the FBI." said Spencer.
The next evening Spencer was putting up their artificial Christmas tree, and a few minutes later Spencer and Maeve were decorating their tree while singing Christmas carols while Jocelyn was propped up in her baby seat on the couch.
Over a week later Spencer watched news footage with his teammates before Jordan turned it off.
"That's three officers in the past four days. After the first shooting, the Phoenix police department assumed gang involvement." said Jordan as she passed out files.
"Pretty reasonable assumption." said Rossi.
"True. Almost 30% of all officer slayings are gang related." said Jordan.
Spencer looked at Jordan.
"Technically it's closer to 40%. If a cop isn't killed during a commission of a crime, gang involvement is highly likely." said Spencer.
"Actually, their precinct commander believes it may be a serial and has asked for our help." said Jordan.
"What makes him doubt the gang theory?" asked Rossi.
"A couple of things. Last night's victims were killed exactly the same way as the first." said Jordan.
Hotch looked at his copy of the file.
"Shot in the neck." said Hotch.
"Something that the press didn't release." said Jordan.
"Well, now, wait. There could still be a gang behind this. Killers working together could establish the same MO." said Emily.
"Commander Marks hasn't ruled it out, but there's another detail-." said Jordan.
"Trophies. Killer took their badges." said Rossi.
"Gang members don't usually take trophies. They don't need to. This is an unsub with something to prove." said Morgan.
"And he's got the entire city on edge." said Hotch.
"Kill those who protect and serve, and no one feels safe." said Emily.
Hotch looked at his team.
"Let's all head back to our respective homes and we'll be flying to Phoenix at 8 AM tomorrow morning." said Hotch.
Over an hour later Spencer was joining Maeve in bed causing Maeve to wake up.
"I thought that I would be waking up to a text message telling me where your going." said Maeve.
"Its been decided that we'll leave for Phoenix, Arizona at 8 AM tomorrow morning." said Spencer.
"Then you should get some sleep." said Maeve.
A few minutes later both Spencer and Maeve were fast asleep.
The next morning Spencer was sitting on the couch when Morgan sat down causing Hotch to address Garcia.
"Go ahead, Garcia." said Hotch.
"OK, while you birds have been in the air, I got the 411 on the first shooting. Apparently, every Saturday night, Phoenix PD sets up a DUI checkpoint." said Garcia.
"Is that common knowledge?" asked Emily.
"Mais, oui. Public awareness is part of the deterrent. so our unsub blows past said checkpoint at 90 mph, and is pursued by an officer Jason Kessinger. Kessinger pulls the car over, approaches the driver's side window, where he is shot in the throat. Mon dieu. He was a single parent, two daughters." said Garcia sadly.
Spencer sighed sadly as he gave Morgan a concerned look.
"So, the unsub planned ahead, used the DUI stop to set his trap, and then lured the officer to his death." said Rossi.
"It could have been personal. The unsub might have had a problem with these particular officers." said Emily.
"Or with law enforcement in general. He's sending a message." said Hotch.
"Criminals, gang members, academy washouts, security? Teenagers, and that's just a start. I mean, the list of people who have a problem with police officers is a long one." said Spencer.
"The victims were shot in the neck, so the unsub knew they'd be wearing body armor." said Morgan.
"And he used a DUI checkpoint. I mean, both incidents show an active understanding of police procedure." said Spencer.
"Which narrows it down to anybody who watches television." said Morgan.
"We need to cover victimology. Garcia, find out everything you can about the officers killed see what they had in common besides their uniforms." said Hotch.
"Will do, but I should warn you, it will not be cake because I have been on the phone with these guys all morning and pulling files from them has been like pulling molars." said Garcia.
"Is there a problem?" asked Hotch.
"You know, aside from the obvious grief for their fallen compadres, and their fear of being used as target practice, I get the distinct impression from their crabby behavior, they are none too pleased their boss is outsourcing this investigation to the FBI, so...be prepared to hit a blue wall of resistance." said Garcia.
Hotch shook hands with Commander Marks.
"Commander Marks, I'm SSA Hotchner." said Hotch before he gestured to Jordan, "This is Agent Todd." said Hotch.
"Hi." said Jordan as she shook hands with Commander Marks.
"Agents Rossi, Prentiss, Morgan, and Dr. Spencer Reid. Thank you for inviting us." said Hotch.
"And thank you all for coming." said Commander Marks as he looked at Hotch, "Although I'd like to have a word if you don't mind." said Commander Marks.
"Of course." said Hotch.
"Excuse me. Uh, Lieutenant Evans. Lieutenant Evans will answer any questions the rest of you may have." said Commander Marks.
A few seconds later Lieutenant Evans approached Spencer, Emily, Rossi, Jordan, and Morgan while Hotch followed Commander Marks.
"Sorry, that was Officer Kayser's wife. They'd only been married a couple of months. She seems to think that the FBI is here to save the day. Is that what you're going to do, agents?" asked Lieutenant Marks.
Spencer exchanged glances with his teammates as they realized that Lieutenant Evans most likely didn't want them to help.
Spencer looked at the footage from the dash cam when Commander Marks looked at Spencer, Hotch, Jordan, and Rossi.
"Techs have gone over this frame by frame. There's no way to identify the shooter." said Commander Marks.
"Approximate height and weight, that's about all we got." said an officer.
"The unsub's face isn't the only way to identify him. We also look at specific behavioral traits." said Jordan.
"These are the reasons you don't believe it's a gang?" asked Commander Marks.
"The shooter established what we call a signature, something he did during the murders that wasn't actually necessary. Not part of his MO, but identical in every attack." said Hotch.
"In this case, the unsub took the officer's badges. He's symbolically stripping them of their power and authority. This act is indicative of someone who is looking to gain self-esteem." said Spencer before he decided to focus on the video footage.
"Gang members and other assailants who work together kill for different reasons, but usually it's not to gain confidence, 'cause they already have it." said Hotch.
Spencer quickly noticed something.
"Hotch, you see that? Can we pause this?" asked Spencer.
The officer paused the footage.
"OK, now zoom in and press play." said Spencer.
The officer followed Spencer's instructions.
"Taking the badge would have taken a few seconds." said Spencer.
Hotch watched the footage.
"He's lingering." said Hotch.
"Doing what?" asked Commander Marks.
"That's a good question." said Hotch.
Spencer approached Hotch and Commander Marks.
"Commander, what's going on?" asked Hotch.
"What's going on is my officers are being shot in the streets and crucified by the press. That's what's going on." said Commander Marks.
"So you've arrested the wrong person?" asked Hotch.
"I brought in a viable suspect for questioning. I had to do something." said Commander Marks.
"Commander, I understand the pressure you're under, but doing this could undermine the investigation." said Hotch.
Spencer looked at Commander Marks.
"Bringing in another suspect draws attention away from the real unsub. If he starts to feel inadequate, he may strike sooner just to prove himself." said Spencer.
"It's also possible accusing one of their members could antagonize local gangs, which is the last thing your officers need to be worrying about right now." said Rossi.
"All right, look. I told you guys I was out on a limb here, so unless you have a suspect..." said Commander Marks.
"Hotch. Since we've got this guy, why don't we see if we can use him?" asked Morgan before looking at Commander Marks, "You mind if talk to him?" said Morgan.
"Be my guest." said Commander Marks.
As soon as Morgan walked away, Hotch looked at Commander Marks.
"Commander, I appreciate your letting Agent Morgan join the interrogation, but I promise you, this is not our unsub. The real killer's still out there." said Hotch before he, Rossi, and Spencer walked away.
Spencer stood with his arms crossed as he looked at the bulletin board.
"Ballistics aren't back yet, but the preliminary ME reports suggest the weapon used to kill officer beck was not a .357." said Spencer.
"I spoke to Garcia. Beck arrested Diablo twice on drug charges, last time sent him away for 10 years. Diablo was just released on parole last week." said Hotch.
"So Diablo went after the cop who put him away assuming it would be lumped in with the other murders. The unsub would take the fall." said Rossi.
"Hey, it almost worked." said Emily.
Lieutenant Evans approached them.
"Lieutenant, what did you find?" asked Hotch.
"Well, I pulled up that information on Playboy's lieutenant, Bobby Q." said Lieutenant Evans.
Morgan looked at the file that he was given.
"There's not much there." said Morgan.
"And you're thinking Playboy was right, that we didn't pay enough attention to the case." said Lieutenant Evans.
"Did you?" asked Emily.
"Look, the majority of homicides in this city most times we spend time and resources following trails that all lead to the same place anyway." said Lieutenant Evans.
"We just assumed this was just another one of those trails." said Hotch.
"Being in a gang shortens your life expectancy, so it's no big surprise when a gang banger winds up dead." said Lieutenant Evans.
Spencer thought about how Hankel killed him before Hankel gave him CPR.
"Same thing could be said about being a cop. The job involves a fair amount of risk, so a percentage of untimely deaths is practically inevitable." said Spencer.
"The MO is the same as our unsub's. Did, um, playboy tell you if the killer took a trophy?" asked Rossi.
"He said Bobby Q's necklace was missing." said Morgan.
"Yeah, that's in the report. Big chain, solid gold. Just figured the doer took it to pawn it." said Lieutenant Evans.
"Or as a souvenir." said Rossi.
"Fits the signature." said Morgan.
"He built up to this. We need to go further back." said Hotch as he called Garcia, "Garcia, can you pull everything in the Phoenix area that matches the same MO as our unsub, not just police officers." said Hotch.
"OK. so I'm searching homicides in phoenix in, what, the last two months?" asked Garcia.
"Make it three." said Hotch.
"Got it. Murders, shootings, specifically neck wounds. Oh, I got a guy named Robert Quinones, nickname Bobby Q." said Garcia.
"We already have that one. Anything else?" asked Morgan.
"Ah, just one more. A bouncer at a bar in downtown Phoenix, Mickey Reese. Weapon's a .357 magnum. Interesting. It says here the victim was wearing a ballistic vest. Apparently they don't serve Shirley Temples at this establishment." said Garcia.
"If the bouncer was wearing a vest, that could be how our unsub developed his MO." said Emily.
"Send us everything you've got." said Hotch.
"Sure. Done." said Garcia.
"All right, we got gangbangers, bouncers and cops. All pretty tough targets; victims capable of defending themselves." said Morgan.
"As the unsub's sense of power escalated, so did his confidence, leading to bigger and more difficult prey." said Rossi.
"That makes sense. risky deaths would increase the unsub's feeling of superiority. Same thing with using a .357 magnum. It would make him feel powerful." said Spencer.
"Cops are at the top of that list. High profile, always on alert, and they're gonna make headlines." said Emily.
"Killing a gang banger isn't easy. They're always armed, travel in packs." said Lieutenant Evans.
"The bouncer's the earliest. It was a pretty simple attack, no carefully thought out plan. He could have been his first victim." said Morgan.
"We need to figure out where their paths crossed. Morgan, you, Rossi and the lieutenant go check out the bar. We'll keep digging." said Hotch.
After Hotch gave a statement to the press, everyone was gathered in front of the police force.
"The man we're looking for is a narcissist desperate to prove his masculinity. He does this by going after high risk targets like gang members and police officers." said Hotch.
"Because he's a narcissist, this unsub will be following the investigation closely." said Emily.
"By pretending to take over the investigation, we've put ourselves above the local police, thus suggesting that we're tougher to take out, and issuing the unsub a challenge that he won't be able to ignore." said Spencer.
"And painting a target directly on Agent Hotchner's back." said Rossi.
"All the attacks, with the exception of the last one, have taken place in the Twelve's territory. This is the unsub's hunting ground, and he's unlikely to stray from it." said Spencer.
"Locations have multiple vanish points for the shooter, but limited access and exit routes for his victims. We'll be looking for a similar situation. This should happen very quickly." said Morgan.
"Don't forget- this guy managed to take out five cops by himself. He smart, and he's fearless. He won't be easy to take down." said Rossi.
Jordan approached Spencer.
"Male caller. He says he knows where the unsub lives, and it fits the criteria." said Jordan as she passed Spencer what was written down.
"2717 Gelson Avenue. It's the Twelve's territory, just off the main street." said Spencer as he looked at a map, "Looks like there's a series of smaller feeders and allies nearby. This could be it." said Spencer.
"Let's go." said Lieutenant Evans.
"Slow down, lieutenant. he'll be expecting us." said Hotch.
"All of us. this is his last stand. He's going to want to make it count." said Morgan.
"Yeah, well, this time we know about it and we're ready." said Lieutenant Evans.
"His trap could still work." said Rossi.
"15th avenue and Gelson. What do you know about the neighborhood?" asked Hotch.
"It's rough. lots of dead-end streets, allies. Major cross street, 17th." said Lieutenant Evans.
"Residential? Any businesses at all?" asked Hotch.
"There's a gas station a couple of blocks down, but that's about it." said Lieutenant Evans.
A few seconds later Spencer connected Garcia to them.
"Hey, Garcia?" asked Spencer.
"Yes?" asked Garcia.
"Can you get us a satellite image of 15th Avenue and Gelson?" asked Spencer.
"But of course. OK, real time satellite image shows... Not a whole heck of a lot. I've got a 2-story apartment building, no activity of any kind, no cars out in front." said Garcia while Spencer looked at a map, "Oh, there's a car down the street. No heat registering, engine must be cool. Satellite monitoring the last 12 hours is like library-quiet. A truck and 2 cars left in the AM, nothing came in." said Garcia.
"Thank you, Garcia. All right, there's a major street in front on the east side, an ally, and two smaller streets to the north and south right here." said Spencer as he pointed at the map.
"Lieutenant, Commander, I need a sniper here and here. Once they're set, the bulk of the squad cars can approach from the south, and the rest of us from the east very quietly. From this point forward, everybody goes in on foot. Morgan, you and I go in first. Rossi and Prentiss behind us. Jordan, you and Reid stay here and work the tip line." said Hotch.
"Stay safe, my loves." said Garcia.
"Thanks, Garcia." said Emily.
The next afternoon Spencer smiled when he held Jocelyn in his arms.
"Even though I work a dangerous job, I promise you that I'll always come home to you." said Spencer.