"This is Roy Woodridge, 6'1", 195 pounds, 44 years old. Brown hair, former army ranger" Hotch explained as he gave out pictures to the S.W.A.T team.
"It's imperative you don't try to apprehend him alone. He won't understand what's happening. He may try to defend himself. He's armed, and he's an excellent marksman" Gideon said
"He may have stolen a radio, a walkie-Talkie" Reid said walking into the room.
"We were right. He had a nest of sorts right near every murder scene" Morgan said joining the team in their office.
"There was a burglary of a two-Way radio from a construction site recently" Reid said
"That could be Roy. We only used UHF back then" Max explained
"He's looking for help" Gideon stated
"And he'll keep trying to contact operations command" Max explained
"Detective, can we get a dozen UHF radios set up in this room, and each of them tuned to each of the preset channel frequencies?" Hotch asked Fuller
"Right away" Fuller said
"Wait a minute. When he calls, we need to be very careful with the communication, because we set up specific responses to contact op com so we could avoid hostile interception and to establish 'no danger' signals. And we had specific names to identify our squad to the operator" Max explained
"Do you remember the language you set up?" Gideon asked
"I couldn't forget it. Roy and I wrote it. The callout was, 'this is John Doe looking for Mark Rippen.' Rippen was our hero at the time... Number 11, quarterback for the redskins in 1993" Max explained
"Now we know where he is in his head. He calls in, we'll be on the other end when he does" Gideon said simply
"What if he doesn't call? What if he just kills someone else?" Fuller asked
"Well, we'll deal with that if it happens" Gideon said
"Kind of easy for you to say. This guy may be messed up, but that doesn't change the fact that he has killed 4 innocent people. Now, why don't we just do the grid search?" Fuller asked
"If you set up a grid search and he confronts one of your men, you'll be planning a funeral" Max explained
"I can guarantee you we're right about his profile. This man wants to get rescued. All I'm asking is that you just give us a chance to bring him in" Gideon said simply
The team waited around in silence as they waited for Roy to make contact.
"It's channel 11" Max said suddenly
"Are you ready Garcia?" Hotch asked
"I've got Nat recon satellites all over the ward" Garcia said
"Stand by" JJ said
"This is John Doe looking for Mark Rippen" Roy said through the radio.
"Can you help us? You know how to do this better than we do" Gideon asked Max.
"Roger that. This is number 11, all clear" Max said into the radio.
"Maxey, boy, am I happy to hear from you. I'm taking heavy fire. Request immediate extraction" Roy said
"What are your coordinates?" Max asked
"Unknown. I lost my land navigational aids. I went high, but I don't recognize anything. I don't have a fix on my grid coordinates" Roy explained
"Any other way for him to signal his location?" Gideon asked
"Did you put up any flags?" Max asked
"Yeah, you bet your ass I did. I'm holding cover here" Roy replied
"Roger that. Hold your position" Max said
"He triangulated. We need to look for 3 large, coloured flags, maybe on rooftops. They'll be identical in size and shape" Max explained
"Did you get that, Garcia?" JJ said
"Yeah, I got it" Garcia said and started typing.
"Number 11, do you still read me?" Roy asked
"Garcia" Gideon said
"I'm working as fast as I can" Garcia replied
"I can still read you loud and clear. Stay put" Max said firmly to Roy
"I found one. I found one. I got them. I see... housing projects and a courtyard" Garcia said
"We need street names, Garcia" Hotch said
"Farmer and Capron! Farmer and Capron!" Garcia said
"I know where that is. There's some abandoned buildings right there. I'll have construction sites to halt work and secure the streets" Fuller stated
"He's gonna expect men in fatigues and a chopper as cover" Max explained
"I can take care of the choppers" Fuller said
"We're in black SUVs. Tell him we're security executives. You're coming with us. We need to do this fast" Hotch said
"Tell him to stay there, we're coming to him" Gideon said
"Roy, we're coming to you, buddy" Max said
…
Lilith and Reid stayed behind with JJ to look after the Dana and pack up our stuff after they got the call that it didn't end well.
"Folks. Uh... Thank you so much for coming here. No one ever makes this place a priority. We're grateful to you" Fuller said to the team once they returned and started packing up.
"I wish it had ended differently" Lilith said sadly
"Yeah. Me, too" Fuller said
"Hey, has anyone seen Gideon?" Lilith asked
"Agent Gideon left some time ago. Said he meet you all at the airport" Fuller said confused
"Did he say where he went to?" JJ asked
"I think I know where he is" Hotch said and left to go find him.
….
Once the team had gotten back to Quantico, it was night time and the office was empty besides them.
"Hey, Reid, do you want to come over tonight?" Lilith asked Reid softly.
Reid slammed his hands down on the desk angrily, gaining the attention of the team.
"ENOUGH Fallon! Can you just back off and leave me alone for one damn day? I am perfectly capable of doing my job and living my life without you hovering over me 24/7! Now, I know you are used to bossing those poor boys around that your mother and father raped and killed but I am not one of them!" Reid shouted bitterly only to receive a loud slap across the face from Lilith. Hotch and Gideon were looking on worried while Garcia, Morgan and JJ were shocked over what Reid had revealed about Lilith's past.
"How dare you, YOU of all people bring that up in front of others?! Now you listen here, Spencer Reid, I know you have been through a lot recently but that gives you have no right to talk to me like that! I have never once said that you are not capable of doing your job or living your life!" Lilith shouted
"Now maybe if you pulled that damn needle out of your arm and stop wallowing in self-pity…" Lilith whispered so only he could hear.
"…You would actually realize what the date is and see that I didn't invite you over because I thought you needed me. I invited you over because I needed you, I need my best friend. So if you see him, tell him to come back soon because as far as I am concerned the Spencer Reid standing in front of me can go to hell" Lilith spat angrily.
The entire time, Reid looked at the ground, stunned. When Lilith was finished she turned on her heels, grabbed her bag and left the office, hoping no one could see her tears running down her cheeks.
…..