Reid sat at the table in the conference room, flipping through page after page reading them at lightning speed while Garcia was posting the photos on the board. After he went through the stack in front of him, he slid it across the table which then pushed a bunch of papers onto the floor. "Great," he muttered to himself.

He moved to the floor and worked on picking up the papers, and Garcia joined him. She reached for the pictures that were mailed to him and then put the letter on top. "Did you ever figure out what this Aztec symbol is supposed to be?"

"No, not yet. And to be honest, I haven't really thought about it since I got to the photos. It's just been one thing after another, you know?" He went back to the table.

"Yeah, I get it." Garcia finished stacking the pictures nicely and then placed it back on the table with the letter on top. "You know, it kind of looks like gold."

"Hmm," Reid said as he focused on the next set of papers in front of him. "What does?" he asked, focused on the documents.

"The symbol. It reminds me of Aztec gold."

"Aztec gold," Reid repeated to himself. He looked at the papers in front of him and mentally scanned over them again. "That's it!" He exclaimed as he stood up. "Garcia, you're a genius!" He kissed her cheek then rushed out of the office.

Reid ran past Hotch's windows and impatiently knocked on the door. "I got it!"

Rossi opened the door as Hotch moved behind him. "Got what, kid?"

"I figured it out; I can't believe I didn't get it at first. It was right in front of me!"

"Whoa, slow down, Reid," Hotch said, "Figured what out?"

"I know why Charles has been in hiding. It was the Aztec symbol. That's who's been after Charles!"

"The Aztecs?" Rossi questioned.

"No. Garcia said that the symbol reminded her of gold. You know… Aztec gold... Cortez."

Hotch crossed his arms in thought. "Killing one of Cortez's men and taking all the heroin from the car would certainly be enough for revenge. But it has been at least a decade since that incident."

"We just need to know how all of this pieces together," Reid said.

"Well, come in, and we will let you know what we have so far," Hotch said.

"What you have? You mean, you have more information?"

Hotch sat down at his desk and held his hand out to Rossi. "Go ahead and let him know what you found out from the major."

The team sat at the round table as Hotch updated them on the possibility of Charles being alive and what Alex has been doing to get answers.

"So, we still don't know if he is alive or not," JJ said.

"Alex went to go get him," Garcia said. The team turned to her in shock. "Yeah, apparently he left her a flash drive that was encrypted and revealed where he would be, and she went to get him."

"But wait, hold on," Morgan said, holding his hand up. "If Charles had help from the CIA to fake his death and then people came to kill him at the safe house. That could only mean one thing."

"That there was a mole in the CIA," Charles said as he stood in the doorway with Alex, Hugh, and Roman behind him.

Reid pushed his chair back as he stared at him. He rose slowly, then walked toward him and stood looking him up and down. "It doesn't seem real."

"It never does, does it?" Charles smiled at him. "I kind of feel like Han Solo after he was released from carbonite. That must make you—"

"Oh, shut up," Reid said as he threw his arms around Charles and held onto him tightly. "I missed you."

"I know."

Reid playfully pushed Charles aside and hugged Hugh, then turned to Roman. "The Centurion. Alex was correct. I think you did grow since I've seen you last."

Charles stood in front of the team like a kindergartener on his first day of school. "Hello, all of you. I actually know who you are; I've been doing a bit of research."

Garcia lunged forward, pulling Charles into her embrace. "I am so glad to meet you finally."

"Me too," he said in a muffled tone as his face was squished against her.

"I hate to break up this reunion," Hotch started. "But we have a lot of details to discuss."

"Why don't I just explain," Charles said as he stood in front of them. "I won't go into everything at the moment, just the important facts for now. Yes, when I realized that my safe house wasn't indeed… safe, I knew that it must be someone from the CIA who leaked my whereabouts. To be quite honest, I didn't know who I could trust. Spencer had told me about his team with the BAU, and I was sure that I could trust you. But when Alex returned and got a job back with the CIA, I couldn't afford anyone finding out about me. I decided instead to figure out who was after me and why."

"It was Cortez, right?" Reid asked.

"Yes, but it's much bigger than that. When I was looking into him, I discovered those murders and connected them all to Cortez. I still wasn't sure who I could trust in the FBI or CIA. What I did know for sure was that I could trust my old team."

"That's when you started us on this so-called scavenger hunt," Alex piped in.

Charles put his hands on his hips. "I was watching every step and making sure that it was only you guys and that there was no one else following or involved."

Roman raised his hand from behind the group. "I hope that it was okay that I tagged along."

Charles laughed. "I wouldn't have it any other way." He turned his focus to Alex. "No one at the Agency can know that I'm alive."

"We should look into who the mole could be," Hotch said.

"Are we sure there is even still a threat?" Morgan asked. "I mean, this was almost two years ago. Surely, the CIA knows that they had a leak."

Rossi stepped forward with his hands in his front pockets. "I know a high-ranking person there. Let me make a call… discreetly," he said, looking directly to Charles, who nodded in reply.

"I'm going to head home. I will bring back my work laptop. There are names and information on there that can help us," Alex said.

"That sounds good," Reid said.

Alex patted Roman's arm. "Paul, why don't you come with, I might need a little help."

"Help with a laptop?" Roman asked.

Alex looked to the group. "Yeah, that and I wanted to get some extra hardware while I was at it." She went to Charles and gave him a tight squeeze. "I love you, you know?"

"Yeah."

She started toward the door and stopped at Hugh. "Why don't you stay here and do what you do best."

"Fly a plane?" Hugh questioned.

"No, sit there and look bored."

Alex unlocked the door to her house and entered. She moved to allow Roman to enter behind her, then, after shutting the door, she bent down and fixed the carpet.

"Why don't you just replace the rug if it bothers you so much?" Roman asked.

"I guess I just never have the time. So many other things are more important. Come on, let's get what we came for." She started up the stairs.

Alex went into the office, picked up her laptop from the table, put it in her bag, and then went into her bedroom. She pushed open the closet door revealing a large gun safe.

"Do you think that's big enough?" he asked.

"It suits its purpose. Besides, this isn't the only safe in the house." She opened the door and grabbed a small duffle bag, and placed it on the bed. She then opened a drawer, pulled out a handful of knives, and put them on the bed.

"I always thought you carried a knife on you."

Alex reached under her shirt and pulled out a dagger from between her breasts. "I do," she said.

"I am both frightened and turned on," he said with a smirk.

She returned the blade to its sheath and continued gathering what she needed. She locked the safe and put the items in the bag. "Okay, I think that's everything."

"Are you sure?" he asked. "We could visit an armory."

"Hey, don't get sassy with me, Centurion; let's not forget who it was who saved your life in Denmark."

"I know, I know. Who would have thought that being polite and engaging people in Denmark was a bad thing?"

"Come on, let's go. We need to get back." Alex zipped up the bag, handed it to Roman, carried her laptop bag, and started toward the stairs. She began her descent then stopped as she stared at the flipped up carpet next to the front door.

"Wha—" Roman started.

Alex held up her hand, signaling him to stop. She pulled out her phone and sent a quick text. She slid the phone back into her pocket and pulled her Glock from the holster.

Roman did the same, and they proceeded down the stairs quietly. They placed the bags down, and both started for the kitchen. They stepped through the doorway then a burst of shots were fired.