Hotch sat in Director Strauss' office waiting for her to arrive to their scheduled meeting. He glanced at his watch again just as she entered her office.
"I am sorry to keep you waiting, but I was actually stuck in a meeting involving you." She remarked as she approached her desk.
"Oh?" He asked, puzzled.
"Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get more time for Alex Marcus. Deputy Director Parker will be here this afternoon to personally escort her back to prison." Strauss broke the news gently.
"Thank you for trying." Hotch appeared surprised at her efforts to help.
"For what it's worth, I hate when the government agencies can't work together. I abhor the CIA's obvious lack of collaboration in this matter. After all, we were called in to assist in this case." She paused, knowing that she shouldn't discuss politics with her subordinate. "What headway were you able to make?"
"Not much. We looked into the list of suspects that we had. However, we were only able to rule them out. Alex will still be very useful to help us find answers." Hotch explained. "But I appreciate everything you tried to do, ma'am." Hotch gave a nod and left her office.
Hotch needed to make one more stop before going back to his office.
"What can I do for you?" Garcia asked as she swiveled around in her chair.
"Alex will be escorted back to prison today. I need you to keep tabs on her. I want to know anyone who visits her, calls, writes, anything. Also, look into the guards that are assigned to her block.
"Yes sir. Uh, may I ask why?" Garcia was curious.
"I am not giving up on this case." He simply stated, then turned to leave her office.
Hotch stood outside the holding area knowing that Parker would be there soon to pick-up Alex.
Rossi slowly walked toward his friend with his hands in his pockets. "I take it that Erin wasn't able to be much help."
"No." Hotch shook his head. "She did try though." Hotch raised his eyebrows.
"This isn't right. We still need Alex's help on this case. She knows the answer to this riddle."
"I know. But there is nothing we can do about it. We have been given our orders. I have to follow protocol." Hotch stated, being a slave of duty.
"What have you heard from McIntyre?" Rossi asked.
"I haven't yet." Hotch was interrupted by two men in black suits approaching with Parker leading the charge.
"Hello, gentlemen. I am here for my prisoner." Parker announced, looking smug.
A moment later, Alex was being escorted down the hall in handcuffs. She shot a quick look to Rossi then looked back to the ground as she walked. She knew this was the last bit of freedom she would ever have.
Rossi had a sinking feeling, unable to do anything.
Reid leaned back in his chair, fiddling with a pencil between his fingers. He knew Alex left hours ago. He wouldn't allow himself to go see her. He was wrestling with that decision even though there was nothing he would be able to do about it now. She was gone and he was never going to see her again.
He opened up some case files, trying to distract himself but soon realized that he wasn't focusing on anything that he was reading. He closed the folder and leaned back in his chair again.
Suddenly, he heard the alert on his computer, signaling that he received a new email. Reid thought this was odd, since he only received emails while they were on a case. He went to investigate.
There, in front of him, was a message from Charles Sullivan. "What?" He remarked. He then opened it. A simple picture of a sunset appeared on his screen. No message... Only a picture. Reid grabbed his bag and rushed to Garcia. She was the only person who would be able to help him.
"Hey, Sugar. You doing okay?" She asked as he stormed into her office.
"I need you to help me with something." He placed his bag down on the floor and politely pushed her aside to get access to her computer. He logged into his email and showed her the picture. "I just received this."
"Huh, that's weird. Maybe it was sent by his wife?" Garcia guessed.
"That is possible, of course. But why the sunset?"
"Could it be code? Did you two have some kind of connection or history involving a sunset?"
Reid shook his head. "No, I can't think of anything."
Garcia did some poking around. "This picture is way too big."
"What do you mean?" Reid asked.
"Ah ha. Just as I thought. There is a file imbedded in it." She clicked to reveal a message.
Spencer, I knew this day would come. Sorry, I didn't tell you about what was going on but I was trying to protect you. I asked Sondra to send this to you after she was safe. I hope you found the clues I left for you. I have also attached to this message the code to decipher it. I wish I could tell you more but I am still playing this safe in case this fell into the wrong hands. I trust you will figure it out! -C
"So I was right. His wife did send it." Garcia observed.
Reid picked up his bag and pulled out the information Charles left for him. He flipped through the letters and the pictures. He used the key and wrote down the corresponding letters. He looked up at Garcia with his mouth open. "I was wrong."
"Why? What's it say?" Garcia asked anxiously. She then looked down at the piece of paper. "Parker? As in Deputy Director Parker?"
"Garcia, what did I do?"
"Wasn't it Parker who escorted her back to prison?" Garcia was worried. "I need to check something." She pushed Reid out of her way and typed frantically on her computer. "Oh no, we need to go get Hotch." Garcia looked up to Reid.
"What's wrong?"
"She hasn't been logged back in at the prison." Garcia announced.
"That means that Parker still has her."