Alex trudged through the woods following behind Hank to the best of her ability. Dusk was approaching and she worried about going any further with the dropping temperature and low visibility.

She squinted her eyes trying to focus on what was in the distance. She thought she could make out a building behind the trees. It seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

After making their way closer she could see that it was a log cabin. It looked typical for the surroundings, worn and rustic. Alex half expected to see an old, toothless man to come out with a shotgun. But it was quiet except for some nearby birds chirping.

Hank pulled out his sidearm and grabbed Alex as they entered into the cabin. She was shocked once they were inside. She quickly turned back around from where they entered then looked back at the modern, high tech living area. It was a designer home with that looked nothing like its rugged exterior. She noticed that all of the furniture was focused around the grand fireplace. It was quite a feat of masonry. The gorgeous red bricks filled the wall form the floor to the ceiling with a six foot long hearth. She could understand why someone would want to stare at it and get lost in the ambience.

Hank moved her in front of the sofa and pushed her down then walked into the kitchen. She sat there and could hear them rustling around but wasn't able to see what they were doing. One of the henchmen stood by the door and kept his eyes on her.

"Ron, start a fire." Hank called out.

The man got to work quickly stacking the logs up and getting them lit. Moments later, Hank came towards Alex with a basin in his hands. After putting it down in front of the sofa, he looked up to her and in a sweet voice said, "Please, sit up."

Alex was taken aback by his demeanor. He was different than the man who beat her and made her walk barefoot through the woods. But still she didn't trust him. She looked down at the clear liquid before her. It most likely was water… but what if it wasn't. A million thoughts and worries ran through her mind. Could this be an acid or alcohol? Is this salt water?

Hank reached for her foot. Alex was hesitant but allowed it, fearing what would happen if she denied him. She prepared herself to feel the worst but as her toes dipped into the large bowl, she was surprised to feel warm water soothing her raw feet.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked.

He didn't answer and gently put in her other foot. He looked up to her then got up and left her to stare at the roaring fire.

Enough time had passed for her to feel comforted by her feet soaking when Hank returned. He picked up her feet as if they were fragile pieces of art, patted them down and wrapped them.

Hank let out a deep breath then looked at the woman he held captive. "I live and work by rules. I make things very easy, you follow my rules and you will be okay. If you do not follow my rules, you will be punished. I am sure that you have learned that stealing phones and making calls is against the rules."

Alex stared trying to read him but his own face and emotions contradicted each other. He was speaking softly and tenderly to her but there was malice in his eyes.

He looked past her to one of his cronies and snapped his fingers. Hank caught the blanket that was thrown at him then handed it to her. "You should get some sleep. We are going to have a busy day tomorrow."

Alex wanted to ask what tomorrow would bring, but she was extremely tired and needed to rest. She had to trust that she would be safe for now. She had to.

The team entered a Roanoke police station where JJ used her magic have access to their facility while working on this case. The police captain was more than willing to help, if there was an escaped convict in his town, he wanted her caught.

Hotch wasted no time to go into an empty office and placed a call to Parker's office. After going through several people and bureaucracy he was finally connected.

"Deputy Director Parker." He answered his phone.

"Director Parker, this is SSA Hotchner. I was hoping to have a few minutes of your time, if I may sir."

"Of course, agent, what can I do for you?" Parked asked leaning back in his office chair.

"As you may know, we had a few follow-up questions for Alex Marcus, however when we spoke with the prison she was never processed back in. And since she was released into your custody, naturally I am checking with you on her whereabouts." Hotch said succinctly.

"Yes, I had heard about that. I believe your girl, Agent Jareau called my office about that. Unfortunately moments after we left Quantico I received a call regarding an urgent matter of state security and was not personally able to return her to rot in jail. But I can assure you that the CIA is on top of this matter and will reach out to you when she will be available to you for those follow-up questions of yours. You have a good day now." Parker stated as he hung up the phone.

Hotch appeared uneasy as he stared at the receiver in his hand. He then noticed that Reid was standing on the other side of the door. Hotch motioned for him to enter and hung up the phone.

Reid came in and took a seat. "I wanted to ask you something."

"What is it?" Hotch interlocked his fingers as his hands rested on the desk.

"I wanted to reach out to Hugh Barlow."

"You're old teammate from the CIA." Hotch properly deduced.

"Yes. I am worried about him. Parker assured us that he contacted him and offered him protective custody. I just wanted to reach out to him to see if that was the case. I want to make sure he and his family are okay and offer him protection." Reid was anxious.

"Technically we aren't working an official case to offer custody for. But make contact and we will go from there." Hotch was reassuring. "Where is he living now?"

"In London."

Hotch nodded. "I still have some contacts in London, if I need to have this off the books, then I will." He stood up. "I'll leave you to make your call."

Reid waited until the door was shut then picked up the receiver and dialed his friend's number. "Hello, Hugh? Its, uh, Spencer."

"The Prodigal Son has returned." He snarked. "I was wondering when I was going to hear from you." He said in an mild snide tone.

Reid shifted in his chair, feeling the discomfort. "Yes, I know, I'm sorry I haven't reached out until now. But, um, I called to see if you heard about Charles."

"Yes, I did." Hugh's voice turned more earnest. "Parker contacted me shortly after it happened. He told me about Knight escaping and that we were all potential targets."

"That's why I am calling. I wanted to see why you aren't in protective custody."

"I don't need that, Spencer. We are safe. But to err on the side of caution, I have reached out to some friends who are doing some surveillance."

"I can help more than that. I have some connections, I can help keep you and your family safe." Reid insisted.

"Trust me, we are okay. I am more worried about you. I want to make sure you are safe." Hugh said sincerely.

Reid thought about filling in his old friend on everything that happened, that Knight was dead and that Parker could have possibly done it... about Alex. But he decided that it wouldn't be best at this time. "I do trust you." Reid conceded. "But if you change your mind, please call me."

"Of course." Hugh paused. "You know Charles told me what he was doing."

"What do you mean?" Reid inquired.

"He was trying to prove that Alex was set up. The last I heard, he was very close to it but didn't have all the pieces yet."

"Why wouldn't he tell me that he was working on that?" Reid was hurt.

"Charles didn't want to bring you back to it until he had some hard evidence. You know, I can't help but wonder if searching for that is what got him killed."