A/N: Hello again, everyone!
A shout-out to Quilter1993 and Fishtrrek.
Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds. No copyright infringement intended.
As I said in the previous chapter, since the Season Eight finale was two parts, I've decided to split them.
My apologies if I made any mistakes but enjoy the chapter!
Previously on Criminal Minds…
"…a body was found in the desert outside Las Cruces, New Mexico..."
"A man had his leg amputated and replaced with the leg of someone else…"
"Someone's out there mimicking the crimes we've solved…"
"This is now an active case, which we'll be investigating along with our other cases…"
"…Hello. I'm still here…"
"Zug…zwang…"
"Zugzwang. In an endgame of chess, no matter what move the player makes, they're at a disadvantage, and it'll just get worse…"
"…Who sent it?..."
"Whoever it was...They knew you would be at home…"
"What if this is the Replicator?"
"You're victims now…"
"Erin…he's stalking this team…no one's gonna give it up…"
"I know…and neither will I…"
The team was on a severe high alert when Garcia immediately informed them about the Replicator returning after hacking into her computers and repeatedly leaving Zugzwang on her monitors.
Reid was in the backseat of the SUV, getting in touch with Blake, with Hotch driving and Rossi in the passenger's seat.
After picking Blake up, they headed back to the hotel, only to discover that the Replicator had taken Strauss.
Hotch had Reid and Blake talk to hotel security, JJ the west staircase, and Morgan and Dave on the roof, not wasting any more time.
Élise groaned when she started to wake up a bit. She closed her eyes tighter and had two fingers on her head, hearing her phone vibrate on her bedside table.
"Mmm…" without looking up, she fiddled for her phone, and without looking at the caller ID, she answered. "Yello?"
"Lise…?"
Élise moaned, "Spen…? What happened?" she was ready to go back to sleep, tugging her head against the pillow.
"The Replicator's back."
A look of shock came on her face, causing her to quickly sit up.
"What?"
"Yeah," he sighed. "And he killed Strauss."
Élise's mouth dropped; her arms now riddled with goosebumps. "Holy hell…what…?"
"He hacked into the hotel's security feed, traffic cameras, and Garcia's computers."
"Oh, God…" Élise had her hand over her face and already had an instant headrush. Someone had the balls to mess with Garcia's computers though she knew it was not the first time. "I'm coming back to D.C. right now," she stretched and pulled her comforters aside. Élise was tired as hell, but she knew the team could benefit from her help. "It'll be a few hours, though."
"Same; the Director is giving us 24 hours to find the Replicator, or he'll take us off the case, so...we're not wasting any more time."
"Spen…" Élise didn't want any more lives lost, especially his. "Please…be careful."
"I promise," he vowed. "The Replicator is not taking anyone else today, tomorrow, any day. I love you."
"I love you, too," Élise hung up and got dressed.
After an hour, the team was back in D.C. Reid just got a text from Élise, and hopefully, she'll be back in two to three hours.
They were surprised to hear how the Replicator knew about Foyet killing Haley, now a classified case; so secret that it's not in any database.
They also knew they would be a reason the Replicator killed Strauss in New York City and on the day he did.
If anything, Élise was the definition of anxious, even if she was on a private plane. She kept tapping on her plane seat arm seats, picked her already-short fingers, and glanced at Marshal Johnson, who was on his phone while keeping an eye on Élise.
Her phone vibrated; it was Spencer on the caller ID.
She whispered into her phone, "Hello?"
"Hey. Just call and see how you're doing?"
"I'm fine," she lied. "Decent, to say the least." Élise scratched her eyes. "At least when this is all over, I'll be able to throw the book at this slimy bag of rotting and filthy crap. Taking a federal officer, hell, a mother away from her children."
"You know I'd pay to see that," Reid joked.
Élise smirked. "You are being careful, right?"
"The Replicator is not taking anyone else away," Reid promised.
"I hope so, too."
The team—minus Rossi—gathered in the conference room and learned a carving done antemortem on her wrist.
Looking back at the photograph of Morgan giving a speech at the British embassy and how he knew about Foyet, the Replicator could be one of them.
A federal government employee.
But why would the Replicator target Strauss and why would he carve an eight-looking figure on her wrist.
Though the FBI Director had them classify the Replicator case as inactive, from Garcia and Kevin, it was learned that Strauss altered a report of the last case the team worked on before New York, Phillip "The Cutter" Connor in Detroit, saying he carved an 8 figure in his victim's wrists.
Reid, Morgan, JJ, and Blake stood at their desks when they heard the elevator doors ding, wondering to see who they were. Reid's eyes widened when he saw Élise stepping out with Marshal Johnson behind her.
"Lise!" he called out for her, rushing to her side.
"Spencer!" Élise was more than relieved to see him. And in one piece. Hugging him, she didn't want to let go. "Oh, baby…" she cupped his face. "You okay?"
"Mmm-hmm," he nodded.
Élise asked, "How's David?"
"Remember how Carolyn died?" Reid reminisced about her when Rossi's first ex-wife died.
Élise got what he meant. "Oh, damn…"
"Élise…"
Hotch changed from his polo shirt and black jeans into his suit and tie and headed for the elevator.
"I need your help."
Élise gave him a quick yet passionate lip-lock; Reid got her bags for her.
Élise and Hotch had a serious talk with Senator Cramer, one of the senators who oversaw a trial against the team for their retaliatory actions to avenge Doyle for Prentiss, for a list of people reading the BAU reports after informing him about Strauss' murder.
Reid, Morgan, JJ, and Blake talked about the Replicator, going back to the Silencer case as his first.
Soon, they saw Rossi come into the bullpen and head for his office without saying a word to them.
No doubt Strauss' death was getting to him.
"How are the kids, Rose?" asked Élise, on the phone with her on the elevator with Hotch after getting the list from Cramer.
Rose replied, "We're good. Agents are still outside, looking at the house. So sorry about what happened to Strauss."
Élise scratched her nose bridge. "Hopefully, when this is all over, we're in for a long vacation."
"Mmm-hmm. I'll get lunch started. Be careful, you and Reid."
"Tell the kids I love them. Bye." Élise hung up and sighed; the elevator doors opened, and they stepped off. "The Replicator is going straight to hell for what he did. Maybe I could make a few calls to my sources."
"Yeah, that be a good idea," Hotch agreed. Hotch walked in opposite directions and made his way for the bullpen, asking the team to meet him in the conference room now that they had a list.
The team watched as the paramedics took Rossi to the hospital after being poisoned with what the Replicator used to kill Strauss on a fake letter of her official autopsy; signing into the office as Adam Worth, the Napoleon of Crime, which was the same alias he used when Élise went missing,
Now that the Replicator was more than a fed, but also a hacker and biochemist, they really needed to find out who he was., especially now that he's targeted everyone on the team minus Blake, who is suspected to be part of the endgame, due to suffering a career downfall like her.
A name was mentioned.
John Curtis…
…who, according to Blake, was a Jack-of-all-trades loner agent whose career suicide was caused by Strauss during the Amerithrax case…
…and…
…had a specialty in biochemistry.
Élise watched the team get into their FBI vests when she saw an open file on John Curtis. She picked it up and studied his face, making her squint her eyes a bit.
"Huh…"
She thought back to the night at the British embassy.
That waiter took Morgan's glass when he was giving his speech and not anyone else's.
This was him?
"Élise...?"
Élise's head bolted up, and she saw Reid in his FBI vest. He noticed her with the open file on John Curtis.
"I think I saw him before," she looked at his picture again. "That dinner at the British embassy…" Élise pressed her two fingers to her head. "I didn't think of it until now, but…"
"Reid."
Hotch called for Reid. Élise tossed the file aside and gave Reid a quick and loving kiss.
"Please come back in one piece," she pleaded.
"I promise," he gave him another kiss.
Reid left to be with the team; heading up to the rooftops, they found out from Garcia that Curtis had a place in rural Virginia. Because he had no relatives or any kind of family and only had his work to live and care for, he snapped when he lost it, and it took him years to get his career back.
Reid was in one of the two helicopters with Hotch, Blake, and their pilot when its systems started to disable and override. Bracing for impact, they held onto a handrail, especially Reid, not wanting to break his promise to Élise.
"Please pick up, please pick up," Élise said to herself. Her heart raced to an impossible level; her anxiety was on overdrive, her mind on another range. This was the second time she had tried calling.
"You have reached Dr. Spencer Reid..."
"Bloody hell!" she hissed when she hung up. Still nothing. If Élise didn't have enough class or any self-control, she'd toss her phone and scream in anger.
Heading back to Garcia's office, she stopped in her tracks when the elevator doors dinged.
"Dave!"
Rossi was slowly stepping out, trying to button up his left dress shirt cuff. "Élise."
There was something she did to do. And that was to give Rossi a serious heartfelt hug.
"I'm so sorry, man."
"Yeah," Rossi said softly. "Come on."
Walking side-by-side, they made it to Garcia's office. They saw her and Kevin and learned that one of the helicopters had crash-landed, but everyone was alright. Unfortunately, the Replicator abducted Blake after setting off a knock-out smoke bomb in their copper.
The team breached the Replicator's house and found Blake, bound, and chain locked to a chair…
But when she got up, a pressure sensor set off a timer that had the place rigged with C4.
Meaning that this was the Replicator's endgame…
At least until Rossi came to their rescue and had some last-minute business to avenge his victims, especially Strauss.
Rossi made it out just in time before he and everyone else watched the house go down in flames.
Much like the elevator ride up, the ride back to headquarters was silent after everyone got checked out. They didn't want to go to the hospital, not tonight at least. They really needed to spend some time with their loved ones.
The doors opened, and there were Garcia, Kevin, and Élise.
Everyone got out; Garcia immediately offered hugs to Morgan, Blake, and JJ; Kevin and Hotch offered their condolences to Rossi. Without delay, Reid gave another much-needed kiss and hug to Élise.
"It's over," he breathed.
Élise shuddered. "Yeah."
Élise looked at her appearance in the floor-length mirror: a black georgette dress, stockings, a sun hat, and heels. Luckily her glasses turned into sunglasses.
Reid walked out of the bathroom, already in a black suit.
"You ready?"
Élise had her bag by her elbow. "As I'll ever be."
Everyone came to pay their respects to Strauss, from the team to her family, and colleagues.
After the services, the team gathered back at Rossi's gardens for dinner and to celebrate her life, discussing stories of their time with her, despite her being somewhat antagonistic behavior toward them.
Rossi spoke up, making a speech, "Last year, right here, we had a...very different celebration." They knew he was talking about Prentiss leaving after JJ and Will's wedding, but he went on.
"Of life, of love, and good people. This year it's the, uh, other side of that. Because, well...that's what families do. It's been a hard year. But tonight... We celebrate a life well lived... Well loved...to a good woman...an even better mother...to our friend...who I will miss very much."
They raised their glasses in honor of Strauss.
"I believe it was Richard Bach who wrote, ""The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life.""
Élise and Reid looked at each other.
Yeah, they thought in their heads. Yeah, that sounds about right.
I'm sorry to say this, but this is the last chapter of Book Two…
But don't worry…
I'll be back in the future…
With Book Three.
Thank you so much for reading!
