THIRD PERSON POV

Penelope Garcia looked at the message on her phone.

In exactly 12 hours, give Spencer the video. I'm sorry.

Sarah, or Danielle, had sent that to her 10 hours ago. She immediately headed into work, remembering the encrypted folder saved on her private server.

Penelope hadn't heard from Spencer that day, so she decided to take some directive. If Sarah wanted Spencer to see the video, that meant Spencer didn't know where she was. Ten hours was close enough to twelve, right? Taking a breath, she dialed Spencer's number.

"This is Dr. Reid." Even from just the tone of his voice, Penelope knew something was wrong.

"Spencer, can you come in? I have to talk to you."

"Not right now, can it wait till tomorrow?"

"Spencer. It has to do with Sarah," Penelope said. Spencer didn't speak for a moment.

"I'll be there in 15 minutes," he said. The line clicked.

Those 15 minutes were some of the longest in Penelope's life. She glanced at the monitors, used to the horror, and was unaware of what she was about to witness.

"Hey, I'm here," came Spencer's voice from behind her.

"Hey, before I show you this, just know…she made me promise."

"Garcia, what are you talking about?"

"Just…watch." Penelope opened the email and clicked on the attachment. She hadn't watched it, promising that she wouldn't betray Sarah's trust and confidence.

She clicked play and Sarah's face appeared on the screen. Spencer felt a tightening in his chest.

"Hey, Spence. If you're seeing this, it means something happened. I haven't been completely honest with you. I'm not from Montana, my parents didn't die in a car crash, and my name isn't Sarah Bennett. I'm Danielle Hansen. I'm from Texas. My parents were killed in an organized hit. I'm in Witness Protection. If you're seeing this, I've either been relocated…or I'm missing. You deserve the truth… so, I'm going to tell you why and how I got here. But Spence, if you see this, don't go looking for me. Don't think about me…move on with your life. And I didn't lie about us…That was real and what I felt for you was real…I should stop rambling, so here's the grand story that you've been waiting for. So here goes nothing… Here's the story of how I fucked up my life…" Sarah trailed off.

Spencer watched the screen, his face void of any emotion. How was he supposed to feel? She was just gone?

"So, the beginning, um, yeah…Well, first of all, I went to college at Colombia, full ride for journalism. My parents were so proud. I got lucky and started working for The New York Times, mostly little things, editing and such. You wouldn't find any of my articles, because I hadn't written any yet… But it was when I went home to Texas for Christmas that this all really begins. I was talking to my dad one morning a few days after Christmas when he mentioned a sudden increase in missing people, mostly college-aged girls…I didn't think much of it, until I realized that the girls were mostly from San Antonio and Corpus Christi. I talked to my supervisor and got her permission to go investigate…I mean, I was ecstatic! I was new and suddenly allowed to try investigative journalism…" Sarah said.

Penelope paused the video, turning to look at Spencer.

"You okay?"

"Please…play it," Spencer said, sitting in the spare chair, face void of emotion but mind deep in thought.

"So, I went to San Antonio first. I talked to police and they all said the same thing. Uptick in girls missing and uptick in drugs on the streets. I went to Corpus Christi and found the same thing. That's when I considered the idea of a sex trafficking ring…I mean, that was the most probable thing. And it turned out, I was right…but I didn't have any hard proof. So, I did something incredibly stupid…I posed as a college-aged woman living by herself right in the middle of the abduction zone," Sarah said, laughing on the screen.

"I was naïve…I thought that if I could just find evidence, that I could start my journalistic career and help so many women…It turned out to be more difficult than that… I was undercover for months. Then one night, I met him at a bar. Nicolas Smirnov…Promised me a better future if I would go home with him. I didn't, and that would be the only good decision I made of this whole saga…However, he did get another girl, and I followed them into the parking lot where he drugged her and drove off with her passed out in the backseat of his car. I snapped a picture of his license plate, and found out where he was from. Oakville, a small-town right between the two cities. I did more digging and more investigative work…and if I was to walk you through all the steps I did, we'd be here for hours…but basically, I ended up connecting Nicolas to a cartel that operated on the Rio Grande border, Cártel del Golfo."

"Cártel del Golfo…that was on a Dateline episode we started watching… They mentioned the name and she got really uncomfortable," Reid said, pausing the video as he heard the cartel's name. "She turned it off immediately and had me go home…"

"She didn't want you to connect the dots," Penelope said, trying to avoid him from beating himself up over it.

"Just, let's keep watching." Reid pressed play.

"So, I ended up interviewing families and anyone who would listen on the Rio Grande border who had seen what was happening…their testimony ended up being enough to convince my supervisor that this was bigger than we thought. I ended up contacting and getting help from the FBI Sex Crimes Division to help bust the ring…But someone I interviewed leaked that I was searching for information…Two days before we were supposed to infiltrate the ring, my parents…they were killed in an organized hit. Shot in the head, a single yellow rose on the doorstep of their house…My sister found their bodies… When we finally busted the operation, we got almost everyone was caught, except for Nicolas' second-in-command, some guy named Robert Pavlov…When Nicolas was in interrogation, he listed facts about me and my family…threatened them…claimed responsibility for the deaths of my parents…We didn't take it seriously, until I was jumped outside of the police station. Thankfully, I was fine, but I do owe this cute, little scar to that incident," Sarah said, pointing towards the white scar on her eyebrow that was nearly impossible to see unless you were looking for it.

"Idiot busted my eyebrow open before a few of the cops pulled him off me…We weren't sure how deep it went, especially with Pavlov unaccounted for…But now I'm getting into some seriously classified information. But it was at that point that it was decided that I had to go into Witness Protection until Pavlov was arrested and it was time for me to testify. My sister, her husband, and their son also had to go into Witness Protection so that they couldn't be used as blackmail to get me to recant or whatever the hell they want me to do. I was moved to Stafford, given a fake background, given a handler…I was given rules. Live by a routine and try to make it to the next day. Stay alert and awake. Don't talk about the past. Don't alienate myself. Don't draw attention to myself. Don't get close to anyone. Well, I think it's safe to say that I broke every single one of those rules with you Spence." Sarah laughed slightly, but the tears in her eyes were evident.

"I was caught in this mundane routine, this horrible pattern, but then you and your team came in and…I couldn't help it. You became a part of my life, and I…I so grateful for that. But you deserve to know the truth, and this is it. And I'm sure you're asking why I had to leave. Well, Nicolas broke out of prison, and there's a good chance I get relocated or I…I could be dead. I am… so sorry, Spence. I did the selfish thing. I got close to you knowing that there was a good chance it would end badly. And I know that you probably won't ever forgive me. But Spence? I…I really, really…care for you. And I am so sorry. Goodbye, and keep an eye on everyone for me," Sarah said, smiling sadly as she reached for the end button.

The video froze on her smiling face. Spencer stared at the screen.

Her name was Danielle.

It fit her.

"Garcia, when did she send you this?" he asked.

"I've had the video for months, but she asked me to show it to you about 10 hours ago," Penelope said, showing him the text.

"She broke up with me," Spencer said. "Hours before she sent that message. She took a call, came back into the coffee shop, and broke up with me."

"She probably had her cover blown, got orders to be relocated," Penelope said.

"No, this was different. She was stiff the whole time she was on the phone, and picked a fight with me. She had been getting calls more and more frequently, wasn't sleeping, was pushing me away…"

"I can hear your brain working…What is it?"

"Garcia, figure out who her handler is."

"Sure, yeah," Garcia said. "It's going to take me a while, because she never mentioned him. But, Spencer, um…why?"

"I think," Spencer said, turning to leave, already dialing Hotch's number, "that she's in serious trouble."