Disclaimer: See chapter 1

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Reid left Quantico and turned west on the I 95 for the drive to McLean. He adjusted his sunglasses and pulled the visor down against the evening sun. He reached over and turned up the volume on the stereo system. Few knew that when quiet, geeky Dr. Reid was alone in his vehicle he liked the stereo blasting at earsplitting amplitude. The radio was tuned to an oldies station and Bruce Springsteen had just finished proclaiming that he was on fire when the Fine Young Cannibals began lamenting that 'She Drives Me Crazy.' He let the loud base infuse his body while the tune washed over him. He tapped on the steering wheel in time to the music, attempting to dissipate all his cares before he got home to his girls.

The rather slow morning had turned into a hectic afternoon. An attempted bank heist in DC had gone bad leaving the would be thieves cornered in the bank with a dozen hostages, two of them small children. The team had been back up for hostage rescue while Rossi had been chosen as the lead negotiator. Garcia was able to hack into the bank's surveillance system; no one knew how or asked. It seemed safer that way. Through facial recognition she had gotten the identities of the patrons and the perpetrators. Hotch, Morgan, Emily and Reid had worked on profiling all those involved to give Rossi the best chance at negotiation while JJ with her usual calmness attempted to keep the ever gathering media horde and distressed family members that flocked to the scene at bay. Local police were called upon to keep the growing crowd of onlookers under control as they watched the SWAT officers gear up and prepare for assault if it became necessary. Sharpshooters took up positions on the roofs of nearby buildings. News choppers flew overhead broadcasting video of what was taking place outside the First National Bank of DC.

One of the family members, Dean Guthrie, the husband and father to the woman and the two children became very agitated as time went on; asking why everyone was standing around and no one was doing anything. JJ, of course, took him aside and used her calming influence to explain that things were being done, just not things that were visible to the naked eye. Reid's heart had gone out to the man. He didn't know what he'd do if he was the one stuck outside the police barricade while Allie and Joanna were being held hostage in the bank. He thought he might just go crazy. He couldn't think about that now, he'd told himself; he had to work on the profiles to help find a way to get those people out of there unharmed so Dean Guthrie could hold his wife and children in his arms.

The break came in the late afternoon. The team had been watching the video feed from the bank. The four robbers turned hostage takers were getting antsy and Rossi was unable to make much headway. Reid noticed the bank manager, on the floor with some tellers, kept looking at the clock. "It's odd that he keeps watching the clock. What's he waiting for?"

Rossi had been trying to reason with the man who appeared to be the leader. "Look, so far nobody's been hurt and you haven't stolen anything. Let's keep it that way and see if we can work something out."

"Like what?" the man asked suspiciously.

"What do you want?" Rossi had prodded.

"Safe passage out of here," the man had replied.

"Okay," Rossi had told him, "we'll work on that but before we do, I want you to do something for us. Send out the two children. It'll make arranging safe passage for you easier if we can show you're not willing to hurt children."

The man could be seen looking at his accomplices and at the two children who cowered near their mother. "Okay," he'd said, "the kids can come out."

The team could see on the screen, the man grabbing the children by their arms as they clung to their mother. The blond woman gestured for the children to go with the man to safety. They saw the door open and the little boy and girl, Reid thought to be around three and four years old had been thrust out into the street in front of the bank where they once again trembled in fear. Two SWAT officers in front of the bank approached the children to claim them. "No," Reid yelled and the officers stopped and looked back at the young profiler who had removed his weapon and handed it to JJ. "Your big guns will scare them." He approached the children and crouched down in front of them. "My name is Spencer, your daddy's just over there," he pointed to the taped off area where police officers were holding Dean Guthrie back. He took their hands, "Let's go see him, okay?" The children walked with him to the crime scene tape where they were reunited with their father.

"Thank you, thank you so much," he said as he kissed his children and Reid had thought, as he always seemed to these days, about Joanna.

Reid happened to overhear when one of the local police on crowd control had alerted his captain, "Sir, we've got to find a way to divert traffic. It's backed up for blocks. There're vehicles that have schedules like buses, armored trucks and delivery vans."

That's it, Reid thought; he'd taken off down the street in the direction the officer had indicated. About a block and a half down the street he'd found what he was looking for.

"Hotch, I think I know what's going on," Reid had told his unit chief upon his return. "There's an armored truck back there that was supposed to be here earlier but was delayed by an accident. That's why they chose this time to hit the bank, just when the armored truck had delivered bags of money. Someone on the inside must have told them about the truck. My guess is the bank manager who keeps looking at the clock."

"How does that help us get the hostages released?" Emily had asked.

"What if we give them what they want?" Reid had suggested.

"What do you mean Reid?" Hotch asked, anxious to hear Reid's plan.

Reid had outlined his thoughts. "What if we got an armored truck to replace the armored truck they're expecting? They'll probably see it as their chance to escape and we agree to give them safe passage in the armored truck if they release the hostages but they're not likely to trust us so I'd guess they'll want to keep one hostage as leverage and what do you bet it's the bank manager who's in on the whole thing."

"We can't let them walk off with a shit load of money," Morgan had protested.

"No," Reid said, "but we can let them walk off with what they think is a shit load of money but is really only a little bit at the top of each bag. They're not going to check it out carefully before they take off. They just want to get away. We could have a tracking device on the truck. They'll think we won't try anything funny because they've still got a hostage. They won't know that we've figured out he's not a hostage."

"And when they think they're in the clear to switch from the armored truck to their own vehicle, we'll have them," Emily had added.

"Okay, let's do it," the unit chief had ordered.

Once they'd got the okay and the sting was arranged, the plan had gone off without a hitch. The thieves had easily fallen for the bait of the late arriving armored truck and had immediately pounced on the idea of it as a method of escape. It was a surprise to no one that they had insisted on taking the bank manager with them as a hostage. Rossi had appeared to vehemently oppose this until the manager had unselfishly offered to be the hostage so the others could be released. "Well isn't that big of him," Morgan had said to Reid.

They had tracked the truck as it drove around the city. When the robbers had convinced themselves they were in the clear and stopped the truck to unload the money and switch vehicles, they were descended upon by the team and SWAT and apprehended. Listening devices inside the truck had captured conversations that proved the bank manager's involvement.

It had been a good day. The robbers had been foiled and no one had been hurt, Reid thought as he turned onto the tree lined street where he lived. He hadn't noticed the blue Firefly that had followed him since he'd left Quantico. It had maintained a safe distance and when Reid pulled into his driveway, it parked inconspicuously across the street.

Sharon Webb looked at the bi-level; halfway up the front façade stone met with tan colored siding. A bay window added charm and the white front door with an oval of smoky beveled glass that was framed by a stoop, it's shed style roof was supported by round stone columns, added style. She could see the lights shining from within, giving the house a homey welcoming glow. Reid turned off the engine effectively cutting off Hall and Oates as they warned that private eyes were watching you…watching you…