Leroy Allen is a bundle of nervous energy. Hotch steps close to him. "Allen, calm down."
"Easier said than done, sir. I keep worrying I'll miss something."
"I know this is your first major assignment like this. But I know for a fact if Prentiss doubted you she'd have booted your ass from the task force."
"But Harlan- -"
"Wouldn't matter. Someone running a task force has final say in who is on it. If she didn't know you could do the job you'd be somewhere else."
Hotch studies the young man and sees something settle in his eyes. Leroy smiles, straightening his shoulders proudly.
"Thank you, sir. I needed to hear that."
Hotch nods. "No problem. Come on, let's check out the tunnel once more."
"Yes, sir."
The two agents amble down the tunnel to make sure things look the same at the closet concealing the inert bomb. As they approach Allen frowns.
"Sir, is it just me or has the camera angle changed a bit," he asks, looking up at the security camera.
Hotch studies it and nods. "Yes, it does." He keys his mike. "Jareau, check position of camera 1."
"Yes, sir," she replies.
Up in the control center, Garcia and JJ had been scanning faces of the many commuters going back and forth on the Capital Subway system. When she gets the alert to Hotch she turns her attention back to camera 1.
"Strange. It's been moved. Garcia, keep an eye on tunnel 1 as I review the feed."
"Got it, Jayje."
JJ uses the controls Garcia had showed her to run the video back a bit on an auxiliary screen. She watches as the camera suddenly shifts, obviously being moved by a hand off camera.
"Who the hell?" she mutters. She pulls up the feed from a camera facing towards the one in question. As she rolls the feed back and sees the back of a man wearing a custodian's uniform walk up and adjust the camera angle away from the closet. She hits her mike. "Hotch, man in custodian uniform moved the camera. He's about 5'8" based on his height to the camera, medium build, clean-shaven, Middle Eastern complexion, maybe early 40's."
"On it," Hotch replies.
"Teams, check your assigned closets," Emily orders over the mikes. "If you see the suspect, take him into custody as quickly and quietly as possible. Consider him armed and dangerous. Take a couple cops with you to deal with him so you can maintain your posts."
Affirmatives ring out and each team sets out to follow Emily's command. Garcia glances at JJ.
"She's good at this."
JJ nods. "Yeah, she is." She is studying the screens, trying to find the "custodian".
"Think she'll come back to us?"
"Pen, seriously, can't think about that right now."
"Right. Unfortunately it's all I can think about," Garcia admits. "I want our team back."
JJ reaches without looking and squeezes her best friend's hand. "So do I, Pen. So do I." JJ stiffens and keys her mike. "Reid, he's on his way towards you. Rossi, he's probably on his way to the closets in your tunnel."
"Then we'll make sure he doesn't get there," Rossi replies.
Reid and Timothy Noth split up to each watch the tunnel. Reid sees the man first and keys his mike.
"Suspect approaching the tunnel."
Timothy sees him and gestures to one of the extra police officers nearby. As soon as the man enters the tunnel and the public is safely out of his line of site, Reid keys his mike.
"Suspect in the tunnel. Noth and a cop are behind him."
"Copy," Rossi responds. "Maintain your position in case he has friends. We've got him."
"Copy," Reid replies. His eyes continue to scan the crowds as the prime time for the attack approaches. It is 10:15 and already he is starting to see more and more traffic. The timeline Emily theorized is correct. So far most of what she had said had proven right.
Reid continues to study the crowd but his mind strays to thoughts of Emily. He had simply been worried for her until he found out she was mad he had not volunteered to go into the woods. She should know he couldn't have done that for a number of reasons. But maybe just the offer would have been enough to appease her. But why the hell would she even expect that?
"She wouldn't," he mumbles, finally seeing the answer. "She let her fear dictate her anger. She lashed out at us because it was easier than facing her fears. Damn it, Spencer, you did the same thing after Hankel and she never flinched, never stopped trying to reach you. Time for you to return the favor. When this is done, you'll get your friend back."
He turns his complete attention back to the platform as a new wave of people descends the stairs to catch a ride.
Rossi and Ken Farrelli had concealed themselves down the track, waiting for the suspect to approach the cameras. As soon as the man raises his hand towards the camera the two agents step out, guns drawn.
"Freeze! FBI!" Rossi states.
The man jumps and turns to run…only to see Timothy and a police officer standing their, guns also at the ready. The man looks back and forth desperately trying to find a way to escape. He reaches towards his pocket.
"Don't do it," Rossi warns him, taking another step towards him.
The man turns his attention to Rossi. "Stay away! Stay back!"
Rossi steps closer. "You have no where to run, no way to complete you mission. Give up now or else."
The man spits at Rossi. "Or what?"
Timothy fires a tazer at him and shoots the man full of electricity. "That's what, motherfucker."
The man writhes on the ground. Timothy waits a second then sends another burst of electricity through the leads in the man's back. Rossi raises an eyebrow at the young CIA agent. Timothy grins.
"Gee. Finger slipped."
Rossi chuckles. "Right."
They get the man in cuffs and remove two large knives and a gun from his body. Two police officers take him away via maintenance tunnels so as not to alert the man's cohorts or alarm the public.
Timothy goes back to stand watch with Reid as Rossi radios that the situation is neutralized in their tunnel.
Emily sighs in relief. "Copy, Rossi. Good job."
"Noth gets the credit. Tazed the guy before he could do something stupid."
Emily smiles proudly. "Good job, Tim."
"Thank you, ma'am," Tim radios back.
Emily looks at Morgan. "Say 10 minutes to get from there to our closet."
Morgan nods and checks his watch. "That would put things in ready mode at 10:30."
Emily nods. "Then we can probably expect the first bombers to approach the closets at 11."
"I agree." He grins. "Things are about to get crazy."
"Oh, yeah. And I'm damn glad to have you here guarding my back, buddy."
He nods. "No place I'd rather be."
The two make their way back to the platform to watch the crowd.
"JJ, look at this guy," Garcia says.
JJ swivels around to look at the screen Garcia is pointing to. A middle-aged, dark skinned man stands staring at his watch.
"Odd."
"Even stranger: the train just left but he didn't get on."
"He's waiting for the right time," JJ concludes.
"Looks like. And from where he is in the Russell building, he is equidistant to the bomb closet. He could ride to the Capital and walk back or just walk down there now," Garcia points out.
"Keep an eye on him. Call Emily if he starts to walk into the- -SHIT!"
They watch as a Capital police officer approaches the man…and gets stabbed in the throat. JJ hits her mike as the man runs into the tunnel. She hears Garcia calling in the officer down.
"Emily, Morgan, suspect running towards your location from the Russell building. He just stabbed a cop in the throat. Repeat: he stabbed a cop."
Emily and Morgan race back into the tunnel from the platform, two cops with them. Emily responds to JJ.
"Is he carrying a backpack?"
"No."
"Keep an eye on the platform. He's the bomber but he's not the suicide bomber. Someone else will be arriving for the secondary blast. He could be in the Russell building or the Capital platform. Capital is the best bet."
"Yes, ma'am," JJ acknowledges. She turns so she can watch the platform at the Capital building and orders one of the other cops in the room to watch the Russell platform.
Morgan and Emily slow up as they approach the closet. They want the man to actually get a hand on the bomb. They want the video evidence to show the man knew where to go and what to do.
They gesture for the cops to hang back as they hear running footsteps approaching. A man comes into view.
"FBI! FREEZE!" Morgan orders.
"NO!" the man yells.
"He puts on a burst of speed and yanks open the closet, which had been left unlocked, just like the man who planted the bomb had left it. The man grabs the device out and steps out into the hallway.
"STAY BACK! STAY BACK OR I SET IT OFF!"
Emily steps towards him. "You do that, you die, too."
The man smiles. "I am at peace with that. Are you, woman?"
Emily nods. "Yes, I am. But today is not my day to die."
"We shall see."
The man screams a prayer to Allah and hits the detonator…
…and nothing happens. He stares at the device in confusion. He shakes it and presses the button over and over. Emily smiles.
"It's a fake. Now drop it and put your hands in the air."
The man throws the device at Emily. She ducks and knocks it away with one hand, grimacing as her thumb is bent back painfully. Before she recovers she hears Morgan's gun fire three times. She gets her hands back on her gun and the two agents approach the downed man. She kicks away the knife he had been pulling from his coat and kneels to check his pulse, knowing Morgan had her covered in case the man was playing possum. But the man's neck confirms what the three bloody holes in his chest had hinted at.
"He's dead," she says as she stands. "That's one detonator down."
Morgan nods and keys his mike. "Detonator in our tunnel was coming from the Russell building. Probable that the others will be the same."
There are a round of copies. Emily stands. "Let's get his body in the closet. Next train should be coming along in a few minutes. We don't need to cause a panic or force another one to act early." She keys her mike. "Harlan, tell the Capital police to treat the attack as a mugging for now. Do NOT let them spill what really happened. And tell them to call us with suspicions not try to take them down themselves. These guys have proven they will kill to accomplish their mission."
"Copy, Prentiss. Dressing down has already started I assure you," Harlan comes back.
Emily sighs and looks at Morgan. "Good shots."
"Thanks. Nice block."
Emily grins. "Thanks." She looks at her watch. "It's almost- -"
Her words break off as the dead man's wristwatch starts to chime. She and Morgan exchange a look. She keys her mike.
"All teams alert: dead suspects watch alarm just sounded. It's show time."