It is just before noon and Morgan and Emily are reporting to their stake out location. Cheryl had told them about a logging road they could use to conceal their SUV. They are almost there when Morgan slams on the brakes.
"Whoa! A little warning next time," Emily complains.
Morgan throws the vehicle in reverse and backs up about 15 feet. He points into the trees.
"Look."
Emily sees the cleverly concealed back end of a Ford Bronco. She pulls her gun and slips out of the SUV. She gets close enough to see it is empty and to read the tag number. She heads back to Morgan. "It's his."
Morgan calls Hotch, "Hotch, we found Shields' Bronco. We're heading up to his altar now."
"Be careful, Morgan. I'll call Dave and get him in the air. I'll get Cheryl to dispatch rangers to back you up."
"Right." Morgan looks at Emily. "Let's go."
The two agents leave their SUV right where it is so back up will know where to enter the woods. Guns at the ready, they make their way as quietly as possible up the woodland trail. As they near the top, they hear a woman crying.
"I swear I will repent. Please don't do this, Patty. Please!"
"You must be baptized, Marielle. It is the only way to save you." His speech suddenly changes to an unintelligible string of words. Morgan looks to Emily, the language expert.
She shakes her head and whispers, "May be speaking in tongues."
Morgan just nods and they continue forward. Just before they reach the clearing, Morgan signals for Emily to stop and he moves into the tree line. He carefully chooses his steps to minimize any sound he is making. From the cover of the forest, he sees Marielle Rogers kneeling in front of the altar, her hands bound and wearing only a bikini. Candles burn on the altar and another book sits open upon it. Shields raises a golden chalice towards the sky.
"By your blood she is saved, my Lord."
He turns and throws the contents of the chalice onto Rogers. Morgan is sure it really is blood and can only hope it's from an animal and not a victim they hadn't yet found. He keys his radio to remain on, so the rest of the team can monitor what is happening at the cliff. Morgan lifts his mike and whispers into it.
"Move up slowly, Prentiss. He's not right by Rogers and you should startle him some. That should give me chance to tackle him."
"Right. Moving in," Emily responds.
She slowly moves towards the clearing, gun at the ready. Rogers sees her first. Before Emily can signal her for quiet, the woman screams.
"HELP ME! PLEASE!"
Shields spins around and sees Emily. He is momentarily shocked but moves faster than the FBI agents had anticipated. He grabs Rogers and drags her to her feet and towards the edge.
"DON'T DO IT, MAN!" Morgan warns. "It's over, Shields. Let her go and put your hands in the air."
Shields flick his eyes to Morgan but then he looks back at Emily. "Don't you understand why I'm doing this? Don't you understand how I can save her? And you?"
"I understand you have murdered 4 women. And I'll be damned if you'll murder a fifth."
His demeanor suddenly changes. "But I never murdered anyone."
"You bound their wrists, put them in bikinis and tossed them in the river. What the fuck do you call that?" Emily pushes.
"Salvation. They were baptized then they died. But I never killed them."
"You sure as hell didn't save them," she points out.
"But I did. It was the river that killed them. It acts as the hand of God and kills them before they can sin again. It is how it must be."
A second too late, the agents realize he is not going to hold Marielle Rogers hostage. "INTO GOD'S HAND I COMMEND YOUR SPIRIT!" He yells as he tosses her over the edge. A moment later he is tackled by Morgan.
Morgan looks up in time to see Emily leap over the edge after the woman. "EMILY! NO!"
Emily has one thought before she hits the icy water below. "JJ is gonna kill me."