The briefing on the plane had shown Alex the importance of heading out to Detroit as soon as possible, but she still felt distracted by her discussion with James and the state of their marriage, along with the dilemma of what to do about John and Erin's insistence that everything just remain between the two of them. Hotch had given her a look at one point, and she gave him a small shake of her head before redoubling her focus on the case in front of them.
When they landed in Detroit, he guided her to one of the waiting SUVs, and she allowed her shoulders to slump a little, knowing that they were going to have another discussion about her priorities and focus. Sighing, she took a seat in the passenger side, buckling her belt as she watched Hotch speak with Rossi for a moment before joining her. "I know that your mind is with James right now, Alex, but I need you to be present here."
"I know. But it's not just James that's on my mind."
He gave her a quick look as he pulled out into traffic, and she rubbed her lips together as she waited for him to ask the question on his mind. "What else has your attention?"
Alex took a deep breath as she pulled out her phone, gazing at the picture of Erin that was currently her lock screen. "I know I should feel worse about my marriage breaking up, but I don't, because I'll be having a real chance at a life with the person I was always supposed to be with. As long as she doesn't get herself killed before we can have that future."
The speed of the vehicle changed a little, speeding up as if Hotch had suddenly developed a lead foot, and she sighed as she nodded. "You're going to have to fill me in a little more. I have no idea what you're talking about."
"There are things we know about the Replicator that we can't talk about because of Ron's orders. She won't let me tell anyone else on the team what she's found out, and I feel as if she's hellbent on bringing him down as a way to finalise her attempts at amends with me. Even though we've moved past that in our relationship."
"You can tell me."
She looked at Hotch before shaking her head. "I can't betray her like that. Not when I'm already doing as Jamie asked and speaking with Garcia as soon as I have a moment alone at the police precinct. She can cover her tracks, more readily than you can, and if this person found out that you were as close to him as we are? He might finally reveal which of us he's targeting."
Hotch gave her a tight nod as he continued driving. "And who do you think he's targeting?"
"Either myself or Erin. And that's all I'll give you. You're too smart by half, and would figure it out if you had more oblique information." She let out a long breath. "I don't even really want to tell Garcia this information, because if she makes one wrong move while we're here, and he targets Erin? I'll never forgive myself."
The smile that swept across Hotch's face was incredibly sad, and she wondered if he was thinking of Haley, and if he could have done something to better protect her when Foyet was hunting him. "I'm going to trust you enough to know when the right time comes for us to know everything. Just hope that no one else gets hurt in the meantime."
"That's what I'm hoping for, too." She pressed herself back into the seat and looked outside at the scenery. "Did you feel like you were walking around with your heart left behind when Haley was in WitSec?"
"Yes. And it doesn't get any easier as the days drag on. All you can do is focus on the case at hand, and pray that Garcia can work her magic and unearth a way for us to combat the Replicator with Ron's blessing." She nodded smally as she opened her phone and began to scroll through her pictures of Erin, needing that small happiness to act as a buffer as she prepared for her discussion with Garcia that was going to come all too soon. "While we set up the briefing room at the precinct, please call Garcia. You need to get some of this nervous energy out of your system before buckling down on the case."
"Great. Thanks."
"I just know you, Alex. You're going to push it off until the last moment and then expect that rushed conversation to appease James." She gave him a small glare, but he just smirked a little as he finished the drive in a soft silence. That allowed Alex to dwell on what she was going to tell Garcia about everything, since she knew the younger woman would ask about things she wasn't certain Erin would want her to know.
They arrived slightly ahead of the others, and Alex followed Hotch into the briefing room, setting her tablet on the table before giving him a look. He nodded, and she took a deep breath before turning to the officer who had shown them there and asking, "Is there somewhere I could make a private phone call?"
"Yes, ma'am, follow me." Hotch gave her an encouraging smile and she followed after the young man, soon being shown into an interrogation room. "Just turn on the switch to let us know that it's occupied, and turn it off when you're done."
"Thank you," she said as she did as instructed before taking a seat at the desk and pulling out her phone. It took her three more deep breaths before she was able to unlock the device and call Garcia, putting her on speaker so that she could rest the device on the table, uncertain her trembling hands would be steady enough for the conversation ahead.
"You just landed, you can't be calling me for information already!" Garcia's voice had a teasing lilt to it, which set her a little more at ease. Still, she couldn't find it in her to speak just yet, and she hoped that the younger woman would fill in the silence. "Alex? Are you okay?"
She took a nervous breath, finally feeling ready to speak. "I'm fine, for the moment. I might not be able to say the same thing when Erin finds out that I spoke with you about this, but my husband has a point. Someone needs to know and be able to support us behind the scenes. The first thing I suppose I should ask is if this phone line is safe to speak about sensitive things."
"If you're asking if anyone can tap this line, then yes, it is secure, and you can tell me whatever you need to. Is your husband in trouble? Are you in trouble? And how does Hotch figure into everything?"
The quick barrage of questions were thoroughly Garcia, which relaxed her even more, and she allowed herself to sink into the seat as she thought about where to start answering. "It's not Hotch that I'm talking about. It's Erin."
"Oh. Oh! I thought that you two were still at odds? I mean, I have noticed that you've been working better with her lately, but I didn't think that that would mean you'd be worried about her being upset with you."
"Well, what I'm about to tell you might destroy the tenuous relationship that Erin and I share. This will be, to her, a betrayal on par with what she did to me during the Amerithrax case. She's found the Replicator."
Garcia gasped, and Alex could just picture the look on her face, knowing that she had shocked the younger woman deeply. "What do you mean she found the Replicator? We don't even have any clue as to who he is, let along where he might be located."
"But we do, or at least, Erin and I did. When we were in Philadelphia, and we collected all those pictures that were taken of the team, there were a series that weren't included in the official evidence."
"I'm sorry?"
Alex knew that now was the time that she would have to come clean to Garcia about the depth of her relationship with Erin. "So, ever since I started with the team, I've had a midnight caller, who asked me about how the cases were going. It was something that James and I used to do, when he was here in the US, and I assumed that he had set the situation up. Only, it wasn't him, he hadn't remembered that part of our marriage. Instead, it was Erin. And over the course of the last few months, we grew closer, and rediscovered our love."
"But she's with Rossi. And you're married."
"Jamie and I have always had an open relationship, given his work with MSF taking him overseas for months at a time. And Dave and Erin ended their relationship a few months ago."
"And how does this relate to the pictures that somehow didn't end up in evidence?"
"Don't get shirty with me about that. Hotch graciously allowed me to take the series of six pictures home with me to Erin. And from those pictures, she was able to narrow it down to someone who knew us, in particular, quite well. Someone that we had once worked with, on the Amerithrax case. His name is John Curtis, and he's located in the District, quite close to Erin and myself."
"So I can find him under that name?" she asked, and Alex heard her start to tap away at her keyboard. "Alex?"
"No, I'm sorry. Erin found him by looking at his middle name and combination of his grandparents' surnames. I believe that she found him using his mother's mother's maiden name. The home that he's renting is equidistant between my house and Erin's, and I wouldn't be surprised if, when you find the place, it would create a triangle with our homes."
"And why are you so certain that this Curtis guy is our Replicator?"
"The cases didn't start until I rejoined the BAU. I had a huge chip on my shoulder, with the way that I was treated by the Bureau over a mistake, and focused all the rage and anger on becoming a better profiler and better linguist over the years. John didn't have that outlet, if I remember correctly. He was shipped out to the Midwest, and we never heard from him again. But I knew his anger towards Erin ran much differently than mine. I think that he wanted me to join him in his particular rage, but I refused, knowing that destructive anger would get me nowhere."
There was a pause before Garcia spoke next. "And now he's angry with both of you?"
"I'd have to assume yes, given the fact that he took the time to follow me to Erin's home after one case, and take pictures of us embracing on her porch."
"And do you love her that deeply to leave your marriage for her? I mean, I know she's changed since she went to rehab, but there's still something so formal about her."
"That's part of what I love about her. And she loves me despite all my quirks and flaws. Now, as you go digging into John's whereabouts and everything that will come with that, please keep in mind that we are not ready to be known as a couple, even though at this point, only Morgan is in the dark. But if we're not public, we can stay beneath the radar here at work. I'm relying on your discretion."
"And you have it, one thousand percent. I know how important your privacy is to you. And when I find out more information on Curtis?"
"Send it to me. I will take it to Erin, and we'll go from there."
"Shouldn't we take it to Hotch?" she asked, sounding confused.
"No, because we're not supposed to be working this case, remember? Ron has been quite adamant that the hammer will fall on Erin and anyone else who continues to dig into the Replicator. This is a risk I didn't want to take, but James and Hotch both said that I needed to get you on the case. I, I'm worried that Erin will rush into something headlong without recognizing the inherent danger she would be in. And with this still being so new between us, I don't want to lose her…"
Alex trailed off, not wanting to reveal the true depths of her feelings to Garcia. "And I will do everything in my power to make certain that doesn't happen. Now, go, rejoin the team, and find this unsub. Somehow, I'll find Curtis, and we'll bring him down together. Safe hunting."
Before Alex could say anything in response, Garcia had disconnected the call, and she shook her head a little as she slipped the phone back into her pocket and made her way back to where the others were, knowing that she couldn't truly relax until John was captured, and they were safe from him.