Derek, Spencer, Bedelia, Rossi, and Ashley are in the round table room. Penelope walks in and stops when she notices who's missing.
"Where's Hotch?" She asks.
"Any minute." Rossi says.
"I didn't get a file sent to me. Did a case go directly to him?" Penelope asks.
"Don't know." Rossi says.
"When's the last time he called a meeting this early?" Ashley asks.
"3 years, 8 months ago." Spencer answers.
"And what happened?" Ashley asks.
"Gideon left." Spencer says.
"Who's leaving?" Penelope immediately panics.
"Nobody's leaving." Derek promises.
"I appreciate everyone coming in early." Hotch says as he walks in.
"What's going on?" Rossi asks.
"The director called a meeting last night to discuss budgets." Hotch says.
"They skipped over Strauss?" Rossi asks.
"She's away." Hotch says. "The bureau is facing a lot of changes and this unit is no exception. Over the next few weeks, each of you is going to be asked if you'd like to stay with the unit."
"Why wouldn't we?" Spencer asks.
"There are other options for you out there." Hotch says. "And while I want the unit to stay together, I understand completely if you want to see what the alternatives are. Morgan, there's renewed interest in you from the New York office."
"Nobody's called me." Derek says.
"They will." Hotch says.
"That doesn't mean I'm gonna go." Derek says.
"Oh, I know." Hotch says.
"Are you staying here?" Ashley asks Hotch.
"It's my intention." He answers. "All I ask is if you are contacted by another division that you let me know." His phone rings and he answers it. "Hotchner. Yes. Right. We can be there in 20 minutes." He hangs up. "Virginia state police believe they've uncovered a serial killer. They need us at Zacha Road and Route 7 as soon as possible. Morgan, you and Dave get out there."
"What about this?" Rossi asks.
"We can talk about it later." Hotch says.
+++
"The only reason we have this case is because of an accident." Ashley says.
"You know the odds of that?" Spencer asks.
"Is that rhetorical?" Ashley asks.
"Combined with the chance that this is his first time dumping bodies." Spencer says.
"You think he's working alone?" Ashley asks.
"What do you think?" Spencer asks.
"Unlikely. It's high risk to move one body out of state, but 2?" Ashley asks.
"Paige was abducted months after having Jake in captivity. And he traveled with both, which means he's criminally sophisticated. It seems more like an organized operation as opposed to an individual offender." Spencer says.
"Then he's probably done this before." Ashley says. "You think there are more victims out there?"
"Impossible to say until we figure out how those two were targeted." Spencer says.
+++
"Do you know who did this?" Ashley asks Andi.
"I've been 2 steps behind an organization that abducts college kids throughout the U.S." Andi says.
"How long have you been tracking them?" Ashley asks.
"3 years. But this is the first time there's been an identifiable body." Andi says.
"Do you think this is their work?" Spencer asks.
"It's definitely their type." Andi says. "Stressed out, vulnerable kids."
"They're all from good families, making them low risk for abduction." Ashley says.
"Young innocents are worth more money." Spencer says.
"And they're harder to lure, so they hold on to them for a longer period of time." Hotch says.
"How many victims are they holding at once?" Ashley asks.
"That's hard to say. But from what I can tell, there's a lot of turnover." Andi says.
"Customers don't want to see the same faces twice." Hotch says.
"We don't think they travel with more than a handful of victims at one time." Andi says.
"They hunt all over the country. All they need is a car." Bedelia says.
"They might be low tech, but they're organized." Hotch says.
"And profitable." Spencer adds.
"The rumor is that they hold events for 2 days in metropolitan areas and then they disappear." Andi says.
"What kind of events?" Spencer asks.
"Where top paying customers can do things like this and worse to the victims." Andi says.
"It seems impossible to trace." Spencer says.
"We study their behavior. They're not a good breed, but they're still human. They make a few mistakes. We've also recently established an undercover unit." Andi says.
"Wait, how can you infiltrate them?" Spencer asks. "Wouldn't your agents have to commit a crime to be accepted as a customer?"
"Exactly. That's why we can't pose as buyers. The entire system is set up to protect the customers, but there's no way we can trace them from that end." Andi says.
"Your agents go in as targets." Ashley says.
"Do you have anybody under now?" Hotch asks.
"Locally a few. They're still establishing the backstories." Andi says.
"They might be able to help." Hotch says.
"I'll call." Andi grabs her phone.
+++
"This group needs space and solitude, especially if they're holding multiple victims." Hotch says.
"These two lived thousands of miles apart but were somehow both targeted." Ashley says.
"Well, they send scouts to campuses, malls, clubs." Hotch says.
"Yeah, they go with a shopping list, but rarely do they take more than one victim from a city." Andi says.
"The victims are assets. Why would the unsubs kill their profit?" Spencer asks.
"Maybe the victims are escaping, or their clients are adapting." Hotch says.
"Adapting?" Ashley asks.
"These clients are extremely depraved. When the act of sex isn't enough for them anymore, they may be demanding more forms of release." Hotch explains.
"Which was my fear. And these two just proved it." Andi says.
+++
"Here are the missing coeds since 2009." Penelope says, putting a stack of files on the table.
"Wow." Ashley says. "Okay, uh, we still need to narrow this down. Let's look at last known locations. Maybe there's an overlap."
"They're from all over the place." Penelope says.
"These guys hunt in target rich environments." Ashley says.
"Right. Clubs, malls, that kind of thing." Penelope says.
"What are Morgan and Rossi finding?" Spencer asks as he walks in.
"Uh, a lot of mud on the car and the victims." Penelope says.
"Mud? Did it rain here?" Spencer asks.
"No, not here. South." Penelope says. "Morgan has a theory that based on the gas mileage, they must have filled up within 70 miles of the accident."
"Gotcha. How many gas stations you find?" Spencer asks.
"42." Penelope answers.
"How'd you narrow that down?" Spencer asks.
"I didn't." Penelope says.
"Why not?" Spencer asks.
"I didn't have any more parameters." She says.
"Never stopped you before." Spencer says.
"I'll be right back." Penelope drops the files onto the table, Bedelia barely catching them from falling to the floor.
+++
"Renee's done a lot of homework." Spencer says. "These people have all been to clubs over the weekend and vanished within 3 days, including this morning's victims."
"So why didn't she share her theory?" Ashley asks.
"She's a perfectionist. I'm sure she wanted to gather enough intel to prove it." Andi says.
"Using the club as a template, there are potentially 63 others who were taken by the same offenders." Spencer says.
"There's no way to know which ones are still alive." Andi says.
"Andi Swan." Rossi says as he and Derek walk in. "How you been?"
"Better." She answers. "Thanks for helping out."
"Nice to see you again, Andi." Derek says.
"What'd you find?" Hotch asks.
"We tracked the driver to a gas station outside Culpepper." Rossi says.
"He used a payphone to call another one in the same town." Derek says.
"So they're close." Andi says.
"And careful." Derek adds. "What's their budget on locations?"
"Not much. They pay cash, no questions asked. Security's top priority." Andi says.
"So this guy's found a place to hold, what, a dozen victims?" Derek asks.
"So we're looking for a secluded spot in rural Virginia." Rossi says. "Well, that shouldn't be hard to find." He remarks.
+++
"I thought traffickers concentrated on port cities." Rossi says.
"International ones do. Unfortunately, domestic traffickers abduct from all over the country." Andi says.
"It doesn't seem like they stay in one location long after an abduction." Spencer says.
"They move quickly and efficiently. My guess was in a nondescript car, and until this morning that was just a theory." Andi says.
"They've lost their driver now, so they're in jeopardy." Spencer says.
"It's all about survival for them. They'll move out tonight." Rossi says.
"But they've got customers and victims lined up. They don't want to lose the money." Hotch says.
"And their location hasn't been compromised yet." Ashley says.
"Who knows where they're gonna end up." Andi says.
"Based on Reid's theory, we need to see if Renee had been to any clubs before she disappeared." Derek says.
"She went to the local clubs." Andi says. "She'd report back if anyone suspicious approached her. We followed the leads, nothing panned out."
"What was the last club?" Derek asks.
"Scotty's in Georgetown." Andi says. "If they find out she's an agent, she's dead."
+++
Penelope found out where the operation is and they get there with SWAT.
Derek and Bedelia are walking through one of the corridors that's full of cages and women are in some of them. In one, there's a woman lying on the ground, her arm sticking out from under the cage and she only seems half conscious.
Bedelia cries out in pain as she's rammed into one of the cages, her back colliding with the rough metal. She groans as the man shoves her to the floor and kicks her abdomen.
He turns and shoves Derek into a different cage. He picks Bedelia up and slams her across the space and into the parallel cage. She whines as she lands on the ground with a thump.
The man kicks her in the abdomen a few times and punches her in the face. He moves over to Derek, hitting him repeatedly.
Bedelia uses all the strength she has to get up, but doesn't find hers or Derek's guns. She jumps on the man's back, getting him in a chokehold.
He stands up and stumbles back, slamming her into a cage again. He manages to grab her arms and flip her over his head, the air getting knocked out of her when her back collides with the ground.
She yelps when he pulls her upper half up by a fistful of her hair. The man delivers a few punches to her stomach as she continues to whine in pain.
"Just give me an excuse to blow your brains out!" She hears Rossi yell. The guy lets go of her, Bedelia crashing with the floor again. He holds his hands up.
Bedelia groans, wincing at the searing pain in her body. Derek uses the cage to help himself stand up. Rossi nods at him, glancing at Bedelia who is still on the floor. Derek walks over so he's between Rossi and the guy and he faces Rossi.
Derek turns and punches the guy, sending him to the floor, unconscious.
~ ~ ~
They're outside, having found all of the victims and guys involved in the trafficking. One of the ambulances is tending to Bedelia's wounds, the woman grimacing as they wrap her abdomen up.
"Delia!" She looks up, seeing Spencer race over. "Are you okay?" Not even thinking, he holds both sides of her head, tilting it back to inspect the injuries. "You-- your face." He frowns at the bruises and cuts littering her face.
"Spence, I'm fine." She promises. Spencer glances at her wrapped abdomen. He looks back at her face, as if he's studying her.
"You have a concussion." He mumbles.
"I know what I have. They already diagnosed me for everything. But I'm fine." Bedelia promises.
Spencer fails to reply, the frown still on his face. Not able to resist the urge, he puts one hand on the back of her head to pull her closer and he presses a gentle kiss to her forehead. Bedelia's a little thankful that the bruises will cover at least some of her blushing.
A car comes speeding out, multiple agents and SWAT shooting at it. It crashes into another car and some of them rush over. They find a guy driving and a victim in the back. Rossi leads the woman away from the car and they stand by one of the SUVs.
"Dave!" Hotch shouts.
Rossi goes to get his gun out as the woman gets her gun out. Before she can do anything, Derek shoots her and she falls dead.
+++
They get back to the BAU and Bedelia watches Kevin and Penelope step away from each other when the elevator doors slide open and they all start to walk by.
"Oh, sweetie, what happened to you?" Penelope asks, seeing the injuries covering Bedelia.
"I'm fine." Bedelia insists.
"Nice try." Spencer says, leading her to the round table room.
He pulls one of the chairs out and helps her sit down in it. He gives her the ice pack he grabbed on the way and Bedelia places it on her face.
Spencer starts to take the evidence off the crime board, Ashley putting the files up.
Penelope and Derek walk in.
"What happened to you, anyway?" Spencer asks Derek.
"That guy was huge. Seriously." Derek says.
Penelope runs her hand through Bedelia's hair for a bit, kissing the Davis woman on top of the head.
"You should start working out." Spencer comments making Penelope giggle.
"Oh, you got jokes now?" Derek questions. Spencer nods and lets out a small laugh.
"What is it, kid?" Rossi asks Ashley, seeing the look on her face.
"We only rescued 7 victims today." Ashley says. "What about the rest of these?"
"It never ends." Rossi says.
"But today I think we did good." Derek says.
"Yeah, we did." Rossi nods.
"Yeah, if we weren't so exhausted I would toast us." Penelope says.
"Good work, everybody." Hotch steps in. "Go home and get some rest. Nobody needs to come in till 9:00." He says. He starts to leave but turns back. ":30." He adds before leaving.
"Can we make it noon?" Bedelia groans.
"We were supposed to talk ab--" Penelope stops. "Has he ever left before us?"
"Baby girl, I don't blame him. It's been a long ass day." Derek says.
"Well, you heard the man." Rossi says. "Go home."
"You don't have to tell me twice." Derek says.
"C'mon." Spencer mumbles, pulling Bedelia to her feet. She groans in pain, letting Spencer wrap one of her arms around his shoulders, holding onto her wrist, and one of his arms wrap around her waist.
"You know what I think we should do tonight?" Spencer asks, leading her out of the room.
"What?" She sighs.
"Get two pizzas." Spencer says.
"Mm. You really do know the way to my heart." Bedelia smiles, ignoring the pain even that causes.
+++
Bedelia finishes her sixth slice of pizza, putting the plate on the coffee table. Spencer is partly paying attention to the movie, but still manages to wait on her hand and foot, not wanting her to over exert herself.
"We should probably get some sleep." Spencer says as the movie ends.
"Yeah." Bedelia mumbles, sitting up, wincing a little. "Thank you. For being here."
"Of course." Spencer smiles. "I wouldn't wanna be anywhere else." Bedelia gently smiles. "Delia, I..." He stops.
"What?" She prompts.
"I was really freaked out when I saw you in the back of the ambulance. All injured." Spencer says. "I really like you, Delia, and-- and I don't-- I don't want you to get hurt again. I know it's inevitable with our jobs, but-- but seeing you so bruised and broken, I--"
"Spencer." She cuts him off.
Spencer turns to her, glancing down at her lips. He leans in a bit, waiting for any signal to stop or continue. Bedelia hesitates, knowing the last thing she deserves is to be able to kiss him. She's been lying to him for months, and no matter what the reason is, it feels wrong all the same.
Bedelia gives him a tiny nod and Spencer closes the gap, softly kissing her. Bedelia soon melts into the kiss, her guilt seeming to double yet drift at the same time.
She makes a small noise after a few moments, pulling away.
"Ow." She mumbles.
"Wh-what? Did-- did I do something? What'd I do?" Spencer panics.
"No. No, it-- it's not you." Bedelia says. "It's-- it's the giant ass dude who beat me up." She motions to her face, including the cut on her lip.
"Sorry." Spencer winces.
"Not your fault." Bedelia sighs. "We can kiss when I'm... you know, not beaten to a pulp. If you're still up for it."
Spencer smiles, gingerly kissing her on the cheek.