"I just put in new brakes. She's running like a dream." Rossi says, showing Spencer a photo of his car.
"I always admired the aesthetic of the classic Torpedo C body, especially in the 1947. They just don't make them like that anymore." Spencer says.
"Yeah, well, I'm lucky to have found it." Rossi says. "Uncle Sal would be proud."
"Thank you for coming in, everyone." Hotch says as he walks in. "We can get started."
"Okay. Guys, meet Samantha Wilcox, 16 year old junior in Wichita, Kansas. Last night she snuck out with her boyfriend, they were attacked, she hasn't been seen since." Penelope says.
"Boyfriend got a broken jaw and a concussion." Derek says.
"And the description of the attacker matches her father, Eddie Lee Wilcox." Hotch says.
"Ex-con." Blake says.
"Oh, is he ever. Still on parole. Eddie is a car thief and wheel man extraordinaire." Penelope says.
"String of assault charges, too." JJ says. "Been in and out of jail since he was a kid."
"We don't usually work parental abduction cases." Blake says.
"We do when the abduction's violent and dad's a former convict." Rossi says.
"He hasn't been incarcerated in over 3 years. I mean he's had ample opportunity. Why pick yesterday to kidnap her?" Spencer asks.
"Well, he beat the boyfriend within an inch of his life to do it, so taking her had to be real important." Derek says.
"And apparently Eddie was none too pleased that Samantha's mom, Melody, had decided to remarry and then move from Chicago to Wichita." Penelope says.
"He lost visitation rights the last time he got locked up." Blake says.
"So the anger about that is the stressor that builds up over the years." JJ says. "Last night he decides to do something about it."
"This could be vengeance for taking his daughter away." Spencer says.
"If it's revenge against the mother, he'll either hurt Samantha or disappear with her." Rossi says.
"She's been missing for over 5 hours, and we know how time sensitive these cases are." Hotch says. "The, uh, amber alert is expanding. Every hour..." Bedelia looks back at Hotch as he breathes a little heavier than usual. "Excuse me." He says.
Hotch goes to walk out, but he falls to the floor.
"Hotch?" Derek calls. "Aaron!"
+++
"Bleeding internally from what?" JJ asks.
"They think it's probably all the scar tissue." Rossi says.
"Torn adhesions from the stab wounds." Spencer says.
"George Foyet returns from the grave." Derek says.
"What's the prognosis?" Blake asks.
"He's stable right now. Did an ultrasound, but can't seem to see exactly where the bleeding was coming from." Rossi says.
"He'll need an exploratory laparotomy." Spencer says.
"Does Jack know?" JJ asks.
"Not yet. I talked to Haley's sister, Jessica. We didn't want to worry the little guy." Rossi says.
"What about Beth?" Blake asks.
"I left a message, but she's on a business trip in Milan." Rossi says. "Look, I know you're all worried. So am I. But a teenager girl has been abducted, and Hotch would want us to focus on the case, not on him. And that's exactly what we're gonna do. "Now. When the plane lands, Morgan, JJ, I want you to interview Samantha Wilcox's mother. Reid, Davis, Blake, you go check out the abduction site. I'm catching the next flight to Wichita and I'll meet you there."
"What about Hotch?" Blake asks.
"Garcia's here. She's not going anywhere. Now, let's go find this girl." Rossi says.
+++
"This place is off the beaten path." Spencer says.
"Her mother said she snuck out late. He must have followed her here from her house." Blake says.
"Which suggests he may not have planned the abduction." Spencer says as JJ and Derek pull up and get out.
"He just waited for the right opportunity." Bedelia says.
"Look at this." Spencer picks up Samantha's phone. "She left her cell phone behind."
"Odd for a teenage girl." Blake says. "Maybe she lost it in the struggle."
"Or it's a forensic countermeasure so they can't be tracked with the GPS." Spencer says.
"Garcia got a hit on ViCAP. The day before yesterday two masked gunmen robbed a pawn shop in Chicago." Derek says. "25k in cash and jewels were stolen."
"The owner and customers were shot dead." JJ says.
"And so was one of the gunmen, except he was shot 8 times with a .45." Derek says.
"Emptied the magazine. Overkill?" Spencer asks.
"You think our guy's the shooter?" Blake asks.
"The dead gunman was one Christopher Corbone. He spent 6 years in the same cell block with Eddie Lee Wilcox." JJ says.
"They were partners." Derek says.
"And Corbone was heavily connected to the Riggio family in Chicago. Mid-level mafioso thug." JJ says.
"Sounds like a double cross." Blake says.
"You know, if he double crossed his partner, he's not just on the run from the law, he could also be running from the mob." Spencer says.
"That explains why the need to grab his daughter was so urgent." Blake says.
"With good guys and bad guys on his tail, he has to know that this doesn't end well." Derek says.
"It doesn't make sense. If he loves her so much, why put her in this type of jeopardy?" JJ asks.
"His desperation's making him irrational." Spencer says.
"He's gonna get dangerous if he gets cornered." Derek says.
+++
"Samantha Wilcox was in touch with her dad a lot." Derek says. "I got their texts right here."
"May I?" Blake asks and Derek gives her the phone.
""I hate my life. Mom's a bitch. Hubby's a tool, and Wichita blows. Why can't I live with you?"" Blake reads. "The dad responds in kind, "Love you lots. We'll be together soon.""
"She wanted him to come get her." Derek says.
"Yeah, what if they planned it?" Spencer asks.
"I don't know. I'm not seeing anything logistical in nature here. It's all emotional outbursts at her mom and little loving missives to her dad." Blake says.
"I doubt if she had anything to do with this, though." Rossi says, motioning to the body behind the counter. "Name's Damon Turner, 54 year old widower, father of three, and apparently he was expecting his first grandchild."
"No security cameras." JJ says.
"He had a shotgun stashed back there. I wonder why he didn't use it." Rossi says.
"Eddie must have gotten the jump on him before he could." Blake says.
"Guy recognizes Eddie, calls 911. Eddie clocks it, caps him to shut him up." JJ says.
"But the damage is already done. He already made the call. Why kill him? Why didn't Eddie just take off?" Rossi asks.
"He's in survival mode. He'll try to eliminate any perceived threats." Derek says.
"He didn't rob the place." Blake says. "He left all the cash in the register."
"He didn't have to. He had money from the Chicago robberies." Bedelia says.
"Actually, I think he may have. Look at this." Spencer says. "Several items were rung up after the 911 call. A bag of chips, a pack of gum, and 6 post cards."
"Post cards? What does he want, a souvenir?" JJ asks.
"It's possible. He knows if he gets caught, he's going away for a long time, and being with his daughter may evoke a need to commemorate the event." Spencer says.
"The post cards are old school. Being with his daughter might actually make him nostalgic in some way." Blake says.
"Well, he's headed due south, most likely straight to Mexico." Derek says.
"He'll stick to side roads and won't cross the border anywhere busy." Bedelia says.
"I'll extend the amber alert and have highway patrol set up roadblocks." JJ says.
+++
"This guy's not coming." Derek says.
"Mm, we really haven't been here that long." Spencer says.
"Yeah, but if he wanted to make a run for the border, he'd have been caught in the net by now." Derek says.
"Maybe we made him switch directions." Spencer says.
"Well, we can't cover everything. Texas is huge." Derek says.
"268,581 square miles, to be exact." Spencer says. "Largest state in the contiguous 48 and the second most populous. Don't mess with Texas. Hey, you want to read? Helps me when I'm anxious." He gives Derek his book.
""The Magical Mathematics of Quantum Physics."" Derek reads the title. "Nope. I'm good. I'll wait for the movie." Derek says, giving Spencer his book back.
"I wouldn't even watch the movie." Bedelia mutters. She glances at Spencer who has a small frown. "Unless you wanted to... honey."
+++
"Hey, what you got, good lookin'?" Derek asks.
"Still nothing on Hotch. I have a sort of something on Samantha Wilcox. She just called her mom from a motel in Odessa, but they weren't--"
"That's only 103 miles west of here." Spencer says.
"Alert local PD. We're on our way." Derek says.
"Wait, wait, wait. I already did that." Penelope says. "I called the police and Samantha and her dad are nowhere to be seen. Sorry, sugar." Penelope says and Derek hangs up.
"He won't like the idea of her calling home. That phone call will probably drive a wedge between the two of them." Spencer says.
"We're close and he knows it. Maybe he'll make a mistake."
+++
"Well, they left in a hurry." Derek says. "Owner says they were here less than an hour."
"And none of the motel guests saw anything." Spencer says.
"Take a look at this robbery footage." Blake says.
"Chicago PD apologized for the delay." JJ says.
They watch as the two masked gunmen walk up to the back door and manage to get the door open.
"Clearly not the first time they've done this." Rossi says.
"This the only angle we got?" Derek asks.
"Cameras inside weren't working." JJ says.
"Muzzle flashes." Spencer says.
After a bit, the two guys walk out and don't seem happy.
"And they argue." JJ says.
"What about, though?" Blake asks.
"Shooting the people inside wasn't part of the plan." Derek says.
"This is where it gets good." JJ says.
One of the gunmen hold the gun up to the other's head, but it doesn't go off.
"The gun jammed." Bedelia says.
The other gunman shoots the first one multiple times. Even after he's certainly dead, the guy still shoots him a few more times.
"That explains the overkill." Blake says.
"He didn't double cross his partner, his partner double crossed him." Spencer says.
"Hey, girl. Got you on speaker. What's up?" Derek asks.
"Hey. An unidentified male was just found shot and killed at a truck stop parking lot outside of El Paso." Penelope says.
"Sure that's our guy?" JJ asks.
"Well, a Mustang was reported stolen less than a mile from your current location. It's in the same lot." Penelope says.
"El Paso. He's on the border." Blake says.
"He wouldn't cross there, though. It's too busy." Derek says. "Go back through his life again, Garcia. He's feeling the heat, so he's gonna default to something familiar. The answer's in there somewhere."
"Done and done." She says.
"Penelope." Rossi calls. "Any word on Hotch?"
"Still no news, but I'm about to rouse the nurses for some intel." She says.
"You go get 'em, girl." Rossi says.
+++
They found where Eddie and Samantha are hiding in a snack shop. Bedelia stands behind a car door, making sure she's hidden.
"Eddie Lee Wilcox, this is the FBI." Derek says into the megaphone. "We can work this out, but you have to let Samantha go. Come on, she's your daughter. Do the right thing, Eddie."
"Has he said anything yet?" Blake asks.
"Not a word." Rossi says.
"Statistically speaking, the longer this takes the worse his daughter's chances get." Spencer says.
"I don't know. If he was gonna do something to her, he would have done it by now." JJ says.
"But now he's trapped. The game's changed." Derek says.
"I'm gonna try something." JJ says.
JJ takes her phone out and calls the number to the shack.
"Eddie. Pick up the phone, man. We only want to help you. Come on, think about Samantha." Derek tells him.
"Hi, Eddie?" JJ asks after he picks the phone up. "This is Agent Jareau with the FBI. You can call me Jennifer." She says. "Same as you. I want Samantha safe." JJ says. "Can you, uh, put her on the phone so I can hear for myself?" She asks. "Samantha?" She calls.
"You okay?" JJ asks. "Is there anything you guys need?" She asks. "You know I can't do that, Eddie. But I can help get your daughter to safety. Look, Eddie, I know all you've ever wanted is for her to be happy and safe. Does she look happy to you? And there's a bunch of police out here with guns. Her safety's definitely an issue."
"Eddie, I know why you took her to the ocean. You wanted one last trip. Same as you had with your dad. I don't know exactly how you feel." She says. "I lost someone, too, once. The same way you did." She says. "My sister. When I was 11, she, uh, cut her wrists with one of my dad's razor blades. I found her in the bathtub the next morning."
"Don't make Samantha feel the same way we did." JJ says. "It will change her, forever. The same way it did us." She says. "Eddie?" She calls, looking at her phone to see the call ended.
"He's not coming out. SWAT should get ready." Rossi says. "He lets her go, he either shoots himself or shoots his way out."
"There she is." Spencer points out when he sees Samantha stand up from behind the counter. She walks a bit closer, but doesn't completely leave the building. Suddenly, she runs back behind the counter.
"Look." JJ says after a few moments. Bedelia looks over and sees Samantha walk out with her arms up. She looks back and Eddie walks out, his hands up.
Samantha tightly hugs him and he hugs her back. Samantha starts to scream and cry as police try to pull her back and they arrest Eddie.