Spencer and Bedelia get to Savannah and Derek's house. Bedelia rings the doorbell and Savannah answers it after a few moments.
"Hey, you." Savannah greets with a warm grin.
"Hey." Bedelia smiles.
"Hi." Spencer greets.
"Welcome back. Come in." Savannah opens the door wider, letting them in. Bedelia leans over and hugs her.
"Thank you." Spencer says and Savannah shuts the door.
"I know you're not a hugger. I don't care." Savannah says, hugging Spencer. He stammers, glancing at Bedelia who is just smiling.
"Hey, get your greasy hands off my girl." Derek teases, walking in. "Hey, B." He hugs her.
"Hey." Bedelia hugs him back.
"Nice to have you guys home." Derek says, holding his fist out to Spencer. The genius puts his hand over Derek's and shakes it.
"Good to be back." Spencer says.
"Yeah." Bedelia nods.
"Let me get my stuff." Derek says, walking off.
Savannah grabs a yellow envelope.
"That thing you called about, here's some updated stats." She gives it to Spencer.
"Thanks." Spencer quickly puts it in his bag.
"Thank you so much." Bedelia quietly tells her.
"Stats?" Derek walks over. "Stats from what?"
"Medical research. Shop talk." Savannah says. "Things you wouldn't be interested in."
"It's a... medical nerd thing." Bedelia says.
"Well, I can tell you what I am interested in, and that is you." Derek says, kissing her.
"You gonna love me forever?"
"Yes, I am."
"Okay." Bedelia mumbles, turning away from them.
"Forever ever?" Savannah questions.
Spencer's phone beeps.
"For ever, ever, ever." Derek says, kissing her.
"Work?" She quietly asks.
"Yeah." Spencer nods. "Guys. Garcia and Hotch need us ASAP for a briefing on the four hitmen."
"Good, cause this was getting awkward." Bedelia painfully smiles.
+++
"Brian Cochran from the NSA." Hotch says. "I've placed him on 24/7 lockdown at USP Terre Haute. The network has proven that they can kill anyone, anywhere, anytime, and now that they've targeted Garcia, we can't afford to lose another lead. Cochran used one of the hitmen to target DEA Supervisor Graff."
"But we can press him on that to get him to cooperate." Derek says.
"Well, fortunately that won't be necessary." Hotch says. "He had a breakdown in solitary confinement and he was already willing to make a deal."
"We need to talk to him." Rossi says.
"Garcia and I already did." Hotch says.
"That is, we video conferenced with him." Penelope says. "He was limited in what he could tell us about the hit people. He didn't know their names, but he did know all of their areas of expertise."
"How specific do they get?" Spencer asks. "Most successful hitmen are basically just Swiss Army Knives of murder."
"Well, take the O.G. hit guy who got us into this mess, Giuseppe Montolo. Remember him?" Penelope asks. "He was genius at making hits look like an accident. The others, depends what you're looking for. Take the guy that's still out there who's responsible for shooting poor Mr. Graff. He's known simply as The Sniper. He can make a T-Zone shot from over 2,000 meters."
"Which means he's ex-military." Derek says. "Not necessarily ours, but he's definitely trained."
"So who's number two?" Tara asks.
"That would be The Chemist. He works with poison." Penelope says. "He specializes in hits that don't leave a trace."
"He sounds delightful." Rossi sarcastically comments. "What about number three?"
"Well, that would be The Bomber. According to Cochran, he's responsible for this." Penelope says, showing videos and photos on the screen. "It's a chemical fire in Tianjin, China. Apparently a bureaucrat didn't pay his bribe on time."
"You know that's conspiracy theory garbage." JJ says.
"But what is credible is Cochran's insistence that he was trained by Mossad." Hotch says. "Jack Garrett's following up on leads."
"That leaves us with number four, the one with the highest body count of them all." Penelope says.
"And who's that?" Spencer asks.
"Great. So who's this Snowman jagoff?" Rossi asks.
"Cochran says he's the I.T. expert. He's the key to the whole network." Hotch says.
"But if he set it up, he's not just gonna tear it down because we ask nicely." Derek says.
"He will because he was kidnapped by one of the hitmen and held against his will in a safe house." Hotch says.
"I wonder how that feels." Penelope remarks.
"Even if they have him under duress, he's still gonna be impossible to find." JJ says.
"We will find him... with this." Hotch puts a flash drive down.
+++
"I can't tell you much about them." Barry says. "It's not like we had a lot of heart to heart conversations while they handcuffed me to a computer."
"Do you know any of their names?" Bedelia asks.
"No. But I know their bank accounts." Barry says.
"How long do you think we have before the other two realize the networks' been compromised?" Spencer asks.
"Two days, maybe." Barry shrugs. "They like being independent contractors. So they always work jobs separately. And, uh, they rely on me to coordinate all their online traffic."
"Which I can help fake." Penelope says.
"Yeah." Barry says. "We have the facade covered on our end, but they also have back channel communications that I can't account for. Especially the bomber."
"Why him?" Rossi asks.
"I don't know." Barry shrugs. "All I know is when they would rotate watching over me, he never showed."
"I know why. He's paranoid." JJ says. "Most explosive experts are. Blow everything up, you live in fear that you're next."
"We need to lure out the hitwoman." Hotch says. "If we can take her alive, she'll lead us to the bomber."
"We have to give her a target worth coming out of hiding for." Derek says.
"That means me, doesn't it?" Penelope asks.
"No." Hotch and Derek state.
"Sir--" She starts.
"Garcia, that's not gonna happen. It's too dangerous to leave you out there exposed like that." Derek says.
"You have a record of all the kills she was paid for?" Hotch asks Barry.
"I have records of everything." He says.
"All right, even a contract killer can have a victimology, a pattern of which she's not aware. We need to find that." Hotch says.
+++
"These three hits -- they were all men who wanted to kill their wives." Spencer says.
"That's the oldest motivation in the book." JJ says. "Why are-- why are they special?"
"She took their money, then killed the men who hired her." Spencer says.
"All three of them had children." Hotch says, looking through the files.
"Maybe children are the line the hitmen won't cross?" Bedelia suggests.
"The chemist and the sniper both reformed jobs that involved families." Spencer says. "Theoretically, if the price is high enough, a hitman shouldn't have morals. I think these kills are personal to her. Personal enough to risk double crossing her contract."
"Maybe something similar happened to her." Hotch says.
"And that's how we get her to come to the table." Spencer says. "I pretend to be that kind of client."
"Huh?" Bedelia whips her head turns him.
"How do we know that's gonna work?" Hotch asks.
"We don't. It's a calculated risk based on her M.O., which is categorically different than the men." Spencer says.
"They're cold, clinical, long distance. She's up close and personal." JJ says.
"She knows that she has to be more careful because she actually wants to kill her targets." Spencer says. "I'm going to pretend to be a husband who wants his pregnant wife dead."
"Spencer Walter Reid." Bedelia scolds, hitting him in the arm.
"Ah! Ow." Spencer frowns, rubbing his arm. "I don't actually want to."
"Well, I'd want to kill you if you told me that." JJ says.
"Exactly. Then all we have to do is set the right meeting spot. A bar or a restaurant we control. So the odds are better of us taking her alive." Spencer says.
"That's our best strategy." Hotch says.
"You're joking." Bedelia scoffs.
"B, it's our job." Spencer says.
Bedelia stares at him for a few moments before rolling her eyes.
"And why can't Morgan do it? He's much better at dates and flirting." Bedelia says. "No offense." She tells her husband.
"I'm closest to her in age." Spencer says.
"Fine. Whatever." Bedelia walks out, Spencer hot on her heels.
"Delia, I know it's risky and-- and scary, but we have to do this. There's not really any other option." Spencer says, the two stopping by the exit. "I'll be super careful and you'll all be right there if she tries anything. It'll work out. I promise."
"I guess." Bedelia mumbles.
"I know." Spencer states, holding her hand, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. "I'm not going anywhere. I promise."
++
"Foster care records locked, loaded, and searchable." Penelope says.
"According to the emails she sent me setting up tonight, her name is Cat. So let's assume her name is Catherine." Spencer says while fixing his tie.
"Give me more." Penelope says.
"Suspicious death for mom, and her dad most likely went away for manslaughter."
"Keep it coming."
"Rampant abuse. She would have been in a world of pain."
"Sadly that does not rule out any Catherines."
"Her first kills were most likely in the foster environment. Cross-reference all those families the Catherines went into with accidental deaths of foster dads, and focus on those that have multiple abuse complaints leveled against them."
"Ding."
"Catherine Adams."
+++
Bedelia is sitting at a table and pretends to look through the menu. She has a glass of coke, not wanting any alcohol given the circumstances. She snacks on the free bread the waiter brought her earlier.
Bedelia pretends to not notice Spencer walk by as the hostess shows him to a booth. He sits down facing her direction and she watches him fidget out of the corner of her eye.
Spencer takes a red rose out of his jacket and puts it on the table across from him. She watches Cat walk up to the booth while he's looking around.
"Spencer?" She asks making him turn to her.
"Cat?" He asks.
"Hi!" She greets.
"Hi." He says.
"Hi." She repeats as he stands up.
"Hello. Hi. Hi." He says.
"It's nice to finally--" She goes to hug him.
"Oh--" He leans away and she pulls back. "Sorry, I have a-- a germ thing."
"Oh." she says.
"I'm kind of weird with hu-hugs." He says.
"Sorry." She apologizes. The two stand by the booth. "Can I sit down?"
"Yes, please. Oh, yeah. Of course." Spencer says and Cat sits down, Spencer sitting across from her. Cat puts her purse town and takes her coat off.
"First time doing this?" She asks him after a few moments of silence.
"Yeah. I mean, yeah." He nods.
"Yeah, I-- I still get nervous, too." She says. "Really, it wasn't until an hour ago that I was like, wait, we've been trading emails back and forth, but I still have no idea what this guy looks like."
"Hence the..." Spencer motions to the rose.
"I know. And then I was like, wait, he's going to bring a red rose, so we need to go to a nicer place, which is why I switched the restaurant last minute--"
"Not a problem at all." Spencer says.
"And now I need to change and put something nice on for this place, cause I was totally underdressed, and my whole wardrobe makes me look like a Kardashian." Spencer's eyebrows furrow. "You don't know who that is, do you?"
"No, oh, yeah, Robert Kardashian. He got O.J. Simpson off." Spencer says. "You-- you don't look like his daughters."
"Yeah, no, I was making a joke about them." Cat says.
"No, it was good. It was a good joke." Spencer assures.
"No, it wasn't." She argues.
"I-- it was funny." He says, both laughing.
"Can we start over? Hi, I'm Cat." She says.
"Hi-- hi-- hello-- hi, I'm--" He laughs. "I'm Spencer."
"It really is nice to meet you." Cat tells him. "In person, finally."
"It's nice to meet you." Spencer says.
"Tell me a little bit about yourself. Do you really have three Ph.D.s?"
"Yes. Um, I-- yeah, I do, I have 3 Ph.D.s"
"What was your favorite book that you read last year?"
"Um, honestly, I've never read a book I didn't love."
"Tell me about your wife."
"If you don't mind, I'd, uh, I'd rather not talk about her." Spencer says, lowering his voice.
"Might as well get it out in the open, right?" Cat asks. "That's why we're here. How long have you been married?"
"Four years." Spencer says.
"When is she due to give birth?" Cat asks. Spencer clears his throat.
"Uh... a couple of-- a couple of months." He quietly says. He leans his arms on the table. "Should we talk about price now, or..."
"Slow down, tiger. What exactly are we negotiating here?" Cat asks.
"You know." Spencer says.
"I want to hear you say it."
Spencer takes a few moments.
"To have her killed." He whispers.
"Let me see your ring." Cat tells him. Spencer rests his hand on the table and Cat twists the ring around his finger.
"You know what that is?" She asks. "A noose. Only it doesn't kill you all at once. It kills you slowly, day by day. You ever feel that way?"
"I feel that way all the time." Spencer says.
"Take it off." Cat orders.
"Why?" Spencer asks.
"As a sign of your commitment. To me." Cat says.
Spencer hesitates, rubbing his thumb over the ring. He can't help flashing back to when Bedelia slipped it on his finger at their wedding, so gently as if she was afraid of hurting him. He slowly takes it off and places it in Cat's outstretched hand.
"If she sticks to pattern, she'll take him to a secondary location and kill him." JJ quietly says.
"We're not gonna let it get that far." Rossi says. "Hotch, do you have a visual?"
"All right, we have you over her left shoulder. Do you copy?" Hotch asks. "All right, all agents stand by. Dr. Reid will give the green light. Don't move until we have it."
"24 karat?" Cat asks.
"Mm-hmm." Spencer nods.
"24k times... 4 years means this ring should be dinged and nicked. But this sucker is not that old. Only... about a year. Maybe two." Cat puts the ring in her purse, zipping it up. Spencer tenses for a moment, reminding himself he'll get it back later. "You either borrowed it or you are married, but not for long."
Bedelia hears a gun cock and she tries not to react.
"Everybody hold." Hotch orders.
"Why are we here, Spencer?" Cat asks.
"We're here because you belong to a network of four hitmen who've been operating in the shadows of the internet. You're known as Miss .45. My team and I have been hunting you for months, and I knew that if I boxed you in, I could arrest you with as little resistance as possible."
"Your team being the behavioral analysis unit of the FBI?" Spencer nods. "You guys are good. You're the only ones that got close to us. But we got kind of close to you, too, didn't we?" She leans forward. "Hi, Penelope."
"Do you know why I'm so good at my job?" Cat asks.
"Because you kill without compunction or remorse." Spencer says.
"That only gets a girl so far in life." Cat says. "No, it's because I think through every potential outcome and then I plan accordingly. You see, I didn't walk into your trap. You walked into mine."
"Where's your head, Spencer?" Cat asks. "What are you thinking about?" She asks as she scoots around the booth and sits next to him.
"I was thinking about entropy." Spencer says.
"Mm-hmm." Cat hums, her hand roaming Spencer's chest, going lower.
"It's the thermodynamic measure of the degradation of matter and energy in the universe. To put it another way--" His voice hitches at the last word. Cat pulls his gun out.
"There's your gun." She keeps it.
"Good evening." The waiter walks up.
"Hi, uh, you know what? We've been having so much fun getting to know one another, we'll let you know when we're ready, okay? Thank you." Cat tells him. He nods and walks off. "Now that we got that out of the way, will you do me a favor and tell Blondie McBlonderson over there at the bar to disappear."
"JJ, stand down." Hotch orders.
JJ gets up, walking past the booth as she goes to the kitchen.
"Thanks for playing, sweetie." Cat smiles, sitting across from Spencer again.
"If she learns how many agents we have outside, she'll start shooting." Hotch says. "Rossi, get ready to take her out."
"Yep." He replies.
"Reid, do not let her get up from the table." Hotch orders.
"All right, you're in charge. Tell me what you want and I'll see if I can get it here for you." Spencer says.
"Anything I want?" Cat asks.
"Anything you want." Spencer states.
"Like a million dollars in unmarked bills, maybe a plane to Aruba?" She asks.
"Is that what you want?" He asks.
"And you say you'll bring it here, but the real plan is to distract me from what is, I'm sure, an impressive law enforcement response just outside that door. Is that the plan?"
"That's the plan."
"Okay, let's talk, but let's talk about something interesting, at least. Tell me about me."
"You?" He asks. "You're a black widow hitwoman. You specialize in seduction and you're patient. You learn everything you can about the men you're hired to kill, physically, psychologically, and emotionally, because you want them in as compromised a position as possible so they don't see it coming when you pull the trigger."
"And when I do it really well, they pull the trigger themselves. Give me your phone."
"Why?"
"Because I know what I want now. I want to play a game with you. You like games?"
"I do."
"Do you win?"
"I always win."
"Give it to me." Spencer gives her his phone. "Okay, here's my game." She puts 30 minutes on the timer and puts the phone on the table. "You have 30 minutes to answer every question I ask. And if you lie, I'll know. Because I've spent the past 10 years of my life studying men and their lies before I kill them. Do you believe me?"
"I do."
"That was true. You're getting this. Now, here's how we'll know who wins at the end of 30 minutes. If you win, you'll drag me out of here in handcuffs. But if I win, you will escort me out like a gentleman, to make sure I exit safely. What do you say, Spencer? Think you can win this one?"
Spencer motions for her to lean in, both of them leaning forward.
"Considering everything you've put Garcia and so many people through, you're going to have to shoot me in the face before you walk out of here." Spencer states.
They both lean back.
"Game on." She says.
"What do you want to ask me?" Spencer asks.
"How you found me, of course." Cat says. "A professional learns from her mistakes." She starts the timer.
"We got our big break in the case at the end of last year. I didn't learn how big until I came back from some time off." Spencer says.
"Why'd you take time off?"
"Stop." Cat orders.
"What?" Spencer asks.
"You didn't tell me why you took time off." She says.
"It's not relevant." He says.
"That's not the game. The game is you answer every question I ask. Is it a secret?"
"No."
"Is it dirty?"
"No."
"Then tell me."
"It's not important to your story."
"Out of curiosity, is it me you don't want to tell or the people listening in?"
"Is this really how you want to spend your 30 minutes?" He asks.
"Yes." She says. "No." She admits after a moment. "Okay, so you were saying you showed up for work that morning and..."
"We learned that someone unexpected decided to talk."
"And who would that be?"
"Me." Cat grins.
"Yes." Spencer nods.
"Wow, that was really impressive." Cat says. "Yeah, the way you just made all those brilliant deductions with all that information that was just handed to you on a silver platter. Quick question -- are you guys really profilers or are you just lucky? Because this, what I'm about to say -- is profiling. The reason you took time off from work was to deal with the same girl who broke your heart."
"No."
"The death of a parent, then."
"No." Spencer answers slightly slower, his gaze flickering down for a moment.
"Ah, hello, I'm getting close." Cat says. "It's mom or dad in the billiard room with a candlestick." Spencer doesn't respond. "Oh, you're mad at me, aren't you?"
"Not even a little bit."
"Yes, you are, I can tell."
"No offense, but you're not really worth getting angry at."
"So you figured out what the four of us did, and then what?" She asks after a moment.
"We profiled that you operated as spokes on a wheel. Somehow it had to be centralized, how you got jobs, who paid you." Spencer says. "Somebody did all that for you."
"You found the Snowman, didn't you?" Cat asks.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I'm confused. What just happened there?" Cat asks.
"When we arrested Cochran, we found a flash drive, one that gave us access to a specific shadow of the darknet, one we didn't even know existed." Spencer says.
"Garcia used it to find the website that Snowman set up for all of you. Once we had the website, we had geography, specifically, the safe house you were keeping him in. So we waited until the shift change when we knew we could take two of you down at once."
"Well, well, well, you took the chemist and the sniper out of commission, huh?" Cat asks.
"Did you know?" Spencer asks.
"I knew something was off." Cat says. "They didn't bid on some contracts. And this isn't the kind of job where you get to take time off to be with your... mother? Is it your mom? It's gotta be your mom." Spencer doesn't say anything. "Why'd you take time off from the FBI?"
"I'm not gonna tell you."
"Spencer, why did you take time off from the FBI?"
"You can ask me as many times as you want, and you can continue to waste your time, but I'm still not gonna tell you."
"Then you're cheating, and I don't like cheaters."
"You don't get everything you want just because you're pointing a gun at me under a table. You're not the first killer to point a gun at me. You're not even the first woman to point a gun at me. Sorry."
"You're really gonna take this all the way, aren't you?"
"Yeah."
"So am I."
"Dave, go." Hotch orders.
Rossi gets up, hiding his gun under his jacket.
"Look at my face. Does it look like I'm bluffing?" Cat asks.
"I know you're not bluffing." Spencer says.
"I'm gonna ask you one more time." Cat scoots over and sits next to Spencer again. "Before you say no, I want you to consider something." She grabs his tie and presses her thumb over the mic making it squeal a little in Bedelia's earpiece.
"I'll kill the fed walking toward me first." Cat threatens. "A stationary target's easier to hit. After that it's a free fire zone."
"Fine, I'll tell you." Spencer quietly says.
"Sorry, what was that?" Cat leans in.
"I'll tell you." He repeats louder. Cat lets go of his tie and smiles. "Rossi, stand down." He orders. He looks back at Rossi. "Please."
Rossi goes to the kitchen.
"My mom has schizophrenia, and the doctors changed her medication, which seemed to agitate her, and so I went to the treatment center to help her." Spencer says while fixing his tie.
"That's it?" Cat asks.
"That's it." Spencer states.
"You just risked your life over mommy's pills?" Cat asks.
"It's the truth." Spencer says.
"It's part of the truth. You're holding something back. Here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna penalize you by adding ten minutes. And keep in mind that the only reason you're not dead right now is because I did learn something important."
"Oh, really? What's that?"
"Your backup. I flushed them out." Cat states. "Just you and me now."
"Okay, honey." Bedelia mutters under her breath.
"Guess again, bitch." Bedelia hears Tara say.
"So when we left off, the score was you had two of our guys and the Snowman. You must have thought you were home free." Cat says.
"No. If anything, the case was harder." Spencer says.
"But first we had to get the data that we needed from the Snowman." Spencer says. "From that we could start to build the profile that would lead us to you. When we knew what we were looking for, the pattern was obvious."
"So, you are married. Is she pregnant?" Cat asks.
"No." Spencer answers.
"Kids?" Cat questions.
"No." Spencer answers, but she notices the brief look in his eye.
"Yes." Cat argues. "Just one? Or a whole houseful? A son?" She gauges his reaction. "A precious little girl?" She smirks when there's a signal of recognition. "What's her name?"
"I'm the person on my team who's the closest to your age, and I knew that if I lost control of the situation, you'd be more likely to negotiate with a peer." Spencer says, refusing to give any information about his child.
"You have zero control here. None." Cat says. "I outflaked you from the beginning."
"Some of your moves were pretty obvious." Spencer says.
"Such as?"
"Such as showing up armed. Such as changing the venue at the last moment."
"I needed a restaurant full of innocents in case this was a trap."
"If you really suspected this was a trap, then why show up at all? Even when you first laid eyes on me, from the bar, from outside, from wherever you were, you should have seen through me and kept on moving, but you didn't. You couldn't. Because you can't get to the man you really want to hurt, so you need to hurt any man who reminds you of him."
"That's kind of boilerplate psychology, isn't it? I'm just another girl with daddy issues."
"You'd be surprised how many killers do what they do because of their parents. If it's so boilerplate, why don't we test that theory? How hard did you look for him?"
"Very hard."
"And how disappointed were you when you realized that you will never find him? You needed some other outlet for your rage, and for a while this worked, but it also tripped you up. Can I tell you a little secret? Everything eventually falls apart. The trick is accepting when it's over."
The two stare at each other before the timer goes off.
"Except it ain't over, is it?" Cat asks.
"Do you really think I'm just gonna let you walk out of here?" Spencer asks.
"You profiled so much about me, except you forgot to ask the most important question." Cat says. "Why would I make you sit here for 30 minutes?"
"Because you're stalling."
"Then you don't know me at all. Did you think I'd show up here without an escape plan? Or is that what just another girl with daddy issues would do? Maybe if you hadn't fallen victim to your own gender bias, and, yes, all men have a gender bias, even you, Dr. Reid, you would have recognized that your entire strategy was based on one faulty detail. Can you see it?"
"You're not here alone." Spencer says.
"And my partner? Less paranoid than you think."
"You planted a bomb in the building."
"We're on the move." JJ says.
"I didn't. My job was to keep your entire team focused on us, so he could do what he does best." Cat says.
"Hotch, we've got interconnected C-4 charges down here." JJ says.
"How many?" Hotch asks.
"There's 6 charges. They're connected to the city's gas line. She could take out the whole block." Rossi says.
"There are innocent people here." Spencer sneers.
"Yes, there are. So let me remind you what we're playing for." Cat says. "Not only will I walk out of here, but you will make sure I leave safely. And from where I'm sitting... it looks like I've won."
"You need to pay attention to this part." Cat says. "I'm going to tell you the terms of my victory. I want you to move all of your backup away from this building. If I walk out of here and I see one cop, I will incinerate us all."
"I can't do that." Spencer says.
"Spencer--"
"It's not me. What you're asking takes time." Spencer says. Cat grabs Spencer's tie, leaning towards the mic.
"This is to whoever's in charge. Unless you guys want to be responsible for the biggest FBI disaster since Waco, you will back off now." She puts his tie back. "Watch this."
"JJ, say again. The bomb has a cell phone trigger?" Hotch asks.
"That's right. All she has to do is call the number and boom." JJ says.
"Can you jam the signal?" Hotch asks Penelope.
"Not from here, no." Penelope says.
"The failsafe will still kick in. Same outcome -- can't move 'em, can't submerge 'em." Rossi says.
"It'll take us hours to get the gas turned off on the whole block." Hotch says. "If we alert anyone, then the panic could set her and the bomb off."
"SWAT's on the radio with the bomb squad." JJ says. "They say our only chance is to get our hands on that cell phone. If we shut down the trigger, we can remove the charges."
"Morgan. Bedelia." Hotch calls.
"Mm-hmm?" She hums.
"Go ahead, Hotch." He says.
"Does she have a cell phone with her?" Hotch asks.
"I haven't seen anything." Bedelia says, making sure to keep her voice quiet.
"I don't think so. I didn't see her pull one out." Derek says. "The bomber was setting this up while we were all up here. I think he's holding the stick."
"We're combing the block. He could be anywhere, though." Hotch says. "Where's Lewis?"
"Look at that. There they go." Cat says as the wait staff start to give people their checks.
"All we want to do--" Spencer starts.
"Minimize the collateral damage. I get it." Cat says. "I'm not mad. It'll give me the cover I need to slip out. I just need to know it's clear, so do me a favor and tell your boss that nobody leaves until it's safe for me to."
"Reid. Perimeter agents are pulling back." Hotch says. "You have to let her go."
"Well?" Cat asks.
"Repeat -- all agents, do not engage or pursue until the bomb is defused." Hotch orders.
"Spencer..." Cat calls.
"You can leave." He finally tells her. Cat slides out of the booth, getting up. "But you won't." He says while she gets her stuff. Bedelia frowns, resisting the urge to look in her husband's direction.
"I'm sorry?" She asks.
"Double or nothing I can get you to sit back down." Spencer challenges.
"Reid, what are you doing?" Hotch asks.
"Wow, now you're stalling." Cat says.
"You played your trump card, but I have one, too." Spencer says.
"Thanks for dinner. I had fun." Cat starts to leave.
"I found your father." Spencer states making her stop. She turns back to him.
"No, you didn't." She denies.
"Look at my face. Am I bluffing?" He asks. "I'll tell you where he is. But you need to sit back down and listen to the rest of my story."
"No. Tell me now." Cat orders. "Or I'll--"
"Detonate the bomb? You're not gonna do that, Cat, because then you won't learn anything." Spencer says. "You said you were good at your job because you think through every outcome. Well, guess what -- so do I."
Cat sits back down.
"All right. Finish the story." Cat says.
"To prepare for this dinner, I had to learn everything about you, starting with your real name." Spencer says.
"Catherine Adams. Daughter of Daniel Adams, who did in fact leave the country in 1987 but returned in 2012." Spencer says. "Based on confidential records in rehabs and sober living houses, which in turn pointed us to flophouses and soup kitchens. He couldn't put 24 hours together sober. And you can probably imagine my surprise when I discovered that he actually lives right here in D.C."
"Where?" Cat asks.
"It's not that simple." Spencer says. "He was in bad shape when I found him."
"He didn't remember me?" Cat asks.
"The alcoholism shredded his brain. I'm sorry." Spencer tells her.
"You're not sorry. Sorry is what people say when they don't understand." Cat says. "Wait." She says after a moment. "Your mother -- tell me."
"Is-- is this part of the game?" Spencer asks.
"No. The game's over." Cat says.
Spencer looks down, licking his lips. Bedelia quietly sighs, wishing she could take him out of this situation.
"When I looked at her medical chart, it-- it didn't make any sense." Spencer says. "The medication that they gave her should have been helping, but I couldn't figure out what was making her so angry. So, I, uh, I went to see her. The moment I walked in her room, I saw it. For three seconds... she didn't know who I was."
Bedelia winces as she looks down at the table, her heart aching for her husband's pain.
"I, um, I had her tested that morning, and I found out that night... that she had early onset of dementia. Most likely Alzheimer's." Spencer states.
"Did you test yourself?" Cat asks. Spencer looks down. "No, you didn't. You were too scared."
"I thought I dodged a bullet when I turned 30 and didn't have a schizophrenic break like her, but, uh, this is somehow bigger and scarier because I can actually see it happening. All the memories that we used to share are just dying. I can't stop it. I can't help her. All I can do is find people that I can help."
"Is that really why you showed up tonight?" Cat asks. "To help me? Do you know how many men have told me that they wanted to help me? How do you think that worked out for them?"
"Hotch, she just armed the bomb." JJ states.
"Hotch, we need to pull back." Rossi says.
"Morgan, get out of there." Hotch orders.
"Hotch, we might have a lead here." Tara says.
"She hasn't touched anything to arm the bomb." Derek says. "That means the bomber's here, somewhere in the restaurant."
"All right, if you can take him, do so, but the priority is evacuation." Hotch states.
"I'm not even sure if it is a him." Tara says. "Cat mentioned something about gender bias, so that could apply to the bomber as well."
"All right, she'd have to be in a position to maintain line of sight on Reid all night. Who do you see?" Hotch asks.
"Look for anyone with their phone out." Derek says. "That's the detonator. Our woman will give herself away by looking over."
"You're right. You don't need my help. You don't need anyone's help. You are completely in control." Spencer says.
"I've got her." Tara says. "Blue dress. By the bar."
"Hey, you know what, baby?" Derek asks, taking a sip of his martini. "Let's get out of here. I'm not really feeling this place."
"Really? I kind of liked it." Tara says as they both get up and Derek grabs her hand.
"I want to take you to a spot where we can do some dancing." Derek says.
Derek grabs the bomber and wrestles the phone out of her hand before Tara slams her head into the bar. Derek turns the phone off.
"Hotch, we're clear." JJ states.
"Hey." Cat grabs Spencer, aiming the gun to his neck. Bedelia shoots to her feet, aiming her gun at the woman.
"I will pull the trigger." Cat warns. "Don't!"
"FBI, everybody stay calm, please." Derek says.
"We're gonna be smart about this and talk it out." Tara says as she arrests the bomber. "Aren't we, Cat?"
"That's up to you." Cat says.
"Get everyone out of here." Spencer says.
The remaining customers run out.
"Morgan, Bedelia, you, too." Spencer says.
"Not a chance." Bedelia argues.
"I'm not going anywhere." Derek says, aiming his gun at Cat.
"Guess we're right back where we started." Cat says. Tara drags the bomber outside. "You and me with a gun."
"It's two against one, sweetheart." Bedelia says.
"I'll pull the trigger right when you do." Cat promises, pressing the barrel of the gun to Spencer's jaw.
"Reid, it's time." Derek says.
"No." He argues.
"We don't have a choice. We have to do it." Derek says.
"Do what?" Cat asks.
"Morgan, shut up." Spencer tells him.
"There's one thing he hasn't told you yet." Derek says.
"That's not true. He's lying. Don't listen to him." Spencer says.
"What haven't you told me?" Cat asks.
"Nothing. I told you -- nothing!"
"What don't I know?"
"Nothing!"
"We brought your father here." Derek says. Spencer gives him an upset look.
"Here?" Cat asks. "He's here?" She looks at Spencer for confirmation.
"He's right outside." Derek says. "Reid thought he needed every bargaining chip he could get."
"Morgan, I'm begging you, don't. Don't." Spencer says.
"Every bargaining chip he could get to convince you to do the right thing." Derek says.
"How is this the right thing?" Cat asks.
"Your father killed your mother." Derek says. "And there's no statute on limitations on murder, so you really need to think about your options right now. You shoot him, we will kill you. Or if you surrender, you will live to testify against your father."
"That's not good enough." Cat says.
"We can arrange it for the two of you to drive into custody together, and then you can remind him of who you are." Derek says.
"If you give her this, she wins. Don't do it." Spencer pleads.
"Kid, I am trying to save your life. Now let me do that." Derek says. They hear a beeping outside. "They're bringing him in right now."
"You're really upset about this, aren't you?" Cat asks Spencer.
"This is what you wanted, isn't it, a chance to finally hurt the man who deserves it?" Derek asks.
"They all deserve it." Cat says.
"He deserves it the most." Derek says. Spencer shakes his head.
"Only if Spencer escorts me out." Cat says.
"Deal." Spencer says. Cat drops the gun on the floor.
Derek keeps the gun trained on Cat while he walks a bit closer and gives Spencer handcuffs. Bedelia keeps her gun on Cat as she moves closer and picks the woman's gun up.
Spencer handcuffs Cat and leads her out.
"Hotch?" Derek calls.
"Yeah." He replies.
"We're coming out." Derek states.
"Okay, you're all clear." Hotch says.
Bedelia quickly walks over to the booth and grabs Cat's purse, digging through it. She grabs Spencer's wedding ring and tightly holds it as she catches up with the others.
"Okay, I'm ready." Cat says, looking up at Spencer.
Bedelia rolls her eyes, internally gagging at the eye contact.
Spencer leads Cat over to the van and he and Derek open the doors to the empty van. Cat scoffs, Spencer forcing her inside. He puts her on the bench, kneeling down and chaining her to it.
"You lied to me." Cat says.
"If it makes you feel any better, I really-- I did look for him." Spencer says. "But... I couldn't find him, so, yeah, I did make it all up."
"Not all of it." She counters. "You don't pull a story about a parent losing her memory out of nowhere. Your mother and the Alzheimer's, that's true. I won."
"How so?" Spencer asks.
"Because I will get out of here." Cat says.
"Yeah, in 20 years, maybe, if you're lucky." Spencer says.
"Yeah, that's fine. You know why? Because in 20 years... I'll remember your name, but you won't remember mine."
"Okay." Bedelia mumbles, turning to the van, but Derek quickly wraps his arms around her, pulling her back.
"Cool it, cool it. She's already going to prison." Derek mutters.
"It look like I give a shit?" Bedelia hisses.
"Don't." Derek orders, only letting go of her after she stops fighting.
Spencer gets out of the truck and Derek shuts the doors.
"Hey." Bedelia mumbles, grabbing Spencer's arm.
"I don't--" He grimaces, stopping when she grabs his left hand. He watches her hold the ring up and she gently slips it on.
"There." She weakly smiles. "You're all mine again." She grins. Spencer weakly smiles, his shoulders relaxing a bit at her not bringing up any of the awful things on his mind.
+++
Bedelia, Spencer, and Derek walk up to Derek's house, the man letting out a loud sigh.
"So..." He starts making Spencer sigh. Bedelia reaches out, gently squeezing Spencer's wrist in silent support. "You guys want to come in, decompress a bit?"
Spencer looks down at Bedelia who shrugs, not really caring.
"I'm good." Spencer says. "We're probably just gonna go home. I'm... probably getting Theo out of her crib." Bedelia softly smiles.
"That was an intense case." Derek says. Spencer lets out a short laugh.
"Yeah." He nods. "It's over. Network's gone."
"Yeah." Derek nods. "Reid." He calls. "That medical research that Savannah gave you. Was that..." Spencer nods.
"Yeah." He whispers, nodding again. He looks down with furrowed brows.
"You are gonna get yourself tested, aren't you?" Derek asks.
"One of the data points that her research told me about was age." Spencer says. "I'm, uh, too young to display the chromosomal signs, so I'm just gonna have to... learn to live not knowing."
Bedelia leans against him, grabbing her hand in his, Spencer quickly intertwining their fingers.
The front door opens, cutting off any response Derek could have.
"Oh, my God!" Penelope exclaims, walking out.
"Oh, hey, whoa, whoa, whoa." Derek remarks as Penelope makes her way down the steps. "What is happening right now?"
"You're what's going on. Right now is what's-- you are here." She puts her hand on Derek's shoulders, the couple standing by laughing. "Do you know what's happening right now? Is that... it is done. The Dirty Dozen is done." She makes hand gestures. "Yes, done. I'm in it!"
Savannah walks out, making her way over to the group.
"How much did she have?" Derek questions his girlfriend. Savannah scratches the back of her head.
"She started out with jaeger." The woman informs.
"Jaeger?" Derek looks at Penelope.
"Oh, no." Bedelia laughs.
"I love you." Penelope states, rubbing Derek's shoulders.
"Okay." He nods.
"I love you." She tells him again. "And you." She points at Spencer who is laughing, a giant grin on his face. "I love you so much." She squeals. "And you." She points at Bedelia, walking over to her, the brunette giggling. "I love you so much. You're amazing." Penelope plants a loud kiss to Bedelia's cheek making her laugh.
"And you," Penelope turns to Savannah, "I should be jealous of you because you're so hot. But I'm not. I'm not. I promise you I'm not. I'm not. I promise. No, I'm not. Cause you know what? All I feel in here is love. I just-- I am feeling-- I'm full of love." She runs her hands over her body.
Bedelia continues to laugh, hiding her face in Spencer's shoulder.
"So much love! I'm wearing too many clothes." Penelope starts to go inside.
"Uh, I got this." Savannah assures, following the blonde inside.
"You sure you don't wanna reconsider?" Derek laughs.
"I think I'm okay. I'm just gonna-- I really just want to go home." Spencer says.
"Get a video camera for me." Bedelia says.
"Hey, kid." Derek calls just as the couple start to leave. "Can I tell you something?"
"Yeah." Spencer says.
Derek pulls him into a hug, tightly holding him.
"I just, uh..." Derek says.
"Yeah." Spencer mumbles, it somewhat muffled by Derek's shoulder.
"You know?"
"I know. I know." Spencer's voice cracks, tightly hugging Derek back.
Derek looks at Bedelia who sadly smiles.
"Good. Cause I mean it." Derek says, the two pulling away after a bit. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."
"Well, I hate you too, then." Bedelia says.
"All right, genius wife." Derek chuckles. "It goes for you too. Just-- just so much love in here." He mocks Penelope, running his hands over his chest.
"Okay." Bedelia chuckles. "Yeah. Love you, too." Derek pulls her in for a quick but tight hug.
+++
Spencer immediately goes to Theodora's room when they get home while Bedelia sends the babysitter off.
Spencer watches Theodora sleep, his heart melting but breaking at the same time. He studies every part of her face and her messy hair due to sleeping.
He can't imagine ever forgetting his baby and knowing there's a possibility of that ever happening completely destroys him. He'll forget her first word, her first steps, her birth. He won't recognize her voice or her giggles.
"Hey." He glances back when Bedelia whispers, the woman walking closer. "She good?"
"Sound asleep." Spencer mumbles.
"Looking adorable as ever." Bedelia grins down at the sleeping two year old. She looks up at Spencer. "How are you doing?"
"I'm... uh... yeah." Spencer sighs.
"We'll be okay." Bedelia promises, rubbing his arm. "We'll do what we can for your mom, we're gonna live life to the fullest because we can't dwell in agony."
Spencer nods, turning to her. He reaches up, cradling her face in his hands. His eyes run over her face, memorizing every detail he can.
"I love you." Spencer tells her as he runs through every memory of her in his mind that he has. Their wedding, first date, every time she's gotten hurt, all the random conversations late at night, when she told him she was pregnant.
"Hey." Bedelia leans into his hand, holding onto both of his wrists gently. "You're not losing your memory."
"We don't know that." Spencer says.
"Okay, well, we know you're not losing it yet." Bedelia says. "You have years to make sure every detail of the two of us is burned into your brain."
Spencer weakly smiles, nodding a bit.
Bedelia leans up, brushing her nose against his before softly kissing him.
"I love you." She whispers against his lips.
"I love you, too." He whispers back. "A whole lot." He adds making her smile.
"We'll be okay. Promise." Bedelia tells him. Spencer nods, praying to whatever that could be out there that she's right.
"I never got to tell you how beautiful you look in your dress." Spencer comments. Bedelia quietly laughs, her cheeks heating up.
"Well, you look absolutely amazingly dashing in a suit." Bedelia replies.
"Oh. Dashing? That-- that's a new one." Spencer softly laughs.
"I think it's fitting." Bedelia grins, kissing his jaw.
"Mama. Dada." They look down at the bed, Theodora rubbing her eyes as she sits up.
"Hi, baby." Spencer excitedly greets in a loud whisper. He picks her up, the girl immediately clinging to him. "Wanna sleep in mommy and daddy's bed?"
Theodora nods, her head falling onto Spencer's shoulder. Bedelia lightly scratches her back for a few moments.