TWENTY-EIGHT; TIME TO FACE THE MUSIC.
50,000 miles away from the jet, a balding man sat in his living room, surrounded by computers, a small alert went off on the screen to his bottom left. Looking over he reads it, 'ALERT: the FBI are on their way they know who you are.' Tom panics, he knew this day would come, he knew his little Aurora would find him some day... it was just a matter of when.
That was when he heard the sirens in the distance, he had planned for this, he smiled to himself.
--
"Ok, ok yep, thankyou, we're about 45 minutes out" Hotch hung up the phone, "ok so we have the Australian equivalent of SWAT, the SRG waiting for us, and the local police have locked down the neighbourhood" Everyone nods, setting out their bullet proof vests and guns in front of them, preparing fully for what was to come. Spencer had his arm around Rory, trying his best to be of a little comfort to her, her anxiety was coming off her in waves, he couldn't wait until they just got back to her plant filled apartment with pixie, and this would be over, but he knew it was far from over and the feeling of dread weighed heavy in his gut, he had a bad feeling about this.
The team sat in silence, waiting impatiently for the plane to land, the desperate need to catch this man was taking over. Aurora wasn't as angry as she had been when they first got on the plane, she was more determined, she knew that they would bring justice to this monster, and bring closure to all of the families who were affected by him, including herself. She had waited so long for a lead like this, she would not let him get away. Although her knee jerk reaction was that she wanted the man who killed her parents and raped her dead, but Aurora knew that would not be what her parents wanted, so she settled for knowing he would go away for life, he would never see the light of day again, even though he got to live, the knowledge that the man who did such heinous things would spend the rest of his miserable life behind bars was rather satisfying.
Across the jet Emily and Morgan spoke quietly amongst themselves, "you know what's bothering me?" Morgan posed, Emily looks up at him, intrigued "what" she asks, "well, if he's smart enough to be able to stay this far off the grid then he must be smart enough to know we're coming, but he can't leave, we have the whole street locked down, so what does he do?" Emily's brow furrows, knowing he was right he would at least know his street was blocked off, what would he do if he was cornered? "guys, Morgan was just saying, like, if he's smart enough to stay off the grid, wouldn't he find a way to set up an alert for when we find his new identities, like Foyet did?" Hotch stiffens up at Emily's use of the man who killed his wife as an example, nevertheless they were right, he wouldn't just sit and wait...
"So you're saying it might be a trap?" Penelope asks the terror and worry evident in her voice, she didn't want any of her best friends getting hurt. Morgan nods, "ok so what would he have access to, Garcia?" Rossi asks, Penelope replies by typing away furiously on her laptop, "ok, so I have his online purchase records, he had purchased large amounts of paint thinner in the past week, wait that's a type of fire starter isn't it?" Penelope looks up, the terror in her eyes at the prospect of the team getting hurt, "yeah Garcia, that's exactly what it is'' Morgan lets out a deep sigh, a pit in his stomach. "well he has no suicidal tendencies, we know that because everything was stemmed from his parents and they did not have any suicide attempts, so we can assume he has an escape plan" The team nods and Garcia continues to type furiously, searching the her browsers for answers "I got something! ok so the house he lives in currently is built over the sewer drains, and I pulled up a record of the people whose job it is to clean said sewers, poor guys, they made an official statement that there was a small trapdoor on the roof, that trapdoor according to this is right under his backyard, he must've dug some kind of tunnel as an escape route."
Aurora's hand tightens around Spencer's. This motherfucker really thought he could trick them? Not going to happen! "well we'll just have to have people waiting for him there. We'll wait to kick the door in until we have people there, he'll set the fire, so we have to have fire personnel fist through the door, but we got to get out of there as soon as he sets the fire, he'll go down his little tunnel to his trapdoor, little does he know we'll be waiting for him" Everyone nods, agreeing that her plan was the best option for everyone. Hotch stands up, dialing the local police Chief's mobile, to let them know about their advancements in the case. Aurora takes a deep breath, knowing they were not walking into any kind of trap.
--
Exactly thirty minutes later, The BAU jet lands at Brisbane airport. Vests strapped on and their guns firmly in their holsters, they grab their bags and walk to the two black SUVs that waited for them on the tarmac they Aurora drove one car while the officer that came to greet them drove the other, no-one spoke in either car and tensions ran high, they were so so so close to catching that man they would catch him.
After an excruciatingly long drive of half an hour, the black SUVs pull up to the cluster of police and fire services that surrounded all entrances to Hazier lane, They all jumped out of the car and walked up to the Police Chief who was standing, waiting for their arrival. "Chief Strat's, Agents" he nods towards the team acknowledging them before filling them in o the progress "ok so we have his house surrounded, non uniformed of course, but definitely knows we're here, 7 news got a hold of us being here, we've only just gotten them to go away, but it's all over the news "serial killer cornered in Brisbane" absolutely frustrating" Hotch nods, not surprised, he had dealt with worse, at least they had not named him.
"Ok so you have plenty of people in the sewer?" Hotch asks him, Chief Strat nods confirming that he had personnel where Hotch had instructed him to. "Good, Hearst, Reid, you two go down there, I want you to make the arrest, he might be armed and Rory, I think you are our best bet on talking him down, ok?" The two nod, faces hardened knowing they would be facing him directly. An officer walks them to the sewer entrance and they climb down the small ladder, the repulsive stench overwhelmed them "oh gross" Rory whispers, blocking her nose and taking spencer's hand with her free one, before walking down the dimly lit sewer drain, there is tapping lightly on the damp floors, they could hear the rustling of the other people down in the drain and dropped each other's hands, they had to be professional.
"You must be BAU '' said the SRG (specialist response group) Captain, the two nod and Spencer pulls out his phone waiting for the sign that the other half of their team alone with the fire department had breached the house from above.
Morgan- Going in now.
"They're going in," Spencer says, the determination clear as day in his voice. Everyone had their guns drawn, pointing them at the small trap door on the roof directly across from them.
--
Standing at the gate, guns drawn while five fire personnel approach the door, they turn and Hotch gives them the go ahead, they hold their breath, praying no-one would get hurt. The man at the front, kicks in the door and almost immediately an explosion is heard, all five of the firemen are forced back and they fly through the air from the sheer pressure and force of the fire, the house is completely engulfed in flames, they jump forward to make sure they are ok. Thankfully their extensive fire protective gear, they were bruised, a little shaken and they were pretty sure one of them had broken a wrist from a funny landing, but everyone was relatively unharmed. All they could do was pray that Rory would get through to him as they approached the entrance to the Sewers, when they reappeared, they would be right there to take him into custody.
--
They heard the explosion from down in the sewers, looking up, terrified that the rest of their team was injured, they just took a couple of deep breaths and prayed that they were ok, they double checked that their guns were loaded and they heard movement in the tunnel, what sounded like a bag getting thrown down the tunnel, he was coming, Aurora's breathing speeds up, she was absolutely terrified.
The sounds of the lock being unlocked from the inside before the door swing wide open revealing a grey balding man dropping from the hole in the roof, their guns followed him down to the floor, "FBI you're under arrest" Aurora yells out at him, forcing the terror out of her voice, he turns around slowly with his hands in the air, "is that who I think it is?" His voice was raspy, it sent chills up her spine as she glared at him "my, little, Aurora" Spencer's hand stiffens around the trigger of his gun, eyes flashing darkly, "my oh my you've grown up beautiful" Spencer steps forward protectively, gun pointed directly at him, "Tell your little guard dog to step down princess" Aurora 's entire body stiffens and she makes eye contact with Spence who stepped back into his previous position, "Kick you bag away and get on your knees" She yelled, the edge of fury in her voice, her eyes darkened, he kicks away his bag but stays standing, knowing they wouldn't shoot because he wasn't armed "I've kept up with you Aurora Hearst, two PHDs SSA dr Aurora Hearst of the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, your parents would be very proud... but then again, they're not here are they?" Aurora lets out a small growl and her eyes narrow the mention of her parents angering her further and she shoots daggers at him with her eyes, she gestures to the SRG to make a forced arrest, they force him to his knees and handcuff him. forcing him up and dragging him towards the entrance.
Aurora and Spencer both let out breaths they didn't notice they were holding, as the monster of a man was dragged away, "you can't get rid of me Aurora, I'll be back!" He calls out, his voice bouncing off the sewer walls and Aurora's eyes betray her, a single tear falling from them as she drops to the floor, Spencer immediately holstering his gun and swooping in to pull her into his arms, she sobs into his shoulder and he strokes her hair whispering into her hair "its over Rora, he's gone, its ok, you never have to see him ever again, its ok Rora he's gone ok?" She nods, snuggling into his shoulder before pulling away, standing up, wiping the tears off her face and picking up her dropped gun off the damp floor, holstering it. Spencer watched as she picks up the duffle bag Tom Alders was attempting to smuggle out, she unzips it and pulls out a massive scrapbook, flipping through she realised it was filled will a series of photos of each murder, before, during and after, there was even photos of each rape victim, she saw the photos of herself, staring blankly up at the ceiling, before the photos of her parents, terrified. She slams the book shut, handing it to Spencer , he flicks through for around three seconds before shutting it and saying "he will go away for the rest of his life, that monster will never see the light of day again ok?" Spencer pulls her into a hug and she nods. He picks up the duffle bag and they make their way to the entrance to the sewers.
The two FBI agents exit the sewers to see the flashing lights of the police cars and fire trucks, as well as the rest of their BAU team, Spencer nods to them showing them the scrap book, "we have a open and shut case he has photos of him committing all of the murders, he's kept them all as trophies" Spencer informs them. They all let out a deep breath, glad there would be no need for an worry about the case, Emily, JJ and Penelope put their arms around the Woman with tear tracks down her face and walk her towards the cars, the remainder of the team do the same thing, they were desperate to get to a hotel and sleep, they were exhausted,
--
Arriving at the Hotel, the team bids each other goodnight, before closing their doors, Aurora and Spencer dropped their bags on the couch, "do you want to talk?" Spencer asks his girlfriend softly, She unzips her bag and pulls out her toiletries, "definitely, but can we talk tomorrow? I'm exhausted, I just want a shower and sleep" He nods, agreeing with her, she smiles weakly and gives him a peck on the cheek as she walks to the bathroom to shower, he realises they haven't eaten so he calls up a pizza place to order her favorite. The pizza had been delivered by the time she emerged from the shower, she smiled at the sight and smell of pizza, the two sit at the table to eat in a comfortable silence, "I'm just going to bed ok Spence?" She asks, yawning and standing up, he smiles sweetly down at her, "I'm just gonna shower, I'll be in soon" She hops up on her tippy toes and gives him a short kiss on the lips, "I love you Spencer Reid" she whispers, "I love you too Aurora Hearst" he whispers back before she retreats to the bedroom and he walks towards the bathroom.
And for the first time in many days, Aurora slept peacefully, knowing the man who killed her parents and so many others had been brought to justice.