Although Elijah was awoken pretty shortly after with his phone going off.

"Mm.." Elijah reached for his phone, squinting as he answered,"Hm?"

"Elijah? The Replicator is here in New York. He took pictures of us and he hacked into Garcia's system." Fleur quickly spoke.

"How the- See, I knew trying to sleep was a bad idea." Elijah scrambled to reached his glasses and get out of bed.

"We're coming to the hotel, we'll be there soon." Fleur nodded.

"I'll meet you guys in the lobby." Elijah sighed.

"Okay, love you." Fleur leaned back.

"Love you too, doll." Elijah shook his head as he hung up.

"Hey Garcia." Fleur called her soon after.

"Are you guys okay?" Garcia asked quickly.

"Yeah, yeah. I got Derek with me. We're meeting everyone at the hotel." Fleur sighed.

"I don't know how he got it." Garcia shook her head.

"Tech's gonna shut down the system before the Replicator can." Kevin typed.

"I'm so sorry, I checked everything. I upgrade constantly."

"It's not your fault, Pen. He's just that good." Fleur cursed.

"And he wanted us to know that he's hunting us." Morgan sighed.

"Hold on.. You've got an external override. And if the only way to get in is with a pre-authorised hardline and he didn't get in via Quantico.." Kevin looked back.

"Oh my god." Garcia gasped.

"What?" Morgan asked.

"He was in my house.." Garcia whispered.

*********************************

Rossi and Elijah had met Hotch and were going through Strauss' room where she wasn't... Bottles of alcohol were on the bedside table.

"The window's open. She'd never sleep like that." Rossi shook his head.

"Did something happen to make her drink again?" Hotch questioned.

"No! She was working really hard at.." Elijah snapped before something on the nightstand caught his eye and he picked up.. A coin,"This represents a year sober. She hasn't let go of it since she got it- She's even a sponsor now."

"The Replicator has her. I'll check the roof." Rossi sighed.

"I'll have Morgan meet you up there." Hotch nodded as they walked out of the hotel room, meeting the others,"Strauss is missing. Blake, you and Reid talk to hotel security. We need access points and footage from every camera. Morgan, you back up Dave and Deans on the roof. JJ and Howards, take the west staircase. I'll take the east."

When Elijah and Rossi got up to the roof, they turned the corner and..Morgan was there.

"Rossi, Elijah. What the hell happened?" Morgan questioned.

"Her room was a wreck." Rossi sighed.

"She been drinking?" Morgan asked.

"No." Elijah insisted.

The three of them looked over the balcony of the roof.

"Eli, you sure?" Morgan looked at him,"Look, if the Replicator took her, he's probably long gone."

"But he left the window open so we would come up here." Не shook his head.

"Then this is some kind of trap or he wants us to see something."

"There she is!" Rossi pointed to the ground where Strauss was stumbling around.

That's when Rossi got a phone call from Hotch,"I found her! She's on a bench, she's a block east of the hotel. Call EMTS."

Rossi nodded as he began to phone for the EMTs but Elijah didn't care how far Strauss was. He could see her, he could make it there. Elijah raced down to the location, seeing Aaron and Strauss.

"Erin-" Elijah was trying to catch his breath.

"I tried to find you." Erin panted.

"It's okay, help is on the way." Elijah assured her.

"Go." Erin coughed.

"Erin, you've been drugged. We need to get you to a hospital." Hotch told her.

"No, I can't. It's happening so fast." Strauss winced.

"Erin-" Elijah helped her sit down,"Dad's called the paramedics."

"He said he's gonna race you home. Does that mean anything to you?" She slurred to Hotch,"It's so quiet.. Why is it so quiet?"

"Erin, did you recognize him?" Hotch asked slowly.

"He put a gun to my head." Strauss whispered,"He made me drink.."

"I'm sorry.." Elijah shook his head.

"I wish I'd let him kill me." Strauss cried out.

"Did you know him?" Hotch questioned.

"No. He knows my family! My children- You have to protect them!" She stood up.

"Shh, Erin. It's alright. We will, we will. It's alright, just take a breath." Hotch helped her back down.

"I love my children." Strauss cried out,"Please tell them."

"They know.. They know." Elijah told her.

"Once you said I loved my son the most. That's not true." Strauss looked to Hotch.

"I'm sorry, I was wrong." Hotch nodded.

"Elijah? I can't see you.. Aaron?"

"I'm right here." Elijah assured her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I don't wanna die alone." Strauss closed her eyes.

"I'm right here, it's okay.." Elijah hugged Strauss closed to him,"Shh.. It's okay, mamma."

That's when Rossi and Morgan came running.. They were too late. Elijah just looked up at Rossi. He knew they had to find the son of a bitch that did this.

*********************************

Everyone finally met up, Elijah finally leaving Strauss as the EMTs got her.

"We've got an APB, but the description of The Replicator is too general." Fleur sighed.

"He wiped out all of the hotel security cameras. ATM and traffic cameras were compromised also which means he hacked into at least two dozen systems." Reid explained.

"Well, he got into Garcia's place, which means he can get in anywhere. This guys bragging." Morgan shook his head.

"He also wants us to know he can take massive risks and still get away with it." Reid continued,"It's probably why he took Strauss into a crowd of people."

"That and to humiliate her publicly." JJ nodded.

"But he called Hotch from her phone. It was important to him that we find her alive." Blake shook her head.

"The director wants this contained and solved." Hotch walked over.

"Well, at least he's not taking us off the case." Morgan pointed.

"He's given us twenty-four hours and then he will." Hotch sighed.

Fleur walked over to Elijah before she hugged him.

"I don't want to leave her, Flo." Elijah told her.

"I know." Fleur sighed,"I think Rossi is gonna go with her."

"She didn't like the city, he's taking her home." Elijah nodded slowly.

"I just.. I'm so sorry, Elijah."

"I just.. I hate how she went out like that." Elijah sighed.

"It was a horrible way to die.. She came so far." Fleur looked down.

"She was really beating it.. We were beating it." Elijah held the coin tightly.

"We?" Fleur looked up at him.

"..I had a slip when Maeve passed." Elijah admitted,"I started drinking but.. But I've stopped. She helped me."

"You promise?" Fleur took his hand.

"I promise." Elijah squeezed it.

"I wish you had told me."

"I didn't want you to know, or anyone, really." Elijah looked away,"It's just so.. Frustrating slipping back into something like this after so many years."

"I understand." Fleur sighed,"But I'm proud of you, Eli."

"Thanks.." Elijah smiled softly.

"Come on." Fleur nodded.

*********************************

"Garcia, is this everything?" Hotch asked as he walked into the Conference Room.

They'd set up all their evidence for The Replicator case.. Including the items Fleur and Elijah received at their homes.

"Yeah. The Replicator stuff is here, and the team stuff is there and there. How's Rossi?" Garcia asked.

"Not good." Elijah sighed.

"Is he with Strauss?" Garcia rubbed Elijah's back.

"Yeah.."

"I uh- I started with the question you asked, why attack Strauss and on this day?" Garcia began.

"The most obvious answer is that it's an anniversary of some sort." Reid nodded.

"But there's nothing historically relevant." Garcia shook her head.

"It could be the smallest thing. Concentrate on New York. If the date's that important, the setting could be too." Reid explained.

"It would be easier to attack Strauss at home. Is there a reason why he waited for her to be out?" JJ wondered.

"Well, considering she's hardly ever in the field, he sure got a lot of photos of Strauss." Morgan pointed out,"It's like he's obsessed with her."

"Maybe Strauss was always his first target." Fleur tilted her head,"He attacked the top of the BAU chain first."

"Alright, Reid, you've matched up all the murder locations with the dates. Now we need to know how long it would take to drive to each of these locations, assuming a home base in the District. He brought the fight here for a reason." Hotch told them.

"Well, it's nearly impossible to figure out when he arrived and departed New York, but we should try." Morgan stated.

"I'll collect all the public and private transport stuff." Garcia nodded.

"Garcia, I need Kevin to go through every single pixel of these photographs. This UnSub gets off on taunting us. He's given us answers here. We just haven't found them yet." Hotch pointed.

*********************************

Rossi was at the M.E's office and sent over a picture of a marking on Strauss' wrist.

"Dave, a figure eight?" Hotch asked.

"That's what it looks like. I just sent you all a picture." Rossi nodded.

"Maybe it's an infinity symbol." Reid suggested.

"Well, if it's infinity, he could be boasting 'I'll go on forever?" Blake suggested.

"Or if it's an eight, Strauss was his eighth victim." Morgan nodded.

"If this is a taunt from him, it's too random." Hotch looked up.

"Well, he's only sent one message and he seems to be really proud of it." Elijah sighed.

"Zugzwang." Fleur recalled.

"Then what does this mean?" Blake questioned.

"Rossi, the cut looks jaggered. Any idea what caused the serration?" JJ raised a brow.

"Best guess is a piece of glass." He answered.

"Maybe he used empty bottles from the mini bar?" Morgan suggested.

"They were all plastic." Rossi shook his head,"The M.E is checking for splinters now."

"Alright. Let us know what you find out." Hotch hung up,"Anything from the photographs yet?"

"We blew up a few more and this one seems to stand out." Morgan handed it over.

"When were you in a tuxedo?" JJ chuckled.

"It was a British Embassy event." Morgan told them.

"Security clearance is high." Blake sighed.

"Security was insane there." Garcia agreed,"That kind of accessibility, plus knowing about Foyet, the fact that he was able to get through all of my security clearances alone, you guys are right. You have to trust your gut.. The Replicator has gotta be on the inside."

*********************************

"If the Replicator's an insider, is there any way Strauss knew him?" JJ wondered as she made a coffee.

"She said she didn't recognize him." Hotch shook his head.

"In her defence, she was disoriented by the drug overdose." Reid sighed.

"She was adamant about it." Hotch shook his head.

"Well, even if Strauss didn't know him, it doesn't mean he didn't know her." Morgan nodded.

"Within the Bureau, she is the face of the BAU." Blake agreed.

"And clearly a targer from the beginning. But why?" JJ wondered.

"More importantly, what was he replicating?" Reid questioned.

"The drug overdose." Fleur looked at him.

"I mean with the eight. It hasn't been a part of any other case and he's not one to make mistakes. He thought he was replicating a crime." Reid shook his head.

"The director made us walk away from the case a few months ago. Strauss said that she wouldn't let it go. What if she hadn't?" Hotch asked.

"You think she started her own investigation?" Elijah looked up at him.

"Why wouldn't she have told you about that back in New York?" Blake sighed.

"Maybe she didn't have proof. But her determination, plus the fact that he doesn't make mistakes makes me think that the eight was part of her plan to catch him." Hotch explained.

"Do we have her laptop?" Fleur looked up.

*********************************

"Something's not right." Fleur stood at her desk.

"What's up, babygirl?" Morgan asked her.

"Everything's.. Moved." She looked down at her desk.

"Moved?" He furrowed his brow.

"This picture of me, you and Addy.. It's usually on the left, but now it's on the right."

"Maybe you moved it?" Morgan suggested,"Some desk redecorating."

"No, I'd know Derek."

"..You don't think it was The Replicator, do you?" Morgan asked slowly.

"He could be here and we don't even know it." Fleur sighed.

"It could be anyone." Morgan looked around.

"Okay, at least this should narrow it down." JJ walked over with Blake and Reid.

"Finding someone on the inside should be easier." Blake agreed.

"Not necessarily. If our UnSub was trained by law enforcement, he'd know how to fit in perfectly." Reid sighed.

"There's meaning an purpose to everything he does. Why did he choose to replicate The Silencer case?" Morgan questioned.

"Well, the UnSub went dormant for years cause he was locked up. Is that a clue about the Replicator?" JJ wondered.

"Or it speaks to his patience." Morgan suggested,"What about his MO? He sewed mouths shut."

"It symbolises keeping secrets. There could be something in that." Blake looked up.

"He's targeting everyone. So how does that particular case factor into all of us?" Reid crossed his arms.

"It's the first one Garcia, Flo and I worked on with Blake." Morgan mentioned.

"Yeah, but the rest of us worked on the Seattle case before that." JJ pointed.

"Right. The UnSub who used his kid to bait the victims." Blake realised.

"We need to see if he replicated that one." Reid nodded.

*********************************

Morgan and Elijah walked through to Rossi's office, they hadn't saw him for a while.

"Rossi, you okay?" Morgan asked.

"Papá, you don't look so good." Elijah shook his head.

Rossi raised from his chair,"Get out."

"Look, I know this has gotta be tough on you-" Morgan began.

That's when Rossi grabbed his gun from his holster, pointing it at them.

"Hey- Dad, what the hell are you doing?" Elijah stared at the gun.

Hotch then walked in slowly,"What's going on?"

"Morgan's DNA was on the glass that cut her wrist." Rossi spoke slowly.

"Strauss?" Morgan blinked.

"You did that."

"Dave, someone on the inside is doing this." Hotch spoke carefully.

"You're looking at him." Rossi glared at Morgan.

"Derek did not hurt her, and you have to trust me on this."

"Trust you? I bet you told Erin the same thing." Rossi spat,"Look what that got her."

"Dad, you've been drugged." Elijah told him.

"I was too late, Erin." Rossi whispered, looking at the empty couch,"I'm so sorry."

"He wants us against each other." Hotch reminded him,"If you pull that trigger, he wins."

Elijah looked down,"..She's not there."

"Give me the gun." Hotch slowly took the gun from Rossi.

"I'm gonna call the paramedics." Morgan walked out.

"Sit down, it's all right." Hotch assured Rossi as they sat down.

*********************************

Elijah gave Rossi's hand a squeeze before be was taken away by paramedics, and he and Hotch joined the others on the other side of the door.

"They've given him a sedative and they're going to take him to the infirmary." Hotch nodded,"He's going to be okay."

"How'd it get into his system?" Blake asked.

"The report must have been dusted with whatever he used on Strauss." Hotch explained.

"Luckily the transdermal absorption rate was lower than her ingestion of it, so it wasn't fatal for Rossi." Reid nodded.

"Then this was a warning." Fleur realised,"If he wanted to kill Rossi, he had every chance to do it. He probably moved the stuff on our desks too."

"If this is his endgame, why is he wasting time on warnings?" Elijah questioned.

"He's toying with us and we're playing into him. He turned Rossi against Morgan. Even if it was temporary, he wanted to show it could be done." Hotch crossed his arms.

"But why?" Blake asked.

"Strauss was dosed with a chemical cousin of Dr. Death. He altered it so her torture would be longer." Morgan walked up.

"A biochemist, computer hacker and federal agent?" JJ raised abrow,"Who the hell is this guy?"

*********************************

Blake and the others sat in the Conference Room as she wrote down everything that the Replicator had done to the team.

"The Replicator has directly taunted everyone on this team..Except for me." Blake sighed.

"You may be part of his endgame." Hotch nodded.

"Then so was Strauss."

"He chose to use drugs as his final replication. That's no accident." JJ pointed out.

"Is that a connection to you?" Fleur looked at Blake.

"Strauss and I had issues during the Amerithrax case." Blake answered,"It started in New York with poison."

"And it was delivered by envelopes." Reid nodded.

"Why would anyone on the inside hold resentment over that case?" Morgan raised a brow.

"Because that person suffered a professional setback just like Blake, but was patient and psychotic enough to get revenge." Hotch answered.

"I am all over the DOJ names including support staff." Garcia told then as she walked in,"I have Kevin pulling files and photos. System is down, so it's hard to pull entire career paths, but there were two agents in New York in 2001. Scratch that, Lehman died in October, that leaves Curtis."

"Wait a second, John Curtis?" Blake blinked, looking at the photo in the file.

"You know him?" Garcia asked.

"I haven't seen him in a long time. He was a nice guy. We were first office agents together, but I thought he left the Bureau after the Amerithrax case." She nodded.

"Could it be him? Does he fit the profile?" Hotch leaned forward.

"He was quiet and a loner, but brilliant." Blake admitted,"He specialised in a lot of fields, but his passion was biochemistry."

*********************************

The team had managed to pinpoint Curtis' location and in order to get there as fast as possible, they all began to board the helicopters.

"HRT will divide us up when we land." Hotch spoke in the comms.

"As you can see through the geo ref'd, he's got plenty of privacy." Garcia began,"Five and a half acres, three structures, house included-"

Garcia's feed was cut off as the screens on both helicopters went static.

"Garcia?" Hotch raised a brow.

"I see it too, sir. It must be some sort of system override." Garcia sighed.

That's when the lights went off as well as the helicopter began shaking uncontrollably.

"Whats happening?!" Garcia panicked.

"Autopilot's seized." The pilot spoke.

"Oh god." She gasped.

The helicopter continued to plummet before soon slowly, the lights and screens coming back on.

"I got it back." The pilot assured them.

"Are you okay?"

"We've stabilized." Fleur nodded.

"Oh thank God." Garcia sighed.

Before the relief could sink in, it happened again but worse as they fell from the sky.

"Brace for impact." The pilot instructed,"Mayday- Mayday!"

Then Garcia heard silence.. There was nothing on the others end. The other helicopter soon landed beside the wreck of the other. Everyone go out of the other helicopter which had, Morgan, JJ and Elijah and they ran over to the crash.

Morgan forced open the door, looking inside, "Are you guys alright?"

"Yeah." Fleur winced.

"Where's Blake?" JJ looked in the helicopter..It only having the pilot, Hotch, Fleur and Reid.

"Whay the hell is this?" Morgan picked up a silver object,"What is this?"

*********************************

They all got out of the helicopter as the other services got there.

"If he wanted to kill all of us, he could've done it easily." JJ sighed.

"He's playing God, just like he's done all year." Reid shook his head,"He hard-landed us, knocked us out with whatever was in that cannister so he could take Blake."

"He had plenty of chances to take her before tonight. He wants it to be a spectacle." Hotch pointed.

The team soon ended up outside of Curtis' house where SWAT was already waiting for them.

"We're ready to breach the house." Hotch ordered.

With that, they all surrounded and began to enter the dark house with their guns and flashlights raided. They searched the house, finding photos and a camera feed of the BAU and the team until they found Alex tied to a chair with chains in the basement, gagged.

"Which way did he go?" JJ asked as she removed the gag.

"I don't know." Alex shook her head.

"Morgan, you, Fleur and JJ find him. We've got this." Hotch pointed.

Morgan, JJ and Fleur left the room while Reid, Hotch and Elijah stayed to help.

"He said he used ten locks because there used to be ten of us."

"That's all he said?" Reid asked.

"About that, yes."

"There's only eight keys, which means to keys could be used twice. Each key is a letter, likely corresponds to a number on the locks. Seven, seventh letter of the alphabet 'g'.." Reid rambled as he fiddles with the keys.

"What are the other letters?" Hotch asked.

"Uh.. 'z', 'u', 'w'-" Reid stopped,"Zugzwang."

Blake sighed and leaned back in the chair.

"It's too easy." Elijah shook his head.

Meanwhile downstairs, Fleur was looking around before she found..C4 and a timer, "Derek?"

"What?" Morgan ran up to her,"..We have to tell the others."

Morgan rushed back up the stairs with Fleur and ran straight through to the others.

"He's got the place lined with C-4. We've only got three minutes."

"This seems to easy. Zugzwang is also a dilemma in chess where the best move is not to move at all." Reid explained as they undid the chains,"Wait- Don't get up!"

It was too late, Blake stood up..

"It's a pressure sensor." Reid told them.

That's when the door to the room closed, Morgan trying to pull it open. Hotch quickly grabbed his phone and called Garcia.

"Sir?" She answered.

"Is there any way you can signal block what Curtis has?"

"Yes- Yes. Just give me a second." Garcia began to type.

Soon enough, the door opened and they ran out, the only person on the outside was.. Rossi.

"Dad- What the hell are you doing here?" Elijah questioned.

"Don't worry about that, just go." Rossi nodded,"I'm right behind you all."

"Hurry, there's not much time." Hotch pointed as they started to run.

Once they were outside, Reid looked behind him,"Where's Rossi?"

"He was right behind me." Elijah turned.

"Dave!" Hotch shouted.

"He just let us out, why would he go back in?" Morgan questioned.

That's when Rossi came sprinting out, just in time as the house blew up behind him. The team was silent and the house was left in flames.. The Replicator, John Curtis, was no more.

*********************************

A few weeks went by and it was time for Strauss' funeral. It was a beautiful service, her children and husband were there.. Most of the Agents from the BAU, the team.. Elijah even played the violin at the service. After the service, the team all headed back to Rossi's to celebrate the life of Erin Struass, sitting around the table.

"It had to be a perfect round, and sure enough, coming right back at me was the target. And it was blasted right through the chest. The goggles come off.. And it's Strauss." Morgan told them, smiling slightly,"I mean, I was like 'What?'. I would've never believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. But that woman.. She was one hell of a shot."

"Um..Do you guys remember that one time that she called me, but I thought that it was somebody else?" Garcia chuckled.

"Oh, that was funny." Elijah hummed.

"Maybe to you, but I was mortified." Garcia gasped.

"What did you say?" Blake raised a brow.

"I said.. Talk dirty to me." Garcia admitted.

"Yes she did. That's my girl." Morgan smiled.

"Are you kidding?" Blake laughed.

"Hey, that was my line." Rossi pointed.

Everyone laughed, enjoying the time with each other until Rossi spoke again.

"Last year, right here, we had a.. Very different celebration. Of life, love, and good people. This year, it's the other side of that, because that's what families do. It's been a hard year.. But tonight, we celebrate a life well lived, well loved..To a good woman." He raised his glass,"An even better mother, to our friend. Who i will miss, very much."

The team clinked glasses in the centre of the table. None of them would ever forget Strauss or the impact she had on the entire team.