Four: Cold Cases & Convos About Flirting.

11x04 | Outlaw.

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"Meet 20-year-old Jose Rivera, night manager at a place called Dee's Original Diner." Garcia presented the new case to the team as they listened intently. "And then this is Eddie Butler. He was seventeen. He was a fry cook, high school senior, basketball star."

"And finally, Renee Acosta. She was sixteen years old. She was a cashier at the restaurant, and she was a junior in high school. And they were all murdered last night just after closing. The safe and the cash register were both emptied, and all the victims' valuables were missing, too." Garcia explained.

"Any surveillance video?" Rossi asked.
"No. Because the system burnt down in a fire that was set after the murders took place." Garcia told.
"The arson was probably just a forensic countermeasure." Morgan stated.

"The coroner has the bodies right now and it looks like the cause of death to each was a gunshot wound to the head." Garcia told.

"Garcia, pause," Reid spoke and looked at the woman. "Where did this happen?"
"Oh, I was saving the worst for last." Garcia said and Julia raised her head, wondering where the worst place crime rate could sky-rocket.

"Las Vegas, New Mexico?" Reid asked and Garcia nodded. The team looked around in a haste but Tara and Julia were the only ones left confused.

"Wait, what's the deal with Las Vegas, New Mexico?" Tara asked, taking the words right out of Julia's mouth.

       "The same exact type of robbery-homicide took place there six years ago." Reid said and Garcia handed the file over to Tara for both her and Julia to look over.

       "At that time, it was at a place called the Burger Corral and there were four victims." Garcia stated. "Teenagers. They sexually assaulted the girls, then shot them execution style, robbed the place, and then burned it down to the ground." Morgan explained.
       "We consulted from here and the NCAVC coordinator in Santa Fe did the groundwork." Hotch stated.

      "Any suspects?" Julia asked. "None, but we knew it was probably someone with a personal connection to the town." Morgan answered.

      Rossi chimes in, "Problem was it's a pretty transient place. Tourists, truckers, and a lot of the work opportunities are seasonal."
     "Given the level of violence, we profiled it was two or more criminally experienced unsubs, most likely under the influence of some type of narcotic, but the never struck again and the case went cold." Reid explained.
     "Looks like it's hot now." Rossi commented.

      "Could we rule this out as somebody playing copycat?" Julia wondered and that's when Hotch nods at the woman, "That's what we need to find out. Wheels up in 30."

With that, the team had headed for the jet and ready for this upcoming case. Julia sat herself on the couch next to Tara as Reid began to explain Las Vegas, New Mexico to the rest of the team.

"Las Vegas, New Mexico, was actually founded 70 years before its Nevada counterpart. In the late 19th century, it was a booming railroad hub with a reputation for lawlessness, and apparently, outlaws are a part of the town's genetics. Billy the Kid lived there, and Doc Holliday himself had a saloon there before going to meet Wyatt Earp in Tombstone." Reid explained.
"I love that you know that, Reid." Julia said, Reid giving her a tight-lipped smile in response.

That seemed to be the only logical response he seemed to give her every single time she flirted with him.

"The more things change, the more things stay the same." Rossi said.
"All the victims in both instances were teenagers, except for Jose Rivera." Tara spoke.

"A younger staff, that's pretty typical for a night shift. I mean, in high school, I spent most of my nights at the burger joint I worked at in high school. Maybe the unsubs considered that." Julia explained.

"It would be easier to subdue a group of kids." Rossi agreed with the woman. "Almost an identical M.O.," Tara pointed out as she looked at the photo on her screen. "Copycat or no, why go back to this town and do this again?"

Reid spoke up first, "They could be sending some kind of message to announce their return."
"Or it just might be criminal ego. They got away with it the first time. Why not do it again?" Rossi told.

"With unsubs this violent, how do you just disappear and go dormant for six years?" Morgan stated.
"They could have some sort of criminal record." Julia suggests and Rossi nods, "Crime U., best education taxpayer money can buy."

"When we land, I'll have Garcia compile a list of recently released convicts in the area." Hotch told. "Morgan, you and Reid go to the coroner when we land. Lewis, Cortez, you're with Dave and me at the local PD."

Once the team had landed, Julia had gone with Tara, Rossi and Hotch in an SUV to go to the PD. As they got out of the car, Tara and Julia walked together behind Rossi and Hotch as they lead the way.

       "Surprised you didn't throw in a sassy remark at Reid when you guys got separated." Tara stated. Julia sighs dramatically, "I know. But we'll meet again, someday. If he's really the one, he'll just come right back." Julia joked with the woman. 

        They walked through the doors, Hotch meeting with the chief first. "Agents, Chief Montoya at your service. Thank you for coming." The man shakes each of the agents' hand.

"I'm Agent Hotchner. This is Dr. Lewis, Dr. Cortez and Agent Rossi." Julia looks at the man and looks at his mug he's holding. There's something off about it. And Julia just can't put her finger on it as to why. And she wasn't the only one who noticed. Rossi did, too. And they exchanged a glance at that.

"Nice to meet you. There's been a development. Renee Acosta's parents discovered a voicemail she left when the assailants broke in." Montoya told and he looks over towards the conference room he's set them up in. "Over here."

Hotch had decided he was going to have Tara and Julia speak with Renee Acosta's parents and so as soon as they were settled in, Tara and Julia had done just that.

Renee's mother was a wreck and she was crying and of course, who could blame her? She'd just lost her daughter. And her father, seemed more levelheaded, but of course, still upset about the whole ordeal.

Julia handed the woman the tissue box as she grabbed one of the tissues. "This is incredibly difficult, but anything you can tell us about that call, anything at all will be helpful." Tara stated, wanting the couple to take their time but to remind them that time was also of the essence.

"The message just showed up this morning. Sometimes, it does that. I didn't even hear my phone ring." Mrs. Acosta sobbed and her husband lays a hand on her shoulder in comfort. "Why did she call me? Why not the police?" The woman questioned and her voice broke.

"You're her mother, and she was scared. You were probably the first person she thought of." Julia told.

As Mrs. Acosta sobbed in her husband's arms, Julia couldn't help but feel for the family. This was the harder part of the job, she soon realized. And now, she was finally experiencing it. And to be honest, she hated it. She was lucky enough that Tara pulled the short straw at listening to the voicemail, Julia didn't want to deal with that. After listening, though, Tara has indicated that they were dealing with a partnership, considering she only heard two voices on the machine.

        Morgan and Reid had also discovered that Renee Acosta had been bound with her own underwear and that had been connected to the cold case six years ago and that detail wasn't released to the press. So, they were dealing with the same unsubs.

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         The team had left Reid alone when he and Morgan arrived at the PD. Something about how he seemed to figure things out quickly if he was left to his own devices. And he'd done so within the hour he and Morgan were back and he'd gathered the team up for this.

        "Six years ago the unsubs separated the victims by gender. The bodies of the boys were found out by the register, the two girls were found in the back office." Reid started.

       "Yeah, we profiled that was about control." Morgan said as soon as he sat down. "Isolate the males who were more of a threat."

      "Exactly," Reid nodded. "They even blindfolded them. But they didn't do that this time. No blindfolds, and the three victims were found in the same area, all within a few feet of each other."

      "Dee's Original Diner had a back office. Why didn't they use it?" Rossi told.
      "And look at the body position," Reid pointed towards the crime scene photo. "The victims from six years ago were prone, like they were shot while kneeling."

      "But Jose Rivera and Eddie Butler were both sitting up." Julia pointed out. "Maybe they posed them that way." Tara shrugged.

       Reid shook his head, "I don't think so. Ballistics suggest they were seated when they were shot, and look at the way they're facing. It's like they wanted them to see each other."
      "Not see, watch." Rossi corrected.
 
      "You think they made the boys watch the sexual assault?" Tara asked. "Well, if they did, they probably made her watch the murders." Morgan told.

      "Psychological sadism." Tara told.
      "A ritual aspect. That's new." Rossi stated.
      "And very specific." Julia added.
  
      "Why didn't they do this before?" Tara questioned. "Well, they could be evolving." Morgan stated.

      "Or it's possible only one of them was involved six years ago." Reid told. "Which would mean he has a new partner." Rossi stated.

       "Well, we said these guys had a criminal record. Is it possible that the guy that was involved six years ago may have met the partner in prison?" Julia questioned. "We should have Garcia look at prison records." Reid told.

         That same night, the team had gotten an alert about another murder. This time at a local pharmacy. Julia, Morgan, Rossi and Reid went down to the pharmacy to check it out with Chief Montoya.

And Julia gulped once she realized that the bodies were still there. "Randy McAdams, his niece Jane." Montoya told Rossi and Julia as they stood in front of the bodies. "My wife's friends with her mother."

"The press is outside. Do you want us to handle this?" Rossi asks Montoya. "No, I'll--I'll do it." Montoya told and Rossi pats the man on the shoulder as both he and Julia begin to walk away.

Julia and Rossi exchange a look, knowing this man was so deep into the case and wondered if he was recovering from the losses he was sustaining.

They both approached Reid and Morgan at the counter. "They took a huge risk to stay in town and pull this so soon." Julia told.
"They're meth addicts, though. The risk may be of little consequence." Reid stated.
"Six years ago they up and disappeared. This one doesn't seem like part of their playbook. My money says it's the new guy." Rossi theorized.

"Well, he was smart enough to hide his face and he didn't burn the place down. We still have to wait for the autopsy, but, she's fully clothed. Doesn't look like there was sexual assault either." Morgan explained. "He's going off book. Going to his own preferences in his sadism." Julia pointed out.

"But he still made them watch. Look." Rossi points towards the screen of the surveillance footage. "He positions them so they're facing each other. That aspect is important to him, almost compulsive."

As they look at the screen, Reid can't help but notice that Julia isn't looking at the screen of the footage. Perhaps, these kind of things are not as easy for her to watch and he gets that. Nor does he blame her for looking away.

It seems as her eyes trail over and the rest of them hear as Montoya walks by, grief written all over his face. "You think he's okay?" Morgan asks.
"Would you be?" Julia questions as she crossed her arms.
"His job is to keep this community safe, and now he feels responsible." Rossi added.

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        Julia swore she'd only gotten at least three hours of sleep last night. Speaking of last night, Tara and Morgan had found out that part of their partnership may have been a man named Lester Turner and Garcia was doing everything she could to look him up.

        Julia yawned as she sat next to Reid at the conference table. "Long night?" Reid asked. "No sleep." Julia chimes in as she stretches. "You should try chamomile tea, it's caffeine-free tea and it helps you fall asleep and reduce stress and anxiety." Reid told.

"I could think of other things to help with stress and anxiety." Julia smirked and Reid gulped, looking down at his file. Hotch gives Julia a warning look, to which Julia looks at the man and shrugs, "His talking," She tells, as if that was the thing she was talking about all along. "It's nice."

And as if on cue, Garcia had called Morgan to tell him what she had found.

"Hey, what you got cookin', baby girl?" Morgan started. "Besides the fact that I'm all hopped up on dark roast and Espresso beans? I have Intel to share. 'Tis why I have called thee. Deep background search into Lester Turner brought me down into a wicked place. Turned out he shared a cell block with a Benjamin Wade and a William Duke Mason." Garcia explained.

"What's so--?"
"Buh-buh-buh-buh-buh!" Garcia interrupted. "You know better than to interrupt me when I'm all 'fiened out."

"You're gonna ask me what is so sinisterly special about Wade and Mason, and I'm going to tell you. They were messed up bikers, who, five years ago were arrested in El Paso for an armed robbery at a gas station where the clerk was killed. It turns out they tried to torch the place, but the cops came and caught them."

"All right, can you send--?"
"Stop it. Check your tablets. It's already there." Julia checked her tablet and lo and behold, Garcia was on a role.

"Can I ask a question now?" Morgan asked.
"Definitely not, because that's not the kicker." Garcia told and Morgan bows his head in defeat and Julia smirks at this.

"Get this. Before he dropped out of high school and ran away, William Duke Mason spent his junior year in what New Mexico town? Yes, you may talk now."
"Las Vegas." Morgan stated.
"Precisely!" Garcia exclaimed. "See, Mason's name was on that list of ex-cons, but it wasn't flagged because he's actually from Dallas, and high school records weren't part of my search parameters, you guys."

"Garcia," Reid speaks and does it slowly so as Garcia doesn't attempt to interrupt him before he asks. "Where are Wade and Mason now?"

"Oh, I can tell you that definitely." Morgan shakes his head at the fact that Garcia allowed Reid to ask a question and Julia can't help the chuckle that escapes her mouth. "Wade is still in prison because he was the shooter in that robbery, but Mason was paroled last month."

"Lewis and I will fly to Texas and talk to Wade. Let's put out an APB on Turner and Mason." Hotch decides as he grabs his blazer jacket and heads on out.

And with that, Rossi, Morgan, Julia and Reid decide to deliver their profile on the men they believe are responsible for this.

       "William Duke Mason's mother, Violet moved here from Dallas after she married a rancher named Jeff Koldyke," Rossi read from the file. "Who worked for the Romero property for a short time."

"Don't remember any of them." Chief Montoya stated. "It's not surprising you don't remember Mason. As a teenager, he would have been withdrawn." Reid explained.

"Especially because we think he hated it here. He was already fatherless, and then he was uprooted and dragged to a new place where he had no friends. If anything, he despised the place." Julia explained. "As a teenager, that can be traumatic and may somehow be a source of animosity towards the town itself." Reid added.

       "Who's that guy?" Chief Montoya pointed towards the board to the other man next to Lester and Duke. "His name is Ben Wade," Morgan answered. "We actually have reason to believe that he was involved in the Burger Corral murder six years ago."

       "Five years go, Wade and Mason were arrested in Texas. So, we know they were partners back then." Rossi stated. "Then in prison they met Lester Turner. Turner gets released and a few months later Mason gets out. A partnership is born." Morgan told.

       "A lot of criminal ego in play. So we think they may have come back here in order to emulate the success they had with their old partnership." Rossi explained.
      "They're methamphetamine users, so it's likely the limbic systems in their brains have been damaged. This is disconcerting, because it can dramatically alter behavior and give rise to a series of psychopathic tendencies and eventually turn into full-blown psychosis." Reid told.

       Julia speaks up next, "The dynamic between Turner and Mason is rare, like two Alpha males co-existing."
     "They must have some kind of respect and/or fear thing that's keeping them together." Morgan said.
      "But it's a tenuous bond." Reid added.

      "We counting on a rift growing between these two. With alpha males, one of them will eventually fight for dominance in the partnership. This could be a hasty thing." Julia explained.
     
       Rossi nodded, "Hopefully, they'll make a mistake. Thank you."

        Chief Montoya looks around at the group in the PD. "All right. Let's get to it." The man stands up, spilling his coffee on his slacks — Julia, Morgan and Rossi taking notice of this as the man walks away.

         Julia bites the inside of her cheek and decides to approach the man a little later after the debrief. If no one was going to confront this man on his actions that could likely get someone killed — she was. She'd had no problem with drunks, considering the only way she remembered her dad before he left was that he always seemed to have a beer bottle in his hand.

Julia caught the man at the coffee machine, most likely finishing up pouring the remainder of his flask into the liquid. "How's the coffee around here?" She wonders as she gets a cup for herself.

"Uh, it ain't Starbucks." The man tells after cleaning off his stirrer. Julia shrugs as she carries the nonchalant convo. "That's not necessarily a bad thing. I actually prefer homemade coffee. How about you?" She wonders.

"Hot and fresh." Montoya shrugs. "Really?" Julia raises her brows and crosses her arms as smh faces the man. "'Cuz I would have pegged you as a single malt kinda guy."

The man furrows his brows at the woman but his stance freezes. "I mean," Julia leans in to whisper at the man. "If I can smell it on you, so can they." She tells, motioning towards the other officers in the room.

"Excuse me?" Montoya questions. "You don't know what you're talking about, agent."
"Doctor," Julia corrected. "And I think you know exactly what I'm talking about. Chief, there were times in college where I needed to crack open a cold one and let loose and I did but it doesn't help anyone. And it certainly doesn't help you."

"You don't know what you're talking about." The man repeated as he stood tall, trying to intimidate the young doctor but Julia looked at the man, standing her own ground.

If there was anything her mother taught her, it was that this was a man's world and that men were always going to try and one-up women because they think they're "big" and "strong". But the one thing men didn't have was the ability to go absolutely insane at the slightest inconvenience — not the wisest words from Eve Cortez, but Julia saw her mother's point.

       "I think the doctor's right, Chief." Julia turned around and sees Rossi approaching the two, inserting himself in between the chief and Julia.
       "Look, we both know that if your judgment is compromised, it doesn't do us any good. In fact, quite the opposite." He explains. "The last thing your town needs is for its chief of police to be caught drinking on the job."

        The man looks down disappointedly, knowing he probably should've done a better job at hiding the fact that he was drinking on the job. But these were profilers, he should've known that maybe they'd figure it out.

       "Now, I know you've buried a lot of good people, people you're supposed to protect," Rossi continued. "But the ones who are still here need you now more than ever. So..." Rossi takes the mug out of the chief's hand. "Why don't you go home, drink some real coffee, and dry out? You come back fresh, you can help us catch these guys."

        Montoya nods and with that, he walks away and Rossi turns towards Julia. "I probably should've led with that." Julia stated. Rossi shrugs at the woman, "Someone had to call him out. He wasn't smart, he'd put everyone else in danger. Good on you, Cortez."

         Julia shrugs in response as Rossi walks away, leaving Julia to her own devices.

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The team had received word about a gas station murder of an employee that worked there. They'd known that this was definitely the work of Turner and Mason. And they'd also discovered that they left behind witnesses. A father and his young son. This was a first for them.

Morgan had checked out the gas station and the damages while Julia and Reid spoke with the father about what happened.

Julia had noticed as she had spoken with the father — since she was better understanding at Spanish than Reid was — Reid was speaking with the young boy beside the father, speaking softly to him and being as gentle as he could with the boy. She smiled as she saw the man try and distract the boy as Julia spoke with the father.

After getting what they needed, Morgan had come out from the gas station and motioned for them to join him. "Thank you so much." Julia nodded at the man.

"Thank you, man, you've been so helpful. Can I get a high five?" Reid tells as he changes his tone with the boy and the boy high-fives Reid in response. "Yeah!" Julia smiles at this as the man and his son walk away with the officer with them.

"Aren't you good with kids?" Julia asks Reid teasingly with her hands in her pockets. "It's, uh, it's nothing. I have godsons, so I guess it's natural to me by now." Reid explains.

Julia shakes her head, "I'm so adding that to my mental list of what I look for in a dream guy. Oh, wait, that dream guy is you." She tells as they make their way over to Morgan.

Reid gulps at this as he stutters out, "Than-Thank you." Julia seems to love seeing the man fluster.

"What'd you find, Morgan?" Julia wonders as they finally approach the man. "All the surveillance has been destroyed. What'd the father say?" Morgan asked.

"Two unsubs. Both on motorcycles, both matching the descriptions of Turner and Mason." Julia explains.
"They let them live. I wonder why." Morgan stated.
"They said the one with the short hair just stood there pointing his weapon but never pulled the trigger." Reid told.

"That must have been Mason." Morgan suggests. "Apparently, the other one wanted to shoot them, Mason wouldn't let him, they had a brief argument and then fled. But here's the thing-- they've never left a survivor before. I think something between them must have changed." Reid explained.

"If they were arguing, this could mean the partnership's dissolving, exactly like we predicted." Julia told.

"These guys are headed south, maybe Mexico. We should alert border patrol." Morgan stated and with that, they headed towards the SUV to head back to the PD.

When they'd gotten back, they informed the team of what they found. Julia, Tara and Rossi were walking back towards the conference room when Julia saw Chief Montoya walk through the door.

"Agents." He greeted as soon as he saw them. "Chief, you're back." Rossi told, surprise in his tone.

"I made some phone calls," Montoya informed. "One of my guys knows a girl who went to high school with Duke Mason. She said he used to date a girl named Tammy Vasquez. Even after they graduated, I guess he still would come around. Anyway, the rumor is he got her pregnant." He explained.

"That could be why they left a witness last time. Maybe Mason knew about her being pregnant." Julia told.

"Is she still here?" Rossi asks Montoya. "She sure is. Lives just outside of town." Montoya nodded and Rossi grabbed his cell phone to call Garcia to see what she could find on Tammy Vasquez.

"Ready and willing. What can I do you for?" Garcia started as soon as she answered. "Garcia, tell me everything you can about a Tammy Vasquez. She's from here in Las Vegas." Rossi told.

"Um..." Julia hears the click-clacking of Garcia's keyboard. "Tammy May Vasquez. She is a waitress at the Spic And Span Diner in New Mexico. She has a five-year-old son named Cole. He's a cutie."

"So she must have gotten pregnant right around that first set of murders." Tara stated.

"What can you tell us about Cole's father?" Rossi asks and Garcia answers, "Absolutely nothing. It says 'father unknown' on the birth certificate."

Tara turns to Julia. "If Julia's right about Mason knowing, what if Tammy is the reason Mason came back?" She questions.

"Send us an address, Penelope. We should talk to her." Rossi told.
"Sent."

"I can get you up there quick if you don't mind an escort." Montoya tells. Tara nods, "Yeah. We should tell Hotch." With that, Tara begins to walk away.

"Agent Rossi." Montoya stops the man from walking away and Julia stays behind as well, watching as Tara walks away. "I, uh, I thought about what you said and did what you suggested. Had some real coffee. I'm good to go." Montoya told to Rossi.

      "You sure about that?" Rossi asks. "You have my word." The man assured and holds his hand out for Rossi to shake and he accepts.

       Montoya then looks over at Julia. "Dr. Cortez," The man starts. "Took some guts to confront me. I'm sorry I was defensive." He apologizes and Julia nods, "Apology accepted."

         With that, the man walks away and Rossi and Julia watch as he does so. Rossi turns to the young woman and furrows his brows, "How'd you know that the chief was drinking?" He questions, out of curiosity.

Julia shrugs as she crossed her arms, "Dad did it all the time, as you well remember. I guess tell-tale signs never go away." She stated.

Rossi nods at this, he remembered when Sam Ibarra drank himself out of house and home. He never forgot confronting him for it either, of course that intervention didn't end as smoothly as the one with Montoya did. Sam's drinking ultimately ended in him getting fired from the Bureau and his abrupt divorce with Eve without a goodbye.

He wouldn't say this to Julia but her determination was something she inherited from her father. Before Sam became a drinker, he always thought outside of the box like Julia often did. But she also seemed to be more of her mother, with looks and personality combined. Except Julia was less high-strung than Eve. And sometimes, it was like the good ol' days, working with Julia as if he were working with Sam and Eve — before everything happened, at least.

Garcia had found Tammy Vasquez's address and Montoya, Morgan, Tara and Rossi had wanted to speak with her but they'd old discovered Tammy's mother's wails from inside and found her bound with duct tape and she'd told the agents that Mason had taken Tammy and their son. They'd also discovered Mason was by himself and Turner was nowhere to be found — which meant this had to have been the start of their rift.

Reid and Julia had been marching back to the Vasquez home where Morgan and Rossi were currently discussing where Mason could've gone with Tammy and Cole.

"Hotch is out coordinating roadblocks and canvassing the area, but so far nothing." Reid informed as he and Julia approached. "Why switch directions are risk coming all the way back here?" Morgan questioned.

"He's strung out and believes that boy Cole is his son. He's capable of anything." Rossi stated. "We should extend the Amber alert." Julia suggests.

"Agents!" Montoya calls as he rushes up to the four. "Tammy Vasquez' pickup truck was spotted heading south on Route 34." He says.

"Is that far from here?" Julia asks. "About 10 miles or so. State police have major roadways on the other end blocked off so he can't get out, but it cuts through the Santa Fe National Forest. If he knows what he's doing, he can hole up out there for weeks." Montoya explains.

"Where would he go to access fresh water?" Morgan questions. "There's an old abandoned campground. It doesn't get used much. Sometimes the kids go up there to drink." Montoya told.
"He'd want to go someplace familiar." Rossi nodded.
"Agents, if you don't mind me making a suggestion... I know that place like the back of my hand. My dad used to take me hunting up there." Montoya stated and held the map in his hand up once Rossi nodded at him to continue. "Look, here's the campground..."

With Montoya's help in direction, they'd found the campground on the way. Sneakily, they knew Mason was probably going to react recklessly when they arrived and Hotch ordered the team to take every direction of the campground and they'd found Tammy, Cole and Mason due to Tammy's shouting as well as the sounds of arguing ensuing.

Julia teamed with Reid in one direction as Morgan took another as well as Tara and Hotch in a different direction. Montoya and Rossi were up on the mountain, ready to get a clear shot if they needed. They knew action was called when Morgan announced, "FBI, drop the weapon!"

Julia spotted as Lester was with them and spoke into her mic, "Turner's with them, I repeat, Turner is with them." She told, holding her gun tightly as she aimed forward.

Turner said something to Mason and cheered, "Whoo!" shortly before shooting up the place. Julia ducked as she began to fire her weapon as well as Morgan and Reid and Turner and Mason hid as they continued to shoot.

Tara got Tammy and Cole to safety when the gunfire stopped for a moment. Reid jumped over a log and Julia went to follow him, ducking behind a tree to get closer.

No gunfire erupted until Turner yelled, "Blaze of glory, man! Blaze of glory!" Julia continued to shoot as she aimed for Turner behind the metal wall he was hiding behind. Turner seemed to not go down with a fight — until suddenly, he was shot in the chest from a different direction. A direction Julia knew was from Rossi and Montoya's point.

        Suddenly, there was movement from Mason and Morgan fired his gun, aiming at the man but unfortunately missed. Tara got Tammy and Cole into a police car when Mason started firing in every direction with the rifle he was holding.

        When he ran out of bullets, he pulled the shotgun out of his pants and began shooting again. Until Morgan shot him in the shoulder, Reid shooting him in the other, Julia straight in the leg, making the man fall over a bit to his knees and finally — Montoya right in the chest, causing him to fall over completely.

         It was over.
         Lester and Mason were both dead as soon as they both hit the ground.
         Tammy and Cole were safe.
         It was all over.

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        In the end, the team had been invited for the memorial for Renee Acosta as well as Jose Rivera and Eddie Butler. The ceremony was beautiful in every way possible. They'd all lit candles for the ones lost and set them free in a way.

        The next day, the team was heading back home on the jet. Julia had sat across from Reid, things seemingly innocent at first until Reid looked up from his book and noticed Julia staring at him, face in her palm and she'd made a remark about how he looked good reading and threw some cheesy pick-up line in there.

        Seeing as it was just the two of them, Reid shut his book and decided to ask her the question he'd been wondering for a while. And as soon as he asked it, it'd kinda caught Julia a little off-guard. "Why do you always flirt with me?" He'd wondered.

Julia shrugs in response, "Well, 'cuz you're cute." She chuckled and then sat straight when she saw his wondering look and gulped as her eyes widened. "Why, do you not like it? 'Cuz I can- I can stop if it makes you uncomfortable. I can just start flirting with Morgan, or better yet Hotch, honestly—" She rambled, trying to make herself laugh at the situation. She had a tendency of doing this, making men uncomfortable with the simplest of things.

The worries went down the drain as soon as Reid saw the panic on her face and shook his head, raising his hand to stop her. "No, no. I, uh, find it incredibly endearing." He smiled that absolute adoring smile that Julia often got lost in. "You really think I'm... cute?"

Julia nods, "Well, yeah. Do you really have a hard time believing you are?" She wonders.
Reid raised his brows, "Well, look at me."
The woman looks him up and down and narrows her head forward. "I am. Your point?"

It's then that Reid begins to specify. "My hair is crazy, my tie's perpetually crooked, I tend to ramble a lot and don't even get me started on my horrific posture—"
Suddenly, Julia is the one interrupting the man in front of the man. "Reid. I like your hair, your tie is fine and I love your rambling."

Reid clear his throat to avoid his voice from cracking as he asks — "You do?"
"It's impressing that you know what you know." Julia nodded at the man with a small reassuring smile on her face. Reid read into her face, almost as if he still didn't believe her. "Really?" He asks.

       Julia shrugs as she sits back. "So, you kinda just know stuff. Cool."
       "I can't tell if you're being sarcastic." Reid cocks an eyebrow as he still watches Julia, wondering if she's lying but it doesn't seem like she is.

      "No, I find you fascinating." Julia assures one last time. "But don't get a big head now," She points. "I'm not attracted to that. In fact, if you ever want me to stop, just... be cocky because I will stop in a heartbeat after that."

       Reid chuckles at that and nods, "I promise." Julia smiles and stands up. "Good." She excuses herself for the restroom and when the coast is clear, Morgan approaches Reid with a smirk on his face indicating one thing. He was eavesdropping in on the whole conversation.

       "Notice how she said she finds you fascinating," Morgan teases. "I think Cortez has a thing for you, pretty boy."

       Reid rolls his at the man, "Shut up, Morgan." Morgan holds up his hand in surrender, "Go get 'em, lover boy."

       Morgan makes kissy faces at the man and Reid's face turns pink out of embarrassment but he seems to like the attention in a way. Since Maeve, Reid had a hard time believing he was capable of a woman's love and affection. It'd been a while since a woman made him good — even if it was in a teasing way. Reid viewed Julia as the Garcia to his Morgan in a sense.

        But there was something more leading to it, he wasn't sure what it was.

        It started when they'd first met, she managed to put a smile on his face in a time where he didn't think he could smile, reeling with the loss of Jason Gideon just only after a month of losing him. And now, when he was going through his own personal things that he didn't feel he should share with the team quite yet, Julia put a smile on his face when he really needed it and she wasn't aware of that.

        Julia was a sort of reason to look forward to going to work now — even though, they'd only known each other for a few months now.

         And still dealing with the fear that he still wasn't capable of a woman's love, he assumed that maybe the teasing will end soon (and by God, he doesn't want that to happen) and maybe Julia did that with everyone she met.

         But some part of him hoped that the teasing continued, even if it went nowhere.

hey lovelies!
wanted to post for spencer reid's birthday hehe 🤭 idc what y'all say that man's bday is today ‼️

this is probably one of my favorite chapters i wrote tbh
and one of the better episodes in s11 in my opinion
words cannot express how much i love this couple and the dynamic already
i have so many plans already hehehe 😈

also
i made a spotify playlist for "sailor song" !

it's songs from the soundtrack for the book!

anywaysss
thank you for reading
i love you all!
-mya <333