Eight: The Destruction of Cat Adams.

11x11 | Entropy.

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        Julia kept a close eye out for the target. Every once in a while, they'd skim over to Reid sitting alone at the table requested for two and he slouched, trying to maintain his composure at the fact that he was meeting with a hit woman.

         Julia couldn't help but imagine him, waiting for her on a date like this. Wondering if maybe he'd be just as anxious as he is right now.

        Get your mind off of that crap, Julia — you're here because your best friend is being targeted, for God's sake! She reminded herself.

        Julia sat with the virgin margarita in her hands alone by the bar, getting a close look at Reid and the open seat in front of him. This was her first time being undercover and she was desperately hoping she wasn't gonna mess up.

       "Spencer?" The voice was heard in her mic. And Julia stiffened before realizing that she was here. "Cat?" Spencer's voice echoed.
        They exchange their quick hellos and CST tries to hug him but Spencer rejects the hug because of his germ thing. Julia's guessed he's always had this. He didn't even shake her hand when they first met.

       Spencer apologizes and she finally sits in front of him. They're silent for several moments. "First time doing this?" The girl, Cat, asks.

      "Yeah. I mean, yeah." Spencer nodded. "Yeah, I--I still get nervous, too. 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..." Reid trails off.
     "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--" Cat explains.
      "Not a problem at all." Reid adds.
     "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." Cat explains.

      The table is silent again for a second. "You don't know who that is, do you?" Cat guesses. "No, oh, yeah, Robert Kardashian. He got O.J. Simpson off. You--you don't look like his daughters." Reid tells.

      It makes Julia want to laugh that he doesn't understand modern day idols and celebrities since he's such a technophobe.

"Yeah, no, I was making a joke about them." Cat trails off. "No, it was good. It was a good joke." Spencer assured and for a moment, the table goes silent again and Julia can automatically feel the awkwardness and she's not even on the date.

"Can we start over? Hi, I'm Cat." Cat begins and Reid stutters upon his words as he follows, "Hi--hi, I'm— I'm Spencer."

"It really is nice to meet you, in person, finally." Cat says. "It's nice to meet you." Spencer adds.

       Why do all of the horrible people in the world get the cutest dates? Julia thinks to herself.

     "Tell me a little bit about yourself. Do you really have 3 PhDs?" Cat carries the small conversation. "Yes. Um, I--yeah, I do, I have 3 PhDs." Reid answers.

      "What was your favorite book that you read last year?" Cat asks another question. "Um, honestly, I've never read a book I didn't love." Reid answers.

      "Tell me about your wife." And there it was, the reason they lured her in. Spencer clears his throat and his voice goes low. "If you don't mind, I'd, uh, I'd rather not talk about her."

"Might as well get it out in the open, right? That's why we're here." Cat tells. "How long have you been married?"
"Four years." Reid answers.
"When is she due to give birth?"
Reid mumbled again as he cleared his throat. "Uh... a couple of-- a couple of months." He begins to whisper again. "Should we talk about price now, or—?"

"Slow down, tiger. What exactly are we negotiating here?" Cat questions.
"You know." Reid tells.
"I want to hear you say it."
Reid hesitates before answering. "To have her killed."

     There's a pause when Cat then asks, "Let me see your ring." Reid had Garcia buy a wedding band online to make it seem believable that he was married so Cat wouldn't be tricked.

     Julia hears Cat scoff, "You know what that is? 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 spoke.

     "Take it off." Cat ordered.
     Spencer looks at the woman, "Why?"
     "As a sign of your commitment. To me."

      Julia puts her drink down on the table and makes eye contact with Rossi in front of her two tables over. She then locked eyes with JJ at the bar.

      "If she sticks to pattern, she'll take him to a secondary location and kill him." JJ stated. "We're not gonna let it get that far." Rossi spoke lowly from the booth. "Let's hope not." Julia muttered, taking another sip from her glass.

      "Hotch, do you have a visual?" Rossi asks through his mic. Hotch stayed behind with Garcia at the BAU, watching this whole thing go down through security footage.

  "Just hacked in." Garcia spoke up. "All right, Reid, we have you over her left shoulder. Do you copy?" Hotch asked. Spencer gave a small glance to the cameras. "All right, all agents stand by. Dr. Reid will give the green light. Don't move until we have it."

      "24-karat?" Cat asked, twiddling the ring in between her fingers, continuing her conversation with Spencer, who nods, "Mm-hmm."
       "24k times... four years means this ring should be dinged and nicked, but the sucker is brand-new. You're not married."

        Uh, oh, Julia thought in her head.

       A click of a gun was heard and Julia gulps at this, composing herself not to act with the fact that gun was now leveled at Reid's crotch. "What was that? Was that what I think it was?" Garcia asks. "Everybody hold." Hotch ordered.

      "Why are we here, Spencer?" Cat questioned. Spencer decided to give in. "We're here because you belong to a network of four hitmen who've been operating in the shadows of the Internet. You're know as Miss .45. My team and I have been hunting for months, and I knew that if I boxed you in, I could arrest you with as little resistance as possible." He explained lowly and fearlessly.

       Julia looked at the man, gaining a better look towards the woman in front of Reid instead of Reid himself.

      "Your team being the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI? 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?" There's a pause. "Hi, Penelope." Cat speaks, taunting the entire team at this point as she spoke towards Spencer's mic.

     "Do you know why I'm so good at my job?" Cat questioned. "Because you kill without compunction or remorse." Spencer answered. "That only gets a girl so far in life. No, it's because I think through every potential outcome and then I plan accordingly. You see, I didn't walk into your trap." There's another pause. "You walked into mine."

      Oh, this is gonna get sticky. Julia knew that much. And time would tell just how far Cat Adams would take it.

     "Where's your head, Spencer? What are you thinking about?" Julia glances for a second as Cat scooted closer towards Spencer at their booth. "I was thinking about entropy," Spencer answered. Cat then ran her hands down Spencer's chest and in the back of her mind, Julia wishes she was in Cat's position. Get your damn head in the game, Julia. Stop getting distracted by Reid!

       "It's the thermodynamic measure of the degradation of matter and energy in the universe. To put it another way--" His voice went high as Cat reached for his gun in his pants. "There's your gun." She smirked.

         Julia hears as the two excuse a waiter coming to their table and tell him that when they're ready, they will call for him. Cat changed her persona back up as she faced towards Spencer again.

        "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." Julia froze for a second but her eyes thwarted to JJ, who Cat was talking about.

         Damn, she was good. But Julia knew she had to be careful if she was already scouting out the agents.

      Having no choice and not wanting to blow a cover, Hotch spoke up through the mic: "JJ, stand down."
      JJ put her drink down and walked past the booth to the back of the restaurant where the kitchens were. "Thanks for playing, sweetie." Cat smirked towards the woman.

      "If she learns how many agents we have outside, she'll start shooting." Hotch told.
      "Julia, get ready to take her out." Hotch ordered.
      Julia places money down for her drink and nods along to her boss, "On it." She mutters.

      "Reid, do not let her get up from the table." Hotch added to the man seated in front of the target.

      Reid then spoke to Cat. "All right, you're in charge. Tell me what you want and I'll see if I can get it here for you."
     "Anything I want?"
     "Anything you want."
     "Like a million dollars in unmarked bills, maybe a plane to Aruba?"
      "Is that what you want?"
      "And you'll 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." Cat stated. "You?" Reid 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." He profiled.

      "And when I do it really well, they pull the trigger themselves." Cat told. "Give me your phone."
      "Why?" Reid asks.
      "Because I know what I want now. I want to play a game with you. You like games?" Cat questioned and Reid nods, "I do."

      "Do you win?" Cat asks.
      Spencer responds, "I always win."

      "That should not have sounded as hot as that did." Julia muttered to herself and then quickly realized her co-workers just heard her say that.
"Ooh—" She covers her mouth of embarrassment.

       "Cortez." Hotch said, a warning lingering in his tone. "Sorry." Julia apologizes quickly.

      "Okay, here's my game. You have 30 minutes to answer every question I ask. And if you lie, I'll know. Because I've spent the past ten years of my life studying men and their lies before I kill them. Do you believe me?"

      "I do." Reid responds. "That was true," Cat tells. "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 beckons Cat to lean closer as he begins to whisper, "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."

        Seriously, this man is scoring hot points for everything he's saying right now, Julia thought.

       "Game on." Cat smirked.

       "Oh, boy." Garcia comments.

      "What do you want to ask me?" Reid asks. "How you found me, of course. A professional learns from her mistakes." Cat answers as 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." Reid revealed.

       "Why'd you take time off?"

       Reid had dodged the question, only starting with how him and his colleague, Morgan got called into the case three days ago before the date tonight. But Cat seemingly didn't like that.

      "Stop." Cat paused as Reid told the story, of course, with a few things he decided not to mention. "What?" Reid asks. "You didn't tell me why you took time off."
      "It's not relevant." Reid answered immediately. "That's not the game," Cat told. "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." Spencer told. "Out of curiosity, is it me you don't want to tell or the people listening in?" Julia didn't know how Reid's visit with his mother went and she didn't ask because as soon as he got back, they had to deal with this.

      "Is this really how you want to spend your 30 minutes?" Reid questioned and Cat answered, "Yes." Reid raised his brows. "No." Cat changed her answer and sighed: "Okay, so you were saying you showed up for work that morning and..."

     "We learned that someone unexpected decided to talk." Reid told. "And who would that be?"

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Julia yawned as she poured herself a cup of coffee. She'd been staying with Garcia for a couple of weeks now and she'd left extra early this morning to go and feed the cats before coming back. But that didn't pair well with the fact that she and Garcia damn near stayed up all night like girls at sleepovers would.

And now, they'd just gotten word about the break in the case regarding Garcia being targeted. "Hey, look who's back." Morgan spoke up and Julia turned around and saw Reid standing beside the man. "Well, if it isn't the handsome devil himself." Julia teased as she gave Reid a welcoming hug.

"Glad to have you back, Reid." Julia said. "Good to be back." Reid answered.

Julia covers her mouth to stifle a yawn. "Another late night with Garcia?" Morgan asks. "Yeah and I had to feed the cats way early this morning, so..." Julia holds her mug up. "Hook this up to an IV for me, please."

"Cortez has been staying here with Garcia for a few weeks." Morgan informed Reid, who had no idea that Julia stayed with Garcia. "It's just until the whole thing with hitmen gets shut down." Julia says.

"That's nice of you to stay with her. I'm sure she loves your company." Reid tells the woman and Julia finds herself smiling at that. "Yeah, there's nothing I wouldn't do for her." Julia says.

"Hopefully we got something that will finally get you both back home. They setting up there?" Morgan asks, motioning towards the BAU room. "Yeah, we're just waiting on you guys and Hotch." Julia informs and Morgan heads up there but not before wiggling his eyebrows at Reid in teasing before going up there.

Now, it's just Julia and Reid. "How was your visit with your mom?" Julia decides to ask, holding her mug in both hands as she listens intently. "It was, uh, good. For the most part."

It looks like Reid wants to go into detail but he's scared to. He takes a deep breath and before he can continue, Hotch calls Reid and Julia up to the BAU room and seeing as they're on a time crunch, they quickly head upstairs to debrief.

"Brian Cochran from the NSA. 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." Hotch explains to the team. "Cochran used one of the hitmen to target DEA supervisor Graff."

"But we can press him on that to get him to cooperate." Morgan spoke up. "Well, fortunately that won't be necessary." Hotch informs. "He had a breakdown in solitary confinement and he was already willing to make a deal."

"We need to go talk to him." Rossi tells. "Garcia and I already did." Hotch says. "That is, we video-conferenced with him. 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." Garcia told.

"How specific do they get? Most successful hitmen are basically just Swiss army knives of murder." Reid tells.

"Well, take the O.G. hit guy who got us into this mess, Giuseppe Montolo. Remember him? He was a genius at making hits look like an accident." Garcia told. "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. Not necessarily ours, but he's definitely trained." Morgan told.
"So, who's number two?" Tara asks, egging Garcia to continue.

"That would be the chemist. He works with poison. He specializes in hits that don't leave a trace." Garcia said.
"He sounds delightful." Rossi comments. "What about number three?"

"Well, that would be the bomber. According to Cochran, he's responsible for this." Garcia shows photos of bombs and smoke in the air. "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 comments. "But what is credible is Cochran's insistence that he was trained by Mossad. Jack Garrett's following up on leads." Hotch told.

Julia raises a hand as if she's in school. "Well, since this is my area of expertise, would you like me to look into that as well?" She asks. "Whatever you can do, sure." Hotch nodded and Julia jots a note down in her notepad in front of her. "Yes, sir."

"That leaves us with number four, the one with the highest body count of them all." Garcia spoke.
"And who's that?" Reid asks.

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      "Me!" Cat smiles at this and Reid nods in response, "Yes."

      "Wow, that was really impressive. 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."

       Julia hears as she clears her throat, "The reason you took time off from work was to deal with the same girl who broke your heart."
      "No." Reid answers.
"The death of a parent, then." Cat guesses once more. Reid hesitates and Julia hears it. "No."

     "Ah, hello, I'm getting close," Cat had noticed the poker face falter, too. "It's mom or dad in the billiard room with the candlestick." Reid glares at the woman in front of him, bored of the interaction.

     "Oh, you're mad at me, aren't you?" Cat wondered. "Not even a little bit." Reid stated. "Yes, you are, I can tell." Cat pushed. "No offense, but you're not really worth getting angry at." Reid told.

      "So you figured out what the four of us did, and then what?" Cat changed the subject, noting how it was going to take a lot to get Spencer Reid to budge about why he took time off.

    "We profiled that you operated as spokes on a wheel. Somehow it had to be centralized, how you got jobs, who paid you. Somebody did all that for you." Reid explained.

     "You found the Snowman, didn't you?"

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"Great, so who's this Snowman jagoff?" Rossi questioned as Garcia spoke up about the man in the BAU room. "Cochran says he's the IT expert. He's the key to the whole network." Hotch explains.

"But if he set it up, he's not just gonna tear it down because we ask nicely." Julia tells and then thinks to herself for a second. "Or maybe he could. A simple 'please' and 'thank you' could go a long way. You never know." She shrugs.

"He will because he was kidnapped by one of the hitmen and held against his will in a safe house." Hotch said. Julia shrugs and nods towards the team. "Told ya."

"I wonder how that feels." Garcia comments, causing Julia to rub her shoulder in sympathy.

"Even if they have him under duress, he's still gonna be impossible to find." JJ stated.
"We will find him..." Hotch pulls out the hard drive he received from Cochran himself. "With this."

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      The team later discovered that the Snowman was actually a teenage boy who the team had saved and recruited into the FBI due to his insane hacking skills. "Well, well, well, you took the chemist and the sniper out of commission, huh?" Cat questioned.

"Did you know?" Reid asks. "I knew something was off," Cat answered honestly. "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..." Julia could tell Cat was studying him again. "Mother? Is it your mom? It's gotta be your mom. Why'd you take time off from the FBI?"

    "I'm not gonna tell you." Reid told. "Spencer, why did you take time off from the FBI?" Cat questioned thoroughly.

    "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." Reid told. "Then you're cheating, and I don't like cheaters." Cat pouted.

    "You don't get everything you want just because you're pointing a gun at me under a table." Reid said. "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."

     "Cortez, go." Julia heard Hotch say and begins to stand up as if she's getting ready to leave. "Rossi, cover her." Hotch orders and from the corner of her eye, saw Rossi stand put his loaded gun in his pocket.

Julia holds her gun under her jacket she's holding as she slowly begins to approach them.

      "Look at my face. Does it look like I'm bluffing?" Cat questioned. "I know you're not bluffing." Reid stated. "I'm gonna ask you one more time. Before you say no, I want you to consider something."

      Suddenly, Cat and Spencer weren't heard anymore for a brief moment and Julia wondered if maybe her mic got cut from the sound.
"She muffled the mic. We lost audio." Garcia informed her.

       Julia and Rossi begin to walk up but as soon as Cat removes her hand from the mic, Julia hears Reid clearly, "Julia, stand down." The woman stopped in her tracks and Reid turns around to face her as he pleads quietly. "Please."

Julia didn't know it but Cat had threatened to kill her and then Rossi if he hadn't made that move. And he knew Cat was serious about it. And he didn't want that being on his mind so he told her to stand down.

      With that and one last look, Julia and Rossi exchange a look and head towards the back of the restaurant where JJ was still in.

      "Welcome to the locker room." JJ greeted to the two. "I hate the locker room." Rossi stated. "First time being undercover and of course, I screw up." Julia comments. "You did better than me. I was the first one out." JJ said.

        The three then listened on their mics as Reid spoke again.
       "My mom has schizophrenia, and the doctor has changed her medication, which seemed to agitate her, and so I went to the treatment center to help her." Reid told Cat.
      "That's it?" Cat asks.
      "That's it." Reid said.
      "You just risked your life over Mommy's pills?" Reid nods subtly, "It's the truth."
       "It's part of the truth," Cat saw right through it. "You're holding something back."

       Cat's hands made it towards Reid's phone. "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?" Reid asks.

     "Your backup," Cat told as she looked around. "I flushed them out. It's just you and me now."

       But little did she know, at a nearby table, Tara Lewis and Derek Morgan clinked their glasses together and before Tara took a sip, she muttered, "Guess again, bitch."

"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 continued her taunting.

"No," Reid replies. "If anything, the case was harder."

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After getting the Snowman, that team now knew as Barry Winslow, they questioned him, wanting to find out what he knew about the hitmen. "I can't tell you much about them. It's not like we had a lot of heart-to-heart conversations while they handcuffed me to a computer." The boy explained.

"Do you know any of their names?" Tara questioned to him. "No. But I know their bank accounts." The boy answered.

"How long do you think we have before the other two realize the network's been compromised?" Reid asks. "Two days, maybe. They like being independent contractors, so they always work jobs separately. And, uh, they rely on me to coordinate all their online traffic." Barry explains.

"Which I can help fake." Garcia added. "Yeah. We have the facade covered on our end, but they also have back channel communications that I can't account for. Especially the bomber." Barry explained.

"Why him?" Rossi asks. "I don't know." Barry answers. "All I know is when they would rotate watching over me, he never showed."

"He's paranoid. Most explosive experts are, in my experience." Julia told.
"Blow everything up, you live in fear that you're next." JJ added.

"We need to lure out the hitwoman. If we can take her alive, she'll lead us to the bomber." Hotch stated. "We have to give her a target worth coming out of hiding for." Morgan said.

"That means me, doesn't it?" Garcia asks.
"No." Morgan, Hotch and Julia all answer simultaneously and in the same tone.

"Sir--" Garcia tries. "Garcia, that's not gonna happen. It's too dangerous to leave you out there exposed like that." Morgan said. "And the last thing we'd do is put you in that position." Julia adds.

Hotch looks towards Barry. "You have a record of all the kills she was paid for?" He asks.
"I have records of everything." The boy answers.

"All right. Even a contract killer can have a victimology, a pattern of which she's not aware. We need to find that." Hotch told.

But first they needed to get the data that we needed from the Snowman. And from that we could start to build the profile that would lead us to the hot woman responsible and then, by investigating, they found a pattern.

      Reid, JJ and Julia had finally found something and brought it to Hotch to his office. "These three hits — they were all men who wanted to kill their wives." Reid announced to Hotch, handing him a file.

        "That's the oldest motivation in the book. Why are they special?" JJ questioned. "She took their money, then killed the men who hired her." Julia answers. "And the kicker, Hotch?"

       "All three of them had children." Hotch stated as he looked down at the file. "Maybe children are the line hitmen won't cross?" JJ suggests.

       "The chemist and the sniper both performed jobs that involved families. Theoretically, if the price is high enough, a hitman shouldn't have morals. I think these kills are personal to her." Reid explained. "Personal enough to risk double-crossing her contract."

        "Because something similar happened to her." Hotch said and Julia nodded, "Exactly."

      "And that's how we get her to come to the table. I pretend to be that kind of client." Reid offered, causing Julia and JJ to look at the man in disbelief of what he's suggesting.

       "And what gave you that idea?" Hotch questioned.

       "Well, Julia said something that had me thinking." Reid said. Julia holds her hands in defense, not knowing about his idea until now. "He was speaking about interesting fact about coffee and I responded with 'take me to dinner, first'. I didn't think he was actually gonna take it seriously." Julia explained herself.

       "How do we know that's gonna work?" Hotch questioned. "We don't," Reid said. "It's a calculated risk based on her MO, which is categorically different than the men."

     "They're cold, clinical, long-distance. She's up close and personal." JJ listed.

       "She knows that she has to be more careful because she actually wants to kill her targets," Reid told. "I'm going to pretend to be a husband who wants his pregnant wife dead."

        Both JJ and Julia exchange a glance towards Reid as the sentence leaves his mouth. "Well, I'd want to kill you if you told me that." JJ comments as Julia adds with crossed arms, "Ditto."

       "Exactly," Reid told. "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."

        JJ and Julia looked towards Hotch, who looked like he had been considering it now. "That's our best strategy," He snaps his head towards the man. "But there is one flaw."

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"You," Cat interrupts. "You're the flaw. You're not married and you don't have children."
       "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." Reid stated.

       "You have zero control here. None." Cat stated. "I outflanked you from the beginning."

         "Some of your moves were pretty obvious." Reid admitted.
         "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." Cat said. "You'd be surprised how many killers do what they do because of their parents." Reid told. "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?" Julia could tell that that had pushed a button for Cat because she went quite quickly. "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?" There's a pause. "Everything eventually falls apart. The trick is accepting when it's over."

       It stayed quiet until Reid's phone alarm went off. "Except it ain't over, is it?" Cat asked. "Do you really think I'm just gonna let you walk out of here?" Reid questioned.

      "You profiled so much about me, except you forgot to ask the most important question," Cat paused. "Why would I make you sit here for 30 minutes?"

       Why would Cat make him sit there for 30 minutes? They usually worked alone or separately, Julia remembered. But Cat was throwing Reid as well as the rest of the team off the plan. The other shoe was about to drop. And they didn't know when.

      Suddenly, Reid answered her own thoughts for her. "You're not here alone." Cat nodded, "And my partner? Less paranoid than you think."

     "You planted a bomb in the building."

      JJ, Julia and Rossi exchange a look after asking where the gas lines were in the building. "We're on the move." JJ informed the rest of the team as she, Julia and Rossi followed the gas line.

      "I didn't," Cat said. "My job was to keep your entire team focused on us, so he could do what he does best."

       They found the gas lines below and aimed their guns towards the area, reading to fire towards the bomber in case he was down there with him. But they found nothing, except wires and something that kept beeping.

        Julia got a closer look. "Julia, do you recognize the model?" JJ questioned. Julia answers her question as she speaks into the mic.
       "Hotch, we've got interconnected c-4 charges down here." Julia informed. "How many?" Hotch asks. "There's six charges." Rossi said. "They're connected to the city's gas line."

       "Which mean they could blow up the entire block." Julia worries.

        The rest of the team hears as Reid continues to talk with Cat after listening what's going on. "There are innocent people here." Reid stated.

      "Yes, there are," Cat said. "So let me remind you what we're playing for. 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. 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--"
     "It's not me. What you're asking takes time."

     Cat then speaks so clearly, it sounds like she's talking into the mic, which she actually is: "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. Watch this."

  Julia figured out quickly that the bomb connected had a cell phone trigger. And that the person that had that cell phone had the power to blow up the whole block.

       "Cortez, say again. The bomb has a cell phone trigger?" Hotch asks, wondering if he's hearing the woman correctly. "Yes, sir. All she has to do is call the number and boom... mess of the century."

      "Garcia, can you jam the signal?" Hotch wonders. "Not from here, no." Garcia says.
      "The failsafe will still kick in. Same outcome--can't move 'em, can't submerge 'em." Rossi tells. "It'll take us hours to get the gas turned off on the whole block. If we alert anyone, then the panic could set her and the bomb off." Hotch told.

       "SWAT's on the radio with bomb squad. 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." JJ informed.

       "Morgan." Hotch speaks up. "Go ahead, Hotch." Morgan starts. "Does she have a cell phone with her?" Hotch wonders.

       Morgan pauses. "I don't think so. I didn't see her pull one out. 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. Where's Lewis?" Hotch asked.

      Morgan had informed his boss that Tara was currently gathering everyone on the staff to be quick and safe and delivering everyone else at the restaurant their checks so they can leave without causing a panic.

        And the staff took care of that quickly and quietly.

       "Reid, perimeter agents are pulling back. You have to let her go." Hotch informs Reid. "Repeat--all agents, do not engage or pursue until the bomb is defused."

       Reid takes a breath as he mutters out: "You can leave." Spencer speaks lowly and from Julia gathers, Cat is getting ready to go. "But you won't."

       Everyone is confused as Reid decides to pull her back with his words.

      "I'm sorry?" Cat questioned.
      "Double or nothing to get you to sit back down." Reid challenges.

       Julia looks at Rossi and JJ and mutters, "What the hell is he doing?"

      "Wow, now you're stalling." Cat stated. "You played your trump card, but I have one, too." Reid said. "Thanks for dinner. I had fun." Cat told.

       Reid spoke up again, determined for her not to leave. "I found your father." He stated, using a Plan B to get her to stay.

     "No, you didn't." Cat answered in disbelief.

     "Look at my face. Am I bluffing? 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. Or I'll--"
     "Detonate the bomb?" Reid wondered. "You're not gonna do that, Cat, because then you won't learn anything. You said you were good at your job because you think through every outcome. Well, guess what-- so do I."

      Getting Cat to sit back down was a challenge but Spencer somehow managed to get her to do it and Julia hoped to God that Reid knew what he was doing. "All right. Finish the story." Cat spoke.

      "To prepare for this dinner, I had to learn everything about you, starting with your real name."

        Reid had begun to explain to Cat how he and Garcia searched and searched for Cat and ended up finding her father before going on the date.

      "Daughter of Daniel Adams, who did in fact leave the country in 1987, but returned in 2012. Based on confidential records in rehabs and sober living houses, which in turned 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 DC." Reid explained.

      "Where?" Cat questioned.

      "It's not that simple. He was in bad shape when I found him." Spencer explained to her the state in which he found her father in and Cat was falling for it and Julia could hear it in her voice.

      "He didn't remember me?" Cat asked.

     "The alcoholism shredded his brain. I'm sorry." Reid apologized. "You're not sorry," Cat stated. "Sorry is what people say when they don't understand."

    "Wait," Cat paused. "Your mother -- tell me."
     "Is--is this part of the game?" Spencer asks. "No. The game's over." Cat stated.

     Reid had taken a long pause before speaking and Julia even heard him swallow and maybe his heart beating too loudly. Julia could tell he was about to go into detail about why he was gone for so long and that it wasn't on his own terms. He was doing it to help other people.

     "When I looked at her medical chart, it--it didn't make any sense. 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." Julia heard him getting choked up and she held her heart at the sound of his voice cracking.

      "For three seconds... she didn't know who I was. 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."

      Julia clutched her heart and closed her eyes as she removed her mic for a moment so as not to interrupt with a hitch of a breath.

      "Did you test yourself?" Cat asked and Reid didn't answer. "No, you didn't. You were too scared."

    "Did you know?" Garcia asks Hotch, who answered, "No."

     "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."

      "Oh, Reid..." Julia mutters, swallowing the lump in her throat as he finishes.

       Julia's heart broke for Reid. She couldn't imagine ever watching her mother ever going through that. And as much as she butted heads with her, it would still be a painful thing to go through at any point. She closed her eyes, wishing there was something she could do to make Spencer's pain go away. Even for a second. She'd take years worth of pain if it meant that he could be happy.

     "Is that really why you showed up tonight?" Cat wondered. "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?"

       Julia's mind was quickly shadowed back with what was going on in front of her and the beeping suddenly stopped on the bomb. And Julia puts her mic back on quickly as she announces, "Hotch, she just armed the bomb!"

      "Hotch, we need to pull back." Rossi tells, grabbing both JJ's and Julia's elbow as they all step away and quickly.

      "Oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God." Garcia panics. "Okay, I suggest all of us... leave and now!" Julia tells JJ and Rossi and heads back to the kitchen.

     "Morgan, get out of there." Hotch orders. "Hotch, we might have a lead here." Tara tells. "She hasn't touched anything to arm the bomb. That means the bomber's here, somewhere in the restaurant." Morgan adds.

"You think that's possible?" Hotch asks. "Most bombers like to watch the destruction happen right before their eyes. There could be a chance." Julia informed.

"All right, if you can take him, do so, but the priority is evacuation." Hotch ordered. "I'm not even sure if it is a him." Tara stated.

       "What makes you think that?" Julia wondered. "Cat mentioned something about gender bias, so that could apply to the bomber as well." Tara answered.

      "All right, she'd have to be in a position to maintain line of sight on Reid all night. Who do you see?" Julia peeks outside of the window on the kitchen door. "Look for anyone with their phone out. That's the detonator. Our woman will give herself away by looking over." Morgan added.

        As Julia looked, she saw a brunette woman at the bar, phone in hand and looking up every so often.

       "You're right. You don't need my help. You don't need anyone's help. You are completely in control." Reid tells, trying to caution Cat from making a move.

       "Guys, I think I've got her. Blue dress. By the bar. Make your move and quick." Julia informed into her mic.

      "Hey, you know what, baby?" Morgan speaks to Tara, not risking their cover. "Let's get out of here. I'm not really feeling this place."
       "Really? I kind of liked it." Tara played along.
       "I want to take you to a spot where we can do some dancing."

       That's when Morgan makes his move, dragging the woman and she begins to fight him off. Julia is quick to exit through the kitchen doors as she grabs the detonator out of her hands and shuts it off as Tara slams the woman against the table to get her to stop fighting.

       "Hotch, we're clear." JJ informs.
       "Unfortunately, Reid isn't!" Julia shouts as she grabs her gun out of her holster and aims it towards Cat holding a gun at Reid's head as they stand threateningly. Morgan has his gun pointed to them as well.

      "Don't!" Cat yelled.
      "FBI. Everybody stay calm, please." Morgan assures. "We're gonna be smart about this and talk it out. Aren't we, Cat?" Tara questions as she puts the bomber in handcuffs.

      "That's up to you." Cat tells.
      "Get everyone out of here." Reid suggests and everyone is quick to take the exit.

      "Morgan, Cortez, you, too." Reid tells and Julia shakes her head, gun aimed high. "Not a chance." She says. "I'm not going anywhere." Morgan added and Tara walks off with the bomber in handcuffs.

      "Guess we're right back where we started. You and me with a gun." Cat tells, looking up at Reid.

       Julia then turns her attention to the man in front of her. "Reid, we have to come clean."
       Reid's eyes widen. "No."
       "We don't have a choice." Julia pushes.

       Morgan is quick to agree. "We have to do it, kid." Cat is thrown off, not knowing what they're talking about. "Do what?" She asks.
       "Morgan, shut up." Reid says in a panic.

       "There's one thing he hasn't told you yet."
      "That's not true. He's lying. Don't listen to him." They argue.

       Cat looks at the man as she clutches her gun tighter. "What haven't you told me?"
       "Nothing. I told you--nothing!"
       "What don't I know?"
       "Nothing!"

      "We brought your father here." Julia spat out and Reid looks at the woman, defeated.
       Cat is shocked at this news and looks at Reid for confirmation. "Here? He's here?"

      "He's right outside." Morgan adds. "Reid thought he needed every bargaining chip he could get."
      "Morgan, I'm begging you, don't. Don't." Reid pleads with the man.
       "Every bargaining chip he could get to convince you to do the right thing."

       Cat looks at the man. "How is this the right thing?"
      "Your father killed your mother. And there's no statute of limitations on murder, so you really need to think about your options right now. You shoot him, I will kill you." Morgan stated.

      "Or if you really don't want that to happen... if you surrender, you will live to testify against your father." Julia followed.

     "That's not good enough." Cat argued, looking the woman dead in the eye.

      "We can arrange it for the two of you to drive into custody together, and then you can remind him of who you are." Morgan said.
      "If you give her this, she wins. Don't do it." Reid continues to beg.
      Morgan looks at Reid. "Kid, I am trying to save your life. Now let us do that. They're bringing him in right now."

       Cat looks at Reid and studies his face. "You're really upset about this, aren't you?"
      Julia looks at the woman with furrowed brows. "This is what you wanted, isn't it, a chance to finally hurt the man who deserves it? Who's the reason you started killing men?" She questions.

      Cat narrows her eyes at the woman. "They all deserve it."
     "He deserves it the most." Morgan reminded.

      It was then that Cat made her decision. "Only if Spencer escorts me out." She tells.
     "Deal." Reid said.

      And with that, Cat dropped her gun, Julia had gone to grab it and Reid put Cat in handcuffs and did what she requested to escort her out.

      "Hotch?" Morgan spoke into his mic.
      "Yeah."
      "We're coming out now."
      "Ok, you're all clear."

       As Morgan and Julia both remove their mics and earpieces, Julia sighs in relief. "We're all clear and so is Penelope." She says, more so to herself than to Morgan.

      As they exit the restaurant, they see as Cat discovers the truth. They didn't actually find her father and that it was just a set up to get her to cooperate. And it worked.

       Reid put her in the van and put her in chains. "If it makes you feel any better, I really-- I did look for him." Reid told, as truthful as it could get. "But... I couldn't find him, so, yeah, I did make it all up."

      "Not all of it," Cat argued. "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?" Reid questioned.

      "Because I will get out of here." Cat stated. "Yeah, in 20 years, maybe, if you're lucky." Reid said.

      "Yeah, that's fine. You know why? Because in 20 years... I'll remember your name, but you won't remember mine." Julia took a sharp sigh at that and Reid exited the van without another word.

        The look on his face said it all and Julia sees as he walks past her despite Julia trying to stop him to check on him. She watches as he walks off and her heart breaks for him just a little bit more. Her and Morgan exchange a look and both know that that got to him. That this whole thing got to him.

         Julia silently hoped that this would be the first and last time they ever had to deal with someone as horrid as her. Because she certainly knew how to push buttons.

⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖࣪

         Julia knocked on the door quickly and prayed to God she got the right address. She'd never seen the outside of Derek Morgan's home but it sure was beautiful. Garcia had given her the address after she'd invited her for a night of fun since it was Garcia's first night back of freedom.

After Hotch had dismissed the team and ordered everyone take care of paperwork tomorrow, Julia decided to tag along for the fun. So, this was how she wound up in front of Derek Morgan's home. He really didn't live that far from her, she realized. Just a couple blocks down from her home.

After a minute or two, Julia tried knocking again but before her knuckles hit the framed wood, the door opened and there stood a beautiful woman that Julia had only seen pictures of on Morgan's desk.

"Oh! Hello." Julia smiles. "You must be Julia, right?" The woman greeted. "Yeah, yeah, I-I work with Derek." Julia said, sighing in relief, realizing she had the right address.

"I'm Savannah," the woman held her hand out for Julia to shake. "It's so nice to finally put a face to the name."
"And it's nice to finally put a name to the face. Morgan always shows me photos of you but he pretty much refers to you as his girlfriend that I forgot to ask your name." Julia chuckled.

"Julia!" Garcia cheered as the woman walked over to give Julia a welcoming hug at the door. "She's had a couple of shots already." Savannah informed and Garcia was thrown into a giggly, drunk fit.

"I see she's celebrating her first night of freedom with a bang." Julia joked. "Come on in." Savannah encourages and Julia enters the house.

The three women bond and Savannah and Julia only agree to one shot with Garcia and call it quits on drinking for the rest of the night after. Garcia doesn't stop there, though. She takes shot after shot until both Savannah and Julia realize that they both lost track of Garcia for a moment.

Julia notes to the open front door and panics for a slight moment until her and Savannah both see that she's accompanied by Morgan and Reid.

"Do you know what's happening right now? It is--it is done. The Dirty Dozen is done. Yes, done. I'm in it!" Garcia drunkly rambles as Julia and Savannah both join the three.

"How much did she have?" Morgan questions. Julia and Savannah exchange a look as Savannah informs her boyfriend, "She started out with Jaeger."

"Jaeger?" Morgan questions in disbelief. "I know, it was a shock to me, too." Julia nods.

Garcia grabs Morgan's full attention as she looks him dead in the eye and tells him, "I love you."
"Okay." Morgan responds.
"I love you. And you--" Garcia then points to a giggling Reid behind him. "I love you so much."

"And you, I should be jealous of you because you're so hot." Garcia tells Savannah and both Reid and Julia burst out into laughter as Savannah and Morgan look at him in disbelief. "But I'm not. I'm not. I promise you I'm not. I'm not. I promise. No, I'm not." Garcia tells.

"And you," Garcia points to Julia next. "You, my sweet angel dove that came into my life when I needed it — I love you so much. Although, you and Reid totally belong together."
"Oh, Penelope..." Julia chuckles awkwardly, considering Reid is standing right there.

"You're the one that said you'd totally take a bite of that if you'd had the chance!" Garcia outs, causing Julia to widen her eyes in embarrassment. "Whoa! She is jo-king." Julia chuckles, pointing at the woman and Reid nods along with a amused smile on his face.

"I should be totally jealous of your love, but I am not. I swear, I'm not. I'm not. 'Cause you know what? All I feel in here is love. I just-- I am feeling-- I'm full of love. So much love. I'm wearing too many clothes." Garcia marches back towards the house.

Savannah and Julia start to follow behind. "We got this." Julia assured as they both help Garcia back inside the house.

       As soon as they entered, Garcia passed out on the couch in a snooze and Julia takes that as her cue to head on out for the night. She wanted a night back into her bed for once after this whole mess and she was pretty much looking forward to that after the last few days she's had.

      Julia bids goodbye to Savannah and walks out of the house and sees as Morgan and Reid are finishing up a brotherly hug. Morgan sees as Julia heads out on the porch, looking as if she's ready to go somewhere.

      "Hey, hey, hey. Where you going, Cortez?" Morgan wonders. "Home." Julia answers simply. "You're walking by yourself?" Morgan furrows his brows.

       Julia shrugs, "Yeah, it's not that far from my condo. Just a couple of blocks." She says.
       Before Julia can bid goodbye to her colleagues, Reid speaks up. "I can walk you home."

      Julia chuckles to herself as she shakes her head to decline him. "Oh, I can't ask you to do that—"
     "You're not asking, I'm offering." Reid says. "I want to walk you home and I'd feel better without a guilty conscience."

      "If you wanna see where I live, all you had to do was ask, lover." Julia says and begins to walk ahead and Reid and Morgan exchange a sly look as Morgan gives the man a wink and Reid sheepishly follows behind Julia to walk her home.

        The walk really wasn't as far as Julia said. Only walking a few streets down with small conversation until they reached the destination down a small street.

       When they reached her sidewalk, Julia turned to the man and smiles up at him. "It was kind of you to walk me home. You didn't have to."
      Reid shakes his head as he raises a hand to dismiss her. "It's really no big deal. You're on my way back, so..." He shrugged. (He completely lied but he'd rather her be safe at home than be somewhere out on the street).

      There's a small pause and there's tension in the air. So, Julia decides to come out with it to loosen her nerves. "How are you?" She asks and Reid looks at her with furrowed brows. "Doing, I mean?"

      Reid looks down at the cracks on the ground. "Truthfully... not well." He admits. Julia gives him a small frown and looks at the man, her voice small as she shows sympathy. "I'm sorry."
      Reid shrugs in response, not knowing what to say to that. "It's okay."

     "Well, if you ever... need anyone to talk to at all, Reid. I'm always here." Julia offers. It was the least she could after he's just walked her home, of course.

      Reid nodded at the woman, "I know. And I appreciate it." Julia smiles a little, "Of course."

      There's a long, pregnant pause and Julia feels herself stifle a yawn as she nods, "Well, I should, uh, head inside." She closes her eyes as she heads to the door, hoping Reid will stop her for a least one more second of her company.

     "Hey, Julia?"

      There it was.

      The man had to have been smitten.

      Julia turns back to him. "Yeah?"

     "I just wanted to say that, uh," Reid struggles to find his words as he clears his throat to get ride of the lump in it. "It was nice of you to stay with Garcia after what happened. Not many people would've done that." Reid speaks, a fondness in his voice.

      Julia shrugs at the man with a smile on her face and blush rushing to her cheeks. "She'd do the same thing for me. Hell, she'd do the same thing for anyone." Reid nods along with that. "I'm just glad you were there for her."

     "I'm glad I was, too. But you..." She points at him. "You saved her life tonight." Reid shakes his head, denying his part. "I wouldn't take the credit—"

     "You should," Julia interrupts. "You were part of that."

      For the first time since she started working at the BAU, Reid is shocked that this conversation is probably the most heartfelt they've had. She had this way of speaking to him. When it was the two of them, she showed she cared for him and made him feel important in a sense. They could have real conversations all the while, she could be silly. And he seemed to love that about her. That she could be serious and silly and loving all at once. He envied that. He wished he could be like that again. Young and naive.

At twenty-five, she was so youthful and full of love and life. He wished he could be like that again. But it made Julia all the more special to him.

       Reid sees the gears turn in the woman's mind and Julia decides to try something. And it's something small and it's something unexpected as she gets closer to him.

She notices as he doesn't stray, he stays in his same spot, awaiting for something. He doesn't want to move, she gathers and that's all the more reason she gets closer to him. So close she can feel his breath on her face.

He was taller than her but she was tall herself, only being 5'9 to his 6'1. His mouth met her eyes. And he had lips she couldn't seem to stop looking at as she moved closer.

       Reid goes stiff as he looks down at her and for a minute, he thinks she's going to kiss him as she gets close to his face but before her lips can make his lips, they make his cheeks instead.

        Julia backs away after, the shocked face of Reid staring at her in disbelief, like he might combust at any moment. "Goodnight, Reid." She giggles to herself as she heads for her front door.

        Reid is still standing there after she's closed her front door and finally, his feet find courage to move on their own and he takes a breath. "G-Goodnight, Julia." He mutters out finally, walking away.

         And swears on his soul that he's never washing his cheek again.

hey lovelies!
i actually like how this came out ngl
thank you guys for reading
i hope y'all liked it!!

#spulia in my heart forever 🫶 they're so cute and they're only gonna get even more cuter from here

the next chapter is going to be an original and i am so excited about it hehehe

the original chapter is called
"there's a man in the woods"
and we're gonna delve into julia's past a lil bit hehehe🤭

we're already halfway through s11 and i'm gonna cry omg

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