The Boss' Niece (Spencer Reid)

22. Spencer

"Where's Reid? I want to talk to the whole team." Rossi spoke as he, Hotch and Morgan sat down at the round table in the conference room. Cassidy, JJ, Emily and Penelope on the other hand, they had been in the conference room since early that morning.

"Oh, Spence probably slept in. He took it really hard." JJ nodded, frowning.

"Well, let's start our after-action review now, and we'll fill him in when he arrives." Emily nodded.

"Okay, DNA results coming at ya." Penelope typed away at her screen.

"Casualty count still hold at 8, including Roberta and Everett Lynch?" Morgan asked, watching as Penelope nodded.

"Yes." She smiled. Suddenly, her face dropped.

"Wait, no." She shook her head.

"Garcia?" Emily said her name, expecting an explanation.

"Yes, 8 casualties...our 6 agents, Roberta Lynch, and Orlando Gaines, the private investigator. That's it." Penelope's happy smile turned into a face of fear.

"Wait. Wait a minute. That means that..." Cassidy's eyes widened.

"...Everett Lynch is still alive." Emily's face dropped.

"Reno P.D. just confirmed they found supplies under Lynch's hideout." Penelope was visibly shaken by the sudden development.

"So he must have built an escape to the tunnels under the house." Emily's eyebrows were furrowed in shock.

"This guy's a planner. He picked that target because it gave him an escape route." Cassidy nodded.

"We profiled Roberta would take them both out, but because of her love for her son, she hesitated." JJ exhaled.

"And that hesitation gave Lynch the seconds he needed to execute his plan." Morgan shrugged his shoulders.

"All right, so he escapes right before the explosion." Hotch shook his head.

"We got to get back to Reno before someone else gets hurt." JJ worriedly exhaled.

"Garcia run a search on Lynch aliases, any credit card activity." Emily looked at Penelope, who shook her head.

"He's radio silent for now." She explained, typing away at her laptop.

"It's only a matter of time before this guy gets desperate enough to use one of his old aliases, and when he does, we've got him cornered." Cassidy nodded.

"Stop. Stop, stop. Apply what we know based on our experience with Lynch and others like him. That's all profiling is, that's all it ever was. Now, you're Lynch. You have the full force of United States law enforcement on your heels. Where else do you go? Who else do you hurt?" Rossi shook his head, going into an explanation.

"Us. They come after us." JJ scoffed.

"He'll get off on the power of attacking on our home turf." Morgan rolled his eyes.

"We need security for our loved ones. Morgan, Rossi, Emily, contact troopers at all state lines. I'll notify the director that the Lynch case remains open. JJ, Garcia, Cassidy, check in on Reid. Fill him in on his way back here." Hotch instructed before the team separated.

CASSIDY
As instructed, JJ, Penelope and I went to check on Spencer. It wasn't like him to show up so late. We ran up to his apartment, shocked to find that the door was unlocked.

Pushing it open, my heart dropped when we saw Spencer's body on the ground.

"Spencer!" I could feel myself tearing up. I raced over to him, putting my hand on his chest.