𝓼𝓪𝓯𝓮 ➣ 𝓼. 𝓻𝓮𝓲𝓭

𝓽𝔀𝓮𝓷𝓽𝔂-𝓽𝔀𝓸

They finally got a new lead when Sam made a call to her mom from a motel in Odessa, one hundred and three miles west of where they currently were.

They were in the trucks, moving closer and closer to Eddie. They were closing in. And he knew that.

Garcia sent them a video of the robbery in Chicago. Mara watched it, angling the tablet so that Reid could see too. "They argued."

"What about?" Morgan asked from behind the steering wheel.

"Shooting the people inside wasn't part of the plan." Mara said as the partner tried killing Eddie but the gun jammed and Eddie killed the guy.

"That explains the overkill." Reid said from the back.

"He didn't double-cross his partner, his partner double-crossed him."

When they found another body in El Paso, they continued their journey there. "Go back through his life, Garcia, he's going to go somewhere familiar."

"Done and done." She replied through the phone.

"Penelope," Mara quickly said before she hung up. "Any word on Hotch?"

"Still no news, but I'm about to rouse the nurses for some intel."

"Go get 'em, girl." Morgan said, making Mara smile.

They were about half an hour from Eddie's last spotted location when Garcia called them back. "Eddie's story is way more tragic than we thought."

Everyone tuned in and listened, Reid closing his book and leaned between the seats as Garcia continued. "We know his mom died in childbirth and his dad committed suicide. What we didn't know was that he's the one who found his father's dead body. He was only five."

Mara couldn't help but feel bad for the guy, what it's like to find her parents body. It's a mix between heart breaking and earth shattering.

"The postman called the cops when he smelled something horrible. Turns out that little kindergarten-sized Eddie was in the house with the corpse for two days," Garcia explained. "And it was in the middle of a crazy heat wave, so-"

"Wait a minute, Garcia, Eddie's father died February second?" Reid interjected.

"You're right, boy genius."

"The average temperature in Chicago in Feburary is twenty-six degrees fahrenheit-"

"Oh, no, they weren't in Chicago," Garcia cut him off. "They were in Los Angeles because his father had a job opportunity that fell through, which he apologized for his suicide note that he wrote on a stock of post cards."

"Are you sure they drove?" Mara asked.

"Yes." Garcia replied.

"I think I know where they're going." Reid said.

They arrived at a harbor, Eddie arriving at the same time. He pressed the gun against his daughters head and pulled her into a small shack, away from the cops.

"Eddie Lee Wilcox, this is the FBI," Morgan said into a megaphone. "We can work this out, but you have to let Samantha go. She's your daughter, do the right thing, Eddie."

"Statistically speaking, the longer this takes, the worse his daughter's chances get." Reid said as SWAT got ready to go in.

"I don't know," JJ said. "If he was going to do something to her, he would have done it by now."

"But now he's trapped," Mara shrugged. "The game's changed."

JJ called the shack, trying to establish a personal connection with Eddie. "Hi, Eddie? This is Agent Jareau with the FBI. You can call me Jennifer."

"What do you want?"

"Same as you," she replied calmly. "I want Samantha safe."

"She's fine."

"Can you put her on the phone so I can hear for myself?"

JJ nodded when she talked to Samantha, confirming her safety. Eddie snatched the phone back. "Is there anything you guys need?"

"For you to get the hell out of here."

"You know I can't do that, Eddie. But I can help get your daughter to safety," JJ said. "Look, I know all you've ever wanted is for her to be happy and safe. Does she look happy to you? And there's a bunch of police out here with guns. Her safety's definitely an issue."

He didn't say anything and JJ took that as a cue to go forward. "Eddie, I know why you took her to the ocean. You wanted one last trip. Same as you had with your dad. I know exactly how you feel."

"And how do I feel, Jennifer?" He snapped.

"I lost someone, too, once, the same way you did-" JJ said, Mara wanted to comfort her but held herself back. 

"Don't talk like you know me," he interrupted her. "You don't know me."

"My sister," JJ said to him. "When I was eleven, she..cut her wrists with one of my dad's razor blades. I found her in the bathtub the next morning."

"Shut up!"

"Don't make Samantha feel the same way we did," JJ said to him. "It will change her, forever, the same way it did us."

"Shut the hell up!" He yelled and slammed the phone down, hanging up.

"He's not coming out," JJ concluded. "SWAT should finish getting ready."

It wasn't until he sent Samantha out that they halted everything. She was almost into JJ's arm when she turned around and ran back to her father.

Three minutes and forty-five seconds later, according to Reid, Eddie and his daughter both emerged from the shack, surrendering.

They arrested him and wrapped up the case. When they all arrived back home in Virginia, the first place they went was the hospital to visit Hotch, who was okay.

When Mara finally saw him, alive and breathing, she let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding in.

Reid noticed and set a hand on the back of her neck, comforting her gently.