Paranoia - s.reid

Game Over

With Marceau out and free, the stress on Liz was colossal.

"Mom, can I go to Teresa's house?" Diana asked, clearly bored as her mother made lunch.

Liz shook her head firmly. "No, Dee."

"But it's right down the road!"

"I don't care, you're not going. Go wash your hands and call your dad and brother."

The young girl groaned, hopping off the counter and dragging her feet away.

The one week she had that wasn't filled with overwhelming worry was when the family of 6 took Spencer's mother to Paris. It was one week of real peace for the family, no serial killers, no work. Spencer had deeply admired the way his oldest daughter interacted with his mother, the special bond the pair shared, along with the younger Diana's interest in researching ways for her grandmother to feel and hopefully get better.

Spencer and Liz had been practically rambling about their little holiday to JJ, until a realization donned on the later. "What did we miss while we were gone? Tell me about Luke Alvez."

Both JJ and Rossi stumbled on their words. "He bounced between different divisions before joining the fugitive task force."

"Former army ranger, right? Covered most of Iraq's worst hellholes."

"He's a first in, last out kind of guy."

Liz tilted her head, intrigued. "Aren't we all? What does Garcia think about him?" Silence.

Eventually, everyone had scattered, leaving Liz to her office. A soft knock tore her away from the file she'd been staring at, forcing her to open the door. "Hey. Luke Alvez." He introduced, stepping inside upon her invitation.

"Elizabeth Reid." She smiled, shaking his hand.

"I know, you're practically famous in the bureau. You and Dr. Reid, your husband, right?"

She nodded. "So, what can I do for you?"

"I came to ask about Marceau Boucher." Liz froze, lips pursed into a thin line. "I think I've got a lead."

"Then why don't you share it with the rest of the team?"

Luke sighed. "Because I know the connection you have, and I feel like you should know first. He rented out a storage unit 4 days ago, just 20 minutes away."

Of course she already knew this, she'd been hunting him down for weeks. "I know."

"When I got there, it was empty except for a textbook."

"Which one?"

"Ethical Justice, the hardcover edition."

Her eyes darted around the room, until a ping was heard.

Message from Penelope to Lizzy:
We have a case, sugarpot. Crimson King, Daniel Cullen.

"We have to go."

------

The team assembled in the conference room, all except for Hotch and Lewis who were in Tempe, communicating over the phone. 

"The details of the Cullen case are all the same except for one. The cuts on the latest victim are shallow and show definite hesitation marks."

JJ furrowed her eyebrows. "It doesn't make sense. From his first victim, Cullen inflicted as much pain as possible. And prison would have made him mean. They're not nice there."

"Brian Phillips doesn't match Cullen's previous injustice collector victimology, and the message at this time is 'BAU' when we had nothing to do with his initial arrest 3 years ago. So, look, maybe he met someone in prison and told them all about us, but more likely"