[✓] 𝐶𝐼𝑁𝐷𝐸𝑅 | 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐑 𝐑𝐄𝐈𝐃

𝟏𝟔 | 𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐃𝐔𝐒𝐓 | 𝟐/𝟐

— 𝒞 —

"𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐃𝐎 𝐘𝐎𝐔 guys want it?"

"This is the spot," Hotch reassured Vega.

Only a few hours after the profile was given, another fire had occurred, with a family of three dead. This time, the father, daughter, and son had been trapped inside their car in the garage before the entire thing exploded.

Charlie stood with Hotch, Gideon, and Lieutenant Vega at the bottom of the driveway, making sure not to step on any of the garage door's remains that were scattered across the ground. Fire trucks and police cars surrounded them, and the officers hurried about. 

They were waiting for the EDF leader to arrive. Hopefully, from the plan they had worked out, they would be able to tell if he had anything to do with this.

"When he arrives, bring the fake bodies right past us," Gideon instructed, turning to face the house. "Nice and slow. I want him to get a good look."

"Remind me to never play poker with you guys," Vega quipped before walking towards the street.

Charlie bit her lip as she looked at the burnt wood next to her feet. This was seeming all too familiar.

It had taken all of her willpower not to shout "No" when Hotch had asked her to come with them, though now, she was kind of wishing she hadn't resisted the urge. She had really thought that she would've been able to handle it, especially with all the mental preparation done on the car ride here, but now, she wasn't so sure.

Her arms folded over her unsettled stomach. She couldn't move her gaze away from the wood. The scent of smoke remained in the air, and she was afraid it'd linger on her clothes.

"Charlie."

She looked up to see that both Hotch and Gideon were watching her expectantly, Hotch being the one who had called her name. "Hm?"

Hotch quirked an eyebrow. "You okay?"

She cleared her throat and nodded. "I'm fine."

"All right," Hotch said, though a little reluctantly. "What do we have on the EDF leader?"

Charlie looked down at her phone, where Garcia had sent her the file on him. "Evan Abby, forty-one, divorced. Father of Liam, fourteen. Environmental engineer; does consults on real estate projects. Has TIRKS with every company on the EDF list."

Gideon looked over to what remained of the scorched car. "I can't wait to meet him."

And they met him only a few minutes later. Evan Abby, a slender man with blond hair and facial hair, was led towards them by Emily.

"Mr. Abby," she introduced as they approached, "these are Special Agents: Jason Gideon, Aaron Hotchner, and Charlie Jang."

"Mr. Abby," greeted Gideon as he shook his hand, "thank you for coming."

"Um, Agent Prentiss said you needed my help with a LUST-related fire?" asked Abby as he looked around.

"Yeah, it's pretty bad," Gideon answered. As he had previously requested, officers picked up the fake bodies behind him and began to carry them toward the trucks. "Tom, Brad, Katie Dunleivy. All burned to death."

Abby's eyes followed the black bags, and he let out a sigh. "So, uh" —he turned back to them, swallowing— "where's the . . . Where's the leaking storage tank?"

"Katie was only twelve," Hotch instead replied, prompting Abby to press his lips together and look down. "You've got a son about that age, don't you?"

As Abby's head shot up, Gideon asked, "Do you know Tom Dunleivy?"