the great war, spencer reid [ 2 ]

016. the witness

"A bizarre coincidence, right?" Tara asks Spencer.

"What's a coincidence?" Rossi asks.

"Tara's mom went to the same elementary school as the Truck Stop Strangler's mom." Spencer informs.

"Okay, that's a little creepy somehow." Derek says.

"Don't get comfortable." Hotch says. "The plane's waiting for us."

"10 minutes ago, there was a poison gas attack on a city link commuter bus in Los Angeles." Penelope says. "10 confirmed dead so far."

"Do we know what it was?" Tara asks.

"Hazmat just got on the scene." Penelope says.

"Chlorine gas was used recently in Syria. Maybe it's connected." Derek says as they walk out of the room.

"It also reminds me of the attack on the Tokyo subway. Religious cult members carried plastic bags of sarin and punctured them with umbrella tips." Spencer says.

"That was 1995. It could be a 20th year anniversary event." Rossi says.

"We'll find out." Hotch says.

+++

"Okay, crime fighters, I just got confirmation from the L.A. field office that traces of sarin were found." Penelope says.

"Sarin is the most volatile nerve agent there is." Spencer says. "Symptoms are felt within seconds. Watery eyes, foaming at the nose and mouth, and convulsions, paralysis, and death within minutes."

"The last known use of sarin was two years ago in Syria, near Damascus." Tara says.

"We've had recent threats of terrorism targeting major U.S. cities." Derek says.

"The religious cult responsible for the Tokyo subway attack 20 years ago is also still active." Rossi says.

"Very much so, but they've split into two branches with different names." Spencer says. "There's over 2,100 members and 4 of them are in Southern California."

"Where's the leader?" Derek asks.

"Shoko Asahara's on death row in Japan. He's incoherent and confined to a wheelchair." Hotch says.

"So he's not calling any shots." Bedelia says.

"No, but that doesn't rule out devout followers doing it in his name." Hotch says.

"Garcia, what do we know about the casualties?" Tara asks.

"Aside from the I.D.s, not much." Penelope says.

"Well, it's 6 men and 4 women, age range 20 to 60." Derek says. "Victimology seems to be pretty random."

"Here's the thing -- sarin evaporates quickly, it's hard to control, and would thus be very difficult to target an individual." Spencer informs.

"Collateral damage may mask the real target." Hotch says. "Garcia, look into the victims and also anyone online claiming responsibility."

"Aye aye, captain." She says.

+++

"I'm Agent Young. The hazmat team says they're almost done with their decontamination." He says.

"Well, the good news with sarin, if there is such a thing, is that it's a relatively short lived threat." Spencer says. "Once it dissipates, there's very little cleanup to be done."

"Excuse me." Young walks off.

"If sarin is so fast and deadly, how can someone release it without harming themselves in the process?" Rossi asks.