"Elijah?" Reid walked into the kitchen.

"Yeah, Reid?" Elijah turned as he sat Horatio's food down.

"I.. I have a meeting to go to." Reid clapped his hands together.

"Oh, is it work?" Elijah raised a brow.

"Kind of.. You can't tell the others though." Reid sighed.

"Oh.. Oh, it's that kind of work." Elijah nodded slowly,"I won't tell them."

"It's a NA meeting, with other law enforcement officials." Reid explained.

"I'm proud of you, you know that?" Elijah told him.

Reid smiled softly,"And I'm proud of you."

Elijah took Reid's hand and gently squeezed it,"It's nearly been a year."

"Ten months to be exact." Reid nodded.

"Ten months clean, just over ten months of being.. Us."

"I love us." Reid chuckled.

"I love us too." Elijah kissed Reid's forehead,"Now you go to that meeting."

"Call me if we're called in." Reid smiled.

"I will." Elijah assured him.

*********************************

The team had gotten a case, everyone was there but Reid so they had to begin.

"Officer Letts shot this just before he was killed." JJ played the recording.

That's when Reid hurried in, clutching his bag,"Sorry I'm late."

"I hope your mom's okay." Morgan looked at Reid.

"My m-" Reid turned,"Oh, yeah, she's fine."

"Good." Rossi nodded.

"I know it's late, I know we're tired, but we've got two dead cops." Hotch crossed his arms.

"Alright. The resident, Rod Norris was DOA. They're still trying to ID the remains of the second victim, whom they believe is his sixteen year old daughter, Jordan. From the condition of the remains, she would have had to been inside the house, close to the source of the blast." JJ held up pictures of the victims.

"Clearly they used the bombing to set the officers up for an ambush." Emily nodded.

"That's a well-established terrorist tactic. First wave takes out civilians, the second wave takes out first responders." Reid nodded.

"The locals are thinking terrorism? In West Bune Texas?" Elijah raised a brow.

"Not exactly a tier one target, but DHS did issue a terror alert for the border states yesterday. Just due to the timing and the nature of the attack." JJ sighed.

"I've never heard of this place. I mean, the militia, okay, that I could see." Morgan shook his head.

"Yeah well, it's close to the border. It could be traffickers sending a message." Fleur shrugged.

"Whoever it is, they gunned down two cops and blew up a teenage girl. Until they're stopped, no one in that town is safe." Rossi pointed.

"We need to be cautious with the locals. They've lost two of their own, they're anxious, they're scared, and they're going to want revenge." Hotch explained.

"Can you blame them?" Rossi sighed.

*********************************

The SUVs finally pulled up at what was left of the crime scene, smoke still remaining.

"Sherrif Hallum?" JJ asked.

"Ma'am?" Hallum turned to her.

"Jennifer Jareau." JJ held out her hand,"This is the team, Agents Hotchner, Rossi, Dr Reid, Deans, Prentiss, Howards and Morgan. We're really sorry for your loss."

"Thank you." He nodded,"Where do we start?"

"The first victim, Rod Norris." Hotch looked up.

"Manager of the chemical plant over in Ilbis. No arrests in ten years, since his wife left him." Hallum sighed,"I can't blame her for leaving him but it's a shame she left Jordan behind."

"What can you tell us about Jordan?" Fleur tilted her head.

"Slow? She was mentally challenged?" Emily asked.

"Not quite. Special ED and all that stuff. Takes some talking to to notice it." Hallum told her,"I think her mother leaving took its toll."

"Sheriff, I'd like to gather your people back at the office so I can brief them all together." JJ nodded.

"Sure, but I'm staying here."

"Of course. Thank you." JJ walked off.

"The blast was localized here." Reid pointed as they examined the scene.

"The rooms been sealed off. There's some plastic, duct tape on the door sills. Windows too." Emily nodded.

"Cordite. Gunpowder." Rossi pointed.

"They found a dozen canisters, it says." Reid read the report.

"The concentration of damage puts the canisters right by the door." Emily crossed her arms.

"He seals the kitchen, blows out the pilot light, trapping the gas in here, near the primary charge. If she was here, between the window and the charge.." Rossi trailed off.

"Boom." Elijah looked around,"Rod Norris ends up in the tree, Jordan ends up in the field."

"They didn't care about the rest of the house though. The whole thing is designed to focus the blast on whoever came through that door." Reid pointed.

"Yeah, but what was the trigger?" Rossi asked.

"Rod Norris. He was a smoker." Emily picked up a package.

"And they knew he'd be coming through this door." Elijah nodded.

"They knew he'd be smoking when he did too." Reid sighed and walked off.

Meanwhile, Morgan walked over to the place where the two cops where shot with Hotch, Fleur and Hallum.

"Hit pattern says they were hit on auto. Tight grouping for it, single burst hit them both down. That takes skill and some serious training."

"Letts lands here, still alive. Savage falls there, dead." Fleur pointed.

"But I walk past Letts, and I shoot Lou Savage in the face when I know he's already dead." Morgan sighed.

"This was personal." Hotch nodded.

"They knew each other?" Hallum raised a brow.

"Enough to know Rod Norris would enter through the back door while smoking." Reid walked over.

"And that Lou Savage was on duty and would respond." Morgan added.

"So what are we talking about here?" Hallum crossed his arms.

"This wasn't terrorism, domestic or otherwise. Terrorists rarely know their victims, at least, not personally." Hotch explained.

"Because they knew Rod Norris was a smoker who used his back door?" Hallum blinked.

"And shot Deputy Savage in the face at point-blank range." Morgan pointed.

"They weren't being thorough?"

"No. He walks past Letts, who was still alive and shoots Savage in the face when he's already dead." Morgan crossed his arms,"Responders were coming, that last shot was risky overkill."

"Overkill means rage. Rage means a close personal relationship." Fleur nodded.

"Rod Norris and Lou Savage were the specific targets of this attack." Hotch told him.

"Sheriff, can you think of anyone with a close personal connection to Rod Norris and Lou Savage?" Morgan looked over.

"I didn't think about it, because of the terror alert.."

"Think about what?" Hotch asked.

"Owen. Owen Savage." Hallum sighed,"Lou's son was dating Jordan Norris."

*********************************

"I can't use the Texas Rangers here. I need them working roadblock." Hallum spoke over the phone.

"Owen's truck is completely cleared out. He didn't want to leave us any clues of where he was headed." Emily sighed as she walked over,"Hey a smart kid."

"So far every move he's made has been clever and well planned." Fleur shook her head.

"What about the victim?" Emily asked.

"Single gunshot wound to the face. Who is he?" Rossi turned to Hallum.

"Kyle Borden, 19. Worked the register. His car is gone, we already put it out on the wire." Hallum told them.

"So Owen stops by here on his way to the interstate, grabs supplies, marches Kyle out back, kills him and steals his El Camino." Emily pointed.

"No evidence that Kyle resisted." Rossi pointed out,"Owen didn't have to kill him."

"Well, he certainly didn't have to shoot him in the face." Flrur shrugged.

"He wanted Kyle to see it coming." Rossi nodded.

"Kyle was a couple years ahead of Owen in school. It follows he'd know him. Excuse me." Hallum walked off, answering his phone.

"Owen didn't just know him. Owen hated him." Emily scoffed.

"The question is, why?" Rossi sighed

The group then headed inside the liquor store, looking around.

"It's been restocked recently." Rossi pointed out.

"According to the invoice, this last night after closing." Fleur handed Rossi a note.

"Good." Rossi nodded, looking at it as he walked,"We have a problem. He took gallon jugs of milk, frozen pizzas, cold cuts, but no water."

"You don't take frozen foods and perishables on a road trip." Emily realised.

"Roadblocks aren't going to work." Rossi told Hallum as they walked over.

"Why is that?"

"He's not on the road." Emily shook her head.

"He's still here. He never left." Rossi shrugged.

"Correction, they're still here." Hallum pointed,"That wasn't Jordan's body we found."

"Who was it?" Emily's eyes widened.

"Not who. What. The remains we sent to the M.E turned out to be three hams and a dozen bone-in ribeyes stuffed inside Jordan's blue jeans." Hallum sighed,"So you tell me. Is she a hostage or an accomplice?"

*********************************

"As Owen's counselor, what can you tell us about Jordan and Owen?" Hotch asked.

"Not much. They started dating last year when Owen moved to Special ED." Barter nodded as they walked.

"Junior year? Isn't that a bit late?" Hotch raised a brow.

"Yes, if he'd been put there for academic reasons."

"What was the problem?" Hotch tilted his head.

"Bad attitude, lack of effort. I mean, Owen applied himself in some classes and he did very well, but it didn't last." Barter held the door open,"Here we are."

"The problem wasn't a lack of effort or bad attitude. The A's in Math and Science tell us he's a gifted student. The D's in English and History, that tells us that he had difficulty reading. And the F in Geometry, that indicates a severe problem with spatial relations. That's further confirmed by his atrocious illegible handwriting." Reid showed Barter Owen's reports.

"All consistent with a brilliant but severely learning-disabled student." Elijah pointed.

"Yeah, but his standardised tests didn't support that kind of intelligence." Barter shrugged.

"But a spacial-relations handicap affects your hand-eye coordination. He couldn't fill in an answer bubble any easier than he could hit a baseball." Reid explained.

"Which is why he stayed away from sports." Elijah added, gently squeezing Reid's hand.

"Sports was a sore spot with his father." Barter nodded,"I mean he joined the wrestling team his freshman year just to appease his old man, but that didn't work out. Excuse me." He walked off to answer the phone as it rang.

"He was probably the smartest kid in class and just couldn't prove it." Reid lowered his voice,"Being the smartest kid in class is like being the only kid in class. He missed all of it."

"But schools like this can't meet the specialised needs of every student." Hotch shook his head.

"He gives it everything he's got, over and over and over again, and he continues to fail. And the whole time, the whole time, they tell him it's his fault. I mean, it makes sense."

"No, it doesn't. An undiagnosed learning disability does not add up to this level of violence. Not without severe emotional abuse. You know that." Hotch shook his head.

Elijah rubbed Reid's arm before answering his phone as it rang,"What have you got?"

"An .mpg on Owen's computer. You guys really need to see this." Morgan sighed.

*********************************

Morgan had sent over the .mpg and they had started watching it. It was a video of Owen in they boys shower room, two other boys egging him on to masturbate in front of them.

"He didn't know he was being filmed." Reid looked away.

The video continued, Owen eventually relenting to the boys request.

"I can't watch this." Elijah closed his eyes, turning his head away.

Reid gently took hold of his boyfriend's hand, both of them not looking.

"Did Owen tell you about this?" Hotch asked as he turned the video off.

"He didn't have to. It was posted on the school networking site." Barter shook his head before pointing, "We pulled it down immediately."

"Once it's on the Internet it's out there forever. Owen knew that." Reid sighed.

"Did Owen tell his father about it?" Hotch asked.

"Not at first. But when Owen quit the wrestling team, his father confronted him. I mean, he blamed Owen for the whole thing." Barter shrugged.

"He only joined the team to get his father's approval." Reid sighed.

"How were these boys punished?" Elijah raised a brow.

"Owen identified them, but on film all we had was their voices. I mean, even if they admitted involvement, all they had to do was say that Owen didn't have to do it." Barter pointed.

"He didn't know he was being filmed!" Reid pointed back.

"Look, it's his word against theirs. Parents would get involved, the school board, lawyers. I mean, cyber bullying is a hot issue right now. The whole thing could wind up on sixty minutes. How's that going to help Owen?"

"Well, what did you tell him?" Elijah crossed his arms.

"I told him that dealing with bullies is a part of growing up." Barter shrugged.

"That sounds familiar." Reid rolled his eyes.

"Boys have a way of sorting these things out for themselves."

"Yeah, they sure do. Right now Owen's out there sorting it out with an assault rifle." Reid spat.

"Reid." Elijah put a hand on his shoulder.

Reid dropped the files on the floor in anger before storming off.

"I apologize." Hotch nodded as he picked the files back up,"It's just that we've heard those phrases before when we interview school shooters."

"Jordan was the motive for Kyle Borden. It was revenge." Fleur walked in.

"I need to speak to the boys who made this video, immediately." Hotch pointed.

"Let me check their class schedules." Barter looked down at the register, biting his cheek

"What is it?" Elijah sighed, tapping his foot.

"None of them have shown up to school."

"Well isn't that just swell." Elijah muttered as they walked off.

"Is Reid okay?" Fleur turned to Elijah.

"He hasn't been since we got here." Elijah sighed,"He's been pretty angry and reactive. I think he.. Might relate to this kid."

Fleur shook her head,"Hopefully he's okay."

"Yeah, I hope so.."

*********************************

"Once you've heard the profile, you'll understand." JJ nodded.

"We are wasting tume." Lawford pointed,"Owen is here and we should be knocking on doors."

"That's not a good idea." Hotch shook his head.

"And why's that?" Lawford questioned.

"Because Owens watching. He's monitoring the news. Right now he thinks you think he's gone. He feels safe. If we start knocking on doors, he's going to know that he's not. He's gonna feel trapped." Hotch shrugged.

"Why the hell should we care about this little bastard's feelings?"

"Alright, we're here to help you bring in Owen Savage with minimal loss of life." Elijah sighed,"The profile tells you the best way to do that."

"Owen Savage fits the profile of a type of school shooter known as the justice collector. He's trying to avenge perceived wrongs." Reid explained.

"If he's a school shooter, why hasn't he hit the school yet?" Hallum asked.

"Jordan. Most of these guys are angry and hopeless, they just want to kill as many people as possible and commit suicide. But Jordan gives him reason to live." Fleur explained.

"Otherwise, he's a textbook case. His life was one torment after another. His teachers gave up on him, his classmates bullied him and his father blamed him while giving hun access to guns." Reid explained,"Given these conditions, I'd say you're quite fortunate."

"It sounds like you're saying these victims deserved this." Lawford scoffed.

"We're not, nobody deserves this." Elijah shook his head.

"But you could've prevented it." Reid pointed.

"Reid, can I talk to you?" Hotxh turned to him.

Reid crossed his arms and walked out of the room with Hotch, slamming the door. Elijah sighed, shaking his head. After a minute, Reid stormed out of the room and left the station.

"I'm sorry, he was.. Out of line there." Elijah told Hallum.

"We want to release the .mpg from Owen's computer to the media." JJ nodded.

"He left it behind because he wants us to know why he's doing this. By releasing it, it could temporarily dissipate his urge to kill and buy us more time." Hotch explained.

"Time for what?"

"To figure out a way to bring him in peacefully." Hotch told him,"Jordan's innocent and Owen wants to die and if you choose to go knocking on doors, I think it will get her killed."

"After the funeral tomorrow, I won't have a choice. Until then, you do what you do best to find them and bring him in." Hallum crossed his arms.

"Thank you." Elijah nodded.

"If y'all would excuse me." Hallum got up, leaving.

"Hotch, can I..?" Elijah looked towards ghe door.

"Go." Hotch nodded.

Elijah smiled slightly before leaving for the station.

*********************************

Once the two boys got to the house, Reid was on the computer.

"Garcia restored those emails." Morgan walked in.

"I know, I'm sorting through them right now." Reid didn't look away from the screen.

Morgan sighed, looking over at Elijah before he sat down next to him,"Reid. You know, you're not the only one who identifies with him."

Elijah sat next Morgan as Reid turned around,"He's right."

"You said I was the high school jock. I was." Morgan nodded,"But not at first. My freshman year, I was 5'3. I weighed a buck twenty soaking wet. So trust me when I tell you that I got my ass kicked every day. So the following summer, I hit the weights then I got lucky, I grew six inches. But it was never about vanity, Reid. It was about survival."

Reid was quiet before he spoke,"I was in the library.. And Harper Hillman comes up to me and she tells me that Alexa Isben wants to meet me behind the field house.. Alexa Isben was, like... Easily the prettiest girl in school."

"So what happened? Alexa wasn't there?" Morgan raised a brow.

"She was there.. So was the entire football team... They stripped me nakes and tied me to a goal post. So many kids were there, you know, just watching." Reid told them.

"Nobody tried to stop them?" Morgan blinked.

"I begged them to, but they just.. They just watched... They finally got bored and they left. It was like midnight when I finally got home and my mom was.. Mom was having one of her episodes so she didn't even realize I was late." Reid shook his head.

"You never told her what happened?" Morgan sighed.

"I never told anybody. I thought it was one of those things that I thought if I didn't talk about it, I'd just forget. But I remember it like it was yesterday.." Reid looked down.

"You don't need an eidetic memory for that." Morgan shook his head.

"I was.. The only openly gay kid in my year and you know about my dad so I didn't many people that liked me." Elijah began,"I had this one friend though, Craig. My best friend since I started that school."

The two looked over at Elijah, listening in.

"I... I had a crush on him and when I was fifteen, he told me he liked me too." Elijah nodded slowly,"He told me to meet him in the locker room after school and I did."

"So what happened?" Reid turned his chair.

"When I got there, he wasn't alone. There were five other boys with him, older boys." Elijah looked down,"They.. They tied my wrists and took turns.. Having their way with me.."

Reid got up from his chair, hesitating before he hugged his boyfriend.

"I'm so sorry, kid." Morgan sighed.

"I didn't tell anyone- I couldn't.." Elijah held onto Reid tightly.

Morgan looked down,"We forget half of what they teach us in school. But when it comes to the torment and the people that inflicted it.. We've all got elephants memory."

"Owen just wants to forget.. I know what that's like." Reid sighed softly.

"He's been making a big deal out of saying goodbye to Jordan in all of his emails, none of it shorthand. That's odd." Morgan crossed his arms.

"He never got the chance to say goodbye to his mother." Reid realised"Abandonment was his biggest fear. That's why he chose Jordan, he thinks she'll never leave."

*********************************

"It was the right thing to do." Fleur sighed.

The team had managed to message Jordan to get away from Owen, however he had messaged them. They were worried in case they had just gotten her killed.

"I know. I just.. I really thought we could save her." Emily shook her head.

"Emily." JJ looked behind her.

"Well, we had no choice.." Emily began.

"Em." Fleur nudged her.

Emily then turned around and saw... Jordan. She'd just walked into the station.

"Jordan." Emily smiled softly.

The girls quickly lead Jordan into an interview room,"Can you explain what happened?"

"I got to the car while Owen was digging. And he didn't see me until he heard me start the truck. And he tried to stop me but I just.. I just kept driving." Jordan explained.

"We need to know where he is." Emily nodded.

Jordan shook her head,"You're gonna hurt him."

"We don't want to hurt Owen. But we think Owen might hurt himself or someone else if we don't get to him real soon." Fleur sighed.

Jordan was crying as she looked down,"He's at Stratman's ranch."

After a half hour, Reid quickly sped into the station,"They think she's going to his mother's grave."

"Isn't he?" Emily asked.

"He was gone when we got to the Ranch. I want to save his life, but I need to ask you a question. This necklace, he gave it to you?" Reid showed a picture of the necklace to Jordan.

"I left it at the ranch." Jordan told him.

"He's coming here." Reid told the girls.

"Call Hotch. Tell him and don't let her out of this room." Emily pointed.

Fleur quickly chased after Reid, who was running outside.

"What makes you think he'll come here?" Fleur asked.

"It's what I would do." Reid told her as he looked around.

Then, around the corner came Owen. He was dressed in all black, including a black trenchcoat.

"Howards, cover me." Reid handed her his gun as he walked forward.

"Wh- Reid!" Fleur quickly grabbed his gun.

"Do not shoot." He pointed.

"Reid!" Fleur cursed.

"Owen, I don't have a gun." Reid held his hands up,"My name is Spencer. I'm with the FBI, and I'm here to help you."

"Yeah? I need you to step back." Owen lifted his gun up.

"I know the only reason you joined the team was for your father." Reid told him as the others pulled up in an SUV,"I know that he blamed you for what happened."

"Stay back! Right where you are!" Owen shouted at the others.

"I also know that the only reason you killed Rod Norris and Kyle Borden was to protect Jordan." Reid told him,"I know that the harder you tried, the worse it got and it felt like everybody just stood there watching you suffer. Not even a single person tried to help."

"They didn't. They didn't." Owen shook his head.

"I know you want to escape and forget. Believe me when I say I know... I know exactly how that feels." Reid shook his head,"But you know what? You don't have to die."

"No, I'm already dead."

"No. No, you're not dead." Reid stepped to the side to block the shot the others had on Owen,"If you die, you're going to leave Jordan just like your mother left you. I know you don't want that. Do you?"

"Okay, you bring her to me. Bring her outside." Owen pointed.

"I can't bring her outside. But if you put the gun down, I swear to God.. I will take you to her." Reid promised,"I promise nobody will hurt you. You'll say goodbye to her and you'll give her the necklace. Alright? So what do you say? Just put the gun down. Let's go inside."

It took a minute, but Owen placed his gun on the floor, handing the necklace to Reid.

"Don't move!" Morgan shouted as he ran over, cuffing Owen.

Reid backed up, patting Owen's back.

*********************************

"And.. We're back." Elijah flopped onto a seat as they walked onto the plane.

"Thank god." Emily sighed, sitting down in her seat.

"I don't know about all of you, but I'm going to sleep." Morgan took out his headphones.

"Don't worry. You're not alone." JJ chuckled.

"Good." Morgan hummed as he sat down.

Reid sat down next to Elijah, looking at him.

"You want to say something." Elijah tilted his head.

"I thought you were sleeping." Reid looked at his legs.

"But I'm right." Elijah hummed.

"... Are you okay?"

"Of course I'm okay, why would you ask that?" Elijah shook his head.

"Because what you mentioned at Owen's house." Reid sighed.

Elijah paused,"I.. Try not to think about it, at all. I could never really remember what happened. I remembered the before and the after but back there.."

"I'm so sorry." Reid shook his head.

"You don't need to be."

"I never knew that happened to you."

"I didn't want you to." Elijah looked away.

Reid gently took Elijah's hand,"I love you."

Elijah leaned against Reid, squeezing his hand,"I love you too."

Reid smiled softly,"That would've been the second kid that died on me."

"You're keeping score, just like Owen." Elijah closed his eyes,"Like me."

Reid looked at Elijah and leaned back, closing his eyes as well.