"I'm glad you spoke with Spencer," said Dr. Song, the therapist Parker had to talk to.

"Yeah, I mean it's not like before. I know he is not like before. I am not. But right now, it's okay, we are both okay."

Dr. Song nodded. Parker hated it when she did that.

Parker usually didn't have much trouble reading people on the job, but this...

The woman looked at them with an unreadable look. She opened her notebook, wrote something in it and looked back at Parker.

"Do you wish your relationship with Spencer was still like before he was abducted?" asked Dr. Song.

And again, Parker hated her for her questions.

They leaned back in the chair and twisted the ring on their finger

~~

"The torture of a bad conscience is the hell of a living soul."

John Calvin

"Two fires. Two families in three weeks. The first family, the Jarvises, all died. Last night, the Cutlers. Only one survivor. Charlotte Cutler. She's in critical condition with burns to over 60% of her body," reported JJ the team.

"Well, it's no accident. It's the same MO. No fuses. Kerosene. Multiple points of origin. Families targeted at home while they slept," said Emily.

"The Bay Area has a serial arsonist."

"Statistically, 94% of all serial arsonists are male, 75% are white, and few, if any, are ever caught," explained Spencer.

"'Few'? You don't have a percentage?"

"16%. And those 16% set 30-plus fires before they're ever apprehended. I'm trying to be more conversational."

"Oh, it's not working," Emily commented.

"But most serial arsonists don't intend to inflict harm," Parker pointed out. "Injuries or deaths, those are accidental."

"It's not about violence."

"For this one it is."

"It's also about power," Gideon added. "Seeing the destructive force of their fires. Watching the chaos. For them, fire's just a substitute for sexual release."

"Oh, great," Garcia murmured. "So, if these guys don't get laid, they start fires?"

"Or in this case burn entire families to death."

"No statistic?" Emily addressed Spencer and the young genius shook his head.

"No. They don't have statistics on this guy. One of a kind."

"Thank God."

"Three weeks ago, this serial arsonist escalated into a serial killer whose weapon is fire. Why?"

"A major event. Possibly the breakup of his primary sexual outlet. A separation. A loss," Hotch listed.

"All right, what about the victims?"

"SFPD can't connect the Jarvises and the Cutlers. But witnesses put an unidentified, late-model gold sedan near both fires."

"Run the car. Garcia, run the victims through your system. If there's any connection, we need to find it," said Hotch.

"Yes, sir."

"Reid, victimology. I'll go see Charlotte Cutler."

"You took the burn ward last time," Gideon reminded the other profiler.

"It's all right. I got it."

~~

Parker accompanied Hotch to the hospital.

"Did she say anything about the fires?" Hotch asked the doctor.

"I'm giving her as much painkiller as I can. She asked about her husband and son. She passed out again before I had to answer."

"So she doesn't know," Parker summarized.

"Whatever you tell her, she won't live long enough to know different", the woman explained. "I'll be right back."

The doctor stepped away from the profilers.

"Hotch, did she tell us to lie to a material witness?" Parker asked irritated.

"No. She told us that we could," Hotch explained.

The two agents put on protective gear and entered the room where Mrs. Cutler was being treated.

"Mrs. Cutler? I'm Special Agent Aaron Hotchner. This is Agent Parker Gallagher."

"Paul?" Mrs. Cutler murmured. "Where's Paul?"

"Your son..." Parker began and stopped for a moment. "He was with you the night of the fire."

"That's why we're here," Hotch added.

"I don't understand."

"We're FBI agents. We think that the fire may have been set intentionally."

Parker's eyes fell on Mrs. Cutler's arm. It was completely burned; they had never seen anything else like it.

"I'm very tired."

"I understand," Hotch assured. "This is very important. Do you think you could just give us a couple of minutes?"

Mrs. Cutler nodded.

"I want you to think back to that night. Was there anything out of the ordinary?"

"How about the things that you normally do," Parker tried to help the woman. "Get undressed, wash your face."

"I couldn't brush my teeth," Mrs. Cutler recalled.

"Dennis got the water back on. And then–"

"Then you went to bed?" Parker asked and Mrs. Cutler nodded in confirmation.

"Do you remember what woke you up?"

"Paul."

"Not the smoke alarms?"

"It was Paul."

"What else do you remember?" Parker wanted to know.

"Dennis unlocked it and it wouldn't open."

"He unlocked what?"

"The front door," Mrs. Cutler replied. "Somebody please help us. Please–"

The young agent looked at Hotch, unsure what to do.

The Unit Chief listened quietly to Mrs. Cutler so Parker did the same.

"– And then I saw the fireman. And I knew it was going to be okay. Dennis! Paul! Where's my baby? Paul. Where are they? Are they okay?" Mrs. Cutler wanted to know and grabbed Parker's hand, making it unable for Parker to take it away.

"They're fine," said Parker. "They're just outside in the waiting room."

"Oh."

Mrs. Cutler breathed a sigh of relief.

"I don't want them to see me like this. No, I'm not ready. Could you, please, tell them to wait a minute? Please? I'm not ready."

"Agent Hotchner will tell them", said Parker.

They then turned to Hotch: "Could you call Gideon and Derek?"

"Sure?"

Hotch didn't like that. Parker shouldn't have to do this.

They both knew it was part of the job– to hold someone's hand and see them to the next life.

"Yeah," Parker assured.

Hotch nodded and left the room while Parker pulled up a chair.

"I can stay with you until you're ready, if you like," Parker suggested to Mrs. Cutler.

"I'd like that," Mrs. Cutler murmured.

She and Parker looked at each other until Mrs. Cutler closed her eyes.

~~

S.F.F.D. Headquarters

San Francisco, CA

Hotch entered the office with JJ, Gideon and the detectives Castro and Vega.

Detectives Castro and Vega were members of the SFFD Arson Unit.

"Charlotte Cutler died," Hotch reported immediately.

"Sorry," Gideon mumbled. "Next time, I'll go."

"Tell that to Parker," Hotch replied before changing the subject.

Gideon looked over Hotch's shoulder at Parker, who was standing at the coffee machine.

They really needed caffeine like right now.

"You okay?"

Spencer suddenly stood next to them and handed Parker a small spoon.

"Thank you, and I'm not sure," Parker replied truthfully. "I mean, she held my hand and I could feel her grip loosening and– but that's the job."

Spencer placed his hand on Parker's arm as Parker took a step closer to him.

"Parker, Reid," Hotch interrupted the two's little moment. "We are ready to present the profile."

~~

"The UnSub we're looking for is a highly intelligent, underachieving, 35-to-45-year-old white male with a severe narcissistic character disorder," Hotch explained.

"Nothing in his life works for long. If he was married, he's now divorced. And if employed, it won't last."

"What he wants is admiration, but he's got no respect for others. Not their feelings, and most certainly not their safety."

"He feels entitled," Parker added. "He's like a petulant adolescent."

Kinda like most of the men they knew...

"He both resents and he absolutely expects others to take care of him."

"And given that a male relative wouldn't tolerate this behavior, he most likely lives with a female relative. His mother, grandmother, aunt, whom he exploits."

"His arson kit is expensive, fire suit, oxygen mask. This suggests that he may be employed, but his personality will not allow him to work closely with others in an office setting."

"This along with the information about his vehicle–"

It was a 1999 gold Ford Taurus and they found that it was probably a company car.

"– leads us to believe that he's a traveling salesman of some sort who works for a company big enough not to notice that he's a sociopath."

"Okay. This scumbag has issues. We all get it. But why fire?" Detective Castro wanted to know.

"He's like a drug addict," said Spencer. "Only fire's his drug, and each time an addict needs a fix, they need more of the drug to get off, so his crimes will most likely get much worse. It would be almost impossible for him to quit without help."

There was an awkward moment of silence, before Hotch ends the meeting.

"Thank you very much."

Parker stood up with the others. But not without reaching for Spencer's hand and tapping the back of his hand four times.

~~

Parker was standing in his office with the other profilers and Detective Vega discussing next steps when Garcia called, and Detective Vega put her on speaker.

"Brace yourselves. I'm gonna teach you the meaning of 'lust'."

"Did she say 'lust'?" Gideon asked and Parker nodded.

"I cross-referenced every known fact on the victims, and I just found a website that links both Dennis Cutler's and Matthew Jarvis' companies on a list of, 'Businesses guilty of LUST'."

"I'm missing something," said Hotch.

"'Leaking Underground Storage Tanks'. The web site belongs to a recently formed San Francisco chapter of the Earth Defense Front."

"The EDF? The eco-terrorist group?"

"They aren't eco-terrorists. They're environmental activists."

"Dennis Cutler and Matthew Jarvis may disagree with you."

"I'm pretty sure some EDF people were sent up for torching an SUV dealership while back in San Diego," said Detective Vega.

"Nobody died in those fires," Gideon reminded the others.

"Maybe they got lucky," Emily suggested.

"No, it's not luck. This group's dedicated to protecting life."

"What do they, wait until no-one's home and then light the place up?"

"That's exactly what they do."

~~

While the group was talking, there was another fire.

A father was locked in his car with his children shortly before it was set on fire.

It was the UnSub, only there was one difference from the other fires– this one was set in the middle of the day.

"Thomas R. Dunleivy. Dunbrook Development Group," Hotch said to Garcia as he and Parker approached the crime scene.

"Unless... Okay, I'm sending you a file on the EDF leader. Evan Abby, 41, 5'11", 185 pounds."

"Thanks, Garcia."

"Pardon me for asking, sir, but how do we even know he's involved?"

"We don't. That's why we're interviewing Abby at the crime scene. If he is the leader of the EDF, his reaction to all this should tell us exactly what we need to know," Hotch replied and ended the conversation.

He and Parker stopped by Gideon.

Parker's eyes fell on a half-burnt ballet shoe.

They could vividly imagine how happy the girl was when she received them.

"– on this guy?"

"Parker?" Hotch spoke to her.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"What do we have on the EDF leader?"

Parker took their cell phone out of their jacket pocket and briefly read through the information that Garcia had sent them.

"Evan Abby, 41, divorced. Father of Liam, 14. Environmental engineer. Does consults on real estate projects. Has TIRKS with every company on the EDF list."

"I can't wait to meet him."

Parker, Hotch and Gideon didn't have to wait long until Emily approached them with Mr. Abby.

"Here he is."

"Mr. Abby, these are Special Agents Jason Gideon, Aaron Hotchner and Parker Gallagher."

"Mr. Abby, thank you for coming."

"Agent Prentiss said you needed my help with a LUST-related fire?" Mr. Abby asked.

"Yeah. It's pretty bad. Tom, Brad, Katie Dunleivy. All burned to death."

The fake body bags were carried past the group.

"So, where's the..." Mr. Abby stuttered, visibly upset. "Where's the leaking storage tank?"

"Katie was only 12. You've got a son about that age, don't you?"

"Do you know Tom Dunleivy?" Gideon wanted to know.

"What is this?"

"He worked for Dunbrook Development Group."

"Why are you asking me these questions?"

"You posted Dunbrook on your website."

"My website? Look, I came down here voluntarily because I was told you needed help with a LUST-related fire."

"Three fires," Hotch corrected and showed Mr Abby a few crime scene photos. "Three families. Three fathers who worked for companies posted on your EDF website. All burned to death. You worked for these companies. Every one on your list."

"Are you accusing me of a crime?"

"What do you think?" Hotch replied.

"Mr. Abby, I support your cause. I reject these methods."

"Well, I don't know what cause or methods you're referring to."

"You created the site. You posted the list. You're the leader of the EDF," said Parker with a shrug.

Hotch and Gideon glanced at Parker.

Normally they didn't sound so harsh. But right now the young agent was looking at Mr. Abby with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, if you could prove that, we wouldn't be having this conversation, would we?"

Mr. Abby handed Hotch the crime scene photos back and turned to get out of this situation.

"Mr. Abby, people are dying. Children, Mr. Abby," Gideon tried to stop the other man. "We know EDF strategy has always abhorred violence. I'm asking you, has EDF strategy changed?"

"No. It hasn't," Mr. Abby replied, leaving the profilers at the scene.

"He could barely look at this. A serial arsonist wouldn't be able to peel his eyes away."

"He's hiding something. More than just his support for the EDF."

"Hey, it happened to me. If all I knew about the EDF was that they went around burning down SUV dealerships and housing developments–," said Emily.

"Well, that's a common misconception."

"That's my point."

"What if our profile is right and the UnSub held the same misconception? He wants to fit in, he wants people around him to appreciate what he does. Isn't it possible that the UnSub joined the EDF thinking–"

"– It was an Arsonists' club?"

"Sure, it's possible."

"If we give Abby our UnSub's profile, couldn't he help us identify him?" asked Detective Vega.

"We can't give Abby the profile. Not until we find out what he's hiding."

"Still, it seems Abby's our best chance of finding the UnSub."

"You want Abby or the ex-wife?" Gideon asked Hotch.

"Abby," the unit chief replied.

He didn't even wait for an answer and walked towards the car to follow Mr Abby.

Parker moved to accompany Hotch.

However, Gideon stopped them. The young agent was supposed to speak with Mr. Abby's ex-wife while Emily accompanied Hotch.

~~

"At Berkeley 20 years ago, Evan was a different person. In every way. Warm. Funny. Honest. Even naive," reported Mrs. Abby.

"What happened?"

"We had school loans. I got pregnant. His job–"

"Evan was an environmental consultant. Builders hired him to help them clean up their sites, to make sure they were up to EPA code."

"Evan thought they hired him to do the right thing."

"Did he?" Parker asked.

"Well, developers don't care about mercury in the ground water. They just want to pass inspection as fast and cheap as possible. He had a budget. It was never enough, but they didn't care how he spent it as long as they passed inspection."

"Well, how did Evan deal with that?"

"He drank. It got bad," explained Mrs. Abby.

"How bad?"

"I thought he might hurt himself. I didn't know if he could live with it."

"How's his relationship with your son, Liam?" Gideon wanted to know.

"He doesn't have one. I had to threaten to take him to court to get him to pay child support. It must have either scared the hell out of him or really pissed him off."

"Why's that?" asked Parker.

"Because every Sunday night for the past nine months, he tosses $2,000 cash through the mail slot. He left us long before I threw him out."

~~

The next morning, the investigators received news of another fire.

The evening after the EDF meeting, the UnSub threw some kind of Molotov cocktail at a an innocent man who was just walking by.

"The victim was a CPA. Greg Belew, 39, white, 6', handsome. He was talking to his fiancée on his cell when it happened," summarized Detective Castro.

"It was kerosene. Same exact type used in the other fires."

"Well, Hotch had Abby under surveillance at the time of the attack, so we know Abby's not the UnSub."

"Witnesses put a gold sedan here, so we know this is our guy."

"And given that the attack occurred less than 30 minutes after the EDF meeting and Abby's house is less than a mile from here..."

"Chances are the UnSub was at Abby's house."

"He parked some distance away and walked."

"This victim wasn't even connected to the EDF list."

"No, he was just a guy who looked like he had a nice life like the others."

"The UnSub didn't go into a house. He barely even got out of his car. There was no planning whatsoever. Why?" Detective Vega wanted to know.

"He's devolving," Derek explained. "He's doing it fast."

"It's more than that. This was random. Impulsive. Adolescent. Like a tantrum. He's got displaced aggression. He listens to Abby denounce him and his work, it enrages him. So, that's the trigger. The UnSub lashes out immediately."

"Well, if he was at Abby's, we have him on camera, right? It's just a matter of time before Penny has a suspect list."

"He's devolving too rapidly. He's going to attack again soon. We're going to have to trust this Abby guy with the profile. Let's go."

~~

Hotch spoke to Mr. Abby and he was able to immediately give the profiler a name.

Vincent Stiles.

Parker, Emily, Derek, Gideon and Hotch followed the SWAT team into Stiles' apartment.

"Clear!"

"Clear."

"Gideon, he's not here," Morgan called from the bedroom.

Hotch and Parker entered the bedroom after him.

They noticed the photos on the bed and picked some up.

There were photos of the victims.

"He got the company names from the EDF website and he watched the offices until he found employees that suited his taste."

"He just left," reported Emily, who also entered the room. "A neighbor saw him leave. He's a pharmaceutical sales rep. He's been living here since his divorce six weeks ago."

"That's the stressor."

Derek's phone rang and he answered it.

"Yeah, talk to me–Yeah, I'll let him know," the profiler finished again after a few seconds.

"What?" Hotch wanted to know.

"Abby shook the tail we had on him."

~~

Hotch paced back and forth in Vega's office.

"Should someone check on him?" Parker murmured worriedly.

"I'm going," said Gideon.

He stood up and entered Vega's office. The two chatted briefly until the phone suddenly rang and Hotch stormed out of the office.

"We got a 911 anonymous tip for a fire in the Harbor District," said Detective Vega.

"Is it a warehouse?" Hotch asked.

"Yeah. 6000 San Alameda."

"Can you call Garcia?" the unit chief addressed Derek.

"She's right here," Derek explained, holding up his phone.

"Hey, Garcia, can you check the zoning code on a warehouse at 6000 San Alameda?"

"Yeah, I certainly can."

While Garcia looked, Emily joined the others.

"The SFPD chopper circled the harbor twice. There's no sign of fire."

"Okay, 6000 San Alameda is a commercial storage facility. But it looks like the property was just sold, and the lot was approved for zone conversion."

"CR to ES?"

"Yeah, that's right," confirmed Garcia.

Hotch immediately started moving.

"CR. Commercial Restricted. What's IT?"

"Elementary school," Hotch explained. "And there's a leaking benzene tank underneath it. It's not a false alarm."

"There's no fire there."

"There's something to be said," Emily and Parker said when they understood what was going on.

Mr. Abby wanted to ambush Stiles and end it once and for all.

~~

"We can't put a benzene fire out with water," explained Detective Vega.

He, Gideon and Parker were in the car together on the way to 6000 San Alameda.

"All water does is spread around it. It burns too hot. Contaminates the ground table."

"So you let it burn," Gideon muttered.

"We exhaust the fuel. All we can do is cordon it off, stop it from spreading, and let the gasoline burn out. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, we got it."

"Does Agent Hotchner?"

Gideon hesitated for a moment, then reached for his phone.

"Don't put me on speaker. Just listen."

~~

The two cars stopped a safe distance from the building.

The building was already engulfed in flames and Parker heard the explosion before one of them could even get out of the car.

Hotch was the first to get out and start running towards the building.

"Hotch, stop. Stop! Stop!"

Luckily, Parker, Gideon and Derek were able to stop him.

"What, he's burning to death–"

"We told him, man."

"– and we're just going to stand here?"

"Look at it, man. It's over," said Derek, pointing to the burning building.

There was no way anyone could have survived that.

"Sorry," Parker mumbled.

"He wanted his death to mean something."

~~

Parker sat at the table with Hotch. Neither of them said a word.

The young agent knew that it would be enough if Parker didn't leave Hotch alone at the moment.

The silence was broken when Detective Vega stopped by Hotch and handed him an envelope.

"I found this in Abby's car."

"What is it?" asked Parker.

"A letter for his son."

~~

Gandhi said,

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever."

"I have an answer to your question the other day," Parker said after sitting down in the chair.

"You do?"

"Unbelievable but it's true."

Dr. Song nodded and looked at Parker waiting for the young profiler to answer.