"Are you sure you're okay?"

Parker exhaled loudly and turned to Spencer.

"Yes, I'm okay."

Spencer also turned to Parker and looked anything but convinced.

"The doctor said I can go back to work", Parker reminded their boyfriend.

They just forgot to mention what their job was.

Parker mumbled something about paperwork and the doctor allowed the young adult to go back to work.

Spencer scoffed and made a comment about that he would like to see Dr's Certificate.

"You disagree?", asked Parker with a raised eyebrow.

"As someone with two PHD's more than him, yes I disagree."

Parker rolled their eyes.

Spencer could talk– he didn't have to sit at home on his birthday.

The young genius and the rest of the team were in another city that day.

But luckily Caroline visited to make sure Parker was feeling better.

"But you did study medicine", Parker reminded Spencer.

"Not jet–", the young genius replied as the elevator doors opened.

"You're back! Oh my– let me give you a hug," Garcia approached Parker and Spencer as they exited the elevator.

"Penny," Parker greeted the woman and hugged her back.

~~~~

"A popular theory among leading astrophysicists estimates that the hypermatter reactor would need about 10 to the 32nd joules of energy to destroy a planet the size of Earth. Now, Lucas said it took 19 years to build the first Death Star, right?", Spencer babbled.

He talked to Derek and Parker, who were sitting in the bullpen with him and listening.

Well, Parker listened intently while Derek leafed through a file and looking at Emily once in a while.

"– But if you look at The New Essential Chronology, there's a test bed prototype for a super laser that's been... Where are you going?"

Parker hadn't noticed Derek standing up. He was walking towards Agent Rossi's new/Gideon's old office and answering, "Taking back the last five minutes of my life."

"You can't go in there," said the young genius.

"Don't you want to know about this guy?" asked Derek.

"I do," Emily spoke up.

The black-haired profiler stood up from her desk. The young couple saw Emily following Derek. They looked at each other before Spencer and Parker followed the two.

"I've got it all memorized. His books, his bio," explained Spencer.

"Yeah, books that sold over a million copies."

"So?"

"That's a million reasons not to come back, if you know what I'm saying," replied Derek and entered the office with Emily.

"He's not wrong," Parker agreed with Derek.

Spencer looked around one more time to be safe before standing in the doorway with Parker.

The office didn't have any furnishings yet, but there was a pile of boxes in the middle covered with a sheet– the painters just left the office a few moments ago. But the color Agent Rossi chose was interesting.

"– Cold. Distant. You know, emotionally, taupe is linked to loneliness and a desire to escape from the world."

"I just figured the guy's walls would be covered with plaques and commendations."

"Maybe he doesn't want to be reminded of past victories. It's a new chapter for him," Emily pointed out.

"Whatever happened to the moratorium on intra-team profiling, guys?", complained Spencer.

"Come on, Reid. Team? I don't think this guy knows the meaning of the word."

Derek reached under the sheet and pulled out something that was framed.

"I found something–"

Parker and Spencer couldn't see it from the door, so they moved closer.

"–Looks like some type of religious art. Original maybe. Definitely expensive."

Derek passed the picture to Spencer.

"It's Renaissance art. If that's original..."

"Is it?" Derek asked.

"I don't know. It's kind of hard to tell," Spencer mumbled and handed it to Parker. "What do you think?"

Parker only had to take one look at it to know, "It's real."

"Are you sure?" Emily asked and Parker nodded.

"How do you know?"

"This artist's signature is nearly impossible to fake authentically. He did it very cleverly. My Parents have several of his other pictures hanging in the hallway at home... Fake of course."

"But how–"

"It means he's into the classics," Spencer changed the subject.

"What else?"

"Italian. Strict Catholic upbringing, probably believes in redemption."

"I believe in a lot of things," the four agents heard a voice from the door. It was Agent Rossi.

"– Catholic, yes. Italian American, 52 years. Strict upbringing? Not so much. Now the artwork? That's 15th century original. It costs more than my first house. And as for the wall color, it's just a base coat. Painters will come in and finish tomorrow."

Parker felt like they were back at school when the teachers caught them and Spencer inside the class during lunch.

"– Now, if you're all finished, I think JJ and Hotch are ready for us. Isn't that how a team works?"

Derek, Emily and Spencer left the room, feeling slightly guilty. Parker handed Rossi the picture before following her colleagues into the meeting room.

~~

"Great Falls, Montana. Over the past 14 months, three women have been reported missing, Michelle Lawford, Jennifer Hillbridge and Darcy Cranwell. All young Caucasian brunettes. After an extensive search, all were presumed dead by local authorities," JJ summarized.

"Well, at least we know he has a type."

"And now there's a fourth woman, Angela Miller. This morning, she and her car went missing from a small grocery store, while her husband and son were inside."

"This morning?" Spencer repeated in surprise.

"Montana's requesting our help?"

"Forty minutes later, state troopers spotted Angela Miller's car on the highway."

"And when troopers tried to apprehend the driver, he blew himself up with a grenade, putting one of the troopers in the ICU," Hotch added.

"Are you sure that she wasn't in the car with him?" asked Parker.

"They went through the wreckage, and it appears she's still missing."

"Troopers get a look at the guy?"

"Caucasian, stocky, brown hair, mustache, early 40s. He has a scar on the left side of his face."

"You think Angela Miller is still alive?" Derek wanted to know from Hotch.

"Since the other missings were never found, we don't know. But he only had her for 40 minutes, so we have to assume she is."

~~

"An earthly kingdom cannot exist without inequality of persons. Some must be free, some serfs, some rulers, some subjects."

Martin Luther.

"You know, I could have gotten you a coloring book at the airport," Emily commented.

Parker scoffed and picked up the pen that had fallen to the floor moments before.

Their boyfriend drew different lines on a map with different colored pens.

The young genius took the pen from his significant other and tapped the back of Parker's hand four times.

"I'm creating a topographical map, weighing down and geocoding all key locations, looking for algorithms," Spencer then explained.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I thought you were doing."

"It's called a jeopardy surface. It's a way of narrowing down where the UnSub could reside," Hotch added.

"By default, where he may be stashing Angela Miller."

"You know, it says here the guy had a fully loaded gun, so we know he had options. Why the grenade?" Derek asked the group.

"He wants to be remembered," said Agent Rossi. "And he wanted to be sure to take as many cops with him as possible. He knows he's outgunned, so he waits. Times it to the last second. Boom. There are some very committed people in those parts."

"Who love their firepower–"

"Almost as much as they hate us."

"Militia."

"And they're heavily armed."

"Yeah, but hand grenades?"

"It's not uncommon for militia members to have military experience. Oftentimes they resent the structure, and they get discharged, and they form their own paramilitary governments."

"Dental records are on their way to Garcia. I'll tell her to check the military first," JJ reported after reading the message on her phone.

"Prentiss and I will go meet the husband," said Hotch.

"I can walk the other abduction sites," said Derek.

"Everybody else set up base, work on geographical profiles, establish contact with the locals, and tread carefully. They'll be watching us."

~~~~

While Spencer and Parker set up the board, JJ tried to reach someone on the phone.

"Hi, this is Agent Jareau. I'm with the FBI and... That's the third time I've been hung up on," the blonde complained.

"Try not saying FBI," suggested Agent Rossi.

"Who was that?" Spencer asked.

"Contact for a local militia newsletter."

"Yeah, drop the FBI part."

"A woman is missing, you'd think these people would want to help us," JJ complained.

"They do want to help. The missing woman, not us," Agent Rossi pointed out.

JJ wanted to say something but was interrupted when her phone rang again.

"Go ahead, Garcia."

"You were spot on, crime fighters. Military records match Francis Goehring, 42 years old. Did a year in the Army before a bad conduct discharge. A highlight of which was an arrest during a bar brawl in which three other people were hospitalized. He also appears in a federal database for, get this, aggressive militia groups."

"'Aggressive militia groups'? Is there any other type?"

"Uh-huh. That's your federal government at work. We specialize in redundancy."

"You see a last known address?" Agent Rossi wanted to know.

"A compound just outside of town. It's coming your way. He also has a wife that doesn't appear to live with him. Diane Marie Goehring. Lives in Shelby, a few hours away."

"Have the State Police bring in the wife. Reid and I will go make friends with his neighbors."

"Thanks, Garcia."

~~

The two agents searched Goehring's house. He hadn't been there for a while and seemed to only use the address for mail.

They also found several videos that they watched with Emily and Parker, back at the police station.

The videos weren't really exciting, Goehring was sitting on a chair and talking some crap.

"An earthly kingdom cannot exist without the inequality of persons. Martin Luther understood the weak will always serve the strong. Like me, he had dreams and ideas–"

Goehring stopped. Then stood up, corrected the ancle of the camera and sat back down on the chair.

"It's funny, he uses the chair like it's a throne, and he's intentionally framing himself with a low angle to give him power and dominance in the frame," analyzed Parker.

"In feudal times, the Lord lived on high ground to spot the invader. He had serfs to serve his kingdom. The Lord never had to leave his castle. The serfs would bring him everything. They were the appendages of his will."

"We have 11 more tapes of this?" Emily asked.

"It's his manifesto," Parker replied, just as unenthusiastically.

"First, I will build a compound. A kingdom. Second, I will arm, protect and fortify my kingdom. Third, I will keep women as serfs to serve my every need. This is my right. As a man with free will in America, I will make my kingdom a reality."

"Well, we know he's moved out of his house. My guess is, that kingdom is a reality now."

"Hey, he talks about keeping women to serve him. It's possible all these women are still alive."

"Possibly," Parker muttered, taking a sip of water. "We have to at least hope that's the case."

"Excuse me," JJ interrupted the conversation. "Goehring's wife is here."

~~

The team spoke to Mrs. Goehring. She told them that she was only able to escape from her ex-husband with the help of the militia.

She also had a lead as to where the profilers could be looking for Goehring.

She had to sign over the land she had inherited from her parents to her ex-husband.

"Sheriff, let me know when they've swept the house for explosives," Hotch asked when he and the rest of the team arrived at Goehring's house.

"In the meantime, check the perimeter. Let's find her."

"Tommy, two men on the house. Drew, on the shed," the sheriff instructed his people.

"Angela. Angela!"

"Angela Miller!"

"Angela!"

They began looking around the property.

"Hotch. Rossi," Derek called the two of them.

"I got her. It's Angela"

Parker followed Hotch to a spot by the house where several bushes were planted.

Angela lay in a shallow grave.

"She's gone. Two exit wounds, upper torso."

"I promised her son we'd find her alive," murmured the sheriff.

"What is it?", he then wanted to know when Derek and Agent Rossi, who had also crouched next to the grave, looked at each other for a moment.

"She's still warm," Agent Rossi reported.

"Look at the blood. It hasn't dried yet. This was recent. Very recent."

"How is that possible?"

"Goehring didn't do this."

"He's got a partner."

~~~~

Parker spread out the map of the area on the hood of the car.

"We'll set up roadblocks within a 40-mile radius," said Sheriff Williams.

"Sheriff, somebody around here must know who Goehring's partner is."

"You should try Goehring's pals, the militia. Maybe they can help," suggested Rossi.

"Militia leader is Harris Townsend. He owns a bar called the Horse Post."

"I'd suggest sending Morgan."

"What? All due respect, Rossi, but you got an entire team to pick from. You're choosing me? You serious?"

"No offense, but you really want to do that?"

"Take JJ with you," Hotch said.

"They know we're here, but you're the last face they expect."

"Let's do it, JJ," Derek addressed his colleague and the two walked away.

"Sheriff, we need to get into the house," Hotch reminded the other man again.

"Not until I get it all clear," the sheriff objected. "Goehring blew himself up, God knows what else he's got in there."

"All right, search what you can until we can get in. Anything to build a workable profile," said Hotch and the small group split up again.

Parker, Spencer and Agent Rossi searched the tool shed.

The young profiler immediately noticed how organized everything was. It looked like each piece had a specific place.

"Keep everything neat."

"Obsessively like that."

"His trailer was organized, but this is different," Spencer recalled.

Agent Rossi first went to the weapons cabinet that was against the wall.

The door was unlocked, and the profiler opened the door– the gun cabinet was empty.

"Uh-oh."

The three left the tool shed and reported their discovery to Sheriff Williams.

"We found some cartridges and different casings," said Spencer and showed the sheriff an empty cartridge packaging that was still in the gun cabinet.

"But the gun racks were empty. He took his entire arsenal with him."

"7.62 millimeters. He's got an assault rifle."

"And I found two sets of men's shoes of different sizes," said Hotch and joined the others.

"We found fresh tire tracks, a small pickup truck," Sheriff Williams added.

"I know it doesn't narrow it down much, but let the troopers know they're looking for a man in a pickup."

If he's as prepared as Goehring, he'll have a police scanner and a two-way radio."

"We can tune into the state geological survey frequency. Nobody ever listens to that," suggested Sheriff Williams.

"Hey, guys?" Parker heard Emily call.

They and the others found her where they found Angela.

"There are three sections of roses, different heights, different levels of maturity."

"Three different women."

"These appear to be the most recently planted," said Emily, pointing to several plants. "The tags are still on them."

She crouched down and pushed the small branches aside before a large beetle crawled out of the ground.

"Guys–"

"Carrion beetles."

"Like in a cemetery."

"Sheriff, let's get some shovels. We need to start digging."

~~~~

"Didn't find any explosives, nothing rigged, but be careful," said Sheriff Williams as he and the profilers entered Goehring's house.

"Odd. Goehring kept his house almost cozy," commented Agent Rossi.

Parker nodded in agreement and started looking around the living room.

They would have expected something different

"Hotch?" Rossi suddenly said.

"Yeah?"

Hotch turned around. Rossi stood at a dresser and pulled out several tapes from a drawer.

"These tapes have the names of the missing women. They've all been un-spooled."

"We need to get these to Garcia immediately," said Hotch and pulled the drawer out of the drawer. "–Deputy."

Parker, Spencer and Emily continued to look around the kitchen.

At first glance the kitchen looked like any other.

What was noticeable was the large piece of paper with rules hanging on the wall.

"One, all actions must serve to please The Master. Two, insubordination will result in punishment," Emily read.

"Three, any attempts to escape the Kingdom will result in death. Four, the Master demands cleanliness. Messes will not be tolerated and will result in punishment," Parker continued reading. "This is his new manifesto."

"Notice how 'master' is singular and capitalized, emphasizing there's only one dominant partner."

"So, his partner's more of a servant."

"Or a serf. Watching the house, minding the lawn, helping him abduct women."

"Okay, so if his partner is a serf, what are the female slaves for?" Emily wanted to know.

At the same moment, Agent Rossi stopped at the doorframe.

"I think I can answer that."

They entered the bedroom with Sheriff Williams, which contained more than just conventional bedroom furniture.

Also in the room was a wooden chair with shackles.

"Now we know why the victims were taken so far apart. They tortured them. It took time for them to die."

"This is where he kept them. The blood's fresh," Hotch said after finding the hiding place in the closet.

Parker looked around like the others and saw Emily pick up something out of the corner of their eye.

"Emily, I wouldn't–" Parker spoke to her when they realized what it was.

"Why? What is this?"

"The pear of Anguish."

But that wasn't the only instrument of torture.

"I've got something here."

Agent Rossi folded up the bed. At the bottom there was a grille on which other torture instruments hung.

"Homemade torture tools."

"They covered the floor in something."

"The bodies are probably wrapped in whatever it was. They must have kept these women in that box for months. Judging by these tools, there will be a considerable amount of mutilation. We need to do what we can to help their families get a proper burial."

Parker left the house with Hotch, Spencer and Agent Rossi.

They leaned against one of the cars and closed their eyes for a moment.

"Parker," Hotch addressed the younger profiler.

The young adult opened their eyes.

"Yes?"

"Are you okay? You look exhausted."

"I'm fine," Parker assured.

The unit chief didn't believe a word they said.

"You lied to your doctor."

The younger profiler looked at Hotch irritably and Hotch raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't–"

"And now you try to lie to me. When we get back, you'll take a few more days of," Hotch instructed.

"Hotch, is this really–"

"And before you come back, I want the clearance of two doctors. Just to be sure."

"Fine," Parker muttered, rolling their eyes.

~~~~

"Goehring's partner is early-to-mid-20s, 5'8", slight build, shy and retiring, but groomed by a separatist armed with assault weaponry," Hotch began to present the profile. "Like Goehring, he's unlikely to surrender if he's cornered."

"His obsession with cleanliness and order is deeply ingrained. This will be reflected in his home and his vehicle."

"We've located hair samples in the cabin that we believe are his. Medium-short length and blonde."

"He's the submissive partner, but having just lost Goehring, a man he was dedicated to and heavily dependent upon, he's in crisis."

~~~~

"One more thing, never let the bastards take you alive, and never be forgotten," said Goehring on the tape.

Parker, Spencer, Emily, and Sheriff Williams watched the tapes along with Garcia, who joined in via video chat.

"That's it. The whole tamale. Every horrific frame. I'm done," said Garcia.

"No luck seeing the partner?"

"No. I scanned every frame. He's holding the camera."

"Are you okay?" Parker wanted to know.

"No."

"I'm sorry," Parker mumbled.

Garcia didn't answer and ended the chat.

"Okay, this is Jennifer Hillbridge, the second woman abducted," Emily said and started the second tape.

"Please, stop. Please, it hurts," Jennifer Hillbridge pleaded.

"What is it with you? You just don't get it, do you?" Goehring shouted at her. "I have total power."

"The cameraman frames Goehring, but never her," Spencer noticed.

"–I decide whether you live or die–"

"–Watch. He never stays on her that long."

"He's more interested in Goehring than the torture. He's lingering on his biceps like he's caring Goehring's body."

"What the hell?" murmured Sheriff Williams.

"The un-spooled tapes, that wasn't to destroy evidence. It was from jealousy."

"What?"

"He's in love with Goehring."

"Get close-ups of this," Goehring now addresses the other man directly. "Make a loop, tie it around, bring it through. It goes through."

"He's teaching him how to tie the perfect knot."

"And then pull. It's called the trucker's hitch. She's not going anywhere."

"So, he can be the perfect serf."

"It would be part of his servitude to clean his house, help abduct girls, bury the bodies, get supplies, and plant the roses."

"He had to buy roses, and a lot of them," said Parker.

"Someone must have seen him."

"Let's get to the nurseries."

The team asked wherever flowers could be bought whether they knew a man there who matched the behavior of Goehring's partner.

And JJ was lucky and found out the name of the person they were looking for. His name was Henry Frost.

~~~~

Frost already destroyed everything in his trailer.

For example, in the small grill, Spencer found half-burnt photos of Frost from his childhood and youth.

"He's destroyed everything he owns," said Hotch.

He and the others were expecting a typical Parker comment, but then the Unit Chief remembered that he ordered Parker to stay at the station.

The young adult was anything but enthusiastic. But Hotch was happy to accept Parker's anger in this case if it made it better for them.

"He has no identity. He burned his face off his pictures," reported the young genius as he walked through the door.

"Why?"

"A submissive depends upon a dominant partner not only for instruction, but for purpose and meaning."

"So, he's starting over, wiping the slate clean?"

"Yeah, but as what?"

~~~~~

As Goehring, as the team would find out shortly afterwards.

Frost kidnapped another woman at a gas station.

And through the surveillance footage, it became clear that Frost erased himself to become Goehring.

"Sheriff, he's taken on Goehring's persona. We have to assume he's going to behave the same way. He's heavily armed and he's committed to his cause," Hotch updated Sheriff Williams after the team was back at the police station.

"If he's caught, he's not only willing to die, but to take as many of us with him as possible," Rossi added.

"And he's got a hostage, which means I'm going to need the best sharpshooter you've got."

"That's fine, but we don't even know where this guy is headed. The team's been working the profile. We think we've got something."

"In the tapes, Goehring makes several mentions of ideal land," Parker reported.

Since they had to stay here, the young profiler decided to take another look on the tapes.

"He also said that lords lived on higher ground, to better survey the land and spot invaders."

"He studied medieval defense strategies, so he'll probably go to a place where he can protect himself."

"High ground, easily defendable."

"This picture–"

Emily went to the evidence board and picked up a photo.

"– was on Goehring's fridge. Do you know where that is?"

She showed the picture to Sheriff Williams, and he immediately recognized the location

"That's Black Eagle Peak. Militia groups used to use it for training drills until the state stopped them."

Spencer handed him a small map and the sheriff pointed to Black Eagle Peak.

"Ideal land."

~~~~

Parker hated staying behind and waiting for news.

Even Spencer's attempts to cheer up his other half didn't help.

The news that they were able to save the woman at the end made Parker feel a little more lenient.

But that didn't mean they talked to Hotch as they headed home.

It was already dark outside, and the jet was quiet.

Parker assumed everyone else was closing and was surprised when Agent Rossi sat down in front of them.

"How did you know that the painting was real?" asked the older profiler.

"Lucky guess, I suppose," Parker explained.

Casually forgetting to mention that another painting by the same artist was hanging on their living room wall, next to the one from Sarah Jean.

"That and I studied art," added the young profiler. "So, if you ever have a question about one of your investments, feel free to ask."

"I will, thank you."