Criminal Minds s18e05 Episode Script
The Brutal Man
1
Previously on Criminal
Minds: Evolution
ROSSI: Smets used the exact same codec
as Franklin Fowler.
PRENTISS: Which is the same as Voit's.
So, you think he didn't
actually shut down the network.
I think he paused it.
And now, maybe there's
some secret order,
and his followers are reactivating.
Will, are you okay?
LEWIS: Will suffered an aneurysm.
Will's dead.
He's gone.
- PRENTISS: How'd you get this?
- JJ: BAU-Gate.
- JJ: I've been checking it.
- ROSSI: So, besides us
and Voit, who knows about BAU-Gate?
PRENTISS: Anyone Voit talked to.
This could be tied to the new network,
rising from the ashes of the old.
Why are you showing me this?
LEWIS: Because it was just posted
to a website you created.
We're running out of ways to
get inside Voit's subconscious.
And there is a network of
killers locked inside of it.
There's a form of Rorschach test
that we'd like to use on Voit.
ROSSI: How about this?
- (MAN SCREAMING)
- (DRILL WHIRRING)
Am I a killer?
I made a deal
admitting that I connected
like-minded people
- on a network.
- It's Voit.
So he prerecorded it and
he had someone release it.
Why is his pulse so
low? What's he taken?
If he's ODing, he's been hoarding it.
- JJ: He can't die.
- Shit.
- Code blue. Code blue!
- Damn it.
(COUGHING)
JJ: You don't get to die.
This is why you're still alive.
(MUFFLED GRUNT)
Are you okay?
I'm f
♪
(CAR DOOR OPENS)
- (CAR DOOR CLOSES)
- (INDISTINCT CHATTER)
- JJ: Captain Dolce?
- Yeah?
I'm SSA Jareau, this is SA Green.
DOLCE: House is dark, so we haven't seen
any movement, but first
responder heard noises.
Somebody in there.
GREEN: Based on the previous pattern,
this unsub will likely kill himself
before being taken into custody.
- What do you mean, "pattern"?
- We've had multiple killers.
In separate cities.
It's part of a network.
Price for joining is you kill yourself
before you can be arrested.
So, what, it's like a suicide cult?
- Kind of.
- Kind of?
- What do I tell my men?
- That we need to take this one alive.
So, Captain, SA Green will secure
the perimeter entry
points with your officers.
You and I will make a tactical
breach through the garage.
This needs to be quick
and quiet. We clear?
Crystal.
Let's go.
♪
- We're going in.
- MAN (OVER RADIO): Roger that. We'll hold.
(DOOR CREAKS)
(JJ GASPS)
We have a victim.
Family room.
Female.
Teenager. Deceased.
GREEN (OVER RADIO): Copy.
(PANTING SOFTLY)
♪
Living room. Female.
(JJ EXHALES)
Shit.
Whoa, whoa, freeze!
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
- Hold your fire.
- Drop your weapon.
No, no. Okay, listen.
We don't want to hurt you.
Okay? But y-you got to drop the knife.
(FILTERED BREATHING)
W-We, we can help you.
We want to help you.
Yeah. It's okay.
(KNIFE CLATTERS)
Okay.
What the fuck is wrong with you?
You trying to get yourself killed?
(HANDCUFFS CLICK)
(WHIMPERS)
(SNIFFLES)
Shoot me.
♪
OCHOA: What happened after that?
Sorry?
What happened after you
took this woman into custody?
Uh, I should leave.
We just started.
This was a mistake.
(SIGHS) Uh, hold on.
Jennifer, why is this a mistake?
Because it doesn't make any sense.
Doing this, with you.
(STAMMERS) Trying to
make sense of what
Jesus, I don't even know
you and you sure as hell
- don't know me, so
- I assumed that was on purpose.
(SCOFFS) Why?
Some people find it easier
to be honest with a stranger
than a friend.
I think you're one of those people.
- (SCOFFS)
- You witnessed
a whole family get murdered
by a woman who then asked you
to put her out of her misery.
And all this happened less than a month
after you lost your husband.
That's back-to-back-to-back trauma.
Anyone would need to talk about that.
Except that's not what happened.
- No?
- No.
I can help you.
I want to help you.
♪
JJ: "When we are no longer
able to change a situation,
we are challenged to change ourselves."
Viktor Frankl.
You know what just hit me?
Hmm?
Why you asked me to talk this over.
You're a mother, right?
Yeah.
I'm not.
Someday, maybe.
But my friends who are mothers,
their lives are a game
of how much they can do
in as few moves as possible,
so just game this out with me, okay?
All right.
You could go to mandated counseling.
Overwhelm some poor, confused counselor
with this very complicated story, or
you could do it here,
where the interested parties
are already up to speed.
But you're not doing this
because it's convenient, are you?
No.
Then you tell me.
Why are we doing this?
Instead of you talking to your people?
(SCOFFS)
- (SIGHS)
- Is it the fact that you stepped in front
of a law enforcement officer's
loaded weapon to save a killer?
Okay.
How about this?
Can we start from the beginning?
Because you skipped over some
important parts of the story.
Like what?
Like how you saved Elias's life.
I'd say, considering the
history between the two of you,
that must have been disorienting.
♪
"Disorienting" is too small a word.
Fair enough.
What I want to know is
how you get from there
to unmasking a killer in Cleveland.
It started two days ago, when
I learned that I was wrong.
About everything.
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
Hey.
Hi.
LEWIS: Hey, uh, Jennifer.
Tara, what's going on?
Um, that video you found,
the one with the man in the
mask stalking the family..
You mean Voit in the mask.
No, it couldn't have been Voit.
W-What, uh what
are you talking about?
ViCAP got a hit.
A match to the house in the video.
Where?
Cleveland.
♪
So he's a family annihilator?
Not the whole family.
He left the daughter Marilyn alive.
And he left her with this.
He actually, uh,
put it on her as he was
walking out the door.
Marilyn didn't get a good
look at the unsub's face.
But she did tell investigators
that after he had
subdued the entire family,
he told them he wanted to play a game.
They had to choose one
family member to sacrifice,
and then he would leave.
GREEN: When they couldn't,
he chose for them. And he didn't leave.
When he was finished, he told Marilyn
that he had kept her alive
so she that could deliver
a message to the FBI.
What was the message?
"Tell them I am the Brutal Man."
GARCIA: A-And as we saw from the video,
Cleveland P.D. found trace evidence
in places you wouldn't
expect, like-like the basement,
bathrooms, closets.
Stuff like gum and candy wrappers.
Okay, guys. We're not
we're not talking
about the obvious here.
If I was wrong about Voit,
then, a week ago, this unsub
posted his video on BAU-Gate.
I'm sorry. BAU-what?
BAU-Gate. It's a website
that Elias started.
It had pictures on it.
Pictures of what?
Look, all you need to know
is that the FBI shut it down.
Then it went active again
with this video from
(SCOFFS) Jesus, I hate
even saying his name.
the Brutal Man.
At first, we couldn't figure out,
was he posting on BAU-Gate for us
or was it meant for Elias?
But then, at the Langham house,
he left a survivor.
And we had our answer.
He wanted you to know he was out there.
Garcia, reach out to Cleveland
P.D.'s media relations.
I do not want that moniker,
"Brutal Man," to get out there.
I already have.
You know, just because
we know this isn't Voit,
it doesn't mean that he's not involved.
True. Some of these
guys on Voit's network
gave themselves nicknames.
- I had to when I was on it.
- So, the Brutal Man
could be somebody Voit knows.
- We need to ask him.
- Oh, I will.
No.
Dave, you'll talk to him.
The rest of us are going to Cleveland.
JJ, come with me.
Emily told me why I
wasn't going to Cleveland.
She said it was too soon,
that I was too close to the case.
And how did that make you feel?
(SCOFFS)
Maybe that's why you want to talk to me,
because of how your team
has been treating you?
(SCOFFS) No.
It's okay if it is.
I understand.
I I think your team would understand.
Oh, my God, no, that's not it.
Emily and I are friends.
We worked it out.
And when we landed in Cleveland
Uh, wait. How did you two work it out?
- It's not important.
- It might be.
It really isn't.
(CHUCKLES)
So, by the time we landed in Cleveland,
the unsub had struck again.
Stop.
I know that you traveled to Cleveland.
What you're not telling me is how.
We have a jet.
How do you go back to
flying commercial after this?
(CHUCKLING)
I still think that Prentiss uses this
- for personal travel.
- Hey.
A: That's illegal.
B: I would never.
Yeah, but wouldn't "B"
go out of the window
if you knew you could get away with "A?"
(LAUGHS)
What are you doing?
Coming with you.
Can you guys give us a second?
Okay, make your case.
Why are you coming?
Because I have to.
I need more than that.
Emily, you told me to prioritize myself,
and that's what I'm doing.
I am prioritizing myself,
and I need
I need to get back to work, okay?
I-I
I need it.
Hey, all available SSAs
and new agents on board.
Wheels up.
You were saying, by the
time you landed in Cleveland,
this "Brutal Man,"
he struck again.
- Yeah.
- So,
that woman who was wearing the mask,
if she wasn't the killer
She was the one he let live.
Her name was Amy D'Anna.
In less than three hours,
the unsub made her a widow
and a bereaved mother.
He told her if she wore that mask,
when the police arrived,
they would kill her quickly.
(OCHOA SIGHS)
That's just
Brutal?
I'm guessing she didn't tell you much.
She must've been in shock
from what she'd been through.
No.
That was the worst part.
She couldn't stop talking.
She described exactly
what happened to her.
She said she'd locked up
the house for the night,
and her family was
about to watch a movie.
(BOTH LAUGH)
Amy said he came out of nowhere.
It was as if he'd been inside
the house the whole time.
(LAUGHTER)
(SCREAMS)
Unfortunately for Amy
that was only the beginning.
He tied them to chairs,
placed them in a circle
to face each other.
(BREATHING SHAKILY)
(FRIGHTENED STAMMERING)
Now, the game begins.
Game?
AMY: Please,
- let us go.
- BRUTAL MAN: I'm gonna make this
easy for you. Choose the one
who dies, and then,
I'll spare the rest. And leave.
- Take me.
- No.
- Let-let them go.
- No, Bryan, no.
- No, Dad, no! Please!
- AMY: No!
Hey, let them go. Let them go.
- Please let him go.
- Take me!
- (GRUNTS)
- No!
Get the fuck in here.
AMY: No!
No!
No, no! Girls, look at me.
- (BLADE STABBING)
- (BRYAN SCREAMING)
AMY: Look at me.
Look at me! Do not look
over there. Look at me.
(CRYING)
(PANTING)
(SIGHS)
Who's next?
Why are you doing this?
I begged him to kill me, too.
But he refused.
He just, he cut off the zip ties
he gave me the mask, and then he
walked out through the garage.
(CRYING)
I don't know how to live without them.
They were my whole life.
We have counseling services
AMY: No. What's the point?
There's no counseling for this.
PRENTISS: Is there someone we can call,
someone who can stay with you?
AMY: What
what are they going to do?
They wouldn't understand.
Nobody could.
PRENTISS: You won't be alone.
Can you get Amy's phone, please?
Yeah.
(DOOR OPENS)
(RETCHING)
What's that?
It's, um, my boys' initials.
Was a gift from my husband.
Oh?
Is that a crucifix?
OCHOA: Yeah.
Surprised.
Why?
Most doctors I know are atheists.
Oh, I don't know about that.
I went to Georgetown.
It's a Jesuit school.
I liked the way those
priests challenged me.
Also, they like to drink.
There's more to it than that.
Can't keep a good profiler down.
Deflection with humor.
What do you believe in?
Mm. Not a lot right now.
Do you think Will is in heaven?
Why would you ask me that?
To see if you would answer the question.
I'm learning more by
what you won't talk
about than what you will,
which helps me understand
the dynamic your whole team has going.
- What dynamic?
- Oh, come on.
The Behavioral Analysis Unit
is the most emotionally constipated
group of experts I
have ever worked with.
- Okay
- Let's start with Agent Rossi.
What's wrong with Dave?
Well, after what he did with
his little Rorschach test,
I couldn't trust him
to be alone with Elias.
Wait,
didn't he tell you what happened
when he came back to visit?
Thank you. Whoa, whoa.
Pockets, too, please.
Why?
Agent Rossi, did it
ever occur to you that,
if you hadn't pulled that last stunt,
we wouldn't have to have
my patient on suicide watch?
Is this okay?
Is there any gum-related history
you and Elias share
that I should know about?
Anything that might upset him
and make his condition worse?
I don't think so.
No, I swear.
We're good.
David Rossi.
Author of the profiling books
Obsession and Understanding Evil.
(CHUCKLING): I read those books.
No, actually, I memorized those books.
So I could learn from
them, so I could be better.
ROSSI: Well, if you could remember that,
what else do you remember?
(SCREAMING)
I remember the smell of your cologne
as I was smashing your face
into the door of my house.
What?
And I remember smelling
it when I was using you
as a shield when somebody, who
baiting you, just shoot him!
who I don't remember,
was pointing a gun at us.
- Agent Rossi?
- Long story.
(GRUNTING)
And then I remember smelling
it mixed with your sweat
as I locked you
in a shipping container
and left you there to die.
And what about the Brutal Man?
Does that name ring any bells?
VOIT: You're not carrying your gun.
OCHOA: I insisted.
Is that because you've
thought about killing me?
Because you know who I was?
Yeah. But that was a different me.
When I couldn't accept that
you are a different you.
What if I'm not?
Elias, we've run numerous tests on you.
Parts of your brain are
talking to each other
- that didn't talk before.
- (VOIT SIGHS)
There's only been one place
where we've seen this
kind of transformation:
In the brains of soldiers
who have taken high doses
of psilocybin to treat PTSD.
So, from a neuropsychology
perspective
you're a miracle.
Can you come here? I
need to ask you a favor.
I need you to go and get your gun
and put it on this table over here.
No.
I'm not asking you to
pull the trigger, okay?
I'll do that by myself.
I'm not gonna do that.
I'm a fucking monster,
David! Don't you understand?
- Elias stop.
- I'm a monster!
- Let go of him.
- Just get the fuck out of here!
Please go. Both of you, now.
Just get the fuck out!
In the wake of his suicide attempt,
it appears that his memories
have seemed to be triggered
by the physical presence of a person.
So, when he saw Agent Rossi
He remembered the kidnapping
and locking Rossi in
the shipping container,
but he didn't remember Tyler's name.
- Sorry, uh, Special Agent Green.
- Correct.
Because he hasn't been in the
same room with Agent Green.
But if you think about how
far Elias still has to go,
it's going to be extremely challenging.
Because the more he
learns, the worse he feels.
The worse he feels,
the less he wants to talk
to someone who can help.
Sound familiar?
For a psychiatrist, you're not subtle.
Subtlety never got me very far.
(GRUNTS SOFTLY)
And you're right.
Elias and I are caught on the same loop.
But, you know, that's why I'm here.
For your help.
So, after we interviewed Amy D'Anna,
we walked the crime scene, but
I could tell.
Tell what?
My head wasn't in the game.
ALVEZ: Has anything come
back on these tread marks?
According to the crime lab's
report, these same tread marks
were found in the flower beds outside.
But no signs of forced entry.
Our unsub came in here
and waited for the family
to settle in for the night.
GREEN: The first victims,
the Langhams, thought, uh,
maybe they left the back door unlocked.
So, probably how he got
in there, but here
ALVEZ: Yeah, but here
Amy D'Anna insisted
that she'd locked all of the doors.
JJ?
(DOOR CLOSES)
- Something's not right.
- What?
Amy said the unsub cut her
loose and gave her the mask,
and then he left through the garage.
Right. What are you thinking?
Well, why not go out the back,
avoid the risk of being seen?
Why go through the garage?
Maybe there's something meaningful
about this space to him?
Well, the Langham house
didn't have a garage.
So it's not the garage
that's meaningful to him,
it's what's inside of it.
(CHUCKLES) Right here.
He took something off the car.
A souvenir.
I think I know what's triggering him.
We need to talk to Amy again.
(LINE RINGING)
Tara, hey.
Absolutely. Give me a second.
Amy, I'm sorry,
this may not seem
important, but bear with us.
Did you have a bumper sticker or a decal
on the back of your minivan?
Yes.
Okay. What was it?
Uh, one of those stick
figure family stickers.
You know, four figures showing
me, Bryan, Taylor and Megan.
LEWIS: Did you get that?
Head wasn't in the game, huh?
Sounds like you were doing okay.
Ah, we haven't gotten to
the bad part yet, have we?
The bad part was when
we delivered the profile.
PRENTISS: The unsub we're
looking for is a white male
between the ages of 25 and 35.
The psychological game
he plays with his victims,
in addition to calling himself
by the moniker the Brutal Man,
suggests a sadistic
psychopath with a grandiosity
bordering on a God complex.
His desire to not only disrupt
but to destroy these families
speaks to the unsub's own background
being filled with domestic violence
or a violence that somehow denied him
a family bond at an early age.
What seems to trigger this unsub
is viewing what would
otherwise be a rather innocuous
visual representation
of the family unit.
And specifically a common stick
figure family decal like these.
To him, it's like a taunt.
Because of the torture
and nature of the violence,
it's likely he's unmarried
and has no children.
As for having his victims "choose "
(FADING OUT): Whom
first, that is obviously
- a false choice.
- (JJ EXHALES)
- He knows
- (CLEARS THROAT)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(LEWIS SPEAKING INAUDIBLY)
(GRUNTS, CLEARS THROAT)
- (DOOR CLOSES)
- Again, it is unlikely
that this unsub has ever been married
or has had children.
(EXHALES SHARPLY)
(GASPING)
JJ: In all my time as a profiler,
I I've never done that.
I've had victims die in front of me.
I've buried children.
But I have never
abandoned my team. Never.
JJ, you did not abandon your team.
You were having a very human moment.
In my job, I-I don't get that luxury.
'Cause you know what was happening
while I was having my little "moment"?
The unsub was taking another family.
(DOG BARKS IN DISTANCE)
NINA: Jessica, Trevor,
come and set the table.
Your dad's going to be home soon.
Hustle, hustle. Come on.
(KEYS JINGLE)
- Mine.
- I'm sitting here tonight.
- You sat there last night.
- It doesn't matter. I got here first.
Mom, tell him he can't sit here again.
Okay, I'm sitting here
tonight. See? Problem solved.
- Let's go.
- Thanks a lot.
Now you ruined it for
the both of us. Great.
(KEYS JINGLING)
(HINGE CREAKS)
(CAR ALARM CHIRPS)
Nina? Kids?
I'm so sorry I'm late.
I hope you guys didn't wait for me.
What's with the chairs?
Where are you guys?
(BREATHES SHAKILY)
(GASPS)
The Nicolettis.
Mom, dad, teen daughter, adolescent son.
He tied them to chairs,
placed them in a circle
to face one another.
Innocent family like the others.
OCHOA: I know this family
got under your skin.
But you deal with this a lot, right?
More than any person should.
(OCHOA SIGHS)
Let's talk about coping skills.
Me? I pray.
Has it ever made a difference?
That's not why I pray.
Then why do it?
I don't ask God to change outcomes.
I ask Him for help accepting them.
Even when whatever follows
is a hailstorm of shit?
Especially then.
Okay.
You get on your knees?
Sometimes.
What does God look like to you?
Like this sky king sitting
on a throne of clouds
with this halo of light
crowning the top of his head.
Really?
No.
- Um, I didn't mean to sound
- It's okay.
I just I'm sorry, I
couldn't help myself. (CHUCKLES)
(CHUCKLES WEAKLY)
But seriously, I
I like to imagine God looking wise.
Like my dad.
I lost him when I was 15.
I'm sorry.
It's still so unreal.
We were all at dinner.
One second, he was with us,
and the next, he was gone.
Cerebrovascular accident.
A stroke.
Is that why you became a doctor?
Yes, it is.
I wanted to understand
why it happened to him.
(CHUCKLES)
But you know, with
all my education and experience,
I still don't have an answer.
My father had no preexisting conditions,
no medical history.
It just happened. (SCOFFS)
But doesn't that make you crazy?
Sometimes.
But then I remember
he's in a better place.
(CHUCKLES WEAKLY)
I don't have that kind of faith.
I can see that.
But perhaps you perceive the divine
more like the "Good Orderly Direction."
I don't know about that.
Mainly I just get by with a little help
from my friends. (CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
(DOOR CLOSES)
You were right. I came back too soon.
There was never gonna be a right time.
It was always gonna be too soon.
There's a part of me that doesn't know
how to make sense of
life outside of this job.
(STAMMERS) We get this dopamine rush
from saving lives, from putting
handcuffs on the bad guys
because we're smarter than they are.
And because we're
smarter, we can stop them.
And if we can stop
them, then it'll solve
everything.
But it doesn't.
(SCOFFS) It can't.
You remember Andrew Mendoza?
Your old boyfriend? Of course.
The one you were gonna
follow to Denver. (CHUCKLES)
Yeah, him.
Know why we broke up?
No, surprisingly.
He kept pushing for a threesome.
Oh, shut up.
(SCOFFS)
No, for real.
Oh Oh.
Like you and another guy?
Oh, no.
He was not secure enough
in his sexuality for that.
Nope, it had to be
me with another woman.
With who?
Uh (SIGHS)
Oh no. Please don't say me.
I mean we never got that far.
But he kept pushing for it
until finally I was like,
"Andrew, if I wanted to
disappoint two people at once,
I would go to dinner with my parents."
(SNICKERS)
(BOTH LAUGHING)
What?
Why why are you telling me this?
Because when he and I were over,
I knew I could come back.
I knew this job would
make me feel better.
Because
I didn't have the real thing.
I never have.
You did.
You had the fairy tale.
The perfect husband.
And the feelings that
you're feeling right now,
Will is the one who would
help you through them.
But now?
No matter how many lives we save,
nothing you find in this job
is gonna make this better.
And I am afraid that the
grief will overwhelm you.
Tara said it would be like a wave.
But it really isn't.
It's more like an unsub.
When you're not expecting
it, it comes through the back.
♪
Oh, my God.
What?
(JJ SCOFFS)
The, the unsub.
Yeah, the-the door through
the garage was locked
when we made entry.
But Amy said that's how
he walked out of the house.
Okay, so he locked the door
behind him when he left.
There's only one way he
could've locked that door.
Exactly.
Now, the figurative key being
that all of the D'Anna family
house keys were accounted for,
as well as those of the Langham family.
ALVEZ: What about a housekeeper
- or a handyman, a neighbor?
- Yeah, even relatives.
There could be a few spares out there.
Oh, it's weird how hot I get
when I am miles ahead of
you, which I am right now.
Okay, all keys are accounted for.
However,
I'm learning a thing in real time.
Is this a coincidence?
I think not. Okay.
Uh, both the D'Anna
family and the Langhams
hired a locksmith
to rekey their houses.
That locksmith
in question is Ronald
Graber, and his business is
- in downtown Cleveland.
- PRENTISS: Can you identify
if Graber had any clients
after the D'Anna family?
Uh, yes, yes.
The Nicolettis hired him
to change their locks.
I'm sending you all
relevant addresses now.
PRENTISS: Thank you, Penelope.
Captain Dolce and I
will take Graber's business.
Luke, Tara, you take his house.
Tyler, JJ, head to the Nicolettis.
♪
(GROANS SOFTLY)
(COUGHS)
(CLEARS THROAT)
(PANTS)
(WHIMPERS)
GRABER: Oh, good, good.
You're awake.
I see you're all a
little tied up right now,
so I'm gonna make this easy for you.
We're gonna play a little game.
The rules are simple.
You get to choose
which one of you I'm going to kill.
Fuck you!
Fuck me? (SCOFFS)
All right, well, uh
- Fuck you!
- (SCREAMS)
No, no, no, no! It's me.
- NINA: What?
- It's me, okay? Take me.
- No!
- Dad, no!
Daddy, please, no, no.
GRABER: Boring!
Oh, God.
As much fun,
Pops, as it would be to kill you
in front of your family,
been there, done that.
I want to see Daddy's face
when someone else dies.
Our suspect's name is Ronald Graber.
Based on our profile,
he'll likely kill himself
before being taken into custody.
So it is imperative that we
take him alive, you understand?
- OFFICER: Copy that.
- Let's do it.
- OFFICER 2: We got this.
- OFFICER 3: Let's move.
Take anything you want.
We have a safe.
I don't want your fucking money.
(CRYING)
No, don't you, don't you hurt my babies!
- GRABER: Then choose.
- NINA: No! Why?
GRABER: Choose, goddamn it!
Ronald Graber, FBI!
- Drop the weapon!
- JJ: No, no, no.
Ronald. Hey, hey, hey.
Just wait.
I-I know you were told
it would be better
if you ended your life
instead of facing the consequences
of your actions, but
you don't have to follow
those rules anymore.
Okay?
GRABER: Oh, you don't know me.
JJ: I know somebody hurt you.
Took away what was precious to you.
And you felt lost.
Alone.
GRABER: Is that what you think?
JJ: I think this whole
persona you've created
is about evening the score.
You destroy a family
because someone or
something destroyed yours.
(EXHALES)
(WHIMPERS)
(CACKLING)
Oh, is that supposed to work?
Ah, somehow you, uh, "you get me,"
and I get all weak in the knees
and give up?
Tell me I'm wrong.
You want to know why I do this?
Tell me.
Because I want to.
(KNIFE CLATTERS)
(OFFICER SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY)
(HANDCUFFS CLICKING)
(EXHALES)
(CLEARS THROAT)
We outsmarted the bad guy,
put him in handcuffs, and yet,
didn't matter.
I still felt lost.
All my coping skills were gone.
I keep thinking about
what Amy D'Anna said.
There's, there's no counseling for this.
And yet you chose to do this.
Because maybe a-a neuropsychiatrist
might-might have something, you know?
Like a, a-a
Something to help me make sense
of all this senseless, unfair bullshit.
Like a drug?
Or a mantra. I don't know.
How about a prayer?
(SCOFFS)
I wish I could.
You know, there's this old
Roman Catholic prayer that goes,
"Okay, God, is it all
senseless, unfair bullshit?"
It sounds better in Latin. Anyway
whenever I invoke that prayer,
do you know what I hear back
in a voice that sounds
eerily like my dad's?
"Get off the cross, we need the wood."
Do you understand what I'm saying?
Sure you don't have a drug?
Oh, I got lots of 'em.
Yeah.
If only it were that easy.
If only.
JJ, I sincerely believe,
that in your situation,
- if you can't help
- Help yourself
help someone else.
Like you.
What do you think?
(VOIT SIGHS)
I think
maybe you might be right.
From what I can remember,
everything I did was selfish.
Even trying to take my own
life was all about me, just
me trying to solve my problems.
Never even considered
that I should do something
to ease someone else's suffering.
Suffering that I caused.
So
what do you want me to do?
(ELEVATOR BELL CHIMES)
♪
Wait, y-you.
I
I-I know his sister Alison, I-I
I
You can do this.
No, I-I want to, but I just
- Y-You can.
- Just take your time.
Okay.
No disrespect to JJ, but,
like, are we sure about this?
Got some serious reservations about
our newly reformed serial killer.
Look, the plan was for
JJ to use her trauma
to help Voit process his.
And then help us with Graber.
The fact that he's here,
especially in light
of his suicide attempt,
is, frankly, a win.
That mean anything to you?
No.
How about this?
Recognize him?
Uh, no.
OCHOA: Well, based on the pattern
of your recovered memories,
it appears that you have to
be in the physical presence
of a person to remember
your relationship with them
or any shared history.
Th-That's the Brutal Man?
It is.
- He surrendered?
- He did.
And once he was placed in handcuffs,
he had one more thing to tell us.
Ronald Graber, you have
the right to remain silent.
I don't want a lawyer. I'll talk if
you give me one thing.
What's that?
I have a message.
For Sicarius.
From his disciple.
Wait, Sicarius? Is that
what I called myself?
(LAUGHS SOFTLY) No, it
started as a bad joke,
but it became a shorthand
for law enforcement.
And he thinks he's my disciple?
And he's got a message for you.
No, I swear, I do not know this man.
We think you'll remember
once you're face-to-face.
Wh-What do you think?
I think if you have a shared history
with this man, then,
yes, you will remember.
But I'm not the man that he remembers.
It doesn't matter.
You walk in there, he hears
the sound of your voice,
he gets so excited, he wets his
pants giving you his message.
W-Will you be there?
I'll be right in the
room next to you, yeah.
What do I say?
By your own admission,
you rarely communicated face-to-face
with anyone on your network.
You preferred exchanging
encrypted messages.
JJ: But there were a handful
you spoke to using burner phones.
And we think Graber was one of them.
So you walk in, you introduce yourself.
"I'm Elias Voit, aka Sicarius.
You got a message for me?"
Like I said, he recognizes your voice
and Bob's your uncle.
OCHOA: I'm not exactly
sure how this works,
but doesn't Elias need
some sort of safe word?
Something that he can
say if he needs help?
"Monster."
I'll say "monster" if I need help.
Okay.
Let's go.
(GRUNTS)
♪
I'm sorry.
For everything.
(FOOTSTEPS RECEDING)
(DOOR OPENS)
(DOOR CLOSES)
(EXHALES)
My name is Elias Voit.
I am Sicarius.
You have a message for me?
Previously on Criminal
Minds: Evolution
ROSSI: Smets used the exact same codec
as Franklin Fowler.
PRENTISS: Which is the same as Voit's.
So, you think he didn't
actually shut down the network.
I think he paused it.
And now, maybe there's
some secret order,
and his followers are reactivating.
Will, are you okay?
LEWIS: Will suffered an aneurysm.
Will's dead.
He's gone.
- PRENTISS: How'd you get this?
- JJ: BAU-Gate.
- JJ: I've been checking it.
- ROSSI: So, besides us
and Voit, who knows about BAU-Gate?
PRENTISS: Anyone Voit talked to.
This could be tied to the new network,
rising from the ashes of the old.
Why are you showing me this?
LEWIS: Because it was just posted
to a website you created.
We're running out of ways to
get inside Voit's subconscious.
And there is a network of
killers locked inside of it.
There's a form of Rorschach test
that we'd like to use on Voit.
ROSSI: How about this?
- (MAN SCREAMING)
- (DRILL WHIRRING)
Am I a killer?
I made a deal
admitting that I connected
like-minded people
- on a network.
- It's Voit.
So he prerecorded it and
he had someone release it.
Why is his pulse so
low? What's he taken?
If he's ODing, he's been hoarding it.
- JJ: He can't die.
- Shit.
- Code blue. Code blue!
- Damn it.
(COUGHING)
JJ: You don't get to die.
This is why you're still alive.
(MUFFLED GRUNT)
Are you okay?
I'm f
♪
(CAR DOOR OPENS)
- (CAR DOOR CLOSES)
- (INDISTINCT CHATTER)
- JJ: Captain Dolce?
- Yeah?
I'm SSA Jareau, this is SA Green.
DOLCE: House is dark, so we haven't seen
any movement, but first
responder heard noises.
Somebody in there.
GREEN: Based on the previous pattern,
this unsub will likely kill himself
before being taken into custody.
- What do you mean, "pattern"?
- We've had multiple killers.
In separate cities.
It's part of a network.
Price for joining is you kill yourself
before you can be arrested.
So, what, it's like a suicide cult?
- Kind of.
- Kind of?
- What do I tell my men?
- That we need to take this one alive.
So, Captain, SA Green will secure
the perimeter entry
points with your officers.
You and I will make a tactical
breach through the garage.
This needs to be quick
and quiet. We clear?
Crystal.
Let's go.
♪
- We're going in.
- MAN (OVER RADIO): Roger that. We'll hold.
(DOOR CREAKS)
(JJ GASPS)
We have a victim.
Family room.
Female.
Teenager. Deceased.
GREEN (OVER RADIO): Copy.
(PANTING SOFTLY)
♪
Living room. Female.
(JJ EXHALES)
Shit.
Whoa, whoa, freeze!
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
- Hold your fire.
- Drop your weapon.
No, no. Okay, listen.
We don't want to hurt you.
Okay? But y-you got to drop the knife.
(FILTERED BREATHING)
W-We, we can help you.
We want to help you.
Yeah. It's okay.
(KNIFE CLATTERS)
Okay.
What the fuck is wrong with you?
You trying to get yourself killed?
(HANDCUFFS CLICK)
(WHIMPERS)
(SNIFFLES)
Shoot me.
♪
OCHOA: What happened after that?
Sorry?
What happened after you
took this woman into custody?
Uh, I should leave.
We just started.
This was a mistake.
(SIGHS) Uh, hold on.
Jennifer, why is this a mistake?
Because it doesn't make any sense.
Doing this, with you.
(STAMMERS) Trying to
make sense of what
Jesus, I don't even know
you and you sure as hell
- don't know me, so
- I assumed that was on purpose.
(SCOFFS) Why?
Some people find it easier
to be honest with a stranger
than a friend.
I think you're one of those people.
- (SCOFFS)
- You witnessed
a whole family get murdered
by a woman who then asked you
to put her out of her misery.
And all this happened less than a month
after you lost your husband.
That's back-to-back-to-back trauma.
Anyone would need to talk about that.
Except that's not what happened.
- No?
- No.
I can help you.
I want to help you.
♪
JJ: "When we are no longer
able to change a situation,
we are challenged to change ourselves."
Viktor Frankl.
You know what just hit me?
Hmm?
Why you asked me to talk this over.
You're a mother, right?
Yeah.
I'm not.
Someday, maybe.
But my friends who are mothers,
their lives are a game
of how much they can do
in as few moves as possible,
so just game this out with me, okay?
All right.
You could go to mandated counseling.
Overwhelm some poor, confused counselor
with this very complicated story, or
you could do it here,
where the interested parties
are already up to speed.
But you're not doing this
because it's convenient, are you?
No.
Then you tell me.
Why are we doing this?
Instead of you talking to your people?
(SCOFFS)
- (SIGHS)
- Is it the fact that you stepped in front
of a law enforcement officer's
loaded weapon to save a killer?
Okay.
How about this?
Can we start from the beginning?
Because you skipped over some
important parts of the story.
Like what?
Like how you saved Elias's life.
I'd say, considering the
history between the two of you,
that must have been disorienting.
♪
"Disorienting" is too small a word.
Fair enough.
What I want to know is
how you get from there
to unmasking a killer in Cleveland.
It started two days ago, when
I learned that I was wrong.
About everything.
(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)
Hey.
Hi.
LEWIS: Hey, uh, Jennifer.
Tara, what's going on?
Um, that video you found,
the one with the man in the
mask stalking the family..
You mean Voit in the mask.
No, it couldn't have been Voit.
W-What, uh what
are you talking about?
ViCAP got a hit.
A match to the house in the video.
Where?
Cleveland.
♪
So he's a family annihilator?
Not the whole family.
He left the daughter Marilyn alive.
And he left her with this.
He actually, uh,
put it on her as he was
walking out the door.
Marilyn didn't get a good
look at the unsub's face.
But she did tell investigators
that after he had
subdued the entire family,
he told them he wanted to play a game.
They had to choose one
family member to sacrifice,
and then he would leave.
GREEN: When they couldn't,
he chose for them. And he didn't leave.
When he was finished, he told Marilyn
that he had kept her alive
so she that could deliver
a message to the FBI.
What was the message?
"Tell them I am the Brutal Man."
GARCIA: A-And as we saw from the video,
Cleveland P.D. found trace evidence
in places you wouldn't
expect, like-like the basement,
bathrooms, closets.
Stuff like gum and candy wrappers.
Okay, guys. We're not
we're not talking
about the obvious here.
If I was wrong about Voit,
then, a week ago, this unsub
posted his video on BAU-Gate.
I'm sorry. BAU-what?
BAU-Gate. It's a website
that Elias started.
It had pictures on it.
Pictures of what?
Look, all you need to know
is that the FBI shut it down.
Then it went active again
with this video from
(SCOFFS) Jesus, I hate
even saying his name.
the Brutal Man.
At first, we couldn't figure out,
was he posting on BAU-Gate for us
or was it meant for Elias?
But then, at the Langham house,
he left a survivor.
And we had our answer.
He wanted you to know he was out there.
Garcia, reach out to Cleveland
P.D.'s media relations.
I do not want that moniker,
"Brutal Man," to get out there.
I already have.
You know, just because
we know this isn't Voit,
it doesn't mean that he's not involved.
True. Some of these
guys on Voit's network
gave themselves nicknames.
- I had to when I was on it.
- So, the Brutal Man
could be somebody Voit knows.
- We need to ask him.
- Oh, I will.
No.
Dave, you'll talk to him.
The rest of us are going to Cleveland.
JJ, come with me.
Emily told me why I
wasn't going to Cleveland.
She said it was too soon,
that I was too close to the case.
And how did that make you feel?
(SCOFFS)
Maybe that's why you want to talk to me,
because of how your team
has been treating you?
(SCOFFS) No.
It's okay if it is.
I understand.
I I think your team would understand.
Oh, my God, no, that's not it.
Emily and I are friends.
We worked it out.
And when we landed in Cleveland
Uh, wait. How did you two work it out?
- It's not important.
- It might be.
It really isn't.
(CHUCKLES)
So, by the time we landed in Cleveland,
the unsub had struck again.
Stop.
I know that you traveled to Cleveland.
What you're not telling me is how.
We have a jet.
How do you go back to
flying commercial after this?
(CHUCKLING)
I still think that Prentiss uses this
- for personal travel.
- Hey.
A: That's illegal.
B: I would never.
Yeah, but wouldn't "B"
go out of the window
if you knew you could get away with "A?"
(LAUGHS)
What are you doing?
Coming with you.
Can you guys give us a second?
Okay, make your case.
Why are you coming?
Because I have to.
I need more than that.
Emily, you told me to prioritize myself,
and that's what I'm doing.
I am prioritizing myself,
and I need
I need to get back to work, okay?
I-I
I need it.
Hey, all available SSAs
and new agents on board.
Wheels up.
You were saying, by the
time you landed in Cleveland,
this "Brutal Man,"
he struck again.
- Yeah.
- So,
that woman who was wearing the mask,
if she wasn't the killer
She was the one he let live.
Her name was Amy D'Anna.
In less than three hours,
the unsub made her a widow
and a bereaved mother.
He told her if she wore that mask,
when the police arrived,
they would kill her quickly.
(OCHOA SIGHS)
That's just
Brutal?
I'm guessing she didn't tell you much.
She must've been in shock
from what she'd been through.
No.
That was the worst part.
She couldn't stop talking.
She described exactly
what happened to her.
She said she'd locked up
the house for the night,
and her family was
about to watch a movie.
(BOTH LAUGH)
Amy said he came out of nowhere.
It was as if he'd been inside
the house the whole time.
(LAUGHTER)
(SCREAMS)
Unfortunately for Amy
that was only the beginning.
He tied them to chairs,
placed them in a circle
to face each other.
(BREATHING SHAKILY)
(FRIGHTENED STAMMERING)
Now, the game begins.
Game?
AMY: Please,
- let us go.
- BRUTAL MAN: I'm gonna make this
easy for you. Choose the one
who dies, and then,
I'll spare the rest. And leave.
- Take me.
- No.
- Let-let them go.
- No, Bryan, no.
- No, Dad, no! Please!
- AMY: No!
Hey, let them go. Let them go.
- Please let him go.
- Take me!
- (GRUNTS)
- No!
Get the fuck in here.
AMY: No!
No!
No, no! Girls, look at me.
- (BLADE STABBING)
- (BRYAN SCREAMING)
AMY: Look at me.
Look at me! Do not look
over there. Look at me.
(CRYING)
(PANTING)
(SIGHS)
Who's next?
Why are you doing this?
I begged him to kill me, too.
But he refused.
He just, he cut off the zip ties
he gave me the mask, and then he
walked out through the garage.
(CRYING)
I don't know how to live without them.
They were my whole life.
We have counseling services
AMY: No. What's the point?
There's no counseling for this.
PRENTISS: Is there someone we can call,
someone who can stay with you?
AMY: What
what are they going to do?
They wouldn't understand.
Nobody could.
PRENTISS: You won't be alone.
Can you get Amy's phone, please?
Yeah.
(DOOR OPENS)
(RETCHING)
What's that?
It's, um, my boys' initials.
Was a gift from my husband.
Oh?
Is that a crucifix?
OCHOA: Yeah.
Surprised.
Why?
Most doctors I know are atheists.
Oh, I don't know about that.
I went to Georgetown.
It's a Jesuit school.
I liked the way those
priests challenged me.
Also, they like to drink.
There's more to it than that.
Can't keep a good profiler down.
Deflection with humor.
What do you believe in?
Mm. Not a lot right now.
Do you think Will is in heaven?
Why would you ask me that?
To see if you would answer the question.
I'm learning more by
what you won't talk
about than what you will,
which helps me understand
the dynamic your whole team has going.
- What dynamic?
- Oh, come on.
The Behavioral Analysis Unit
is the most emotionally constipated
group of experts I
have ever worked with.
- Okay
- Let's start with Agent Rossi.
What's wrong with Dave?
Well, after what he did with
his little Rorschach test,
I couldn't trust him
to be alone with Elias.
Wait,
didn't he tell you what happened
when he came back to visit?
Thank you. Whoa, whoa.
Pockets, too, please.
Why?
Agent Rossi, did it
ever occur to you that,
if you hadn't pulled that last stunt,
we wouldn't have to have
my patient on suicide watch?
Is this okay?
Is there any gum-related history
you and Elias share
that I should know about?
Anything that might upset him
and make his condition worse?
I don't think so.
No, I swear.
We're good.
David Rossi.
Author of the profiling books
Obsession and Understanding Evil.
(CHUCKLING): I read those books.
No, actually, I memorized those books.
So I could learn from
them, so I could be better.
ROSSI: Well, if you could remember that,
what else do you remember?
(SCREAMING)
I remember the smell of your cologne
as I was smashing your face
into the door of my house.
What?
And I remember smelling
it when I was using you
as a shield when somebody, who
baiting you, just shoot him!
who I don't remember,
was pointing a gun at us.
- Agent Rossi?
- Long story.
(GRUNTING)
And then I remember smelling
it mixed with your sweat
as I locked you
in a shipping container
and left you there to die.
And what about the Brutal Man?
Does that name ring any bells?
VOIT: You're not carrying your gun.
OCHOA: I insisted.
Is that because you've
thought about killing me?
Because you know who I was?
Yeah. But that was a different me.
When I couldn't accept that
you are a different you.
What if I'm not?
Elias, we've run numerous tests on you.
Parts of your brain are
talking to each other
- that didn't talk before.
- (VOIT SIGHS)
There's only been one place
where we've seen this
kind of transformation:
In the brains of soldiers
who have taken high doses
of psilocybin to treat PTSD.
So, from a neuropsychology
perspective
you're a miracle.
Can you come here? I
need to ask you a favor.
I need you to go and get your gun
and put it on this table over here.
No.
I'm not asking you to
pull the trigger, okay?
I'll do that by myself.
I'm not gonna do that.
I'm a fucking monster,
David! Don't you understand?
- Elias stop.
- I'm a monster!
- Let go of him.
- Just get the fuck out of here!
Please go. Both of you, now.
Just get the fuck out!
In the wake of his suicide attempt,
it appears that his memories
have seemed to be triggered
by the physical presence of a person.
So, when he saw Agent Rossi
He remembered the kidnapping
and locking Rossi in
the shipping container,
but he didn't remember Tyler's name.
- Sorry, uh, Special Agent Green.
- Correct.
Because he hasn't been in the
same room with Agent Green.
But if you think about how
far Elias still has to go,
it's going to be extremely challenging.
Because the more he
learns, the worse he feels.
The worse he feels,
the less he wants to talk
to someone who can help.
Sound familiar?
For a psychiatrist, you're not subtle.
Subtlety never got me very far.
(GRUNTS SOFTLY)
And you're right.
Elias and I are caught on the same loop.
But, you know, that's why I'm here.
For your help.
So, after we interviewed Amy D'Anna,
we walked the crime scene, but
I could tell.
Tell what?
My head wasn't in the game.
ALVEZ: Has anything come
back on these tread marks?
According to the crime lab's
report, these same tread marks
were found in the flower beds outside.
But no signs of forced entry.
Our unsub came in here
and waited for the family
to settle in for the night.
GREEN: The first victims,
the Langhams, thought, uh,
maybe they left the back door unlocked.
So, probably how he got
in there, but here
ALVEZ: Yeah, but here
Amy D'Anna insisted
that she'd locked all of the doors.
JJ?
(DOOR CLOSES)
- Something's not right.
- What?
Amy said the unsub cut her
loose and gave her the mask,
and then he left through the garage.
Right. What are you thinking?
Well, why not go out the back,
avoid the risk of being seen?
Why go through the garage?
Maybe there's something meaningful
about this space to him?
Well, the Langham house
didn't have a garage.
So it's not the garage
that's meaningful to him,
it's what's inside of it.
(CHUCKLES) Right here.
He took something off the car.
A souvenir.
I think I know what's triggering him.
We need to talk to Amy again.
(LINE RINGING)
Tara, hey.
Absolutely. Give me a second.
Amy, I'm sorry,
this may not seem
important, but bear with us.
Did you have a bumper sticker or a decal
on the back of your minivan?
Yes.
Okay. What was it?
Uh, one of those stick
figure family stickers.
You know, four figures showing
me, Bryan, Taylor and Megan.
LEWIS: Did you get that?
Head wasn't in the game, huh?
Sounds like you were doing okay.
Ah, we haven't gotten to
the bad part yet, have we?
The bad part was when
we delivered the profile.
PRENTISS: The unsub we're
looking for is a white male
between the ages of 25 and 35.
The psychological game
he plays with his victims,
in addition to calling himself
by the moniker the Brutal Man,
suggests a sadistic
psychopath with a grandiosity
bordering on a God complex.
His desire to not only disrupt
but to destroy these families
speaks to the unsub's own background
being filled with domestic violence
or a violence that somehow denied him
a family bond at an early age.
What seems to trigger this unsub
is viewing what would
otherwise be a rather innocuous
visual representation
of the family unit.
And specifically a common stick
figure family decal like these.
To him, it's like a taunt.
Because of the torture
and nature of the violence,
it's likely he's unmarried
and has no children.
As for having his victims "choose "
(FADING OUT): Whom
first, that is obviously
- a false choice.
- (JJ EXHALES)
- He knows
- (CLEARS THROAT)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(LEWIS SPEAKING INAUDIBLY)
(GRUNTS, CLEARS THROAT)
- (DOOR CLOSES)
- Again, it is unlikely
that this unsub has ever been married
or has had children.
(EXHALES SHARPLY)
(GASPING)
JJ: In all my time as a profiler,
I I've never done that.
I've had victims die in front of me.
I've buried children.
But I have never
abandoned my team. Never.
JJ, you did not abandon your team.
You were having a very human moment.
In my job, I-I don't get that luxury.
'Cause you know what was happening
while I was having my little "moment"?
The unsub was taking another family.
(DOG BARKS IN DISTANCE)
NINA: Jessica, Trevor,
come and set the table.
Your dad's going to be home soon.
Hustle, hustle. Come on.
(KEYS JINGLE)
- Mine.
- I'm sitting here tonight.
- You sat there last night.
- It doesn't matter. I got here first.
Mom, tell him he can't sit here again.
Okay, I'm sitting here
tonight. See? Problem solved.
- Let's go.
- Thanks a lot.
Now you ruined it for
the both of us. Great.
(KEYS JINGLING)
(HINGE CREAKS)
(CAR ALARM CHIRPS)
Nina? Kids?
I'm so sorry I'm late.
I hope you guys didn't wait for me.
What's with the chairs?
Where are you guys?
(BREATHES SHAKILY)
(GASPS)
The Nicolettis.
Mom, dad, teen daughter, adolescent son.
He tied them to chairs,
placed them in a circle
to face one another.
Innocent family like the others.
OCHOA: I know this family
got under your skin.
But you deal with this a lot, right?
More than any person should.
(OCHOA SIGHS)
Let's talk about coping skills.
Me? I pray.
Has it ever made a difference?
That's not why I pray.
Then why do it?
I don't ask God to change outcomes.
I ask Him for help accepting them.
Even when whatever follows
is a hailstorm of shit?
Especially then.
Okay.
You get on your knees?
Sometimes.
What does God look like to you?
Like this sky king sitting
on a throne of clouds
with this halo of light
crowning the top of his head.
Really?
No.
- Um, I didn't mean to sound
- It's okay.
I just I'm sorry, I
couldn't help myself. (CHUCKLES)
(CHUCKLES WEAKLY)
But seriously, I
I like to imagine God looking wise.
Like my dad.
I lost him when I was 15.
I'm sorry.
It's still so unreal.
We were all at dinner.
One second, he was with us,
and the next, he was gone.
Cerebrovascular accident.
A stroke.
Is that why you became a doctor?
Yes, it is.
I wanted to understand
why it happened to him.
(CHUCKLES)
But you know, with
all my education and experience,
I still don't have an answer.
My father had no preexisting conditions,
no medical history.
It just happened. (SCOFFS)
But doesn't that make you crazy?
Sometimes.
But then I remember
he's in a better place.
(CHUCKLES WEAKLY)
I don't have that kind of faith.
I can see that.
But perhaps you perceive the divine
more like the "Good Orderly Direction."
I don't know about that.
Mainly I just get by with a little help
from my friends. (CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
(DOOR CLOSES)
You were right. I came back too soon.
There was never gonna be a right time.
It was always gonna be too soon.
There's a part of me that doesn't know
how to make sense of
life outside of this job.
(STAMMERS) We get this dopamine rush
from saving lives, from putting
handcuffs on the bad guys
because we're smarter than they are.
And because we're
smarter, we can stop them.
And if we can stop
them, then it'll solve
everything.
But it doesn't.
(SCOFFS) It can't.
You remember Andrew Mendoza?
Your old boyfriend? Of course.
The one you were gonna
follow to Denver. (CHUCKLES)
Yeah, him.
Know why we broke up?
No, surprisingly.
He kept pushing for a threesome.
Oh, shut up.
(SCOFFS)
No, for real.
Oh Oh.
Like you and another guy?
Oh, no.
He was not secure enough
in his sexuality for that.
Nope, it had to be
me with another woman.
With who?
Uh (SIGHS)
Oh no. Please don't say me.
I mean we never got that far.
But he kept pushing for it
until finally I was like,
"Andrew, if I wanted to
disappoint two people at once,
I would go to dinner with my parents."
(SNICKERS)
(BOTH LAUGHING)
What?
Why why are you telling me this?
Because when he and I were over,
I knew I could come back.
I knew this job would
make me feel better.
Because
I didn't have the real thing.
I never have.
You did.
You had the fairy tale.
The perfect husband.
And the feelings that
you're feeling right now,
Will is the one who would
help you through them.
But now?
No matter how many lives we save,
nothing you find in this job
is gonna make this better.
And I am afraid that the
grief will overwhelm you.
Tara said it would be like a wave.
But it really isn't.
It's more like an unsub.
When you're not expecting
it, it comes through the back.
♪
Oh, my God.
What?
(JJ SCOFFS)
The, the unsub.
Yeah, the-the door through
the garage was locked
when we made entry.
But Amy said that's how
he walked out of the house.
Okay, so he locked the door
behind him when he left.
There's only one way he
could've locked that door.
Exactly.
Now, the figurative key being
that all of the D'Anna family
house keys were accounted for,
as well as those of the Langham family.
ALVEZ: What about a housekeeper
- or a handyman, a neighbor?
- Yeah, even relatives.
There could be a few spares out there.
Oh, it's weird how hot I get
when I am miles ahead of
you, which I am right now.
Okay, all keys are accounted for.
However,
I'm learning a thing in real time.
Is this a coincidence?
I think not. Okay.
Uh, both the D'Anna
family and the Langhams
hired a locksmith
to rekey their houses.
That locksmith
in question is Ronald
Graber, and his business is
- in downtown Cleveland.
- PRENTISS: Can you identify
if Graber had any clients
after the D'Anna family?
Uh, yes, yes.
The Nicolettis hired him
to change their locks.
I'm sending you all
relevant addresses now.
PRENTISS: Thank you, Penelope.
Captain Dolce and I
will take Graber's business.
Luke, Tara, you take his house.
Tyler, JJ, head to the Nicolettis.
♪
(GROANS SOFTLY)
(COUGHS)
(CLEARS THROAT)
(PANTS)
(WHIMPERS)
GRABER: Oh, good, good.
You're awake.
I see you're all a
little tied up right now,
so I'm gonna make this easy for you.
We're gonna play a little game.
The rules are simple.
You get to choose
which one of you I'm going to kill.
Fuck you!
Fuck me? (SCOFFS)
All right, well, uh
- Fuck you!
- (SCREAMS)
No, no, no, no! It's me.
- NINA: What?
- It's me, okay? Take me.
- No!
- Dad, no!
Daddy, please, no, no.
GRABER: Boring!
Oh, God.
As much fun,
Pops, as it would be to kill you
in front of your family,
been there, done that.
I want to see Daddy's face
when someone else dies.
Our suspect's name is Ronald Graber.
Based on our profile,
he'll likely kill himself
before being taken into custody.
So it is imperative that we
take him alive, you understand?
- OFFICER: Copy that.
- Let's do it.
- OFFICER 2: We got this.
- OFFICER 3: Let's move.
Take anything you want.
We have a safe.
I don't want your fucking money.
(CRYING)
No, don't you, don't you hurt my babies!
- GRABER: Then choose.
- NINA: No! Why?
GRABER: Choose, goddamn it!
Ronald Graber, FBI!
- Drop the weapon!
- JJ: No, no, no.
Ronald. Hey, hey, hey.
Just wait.
I-I know you were told
it would be better
if you ended your life
instead of facing the consequences
of your actions, but
you don't have to follow
those rules anymore.
Okay?
GRABER: Oh, you don't know me.
JJ: I know somebody hurt you.
Took away what was precious to you.
And you felt lost.
Alone.
GRABER: Is that what you think?
JJ: I think this whole
persona you've created
is about evening the score.
You destroy a family
because someone or
something destroyed yours.
(EXHALES)
(WHIMPERS)
(CACKLING)
Oh, is that supposed to work?
Ah, somehow you, uh, "you get me,"
and I get all weak in the knees
and give up?
Tell me I'm wrong.
You want to know why I do this?
Tell me.
Because I want to.
(KNIFE CLATTERS)
(OFFICER SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY)
(HANDCUFFS CLICKING)
(EXHALES)
(CLEARS THROAT)
We outsmarted the bad guy,
put him in handcuffs, and yet,
didn't matter.
I still felt lost.
All my coping skills were gone.
I keep thinking about
what Amy D'Anna said.
There's, there's no counseling for this.
And yet you chose to do this.
Because maybe a-a neuropsychiatrist
might-might have something, you know?
Like a, a-a
Something to help me make sense
of all this senseless, unfair bullshit.
Like a drug?
Or a mantra. I don't know.
How about a prayer?
(SCOFFS)
I wish I could.
You know, there's this old
Roman Catholic prayer that goes,
"Okay, God, is it all
senseless, unfair bullshit?"
It sounds better in Latin. Anyway
whenever I invoke that prayer,
do you know what I hear back
in a voice that sounds
eerily like my dad's?
"Get off the cross, we need the wood."
Do you understand what I'm saying?
Sure you don't have a drug?
Oh, I got lots of 'em.
Yeah.
If only it were that easy.
If only.
JJ, I sincerely believe,
that in your situation,
- if you can't help
- Help yourself
help someone else.
Like you.
What do you think?
(VOIT SIGHS)
I think
maybe you might be right.
From what I can remember,
everything I did was selfish.
Even trying to take my own
life was all about me, just
me trying to solve my problems.
Never even considered
that I should do something
to ease someone else's suffering.
Suffering that I caused.
So
what do you want me to do?
(ELEVATOR BELL CHIMES)
♪
Wait, y-you.
I
I-I know his sister Alison, I-I
I
You can do this.
No, I-I want to, but I just
- Y-You can.
- Just take your time.
Okay.
No disrespect to JJ, but,
like, are we sure about this?
Got some serious reservations about
our newly reformed serial killer.
Look, the plan was for
JJ to use her trauma
to help Voit process his.
And then help us with Graber.
The fact that he's here,
especially in light
of his suicide attempt,
is, frankly, a win.
That mean anything to you?
No.
How about this?
Recognize him?
Uh, no.
OCHOA: Well, based on the pattern
of your recovered memories,
it appears that you have to
be in the physical presence
of a person to remember
your relationship with them
or any shared history.
Th-That's the Brutal Man?
It is.
- He surrendered?
- He did.
And once he was placed in handcuffs,
he had one more thing to tell us.
Ronald Graber, you have
the right to remain silent.
I don't want a lawyer. I'll talk if
you give me one thing.
What's that?
I have a message.
For Sicarius.
From his disciple.
Wait, Sicarius? Is that
what I called myself?
(LAUGHS SOFTLY) No, it
started as a bad joke,
but it became a shorthand
for law enforcement.
And he thinks he's my disciple?
And he's got a message for you.
No, I swear, I do not know this man.
We think you'll remember
once you're face-to-face.
Wh-What do you think?
I think if you have a shared history
with this man, then,
yes, you will remember.
But I'm not the man that he remembers.
It doesn't matter.
You walk in there, he hears
the sound of your voice,
he gets so excited, he wets his
pants giving you his message.
W-Will you be there?
I'll be right in the
room next to you, yeah.
What do I say?
By your own admission,
you rarely communicated face-to-face
with anyone on your network.
You preferred exchanging
encrypted messages.
JJ: But there were a handful
you spoke to using burner phones.
And we think Graber was one of them.
So you walk in, you introduce yourself.
"I'm Elias Voit, aka Sicarius.
You got a message for me?"
Like I said, he recognizes your voice
and Bob's your uncle.
OCHOA: I'm not exactly
sure how this works,
but doesn't Elias need
some sort of safe word?
Something that he can
say if he needs help?
"Monster."
I'll say "monster" if I need help.
Okay.
Let's go.
(GRUNTS)
♪
I'm sorry.
For everything.
(FOOTSTEPS RECEDING)
(DOOR OPENS)
(DOOR CLOSES)
(EXHALES)
My name is Elias Voit.
I am Sicarius.
You have a message for me?