Criminal Minds (2005–…): Season 13, Episode 4 - Killer App - full transcript
The BAU investigates a workplace shooting committed by a state-of-the-art drone in Silicon Valley.
♪ Go all alone and say we're all... ♪
Ow.
[Laughs]
Want to go again?
I, uh, I gotta get back to work.
Oh, come on, man. Not yet.
How about some pinball?
I can't.
Dude, you haven't been home in 3 days.
This deadline's kickin' my ass.
Yeah, mine, too,
but we need a break.
Hey, check it out.
Zach, you cannot
say no to that.
I am pretty tight.
That's what she said.
Go on.
[Automatic gunfire]
[Screaming]
Woman: Everybody get down!
Man: Get down!
[Screaming and shouting]
He's dead! Rafi's dead!
Do you see who's shooting?
Yeah, he's running. We need help.
[Gunfire, screaming]
- Where is he?
- I don't know!
- [Gunfire]
- Agh!
Oh, my god!
[Alarm buzzing]
Oh, my god.
Zach!
Zach!
I heard you were looking for me.
Yeah. Come on in, have a seat.
Uh-oh.
Am I... am I in trouble?
Well, we do have to talk
about one of your FD-302s,
your report about what happened
on the roof with Scratch.
Yeah, I was a... a little
light on the details.
Here's the thing.
The brass is gonna want a blow-by-blow.
Scratch was a notorious
enemy of the BAU.
I just want to dot our
i's and cross our t's.
You wrote that Scratch
fell off of a fire escape.
How did it happen?
We were on the roof
and I was trying to box him in.
He, uh, still had his weapon on him
and he fired on me.
Did you return?
No. I, uh,
I couldn't get a clear shot.
He went over the side of the building
onto the platform, and, uh, I guess
the anchoring bolts
gave out under his weight
and the whole thing
just swung out from under him.
And that was it?
No. He dropped his weapon
and he reached over
the ledge of the roof.
And it just... it happened...
It happened so fast.
One second, he was firing at me
and the next, he's dangling
from the side of the building
and...
Did you say anything to him?
No, he, uh...
He begged me for help,
more than once.
Help me, please.
I didn't try to pull him up.
Help me.
And then he just fell to the ground.
Aah!
It had to be at least 50 feet.
That was intense.
For all of us.
You did the right thing with Scratch.
If you'd reached for him, he
would have pulled you down.
You followed protocol.
I know.
So what you just told me,
would you write that up?
You got it, boss.
Ok. Thank you.
[Telephone rings]
Prentiss.
Secretary Duke.
_
Just got a call from Homeland Security.
Hey, what's going on?
Mayhem. There's an ongoing
situation in Silicon Valley.
What we know for sure is
there's a workplace shooting
in the office compound
of a video gaming company
called Ori-gamey.
Yeah, they're cutting-edge.
They do a lot of virtual reality.
I have a few of their
flight simulator games.
We're on the case?
Homeland Security asked for our help
on the ground.
- What do we got?
- That.
Office shooting in California.
Are they thinking terrorism?
They're thinking they don't know.
That's a high-profile tech target.
We can't rule out a coordinated
attack or a lone wolf.
The situation's still unfolding,
so everything's still on the table.
Do they know how many
shooters they're dealing with?
Eyewitness accounts indicate a suspect
was seen fleeing the building.
Do we have a description?
No, not yet. No I.D.
and no one in custody.
Well, the sooner we get
out there, the better.
We'll brief more on the jet.
Wheels up in 10.
Alvez: “It is unwise to be too sure
of one's own wisdom.”
Mahatma Gandhi.
The scene has been secured
and there's no active shooter on site.
Is there any security camera footage?
Garcia: That was jammed. No footage.
Initial reports say that
there are 3 people dead...
A security guard, Douglas
Bell, and two other employees,
Zach Devlin and Rafi Abdella.
If this is terrorism, somebody
should be claiming responsibility.
So far there's radio silence on that,
but it could take a while, especially
if it's the work of a lone wolf, right?
3 victims, 3 different races.
Rafi Abdella was an
Indian national, Muslim.
He was working in the U.S.
on an H1B visa.
He also had a green
card and was considering
applying for citizenship.
That could have fueled
xenophobic resentment
on the part of the unsub.
If Abdella was targeted,
we could be looking at a hate crime.
What are we hearing from the scene?
Is the body count holding steady?
That is a bit of good news.
Here were 80 people in the building.
There's no other reports of casualties.
There were a few minor injuries
when they were getting
evacuated, but that's it.
Sounds like an unsub with an agenda
other than a high body count.
And the crime scene photos just came in.
I'm sending them. Brace yourselves.
Each victim was hit with
between 10 and 20 rounds each.
Given all these bullets, it's amazing
that not more people were hit.
Garcia, we're going
to need a complete list
of this company's employees.
Yeah, I anticipated that.
I've already been compiling.
You'll have it when you land.
Tara, you head to the DHS field office.
The rest of us will go
straight to the scene.
Agent Richardson from Homeland
Security is expecting us.
We've been getting statements
from anyone who was anywhere
inside the building at
the time of the shootings.
Glad to have your help with that.
Of course. Forming any theories?
Well, we're all over the map,
because a lot of things
don't seem to be adding up.
That's why we needed help from the BAU.
What's not adding up?
Different things.
For instance, I took a statement
from the receptionist.
She said the security
guard, Douglas Bell,
came into the area.
She saw his weapon drawn.
Makes sense. He was
responding to shots fired.
The guy did two tours in Afghanistan
and he was shot multiple times,
mid range, in the head and torso.
How many shots did Bell fire?
None. His firearm was in his hand
when we found the body,
but it hadn't been fired.
He might have recognized the gunman.
That could have made him hesitate.
He was trained to return fire.
You're right. It doesn't add up.
It was crazy, total chaos.
At first, I didn't
realize what was going on.
Then, after the shooting stopped,
I ran toward the front of the room
to see if I could help.
Did you see the shooter?
Yeah, I saw him,
but not his face,
but he was wearing a black shirt.
He ran out the emergency
exit over there.
He pulled a fire alarm as he ran out.
I didn't know where the
shooting was coming from,
so when there was a
pause, I just made a run
for the emergency exit. That one.
There's a fire alarm on that wall.
Are you the one that pulled it?
Yeah, that was me. I hoped it might
startle the shooter, make him stop.
I was standing right here.
I saw him get shot.
I'm sorry. I know... I
know it was traumatic.
Did you see the shooter?
I didn't get a good look at him,
but I heard him.
He yelled, “everybody get down”,
and then he ran back that way
towards the conference room.
So you were in the conference room.
I'm a team leader.
I was running a marketing meeting
for my project group.
And were you aware
of what was going on out here?
We heard the shots.
I ran out. I just wanted to warn people.
I shouted, “everybody get down,”
and then I doubled back.
A lot of people think
they saw a lot of things,
not all of it accurate.
Eyewitnesses are notoriously unreliable,
especially in a situation like this.
Yeah, a very violent, chaotic scene.
Anxiety spikes, makes it difficult
for people to observe
and recreate events.
Well, one thing everybody
seems to agree on
is that Abdella was killed first,
and then there was a pause,
followed by two bursts of gunfire
that lasted a few seconds each.
You know, the unsub must have used
an automatic weapon.
There's no need to reload.
Ok, so Devlin and the
security guard Bell
must have been killed
in rapid succession.
The bodies are several
yards away from one another.
Now, Devlin was hit with 14 rounds,
Bell with 17. The overkill could mean
that the motive was personal.
Well, even with that many rounds fired,
there were only a handful of strays.
Right. And given the distance
between the victims, either our unsub
is one hell of a marksman
or there were two shooters.
Multiple shooters are rare, I know.
But it does fit our crime scene.
We can't rule it out.
Two gunmen would increase the level
of planning and premeditation.
[Cell phone ringing]
Garcia, what have you got?
A name. Hugh Fitzgerald.
You can thank me later.
I accept kisses and cocktails.
He is a disgruntled,
recently fired employee
who complained loudly that
H1B Asians cost him his job.
Any other recently or not so recently
fired employees carrying a grudge,
maybe somebody Hugh
Fitzgerald was friendly with?
Uh, nothing recently that I can find.
I was only looking at current
firings. Should I go back farther?
Ok, we'll follow up with Fitzgerald.
Oh, already did. Hugh
Fitzgerald was seen
on the premises earlier today.
Prentiss: Let's get an APB.
Done and doner.
[Siren]
This guy is not pulling over.
He's driving like a maniac.
It looks like there's a freeway
entrance about a mile ahead.
Simmons: I don't want to lose him.
Local backup's been notified
and the highway patrol have the APB.
There's no way we're
gonna lose this guy.
[Brakes screeching]
Hugh Fitzgerald, get your
hands where I can see them!
Don't shoot! Please don't
shoot me! My kid is in the car.
Don't shoot.
Hey there, sweetie.
Hey, it's ok.
Come here.
Let's get you out of here.
It's ok. It's ok.
JJ: Ok.
What the hell were you thinking?
I don't know. I... I panicked.
I didn't mean to.
Didn't mean to what,
shoot up your office? No.
You were seen on the premises
right before the shooting.
I was just packing up my things.
You can ask around and they'll tell you
that I was just cleaning out my office.
Look, I have this...
Get your hands back up!
Oh, god, I'm sorry.
Please don't shoot me.
I just wanted you to
see that I still have
a box of things in my car,
on the passenger seat.
We heard you didn't take
it well when you got fired.
Does anyone?
Ever?
Uh, I posted some stuff online,
and it said some things
that I shouldn't have.
Yeah. Some racist anti-immigrant rants?
Ok, ok. Yes, I did that.
I... I'm not proud of it.
Um, and...
What'd you do, Hugh?
My boss. I keyed his car.
I know it was wrong.
I've never done anything
like that before, ever.
I don't even know why I did it.
You keyed a car.
That's why you didn't pull over?
That's why you put your
daughter's life at risk?
I panicked, ok?
I have a lot of anxiety about authority.
Uh, I am an idiot.
Not a killer.
I'm so sorry.
Well, Hugh Fitzgerald
was right. He's an idiot,
not a killer. His story checks out.
What are we getting from the scene,
other than a bunch of
unreliable witness statements?
The physical evidence is
pretty straightforward.
Multiple rounds went into
each of the 3 victims,
with very little
indiscriminate spray of gunfire.
If the unsub wanted to go
out in a blaze of glory,
he would have stayed on
the scene and taken out
as many people as
possible in that building.
One shooter or two shooters,
it's looking more and more like at least
two of the victims were targeted.
It could be personal.
We're gonna have to
deep-dive into the victimology
to see how these 3 people overlap.
And who they might have pissed off.
Regardless of whether
there's one or two unsubs,
if there's a kill list,
could be more names on it.
[Indistinct rap song
playing on headphones]
[Gunfire]
[Indistinct radio chatter]
The 4 victims were the only
ones working here this evening.
3 male, one female. One Asian,
the other 3 were Caucasian.
Garcia, how many
employees in this office?
12 coders, no support staff.
Night people. They
worked in 3 8-hour shifts.
Lean and mean.
Did these 4 always work together?
No, actually their
schedules rarely coincided.
Some of them would take a
daytime shift, afternoon shift,
every once in a while a night shift.
One techette, Sarah Willis,
she only worked nights.
So it was rare for these people
to be in the same
place at the same time.
If they were targeted,
the unsub would have
needed to know their schedules.
That would have required
extreme planning.
And with 3 Caucasian victims,
looks like we can rule out a hate crime.
Garcia, other than the broken window,
were there any other
signs of a forced entry
in the initial reports?
No, that's it.
They were all killed
at their work stations,
but it doesn't appear
as though any of them
reacted to the intrusion.
They may not have.
They were all wearing
noise-canceling headphones.
According to first responders,
music was still playing on
them when they got there.
Ok, well, it's not like the unsub
walked right through the front door,
and that window's about, what,
15 feet up off the ground?
How did he get up there?
Yeah, and the longer
it took to break in,
the greater the likelihood
that one of the victims
would see everything and
would alert the others.
Guys, look, there's a trajectory
directly from the broken
window to the closest victim.
That spot was Aiden Ferguson's.
Most of the shots were
to his head and neck
coming from a high angle.
These bullets were coming from
impossibly high trajectories.
The unsub would have had to
have been crouched on the ceiling
to take some of those shots.
Richardson: That doesn't make sense.
It does if there wasn't a gunman,
which would also explain
why the security guard
never returned fire at the first scene.
Well, somebody shot all these people.
No, not somebody, something.
I think the shooter's a drone.
Prentiss: A drone being operated
from a different location by our unsub.
And drones are readily
available to hobbyists.
This one would have had
to have been modified
or designed and built
to accommodate a firearm.
Any details we can
find out about the drone
will tell us more about the
unsub who's controlling it.
Well, the security cams here
at the house were jammed,
but there is a traffic
cam across the street.
Garcia, it possibly
captured images of the drone
entering the house.
Oh, I'm all over that.
I can get you video in 10.
Ok, as soon as we
check out this footage,
it's time to deliver the profile.
Prentiss: We believe we're
dealing with a lone unsub
who's using a drone to kill
multiple targets in each location.
We're looking for a white
male, probably mid to late 20s
and extremely tech-astute.
Rossi: This unsub does
not appear to be motivated
by religious extremism or racial hatred.
It's likely he's motivated
by a personal vendetta.
Lewis: And the drone being used
is not your run-of-the
mill hobbyist drone.
It's custom-built to be a
fully automatic remote weapon.
We have obtained security
camera footage of the device,
and it shares features with
certain military drones,
although this one is much smaller.
As a result, we believe
this unsub may be
ex-military or military trained.
Lewis: Most importantly, this unsub
seems to have a kill list.
Reid: Rather than
indiscriminately shooting
as many people as possible
at the first location,
he specifically targeted his victims.
At this point he's
murdered 7 individuals,
all of them employed
in the tech industry.
Aside from the shared
industry of employment,
we have not yet identified
the specific connection
between these 7 victims.
The connection between
them will be the key
to identifying the unsub.
And until we make that connection,
the unsub will continue
working his way down that list,
perhaps targeting more tech companies.
[Whirring]
So, everyone except Douglas Bell,
the security guard, worked in tech.
Prentiss: He was probably
the only victim killed
who wasn't on the list,
but given he was armed,
he could have disabled the drone.
He was probably taken out
because he presented a threat.
JJ: So, Devlin and Abdella were coders
for a virtual reality gaming company.
The other 4 coders
worked for a software gaming company
but in different capacities.
Aiden Ferguson and Sarah
Willis in 3-d graphics.
Nathan Katz worked in motion capture
and Josh Abbott in mobile platforms.
So the common thread is video games.
That's too broad.
And something else. Look,
each one of the victims
was unemployed for
approximately 3 months
in 2016.
You're right.
The dates don't completely overlap,
but they all fall between
February and July of 2016.
Question is, what were they doing?
There's 4 more coders dead
and all of them on the team.
That makes 6.
I know. I thought it was a
coincidence, too, at first,
but now...
I know, the seventh one, but...
It can't all be arbitrary, all right?
And I can't just pretend
like it's not happening.
What do you want me to do?
Oh! Oh, god, it's him!
It's him!
Ohh!
[Cell phone chirps]
Hey, Tori, how have you been?
[Indistinct radio chatter]
[Siren in distance]
Car is registered to Tori Hoffstadt.
Garcia said Tori was on her phone
at the time this happened,
but her number's encrypted,
so she can't track it.
Tori works for Peakstone.
And if she has access
to sensitive information,
her calls could be encrypted
for security reasons.
Peakstone. Private
military consulting firm?
Yeah. I worked with
some of their contractors
in Afghanistan.
Those guys are a different breed.
They're not quite civilian
and not quite military.
Peakstone's a very powerful company.
They provide the military
with civilian drone operators,
and that could be our Peakstone
connection to the unsub.
But why didn't he just
kill her right here?
Why abduct her? It's a
departure from his M.O.
Agent Prentiss, a word?
Sure.
This isn't like a garden
variety psycho, is it?
I'm sorry, what I mean is,
maybe you should take the lead on this.
You no longer want to take lead on this?
Don't misunderstand, we'll still provide
physical resources and manpower, but...
The case is yours.
And you're sure this isn't just about
you wanting to steer clear of Peakstone?
It's about making sure that the
team with the greatest proficiency
takes the helm.
Why are you doing this?
Just drive.
You don't remember me, do you, Tori?
I do.
I was just another one
of your gameboy recruits.
A dime a dozen, right?
I remember you, Jake.
I didn't think you would.
Where are you taking me?
You don't get to ask questions!
And you don't get answers!
Just do what I tell you to do.
Tori Hoffstadt freelanced for Peakstone.
She was in charge of putting together
and supervising drone teams.
A drone team consisted of 6
coders and one drone pilot.
The coders were supposed
to create a military drone
specifically designed
to appeal to gamers.
Because blowing away computer graphics
is exactly the same as
killing human beings?
Ok, I just want to say that
multiple studies have shown
that you can totally be into
first-person shoot-'em-up games
and be a complete pacifist, but I guess
the marketing behind this was
using your gaming expertise
to do something patriotic,
and the pay was really good.
Well, they needed the recruits.
Our enlisted men and women
are stretched to the limits.
No one wants a draft,
so contractors take over.
Their marketing worked.
Hundreds of drone operators
were stationed overseas
and embedded with various
air force squadrons.
That could have been overwhelming
to guys recruited for
their ability to hang out
in their mom's basement
playing “Call of duty.”
if our unsub is a former drone operator,
it could also explain why
he's targeting the coders
who developed the software.
He could hold them responsible
for making killing seem like a game.
People who weren't in active combat
but still racked up casualties,
they can suffer post-traumatic stress.
But, Garcia, did Tori
but together a team
during the employment
gaps of our victims?
It would have been between
February and July of 2016.
She did, and it produced
a drone that was used
in strikes against enemy targets
until July 2016 when the contract
was abruptly canceled by Peakstone.
Any speculation as to why?
None. According to official reports,
the final mission was
extremely successful.
It was an insurgents camp
in the Helmand province
of Afghanistan.
A lot of casualties.
372 dead.
Garcia, we need the name of
that civilian drone operator.
He's our unsub.
I know that. I know that. Do
you think I don't know that?
But Peakstone has its data in a vault.
I'm doing the best I can.
I really didn't think you'd remember me.
I do.
I was so happy when you joined the team.
You made it sound like I'd
just be playing video games.
The software was a
lot like a video game.
You gave input on the design, remember?
Yeah. But it wasn't a game.
No. It wasn't a game.
You were fighting for our country.
You should be proud of your service.
I wanted to be.
But I'm not like the enlisted guys.
You served with them, side by side.
Those flyboys looked
down their noses at me,
said I never really
put my life on the line,
just stayed safe and just killed
with the flick of a button.
They didn't know what
they were talking about.
Everyone has a part to play.
You were just doing your part.
Do you know what they called it?
They called it cutting the grass.
You gotta cut the grass
before it gets too tall.
No, I didn't know that.
They'd tell us to pull the weeds
before they took over the garden.
Did you ever hear that one?
I never heard that.
That's... that's clever.
No, it's not.
Because people aren't grass.
And people aren't weeds.
They're terrorists.
You were doing what needed to be done,
keeping the people of this country safe.
They don't look like
people on the screens.
They just look like shadows.
Black and gray smudges
moving across the desert.
Do you know what they
called the little ones?
I don't know.
Fun-size terrorists.
Like the candy bars.
They were just kids.
Little kids.
What are you talking about, Jake?
You know.
I need your help with
classified military information.
Intel like that is beyond my capability.
You're Homeland Security.
You have military connections.
I need the name of the civilian
drone operator on the team.
He's our unsub.
The military doesn't have his name.
So who has it?
Only the people that hired him.
Peakstone.
Yes. But the employment
records are confidential.
They're not even subject to subpoena.
This unsub has murdered 7 people
and is holding a hostage.
You can help us save her life.
There's nothing I can do.
You know someone at Peakstone.
I'm asking you to reach out.
It doesn't matter.
Peakstone won't release the name.
Then give me the name of your contact
and I will try. I will
take all the blowback.
Please, I have try.
A woman's life depends on it.
Look, you and me, we deal
with bureaucratic red tape
because we have to. But what
we really do is save lives.
Help me save her life.
What do you want from me, Jake?
Why did you bring me here?
I want to know why you told me about it.
About what?
The letter I got when
the contract ended.
I don't have anything
to do with those letters.
That's Peakstone.
You are Peakstone.
That is not what I do.
Other people at the company do that,
people higher up than me.
It breaks everything down by mission.
Our last mission, that one was big.
372.
The insurgent training camp?
You should be proud of your service.
Don't you know?
Know what, Jake?
I told you, after I get
a team up and running,
I don't have anything
to do with the missions.
I wish I didn't know.
Thank you.
I don't often have the pleasure
of hosting domestic law enforcement,
given that our bailiwick
is national security.
I only need one thing.
The name of the drone pilot
on the team that Tori
Hoffstadt put together in 2016.
That information is confidential.
I understand you
administer psych evaluations
to your recruits.
That's true.
The recruit I'm asking about
would have tested as
immature and unstable,
with aggressive tendencies.
We wouldn't employ such a person.
But if you did, that would
make you liable for his actions.
Let me be clear.
We do not employ unstable individuals.
However, even if we did,
there's no liability
that would attach to us.
It's guaranteed by the government.
Have you ever pressed that guarantee
when you've employed a serial killer?
If the pilot you're
looking for became unstable,
it most likely happened
after he left Peakstone.
Why would that happen?
Sometimes, like discharged
military personnel,
they have difficulty
processing their experiences.
Why?
A variety of reasons, I suppose.
Some of them have
trouble with the letter.
What letter?
The one they get thanking
them for their service
and providing them with
statistical information
on their missions.
Statistical information?
You mean body counts?
Yes. Among other things.
Why would you give them that letter?
It's protocol, designed to protect them.
From what?
False information.
Many of their missions are
reported on in the media.
We want them to have
accurate statistics,
and we don't want them
blindsided by any information.
That kind of letter, in my line of work,
we call that a trigger.
You make it sound so sinister.
It's not that at all.
They're aware from the beginning
that they'll be given those statistics
at the end of their service.
Those who can't handle
it don't open them.
Not everyone has the self-awareness
to make that decision.
Now, if you add that trigger
to an unstable individual, you get...
You get what, agent Prentiss?
A serial killer?
I highly doubt that
you could prove that.
Please! Please, can
you help me?! Please!
Oh, please, please help me!
Oh, please, somebody!
[Horn honking]
[Brakes screeching]
Please! Please help me!
Please!
Help!
Emily got shut down by Peakstone.
She didn't get the unsub's name?
No, they wouldn't give it to her.
Is that even legal?
Unfortunately, it is.
But she did get some information
about how they work with contractors.
She said that each departing drone pilot
received a letter detailing
the number of casualties
from each of their missions.
Wow. Talk about a trigger.
Yeah. Especially for someone
engaged in remote combat.
And what seems like a video game one day
could feel very different
when presented as a body count.
These contractors aren't even veterans.
They don't have the
post-discharge resources
or even the support community
that returning vets have.
Tori Hoffstadt escaped.
She flagged down a car, they took her
to St. Ann's hospital.
She seems unharmed,
but they're holding her for observation.
I didn't want to hurt him. I just...
I thought he was gonna kill me.
Tori, look, you're safe now, ok?
We know how much you've been through.
If you need more time, just let us know.
Did you know him?
Yes.
His name was Jake Logan.
I hired him as a civilian drone pilot
for one of my teams.
I thought he was gonna kill me.
He took you to his house.
Do you know why he didn't kill you?
No. He was just, you know, talking.
He really wasn't making a lot of sense.
Did he say anything
about casualty counts?
His last mission had
hundreds of casualties.
No, uh-uh.
He was just rambling, you know?
But I was really scared.
How did you get away?
He seemed confused.
So he put the gun down,
and I... I grabbed it,
then I pulled the trigger
and I ran.
And you shot him?
I just had to get away.
I'm so sorry.
Did he go down?
I don't... I don't know.
I just shot the gun and I ran.
You know, it just all happened so fast.
[Indistinct radio chatter]
The victim, Tori, she
said she only fired once.
This guy was shredded.
Just like his earlier victims.
It's been fired.
It couldn't have been the unsub
unless he has very long arms.
The gun Tori used was found outside.
She dropped it when she ran.
This must have happened
after she escaped.
Could have been hacked.
So, who wanted the unsub dead?
Tori's hiding something.
Every time we asked her
for details, she clammed up.
- [Cell phone rings]
- Hey, go ahead, Garcia.
Ok, I got some of my mojo back.
I wasn't able to get
the name of our guy,
but I do know a lot of details
about Jake Logan's final mission,
the one before the
contract was canceled.
The one with the high casualty count.
The insurgent training camp?
Yep, yep, that's the one.
So, I... I tried to go
back and think, like,
what could be the unsub's stressor
or his current state of mind.
I don't know, I just went with my gut.
Well, what did you find?
I found a lot of awful I didn't expect.
What do you mean?
Ok, so, I looked into military strikes
and insurgent camps
that had that number of casualties.
372.
Yeah, 372.
The thing is, there's no record
of that kind of bombing at
an insurgent training camp
with that number of casualties.
Maybe the timing's off.
Right. That's what I thought, too,
so I looked within
two years of both sides
of the date of that strike.
That's pretty comprehensive.
What'd you find?
I found atrocious.
I found a bombing that
resulted in 372 casualties,
but it wasn't at an
insurgent training camp.
It was at an elementary school.
Little kids, all under the age of 12.
That's terrible.
It's terrible. I mean, it was...
It was either bad intel on the ground
or a malfunction in the software.
Who knows? That remains
a dreadful mystery.
And Peakstone covered it up.
Well, they sure as hell
didn't come clean about it.
And they pulled the plug
on the contract right after.
That's the kind of thing
that could cost them
all of their government contracts.
Garcia: And there's more.
That encrypted phone call
that Tori was on when she was abducted,
I was able to crack it. She
was on the phone with Peakstone.
JJ: Peakstone knew
she was being abducted
and didn't call the police.
Oh, yeah, there's more than that.
They texted her right after.
They told her to stay calm
and that they were coming for her.
But they didn't.
They were probably worried
she'd come clean about
the school bombing.
They had her right
where they wanted her.
Murdering the unsub
was only half the job.
They were going to use the
drone to kill them both.
Yeah, Tori's unfinished business.
Hi, I'm taking over. You can leave.
[Indistinct conversation]
[Siren]
Drop your weapon.
Drop it.
I know my rights.
I want a lawyer.
My god!
[Gasping] Oh, my god,
he was gonna kill me.
Oh, he was gonna kill me.
God, this is that mission.
What happened, Tori?
Jake's last mission,
ok, it was a mistake.
But Jake, he blamed
everybody at Peakstone,
the coders, me.
He said we'd turned him into a murderer.
But that that was an accident, ok?
We never meant for that to happen.
You knew about the school right
after it happened, didn't you?
We thought we could cover it up.
The deaths of hundreds of children...
You thought you could just
sweep that under the rug?
You filed false reports.
Yes.
Did Peakstone know about it?
Peakstone made me file
those fake reports.
They knew everything.
I thought this was all over,
and then he started
killing those coders...
JJ: You knew it was Jake.
That's why you called
your contact at Peakstone?
I thought he'd protect me
after everything I had
done for that company.
You were just as much a
liability to them as Jake Logan.
They murdered him.
If you hadn't escaped,
they were going to kill you, too.
I trusted them. God, I was so stupid.
Tori Hoffstadt,
we're putting you in custody.
What? What?
What... no! No!
No! [Crying] No...
- [Door opens]
- Woman: You can't go in there.
Prentiss: You're under arrest.
Prentiss: “The murderer
survives the victim
“only to learn that it was himself
that he longed to be rid of.”
Thornton Wilder.
[Footsteps approaching]
Looks like your contact at Peakstone's
being charged with
conspiracy and murder.
And Tori flipped. She cut a deal.
Surprise, surprise.
Yeah. She got 5 years on a plea
in exchange for her testimony.
And the government cut all
contracts with Peakstone.
All in a day's work. Feels good.
Oh, and I got your report
on Scratch. Thank you.
Oh, yeah. It's no problem.
You didn't have to stay
late to finish it, though.
I didn't... didn't take long.
I see you're still digging your way out
of this mountain of papers.
It somehow managed to metastasize
over the 6 weeks we were off.
But what are you gonna
do? Late nights happen.
Yeah, well, that doesn't
mean you should skip dinner.
No way. You brought dinner?
Ohh! Wow, that is so perfect.
I figured you'd be hungry, you know?
Thai ok?
Oh, totally ok. Thank you so much.
You gotta stay and have dinner with me.
Unless... no, it's late
and you gotta go. Roxy.
No, actually, Roxy's
still with my pet sitter
and it's too late to pick her up now.
I'll swing by in the morning.
Good. [Chuckles]
Eating alone in the office is the worst.
Tell me about it.
And why it is I always come
home to an empty refrigerator?
Yeah.
Ow.
[Laughs]
Want to go again?
I, uh, I gotta get back to work.
Oh, come on, man. Not yet.
How about some pinball?
I can't.
Dude, you haven't been home in 3 days.
This deadline's kickin' my ass.
Yeah, mine, too,
but we need a break.
Hey, check it out.
Zach, you cannot
say no to that.
I am pretty tight.
That's what she said.
Go on.
[Automatic gunfire]
[Screaming]
Woman: Everybody get down!
Man: Get down!
[Screaming and shouting]
He's dead! Rafi's dead!
Do you see who's shooting?
Yeah, he's running. We need help.
[Gunfire, screaming]
- Where is he?
- I don't know!
- [Gunfire]
- Agh!
Oh, my god!
[Alarm buzzing]
Oh, my god.
Zach!
Zach!
I heard you were looking for me.
Yeah. Come on in, have a seat.
Uh-oh.
Am I... am I in trouble?
Well, we do have to talk
about one of your FD-302s,
your report about what happened
on the roof with Scratch.
Yeah, I was a... a little
light on the details.
Here's the thing.
The brass is gonna want a blow-by-blow.
Scratch was a notorious
enemy of the BAU.
I just want to dot our
i's and cross our t's.
You wrote that Scratch
fell off of a fire escape.
How did it happen?
We were on the roof
and I was trying to box him in.
He, uh, still had his weapon on him
and he fired on me.
Did you return?
No. I, uh,
I couldn't get a clear shot.
He went over the side of the building
onto the platform, and, uh, I guess
the anchoring bolts
gave out under his weight
and the whole thing
just swung out from under him.
And that was it?
No. He dropped his weapon
and he reached over
the ledge of the roof.
And it just... it happened...
It happened so fast.
One second, he was firing at me
and the next, he's dangling
from the side of the building
and...
Did you say anything to him?
No, he, uh...
He begged me for help,
more than once.
Help me, please.
I didn't try to pull him up.
Help me.
And then he just fell to the ground.
Aah!
It had to be at least 50 feet.
That was intense.
For all of us.
You did the right thing with Scratch.
If you'd reached for him, he
would have pulled you down.
You followed protocol.
I know.
So what you just told me,
would you write that up?
You got it, boss.
Ok. Thank you.
[Telephone rings]
Prentiss.
Secretary Duke.
_
Just got a call from Homeland Security.
Hey, what's going on?
Mayhem. There's an ongoing
situation in Silicon Valley.
What we know for sure is
there's a workplace shooting
in the office compound
of a video gaming company
called Ori-gamey.
Yeah, they're cutting-edge.
They do a lot of virtual reality.
I have a few of their
flight simulator games.
We're on the case?
Homeland Security asked for our help
on the ground.
- What do we got?
- That.
Office shooting in California.
Are they thinking terrorism?
They're thinking they don't know.
That's a high-profile tech target.
We can't rule out a coordinated
attack or a lone wolf.
The situation's still unfolding,
so everything's still on the table.
Do they know how many
shooters they're dealing with?
Eyewitness accounts indicate a suspect
was seen fleeing the building.
Do we have a description?
No, not yet. No I.D.
and no one in custody.
Well, the sooner we get
out there, the better.
We'll brief more on the jet.
Wheels up in 10.
Alvez: “It is unwise to be too sure
of one's own wisdom.”
Mahatma Gandhi.
The scene has been secured
and there's no active shooter on site.
Is there any security camera footage?
Garcia: That was jammed. No footage.
Initial reports say that
there are 3 people dead...
A security guard, Douglas
Bell, and two other employees,
Zach Devlin and Rafi Abdella.
If this is terrorism, somebody
should be claiming responsibility.
So far there's radio silence on that,
but it could take a while, especially
if it's the work of a lone wolf, right?
3 victims, 3 different races.
Rafi Abdella was an
Indian national, Muslim.
He was working in the U.S.
on an H1B visa.
He also had a green
card and was considering
applying for citizenship.
That could have fueled
xenophobic resentment
on the part of the unsub.
If Abdella was targeted,
we could be looking at a hate crime.
What are we hearing from the scene?
Is the body count holding steady?
That is a bit of good news.
Here were 80 people in the building.
There's no other reports of casualties.
There were a few minor injuries
when they were getting
evacuated, but that's it.
Sounds like an unsub with an agenda
other than a high body count.
And the crime scene photos just came in.
I'm sending them. Brace yourselves.
Each victim was hit with
between 10 and 20 rounds each.
Given all these bullets, it's amazing
that not more people were hit.
Garcia, we're going
to need a complete list
of this company's employees.
Yeah, I anticipated that.
I've already been compiling.
You'll have it when you land.
Tara, you head to the DHS field office.
The rest of us will go
straight to the scene.
Agent Richardson from Homeland
Security is expecting us.
We've been getting statements
from anyone who was anywhere
inside the building at
the time of the shootings.
Glad to have your help with that.
Of course. Forming any theories?
Well, we're all over the map,
because a lot of things
don't seem to be adding up.
That's why we needed help from the BAU.
What's not adding up?
Different things.
For instance, I took a statement
from the receptionist.
She said the security
guard, Douglas Bell,
came into the area.
She saw his weapon drawn.
Makes sense. He was
responding to shots fired.
The guy did two tours in Afghanistan
and he was shot multiple times,
mid range, in the head and torso.
How many shots did Bell fire?
None. His firearm was in his hand
when we found the body,
but it hadn't been fired.
He might have recognized the gunman.
That could have made him hesitate.
He was trained to return fire.
You're right. It doesn't add up.
It was crazy, total chaos.
At first, I didn't
realize what was going on.
Then, after the shooting stopped,
I ran toward the front of the room
to see if I could help.
Did you see the shooter?
Yeah, I saw him,
but not his face,
but he was wearing a black shirt.
He ran out the emergency
exit over there.
He pulled a fire alarm as he ran out.
I didn't know where the
shooting was coming from,
so when there was a
pause, I just made a run
for the emergency exit. That one.
There's a fire alarm on that wall.
Are you the one that pulled it?
Yeah, that was me. I hoped it might
startle the shooter, make him stop.
I was standing right here.
I saw him get shot.
I'm sorry. I know... I
know it was traumatic.
Did you see the shooter?
I didn't get a good look at him,
but I heard him.
He yelled, “everybody get down”,
and then he ran back that way
towards the conference room.
So you were in the conference room.
I'm a team leader.
I was running a marketing meeting
for my project group.
And were you aware
of what was going on out here?
We heard the shots.
I ran out. I just wanted to warn people.
I shouted, “everybody get down,”
and then I doubled back.
A lot of people think
they saw a lot of things,
not all of it accurate.
Eyewitnesses are notoriously unreliable,
especially in a situation like this.
Yeah, a very violent, chaotic scene.
Anxiety spikes, makes it difficult
for people to observe
and recreate events.
Well, one thing everybody
seems to agree on
is that Abdella was killed first,
and then there was a pause,
followed by two bursts of gunfire
that lasted a few seconds each.
You know, the unsub must have used
an automatic weapon.
There's no need to reload.
Ok, so Devlin and the
security guard Bell
must have been killed
in rapid succession.
The bodies are several
yards away from one another.
Now, Devlin was hit with 14 rounds,
Bell with 17. The overkill could mean
that the motive was personal.
Well, even with that many rounds fired,
there were only a handful of strays.
Right. And given the distance
between the victims, either our unsub
is one hell of a marksman
or there were two shooters.
Multiple shooters are rare, I know.
But it does fit our crime scene.
We can't rule it out.
Two gunmen would increase the level
of planning and premeditation.
[Cell phone ringing]
Garcia, what have you got?
A name. Hugh Fitzgerald.
You can thank me later.
I accept kisses and cocktails.
He is a disgruntled,
recently fired employee
who complained loudly that
H1B Asians cost him his job.
Any other recently or not so recently
fired employees carrying a grudge,
maybe somebody Hugh
Fitzgerald was friendly with?
Uh, nothing recently that I can find.
I was only looking at current
firings. Should I go back farther?
Ok, we'll follow up with Fitzgerald.
Oh, already did. Hugh
Fitzgerald was seen
on the premises earlier today.
Prentiss: Let's get an APB.
Done and doner.
[Siren]
This guy is not pulling over.
He's driving like a maniac.
It looks like there's a freeway
entrance about a mile ahead.
Simmons: I don't want to lose him.
Local backup's been notified
and the highway patrol have the APB.
There's no way we're
gonna lose this guy.
[Brakes screeching]
Hugh Fitzgerald, get your
hands where I can see them!
Don't shoot! Please don't
shoot me! My kid is in the car.
Don't shoot.
Hey there, sweetie.
Hey, it's ok.
Come here.
Let's get you out of here.
It's ok. It's ok.
JJ: Ok.
What the hell were you thinking?
I don't know. I... I panicked.
I didn't mean to.
Didn't mean to what,
shoot up your office? No.
You were seen on the premises
right before the shooting.
I was just packing up my things.
You can ask around and they'll tell you
that I was just cleaning out my office.
Look, I have this...
Get your hands back up!
Oh, god, I'm sorry.
Please don't shoot me.
I just wanted you to
see that I still have
a box of things in my car,
on the passenger seat.
We heard you didn't take
it well when you got fired.
Does anyone?
Ever?
Uh, I posted some stuff online,
and it said some things
that I shouldn't have.
Yeah. Some racist anti-immigrant rants?
Ok, ok. Yes, I did that.
I... I'm not proud of it.
Um, and...
What'd you do, Hugh?
My boss. I keyed his car.
I know it was wrong.
I've never done anything
like that before, ever.
I don't even know why I did it.
You keyed a car.
That's why you didn't pull over?
That's why you put your
daughter's life at risk?
I panicked, ok?
I have a lot of anxiety about authority.
Uh, I am an idiot.
Not a killer.
I'm so sorry.
Well, Hugh Fitzgerald
was right. He's an idiot,
not a killer. His story checks out.
What are we getting from the scene,
other than a bunch of
unreliable witness statements?
The physical evidence is
pretty straightforward.
Multiple rounds went into
each of the 3 victims,
with very little
indiscriminate spray of gunfire.
If the unsub wanted to go
out in a blaze of glory,
he would have stayed on
the scene and taken out
as many people as
possible in that building.
One shooter or two shooters,
it's looking more and more like at least
two of the victims were targeted.
It could be personal.
We're gonna have to
deep-dive into the victimology
to see how these 3 people overlap.
And who they might have pissed off.
Regardless of whether
there's one or two unsubs,
if there's a kill list,
could be more names on it.
[Indistinct rap song
playing on headphones]
[Gunfire]
[Indistinct radio chatter]
The 4 victims were the only
ones working here this evening.
3 male, one female. One Asian,
the other 3 were Caucasian.
Garcia, how many
employees in this office?
12 coders, no support staff.
Night people. They
worked in 3 8-hour shifts.
Lean and mean.
Did these 4 always work together?
No, actually their
schedules rarely coincided.
Some of them would take a
daytime shift, afternoon shift,
every once in a while a night shift.
One techette, Sarah Willis,
she only worked nights.
So it was rare for these people
to be in the same
place at the same time.
If they were targeted,
the unsub would have
needed to know their schedules.
That would have required
extreme planning.
And with 3 Caucasian victims,
looks like we can rule out a hate crime.
Garcia, other than the broken window,
were there any other
signs of a forced entry
in the initial reports?
No, that's it.
They were all killed
at their work stations,
but it doesn't appear
as though any of them
reacted to the intrusion.
They may not have.
They were all wearing
noise-canceling headphones.
According to first responders,
music was still playing on
them when they got there.
Ok, well, it's not like the unsub
walked right through the front door,
and that window's about, what,
15 feet up off the ground?
How did he get up there?
Yeah, and the longer
it took to break in,
the greater the likelihood
that one of the victims
would see everything and
would alert the others.
Guys, look, there's a trajectory
directly from the broken
window to the closest victim.
That spot was Aiden Ferguson's.
Most of the shots were
to his head and neck
coming from a high angle.
These bullets were coming from
impossibly high trajectories.
The unsub would have had to
have been crouched on the ceiling
to take some of those shots.
Richardson: That doesn't make sense.
It does if there wasn't a gunman,
which would also explain
why the security guard
never returned fire at the first scene.
Well, somebody shot all these people.
No, not somebody, something.
I think the shooter's a drone.
Prentiss: A drone being operated
from a different location by our unsub.
And drones are readily
available to hobbyists.
This one would have had
to have been modified
or designed and built
to accommodate a firearm.
Any details we can
find out about the drone
will tell us more about the
unsub who's controlling it.
Well, the security cams here
at the house were jammed,
but there is a traffic
cam across the street.
Garcia, it possibly
captured images of the drone
entering the house.
Oh, I'm all over that.
I can get you video in 10.
Ok, as soon as we
check out this footage,
it's time to deliver the profile.
Prentiss: We believe we're
dealing with a lone unsub
who's using a drone to kill
multiple targets in each location.
We're looking for a white
male, probably mid to late 20s
and extremely tech-astute.
Rossi: This unsub does
not appear to be motivated
by religious extremism or racial hatred.
It's likely he's motivated
by a personal vendetta.
Lewis: And the drone being used
is not your run-of-the
mill hobbyist drone.
It's custom-built to be a
fully automatic remote weapon.
We have obtained security
camera footage of the device,
and it shares features with
certain military drones,
although this one is much smaller.
As a result, we believe
this unsub may be
ex-military or military trained.
Lewis: Most importantly, this unsub
seems to have a kill list.
Reid: Rather than
indiscriminately shooting
as many people as possible
at the first location,
he specifically targeted his victims.
At this point he's
murdered 7 individuals,
all of them employed
in the tech industry.
Aside from the shared
industry of employment,
we have not yet identified
the specific connection
between these 7 victims.
The connection between
them will be the key
to identifying the unsub.
And until we make that connection,
the unsub will continue
working his way down that list,
perhaps targeting more tech companies.
[Whirring]
So, everyone except Douglas Bell,
the security guard, worked in tech.
Prentiss: He was probably
the only victim killed
who wasn't on the list,
but given he was armed,
he could have disabled the drone.
He was probably taken out
because he presented a threat.
JJ: So, Devlin and Abdella were coders
for a virtual reality gaming company.
The other 4 coders
worked for a software gaming company
but in different capacities.
Aiden Ferguson and Sarah
Willis in 3-d graphics.
Nathan Katz worked in motion capture
and Josh Abbott in mobile platforms.
So the common thread is video games.
That's too broad.
And something else. Look,
each one of the victims
was unemployed for
approximately 3 months
in 2016.
You're right.
The dates don't completely overlap,
but they all fall between
February and July of 2016.
Question is, what were they doing?
There's 4 more coders dead
and all of them on the team.
That makes 6.
I know. I thought it was a
coincidence, too, at first,
but now...
I know, the seventh one, but...
It can't all be arbitrary, all right?
And I can't just pretend
like it's not happening.
What do you want me to do?
Oh! Oh, god, it's him!
It's him!
Ohh!
[Cell phone chirps]
Hey, Tori, how have you been?
[Indistinct radio chatter]
[Siren in distance]
Car is registered to Tori Hoffstadt.
Garcia said Tori was on her phone
at the time this happened,
but her number's encrypted,
so she can't track it.
Tori works for Peakstone.
And if she has access
to sensitive information,
her calls could be encrypted
for security reasons.
Peakstone. Private
military consulting firm?
Yeah. I worked with
some of their contractors
in Afghanistan.
Those guys are a different breed.
They're not quite civilian
and not quite military.
Peakstone's a very powerful company.
They provide the military
with civilian drone operators,
and that could be our Peakstone
connection to the unsub.
But why didn't he just
kill her right here?
Why abduct her? It's a
departure from his M.O.
Agent Prentiss, a word?
Sure.
This isn't like a garden
variety psycho, is it?
I'm sorry, what I mean is,
maybe you should take the lead on this.
You no longer want to take lead on this?
Don't misunderstand, we'll still provide
physical resources and manpower, but...
The case is yours.
And you're sure this isn't just about
you wanting to steer clear of Peakstone?
It's about making sure that the
team with the greatest proficiency
takes the helm.
Why are you doing this?
Just drive.
You don't remember me, do you, Tori?
I do.
I was just another one
of your gameboy recruits.
A dime a dozen, right?
I remember you, Jake.
I didn't think you would.
Where are you taking me?
You don't get to ask questions!
And you don't get answers!
Just do what I tell you to do.
Tori Hoffstadt freelanced for Peakstone.
She was in charge of putting together
and supervising drone teams.
A drone team consisted of 6
coders and one drone pilot.
The coders were supposed
to create a military drone
specifically designed
to appeal to gamers.
Because blowing away computer graphics
is exactly the same as
killing human beings?
Ok, I just want to say that
multiple studies have shown
that you can totally be into
first-person shoot-'em-up games
and be a complete pacifist, but I guess
the marketing behind this was
using your gaming expertise
to do something patriotic,
and the pay was really good.
Well, they needed the recruits.
Our enlisted men and women
are stretched to the limits.
No one wants a draft,
so contractors take over.
Their marketing worked.
Hundreds of drone operators
were stationed overseas
and embedded with various
air force squadrons.
That could have been overwhelming
to guys recruited for
their ability to hang out
in their mom's basement
playing “Call of duty.”
if our unsub is a former drone operator,
it could also explain why
he's targeting the coders
who developed the software.
He could hold them responsible
for making killing seem like a game.
People who weren't in active combat
but still racked up casualties,
they can suffer post-traumatic stress.
But, Garcia, did Tori
but together a team
during the employment
gaps of our victims?
It would have been between
February and July of 2016.
She did, and it produced
a drone that was used
in strikes against enemy targets
until July 2016 when the contract
was abruptly canceled by Peakstone.
Any speculation as to why?
None. According to official reports,
the final mission was
extremely successful.
It was an insurgents camp
in the Helmand province
of Afghanistan.
A lot of casualties.
372 dead.
Garcia, we need the name of
that civilian drone operator.
He's our unsub.
I know that. I know that. Do
you think I don't know that?
But Peakstone has its data in a vault.
I'm doing the best I can.
I really didn't think you'd remember me.
I do.
I was so happy when you joined the team.
You made it sound like I'd
just be playing video games.
The software was a
lot like a video game.
You gave input on the design, remember?
Yeah. But it wasn't a game.
No. It wasn't a game.
You were fighting for our country.
You should be proud of your service.
I wanted to be.
But I'm not like the enlisted guys.
You served with them, side by side.
Those flyboys looked
down their noses at me,
said I never really
put my life on the line,
just stayed safe and just killed
with the flick of a button.
They didn't know what
they were talking about.
Everyone has a part to play.
You were just doing your part.
Do you know what they called it?
They called it cutting the grass.
You gotta cut the grass
before it gets too tall.
No, I didn't know that.
They'd tell us to pull the weeds
before they took over the garden.
Did you ever hear that one?
I never heard that.
That's... that's clever.
No, it's not.
Because people aren't grass.
And people aren't weeds.
They're terrorists.
You were doing what needed to be done,
keeping the people of this country safe.
They don't look like
people on the screens.
They just look like shadows.
Black and gray smudges
moving across the desert.
Do you know what they
called the little ones?
I don't know.
Fun-size terrorists.
Like the candy bars.
They were just kids.
Little kids.
What are you talking about, Jake?
You know.
I need your help with
classified military information.
Intel like that is beyond my capability.
You're Homeland Security.
You have military connections.
I need the name of the civilian
drone operator on the team.
He's our unsub.
The military doesn't have his name.
So who has it?
Only the people that hired him.
Peakstone.
Yes. But the employment
records are confidential.
They're not even subject to subpoena.
This unsub has murdered 7 people
and is holding a hostage.
You can help us save her life.
There's nothing I can do.
You know someone at Peakstone.
I'm asking you to reach out.
It doesn't matter.
Peakstone won't release the name.
Then give me the name of your contact
and I will try. I will
take all the blowback.
Please, I have try.
A woman's life depends on it.
Look, you and me, we deal
with bureaucratic red tape
because we have to. But what
we really do is save lives.
Help me save her life.
What do you want from me, Jake?
Why did you bring me here?
I want to know why you told me about it.
About what?
The letter I got when
the contract ended.
I don't have anything
to do with those letters.
That's Peakstone.
You are Peakstone.
That is not what I do.
Other people at the company do that,
people higher up than me.
It breaks everything down by mission.
Our last mission, that one was big.
372.
The insurgent training camp?
You should be proud of your service.
Don't you know?
Know what, Jake?
I told you, after I get
a team up and running,
I don't have anything
to do with the missions.
I wish I didn't know.
Thank you.
I don't often have the pleasure
of hosting domestic law enforcement,
given that our bailiwick
is national security.
I only need one thing.
The name of the drone pilot
on the team that Tori
Hoffstadt put together in 2016.
That information is confidential.
I understand you
administer psych evaluations
to your recruits.
That's true.
The recruit I'm asking about
would have tested as
immature and unstable,
with aggressive tendencies.
We wouldn't employ such a person.
But if you did, that would
make you liable for his actions.
Let me be clear.
We do not employ unstable individuals.
However, even if we did,
there's no liability
that would attach to us.
It's guaranteed by the government.
Have you ever pressed that guarantee
when you've employed a serial killer?
If the pilot you're
looking for became unstable,
it most likely happened
after he left Peakstone.
Why would that happen?
Sometimes, like discharged
military personnel,
they have difficulty
processing their experiences.
Why?
A variety of reasons, I suppose.
Some of them have
trouble with the letter.
What letter?
The one they get thanking
them for their service
and providing them with
statistical information
on their missions.
Statistical information?
You mean body counts?
Yes. Among other things.
Why would you give them that letter?
It's protocol, designed to protect them.
From what?
False information.
Many of their missions are
reported on in the media.
We want them to have
accurate statistics,
and we don't want them
blindsided by any information.
That kind of letter, in my line of work,
we call that a trigger.
You make it sound so sinister.
It's not that at all.
They're aware from the beginning
that they'll be given those statistics
at the end of their service.
Those who can't handle
it don't open them.
Not everyone has the self-awareness
to make that decision.
Now, if you add that trigger
to an unstable individual, you get...
You get what, agent Prentiss?
A serial killer?
I highly doubt that
you could prove that.
Please! Please, can
you help me?! Please!
Oh, please, please help me!
Oh, please, somebody!
[Horn honking]
[Brakes screeching]
Please! Please help me!
Please!
Help!
Emily got shut down by Peakstone.
She didn't get the unsub's name?
No, they wouldn't give it to her.
Is that even legal?
Unfortunately, it is.
But she did get some information
about how they work with contractors.
She said that each departing drone pilot
received a letter detailing
the number of casualties
from each of their missions.
Wow. Talk about a trigger.
Yeah. Especially for someone
engaged in remote combat.
And what seems like a video game one day
could feel very different
when presented as a body count.
These contractors aren't even veterans.
They don't have the
post-discharge resources
or even the support community
that returning vets have.
Tori Hoffstadt escaped.
She flagged down a car, they took her
to St. Ann's hospital.
She seems unharmed,
but they're holding her for observation.
I didn't want to hurt him. I just...
I thought he was gonna kill me.
Tori, look, you're safe now, ok?
We know how much you've been through.
If you need more time, just let us know.
Did you know him?
Yes.
His name was Jake Logan.
I hired him as a civilian drone pilot
for one of my teams.
I thought he was gonna kill me.
He took you to his house.
Do you know why he didn't kill you?
No. He was just, you know, talking.
He really wasn't making a lot of sense.
Did he say anything
about casualty counts?
His last mission had
hundreds of casualties.
No, uh-uh.
He was just rambling, you know?
But I was really scared.
How did you get away?
He seemed confused.
So he put the gun down,
and I... I grabbed it,
then I pulled the trigger
and I ran.
And you shot him?
I just had to get away.
I'm so sorry.
Did he go down?
I don't... I don't know.
I just shot the gun and I ran.
You know, it just all happened so fast.
[Indistinct radio chatter]
The victim, Tori, she
said she only fired once.
This guy was shredded.
Just like his earlier victims.
It's been fired.
It couldn't have been the unsub
unless he has very long arms.
The gun Tori used was found outside.
She dropped it when she ran.
This must have happened
after she escaped.
Could have been hacked.
So, who wanted the unsub dead?
Tori's hiding something.
Every time we asked her
for details, she clammed up.
- [Cell phone rings]
- Hey, go ahead, Garcia.
Ok, I got some of my mojo back.
I wasn't able to get
the name of our guy,
but I do know a lot of details
about Jake Logan's final mission,
the one before the
contract was canceled.
The one with the high casualty count.
The insurgent training camp?
Yep, yep, that's the one.
So, I... I tried to go
back and think, like,
what could be the unsub's stressor
or his current state of mind.
I don't know, I just went with my gut.
Well, what did you find?
I found a lot of awful I didn't expect.
What do you mean?
Ok, so, I looked into military strikes
and insurgent camps
that had that number of casualties.
372.
Yeah, 372.
The thing is, there's no record
of that kind of bombing at
an insurgent training camp
with that number of casualties.
Maybe the timing's off.
Right. That's what I thought, too,
so I looked within
two years of both sides
of the date of that strike.
That's pretty comprehensive.
What'd you find?
I found atrocious.
I found a bombing that
resulted in 372 casualties,
but it wasn't at an
insurgent training camp.
It was at an elementary school.
Little kids, all under the age of 12.
That's terrible.
It's terrible. I mean, it was...
It was either bad intel on the ground
or a malfunction in the software.
Who knows? That remains
a dreadful mystery.
And Peakstone covered it up.
Well, they sure as hell
didn't come clean about it.
And they pulled the plug
on the contract right after.
That's the kind of thing
that could cost them
all of their government contracts.
Garcia: And there's more.
That encrypted phone call
that Tori was on when she was abducted,
I was able to crack it. She
was on the phone with Peakstone.
JJ: Peakstone knew
she was being abducted
and didn't call the police.
Oh, yeah, there's more than that.
They texted her right after.
They told her to stay calm
and that they were coming for her.
But they didn't.
They were probably worried
she'd come clean about
the school bombing.
They had her right
where they wanted her.
Murdering the unsub
was only half the job.
They were going to use the
drone to kill them both.
Yeah, Tori's unfinished business.
Hi, I'm taking over. You can leave.
[Indistinct conversation]
[Siren]
Drop your weapon.
Drop it.
I know my rights.
I want a lawyer.
My god!
[Gasping] Oh, my god,
he was gonna kill me.
Oh, he was gonna kill me.
God, this is that mission.
What happened, Tori?
Jake's last mission,
ok, it was a mistake.
But Jake, he blamed
everybody at Peakstone,
the coders, me.
He said we'd turned him into a murderer.
But that that was an accident, ok?
We never meant for that to happen.
You knew about the school right
after it happened, didn't you?
We thought we could cover it up.
The deaths of hundreds of children...
You thought you could just
sweep that under the rug?
You filed false reports.
Yes.
Did Peakstone know about it?
Peakstone made me file
those fake reports.
They knew everything.
I thought this was all over,
and then he started
killing those coders...
JJ: You knew it was Jake.
That's why you called
your contact at Peakstone?
I thought he'd protect me
after everything I had
done for that company.
You were just as much a
liability to them as Jake Logan.
They murdered him.
If you hadn't escaped,
they were going to kill you, too.
I trusted them. God, I was so stupid.
Tori Hoffstadt,
we're putting you in custody.
What? What?
What... no! No!
No! [Crying] No...
- [Door opens]
- Woman: You can't go in there.
Prentiss: You're under arrest.
Prentiss: “The murderer
survives the victim
“only to learn that it was himself
that he longed to be rid of.”
Thornton Wilder.
[Footsteps approaching]
Looks like your contact at Peakstone's
being charged with
conspiracy and murder.
And Tori flipped. She cut a deal.
Surprise, surprise.
Yeah. She got 5 years on a plea
in exchange for her testimony.
And the government cut all
contracts with Peakstone.
All in a day's work. Feels good.
Oh, and I got your report
on Scratch. Thank you.
Oh, yeah. It's no problem.
You didn't have to stay
late to finish it, though.
I didn't... didn't take long.
I see you're still digging your way out
of this mountain of papers.
It somehow managed to metastasize
over the 6 weeks we were off.
But what are you gonna
do? Late nights happen.
Yeah, well, that doesn't
mean you should skip dinner.
No way. You brought dinner?
Ohh! Wow, that is so perfect.
I figured you'd be hungry, you know?
Thai ok?
Oh, totally ok. Thank you so much.
You gotta stay and have dinner with me.
Unless... no, it's late
and you gotta go. Roxy.
No, actually, Roxy's
still with my pet sitter
and it's too late to pick her up now.
I'll swing by in the morning.
Good. [Chuckles]
Eating alone in the office is the worst.
Tell me about it.
And why it is I always come
home to an empty refrigerator?
Yeah.