[Criminal Minds] years before love

"We investigated Owen's biological father, Henry Owen, through Owen's mother." Lee handed the thin information to Hotch, "At least in those days, he was unremarkable. He was fired by mistake and has no criminal record. His mother also said that he was good at sweet talk, in fact she was bluffed by him that way. And he was convinced that he would not live an ordinary life... which left a deep impression on her The impression is also an important reason for their separation, she can't bear that he always thinks highly of himself but accomplishes nothing."

"Sounds like someone we're looking for." Hotch nodded slightly.

"She searched for a long time and found a group photo from that year." Lee clamped the black and white photo on the display board, "Owen is sure it is him, but he has not been found yet. Their warehouse is currently under full control. People are moving stuff, I guess they're ready. When are we… when?"

"We're going to make arrests on Christmas Eve." After thinking about it, Hotch spread out the map and explained to Lee, "—tomorrow night. They're going to have a mass, and I'm sure it's very important for an organization like this, especially considering A few days after that they're going to implement the plan. That's the perfect time for us to clean it up."

"Where will it be? Their warehouse?"

"No." Hotch shook his head and pointed to a place not far from there on the map, "The gymnasium Owen said, he said it was their temple."

"Do you want to let Owen go back?" Lee glanced at the young man who had fallen asleep on his stomach in the interrogation room.

Hotch hesitated for a moment, "I'm afraid we'll have to let it go, he's in a special place in the organization. Not involved in any decision making, not even fully in the organization, but I don't think his father really ignored him. And he has done a lot of work, and his sudden disappearance at this time will arouse suspicion."

"Will he warn his father?"

"Actually, I'd guess he wouldn't - he even tried to make an excuse to go home and take care of his mother and not go to the event, but I suggested he just show up as usual. He burned down a lot of houses, but he wasn't ready to kill. Hotch looked over his shoulder. "And they wouldn't believe him if he said it. But don't forget the tracker."

"Christmas Eve, tomorrow night." Lee sighed, rubbing his red eyes, "Time is running out, I have to ask for backup, arrange the on-site personnel well... There is a lot of work to do."

"Be careful." Hotch picked up a pen and crossed the location of the warehouse again, "They have a lot of dangerous items, and it cannot be ruled out that there are also storages at the meeting place. And we need to control the warehouse at the same time, and there should be guards. However, that means You may not be able to go home on time, but if it goes well, you may have a good New Year."

Lee smiled helplessly, "I'm prepared."

He simply left a message to his family, saying that he couldn't go home these days, and then he took out his notebook and started to prepare the details, thinking about how to arrange the action. Hotch watched from the side, and Lee suddenly remembered that he still had something to say, "By the way, according to what you gave We found the perpetrator of the cremation, a trainee firefighter, who admitted taking the statue from another fire scene."

"It's just them." Hotch nodded, his eyes lingering on the black and white photo of Henry Owen who was still young.

Lee followed his line of sight to see the photo, and after a while, he looked down at his family portrait on the table, "By the way, what about you?"

"What?" Hotch looked away puzzled.

Lee pointed to his own photo, "I mean, don't you need to call your wife or girlfriend or something?"

Hotch shrugged. "Too bad I don't have the time to have that kind of luck."

Lee was stunned for a moment, then smiled understandingly, and patted the folder in his hand, "For these? Detective, I have to say this, these things can't stay with you forever, you have to think about yourself."

Hotch pursed his lips, looked up from the floor plan, and glanced at him, "...well, maybe I need to report the progress of the case to my superiors."

Lee blinked a little confused, watching him pick up the phone to dial and leave a message.

Hotch didn't even dare to wait a few more seconds, he couldn't distract himself from thinking about whether Rossi was on the phone and whether he was waiting for him.