19x05 - Friendly Fire

[bunniefuu]

Previously on Criminal
Minds: Evolution...

- They will let anybody up on the sixth floor now, huh?
- [CHUCKLING]

MILLIKEN: Alvez and I

are retired Army grunts.

We met in the ARC Program.

The Army Recovery Care Program.

We help ill and injured service members

reintegrate into civilian life.

- [WHIMPERS]
- DOCTOR: The tumor's spread.

There's nothing else we can do.

[CRYING]

I'm sorry.

Hey. Sorry to interrupt.
Do you have a second?

If you'll excuse me.

Did you notice how he checked you out?

You look like his
wife who just left him.

GARRITY: Welcome to The Sicarius Files.

I'm your host, Brian Garrity.

My guest, the Sicarius k*ller himself,

Elias Voit.

Whoa!

[GRUNTS]

Saved you a whole bunch of fan letters.

VOIT: It's sad how pathetic I am.

But you know who's even more pathetic?

Someone who makes a show about it.

And anyone who listens to it.

LEWIS: Lance Kingston is the
one who took those photos.

- But he's not the guy who sent it to you.
- Turns out

your fan stole them.

VOIT: Lance, he's
just a means to an end.

He's a sacrificial pawn.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

[PANTS]

Perimeter breached.

Ground floor. One casualty.

- Outer corridor.
- BARLOW: Do you have visual?

[BREATHING HEAVILY]

Negative.

You m*therf*ckers!

HELM: Reload! Reload!

On my lead.

Moving.

HELM: Agents under fire.

We need backup immediately.

BARLOW: Copy.

Backup's on the way.

WOMAN: No. [CRYING]

MILLIKEN: Shut up.

Shut... up.

WOMAN: Please, don't.

[CRYING CONTINUES]

Hey, you take one more f*cking step...

- Hmm?
- Easy, now.

- We want to help.
- I don't want to die.

No one's gonna get hurt.

Don't you f*cking lie to her.

Sir, just put the g*n down.

- Look, what's your name?
- f*ck you!

That's my name. Why you
keeping them from me?

- Keeping what from you, sir?
- My meds!

- I need my g*dd*mn meds.
- Okay.

Okay, put the g*n down,
let the woman go, and I...

Hey!

You think I don't f*cking
see you over there?

Huh?

You want this little lady to die?

No! Sir, sir.

- We do not.
- Then give me my g*dd*mn meds!

BARLOW: Agent Lowell,

is target acquired?

- Negative.
- Reposition. Acquire target.

- [WOMAN MOANS]
- HELM: Miss,

what's your name?

- Melissa...
- Don't!

Don't talk to her!

- You talk to me!
- Command, target has been acquired.

You understand?!

Oh-h*-h*!

I have the shot.

This guy over here,
huh? This guy over here,

he wants to k*ll me so
bad that he can taste it.

Except, what if he misses, hmm?

- And this little one takes the hit.
- Sir?

Enough of this bullshit.

Okay? Enough!

Okay?

I'm gonna count to three,
and either you get me

- my g*dd*mn meds or I'm gonna blow her f*cking head off.
- Please, no. No.

BARLOW: Lowell, you're clear.

Send it.

MILLIKEN: Okay?

One.

WOMAN: Just give him what he wants!

- Two.
- Sir, you k*ll her,

- we k*ll you!
- BARLOW: Take the shot.

Three!

[PANTING]

What the f*ck? What the f*ck?

I took the shot.

Holy sh*t. What'd you do?

Abort, abort! Abort the exercise!

[BELL RINGS]

That was a live f*cking round.

- Holy sh*t.
- Get O'Connor.

HELM: O'Connor!

We need medical. Stat!

Secure your weapons now.

- Magazine check.
- I got blanks.

Same.

Billy?

Billy, we're unarmed.

Okay? Put down the g*n.

Talk to us, Billy.

Medical's coming.

He's dead.

I took the shot.

- MAN [OVER RADIO]: Security.
- Initiate lockdown.

Now. We have an active sh**ter.

This is not a drill. I
repeat, this is not a drill.

- Copy.
- HELM: Billy, in about 30 seconds,

the real deal is barreling in here,

and they will k*ll you.

Hey, you don't want any
more blood on your hands,

do you, Billy? Please.

Hand me that weapon.

Let me help you, Billy, okay?

Hey.

I don't f*cking get it, man.

[HANDCUFFS CLICKING]

Hey, what were you thinking?

I had... I had the shot.

I took the shot.

ANNOUNCER [OVER P.A.]:
Attention, all personnel.

This is an emergency.

You are under lockdown.

Remain in your location
until further notice.

This is not a drill.

I repeat, this is not a drill.

♪

ALVEZ: "We cannot grow
when we are in shame,

and we can't use shame to
change ourselves or others."

Brené Brown.

So, Tom Milliken was shot?

During a training exercise for selectees

from the Hostage Rescue Team.

An exercise with live rounds?

Well, there's a lot to unpack here,

which is why Rebecca has asked the BAU

to get eyes on it.

God, does Alvez know yet?

He's on scene with JJ.

- [SIGHS]
- [RINGTONE PLAYING]

Tom Milliken was like family to him.

- Oh.
- [PHONE BEEPS]

Brian, what have I told you
about phone calls on Saturdays?

Emily, I wouldn't trouble you

were it not of the utmost importance.

I have, in my possession, evidence

of a pre-crime.

What the f*ck is a "pre-crime"?

- Is that Tara?
- Hi, Brian.

PRENTISS: What's with this

pre-crime?

It's the thing that happens
before one commits said crime.

No, I get the term. What
is it you think you have?

Oh, dare I say, a manifesto, of sorts.

Addressed to me by a fan.

It says, and here I quote,

"Some may call me a fan,
but He must call me God."

And since this same declaration is typed

over and over again like...

Do you remember Jack Nicholson's
character in The Shining?

Like, he starts to go wacko
and he types this one sentence

over and over and over.

"All work and no play makes... "

- Yeah, I've seen the movie.
- Well, you should see this.

Not only has he repeatedly
typed his affirmation,

but he's also printed it into shapes.

The whole thing is so
wackadoodle, it's like...

and admittedly, I'm no profiler...

he's clearly itching to do no good.

Where are you?

Not far.

Literally around the proverbial corner.

You really should take a look-see.

Okay, I'll have a visitor's
pass waiting for you.

God, when it rains, it pours.

Okay, look, Dave and I
can handle this for you.

- Thank you.
- [PHONE CHIMES]

Yeah, I have to get to
the training facility.

Yeah, yeah.

MILLIKEN: ... or I'm gonna
blow her f*cking head off.

- One!
- WOMAN: Just give him

- what he wants!
- Two!

HELM: Sir, you k*ll her, we k*ll you!

- Three! - Who else knows?
- [g*nsh*t]

[SIGHS] With the lockdown,
we're on a need-to-know basis.

Director, A.G., president.

I'd say the news blackout
holds another 24 hours.

But it's not like we have a lot
of friends in this administration.

An agent-on-agent incident

like this is exactly the kind of pretext

that they can use to gut the department.

Peter.

I am so sorry.

It's still hard to believe.

Uh, Emily, this is Peter O'Connor,

Milliken's chief of staff.

Tom spoke very highly
of you and your team.

He brought you a case
recently, didn't he?

He did. An equivocal
death investigation.

And, incredibly, he's
now the subject of one.

Well, not so equivocal, I'm afraid.

Agent Selectee Billy
Lowell fired the fatal shot.

His weapon was the only
one with live rounds.

Yes, that seems evident.
However, officially,

there still needs to be a determination

of homicide or accidental death.

Of course.

I know it's been a while
since I was in training,

but is it common now for H.R.T.

to conduct an exercise with
actors and real weapons?

Uh, no, it's not common.

But Tom had his own methodology.

And carte blanche from up top.

If he wanted to do something, he did it.

In this case, he felt that the selectees

were in need of a far more
"real world" experience.

So, did this exercise include
the entire selectee class?

No, just Agents Helm, Barlow and Lowell.

They were a three-man unit.

PRENTISS: Well, Agent Lowell

is already in custody,
but we are going to need

to interview Agents
Helm and Barlow, as well.

- Sure.
- Has the medical examiner

taken possession of the body?

Uh, he's doing that right now.

Excuse me.

Luke.

I need a minute.

I tried to tell him that maybe
he should sit this one out.

Yeah. [SIGHS]

[ELEVATOR BELL DINGS]

LEWIS: Brian.

Tara.

Well, I... what a delight
it is to see you again.

- Uh, where's Emily?
- ROSSI: She thought it best

that Tara and I took a
look at what you've got.

Okay. Um...

the thing is, given
our previous history,

wouldn't it be better
if Tara and I were to...

No. This way.

LEWIS: "Some may call me a fan,

but He must call me God."

What'd I tell you?

[IMITATING DANNY
TORRANCE]: Redrum. Redrum.

When did you get this?

- [NORMAL VOICE]: Yesterday.
- Yesterday?

I opened it today.

Uh, oh.

Postmark Kensington, Pennsylvania.

You guys have seen this
before, haven't you?

Would you give us a second?

Don't touch anything.

It's virtually identical
to what he sent to Voit.

But why does he send it to Garrity?

He is listening to Garrity's podcast.

But the message still goes to Voit.

Kowtowing son of a b*tch

even capitalized the "H" in "He".

Conveying some kind of
godlike status to Voit.

A status that this guy wants to share.

Okay, so, what? He's
trying to prod Garrity

into getting Voit back on his podcast?

He hopes, on bended knee,

that, what, Voit's gonna
call him a god, too?

Yeah, old god crowns the new one.

What are you thinking?

You're not gonna like it, but, um...

we need to take this to Voit.

Of course we need to take it to Voit.

I know we need to take it to Voit.

Wait, why would I not like that?

You're the one that doesn't
want to be around the guy.

But you're the one who has to make sure

that Garrity doesn't feel
that we're shining him on.

We're completely shining him on.

But we can't let him
share what he knows.

Yeah, you're right. I know it. I know.

I just... just because
I look like the guy's ex

doesn't mean that I have to
be the go-to strategy here.

Okay, I'm open to another.

I don't have another.

Look, I'm not asking you to babysit him.

Just, uh, tell him to go home

and wait for further instructions.

Let him feel like he's part
of some special investigation.

He trusts you.

[SIGHS]

[SIGHS] Fine.

We really appreciate you
bringing this to our attention.

You free later tonight?

- Excuse me?
- Free. For, like, dinner, drinks?

I mean, I know the timing
isn't great, in the middle of

a hunt for a serial k*ller and all.

I'm married, Brian.

When did...

Mazel tov.

- Thank you.
- Yeah.

Lucky guy.

Gal.

Oh.

Yeah. So, let's focus here.

Brian, the BAU needs
you to help us start

a special covert investigation.

- Covert?
- That is right.

So, what were gonna need
you to do is go home... now

and wait for this unsub
to reach out to you again.

And when they do, you're gonna call me,

and we'll proceed from there.

Call you.

Yes, that's-that's right.

I don't have your number.

I'll give you my work number.

It's the switchboard.

Do you want to talk about it?

It's not good to constipate emotions.

I don't know why I just
said it like that. Um...

But, come on, I don't have to tell you.

That the deeper you push down grief,

the more painful it's gonna become.

You just did.

Just did what?

You said you're not gonna tell me,

- and then you did.
- Oh, don't deflect.

I...

Just, it would be good
to talk to somebody

who is in tune with you.

Namely moi.

I see you.

I really do.

I know.

You do.

I know what you're going to say.

That, uh, I'm too close to Milliken,

that I can't be impartial.

You're on the case.

Now, I only want to remind you,
go where the evidence takes you.

Don't get out over your skis on this one

because of your
relationship with the victim.

Tyler's waiting for you.

Thanks.

[DOOR OPENS]

- One!
- Just give him

what he wants!

- Two!
- Sir, you k*ll her, we k*ll you!

- Three!
- [g*nsh*t]

Why?

Three!

Why?

You know we're gonna
sit here and watch this

over and over until
you answer my question.

I had...

Excuse me?

I had the shot.

Yeah, I had the shot. I took the shot.

Yeah, you sure as f*ck did.

Why do you think Agent
Lowell refuses to say anything

except, "I had the
shot. I took the shot."?

- Like it's some kind of mantra.
- Jesus Christ.

It... it's something Milliken was

hammering into our heads.

What?

So, Milliken designed this
no-win H.R.T. scenario,

where the hostage taker,
he can't be taken alive.

Now, Billy, Joey and I were
on the same team together,

so we'd each have a go at running point.

You mean, being the guy
taking the k*ll shot?

Yeah.

Joey and I, we had no problem.

We could run through this
thing with our eyes closed.

Especially since we were
handling your standard

laser pistols and
aiming at target dummies,

but... [SIGHS]

I don't know what was
going on with Billy.

Every single time, he couldn't do it.

He'd just freeze up.

Which totally set off Milliken.

[CHUCKLES] I've seen
Milliken's short fuse

up close and personal.

It's not pretty.

Hey, that was his job, was
to get agents field ready.

Yeah, no doubt.

That's why Billy was driving
Milliken batshit crazy.

[SIGHS]

Agent Lowell.

Why the hesitation?

Lives are on the line here,
son. You do understand that?

Yes. Yeah.

MILLIKEN: If you want to watch,

buy a ticket.

Yes, sir. Sir, but...

No more excuses.

If you have the shot, you take the shot.

Yes.

- Yes, what?
- Yes, sir.

No.

No, say it. "I have the shot,

- I take the shot."
- I have...

- I have the shot...
- I have the shot...

- ... I take the shot.
- ... I take the shot.

I take the shot.

All right.

Let's run it again.

BARLOW: Yeah. We ran it

again and again.

And that's when we went
from using the dummy targets

to role players.

Laser pistols to actual g*ns.

With blanks.

But upping the ante did not help Billy.

He was f*cking hopeless.

I mean, personally, I
thought it was only gonna be

a matter of time before he
completely lost his sh*t.

Being reprimanded is one thing...

Oh, it went way beyond
being reprimanded.

[PANTING]

Lowell, you are clear. Send it.

- One!
- Just give him what he wants, please.

- Two!
- Take the shot.

Sir, you k*ll her, we k*ll you.

[CRYING]: No!

Take the shot.

- Three!
- [TRIGGER CLICKS]

- [BELL RINGS]
- [SIGHS]

g*dd*mn it! g*dd*mn it.

Are you f*cking kidding me?

You got another hostage k*lled.

What the actual f*ck do I have to do

to get it through your thick skull, huh?

I have the shot.

Should I take it?

You...

- you take the shot.
- Bingo.

Run it again.

And don't think I'm not
ready for your D.O.R.

[BELL RINGS]

Let's go!

D.O.R.

You know what that stands for.

I know you do.

Drop on request.

Hey, I get it.

All right? Milliken's kicking your a*s,

threatening your future.

You couldn't take it anymore.

What else you gonna do, right?

I shot him, but I-I didn't k*ll him.

Hey! Billy!

Stop f*cking with me.

We're going through your locker.

Once we match the b*ll*ts in your stash

with the ones that
were in the magazine...

I had blanks.

Just like everybody
else. I swear to God.

- But, clearly, you didn't.
- I know!

I don't understand.

Milliken, he-he

handed out the g*ns
himself. And the blanks.

And we double-checked
everything before we started.

You're saying you were using

Milliken's weapons and fake a*mo?

Yes.

- Stop lying!
- I'm not.

Check it. I swear.

Agent Lowell, during the exercise,

this no-win scenario
involved an active sh**ter

in a business office.

But your fellow selectees
mentioned that Milliken

had gone a bit off-script,
making himself out to be this...

Crazy guy being denied
his medication. Yeah.

Were you or any of the selectees aware

of Milliken's own use
of antidepressants?

Had he mentioned it?

Hey, hang on a second.

I want to talk to you in the other room.

What are you doing?

Tom told me he was taking citalopram.

So what? It's not relevant.

Luke, of course it's relevant.

Tom's behavior seems as if

it were becoming increasingly erratic.

No, it sounds like

you're looking for an
excuse, not a motive.

PRENTISS: Luke, Tyler.

Where are we?

We got no confession,

but we're looking at
intentional homicide.

I'm not sure it wasn't suicide.

- Suicide? What are you taking about?
- Listen to me.

If those g*ns were
under Milliken's control,

and if his behavior was affected,

either by misuse of prescriptions

or ignoring them, then it's possible...

No, it's not possible.

It's absolutely not possible.

Ballistics came back
on the recovered b*llet.

It does match Milliken's
own service weapon.

GREEN: Yeah.

And...

I think he wanted Agent
Lowell to take that shot.

ALVEZ: You think?

Tom spent his life

helping vets with
mental health struggles.

- He would never take his own life.
- PRENTISS: Hold on.

As I see it right now, you
have two viable theories.

Get it down to one.

MAN [OVER P.A.]: Strike
team to landing 224.

Strike team to landing 224.

LEWIS: So, you think it's another test?

Yeah, but not just for us.

He's gauging the levels
of his own restraint.

And you think that's
why he sent it to Garrity

- and not to you.
- For some reason,

he's trying to slow himself
down, and if he can't,

it's gonna cost
somebody else their life.

Assuming he hasn't k*lled already.

He may have.

And now he wants to be called God

because he feels he has
the power to show mercy.

To choose who lives and who dies.

- Mm-hmm.
- ROSSI: But not before

you pass him the torch.

That's why he capitalizes the
"H" when he references you.

Without your seal of approval,
he won't feel that, um,

special something.

That may be another reason
to send it to Garrity.

Trying to get me on the podcast again.

Yeah, that's not gonna happen.

Okay, but maybe if he heard

someone else's voice on the podcast,

it would engage him
enough so that he gets

careless enough to reveal himself.

Okay.

- Who are you thinking?
- Me.

Yes.

No.

If he's my fan, he's trying
to walk in my footsteps,

which means he's read every
single one of your books.

Hey, they're not how-to books.

He respects you.

You led the team that led to my capture.

If he hears your voice
live on Brian's podcast,

I don't know how he can not reach out.

You are the only person
he might surrender to.

I mean...

because he trusts you.

You know I'm right.

Otherwise, you wouldn't be here.

[SIGHS]

[KNOCKS ON DOOR]

Hey.

- Sorry to interrupt.
- Not a problem.

What do you need?

In reviewing the incident reports,

we weren't able to find
one describing Milliken

pulling his service
weapon on Agent Lowell.

I wish I could say I'm surprised.

- Was a report filed?
- Not to me, but

I am now hearing rumors
that many anonymous reports

sent to the Office of
Professional Responsibility

may have been slow-rolled.

Friends in high places?

It's all hearsay, right?

All I know from personal experience

is he got results.

If he passed you, you
were the best of the best.

So, you're saying they were
willing to look the other way

if he crossed the line now and again?

You're saying that.

But I wouldn't disagree.

♪ ♪

[BILLIARD ba*ls CLACKING]

[SIGHS] It's this new class.

k*lling me.

It's triggering all my old habits.

I'm just not...

- I don't know.
- No.

You don't get to end on, "I don't know."

Talk to me.

It's Cindy.

She's not happy.

Come on, you guys...

- you've been through worse.
- I know.

That's the thing with
getting older and wiser.

You start to realize
you don't have to spend

the rest of your life
putting up with sh*t.

Oh, so you-you think
you're putting up with...

No, not me.

Cindy.

- Oh.
- Come on, she has spent

the better part of her
life dealing with mine.

You guys going to counseling?

Yeah, twice a week.

Still...

it's me.

I don't know what the hell is going on.

I'm bringing work home with me.

I'm barking orders at her
like she's one of my trainees.

It is bad, Luke.

Look, a wise man once
told me that it's one thing

to identify the problem,
and it's another thing

to do the work.

Words.

Yeah, until you put them into action.

I just...

don't know what I would do without her.

You know?

Look, maybe you need some time off.

You're empty.

- Want another?
- No.

No, I'm good.

Come on.

One more round. On me.

Sure.

Attaboy. That's the spirit.

[SIGHS]

Hey, so it looks like

we have to reinterview
all the selectees.

You okay?

It's not fair.

Death rarely is.

Not death.

Grief.

I'm sorry.

You're the last person I
should be saying that to.

No, I... I get it.

Ah, I...

I don't want you to think
that I'm trying to compare

what you went through to
what I'm going through.

Luke, stop.

I understand.

Everyone experiences
grief in their own way.

I mean, Jesus, it's been over a year,

and not a day goes by where
I don't see Will's eyes

or his sense of humor in the boys.

It's, um... it's, uh, f*cking brutal.

Grief is not kind.

Or rational or-or fair.

But trust me,

if you don't give
yourself the space to feel,

if you cut yourself off
from those feelings...

it gets way worse.

Yeah.

So?

What can we do to give
you the space you need?

I thought I could take
the lead on this case,

but I, uh...

I need you and Tyler to...

have my back.

We got you.

We got you.

ALVEZ: Thanks.

[DOOR CLOSES]

JJ: Agent Barlow, apart from
his actions during training,

what else can you tell us
about Milliken's behavior?

I didn't really spend any time with him

outside of the exercises.

What about before briefings
or after training exercises?

Maybe you checked in
during his office hours?

Well, yeah, sometimes, I guess.

I suppose it was true that he was all

fire and brimstone during the training,

but lately, when he was alone...

it started to get weird.

How so?

Well, I went to see him about
this procedural question.

And I walked in there.

He was sitting behind his desk.

And he didn't see me, but I saw him.

[MILLIKEN CRYING]

And he was... crying.

HELM: Yeah, Joey told me about it.

He said he was, like, ugly crying.

It didn't make any sense.

I mean, yeah, we were
prepping for our next eval,

but it was a low-stress day.

Clearly, something got under his skin.

Let me tell you something.

I've known Tom Milliken
for over 20 years.

- I've never...
- Look, Luke...

... never once seen him cry.

Yeah, well, neither have I, technically.

Okay? It's just what Joey told me.

Joey also couldn't tell us

what was troubling Agent Milliken.

Can you?

Okay, not for sure.

There was a rumor...

his wife was leaving him.

Cindy? Nah.

- Is that his wife?
- Yeah.

Look, like I said, I can't say


his wife was leaving him,

it was just something I overheard.

Are you okay?

[CHUCKLES]

[KNOCK ON DOOR]

Cindy.

Luke.

It's good to see you.

- I'm so sorry.
- Mm.

We took this the day he
retired from the Army.

[LAUGHS SOFTLY] Yeah.

Yeah, I remember those days.

New deployment every six months.

Long phone calls home.

- Or no phone calls for weeks.
- Yeah.

CINDY: After he retired,

he said we'd finally settle down.

Buy a house, stop
moving from base to base.

You know, he told me that

the best decision he ever
made was joining the FBI.

Said it felt like you two finally...

Finally had time for each other.

- Yeah.
- Right.

Sometimes the people
that help others the most,

they just can't seem to help themselves.

I'm not sure what you mean.

Cindy, the BAU is in the process

of putting the pieces
together of what happened,

and some information has come to light

that suggest Tom might have been
acting out self-destructively.

That, uh, maybe he was suicidal.

Tom?

Okay, who told you that?

I'm not at liberty to say.

Absolutely not, Luke.

And I'm not just saying
that because I'm his wife.

Cindy, were you leaving him?

Wow.

I-I wouldn't ask if I didn't have to.

I-I don't even believe it.

It's just that one of
Tom's trainees saw him

here in his office,
alone, crying hysterically.

Oh.

One man sees another man crying,
and so he must be suicidal?

Luke, you're a behavioral profiler.

You should know better.

I know Tom was struggling with
how much he was hurting you.

Yes.

Yes, 30-plus years

of Tom burying his feelings
was k*lling our relationship.

But Tom was nothing if
not "never say die," right?

I mean, he found a new therapist,

he got on new medication,

and finally he was getting in touch

with his emotions, his truth.

And yes, recently, it made him cry,

which was good for him.

And for us.

So, you weren't getting a divorce?

As long as he was doing the work,

I was never gonna leave him.

And I made sure he knew that.

Well, so, then, as far
as you're concerned,

the only thing Tom was
having trouble with was work?

For men like Tom, who felt
a profound responsibility

to prepare the next
generation of warriors,

he had a hard time deciding

whether he wanted to be loved or feared.

I loved him.

I'm not sure many others would agree.

And with this last class,

he told me that the best
lesson he could give them

was to drop them.

That's why that young man decided

to take Tom's life, isn't it?

Isn't it?

[KNOCKING ON DOOR]

Hey. Y-You got a minute?

Yeah, of course.

All right. Look, I've been...

doing like we said and
following the evidence,

where it takes me.

And obviously Lowell
shot Tom, and, uh...

[SCOFFS SOFTLY]

... he neither accidentally
nor intentionally

took his life.

- So, suicide?
- No.

And I don't know why I
didn't think about this

from the start, but...

although Tom was fixated
on Lowell's shortcomings,

he would've held his
whole unit accountable.

All for one, one for all.

That kind of bond is everything.

And if Tom was threatening D.O.R.,

he was threatening to drop
all three agent selectees,

including Agents Barlow and Helm.

So, you think one or both of them...

Intentionally slipped Lowell
a magazine with live rounds.

Lowell's history with Tom would
make him the perfect fall guy.

If that didn't work, they had a plan B.

Milliken's erratic behavior

would suggest the
possibility of suicide.

Either way, they were covered.

[SIGHS] Until now.

No, until we can prove it.

We only have an hour
before the news breaks.

Luke.

Good work.

Your theory makes sense.

But based on our
interviews, I'm not sure

Barlow and Helm are capable
of that level of deception.

I know, but I think that there's
a way to find out for sure.

We should give Lowell a cognitive.

- That's right.
- GREEN: His trauma is keeping him from telling us

exactly what happened before
and during that exercise.

- You should do it.
- No.

- Luke...
- Look, he and I got off on the wrong foot.

He's not gonna be able to relax.

GREEN: You don't think your presence

won't put him right back in the mindset?

I do.

We'll be right here if you need us.

No, I don't want to do that.

- Agent Lowell...
- No.

You've been trying to trick me
into confessing from the jump.

Look, Billy, I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

Okay? I-I want to be honest with you.

Agent Milliken...

Tom and I were very close.

He was like family, and...

[SIGHS] Look.

Hearing some of the things
that he said and did,

it was hard.

Because of that, I wasn't fair to you.

I apologize.

All right.

ALVEZ: Now, look, if you're
willing to do what we call

a cognitive interview,

I believe that that could really
help us determine what happened.

And together, we can find the truth.

Okay.

How do we start?

[SIGHS]

Wh-Why'd you join the FBI?

Growing up, I, um...

never thought I was enough.

Dad made sure of that.

I needed to prove something to him.

So, I applied to the FBI.

[LAUGHS]: And...

I got accepted.

My dad couldn't believe it.

But...

you know...

then with the expectations,
everything just...

Grew?

Yeah.

Especially when I decided to go out

for the Hostage Rescue Team.

That's when I...

started having panic
attacks for the first time.

And Agent Milliken wasn't
sympathetic to that.

He was.

And... wasn't.

Jekyll and Hyde, you know?

He, uh...

recommended a counselor, but...

he kept coming back to...

at the end of the day,
nobody has time for my sh*t.

"Lives were on the line."

But you didn't quit.

I still had something to prove.

To your father?

Yeah.

And Agent Milliken reminded you of him?

He did.

Every time he would, uh...

he would yell at me,

I could...

I could hear

my dad's voice, and it would...

literally, it would...

make me shake.

All right, Billy.

I want you to close your eyes.

All right?

All right, take a deep breath.

[EXHALES]

All right, let's go back.

All right, Agent Milliken
hands out the weapons.

He demonstrates that the magazines

are loaded with blanks, correct?

LOWELL: Yes, he does.

But Joey, Owen and me, we...

we double-check.

And what happens next?

We started the exercise and, uh...

Are you sure?

Yes.

Okay, Billy, close your eyes.

Now, Agent Milliken barks at you guys

to get locked and loaded,

to get your a*s started
with the exercise.

g*dd*mn it, Lowell!

Lives are on the line here, son.

You can't hack it, people die.

It's as simple as that.

- Hey!
- [FINGERS SNAPPING]

Look at me!

You think this is abuse?

You can't handle me, you
can't handle this job!

But I guess the Bureau
needs its desk jockeys, too.

You want to watch, buy
a ticket. Otherwise...

LOWELL: I hear my dad.

... no more f*cking excuses.

LOWELL: And I start to shake.

You take the shot. Understand?

- LOWELL: I start getting sick...
- Run it again.

... and I can't stop.

[RETCHING, COUGHING]

- I throw up.
- [DISTANT COUGHING]

ALVEZ: What does Milliken do?

LOWELL: You know, he was pissed.

I mean, everyone was pissed.

Joey and Owen, they were like,

"Jesus, here we go again."

All right, what happens now?

Then I...

felt a hand on my back.

Whose hand?

O'CONNOR: It's okay.
You got this, Billy.

- [COUGHING]
- It was O'Connor.

- Milliken's chief of staff?
- Yes.

[SIGHS]

I remember now. He...

He did this pat down on me.

- Okay, Billy. You got this.
- [COUGHING]

You dropped.

LOWELL: Oh, sh*t.

Thanks.

Jesus Christ.

I thought he was trying to help me.

HELM: Reload! Reload!

LOWELL: I-I...

I don't understand. Wh...

Why would he do that to me?

ALVEZ: All that mattered to him

was finding someone to take the fall.

But I pulled the g*dd*mn trigger.

It's just gonna be my word against his.

Who's gonna b... Who's gonna believe me?

- Thanks, Peter.
- Not a problem.

But you did get those reports I sent?

We did.

Turns out, there's, uh,

another item we need to take a look at.

What's that?

We think Agent Milliken kept a journal.

In his safe.

REBECCA: When his wife was
here collecting his belongings,

she said that you weren't
around to open it for her.

No, but I can grab it now.

[KEYPAD BEEPING]

Uh, I'm not seeing a journal.

Can you step aside?

Peter O'Connor,

you're under arrest for the
m*rder of Agent Tom Milliken.

Wh-What the f*ck are you doing?

Ballistics confirmed that Agent Milliken

was k*lled by his own b*llet.

The ammunition he used was always kept

- right here in this safe.
- [HANDCUFFS CLICK]

Cindy said her husband
and one other person

had that combination.

- You were that other person.
- This is crazy.

I've given everything
I have to this man.

JJ: We can see that.

But you couldn't help yourself.

You pointed us in the direction of OPR.

All those anonymous complaints.

One of which was for a
selectee who got D.O.R.'d

and, one week later, took his own life.

JJ: Matthew O'Connor.

Your brother.

And nobody cared,

so you had to take matters
into your own hands.

OPR is a f*cking joke.

What's the g*dd*mn point?

The rules are never applied equally.

Someone always gets special treatment.

Your brother deserved better.

And Milliken got
exactly what he deserved.

And what about Billy?

He didn't deserve any of this.

Get him out of here.

Test one, test two. Test.

"How can a clam cram
a clean, cream can?"

Well, if I may say,
your script is solid,

but I'd like to propose
a few tiny punch-ups.

Like, maybe a couple more

bumpers to my commercial breaks...

No. You stick to the words on the page.

Hey. We've gone over this before.

Can you honestly not comprehend

the gravity of what we're doing here?

I can, and I do.

But, seriously, if this
guy's a fan of the podcast,

he'll probably be able
to tell the difference

between me and "entrapment me."

It's not entrapment.

- You know what I mean.
- LEWIS: Brian.

We're all set here. Okay?

And you're gonna do great.

Right now, when we're on the air,

we're hoping that the
scripted words there

will entice this man

- to call in.
- And then,

we need to keep him
on the line long enough

either to track his location...

Or get a decent slice of profile.

I do know. You did tell me.

Hey. We also told you if you deviate

one syllable from this script here,

somebody could die.

Are we clear?

Crystal.

Now let's make podcast history.

[INDISTINCT RADIO CHATTER]

Whoa.

Hello, Brian.

Special guest appearance?

LEWIS: He's just here to observe.

Ignore him.

I mean it.

Do not say one word
about him being here.

GARRITY: Okay, but...

wouldn't it make more sense for the guy

to just be able to talk directly to him?

No more questions. Stay on script.

Penelope?

Okay, Emily. Ready when you are.

Standing by to trace incoming calls.

[THEME MUSIC PLAYS]

Welcome to a very special episode

of The Sicarius Files.

We are coming to you live from the FBI,

and we are joined by renowned author

and supervisory special
agent David Rossi.

Thanks for being here, David.

Thanks for having me, Brian.

GARRITY: This is a live episode, folks,

so don't be shy. We're taking calls,

and you can find our
number at the official

Sicarius Files website.

So, David,

there's so much to talk about
with your storied career,

but for our purposes, we'll focus solely

on Elias Voit, the Sicarius k*ller.

I'd like to start at,
well, the beginning.

So, tell me, when were
you first made aware

of Dr. Tara Lewis's discovery

of the buried shipping
container in Yakima County?

CALLER: Uh, my question for Agent Rossi

has to do with Benjamin Reeves.

Is it true that Reeves
basically helped Voit...

CALLER 2: Somebody once told
me that Second Street is, like,

the most common street
name in America, but...

ROSSI: So, in that surveillance video

from the hardware store, um,
while I couldn't I.D. Voit,

I was able to see him
reaching into his back pocket,

trying to mute his cell phone.

CALLER 3: Which then led
you to conduct a trace

of cell phone calls to and
from that region of the country?

Yes, that's right.

Thanks for your call, Oliver.

So, um, you run that trace
and you get hundreds of calls

you have to go through,

but since you know the
timing of the calls,

you were able to pretty
much zero in on Seattle.

- ROSSI: That's right, because...
- And I will pause you there,

because we are getting another caller.

Uh, hi. You are live

on the air with Brian
Garrity and SSA David Rossi.

With whom do we have
the pleasure of speaking?

KINGSTON: Call me God.

Okay. We will call you God.

Do you have a question?

KINGSTON: Why Sicarius spiders?

GARRITY: The spiders...

Okay, Emily. I've
isolated the phone line.

- Can you get a trace?
- Uh, not exactly.

Is he running countermeasures?

He is definitely a student of Voit's.

Okay, I want you to
keep the phone line open

but pause the live stream right now.

Okay, yeah.

... the Sicarius case.

Uh, as a fan of the podcast, of course,

you are familiar with
Elias Voit's testimony

regarding the spiders.

KINGSTON: Let David Rossi answer.

Why Sicarius?

I-I recognize that voice.

It's Lance Kingston.

But he can't be our guy.

- No, he's not. He's his hostage.
- ROSSI: Clearly, you're not satisfied

with Voit's own answer.

[KEYBOARD CLICKING]

KINGSTON: I am not.

Were the Sicarius spiders part of Voit's

counterintelligence training
in interrogation tactics?

Uh, in a previous episode,
I described how I embellished

certain aspects of The Sicarius Files

for dramatic purposes.

The fact is, I lied.

Elias Voit has nothing
to do with the FBI

and is not associated with any
government agency or program.

Are you saying Voit is unique?

He's rare but not unique.

Much like yourself.

Are you trying to profile me?

Oh, I, uh, I couldn't
even if I wanted to,

because I'm not speaking to you.

I'm speaking to Lance Kingston,

the man you're holding c*ptive.

[BREATHING HEAVILY]

Penelope, talk to me.

I'm so close. I am so, so close.

- We don't have much more time.
- Okay. I know, I know.

ROSSI: And I know the reason

why you're still holding Lance c*ptive

and using him as your proxy

is Lance's death will
satisfy nothing for you.

KINGSTON: Ramona Havener.

ROSSI: What about her?

Voit spared her life,

and her testimony led to his conviction.

Oh, he didn't spare Ramona.

He turned her over to Arthur Kiel,

whom he knew would
abuse and strangle her.

- But Arthur Kiel did not.
- No.

Because we found her first.

Why didn't Voit k*ll her himself?

Well, that was, um...

that was because Ramona reminded him

of his ex-wife Sydney.

Okay, I got him. I got him.

He's at the Stash-All Storage
facility in Richmond, Virginia.

It's a garage unit being
rented by Lance Kingston.

The Stash-All Storage,
Richmond, Virginia.

Yeah, I'm on it.

GARRITY: God?

Are you still with us?

KINGSTON: Is he there?

- Is who here?
- Voit.

No.

[PANTING]

♪ ♪

[METAL SCRAPES]

- [SIZZLING]
- [SCREAMING]

- [GASPS]
- KINGSTON: Oh, God,

- tell him!
- What the...

Lance?

- No, don't... Stop, stop, stop!
- [SIZZLING]

- Brian.
- For f*ck's sake, tell him! Is he there?!

Please!

Tell him! He's gonna k*ll me! [SOBBING]

[STAMMERS]

Yes, he's here!

No.

KINGSTON: No, no, no, no.

- [SIZZLING]
- No, stop! Stop!

GARRITY: Lance?

He's, uh... Voit is here.

- Elias Voit is here. You can talk to him.
- [SCREAMING]

Oh, God.

What just happened?

[SIGHS]

You just caused a man's death.