"Previously on "Criminal Minds"..." "I got her!" "No, no, no." "No, Emily." "Stay with me." "Come on, stay with me." "Where's my medic?" "!" "She never made it off the table." "I didn't get a chance to say good-bye." "Penelope, you gotta stop staring at her." "I can't help it." "You know everyone's feeling it and nobody wants to talk about it." "It's too soon, Aaron." "Doesn't Strauss usually run these assessments?" "There was no way that was gonna happen." "Internalizing does make it worse." "I'll talk, but I don't want to talk about her being gone." "It's like if we can't keep each other safe, then why are we even doing any of this?" "If I had just gotten there 60 seconds earlier," "Emily might still be with us." "Derek, you know that you did everything you could." "So where does that leave me?" "Angry." "You know, we, um, we come in here and we talk to you." "Where do you go?" "Dude, when she's trapped in the ceiling and those cuts just appear." "Dude." "Classic horror." "Cheesy special effects, but, damn, you were scared." "Nice." "Unnecessary." "There's too much blood and gore and eew." "Garcia, it's a slasher film." "How do you do a slasher film without violence?" "You imply it." "Baby, the movie is called "Slice 6."" "What were you expecting?" "A refreshing beverage with a twist of comedy." "I'm gonna have nightmares for a week." "With everything that we do and see on a daily basis, that got to you?" "Listen, newb, you may be all Sigourney Weaver ass-kicking tough, which is awesome, but the mystical mavens of innocence like myself jump at things that go bump in the night." "Why are you worried?" "I'm sure that Morgan will protect you." "As long as he's not jumping out of his chair like a prepubescent schoolgirl." "The only reason I jumped is 'cause you guys woke me up." "How could you sleep during that?" "Easy." "You drag me out after a 12-hour workday..." "For what?" "You telling me that girl didn't know that the unsub was waiting for her upstairs?" "Come on, now." "What?" "Villain." "In movies, unsubs are called villains." "My bad." "You want to know why horror movies are so successful?" "Why is that, genius?" "They prey on our instinctual need to survive." "In tribal days, a woman's scream would signal danger and the men would return from hunting to protect their pack." "That's why it's always the women and not the men who fall victim to the bogeyman." "Count on you, Reid, to break a movie down to science." "My favorite thing about horror movies is the suspense factor." "Ah, the ticking clock." "The helpless victim walks through the dark..." "Shadows reaching out to get her." "A sudden noise draws her attention." "Is someone there, or is it just in her head?" "Still, it's totally unrealistic." "No one should be walking through a dark alley by themselves at night." "Ahem." "Hello." "Ah." "No one should be walking through a dark alley without a Derek Morgan by their side." "But the best part of a horror movie..." "You never know when the end is gonna come." "Damn it." "♪ if you should smile and look so surprised ♪" "Michelle?" "♪ I light a fire in your new shoes ♪" "♪ let's hope that your soles don't burn to the floor ♪" "♪ I light the fire ♪" "♪ I light the fire ♪" "♪ I light the fire... ♪" "I wasn't expecting you back till the morning." "♪ I light the fire ♪" "Aah!" "No!" "Aah!" "Aah!" "No!" "No!" "Aah!" "Go away!" "No!" "No!" "Aah!" "Aah!" "What we didn't see coming is the slicer's brother was in the closet." "Frightening." "His betrayal consumed him and he sent his brother to his own private hell." "Speaking of horror..." "What's Strauss doing here?" "Whatever it is, I cast my vote on "not good."" "I was expecting the grief assessments yesterday." "I left them on your desk last night." "Oh, well, good." "The next step, your team will be observed in the field." "This really isn't the time for another evaluation." "When is a good time?" "You've decided this without reading the assessments?" "Is there something that I should know?" "No, it's just that everyone grieves differently and this team is no exception." "All right, fine." "I will look at your findings, but just know that there will be another review." "When do you leave for San Diego?" "As soon as we present the case." "Good." "Let's get started." "Ok." "Monica Shanley, Natalie Wallace, Amber Lasko." "3 college students killed in their off-campus apartments in the last 5 days." "Two were going to San Diego Coastal University, one was going to San Diego Tech." "Well, the unsub definitely has a type." "They could all be related." "Yeah, what he said." "They're all in their early 20s, brunette, majoring in education and/or child development." "Is there any indication that they knew one another?" "As it stands right now," "I'm coming up empty." "Their apartments were spread throughout the city, so..." "No fingerprints at the crime scene." "The unsub uses gloves." "He's organized." "Forced entry at all the apartments." "Back door, patio door, living room window." "The homes were wrecked." "Clear evidence of a struggle." "He's creating a scene." "He wants to inflict fear not only in his victim but in whomever finds the body." "Could be a message to the local P.D." ""Look what I can do."" "He's killed 3 women in under a week." "In all likelihood, he's hunting for his fourth victim now." "San Diego P.D. wants us on the scene as soon as possible." "♪ Criminal Minds 6x21 ♪ The Stranger Original Air Date on April 13, 2011" "Stephen King wrote," ""sometimes human places create inhuman monsters."" "Our unsub has a type and a temper." "Amber was getting ready for her bath." "It would have been an easy target for a sexual assault, but none came." "That's highly unusual behavior for this kind of unsub." "You know, extreme violence in physical aggression is in its nature sexual." "That's true, but as a substitution for the sex act." "This guy could be impotent." "He can't perform, so that's why he goes all out for the kill." "If he's targeting female college students, we need to make sure that campus officials are informed if they haven't been already." "We also can't rule out other students and faculty." "You know, San Diego's essentially one big college town, with an enrollment at SDCU of approximately 65,000 students." "San Diego county has 9 universities... 5 private, 4 public." "We add 7 more if we're including trade schools." "Each girl lived off-campus and was attacked in their apartment." "That's pretty high-risk." "Less risky if he's stalking them in advance, running layouts and routines." "Between classes and part-time jobs, they'd be home sporadically at best." "Which tells us they're not victims of opportunity." "He targets them, then stalks them to know where they live and when they're gonna be alone." "Morgan, you and Reid go to the last victim's apartment." "Seaver, interview the roommate." "Dave and I will go to the medical examiner's." "Well, there's no secure parking." "I rode a bike when I was in college." "That's 'cause you weren't old enough to drive, Einstein." "I could drive." "It's just the government wouldn't issue me a license until I was 14." "A lot of places for the unsub to hide out here." "Yeah, he could have easily grabbed her when she passed through here." "Yet she made it all the way to her apartment." "Where she should feel safe, but then he took that from her." "All of the women have defensive wounds on the arms." "They put up a fight." "The number of stab wounds increases with each victim, yes?" "Yes." "On Monica Shanley, the wounds show hesitation." "And the fatal blow is directly to the heart." "Did the strike indicate any medical knowledge on the part of the unsub?" "Truthfully, I think he got lucky." "He hadn't built his confidence yet." "Yeah, but by the time he gets to his third kill, he knows what he's doing." "More direct cuts." "She died from massive blood loss." "He's improving quickly." "He made the struggle last longer because he wanted her to suffer." "So now he's starting to enjoy it." "I'm Agent Derek Morgan." "This is Dr. Spencer Reid." "Detective Bryce Harding." "Amber's roommate Michelle told us she was out of town visiting family when the attack occurred." "The unsub must have known that." "That's why he made his move last night." "He jimmied the lock on the window." "I guess he needed the privacy to complete the torture." "Well, most sadists like to kill on their own turf." "This guy didn't risk taking her to a secondary location." "Maybe something happened which makes the location of the kill significant." "Look." "That's something new." "He's smearing blood on the walls, exhibiting more control and rage over his victims, taking pleasure in the kill." "What's with the specific physical type?" "It looks like he's taking his anger out on women who represent someone he knows." "Yeah, like Edmund Kemper." "He most likely can't confront his true target yet, so he's going after women who look like her until he can build up the confidence to complete his endgame." "Sorry about that." "What can I get you?" "I should have been there to help her." "Amber and I were friends since the third grade." "Always inseparable." "She got into San Diego Coastal first." "I was so pissed." "I didn't talk to her for a week." "And then 2 days later my acceptance letter came in the mail." "It's ok, Michelle." "It's not that I wasn't happy for her," "I just wanted to go, too." "I know." "It's a completely normal reaction." "But I need you to think, had any new people come into her life recently?" "Not that I know of." "I had to twist her arm to get her out." "So she wasn't into the college scene." "She could party with the best of them." "She just worked her ass off." "Academically or for money?" "Money." "If it wasn't dog-walking at 10 bucks an hour, it was house-sitting or proofreading." "She kept busy." "So she took on a lot of odd jobs." "She wasn't a rich kid from Orange County." "Do you know where she heard about the part-time work?" "Everywhere." "Coffeehouses, craigslist, the student center." "You name it." "Thank you." "The first victim Monica Shanley's bff reported that they were talking on the phone and hung up just before Monica stepped inside her apartment." "What does that get us?" "Well, some neighbors heard loud screaming coming from Monica's apartment at 11:12 p.m." "At 11:15 they called 911." "11:26 cops arrived." "He's able to strike, kill, and get out in less than 14 minutes?" "How'd it go?" "According to her roommate," "Amber worked odd jobs to make ends meet." "Could be where she made contact with the unsub." "Garcia, get us a list of jobs that Amber worked the last few months, and look for personal checks she might have deposited as under-the-table payments." "Copy that." "The unsub stalks his victims." "He knows their routine." "He could attack them anytime they're alone, even in their cars, but he chooses to attack them in their homes." "And waits for them to bolt the doors before he strikes." "He wants them to feel safe before he takes that away from them." "It's about making them feel powerless in their own personal space." "So it's physical and psychological torture." "If he keeps to his accelerated timetable, he'll strike tonight." "Hello, guy." "You ok?" "Is that you making all that noise?" "Hm?" "You're so adorable." "You want to pose for the camera?" "Everything's untouched, as requested." "Vic's name is Laurie Burgin, student at San Diego Tech." "She was babysitting." "We profiled that he gets off by striking inside the victims' homes." "Why did he kill her here?" "That's a big change in M.O." "Maybe Laurie had a roommate, so the unsub figured he'd have more time on the job." "Did he hurt the child?" "Kid was crying in the crib when the family got home." "I'll talk to them." "You two go on in." "Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins, I'm David Rossi with the FBI." "Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" "Of course." "Whatever you need." "Now, was Laurie a family friend?" "No." "We're new to the area." "We haven't had time to make friends yet." "Online." "Craigslist." "And how did you meet her?" "I told him not to do it." "I didn't have a choice." "We both work." "I looked into nanny services, but the start-up costs were ridiculous." "How many people did you interview?" "I lost count." "She seemed like the right fit." "She was a college student, didn't party too much." "She was a hard worker." "And little Julian loved her." "Did she talk about any boyfriends or say anything that may have raised an alarm?" "Not that I can think of." "She was single." "She had a boyfriend back in Tennessee, but they broke up." "And how long ago was that?" "A month, I think." "I'm not sure." "Thank you." "With an infant in the room, Laurie would have been at her most vulnerable." "Look at this." "He felt compelled to organize the supplies." "Look." "Do you think the unsub fed the kid?" "Then he stabs Laurie, so the kid probably started crying." "Maybe he gave the kid the bottle in order to keep him quiet." "What kind of an unsub stops murdering to care for an infant?" "One who identifies with the child." "We might be looking for someone with a deep-rooted abandonment issue." "Or maybe the baby crying interfered with his enjoyment of watching the babysitter bleed out?" "Well, either way, caring for the child would be psychological torture for Laurie." "Reid." "Look at that." "She's got several missed calls and a few text messages from social networking sites." ""What's with the photo?" "Halloween isn't for months."" "Speak, boy wonder, behold my might." "Garcia, the latest victim Laurie Burgin was writing something on the Internet last night." "Can you figure out what it was?" "Yeah." "I was just tweeting myself." "Uno momento." "Oh, God." "Reid." "She managed to take a picture of the unsub before she died." "Can't really make it out." "I can tell you more." "Laurie's account was active 2 hours after that photo was posted." "Well, there's no record of her calling 911." "He must have uploaded the image himself." "And continued posting status updates after she died." ""Feeling faint at heart."" ""All alone and too scared to cry."" "All right, this isn't good." "He's mocking his victims now." "He sat here tweeting while Laurie bled to death." "All right, baby girl, listen." "I need you to go through Laurie's accounts." "See who was following her and see who was messaging back." "On it." "All right, let's get out of here, let's get back to Hotch." "We got a photo and we got a profile." "Thank you, Garcia." "We're looking for a white male in his early 20s." "And because he's stalking his victims, we believe that he either works out of his house or a part-time job." "This unsub strikes in the home rather than outside where he could more easily abduct his victims." "Now, this tells us that his social skills are most likely lacking and he may not have the confidence to talk to women." "His confidence with killing, however, is growing." "He's gone from hesitant strikes in the victim's home to painting the walls with blood." "Our unsub is developing a taste for the kill." "And his victims share similar features and backgrounds." "And we believe that they represent someone whom the unsub thinks has wronged him and he's taking out his rage on them." "Because the unsub shows signs of one neat aspect and started killing suddenly and effectively with no break, we believe he was recently incarcerated or institutionalized." "Look at men who got out a month or so ago." "Their records will show a history of violence, anger toward women and/or symbols of authority." "We need to warn all young women to be hypervigilant, especially in their online acquaintances, but also with service workers, maintenance staff, and deliverymen." "Are we telling college girls not to let people in uniforms into their homes?" "No, but tell them to double-check I.D.s, call dispatch before they let anybody inside." "How do we avoid inciting panic?" "Panic is inevitable, but we still need to keep everyone informed." "Uniformed officers are posting warnings across campuses." "Now, since the Jenkins family found Laurie online, we believe the unsub may be using similar methods..." "Profiles, job postings, anything that gives a little too much information that the unsub could use to hunt his victims." "And time's not on our side." "We think that he's already got his next victim in his sights." "The account tracks back to an email address he created yesterday morning, I.P. address leads to a public terminal." "That's where the trail ends." "What about at the Jenkins house?" "He was tweeting with her prior to the assault." "The unsub hacked into the Jenkins' Wi-Fi network." "Pretty smart for a guy who's been locked up." "Yeah, he has gotten good at covering his tracks." "How are you doing on a list of criminal records and releases?" "Oh, right, that." "Ok." "I searched local college students, which is a lot, and I'm a masochist, so I went ahead and included military personnel because San Diego has a big naval and marine presence." "Combine those two pools and he's swimming in criminal infractions." "All right, filter out sexual assault and lewd behavior." "Filtering at the speed of tech, sir." "And what about background financials on the victims?" "Is there any evidence of jobs being performed under the table?" "Actually, in all cases there were personal checks deposited from several accounts, most under $100." "All right, send a list of account holders, and, Seaver, when you get them, start making phone calls." "What am I looking for?" "Any victims who might have worked as babysitters." "Yes, ma'am." "How's it going?" "We've delivered the profile and the locals are canvassing the area." "Any leads?" "Did you call for a field update?" "No." "I've been reviewing your grief assessments, and they're incomplete." "How's that?" "Yours isn't there." "My orders were to assess the team." "You don't think the mental state of your team's leader is relevant?" "You need to talk to someone, too." "Is that an order?" "If that's the only way you'll do it, yes." "Ma'am, with all due respect, we've got 4 women dead and we'll probably have another one by the morning." "Find me when you get back." "She's relentless." "Tell me about it." "Can I help with anything?" "No, I'm good." "Thanks." "All those dead girls look just like you, sweetheart." "You don't think I realize that?" "That last girl, I could be her sister." "What was that?" "Kill." "Kill." "Kill!" "Ok, that is so not funny." "Aw, come on, relax." "You set the alarm, right?" "Um..." "Yeah, let's just see." "Alarm..." "Is..." "Set." "Kid's asleep." "Come over?" "I can't." "I got a paper due in the morning." "I'll write it for you." "Yeah, just get over..." "really?" "Wait." "What's wrong, Lily?" "Um..." "What is it?" "Something just triggered the alarm." "Can you stay on the phone?" "Yeah, ok." "Lily." "Lily?" "Oh, my God!" "Lily!" "What's wrong, Lily?" "Sorry, um..." "The Ellisons are back." "I gotta go." "Sorry." "We just came in from the garage." "No, sorry." "I'm just a little on edge." "We should have called first." "You're home early." "Well, someone was bored." "Says the man who snored and attracted the attention of everyone around us." "How's the little one?" "Still the best baby ever." "I put him to bed I think half an hour ago." "Can you be here tomorrow morning at 8:00 instead of 9:00?" "Yeah, sure." "My meeting got moved up." "Do you want to just stay?" "No." "I'm fine." "Thanks." "See you tomorrow?" "Yep." "Bright and early." "Aah!" "Did he get another babysitter?" "Not just her." "Who's that?" "Amy Ellison." "She and her son are the sole survivors." "The housekeeper found them locked in the nursery." "They were locked in there all night?" "He broke the handle off the door." "I'll meet you guys inside." "Mrs. Ellison, we'll take him now and check his vitals." "I'll bring him right back to you." "Hello, Amy." "My name's Derek Morgan." "I'm with the FBI." "I understand you've been through a great ordeal." "I'd just like to ask you a few questions if that's all right." "Ok." "Did you happen to see the man who came in your home?" "Only for a couple seconds." "He was wearing a mask." "He rushed right at Jake." "I..." "I couldn't..." "It's ok." "Take your time." "I ran to Jake, but there was so much blood." "He grabbed Lily and held the knife to her throat." "He locked me in the nursery with the baby." "Did you hear anything while you were locked inside?" "Screaming." "Jake suffered multiple stab wounds to the chest and abdomen." "The sitter Lily got the brunt of it." "This is the second time he struck inside someone else's home." "He's telling us something." "He's narrowing in on his ideal victimology." "Babysitting somehow fits into the scenario he's trying to recreate." "You know what?" "He changed his M.O. as well." "He violated Lily with a knife." "He hasn't shown aggressive sexual behavior up till now." "What's different?" "This is more personal." "She could be the one he's been after all along." "I don't know." "This guy's meticulous." "He plans everything out." "Then why didn't he know the Ellisons were returning?" "I think he did." "I mean, the unsub was watching the house." "He knew that they came home, but he just didn't care." "He adapted." "He went after the biggest threat first." "He eliminated Jake in order to gain control over Lily and Amy." "There are two initial points of attack, one in the hallway outside the nursery and the other one here." "Yet, both bodies ended up together." "Look at the way they're posed, directly looking at each other." "He wanted them to watch each other die." "I think it's more than that." "This change in behavior could be the piece that we're missing." "This guy knew the Ellisons were home, but he struck anyway." "He could have taken out the entire family, but he chose to spare the mother and the child." "Why?" "With the Jenkins, the unsub actually fed the baby." "Here, he spared the mother and locked her in a room with her son." "It's like he's protecting the children." "The addition of Jake Ellison caused the unsub to change his methodology." "For the first time he posed the bodies, and he's also sexually violated one of the victims." "Ok, we have a father posed to look at a dying babysitter and a mother and child protected upstairs." "That's a pretty clear message." "Garcia, search for local women who died in their early 30s and they're survived by a husband and at least one son." "Go back 10-15 years." "Cross that with new marriage licenses filed by surviving husbands." "The unsub's always been troubled, Garcia, so look for youthful offenders who would have fit into the sociopathic triad." "Ok, I've got 30 matches, which points to a disturbing social phenomenon and does not help us narrow this down." "Ok, so cross-reference that with your list of newly-released inmates and mental patients." "Ok, I've got a few." "What about..." "Here's one." "Greg Phinney, Chula Vista." "He was put into juvie when he was 13 for..." "Threatening his stepmom with a knife." "What do we know about the stepmother?" "Kate Jones, aka the second Mrs. Phinney." "Married Greg's father a year after Greg's mother was killed in a car accident." "Greg was 11 at the time." "Mr. Phinney died 4 weeks ago." "Is there any evidence that Kate worked in the Phinney home before the mother's death?" "Oh, the plot solidifies." "Kate cited additional income as caregiver on her tax returns when she was a college student." "Payments trace back to the Phinneys." "Kate filed numerous reports against Greg for violent behavior, experimentation on animals." "Greg's father finally put the kibosh on things when he was 17, had him institutionalized." "Greg was released 2 weeks ago." "Just before the killings started." "Garcia, where's Greg Phinney now?" "Yeah, that's a good question." "Oh, dear..." "Hello, Kate." "Greg Phinney, FBI." "Open the door!" "He's not in here." "The bedroom's clear." "Baby girl, can you tell me why Greg Phinney's laptop has an employee login screen?" "Well, lover, I have been doing some digging." "Did you know that he's been working part-time as a data entry clerk at the "San Diego Register"?" "If he was in an institution, where did he get time to find a job?" "Uh, he didn't even have to look." "This job is part of his work-release program." "And 20 hours of Internet privileges will go a long way." "That's how he finds his victims." "He browses the classifieds." "Did he have access to the customers' personal information?" "Oh, honey, he entered it." "That must be Kate Phinney." "Well, he's obviously built up the confidence to confront her." "Garcia." "Reading your mind." "Calling the others." "Stop, please!" "Aah!" "Do you feel that?" "Ohh!" "Of course I do." "Not the pain." "Do you feel your heart starting to beat a little faster?" "It's not your mind panicking." "It's your body." "It's fighting to adapt." "What, am I one of your animals now?" "No." "I didn't want them to suffer." "No... no, no!" "Greg's not at home, so he's probably already at Kate's house." "Kate's the object of his hostility." "He's gonna take his time." "Let's light him up." "I'm sure he knows we're coming." "They're coming for you." "They're gonna be too late." "Dave, take some uniforms and find the back door." "I'm gonna try to get inside and talk to him." "You think that's gonna work?" "I don't think Kate gets out of this any other way." "Your father, he wouldn't want this." "You have no right to talk about him." "He was my husband, Greg." "He was my dad." "You told him to lock me up." "You made me do it." "No." "No, I didn't." "You did." "You... you... what you did to our puppy." "What you did to the neighbor's cat." "I mean, he knew what you were." "Shut up!" "You ruined everything." "No." "I took care of you." "We wanted the best for you." "Sending me away?" "What, so I wasn't your problem anymore?" "What?" "!" "Greg Phinney, this is Agent Aaron Hotchner." "I need to talk to you about your demands so you can let Kate go." "I don't have any demands." "I ju..." "I want..." "I want her to pay for what she's done." "What has she done?" "She took my dad." "She's a whore, and she ruined us." "Greg, I think this is more about your dad than it is about Kate." "No." "No, no." "She..." "she got me locked up." "Your dad put you away." "Don't turn this on him." "Greg, I need to ask you a very important question." "Do you want to live?" "What do you mean?" "I think you do." "And if so, you need to let me in the house." "Otherwise I can't guarantee that you're gonna walk out of there." "Uh, you can come to the door." "Seaver, I want you to come in with me." "Leave your firearm here." "Be compassionate and sympathetic to him." "Let him tell you how Kate betrayed him and how much you understand his devastation." "I never said that you could bring in anyone else." "I know, but I thought if we talked inside we could work this out ourselves." "Are you some kind of a negotiator?" "No guns." "No guns." "Ok." "Close the door." "All right." "Stand over there." "You need to put the gun down." "We need to get out of here." "Is that gonna happen?" "As long as you've got a gun, if one of the agents outside has a clear shot, he'll take it." "I don't have line of sight." "We're ready to move when you do." "Tell me what you want, Greg." "You know, I don't want to get locked up again." "Don't you really want Kate to apologize for making your dad forget your mom?" "No, I didn't do that, though." "Unless the next words out of your mouth are "I'm sorry,"" "I don't want to hear anything else from you." "I understand, Greg." "I do." "She took care of you." "You trusted her." "And then she betrayed you as soon as your mother was gone." "It must have crushed you when Kate married your dad." "How did it make you feel, Greg?" "I'm sorry." "You felt betrayed, didn't you, Greg?" "Ask her the question, Greg." "Go ahead." "Ask her." "Why not me?" "Why not me?" "Answer him, Kate." "B-b-because you were just a..." "A boy." "But I loved you." "I loved you." "I'm sorry." "I'm sorry." "But I loved you, Kate!" "Don't kill me, Greg, please!" "Bring in backup." "Come on, let's go!" "Agent Seaver." "Uh..." "What you said in there, is it true?" "Did he really do all this because of me?" "No." "I had to be aggressive towards you in order to gain Greg's trust." "None of this is your fault." "Then why?" "Greg was always a troubled child." "Losing his mother and then his father made him even more unstable." "Sometimes we do everything right and we still lose." "Greg was a sociopath and there's nothing you could have done to change that." "Thank you." "Good work, agent." "Thanks." "Hey." "Nice job, kid." "Thank you." ""Every journey into the past" ""is complicated by delusions, false memories, false namings of real events."" "Adrienne Rich." "You wanted to see me?" "Good job in San Diego." "Thank you." "Despite a challenging year, your team seems to be functioning surprisingly well." "But?" "No." "I agree with your assessment and so does the Director." "Why, uh, why the interest in the well-being of my team?" "The Director has some concerns." "What kind of concerns?" "There's a chance that I might need your help, and I want you to be in a position to assist." "What's going on?" "I'm just dealing with a few things right now." "What is it?" "I might have to be away for a few months." "I'm not asking you to step away from your duties, but I might need you to supervise some departments." "Whatever you need." "Of course." "I'll be available by phone." "Would you..." "Do you want to talk about it?" "So you can assess me?" "I don't do that either."