Episode 17: "Fractured"
TEASER
INT. BAU HEADQUARTERS – NIGHT
The bullpen is tense. The team sits in silence, the weight of recent betrayals and mounting pressure visible on every face. Prentiss studies the board—photos of suspects, red strings, and a new headline: "Agent Under Investigation for Leaks."
Garcia sits at her desk, hands trembling over the keyboard. Sylvester arrives with coffee, concern etched on his face.
SYLVESTER:
You haven't slept, have you?
GARCIA:
I can't. If there's a mole, they could erase any of us with a keystroke.
He gently squeezes her shoulder.
SYLVESTER:
We'll get through this. Together.
ACT ONE
INT. BAU BRIEFING ROOM – MORNING
Prentiss addresses the team.
PRENTISS:
We have a leak. Someone fed the Deep State our witness list. Morgan's being investigated, but I don't believe he's the source.
ROSSI:
The Broker's greatest weapon is distrust.
JJ:
We can't let him fracture us.
BENSON:
We need to clear Morgan and find the real mole—fast.
REID:
I'll run behavioral analysis on everyone with access.
GARCIA:
Sylvester and I will audit the server logs.
Sylvester nods, meeting Garcia's worried gaze.
ACT TWO
INT. BAU TECH ROOM – DAY
Garcia and Sylvester work side by side, combing through code and access logs.
SYLVESTER:
You're quiet.
GARCIA:
I hate doubting people I love.
SYLVESTER:
You love this team. That's your strength.
She smiles, leaning into him.
GARCIA:
And you're my safe place.
They find a suspicious login—someone used Garcia's credentials while she was in the field.
SYLVESTER:
You've been framed.
GARCIA:
Which means the mole's close.
They share a determined look, their trust in each other unshaken.
ACT THREE
INT. SAFE HOUSE – AFTERNOON
Maeve volunteers for hypnosis, hoping to recover memories of her time in Diane's captivity.
MAEVE (under hypnosis):
There were voices… a woman, but also a man. He called himself "The Broker."
REID:
What did he want?
MAEVE:
He said I was the prototype. The first to resist.
Maeve wakes, shaken.
MAEVE:
I was part of their experiment.
Reid holds her hand, promising she's not alone.
ACT FOUR
INT. BAU BRIEFING ROOM – EVENING
The team confronts the evidence.
PRENTISS:
Garcia's credentials were used to access the witness list.
MORGAN:
She'd never do that.
SYLVESTER:
We traced the IP to an unsecured terminal in the parking garage.
ROSSI:
The mole's been hiding in plain sight.
JJ and Benson check security footage and spot a janitor—actually a Deep State operative in disguise.
A chase ensues through the building. The operative is cornered and arrested, but not before sending an encrypted message: "Phase Three: Activate."
ACT FIVE
INT. BAU TECH ROOM – NIGHT
Garcia is shaken but relieved.
GARCIA:
I almost lost everything.
SYLVESTER:
You never lost me.
He takes her hands, looking into her eyes.
SYLVESTER:
Penelope, I—
He hesitates, then kisses her, gentle and sure.
SYLVESTER (softly):
I love you.
Garcia's eyes fill with tears—happy ones.
GARCIA:
I love you too.
They embrace, the chaos of the world fading for just a moment.
TAG
INT. BAU BRIEFING ROOM – LATE NIGHT
The team regroups, united again.
PRENTISS:
The Broker tried to break us. He failed.
ROSSI:
But Phase Three is coming.
BENSON:
We'll be ready.
The camera lingers on Garcia and Sylvester, hands entwined, stronger together than ever.
END OF EPISODE 17