Cherreads

Chapter 17 - c13

Episode 13: "The Broker's Hand"

TEASER

INT. SAFE HOUSE – NIGHT

A battered safe house is in chaos. Survivors and witnesses huddle together, fear in their eyes. Benson, Morgan, and Maeve move through the crowd, calming nerves.

BENSON:

We'll get you all somewhere safe.

MAEVE:

They're targeting anyone who talks.

Suddenly, gunshots shatter the windows. Morgan dives to shield a young survivor.

MORGAN:

Get down!

Benson radios for backup as masked attackers flee into the night, leaving a chilling message painted on the wall: "THE GAME ISN'T OVER."

ACT ONE

INT. BAU BRIEFING ROOM – MORNING

The team reviews the attacks on multiple safe houses. Photos of the masked assailants and the painted messages cover the board.

ROSSI:

This is coordinated. The Broker's sending a message.

PRENTISS:

He's trying to terrify the survivors into silence.

GARCIA:

I traced the attackers' comms—they're using encrypted channels bouncing through Europe.

REID:

If we can follow the signal, we can find The Broker.

JJ:

We need to move the survivors again.

BENSON:

And get ahead of The Broker's next move.

ACT TWO

INT. FBI JET – DAY

Rossi, Prentiss, and Garcia fly to Zurich, following the digital trail.

ROSSI:

Zurich's the financial hub. Makes sense The Broker would hide there.

GARCIA:

He's laundering money through dozens of shell companies.

PRENTISS:

Let's hope we're not too late.

Meanwhile, back in the States, Benson and Morgan coordinate new security for the survivors. Maeve works with Lisa and other witnesses, helping them prepare for testimony.

ACT THREE

INT. ZURICH – ABANDONED FACTORY – NIGHT

Rossi, Prentiss, and Garcia, with local authorities, raid a suspected facility. Inside, they find trafficked victims and a makeshift lab.

ROSSI:

They're testing new drugs—mind control compounds.

PRENTISS:

Get these people medical help.

Garcia hacks into the lab's servers, discovering emails from The Broker about a planned attack in a major U.S. city.

GARCIA:

He's planning something big—soon.

A firefight erupts as guards try to destroy evidence. Prentiss and Rossi apprehend the lab's manager, but The Broker's location remains unknown.

ACT FOUR

INT. BAU TECH ROOM – NIGHT

Back in the U.S., Reid and JJ analyze the Broker's emails.

REID:

He's referencing "Operation Blackout"—targeting public infrastructure.

JJ:

If he succeeds, chaos will follow.

Maeve deciphers a code hidden in the emails, revealing the likely target: the water supply of a major city.

MAEVE:

He's going to poison the water.

BENSON:

We need to alert Homeland Security and move now.

ACT FIVE

EXT. WATER TREATMENT PLANT – NIGHT

The team, with local SWAT, converges on the plant. Morgan and Benson lead the entry, finding explosives and chemical canisters rigged to the filtration system.

MORGAN:

Disarm those charges!

Reid and Maeve work together, quickly identifying the chemical compound and neutralizing it.

MAEVE:

We're clear!

SWAT apprehends several operatives, but The Broker is not among them.

BENSON:

He's still out there.

ROSSI (over comms):

But we've saved the city—and got more evidence.

PRENTISS:

We'll keep hunting.

The team watches as the survivors are safely relocated, and the threat is contained—for now.

TAG

INT. LUXURY OFFICE – NIGHT

The Broker, face obscured, watches news coverage of the foiled attack. He pours a drink, unshaken.

BROKER:

You win this round, but the game is far from over.

He sends a coded message: "Initiate Phase Two."

END OF EPISODE 13

More Chapters