Episode 4: "Breaking Through"
TEASER
INT. BAU HEADQUARTERS – NIGHT
The bullpen is quiet, lit only by the glow of computer screens. REID sits at his desk, replaying Maeve's video message. He pauses at her words: "Find the NUN Z. It's not a place—it's a counter-cipher. The key to breaking their code." He scribbles equations and chess notations on a legal pad, his mind racing.
REID (muttering):
NUN Z… counter-cipher… what are you trying to tell me, Maeve?
He circles "NUN Z" and draws a chessboard, mapping out possible moves. The rest of the team trickles in, drawn by the light and the tension in the air.
ACT ONE
INT. BAU BRIEFING ROOM – MORNING
The team gathers around a whiteboard filled with ciphers, chess moves, and maps. GARCIA projects the flash drive's decrypted files onto the screen: blueprints, lists of names, and encrypted messages.
GARCIA:
The flash drive was loaded with encrypted files. Some are video logs, some are blueprints, and some… well, I think they're psychological profiles.
PRENTISS:
Anything about Maeve?
GARCIA:
She's referenced several times, but always in code. And this—
Garcia highlights a string of numbers and symbols.
REID:
That's modular arithmetic. Maeve's specialty. She's embedding clues in the math.
ROSSI:
So she's fighting back, even from inside.
REID:
She's leaving a trail. But it's hidden inside Diane's own system.
JJ:
What about "NUN Z"?
REID:
It's a chess term, but also a mathematical variable. I think it's a counter to Diane's Zugzwang—her forced-move strategy. Maeve's telling us how to break the pattern.
PRENTISS:
Let's focus on the files. What's the next step?
GARCIA:
There's a pattern in the blueprints. They all reference locations with a "Z" designation—Z1, Z2, up to ZN.
REID:
NUN Z. The last in the sequence. The endgame.
ROSSI:
If we find ZN, we find Diane's base.
ACT TWO
INT. ABANDONED WAREHOUSE – DAY
The team follows the blueprints to a derelict building on the city's edge. They enter cautiously, flashlights sweeping over empty crates and discarded lab equipment.
MORGAN:
This place gives me the creeps.
JJ:
Look—over here.
She uncovers a hidden panel in the floor. Inside: a stack of files and a small, locked box.
PRENTISS:
Garcia, can you get this open?
GARCIA (on comms):
Send me a photo.
Reid flips through the files—lists of names, dates, and cryptic notes.
REID:
These are victim logs. But the names are all composites—no real people, just fragments.
ROSSI:
They're erasing people by blending their identities.
REID:
Wait—this note. "NUN Z: only the sum reveals the truth."
He grabs a pen and starts adding the numbers in the files.
REID:
It's a code. If we sum the right values, we get coordinates.
PRENTISS:
Coordinates to what?
REID:
The real location of ZN—Diane's final site.
ACT THREE
INT. BAU TECH ROOM – NIGHT
Garcia and Reid work together, decoding the coordinates.
GARCIA:
Got it. The numbers point to an old psychiatric hospital outside the city—abandoned for years.
REID:
That's where Diane's holding Maeve. It's the only place that fits the manifesto's patterns.
ROSSI:
Let's move.
PRENTISS:
We go in quiet. Diane will expect us, but we have the advantage—Maeve's clues.
JJ:
And if Diane's using frequency traps again?
REID:
I've recalibrated our comms to filter out harmful frequencies. We'll be ready.
ACT FOUR
EXT. ABANDONED PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL – NIGHT
The team approaches under cover of darkness. They split into pairs, entering through different wings.
MORGAN (whispering):
Stay sharp. Diane's not just dangerous—she's unpredictable.
Inside, the halls echo with distant, distorted music. Reid leads JJ down a side corridor, following the sequence of chess moves Maeve left in the files.
REID:
She's guiding us—knight's move, rook's move, bishop's move.
They reach a locked door. Reid enters a code from Maeve's notes. The door clicks open.
JJ:
Maeve?
No answer. They move inside—a small room, empty except for a chessboard and a video monitor.
REID:
It's another clue.
He examines the board. The pieces are arranged in a pattern—Zugzwang, but with a twist.
REID:
She's changed the endgame.
On the monitor, Maeve appears—pre-recorded.
MAEVE (on video):
If you're here, you've broken through the first layer. Diane's control isn't absolute. There's a back door in the system—use NUN Z.
The video glitches, then stops.
JJ:
She's still fighting.
ACT FIVE
INT. HOSPITAL BASEMENT – NIGHT
Morgan and Rossi find a makeshift lab. Scopolamine vials, frequency generators, and files marked "PROJECT ZN" cover the tables.
MORGAN:
This is where they conditioned the victims.
ROSSI:
And erased their identities.
They find a cell at the back. Maeve sits inside, dazed but alert.
MORGAN:
Maeve!
She looks up, recognition flickering in her eyes.
MAEVE:
Spencer…?
ROSSI (on comms):
We found her.
Reid and JJ rush down. Reid kneels beside Maeve, gently taking her hand.
REID:
Maeve, it's me. You're safe now.
MAEVE:
No… not yet. Diane's still here. She's watching.
Suddenly, alarms blare. Over the loudspeaker, Diane's voice echoes.
DIANE (V.O.):
Congratulations, Dr. Reid. You've made it to the endgame. But can you sacrifice the queen to save the knight?
Doors slam shut, locking the team inside.
PRENTISS (on comms):
We're locked in.
DIANE (V.O.):
The only way out is to finish the game.
Reid looks at Maeve, realization dawning.
REID:
The chessboard—Maeve's pattern. It's the solution.
He races back to the room with the board, studying the arrangement.
REID:
If I move the queen here… and the knight there…
He makes the moves. A hidden panel opens, revealing a keypad.
REID:
Maeve, what's the code?
She whispers a sequence. Reid enters it. The doors unlock.
PRENTISS (on comms):
We're clear!
The team moves quickly, guiding Maeve out.
MORGAN:
Let's get out before Diane changes the rules again.
TAG
EXT. HOSPITAL GROUNDS – DAWN
The team emerges into the early morning light, Maeve supported between Reid and JJ.
ROSSI:
We got her.
PRENTISS:
But Diane's still out there.
REID:
Maeve's free—for now. But the manifesto isn't finished. Diane's game continues.
Maeve looks at Reid, hope and fear mingling in her eyes.
MAEVE:
We have to stop her.
Reid nods, determination renewed.
REID:
We will.
The team watches the sunrise, knowing the battle is far from over.
END OF EPISODE 4