Killer Instinct

Cassie, Dean, and Briggs meet Sterling, Lia, Michael, and Sloane in the observation room, where the latter have been watching the interview. Although the questions were designed to sort the truth from the lies, Lia reveals that Redding’s conflicting answers about the UNSUB were all true. Sloane therefore realizes that Redding must have two apprentices with contrasting personalities: One is more impulsive and disorganized while the other is highly methodical, which is why the crime scenes differed. While they speak, Briggs receives a call informing him that Clark’s body has just been found. By the time they are back at the house, preliminary DNA tests reveal that Clark was not only the latest victim but also one of the UNSUBs and Trina Simms’s killer.

The organized apprentice reflects on Clark’s mistakes during Trina’s murder, deeming him a pale copy unworthy of Redding’s legacy. They, on the other hand, are starting to become more confident and ambitious, especially after killing Clark.

As the group debates the latest revelations, Cassie remembers another one of Redding’s cryptic comments. When she asked him how he chooses his victims, Redding answered that he does not. She now realizes that the apprentices chose each other’s victims so that they would both have an alibi when their intended target was killed.

Cassie and the others wait while the FBI looks for Christopher, who is likely looking for his next victim. Dean joins Cassie, and they discuss Redding’s intention to completely own his son. Dean confesses that he has feelings for Cassie, but he is unsure whether they are enough for him to pursue a relationship with her despite his fears. The FBI then calls the house to inform them that Christopher was apprehended just as he was about to approach his new target, a female student at Colonial. 

Later, Michael has a conversation with Cassie and confesses his own feelings to her. Cassie is torn between her feelings for him and for Dean. They are about to kiss when they are interrupted by Lia and Sloane, who want to celebrate their success with the case.

Cassie wakes up in the middle of the night, unsettled by a detail of the case. She goes to Sterling’s room, where she finds the agent still awake. Cassie wonders who chose the latest victim since Trina was Christopher’s target and Emerson was Clark’s. She and Sterling realize that there must be a third apprentice working for Redding. 

Just then, Sterling receives a call informing her that Christopher was just found dead in his cell; she immediately suspects that he was killed by the third UNSUB. As she gets ready to leave, Cassie insists on going with her and calling Briggs. When they get to the car, however, they are ambushed by a man who grabs Cassie and puts a gun to her head. The man is Webber, the hostile prison guard who antagonized Sterling and Cassie during their first visit to Redding and who is now revealed to be his third apprentice. He disarms Sterling, who tells him that she will do what he says if he lets Cassie go. Suddenly remembering that she is wearing a tracking anklet that will alert Briggs, Cassie convinces Webber to take her with them. Webber knocks them both out and locks them in the trunk of his car.

Webber enjoys the feeling of an FBI agent’s powerlessness. He looks forward to torturing and killing his victims by himself, now fully liberated from Redding’s influence.

Cassie wakes tied up and concussed in an isolated cabin. Sterling, also tied up, asks her why she insisted on being taken, and Cassie reminds her about the anklet. However, Sterling tearfully reveals that she actually never activated the device, believing it enough of a deterrent on its own. Trying not to despair about their situation, Sterling tells Cassie that she must do anything she can to survive. She plans on distracting Webber when he comes back so that Cassie can run. Their abductor then returns holding a rifle.

Webber is feeling elated. He tells Cassie and Sterling that he will free them, give them a head-start, and then hunt them down. He picks Cassie to go first.

Webber cuts Cassie’s bonds and pushes her out of the cabin. He starts counting down to two minutes, and the young girl runs away as fast as she can. Panicking, Cassie realizes that she has no chance of outrunning Webber and instead needs to outsmart him. She hides in the bushes and backtracks toward the cabin. After Webber realizes his mistake, Cassie picks up a stone and climbs a tree. Once Webber reaches her, she throws the stone at his head and then jumps on him. Despite his initial confusion, Webber quickly overpowers her and is about to kill her when a gunshot rings out. Briggs, who just killed Webber, rescues Cassie and signals that she is safe. After the house realized that Cassie and Sterling were missing, Briggs was able to activate Cassie’s ankle tracker remotely to find them. Dean then rushes toward them and kisses Cassie.

After spending the night at the hospital, Cassie is driven to Webber’s apartment by Briggs, who wants her to see it so she can process her trauma. Cassie looks through Webber’s journals and reads about his fascination with Redding, their relationship, and the murders he committed. After that, Cassie feels more at peace, and they return to the house. There, Michael confronts her, obviously disappointed that she chose Dean over him. Cassie is sad that their friendship may be ruined, but she happily reunites with Dean.

Three weeks after the events of the previous chapter, Sterling moves into the house for good. She now embraces the Naturals program’s potential, but she wants it to be supervised and held accountable more effectively. She has informed the principal advisor of the National Security Council, Director Sterling’s boss, about the program’s existence. He agrees that the program should continue and allows them to work on active cases from now on. However, Judd will now be responsible for making decisions about what the five teenagers can or cannot do. Since he does not answer to the FBI, the Bureau will therefore not be able to exploit the Naturals or put their safety on the line. Cassie is grateful for Sterling’s intervention and hopeful about the Naturals’ new prospects.