"Names, dates, any chatter you remember about methods, anything that can expose security holes or criminal organisations that the government has been going after and hasn't gotten yet. You might still have to serve some time, but more on the order of four to six months instead of fifteen years." He didn't agree with it, entirely. Breaking someone - especially someone like Vanko - out of prison was a big deal. But there was, he knew, a difference between the initial idea and the action.

Even now, looking at Hammer, he saw someone who was scared out of his skin beneath all of the natural bravado. Scared for very good reason, in Hotch's opinion. But his plans hadn't included weapons of mass destruction unleashed on US soil. His plans had just included some one-upmanship in a competitive field, where Stark generally tended to win, time after time.

In Hammer, Hotch saw a little of his brother.

"It's a huge reduction in sentence," he said, "and it's practically guaranteed you'll get to subtract time served. You'll also be serving at Club Fed, which is an easier ride than any state-run facility. Except for the quality of the food and clothing, you could consider it an extended vacation, and then you'll walk away a free man."