ᴀɢᴇɴᴛ ɢʀᴇʏ~ ᴀᴀʀᴏɴ ʜᴏᴛᴄʜɴᴇʀ

~Abby~

                                                    ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚⋆ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ⋆ ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

"Perhaps we ought to consider applying for a pay rise?" I asked JJ, absentmindedly flicking through a stack of files of her desk, toying with the loose paper. "I don't think they'd even bother to look at our application." JJ muttered, her pen scribbling across a page, her hand discarding yet another piece of paper. "What about if we protested? It's quite effective, you know." I grinned. Raising an eyebrow at me, JJ replied, tossing me a file as I slouched in the chair opposite her. "Go ahead, I'm happy enough to keep my job." Frowning, I took the file from JJ and flicked through the contents. "Okay, 3 murders, all women..?" I said, confused as to why she passed it to me. "Which one do you think is more urgent? That one, or the one here with 2 abductions within 7 months of each victim?" She sighed, combing her fingers through her hair. I scanned the open file before me, taking note of the brutality and cycle of each murder.

 "Well... I'd say this one here, the gaps between each victim becomes shorter than the last, and this level of violence will only escalate dramatically soon enough." I stated, looking back at JJ. "Yeah you're right-" JJ said, before the shrill ring of her phone interrupted her words. "Agent Jareau, how can I help?" JJ sighed slightly, stifiling a yawn with her hand. Watching her interact with whomever was on the other end of the line, I squinted at the crime scene photos still nestled in the folder, not before looking tiredly out of JJ's office window, surveying the almost empty bullpen. Tearing my gaze away, I looked questioningly at JJ as she discarded her phone on her desk, her eyes no longer the prey of drowsiness. "There's been a child-abduction." 

Approximately 20 minutes later, the team, minus the Unit Chief of course, had assembled around the round table in the briefing room, a collection of yawns and sighs accompanying them. "What's so important that we had to come in at 1am?" Morgan huffed, complaining about his lack of rest. Rossi hummed in agreement, his gaze directing itself towards JJ as she rushed in the room, remote in hand. "Is everything okay?" Garcia asked worriedly, nervously playing with the many colourful rings on her fingers. "Uh, there's been a child-abduction in a mall in South Carolina, Abby, aged 7, has been missing for the past hour. The mall has been on full lock down, no one in or out, and the families have been detained for further questioning." JJ rushed out, sliding files across the table for the team. "I suggest we leave as soon as possible" She continued, pointing out some other key points on the screen. 

"I agree. Wheels up in 10." I confirmed, rising from my chair to go retrieve my go-bag. Rossi grinned and patted me on the back, an acknowledgement of the place we all wordlessly agree I have filled, not before nodding in agreement. "Let's go." He said, exiting the room behind me. Jogging down the steps, I grabbed my bag from underneath my desk and stuffed a few last minute essentials inside. Reid sidled up next to me, his desk being right next to mine and smiled, retrieving his own neatly packed go-bag. "You're settling in well. Hotch will be desperate to come back before you take his job." Reid said matter-of-factly, straightening a few books on his desk. "Thanks." I replied, smirking at the thought of being better than the man I so deeply despised, the man who is probably currently at home festering in anger at the thought of me doing his job better than him. Reid simply frowned at my reply. Petty? Couldn't be me. 

A few mere hours later we were rushing into Liberty Mall, accompanied by the Chief of Police and a hoard of officers to join the many that were already making their way around the building in search of the missing girl. "So we've cornered off every possible exit, all of the staff from the building have been sectioned into groups, the family are waiting over there and the rest of the civilians have been kept in the main food court. We have dogs canvassing the area and SWAT are on their way." The chief said, pointing in multiple directions as he led us towards the head of communications. After a brief word, Rossi dismissed the Chief and came to stand beside the rest of us, waiting for the communications chief to make his way over to us. "Sir." I greeted, introducing him to the team. "I'd like you to give Dr. Reid the blueprints for the mall and any other additional information he may need, Morgan, I want you and JJ to speak to the families and find out everything you can. Rossi, you're with me. I want all phones on loud. Let's go." I urged, gesturing for Rossi to follow me towards a group of official-looking men that I presumed would give us a general run down of where we were in the investigation process. 

"Okay... So we want teams 4 and 3 on floor 2, 7 and 6 can cover the left wing..." I murmured, tracing my fingers across the faded map before us. "And perhaps 9 on the roof? Just in case." Rossi questioned, scanning the paper with creased brows. "Mhm" I nodded slowly, reaching for the nearest mobile to alert the groups in question. Turning towards Reid who was a few paces down at another table, deep in thought as usual, I muttered something to Rossi and strode over to the Dr. "What are you thinking?" I asked him, attempting to cover the urgent tone in my voice, my eyes flickering nervously between the clock and the somewhat organised chaos surrounding us. "I spoke to JJ and Morgan, they believe the young boy knows something crucial, but no matter what they do, he won't say a word. And apparently the rest of the family has been no use either..." Reid declared, letting out an almost inaudible sigh as he desperately tried to fit the odd pieces of the puzzle together.

I let my gaze meet JJ's from across the room, her shoulders were tense and her eyes wide. "Uh, just give me a second..." I trailed off, leaving Reid to his brightly coloured pens and sticky notes full of information. Quickening my pace, I joined JJ a few meters from the little girl's family, the softened wails of the mother were drowned out by the shouts and clatter around us, her pale hands clutching a small jumper as a policeman gentle prized it from her grip to give to the search dogs. "Reid was just telling me the boy wasn't talking and the rest of the family have been no help at all." I spoke, gently squeezing JJ's arm as she nervously bit at her nails. "We can't get anything useful, and no one's found a trace of Abby... I don't know what to do." She breathed out, staring worriedly at the mother engulfed in her husband's shaky embrace. "Maybe I could try talking to them?" I suggested, my eyes lingering on my thin watch around my wrist, the shiny gold face showing no signs of slowing down. JJ nodded and clutched the necklace around her neck, toying with the chain. "Goodluck."

"Hi Sam... My name is Ellie, would you mind if I asked you some questions?" I said carefully, sitting next to the brown haired boy on the bench. Glaring at me, he crossed his arms and kicked his foot off the bench leg, his eyes downcast once again. "Can you tell me what you did at the mall today, Sam?" I questioned, resisting the urge to be direct and unforgiving. Sam looked at me out of the corner of his eyes, sighing loudly as he replied. "We went round the shops, then I went to the arcade. I've already told all the other people the same thing!" Watching the boy shift in his seat, I frowned. "And was Abby with you in the arcade?" The boy looked away and played with his hands, glancing across the room. "Yeah, but then she just, uh, disappeared." Sam said nonchalantly, his legs swinging off the seat slowly. I followed his gaze, the family coming into view. Frowning again, I watched as he met the eyes of his father and looked away quickly, guiltily. "You admire your father, don't you?" I theorized, staring at the boy next to me. "I guess..." Sam shrugged, making himself smaller as he slouched on the bench. "You'd want to keep him safe at all costs, right?" I pressed gently, waiting for some kind of reaction. Sam's face gave me the answer I needed. Rising from the bench, I muttered a quick thanks and rushed over to the nearest team member, Rossi, and spoke quietly to him. "The boy and his father know what happened to Abby" I declared, pulling Rossi out of the earshot of the many officers around us. "We need to get them to talk before something happens to Abby, if it hasn't already." 

                                           ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚⋆ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ⋆ ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

Author's note.

Hi guysss, looks like we've made it to 4k reads! Sorry for the late delay in posting this chapter, I've been preparing for a drama audition for college, as well as mentally preparing for the college prep day haha. Wish me luck lol. I hope you all have a fantastic summer and a good rest of your weeks. 

Word count:

1597.