Undercover Family
I would love to hear your opinions and look to working further on the story.
I do not own or have connection with the "Criminal Minds" program or its characters.
Chapter one.
BAU Round Table Room
As the agents of the first unit of the BAU gather in the round table room; they look around at the unknown devices on the side tables and the front screen is off. They sit down waiting for JJ to give them the files of the case that they have been called in to discuss, but JJ has none. She is as confused by the request to meet there as they all are. After all the agents, including Penelope Garcia, have arrived, Section Chief Strauss arrives with three other people. One of the people is a large woman wearing a doctor's lab coat and carrying files, the other two people were men wearing suits and carrying more files, one of which is given to each of the agents around the table. The woman goes to a chair at the front of the room near the screen; one of the men sets up a projector for the screen. Chief Strauss goes to the front of the room and begins to address her team.
Strauss: "Good Morning, we are here to discuss a case in the town of Harvard, Illinois. Forty-Two children have been found to be missing in the past six months. It is believed that they have been kidnapped, but no ransom notes have been found nor any bodies. We have been asked to send a BAU unit undercover to discover who is taking the children, why and to find the children. You will not be dealing directly with the police; the local FBI agency will handle the direct linkage with them."
Hotch: "Why send a unit out there if we are not going to deal with the locals."
Strauss: "You will be dealing with the locals, but on a different level. I would like to introduce Dr. Rebecca Anderson, she will be the leading this team in this case."
The large woman stood up and goes to the front of the room.
Doctor: "Good Morning, thank you Chief Strauss. Now, you may wonder why the chief said that I would be the boss. It is because I will be, I know that you have very good boss and he does a good job, I am counting on that. You will become a family, now you may think that you are already a family, but you will become even closer as that. You will all be siblings. The missing children are all between the ages of four as the youngest and twelve, no teenagers or babies. Five of you will become somewhere in that age group, one of you will be older than the age group and one of you will be younger."
Prentiss: "Excuse me, but what do you mean become in that age group or older or younger."
Doctor: "I have developed a way of creating illusions, when you where the device you would appear to others who are not wearing a device as whatever I have programmed the device to make you appear as. To others wearing a device, you will appear as your normal self. The world around would acclimate itself to your physical being. Each of you will be wearing a device and the device will be programmed so that you appear to be children of one family. This is an undercover assignment which could last an unlimited amount of time. We wanted a fairly large unit that has more than five agents or members. We wanted an analysis unit to help us to learn who this abductor is. It is our hope to stop the unsub by using agents to lure him or her into kidnapping a child agent. Through that agent we hope to find the missing children or at least learn of their fate. The agents in question will never be in any true danger because of the devices and that they are traceable. Your section chief has suggested this unit because you are single adults and can go undercover for an uncertain amount of time. She had indicated that you are very close and would probably be able to be cohesive as a family. A look through your files has given me indications of what the best age you would be able to play the role as. I do realize that two of you have children and you would want to be able to see your children once in a while and that can be arranged. So what do you feel about this case? Are you willing to do it? Although, I been assured that you will do it; I do not want to have sulky children, who are doing something they don't really want to do." She leaves the room for the agents to discuss the case.
For the next hour, they discuss and haggle about whether this would be worth their time and whether it would be interesting to be a child or even whether they would want to be one for any length of time. One of the uncertainties would be what she said about someone becoming younger than four, they question what age: baby, toddler, pre-schooler, what age? What agent would really choose to be that age again and why would someone need to be that age for this case?
The team decides that it would accept the case, but only if they get to choose the ages they want to be. They ask the Doctor back and give her this condition.
Doctor: "No, you will not be given the choice as to what age you are. The reason is because of what is needed and how you're dynamics and personalities can fit that age. Some of you will great as an elementary age child, while others would not fit that role well. That is why I will choose what age you are, I am not going to try to embarrass or humiliate you. The age I choose is for the best of the case not anything else. Do you accept this case?
Strauss: "Please be aware agents that there are more than forty missing children and you are the best chance we have for finding them. I have approved this mission and undercover assignment for you. The director is also being kept very aware of this case, because of the nature of the devices being used and the hope of their use in future cases. You are being guinea pigs in a sense."
Morgan: "Great, We are children and guinea pigs. Can this case give us more a low feeling about ourselves and how you see us?" Some chuckles at this.
Hotch: "We have agreed to accept this case. Do you have any idea of the length of time it would take to find the unsub and the children?
Doctor: "That we have no way to knowing, it could be a month, it could be a year. Since you have decided to take the case, your jet will be taking us to the Rockford airport tonight. We will spend the night at a hotel there and you will be prepared for tomorrow, when we drive to Harvard and you arrive looking like children. Tonight, in Rockford, you will learn what ages you will be. As Chief Strauss has said, I am the boss. I will be Momma to the family, there is no father. I am a widow with seven children. I would advise you to prepare yourselves to leave. The jet leaves in two hours. You will not need any clothes or personal hygiene items. All of that will be provided. What I ask if you want to bring is more personal items, such as pictures, etc. Okay, I will see you on the jet in two hours.
The team separate to prepare to leave for Illinois.
