"When did you last see your brother?" Scott glanced at the table and then at the young sergeant who was interviewing him
"W-we were standing outside the main super market. Dad had just finished grocery shopping and me and Virgil were bored out of our skins. Virgil asked to go to the music store and I asked to go to the sports store."
….Flashback…..
"Alright boys, but I want you both to meet us outside the bookstore in one hour okay? John wants to have a look around." Scott nodded as Virgil rushed off. Before Scott headed off as well, he turned to John who had his head buried in a book, as if trying to block out the sounds of the bustling crowd,
"John?" John glanced at his brother, "Do you want to come with me?"
…..End Flashback….
"Wait, wait, wait…" Scott paused, "…may I ask why you asked that?" Scott smiled sadly,
"John hates crowds and it was getting really busy in that particular area…I didn't want him to feel overwhelmed" Sergeant Talbot nodded,
"I don't want to ask this…but do you know if John's autistic?" Scott shrugged,
"A little…not so much that it really affects him. He just isn't very good at social situations and prefers sitting alone in a quiet room. We often joke that he'd be happier in space." Scott chuckled for a bit, before stopping,
"He refused…" he whispered, "…said he'd be okay with Dad" Scott wiped his eyes quickly,
"I should have pushed him more…I should have taken him with me so that Dad wasn't so overwhelmed!" Talbot frowned,
"You shouldn't be angry at your Father for this…"
"I'm not!" Talbot raised an eyebrow unbelievingly and Scott sighed,
"Okay…maybe I am a little. I know it's not his fault, what with the dynamic duo…" Talbot assumed he was referring to Gordon and Alan, "…and the fact that John's so quiet, it's easy to see why it happened but-"Scott buried his head in his hands and began to sob
"But it still doesn't make it any easier for you" finished Talbot. He waited for a few minutes, allowing Scott to compose himself before continuing,
"Did you notice anything suspicious when you were heading to the sports store?" Scott frowned, thinking back to himself before shaking his head,
"It was really crowded…apart from the shoppers, there was the security guards, the occasional person waiting for someone…o and I think a busker was nearby, I could just about hear the guitar" Talbot nodded as he noted that down,
"Alright, and no-one was watching your family or John?" Scott shook his head,
"Nothing out of the ordinary, just the occasional curious stare…mostly at Dad, which we expect but they were only brief." Talbot nodded again,
"Okay, thank you Scott. That'll be all" Scott nodded and got up to leave. Before opening the door, he turned back,
"You will find him won't you? I-I mean, I'm not sure what I would do without him…." He stared at the floor, "…He's my rock, and I can tell him anything. I can't be a good big brother without him!" Talbot nodded,
"We'll try Scott…we'll certainly try." Talbot paused, "What was the name of the book John was reading?"
"Time of the Twins. It's part of the Dragon-lance series…it used to belong to our Mom" Scott smiled and then left, leaving Talbot to his thoughts
…
"Alright thank you Rhymer" Hanson hung up and turned to Jeff, "There's been no activity on your e-mail accounts or on your phone, I think that we can possibly rule out ransom, we would have heard something otherwise" Jeff nodded,
"So…so it's personal then?"
"It would seem that way…do you have any…enemies at all" Jeff shook his head,
"No, even my competitors are decent and respectful, hard as that may seem….apart from that, no." Hanson raised an eyebrow,
"You must have one?!" Jeff laughed coldly,
"Do I look like the kind of man that would have an enemy?"
"Maybe not now Mr Tracy, but some day…"
Silence.
"Sir?" Hanson turned to face his second-in-change, "The oldest son says that it was really crowded around the area that John was taken,"
"Easy to blend in, no wonder nobody saw anything…but why didn't John call out for help?"
"Scott mentioned that he was reading…from what I was told, he would have been completely unaware of his surroundings"
"So the unsub spots John. A young boy around the age of ten or eleven and decides to abduct him in a crowded mall…he must have blended in well. So, he walks calmly towards John, waiting until his family has their backs turned away. Then he grabs a totally unsuspecting John, pressing his face into his own shoulder to silence John's cries for help…he'll just look like an upset child."
"But was John just a random pick…or was there something personal in choosing John?"
"…I don't know, but we have to find out and soon!"
"What have the security tapes found?"
"Nothing, where John was standing was a blind spot for the cameras…many people headed towards that area. We couldn't spot John in the crowd coming away from the corner….you'd be amazed at how many blonde children there are at this mall!"
"…That can't be a coincidence, the blind spot issue."
"You think it might be someone who knows about them?"
"Which would rule out a large majority of the crowd…they only spend so long in the mall."
"So we're looking for someone who spends enough time here that they would know about the blind spots in security"
"Like buskers, workers in the stores-"
"Or security guards…"
….
The man subtly rolled his eyes as the police marched past him. Idiots the lot of them. They couldn't even see what was right under their noses. When the path was clear, he quickly made his way to the boy…it may only be a brief visit, but that would be fine. He only needed a short amount of time to satisfy his needs.
Upon entering the room, the man grinned at the boy, who had stopped crying and was now glaring at him,
"I can't be here long my sweet…" the man whispered,"…it seems as though Jeff is pulling out all the stops to find you. But he won't….and when they give up, which they will, you and I will head off…never to be seen again."
The boy began to struggle ferociously as the man came closer and closer,
"Now, now…you should just accept that no-one is going to save you" He kept struggling,
"I'll come back later….do you want me to get you anything?" The struggling continued,
"I'll take that as a no…"
