Law and Order: SVU is the intellectual property of Dick Wolf. Criminal Minds is the intellectual property of Jeff Davis. The use of the characters, settings, and plotlines is not malicious. This is a work of fiction.

The Utica Police Department, Homicide Unit, Utica, New York

"Agent Hotchner," a man in a light grey suit held out his hand, grinning. "Captain Jake Trembly, thanks for coming."

Elliot furrowed his brow and shook his head, "No, I'm, uh, Agent Stabler." He shook the man's hand but looked over at Olivia. "That sounds so fucking weird."

"Oh," Trembly said, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry, the woman I spoke with told me to look for a tall man with dark hair, blue eyes, and a serious...well, I just assumed that..."

"I'm Aaron Hotchner," interrupted Hotchner, holding out his own hand and introducing himself. "Supervisory Special Agent with the Behavioral Analysis Unit." He gestured to his team, one at a time, as he said their names. "Is there somewhere we can talk?"

Trembly nodded, gesturing to a door behind him. "Right this way," he said. As he led the group toward the door, he said, "Forgive the close quarters. It's a small town, and we just aren't used to having this sort of trouble." He twisted a brass knob, opening the door inward, and then moved aside to allow the BAU to go in first and settle in around a long table. He cleared his throat and looked around. "Which one of you is Jennifer, again?" He smiled expectantly, and hopefully, at Olivia.

Olivia smiled back but said, "No, uh, sorry." She pointed across the table at JJ, who waved awkwardly at the man.

Trembly scratched his head and chuckled again. "I'm sorry," he said, shrugging. "Now, uh, when I spoke to Jennifer..."

"Agent Jereau," JJ said, crossing her arms.

"Right," Trembly said softly, "I only knew about seven victims. These calls came in this morning, from, a few from other cities." he said tossing a stack of files onto the table. He scratched at the side of his face and rubbed across his chin. "We don't have the resources for this, at all, but we seem to be sitting in the middle of it. Six of these children were local, that gives us majority rule, here, unfortunately. So, again, thanks for coming."

Hotchner nodded at him. "This is absolutely where we need to be right now, no thanks necessary." He looked around at his team, who had each grabbed a file. "Is there a coffee pot somewhere? We could use..."

"Say no more," Trembly interrupted, and with an unsure smile, he left the room.

Once he was gone, the team fell into a relaxed and seemingly rehearsed routine. Reading and passing folders, commenting and making observations. Reid remarked on the psychological problems someone who could do this must have. Elliot commented that he was grateful he hadn't eaten anything yet.

It was Rossi, though, who spoke louder and more sternly than anyone else. "This is worse than we thought. We need to interview locals, witnesses, the parents...and Morgan, call Garcia, see where she is on that list of trucking and utility companies."

Morgan pulled out his phone, dialing fast, and he couldn't help the smirk from forming when Garcia picked up the phone. He laughed at her greeting. "You're lucky you weren't on speaker this time," he said, leaning back, oblivious to the people around him snickering and rolling their eyes. "You got that list of...oh, you were, huh? Well, we are just cosmically connected."

Hotchner, not in the mood for games, shot Morgan a hard look. "Tell her we need her to narrow it down."

Morgan sneered at Hotchner. "Hold on, beautiful," he said, and then he hit a button and put his phone flat on the table. "Behave," he warned Garcia, "You're on speaker now."

"Oh, boo," Garcia said dryly. "Just as it was getting hot and heavy. We will save that for later, Romeo." The humor in her voice was laced with a serious promise. "What do you need from me, boss man?"

Hotchner raised his voice as he flipped through files. "We need to know which of those companies had stops in the same cities on the same days as the abductions."

"All right," Garcia said, cracking her knuckles and sitting up straight, the pops and rustling of papers could be heard through the phone. "Accessing travel logs now, so hit me if ya got em."

"I'll give you the four latest, starting with the most recent," Hotchner said, turning a page in one of the files. "Utica yesterday, between ten and eleven AM, Syracuse on March ninth, 2 PM. Utica again on March seventh, eight AM. Albany on March fifth, three PM. Then back to Utica on March second, noon."

The clicking of computer keys, along with Garcia's humming and mumbling, filtered through the room. "Sir, there are three companies with stops in that specific pattern. An Eco-power company called GreenLight, clever, huh? Also, a local produce and meat delivery service and a heating and cooling repair." She made an odd noise and said, "If you want to send me anything else, I could..."

"No, the three is fine," Hotchner said, closing the files. "Once we talk to the families and the medical examiners we'll be able to pin-point, but we need you to get on the security and traffic cameras, see if you can get footage of any of these kidnappings."

"Your wish is my command," Garcia said.

Morgan chuckled and said, "That was meant for me, right?" He picked up his phone and said, "Later, baby-girl."

"I'll be waiting, Master," Garcia quipped. "Genie, out."

The line went dead, telling the group Garcia had hung up, and the team shot questioning looks at each other.

"Right," Hotchner said, deciding on assignments in his head before filing them out. "Benson, Stabler..." He said, pointing at each one of them, "You two head out to pick up the autopsy reports for the victims. It'll be a lot of driving. Three county coroners and one state ME, but we need them all."

"On it," Elliot said, standing. He pulled Olivia's chair out for her, and when she stepped beside him, he whispered, "How come we always get sent out before they bring the coffee?"

Olivia laughed and slapped him in the chest lightly and playfully. "I'll buy you coffee. Come on."

Elliot grinned as he followed her out of the room. His eyes shot right to her ass and he licked his lips, hoping wherever they ended up staying tonight would have insulated walls. He ran a bit to catch up with her, slowing to her pace when he did. "This, uh, this feels a little familiar, doesn't it?"

"You and me? It should," she said with a wink.

"No, baby, this case," he said, scraping his teeth over his bottom lip. He clicked a button on the key to one of the black SUV's the unit had rented, and he rested his hand on the door handle for a moment. "I feel like we've...I mean, this feels really..."

"That guy," she said, opening her door and getting in. "The stalker. White. It wasn't children, but it was...just as creepy. Same, uh, same pattern."

Elliot got into the car and slammed the door, buckled his seat belt, and jammed the key into the ignition, turning it over. "That bastard," he said, his jaw tight. "I swear, if he would've hurt you, or even tried to..."

"I know," she said, stopping him. She reached out a hand, dropping it to his knee, and she rubbed up and down his thigh. "Drive," she told him.

With a nod, he pulled the car away from the curb, hoping that this case would be less personal that the ones in his past. He flinched as he heard his own thoughts. This was going to get personal, fast, and there was nothing he would be able to do to stop it.

Peace and Love

Jo

MarchCommaJo on Twitter