Hotch, Rossi, Derek, and J.J. arrived at the Senator's mansion. They waited patiently for someone to answer the door. They knew it wasn't a surprise as the guards at the gated entrance phoned ahead to warn the Senator of their visit. After a few moments, the door swung open and the Senator stood beaming at them. Such a politician.

"Gentleman, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Murtaw said.

"Who said pleasure?" Morgan growled under his breath.

The Senator shot him a look, but his phony demeanor didn't waiver.

"We are sorry to bother you at your home, Senator. I'm SSA Aaron Hotchner, Unit Chief of the Behavioral Analysis Unit. This is SSA's Derek Morgan, David Rossi, and Jennifer Jureau."

"Mr. Rossi, I've read a few of your books –" Murtaw began.

"Agent," Derek corrected.

"My apologies. What can I do for you Agent Hotchner?" he said dropping pleasantries.

"We are here regarding your daughters, Jessica and Mya Murtaw," Hotch said.

As though he'd been waiting for this, Murtaw launched into a charade of looking distressed. His hand dramatically slapped into his chest, where he clutched his heart. His eyebrows furrowed with worry.

"Did you find Mya? Is she alright?"

"We have Jessica with us back at headquarters. Mya, on the other hand, is missing."

Murtaw staggered back a little and blinked as though this news was quite a shock for him.

"I don't understand. How is she missing? What did Jessica do to her?"

"Jessica didn't do anything to her," Derek interrupted. "We have her in protective custody to keep her safe."

"Agents forgive me if I don't understand, but why is Jessica in protective custody? I love my daughter, but she should be locked up. She kidnapped my baby girl," Murtaw said.

"Senator, we have reason to believe that your daughters are both in danger –" Hotch said before Murtaw interrupted.

"Let me get my coat. I'll come with you," he said.

"I'm afraid for the time being you will not be allowed any contact with Jessica," Hotch said.

"I'm sorry? I'm not allowed contact with my daughter? And who do you think is going to keep me from her?" Murtaw said losing the diplomatic façade he'd been holding.

"Besides the four of us?" Derek said folding his arms across his chest.

"What is this? Is this some kind of interrogation? What did Jessica tell you?" Murtaw said eyeing Hotch out.

"Enough that we would like to speak with you further regarding her allegations," Rossi interjected.

Murtaw let out a boisterous laugh.

"And you call yourselves behavioral analysts. Agents, Jessica is a compulsive liar who craves attention. You can speak with her therapist. He'll tell you. Jessica is a troubled young girl and has been her entire life.

"When my wife was pregnant with Mya, she was so jealous that she was no longer going to be the center of attention, she tried to push my wife down the stairs. Once Mya was born, she was constantly trying to harm Mya. From beating her to trying to suffocate her. We had to kick her out for Mya's safety.

"It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do and of course, I stupidly allowed her to move back in when she promised she had changed. I believed she had learned from her past and was finally turning the corner. I trusted her and one night during a dinner party, she kidnapped my Mya. So, forgive me if I have little empathy for her antics."

Hotch reached into his pocket and produced a business card.

"I think we've taken enough of your time this evening. If you think of anything that might be helpful in locating Mya, please contact me. For now, I suggest sticking around in case we have any further questions."

"I have nothing to hide Agent Hotchner. Come by and we can discuss further at any time."

With that, the door closed, and the agents headed back toward the waiting SUV.

"And you call yourselves behavioral analysts," Derek mocked. "What a prick."

"This is not going to be easy. The bureaucratic tape is going to be a bitch to get through," Hotch said as he climbed into the driver's seat.

"Let's hope his arrogance is his downfall," Rossi said.

(xxxxx)

Lizzie laid in the dark playing alphabet games. When she was bored, Jade would play it with her. She would give a category like animals, and then she and Lizzie would take turns going through the alphabet, finding answers for each letter.

As she played the game in her head, the door swung open. Lizzie immediately sat up and crawled to the corner of the room.

"It smells like piss in here!" Murtaw shouted as the light flooded the room. "You fucking animal! Pissing all over my floor!"

He reached out and grabbed Lizzie by the hair. He dragged her a few feet to the puddle she had left and slammed her into it. As she squirmed and shrieked, he wiped her face along the floor.

"Your sister went to the feds! I'll teach her to mess with me!" he bellowed as he pulled out a knife from his pocket.

(xxxxx)

Spencer sat holding Jade against his chest. They hadn't moved or spoken since Hotch and the team left. Alex sat nearby quietly working on a crossword puzzle. The silence was interrupted by a knock on the door. Spencer stood up, blocking Jade who cowered behind him. Alex pulled out her gun and walked closer to the door.

"Who is it?"

"Morgan and J.J."

Alex unlocked the office door and opened it. Derek was the first to storm in with J.J. following behind.

"That man is a real piece of work," Derek said as he flopped down into the nearest chair.

"What happened?" Spencer asked.

"He told us that Jade was a compulsive liar that does things for attention. He said that she constantly tried to hurt Lizzie and that's why she was kicked out of the house."

Spencer looked back at Jade whose eyes were as big as saucers. She shook her head, her eyes pleading with Spencer not to believe it. He sat down and wrapped her back into a hug.

"Don't worry, we don't believe a word he says," J.J. assured Jade softly.

"So, what about Lizzie?" Jade asked as she peeked out from Spencer's chest.

"Hotch and Rossi are trying to formulate a plan as we speak. We have to go about this carefully because of the nature of political bullshit. You know how it is," Derek said angrily.

"I need to get to her," Jade whimpered.

"We will. We'll get her, I promise," Spencer said as he squeezed her tightly.

Suddenly, Rossi appeared in the doorway. His face looked unusually pale.

"Morgan and J.J., a moment," he said.

"What's going on?" Spencer asked standing up as well.

"Hotch just has a few questions about some contacts that could possibly help us," Rossi replied.

J.J. and Derek followed Rossi to his office where he quickly shut the door.

"What's wrong?" Derek asked as soon as the door shut.

"We just received this package," Hotch said holding up a box.

"What's in it?" Derek asked as his heart rate increased.

He popped open the lid and sat back. Derek looked at Hotch warily before glancing at J.J. who held the same expression. They both inched forward slowly and peered into the box. J.J. gasped and covered her mouth as Derek's head dropped in defeat. Lying in the box in a mess of tangles and blood were long locks of brown hair.

Suddenly, the door flung open and Spencer stood watching them. He eyed each of them before he settled on the box sitting on Rossi's desk.

"What is that?" he asked.

"Reid –" J.J. began.

Spencer marched forward and looked into the box. His eyes immediately welling up as he fought back the rush of nausea. He looked furiously at Hotch.

"Is that … Hotch is that …"

"I don't know, but I'm worried we are running out of time."