Taino Delsan13 – J.J. isn't given much credit sometimes, I think. I figured that she was channeling Sarah Hillridge from Mosley Lane. That episode for some reason really creeped me out when I first watched it. I don't know why.
AHowell1993 – I hadn't written Maeve into this narrative. So, she won't make an appearance.
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Chapter 7 Searching
Hotch immediately got on the phone with the fellow agents.
Right now, he had several resources available to him because an agent's child had been kidnapped. He was going to use those resources.
They would need to divide those resources at Reid's apartment, the park, and the deli.
It was unlikely that Madelyn would go to Reid's apartment. Reid would not be returning to the apartment with Henry in danger.
The deli would be a contained. Madelyn would be trapped there because it was a busy location.
The park would be an open area. There would be people there.
The deli or the park would have been the most likely places for Madelyn to go. Because of that the greatest concentration of agents would need to be at the park and the deli. The park was larger and out of the two targets it was the most likely place for Madelyn to go.
Hotch sent two agents to Reid's apartment. They would observe from the outside for signs of Madelyn or Henry.
The rest of the team divided up to investigate the deli and the park.
Hotch and Rossi went to the deli with a couple of additional agents.
Meanwhile Prentiss, Morgan, and Reid went to the park.
A woman in the park with a child would not be out of place. They would be discreate while they looked.
Hotch made sure that each of the additional agents had a current photo of Madelyn and Henry. They were also informed the two would likely be disguised.
The two agents that went to Reid's apartment building did a cursory look of the area. One of the agents called Agent Hotchner and informed him that there were no signs. They remained onsite in case Madelyn came back there.
Hotch and Rossi reached the deli at the same time they got the message from the other agent. One location was clear, two more to go.
When they arrived, Hotch sent the additional agents into the deli while him and Rossi went to the café next door. From inside the café they could see into the deli and the table where the team would eat at.
Madelyn could have sat on the barstool at the window and watched the team without being seen.
Hotch and Rossi looked for Madelyn and at the deli and the café. She was not at either. They then started looking around the other businesses.
In the meantime, Prentiss, Morgan, and Reid and the other agents went to the park. They walked around the park in effort to not draw attention to themselves as they looked.
Reid and the other agents looked around the edge of the park, away from the chess tables.
Morgan and Prentiss made their way towards the area of the park with the chess tables.
They did not want Madelyn to see Reid first.
Morgan took a seat on one of the benches that was off from the tables. Prentiss walked through the tables.
Prentiss walked past a table with a woman playing with an Asian boy at the chess table. She made sure not too look at the woman and continued walking. She stepped away from the tables.
After she was out of sight, she quickly spoke into the comms to the team. From where she stood she could see Madelyn without Madelyn seeing her.
"Madelyn is wearing a blonde wig. She's at the table with the Asian boy, no sign of Henry."
Morgan looked over at the tables. "I see her."
"I'll let the others know." Prentiss said.
Reid's voice immediately came over the earpieces. "The kid, that might be Mattie. He knows me, he doesn't know I am an Agent."
Prentiss quickly called Hotch and updated him on the situation.
After a moment, Prentiss watched has Madelyn stepped away from the game. From where she stood, she could see Madelyn without Madelyn seeing her.
The rest of the agents slowly started moving closer.
So far it appeared that Madelyn did not see either Morgan or Prentiss. She continued playing chess with the boy
Morgan watched as Madelyn talked with the boy and then got up.
The boy watched her leave but stayed in his chair. He did not even touch the board pieces.
Morgan sent a quick message to team. He would follow her along with Prentiss. They would have to wait until she was away from any potential hostages before they took her down.
Unfortunately, the park was full of families and others.
The team did not know if she was armed or had another plan.
They had to wait until they could safely take her.
Most importantly they did not know where Henry was and if he was okay or not. They would need Madelyn to find Henry.
Morgan slowly got up and walked in the same direction that Madelyn went, passing the table with the boy.
When Morgan passed, the kid looked at him
Morgan understood the look; the kid was scared.
Morgan placed his finger to his lips and nodded to the kid.
The kid nodded back. He remained in his seat, his hands slightly shaking.
Prentiss walked alongside Morgan, following Madelyn.
She appeared to be oblivious to Morgan and Prentiss following her.
When Reid heard that Madelyn was leaving, he immediately headed towards the chess tables.
Mattie stood the moment that he saw Reid.
Reid went straight to Mattie. "Are you okay?"
"Hey man, what's going on?" Mattie said, his voice shaking.
"Later," Reid said. "Are you okay, did she hurt you?"
"No," Mattie answered. "She was asking me about you. She told me you were old friends."
"Stay here, don't touch anything. I promise that I will get you home." Reid said.
"Wait," Mattie said. "She said something to me. She talked about elephant's memory and an elephant's trap."
"What is that?" The other agent asked.
"Elephant's trap is part of the Queen's gambit." Reid quickly said.
"Guiding the other player where you want them." Mattie said. "She isn't a friend, is she?"
"No," Reid answered. "She might have wanted us here. We need to get you home."
"I'll get him home," the agent said.
Reid sent a quick message to the rest of the team. They needed to know about the potential for traps.
Madelyn continued walking towards the parked vehicles she then turned and headed into a crowd that appeared to be gathering for a party.
Morgan and Prentiss followed. They didn't know what she had planned.