Prompt: The BAU team raid a building to rescue one kidnapped child and find a lot more than they thought. They end up walking into a child trafficking ring to adult prostitution.
*When the kids turn ten they are given a baby to take care of, at 20 they are let go of because their little is old enough to be given their own little.
*Bigs (called 'Mama' or 'Papa' depending on gender) and littles share a room
*The kids are bought off of the Black market as newborns.
Ch. 1
"Whether your children are yours through biology or adoption, they are yours through love." -Sadia Rebecca
Somewhere in San Francisco, California, there is an old three story Victorian mansion with nine bedrooms. Only six bedrooms are occupied. Each room contains what the man known as 'Baba' calls a "big" and a "little".
In one room on the second floor, there is a thirteen year old Tallulah Brown and three year old Maelle Brown.
"Mama! Mama!" Maelle cried as she ran into Tallulah's arms
"What's the matter, Mae?" Tallulah asked as she wrapped her arms around the little girl "Huh, baby? What's wrong?"
Maelle cried into Tallulah's chest, "Scared."
"Why are you scared, baby?" Tallulah questioned
Maelle turned and pointed to the window, "Bad man outside. Baba taked care of it."
Tallulah gave a nod, but she looked very confused. Why was Maelle still scared?
"Did you know the bad man, Mae-Mae?" Tallulah wondered
Maelle nodded as she cried into Tallulah's chest, "Sí mama. Bad man hurt me."
Tallulah gave a soft sigh as she held her baby girl close. She knew what Maelle was referring to. A year ago, a man that claimed to be Maelle's uncle and calling the girl 'Amber' grabbed her and tried to take her away. 'Baba' stopped him and saved little Maelle, who had been sobbing and yelling 'mama'.
"Do you want milk, Mae?" Tallulah offered
Maelle nodded, "Sí mama."
Tallulah picked up Maelle and carried her downstairs to the kitchen. Tallulah filled a sippy cup with milk for Maelle and then handed the cup to the little girl, who placed the nipple of the sippy cup into her mouth and drank as her eyes dropped sleepily.
Meanwhile at Quantico, Penelope and the team are in the meeting room. Penelope is briefing the agents about the new case.
"Okay. We have a missing child. Her name is Amber Cromie. She is three years old. She went missing in Denver, Colorado three years ago, after being placed in foster care." Penelope explained
"Why are we just getting this case now, Garcia?" Jennifer asked
Penelope sighed sadly, "The parents didn't know. They just got clean and were supposed to have a visit with their child, but social services told them that they'd lost track of the child. Social services assumed it to be a parental abduction and didn't report the little girl missing until yesterday when the parents actually showed up for the visit."
"Then we can't waste anymore time." Aaron said as he stood up, "Wheels up in ten."
The team headed to Denver, Colorado in their private jet. Upon arriving at the Denver Police Station. A Denver police officer accompanied Aaron and David to Amber Cromie's foster home where she disappeared from to talk to the foster parents and canvas the area. Spencer stayed back at the station to work on the geographic profile with one of the local officers. Jennifer and Derek went to talk to Amber's parents and anyone else that had been involved in Amber's life up until her disappearance.
Upon entering the home of the Culbertson's, Amber's foster parents; Aaron and David start with the questioning right away. The Denver police officer is canvassing the neighborhood and talking to the neighbors.
"What can you tell us about when Amber stayed with you?" David asked
The woman, Allie shrugged, "Not much. She was only with us for two weeks."
"Did you notice any suspicious people hanging around?" Aaron wondered
The man, James shook his head, "No. Never. She was so little that we didn't like to take her out much. Only if we had to."
Aaron nodded as he noticed a look on Allie's face. It was like she was hiding something and she wanted to say what. David noticed it too.
"Ma'am, if you know something, you have to tell us." David told her
James looked at his wife, "Al?"
Allie pursed her lips, "I..um…I went to the store the day Amber disappeared. That's where we were when she just…..vanished." She shook her head as tears spilled from her eyes, "I looked away for one second….just one second to grab a container of formula. The cart was right next to me. I…I turned back and she was gone." She leaned into her husband and cried, "My baby was gone."
"We know that Amber wasn't ours. At least not legally or biologically, but we did love her." James added, "We loved her like she was ours. In our hearts she was…is our baby. This is terrible to say, but we kind of wanted her birth parents to have their rights taken away so that we could adopt her."
"Okay. Thank you both for your help." Aaron responded, "That's very helpful and I'm so sorry."
Meanwhile with Jennifer and Derek at the residence of Vivian and Elias Cromie, which is Amber's parents' house.
"Ma'am, what can you tell us about Amber?" Jennifer inquired
A distraught Vivian shook her head, "Nothing. I never even got to hold her. I never held my baby." She cried and leaned into her boyfriend's chest.
"We're sorry…my baby...my little girl was taken from me and Vivian when she was born." James started, "Don't judge us, but Vivian was an addict and while she was giving birth I was drinking myself half to death in a bar."
"We're not judging you, we just want to find your daughter." Jennifer assured them
Derek spoke, "Do you know of anyone who has a grudge against either of you and would take your kid because of it? Maybe a drug dealer?"
Vivian shook her head, "No. Despite the fact that they are drug dealers, they have standards. Most of them have families and kids of their own. They would never steal another person's child."
"Vivian's parents, Jose and Alice Cromie." James stated, "They weren't very happy with the way she was living her life. They tried to force us to put Amber up for adoption."
"Anyone else?" Jennifer wondered
Vivian gave a nod, "My sister Camilla. She agreed with my parents. She wanted me to give Amber up too. She threatened to take Amber from me if I didn't." She held her breath, "Do you think my sister has my baby?"
"We can't be certain. Thank you for all your help though." Derek replied
Later at the police station with Spencer, he gets a call from Penelope and puts it on speaker.
"Hey Garcia, you're on speaker." Spencer stated, "I've got Hotch and Rossi with me."
"Hey, so I looked up other kidnappings involving infants under one that matched this one." Penelope started, "I found twelve other cases dating back nineteen years."
Aaron nodded to himself, "Who? And where did they happen, Garcia?"
"One week old Jonathon Arger from San Jose, California. Five day old Aiden Romberger from Boulder, Colorado. Two week old Harvey Matlock from Columbus, Ohio. Five week old Francesca Cannari from Jerome, Arizona; and three week old Elowen Adams from Santa Barbara, California." Penelope rattled out, "One week old Rylee Sekler from Austin, Texas. Five week old Eliza Brecher in Rochester, New York. Three week old Rhett Nobel from Santa Fe, New Mexico. Newborn Finnick Husman from hospital nursery in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Three week old Greyson Whitten from Miami, Florida; and one week old Harriet Miralles was reported missing almost two months ago by her foster mothers in Meadow Creek, West Virginia."
"Those are all different states. Other than M.O. why do you think they are related?" Spencer wondered
Penelope took a breath, "Well all the kidnappings were in different years. It's possible that the kidnapper or kidnappers are traveling, but I don't know. I'm not a profiler, Wonder Boy."
"Okay. Thank you, Garcia." David responded before hanging up
"Whoever is kidnapping all those kids, assuming those cases are related, what is the unsub or what are the unsubs doing with the kids?" Aaron wondered
Spencer nodded, "The unsub or unsubs would also need to have a place big enough to house all those kids. Assuming that he or they are keeping the kids. We just need to figure out where the home base is."
Aaron calls Penelope back, "Hey Garcia, I need your help."
"Well, it's your lucky day, Sugar. Helping is my specialty." Penelope responded
"Can you find out who kidnapped all those kids and where their home base is?" Aaron asked, "They'd need a big house or a warehouse to hold all those kids."
"I'll see what I can find out and then get back to you." Penelope said before hanging up
"Don't give up. Normally it is the last key on the ring which opens the door." -Paulo Coelho
Ch. 2
"The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life." -Richard Bach
At the San Francisco victorian house, 'Baba' and his younger brother 'Poppy' or 'Pop' as called by some of the bigs returned to the house.
"Hey kids, we're home." Pop announced
"All the bigs please meet us downstairs in the living room. We need to have a family meeting." Baba yelled
Nineteen year old Tobias, eighteen year old Ezekiel, sixteen year old Jasper, fifteen year old Colette, ten year old Raven, and Tallulah rushed downstairs to the living room.
"What's up, Baba?" Tobias, also known as Toby, asked. He looked at Baba's brother, "Oh hey Pop."
"Hi Toby." Pop greeted
Then Baba spoke, "What's up, Toby, is that we need you and the others to run a few errands. And take your little with you."
"You got it, Baba." Ezekiel, or Zeke, said "What do we need to do?"
Pop handed out lists, "Toby, you're in charge of delivering some items for us. They're in boxes. Do not open the boxes."
Tobias nodded, "Okay Pop." He took the list and then headed upstairs to get his little, nine year old Elijah.
"Zeke and Jas, you're both in charge of taking the cars to get gas." Baba informed
Ezekiel and Jasper, also known as Jas, nodded as they took their list and then headed upstairs to get their littles, eight year old Nathan and six year old Theodore.
"What about me, Baba and Poppy?" Colette, or Coco wondered
Baba handed her a list, "Coco, you and Rae are on grocery duty. Lula, you're doing a bank run. We need you to pick up a transaction that was transferred to mine and Poppy's account. Go through the ATM."
The three girls nodded, "Okay Baba."
Colette, Tallulah, and Raven headed upstairs to get their littles five year old Ariella, three year old Maelle, and two month old Willow.
Meanwhile at the local police precinct in Denver, Colorado with the BAU team.
"So Amber went missing here." Spencer said as he pointed to the city where Amber Cromie was kidnapped from. Then he pointed out on the map the other cities where kids were kidnapped from. "The connection I've made is that there isn't one. The unsubs are all over the map, which means these cities must mean something to them."
"Well now we need to find out the what and why? Then we'll find out who?" Aaron spoke
A young woman, aged twenty-nine, walks into the police station and asks to speak with Agent Hotchner.
Aaron walks over to the young woman, "I'm Agent Hotchner. How can I help you, ma'am?"
"I'm Estella Johnson. I know who has all those missing kids, because they have my daughter too." The young woman explained, "I was their victim. When they got rid of me after I was too old, they sold me to sex traffickers. Four years later I got pregnant and the traffickers took my daughter and gave her to the men that sold me to them. She'd be five now."
Aaron gave a nod, "I'm sorry about that. Do you know the individuals' names? Or where we could find them?"
Estella shook her head, "No, they moved us every few years. And the only names I ever knew for them were the ones they made us call them. Baba and Poppy. I do know that they are brothers, but when I was there they were still in training. Their father was the leader. He was called Grandfather. At least by us kids. Both the bigs and littles."
"Do you know anyone else who was there with you? Like names or where we could find them now?" Aaron inquired
"That's the other thing. Grandfather changed all our names. We don't know our real birth names, and he just gave us one of the five most common last names in the world." Estella informed
Aaron sighed softly, "Okay. Well thank you for all your help."
Aaron realized because of that, he and his team would never find the other kids even if they tried. The kids aren't registered under the names they would be using. The only names they've ever known.
"Just find the sons of bitches, and find my daughter." Estella replied
"We will." Aaron assured
"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I've ended up where I needed to be." -Douglas Adams
Ch. 3: Interviews
"Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy." -Leo Buscaglia
Jennifer calls the parents of the missing kids to interview them over the phone about the day their child disappeared. She decides to start with Sadie and Keven Arger, the parents of Jonathon Arger. They didn't provide much information. Then she spoke with Reba and Benedict Romberger, the parents of Aiden Romberger.
"May I ask who's calling?" Benedict Romberger answered the phone, speaking before Jennifer could get out a word.
"My name is Agent Jareau. I'm with the FBI. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions about the disappearance of your son Aiden."
Jennifer heard Benedict clear his throat, "Eighteen years. That's how long my son has been missing. My wife and I missed everything with him! What could you possibly want to know?!"
"I'm sorry, sir. I'll only take up a few minutes of your time." Jennifer apologized, "I was wondering if you saw anything unusual on the day your son disappeared?
"No. We went on a walk and took him to the park. It was our first time taking him out since we left the hospital." Benedict explained, but then he paused, "Actually there was a young man at the park, looked to be about mid-twenties. He looked suspicious and out of place, but then two kids ran up to him. The older one called him Baba. The younger one looked to be about a year old."
Jennifer took a breath as she processed the information. That Estella girl did mention a guy called 'Baba'. This meant that she and Aiden were part of the same group.
"Do you remember what he looked like? Can you go into your local precinct to meet with a sketch artist?"
"No. I'm sorry. Eighteen years is a long time. I don't remember what he looked like."
"Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world would do this, it would change the Earth." -William Faulkner
Hope you enjoy. Comments are greatly appreciated.