Rossi and Spencer were led from the mobile command center by two fully-armed SWAT members, and straight into the mall's main lobby. It was here that they were introduced to a man called Captain Rutherford. He appeared frazzled.
"Are you two the people from the FBI, who they said would be coming to help?" he asked them.
"Yes." Rossi confirmed. "Let's talk over here."
He and Spencer directed Rutherford to the far side of the lobby, away from any potential eavesdroppers. They were about fifteen feet away from the younger security guards. Most of them looked so nervous that Rossi wouldn't have been surprised if this was the first 'big situation' for many of them. No need to get anyone overexcited. It was already a small blessing that all of the mall employees and the visiting patrons had sought shelter away from the pandemonium.
Rutherford went from frazzled to confused. "Aren't you guys from the Behavioral Analysis Unit? I thought there were more members of your team…"
"There are. I'm Supervisory Special Agent David Rossi." the older man said of himself. "With me is one of my colleagues, Doctor Spencer Reid. He and I are two faces of the team."
"Where is everyone else?"
Spencer indicated Hotch and Strauss. They were already some odd feet away, explaining their own plans to a different security official. All of them were deep in discussion.
"Our team leader is just over there, and that's his commanding officer with him. Two more of our team members are working in the mobile command center out front."
Rutherford had been keeping track on his fingers. "Including the two of you, that makes only six. Where are the remainders? How did the FBI get here so fast?"
Rossi withheld a sigh. "Unfortunately… the two remaining members of our number have been somewhat compromised."
"Excuse me?"
"Those other team members were already here, spending time with their niece because we're in a small window where we're having time off. It's also come to our attention that three more friends our ours in the complex."
"Who are they to your team?"
"The young son of our leader, and his two nannies."
Rutherford took this in stride. "Alright. Do you have any idea where your people are?"
Spencer nodded. "Yes. We've seen from security footage that all of them rushed into the toy store, just before the lockdown when into effect. They also picked up two more kids."
Rutherford was more bewildered than ever. "How? Do you know their names?"
"The older one is called Kendra Fujimoto. She escaped from the bookstore with a baby, but we have no idea of the little one's name at this point."
"Okay. Minus the fights upstairs, it looks like the bookstore is the main source of the hubbub. Has your team been made aware?"
Even as Rutherford spoke these words, all three of them watched as Hotch and Strauss left the hobby with a small platoon of security guards. Rossi presumed that they were off to neutralize the issue that had just been mentioned.
He nodded in response to Rutherford's question. "Yes, but right now, our main priority is evacuating the toy store."
"I understand." Rutherford said seriously. "Anything else I should know right now, agent?"
"Not only are our compromised both colleagues both pregnant," Rossi informed him. "But one has an injured leg and will be in a wheelchair. I don't need to stress how important delicacy is in this operation."
"No. Of course not. Do you know any extra particulars about the children from the bookstore?"
"Both of them have parents trapped in bookstore. We also learned that Kendra is asthmatic and prone to panic attacks."
"Poor kid. Why were she and the little one let go?"
Rossi sighed. "That remains to be seen, but I suppose that the hostage-taker in the bookstore let them leave. His name is Caleb Rankin. We also have more hiccup."
"Let's hear it."
"We have reason to believe that Kendra's parents are intentional targets of a man called Caleb Rankin. He's the one causing the chaos there. As far as the baby is confirmed, we think his or her parents are also in the bookstore."
Rutherford straightened up. "I am at your service, gentlemen. What do you need? More of my men?"
Spencer shook his head. "Let's hold off on that for a second. Right now, we need a hard copy of blueprints for the area of the complex where the toy store is. The best plan of removal is a discreet exit."
"The toy store is directly across from the bookstore, but the grate over the windows completely obscure any outside view. That might be an advantage." Rutherford beckoned to Rossi and Spencer. "All blueprints are under lock and key in the main security room. It's over this way."
After a quick walk through a pair of double doors marked 'AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY,' they found themselves in a service tunnel.
"Are there more areas like this?" asked Spencer as Rutherford finally brought them into the main security room.
"Yeah. They run in between each business on every floor here."
Rutherford opened a locked drawer on the other side of the room, rifled through it for a few moments, and then picked out two fully-detailed blueprint pages. These he spread out on a nearby work table.
"Both of these will help. I'll join you both in a second—certain issues need to be addressed."
There were other security officers in the room. Each of them had been assigned to watch the wall of security monitors before them. Their attention was now diverted. For obvious reasons.
"Take your time." Rossi told him. "Do what you have to."
Through collaborating with Rutherford and his men, Rossi and Spencer began the first stage of the rescue.
Good thing they had a tech analyst who was very good at her job.
BEEP!
Emily jumped. Things had been somewhat at a standstill in the toy store. Her phone going off was the last thing she expected.
"What is it?" JJ strolled over to her as she carried baby Zooey in her arms.
"My phone lit up and made noise." Emily checked the screen. "I have service now. Do you?"
JJ checked. "I do!"
The other adults in the room heard this proclamation and checked their own phones. Each of them had suddenly gotten their cell service back, too.
Emily quickly called for order. "I understand that you all want to check in with your loved ones, but I advise against that."
"Why?" protested one companion.
JJ cottoned on to what Emily was thinking and addressed the others at altogether. "We don't know how long this window is going to be open, but I do know that our people will be trying to get hold of us."
The man relented. "Fine."
Sunday spoke with caution. "Have your people contacted you?"
Emily opened her mouth to say no, but her phone chose that moment to ring. And her heart skipped a beat when she spotted who the incoming call was from.
"Oh, Dave." Emily said in relief when she answered the phone. "Hello."
The old man's voice was comforting. "Emily, we were able to catch you, JJ, and Kaida on the security footage. We know exactly where you are."
"Good. We tried calling on our phones, but no one had any service. Was there a jammer in place?"
"Yes. Penelope overturned it. How many people are in your company?"
"Ten adults, one teenager, two school-aged children, Jack Hotchner, and a small baby. Fifteen people."
"Copy that. We're making our way towards you through service tunnels behind the shops. Ask one of the employees to direct everyone to the nearest service exit. I'll stay on the line."
Emily turned to the manager. "Where is the nearest exit that leads to the service tunnel?"
The man was taken aback by the abrupt change in the tide. "It's through the storage room."
"Rescue is coming, but they need to meet us by that exit. Please take us there now."
And so the manager and his employees led everyone else to the designated area.
Emily held her phone up to her ear again. "We're by the door now."
"Excellent. We'll be there in a few moments."
Both parties hung up.
"Okay." Emily told her company. "They should be here, any second."
Her words were still hanging in the air when the service door opened. Rossi and Spencer stood before them. With backup.
"It's all okay." JJ assured everyone. "We're safe now. It's time to leave."
Rossi nodded to them and made a beckoning motion. "She's right. Just follow us."
In a whirl of stealth and the sound of the SWAT officers' boots hitting the ground, they were escorted off the mall's perimeter, and into the safety of the blockade. Emily was grateful.
While a large chunk of the civilians from the toy store were promptly escorted away so they could see about contacting their loved ones, JJ and Emily still found themselves with Charlotte, Quinlan, Sunday, Kaida, Kendra, Jack, and Zooey. All of them were brought inside the mobile command center to be out of the way of the foot traffic.
Derek and Penelope greeted them as everyone gathered together in a far corner while they caught their breath. It was finally time to slow down.
"How are you all?" Derek asked gently.
JJ leaned back in her seat and sighed heavily. "We're shaken, but so relieved to be out of there."
"For sure." Emily agreed.
Penelope indicated the stack of blankets she was holding. "Does anybody want one?"
Everyone did.
Emily checked on Sunday, who stood beside her, on the verge of tears. "How are you?"
Sunday showed Emily her mobile device. "My phone is dead. I just want to call my parents to tell them that I'm okay. It's been a few hours since the last time I spoke to them. Today was just supposed to be about errands. I guess that went out the window some time ago."
"Good assessment, Sunday."
Penelope stepped forward and shook the girl's hand. "I have a phone on the other side of the center that you can use. My name is Penelope, by the way."
"I would love to use that phone. Thank you."
Sunday followed Penelope away.
Just in front of them, Charlotte and Quinlan were camped out at a conference table. They were quiet. Also catching their collective breath. Jack was even fast asleep in Charlotte's arms. All of the excitement had worn him out.
But…
JJ arched an eyebrow at Charlotte when the younger woman grew pensive. "What's wrong?"
"Someone promised to get word through to Aaron for us, but I called called Haley because my phone isn't dead. She told me that Cho is labor."
JJ and Emily were startled by this, but Kaida reacted first.
"That means it's time for my brothers to come!" she crowed. "Right?"
JJ nodded. "Y—"
Kendra cut across her as she burst into tears. "What about my mommy and daddy? They're still inside!"
Kaida sobered up at once and showed her friend compassion by hugging her. Emily herded them away so Kendra could work through her feelings in peace.
This left JJ with her tiny charge.
Derek pulled a chair up to them and sat in it.
"Who is this little miss?" he asked JJ, referring to the baby.
The blond woman smiled at him. "Remember the Oregon case? Where I spent time looking after a baby?"
"Uh-huh. You were so smitten with her. I snapped a picture of the two of you together when I went to check on you at the hospital."
"Well, Derek, say hello again to my sweet Zooey."
"What?" he said in surprise. "This baby is the same one from Oregon?"
"She's one and the same." JJ held out the inside of Zooey's right wrist. "You see that red splotch? It's a port wine stain."
Derek observed it and then tucked Zooey's arm back into its previous position. "The marking looks like the letter z."
JJ pulled her blanket up a little higher over herself and Zooey. She even began to rub Zooey's back. The main goal was to get her to count sheep.
"That splotch is how I recognized her. It's very distinctive. Not something you see every day."
Derek mused aloud, "What are the chances that Zooey made it all the way across the country to be taken care of by you in a crisis again? Talk about déja vù."
"Seriously. I never met her parents in Oregon, but I'm not letting Zooey out of my sight this time until I reunite her with who she belongs to."
Derek already knew that JJ was no one to trifle with. Today, it was plain to see that she was extra tired, and very emotional, all thanks to the pregnancy hormones running through her system. Accidentally antagonizing this woman seemed a poor idea.
"Okay, JJ. I'll make sure nobody separates you from Zooey until we find her parents."
"Thank you, Derek." JJ said gratefully. "I appreciate that."
"Need anything?"
"Just to put my feet up."
Derek stood, mindful of his arm resting in a sling—he still had awhile to go before he was fully recovered from his recent bullet-removal surgery. It still ached. But he helped his friend out by positioning his chair in front of hers.
"There you go, JJ." he told her.
She comfortably rested her feet on Derek's chair, feeling relieved when her body relaxed. "Thanks again."
"I'm going to go see if Penelope can help you figure out who Zooey's parents are." Derek made sure JJ was as comfortable as the situation would allow before taking a step back. "One moment."
And he went off in search of Penelope.
JJ settled in to wait. It wasn't like she had anywhere else to go.
Still… she wondered how the rest of the team was doing.
