Derek pulled the information about the case up on his tablet in silence. Pretty Boy sat down beside him, and Derek snuck a sideways glance at the genius. Reid was doing a poor job of masking his anxiety.
Why was he so nervous?
He was about to ask when Garcia came over the video feed, ready to brief the team.
"Okay my pretty little superheroes, five year old Lily Arnold went missing from a park in Newport, Oregon, almost three and a half hours ago. We were called in because her mom asked for us. The rest is in your tablets."
"Wait a second," JJ spoke up. "Lila Archer is her mother?"
"The Lila Archer?" Prentiss asked. "From that cancelled show Emotional Cages?"
"The one and only." Garcia answered.
"But she went off the grid, disappeared five and a half years ago." Prentiss said. Derek could tell when it hit his partner. "When she couldn't hide that she was pregnant."
"She didn't go off the grid." Garcia contradicted. "She just changed her last name and moved to Oregon. Then had a baby."
"Have they looked into the father as a suspect?" Rossi asked.
"No need." Was Hotch's clipped answer.
A sickening thought hit Derek in the gut. He asked Garcia, "Who is Lily's dad, anyway?"
"Nobody really knows. Let me see what I can find ou- Oh my g- oh my. Oh no. No, no, no. " A look of horror crossed her face before fierce determination took its place. "You find that little girl and you bring her home safe. That is a direct order."
"Isn't that Hotch's line?" Prentiss asked.
"I mean it, you guys. This just got personal."
So Baby Girl didn't actually answer his question, but she'd said enough for him to know that his hunch was right.
Derek looked at Reid, Hotch, and JJ. An understanding flashed between the four of them before they all six gave the case their fullest attention. Someone had messed with the wrong team.
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