CHAPTER 15
Hours pass by and the team arrives back at Quantico. The case was solved and they are more than glad to arrive back in D.C. in order to finally relax at home.
The case was solved rather quickly, with the team solving it in less than a week. The unsub turned out to be a member of the AAF organization.
A male in his late 30's, a very dedicated member of the AAF. He, like the rest of the people in the organization, was against the fracking company to establish in his hometown.
However, he took it to an extreme, killing in a vicious manner in order to act against the fracking corporation. His MO was based on how fracking companies work, drilling holes to the ground except, in this case, he drilled his victims alive.
He became more disorganized as he continued to kill, leaving evidence that the team quickly caught up in order to apprehend him.
But now, the case was finally over. They just had to go back to their office in order to fill out a few paperwork and then clock out.
The team is inside the elevator, waiting to arrive back at the office. Reid is currently telling the whole team a list of facts about Pennsylvania after Luke asked him if he knew something about the state.
A question he now regrets.
"Did you guys know that Pennsylvania is the only original colony not bordered by the Atlantic Ocean," Reid tells the group, bombarding them with endless facts straight from an encyclopedia.
"And that Pittsburgh has over 300 sets of city-maintained steps. If they were stacked on top of each other, they would reach over 26,000 feet high. They would measure higher than a lot of the Himalayan Mountains."
"Why would you know that information?" Matt asks with a puzzled expression.
"No! Don't ask no more questions," Emily quickly tells him.
She was tired of being bombarded with random facts from the boy genius.
"If you continue he will end up telling us how many insects are in that state," she says while rubbing her head.
The team all let out a snicker, knowing that their boss was right.
"Actually, the state has over-"
Ding. The elevator doors open, interrupting Reid's fact. The team steps out of the elevator, escaping hearing any more facts Reid had to offer.
They love Spencer, they really do. He is the little brother in the team but they all needed a break from Pennsylvania.
That includes any facts about the state.
Luke was about to open the glass door of the entrance when he and the rest of the team suddenly hear running down the hallway.
They turn to their left and see Penelope running towards them. At first, they all just believed that the tech woman was excited to see them.
After all, this isn't the first time that she runs to them in order to greet them.
But then, the team quickly notice that the tech woman did not have on her typical smiling face. Instead, they were met with a very worried facial expression.
"Hey, Garcia. What's wrong?" JJ asks, wondering why the woman looked so worried.
"Oh my God! I... I tried calling you guys but I forgot that you were on the jet and... and," Garcia said while stuttering.
It was obvious that she was very anxious, to the point that she couldn't get out a coherent sentence.
"Garica, calm down," Emily said while placing down her bag at a nearby table. "What happened?"
"Dani is in danger," Garcia said with a face of fear.
The team's face changed abruptly from relaxed to full alert. Emily could have sworn that her heart skipped a beat when she heard the tech analyst finished her sentence.
"I was finishing uploading some case files when all of sudden I received an e-mail from her. I had a weird feeling because usually, she either calls or texts, so I opened the e-mail and... Oh God," she said, sounding like she was on the verge of tears.
She takes out a file folder and hands it to Emily, her hands visibly shaking.
Emily takes the folder and opens it slowly. The agent was not sure what to expect but from the look of Garcia, it was not something good.
In fact, her mind was going through the worst-case scenarios of what could be inside the folder. She takes out the papers that were inside and looks at them.
Immediately, her heart sank.
She sees pictures of Dani tied up against a pole, both hands, and feet tied. She had duck tape strapped to her mouth, preventing her to talk.
In the pictures, Dani was hardly conscious. Barely being able to hold her head up.
Emily slowly placed the pictures on the table and backs up. Her brain couldn't wrap around the thought of Dani being kidnapped.
Emily felt a wave of fear. Who took her? Why did they take her? What do they want?
Many questions popped up at once but she had no answer. The main question that was haunting her mind was if Dani is okay.
She was scared of Dani being hurt or even worse.
The team all gather around and look at the pictures carefully. They didn't like the way Emily reacted when seeing these pictures and once they saw it too, they knew that it was serious.
"I am so sorry I didn't tell you sooner," Garcia tells Emily in a whisper.
"It's okay, Penelope," the brunette tells her, trying to compose herself. "Do you know who sent this?"
"I tried seeing where the e-mail was sent from. The location is encrypted with no exact location. It appears that someone hacked Dani's phone because the only thing I can find is her last location."
"In that case, we will have to retrace Daniela's steps in order to find out where she was taken," Rossi said. "That can help us in knowing where she could be."
"We won't rest until we find her," JJ said with assurance. The team all nod in agreement.
"In that case, let's begin."
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Though reluctantly, it was decided that Emily would back down as Unit Chief for this case.
Cases in which involve the agent's family members are asked to step down from the case in order to make sure that the case is solved objectively with a cold-headed mindset.
It is important to do this for both the agent as an individual and for their loved ones. Emily understood this. She knew that in order to find Dani, someone would need to lead the team with a clear mindset.
She couldn't do that in this case. Ever since Penelope showed her those pictures that were sent to her e-mail, her mind was all over the place.
Her mind was clouded with worry for Dani. This prevents her from leading her team effectively.
That is why David Rossi would be taking over as the team leader.
David assigned the team to split up into groups in search of the missing teen.
He allowed Emily to contribute to the case, knowing that the woman would absolutely hate him if he were to ask her to stay home without contributing.
David knows that the woman is stubborn and taking her out of the case was just not going to happen. He also knows that Emily can help the team in giving information about the girl.
She knows the girl more than anyone else which helps them in finding out any potential suspects.
Garcia pinpointed the last known location on Dani's phone. She also checked the girl's messages and phone calls, seeing how her last messages were with her friends.
Rossi sent Simmons and JJ to go talk to Dani's last contact, Camila. He wants to know where the girl was in order to retrace her steps.
Rossi also sent Reid and Tara to the last known location in Daniela's phone that Garcia was able to locate.
Alvez, Emily, and himself stayed behind in order to find out more information.
"Do you know of anyone who might have taken her?" asks Alvez to Emily.
"Someone who she might have had an altercation with?"
They were all sitting in the briefing room, with files in hand. The team would solve this case just like any other case.
They all had assessed the abductee with all information in regards to her.
They all had Dani's records, which include but not limited to her past, her foster records as well as school records, and her relationships.
They needed to know every aspect of the girl's life. As far as they know, the kidnapper could either have had past interactions with her or none at all.
"No, not really," Emily said while shaking her head.
Emily was used to asking these questions to other people involved in a case she had to solve. She never would have imagined being asked of possible suspects of her own daughter's abduction.
"Well, she did get in a fight with these two girls at school. That's about the only people I can think of." She doubts it could be them.
Emily knows Dani. The teen was physically fit, she would have put up a hell of a good fight if the girls were to try to kidnap her.
After all, she easily took both girls out during the fight that happened at school with no trouble.
"Garcia, check out where those girls were at the past twenty-four hours," Rossi said.
"We need to rule out all possible suspects."
"On it, sir," she replies while quickly typing all information on her computer.
She frowns and looks up at him.
"I see nothing unusual. Both girls were at home the whole day. They were very active on social media during the day."
"What if it was a rival gang from Dani's father?" Asks Luke while looking at Daniela's files.
He did see that Daniela did have contact with a few gang members on her father's side. Though it is stated that such contact was not gang-related.
"Even though she was never actively involved, it could be a way for them to show dominance over the gang."
"I don't think so," Emily said while looking at a map, displaying the area of D.C and Maryland.
"The last place she was located was over here in this apartment complex. There are no signs of any gang activity in or near this area," she said while pointing at the map.
She knows Dani is a potential target for rival gang members. Her family ties in with gang activity, specifically her father. but the geographical profile didn't match one of gang activity.
"Gangs tend to want to spread their territory, but this place is out of range," Rossi adds on.
"Plus, if it were gang-related they wouldn't be taunting Emily. They would send this to her father."
"I just don't know who would want to do this," Emily said while taking a seat with a sigh.
She rubs her temple, still unable to comprehend why her daughter was taken. Garcia walks towards her and places her hand on her friend's shoulder.
"We are going to find her, Em," she assures the brunette.
"She will be back at home with you really soon."
Emily glances at her and gave her a small smile and nodded. She appreciates Penelope lifting up her spirits but it still kills her that Daniela was taken.
In times like this, she wishes she didn't know anything about child abduction statistics because all of those negative numbers were pounding her brain constantly.
Just then, Tara and Reid arrived back from the apartment complex.
They enter the office where the rest of the team were in. The team looks up at them, hoping they have something.
"Did you guys find something?" asks Alvez as the team enters.
"Yes. We found this," Reid said holding a rather large item.
Emily immediately recognizes it and stood up, walking towards him. He hands her the item and Emily looks at it. It was Dani's guitar case.
She places it down the table and opens the case. The matte natural-colored guitar was inside. The same guitar Dani brought the first day she moved in with her. Emily could never forget how it looked.
It was the most valuable item the teen had brought in when she first moved in with her.
"This is her guitar," Emily said, still looking at the guitar.
It was one of Dani's most prized possessions. The teen always took good care of it.
"Where did you find it?" She wondered why the teen was out with her guitar. Maybe she was going out to some sort of event.
"It was at this small alleyway near the apartment complex," Tara answers.
"We saw tire marks in there. She was abducted and taken in a vehicle."
"Garcia, check for buildings and traffic cameras near that area around the same time Dani was abducted," Rossi said.
Garcia nodded and started to type.
"Any potential suspects?" asked Tara.
"No, not yet," Rossi responded. "All possible suspects have been checked out."
"We umm... we also found this," Reid tells the team as he reaches in his bag.
He takes out a tan file. He hands it to Rossi in which he opens and sees what is inside. It was various crime scene pictures from where Daniela was taken.
It showed where the guitar case was as well as the tire marks that Tara mentioned. One thing caught his eyes as well as the rest of the team.
There was a picture of a pocket knife on the ground. The knife appeared to have blood on it, with red marks on the blade.
"A pocket knife was also found on the scene. As you see, the knife appears to have blood but the interesting thing is that bloodstains were in the same area in which the guitar case was found but the knife was a few feet away from the scene,"
Tara explains to the group, carefully eying Emily in order to see how she was taking in this information.
"Spencer and I presume that since the traces of blood were in a certain area, the knife could have been either thrown away or kicked after it was used."
"Has the knife been taken for DNA?" Emily asks while looking at the pictures.
She saw the blood on the knife and she couldn't stop staring at it even though she wanted to.
The dread she was feeling was creeping up to her and she was desperately trying to push it back but it was hard to, especially when seeing the blood.
The blood that could belong to the one person she loves.
"We did. It's being tested as we speak," Reid tells her.
"And how long is that going to take? That blood could be from my kid! She could be hurt or worse but we don't know that because the damn tests take too long to come to a conclusion,"
the woman exclaims, pressing her knuckles hard on the table as she speaks.
The anger was not directed to Reid nor to anyone else on the team. She would rarely if even ever lose her composure like that but this case already has her on edge.
If anything, the woman is angry at herself for failing to protect Dani.
"Prentiss, we understand your concern but you already know how the process works."
"It should take about 30 minutes before we know about the DNA results. Until then. we have to find out who this person is," Rossi tells her and Emily simply nods.
"We can tell that this kidnapping wasn't random. In fact, she is the target from the start," Reid tells the team.
"She was taken and then the unsub took and hacked her phone in order to contact Garcia. My question is why contact someone and why Garcia out of all people?"
"Contacting someone could mean that the unsub wants to send a message or just to taunt someone," Tara states as she looks at the files in front of them.
"Contacting Garcia could be more than just coincidence. This person is no amateur when it comes to technological skills."
" I mean, if Garcia can't crack the encryption this person must have some serious skills."
"Lewis is right," Penelope says with a nod.
"I mean, this person is really good and that is what annoys me," Penelope says with a frustrated sigh.
"Then the unsub is arrogant. By specifically contacting Garica, the unsub wants us to know that he is superior to us and that he has the upper hand," Rossi says as he sits down.
"We still need to come up with possible suspects into who could have taken Dani," Alvez speaks up.
"She was targeted for a reason. It could be a person who could have felt that Dani did their wrongdoing or something. Maybe someone from her past before we even met her."
"The problem is knowing who," Emily said.
"Dani is a person who doesn't disclose much about her past. She started opening up, mostly bits and pieces. For the most part, she is a closed book."
The teenager has warmed up to Emily and the agent knows it. The girl had her guard up when she first met Emily but the agent managed to gain her trust, with the girl confiding in her about her life and her past.
Emily has managed to enter into Dani's inner circle and she feels that she knows the girl more than most but the agent knows that there are certain parts of Dani's past that the girl hasn't disclosed to her.
She still hides certain parts of her life and keeps it to herself. Maybe it is that information that can lead her to her abductor.
Emily felt incompetent. She had no clue who would do this. She cant figure out who would want to hurt her kid.
"I don't know who would want to do this to her."
The agent has rarely ever felt scared. She is always strong and her feelings are made of solid steel.
She believes that it is a trait that runs down in her family. After all, her own mother is fearless. But now, Emily feels fear crawling on her back every minute that passes by.
A type of fear that she never felt before. Fear of losing her daughter.
Rossi receives a phone call from JJ who tells him about the information they collected from Daniela's friend. She informs Rossi that Camila explained how Dani had gone over to her house the night before in order to hang out with friends.
She told the agent that Daniela left in the morning, around 9-10 am by taking the bus. Rossi thanks JJ and informs the rest of the team.
While the team was trying to point out possible unsubs, Penelope was working on tracking down Dani's steps through CCTV camera footage around the places she went.
While looking, a notification pops up on her screen. She glances at it and her eyes widen.
"Guys, I just received another email from Dani's phone," she speaks up, alarming the rest of the team present.
She quickly projects what she sees in her computer on a larger screen, showing the email she received. There was no subject and no text. The only thing there is an attachment.
Emily waits anxiously for Penelope to open the file. Part of her was afraid of seeing what was inside but she had to know what was in there.
She wanted to know if Dani was okay. All of this intensity makes her recoil internally.
Garcia opens the attachment, revealing the information it contained.
"A QR code?" Said Tara, visibly confused.
"I can scan that right now," said Garcia.
She wants to help in any way she could to get Dani back. Garcia pulls out her phone and scans it, quickly connecting it to her computer.
The QR code takes her to a live feed. It was dark, almost pitch black. The team can hardly make out what was in the frame.
"It took us to live footage," Rossi said while looking at the screen. "Why is everything so dark?"
As if on cue, the footage shows how the room's light turns on, allowing a more visible view of the area.
The place looks like a cellar or basement of some sort. The camera zooms in and shows Dani, who is still tied up to a pole.
She is more conscious, looking around the place but fails to notice the camera. She tries to get rid of the ropes that are restraining her but there was no success in doing so.
Suddenly, the footage shows a person wearing a ski mask, slowly approaching Dani.
He dunks down, face to face with the teenager. They stare each other down, the teen frowning at him. He suddenly throws a hard punch, hitting her right on the jaw.
Emily's heart plunges immediately.