𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐘. ( 𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐤 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧 )

chapter twenty

"I'll be respectful when you find my daughter and put the psychopath who took her in jail!" Lincoln snapped.

"My team is currently split up and we're working towards finding your daughter. But we were told that you had something to ask Agent Taylor?" Hotch asked, gesturing for the couple to take a seat. They did, while Kendra rummaged through her purse. "Here. We found this in Annike's bed,"

She handed a folded slip of paper over to Genevieve, who took it, and uncreased it, reading the neat handwriting, Hotch looking over her shoulder.

To Supervisory Special Agent Genevieve Taylor,

I knew that taking the girl would capture your attention. I've been trying for months now. Left presents for you on your doorstep. Sent them to the coffee shop you visit before work. And nothing worked. You never tried to find me. Never even spared me a second thought. But now? Now, you'll pay attention.

-- W

"You're the reason this is happening! The reason he took our baby," Kendra's voice quivered, as she covered her face with her hands, as Genevieve stared dumbfounded at the note.

"You had no idea?" Hotch asked, looking at her, his eyebrows creased with worry.

"No. None," She said, looking up from the note to stare at him with wide eyes. "I mean offlate, I've been getting boxes that I didn't order at my door, but I just take them downstairs to the desk clerk. And the coffee shop is just like little flower bouquets that one of the waiters flirting with me. He's just some random college kid-"

"No idea about what? What does the note mean?" Lincoln asked, his head whipping between the two agents.

"Your daughter's kidnapper has been stalking Agent Taylor without her knowledge. He likely thought that kidnapping your daughter would be the best way to get Genevieve's attention because his attempts to reach her haven't been working," Hotch explained.

"Stalking you? So what does that have to do with us? Why'd he take our baby?"

"Because," Genevieve said shakily, sighing, knowing it was time to come clean. "Annike is my biological daughter,"

+++

The team had regrouped in the conference room and were all staring at Genevieve, flabbergastered. They had Garcia on the phone - who had also managed to unseal the file, and find Genevive's name on the records.

"When I was on my Green Beret team, I was seeing one of the engineering sergeants - Mark Anderson. Well, one day, I was feeling off, so I took a pregnancy test, and it came back positive. I told Mark, but he wanted me to have an abortion. He didn't want to give up his career for the baby, and didn't think I should have either. But I didn't want to get rid of her, so I requested an honourable discharge on the grounds of pregnancy, and carried her to term, and arranged a closed adoption with the agency. The parents asked for part of my name so that Annike would have something from me, so I told the agency to give them my middle name, which is how she got hers. I had done some superficial digging when I joined the Bureau and found her name, and then asked Garcia to find out more for me. But Mark doesn't have anything to do with it. He never had any care for Annike, and he's never expressed any interest in contacting me either," 

The whole team sat in silence. Emily and JJ looked stunned. Spencer looked shocked, and angry - after all, he technically had a niece that he knew nothing about. Rossi didn't seem too surprised - he didn't know her well enough to be surprised about anything about her past. Hotch was doing his best to appear blank, but she could see that he was internally reeling from the bomb she'd just dropped. She couldn't read Garcia's reaction, but Genevieve was sure her mouth was hanging open. And Derek... he looked at her like he'd been betrayed, hurt, even, that she didn't feel like she could tell him. But past that, she could see that he was empathetic to her situation. Almost a year ago, he'd been in the same situation - he'd had a secret that he didn't want to tell the team, but ultimately, he had to.

"Are you sure that Mark doesn't have anything to do with this? Annike's bed was made, military-style, and we couldn't find a point of entry. This guy is so organised, I'm honestly inclined to say that there's no chance this guy isn't ex or current military," Derek shook his head.

"Trust me. I worked with the guy six years and dated him for three. And the stuff we did together? There isn't anyone I know better. This isn't him. Trust me," She shook her head defiantly.

"Okay, we believe you," Hotch assured her. "Garcia, go through military records during Genevieve's service. I want all red flags that she'd interacted with on-record. Look for anybody with first, middle, or last names beginning with 'W' as well,"

"Yes, sir. Over and out!" Garcia said immediately, hanging up the phone so that she could do her thing uninterrupted.

"Hotch, there'd be a lot," She said unsurely. "I trained under a lot of people, and I've trained even more. That could take her hours," Her hands started to shake again.

"Then let's deliver the profile, help her narrow it down," Hotch told her, sending her a reassuring look. She didn't look convinced.

"Still. I don't know if she's got that kind of time, Hotch," She said nervously.

"This note changes the ball game, Gen," Derek piped up for the first time. "We need to stop looking at this through the lens of a child offender. You're the victim. His endgame is you, not Annike. This is an obsessive crime. Trust me, Gen, these are my specialty. He's not going to hurt her, not as long as he needs her. And until you find him, he needs her. For now, she's safe,"

She smiled weakly - a non-verbal thank you.

For now, Annike was unharmed. And, as far as Genevieve was concerned, it was going to stay that way.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

omg it's been so long, so i'm very sorry for that, but i hope you guys enjoyed part one of this two chapter story-line. also thank you so much for 100+ hearts here, and for over 5k views on wattpad (as well as 230 votes)! that's absolutely crazy! your support means so much to me, and i'm so grateful for all of you. stay safe, and remember to stay hydrated <33.