checkmate

014 » THE LEAD

Prentiss and I spend an hour investigating the area where Jenny and Steve went missing. Shreds of clothing and droplets of blood are discovered. Other than that, we find nothing. Some of the people in our volunteer group, a pair of teenagers, a boy and a girl, don't seem to be taking it very seriously.

After the first hour or so of wandering around the woods, we can't find anymore evidence. That is until we're circling back towards the rest of the search party, our group thankfully doing a good job at staying all within close proximity of each other, and someone shows up.

A teenage boy with blonde hair and bruises on his face stumbles through the bushes, his clothes muddy and slightly blood stained. I instinctively reach for my gun, my hand hovering over it warily as Emily takes a step forwards.

"Woah, kid," she says gently as the boy spins around and stares at us, his downturned eyes wide with surprise. "Are you alright?"

He nods his head, staying silent. Prentiss glances at me, and I know what she means. She means 'we should take him to the station', but she doesn't say it out loud, probably to avoid scaring him. I move my hand away from my gun.

"Is that your blood?" she asks, cautiously stepping closer to him. He shakes his head, then nods. "Some of it's yours?" Prentiss questions. He nods in confirmation, his bottom lip wobbling slightly. "Are you injured?"

The boy shrugs, glancing around.

"Okay... okay. We're gonna have to take you with us to the police station to ask you a few questions. Is that okay?" Prentiss asks him. He nods unsurely. "Okay, good. Come with us."

Noticing that the boy is limping slightly, Prentiss helps him stagger through the woods and up the hills. He doesn't say a single word as we head back to the precinct. Hotch eyes us warily as we walk inside. Prentiss takes the boy to sit down and I go to talk to Hotch.

"Who is he?" Hotch asks, folding his arms over his chest.

"He hasn't spoken yet," I answer. "But he told Prentiss that some of the blood on him is his own, but some isn't. We'll need to ask him questions, as he could be a potential witness to Jenny and Steve's disappearance."

Hotch nods. "Be gentle with him," he tells me. "He's scared. He might have vital information for the case." He glances over at the boy, sitting in the waiting area. "Keep me updated."

"Will do."

Smiling politely, I nod and make my way to Emily and the boy. As I'm just a few feet from them, I cross paths with the officer I ran into earlier. He stares at me with a cold scowl before walking on past, murmuring something about me being an abstinent bitch. I ignore him entirely, not sparing him a glance, as I approach the teen and Prentiss. Prentiss stands up and the two of us lead the boy to a quieter room, closing the door behind us.

Taking a seat on the couch, Prentiss sets a notepad and pen down on the table in between her and the boy. I sit on the other end of the couch, rubbing my cold arms beneath my sweater.

"What's your name, sweetie?" Emily asks softly, keeping her voice calm and welcoming. The boy just stares at his muddy shoes. Prentiss and I share a glance. "Do you want to speak?"

The blonde boy's eyes flickers up to us for a brief moment before he drops his gaze back to his shoes. He shakes his head.

"That's okay. Do you want to write things down, instead?" Prentiss asks, pushing the notepad and pen towards him.

The teenager hesitates for a moment, unsure, before he picks up the pen, flips open the notebook to the first page, and writes a word. He turns it around for us to see.