Son of a sinner

1 - Seven Seconds

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe."
― Albert Einstein

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Soren walked out of the elevator doors as soon as they opened, pushing his way past Derek and making a beeline for his desk. "Good morning to you too?" Derek chuckled. "Long night?" he asked. Soren groaned. "Don't even ask," he grumbled.

"Well, I wasn't going to," Derek smirked.

"So, don't," Soren retorted playfully, tossing a pen at Derek. The ballpoint pen hit him in the shoulder, and Derek quickly tossed it back at Soren. This time, the pen hit him in the forehead before clattering to the floor, where he grabbed it and set it back on his desk.

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

The BAU got called out to Potomac Mills, VA. A 6-year-old girl had gone missing with the theory that she had been kidnapped, similar to another little girl the week before.

"Jim."

Franklin gave Hotch a radio. "We've been in lockdown for 20 minutes. My team's already in motion," he told him.

Soren nodded his thanks to the man who gave him his radio and watched as the rest of the team got theirs. "Female, 6, around the same time, basically same locations." Soren listed the similarities in the two kidnappings. "I'd say it's likely the same guy." He shrugged.

"What makes you sure Katie Jacobs is still in the building?" Morgan asked Franklin.

"The mall's got cameras installed at every entrance and exit. Surveillance video confirms Katie entering the building, but no sign of her leaving," Franklin told him. "Security paged her over the intercom, and their initial sweep came up empty." He added.

"Whoever killed Jessica Davis last week left that mall with her because he wanted time with his victim in privacy," Reid pointed out.

"Assuming it's the same offender, he wouldn't stray from his M.O. He wouldn't leave here without his victim," Hotch said.

"So if Katie's still under this roof.." JJ trailed off. Soren sighed. "Then so is her abductor." He finished her thought.

"Garcia, report to the mall's security office. Reid, Morgan, I want you to find the head of security. We need all data from every search team," Hotch instructed them before turning to Prentiss, JJ, and Soren. "You three start with Katie's parents. We'll treat the mall like a neighborhood. We'll separate into areas of control."

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

"Katie was last seen by her cousin in the arcade about 25 minutes ago. She was wearing jeans, a green shirt, gray sneakers, and ponytails."

An officer walked up, handing off a paper to Emily. "Registered offenders located within a 45-mile radius," they told her.

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

"Ok, run this against current and former employees as well," she instructed, giving the paper back to the cop who nodded before walking away.

The agent handed each of them a photo. Soren looked at his copy for a few seconds, wanting to kill whoever took this innocent kid. "Ms. Jacobs' cell phone had Katie's picture on it. Mall security helped us make copies," the agent said.

"We should get this photo out to the search teams and officers but especially the other patrons. They need to know who we are looking for. Plus, seeing the photo could hopefully get people to come forward if they remember seeing anything," Soren suggested.