"It's too late for this." Elijah yawned as he pulled up outside of Fleur's apartment.

"Are you sure you should be driving?" Reid asked.

"Of course I'm sure." He nodded.

"You can hardly keep your eyes open." He chuckled.

"So?"

"Let me drive, I can do it." Reid assured him.

"Babe, I'll be fine." Elijah shook his head.

"Okay, okay." Reid nodded as Fleur and Morgan walked out of their apartment.

"Good evening, friends." Elijah forced a smile as he leaned on the steering wheel.

"Good evening." Fleur sighed, getting in the backseat.

"Do we know anything about the case?" Morgan asked as he rubbed his eyes.

"A little girl has been kidnapped." Reid told them.

"Hopefully it's just some misunderstanding and she's just a little lost." Elijah sighed as he started driving.

"I hope so too." Fleur shook her head.

*********************************

"It is now three hours and counting since four year old, Gabby Hoffer, was abducted from her cousin Sue Walsh's car." Garcia explained to them as they sat on the jet.

"Why would anyone leave a little girl alone in a car at night." Fleur cursed.

"Sue told local authorities that she was a couple blocks away from her house, she didn't want to wake Gabby up, she was in and put of that minimart in less that four minutes." Garcia sighed.

"That's a pretty tight window of opportunity. Whoever took her must have been stalking them." Morgan shook his head.

"Is there a history of child abductions in the area?" Blake asked.

"No, but the local registry shows a high concentration of sex offenders. We have no time to waste." Hotch told them.

"We do have an eye witness, but his recollection is limited to a dark van that he saw pull up next to Sue's car." Garcia added.

"That's pretty vague. So we don't have a colour or know who was driving." Rossi sighed.

"Are there surveillance cameras on the premises?" Elijah raised a brow.

"Yes, there was one camera it's in the store and it's ancient. Buf the footage is being sent to the lab right now for enhancement." Garcia explained.

"SSA Canning is on the scene with the southeast regional card team. They're conducting neighborhood and roadblock canvases." Hotch informed them,"We all know what to do. If this is a stranger abduction, we have less than twenty-four hours to being Gabby back alive."

*********************************

Morgan, JJ and Fleur went elsewhere while everyone else arrived at the gas station where Gabby was taken from.

"Five hours and twenty-three minutes since Gabby was taken. Witness pulled up to pump number two here, saw the van parked there. Blocked his view od Sue's car, said the brake lights were on." Canning told them.

"The driver could've kept his foot on the brake while someone else used the sliding door to grab her." Hotch nodded.

"It'd be smart to use a partner out in the open like this." Blake agreed.

"We have nine registered sex offenders within three miles. Sometimes they work in tandem. We have teams going door-to-door now." Canning pointed.

"That's good, cover your bases. But it's the ones we don't know about who are the most dangerous." Rossi mentioned.

"What's the word on the parents?" Elijah asked.

"Mom and boyfriend Rodney are confirmed off CONUS. They'll be at the P.D. soon." Canning nodded.

"We have any location on the biological father yet?" Hotch questioned.

"Still not answering his cell phone." Canning shook her head,"It's not pinging off any towers, either."

"So he shut his cell phone off. That's odd for a trucker." Blake commented.

"Unless it's a countermeasure. The Dark van could have just been a transport vehicle to get Gabby to his truck." Reid explained.

"You're thinking he waited for the opportunity to take her?" Canning raised a brow.

"He has motivation given that he lost custody. We should check rest stops for his truck aswell." Hotch pointed.

"The problem is Interstate 59 is just three blocks away and it goes to Louisiana, Alabama and Georgia." Rossi shook his head.

"We've got the borders covered. Nobodies getting out of here without a fight." Canning nodded.

"Agent Canning, can you get video footage for us from a five mile radius?" Hotch asked her,"We need to see if there's any video of this dark van coming or going."

"Not much hope there. Katrina took out a lot of security and traffic cams. They haven't been replaced." Canninf shook her head.

"Is Sue inside? We need to talk to her." Elijah crossed his arms.

"An Agent drove her home and is staying with her in case there are any randsom demands. She's a wreck. I'm not sure you'll get anything new. Excuse me." Canning walked off.

"Alright, Blake, you and Reid stay with Canning's people. If Gabby was a victim or opportunity, then the Unsubs didn't have a plan and could still be in the area." Hotch instructed,"Dave, Deans and I will go to the police station and conduct interviews with Kate and the boyfriend."

*********************************

Fleur, Morgan and JJ arrived at Sue's house, heading in only to be greeted by Sue running towards them.

"Did you find Gabby?"

"No, not yet. But we could use your help, I'm Agent Jareau. This is Agent Morgan and Agent Howards." JJ introduced them.

"Mind if we have a seat?" Fleur asked.

"I'm sorry, have a seat." Sue sniffled.

JJ and Fleur sat down, meanwhile Morgan stayed up.

"Sue, when we handle these.. When we handle these cases we start by eliminating family and work our way out from there. So.. Do you have any brothers or sisters?" Morgan asked.

"No.. Kate's the only family I've got. She's more like a sister to me than a cousin." Sue cried,"Her parents took me in after mine died.."

"I'm so sorry.. How old were you?" JJ tilted her head.

"Eight.. I'm sorry." She covered her face.

"It's alright." Morgan assured her,"We know this is a tough time. Did anyone take special interest in Gabby since you've had her? "

"No. No. I always had her by my side except... I was only gone for like, one second. I got her to sleep finally and I didn't want to wake her." Sue bit her cheek.

"There's nothing you can do about that now, okay? You just need to focus on finding her. So think back.. Was there a deliveryman? A service worker?" JJ asked.

"No.. I don't know- Maybe everybody? I mean she's so nice, she smiles at everybody." Sue cried.

"What about her father? Have you seen him? Has he contacted you?" Morgan questioned.

"No. He's always on the road. He never calls." Sue shook her head.

"Did he know that you were watching Gabby?"

"I don't think so."

"Okay, Sue. Do you know anyone with a dark van?" Morgan asked.

"No, no." Sue shook her head,"I'm sorry, I just can't even believe this is happening right now."

*********************************

"Please tell me she's safe." Garcia sighed as she answered the phone.

"Not yet, but we've got a lead on a dark van, could belong to a plumber." JJ shook her head,"Check local businesses."

"Well, that's hardly anything." Garcia shook her head.

"You've had less." Fleur hummed.

"True." She nodded as she began typing.

"Come on baby girl, we need an ID and location right now." Morgan sighed.

"Uh.. There are four plumbers in the immediate area. I'm pulling registrations, white minivans are all the rage." Garcia told them,"There's The Little Family Plumber. They have a bluish van that's dark."

"Run employee background checks." Morgan nodded.

"Won't be hard. It's only the owner and his nephew, lan Little, twenty-five. He was released last year for slinging bennies and heroin." She informed them.

"Where is he now?"

"Sleeping, I imagine. I'm sending you his home address. There it is." Garcia hummed.

*********************************

"There are no calls, but lan's cell pinged off three cell phone towers outside of town on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. I sent you the locations." Garxia spoke over the phone.

"Cell tower range and directionality can be dramatically influenced by atmospheric, electromagnetic and traffic capacity." Reid told them.

"..Meaning?" Fleur blinked.

"A cell phone can travel to the same location but ping off different towers on different days due to independent outside variables." He explained,"Garcia, can you see what's at this intersection point? Thirtynine-thirty latitude, negative eighty nine-forty two longitude.' Reid read out the coordinates.

"That would be the old Little farm. And that's like Little, not the diminutive, but Little family. That's where lan grew up." Garcia informed them.

"So Doug went missing three nights ago and lans been at that farm each night since then." Morgan nodded.

"Holy crappy childhood. You can't make kind of this sadness up. It's also the place where lan's dad killed his mother with a shotgun and then turned it on himself." Garcia shook her head.

*********************************

"The minimart videos back from the lab. I've looked through the whole thing. Sue's story holds up." Canning sighed,"Fast forward to Sue's arrival at 10:03pm, cashier was the only one inside until then."

"Hold on, let me rewind." Blake moved the clip back,"Right there. Is that Sue's shirt?"

"Hm, she didn't mention walking to the door and then turning around. How long before she actually goes in? Two minutes later." JJ typed.

"Mayhe she was worried about leaving Gabby alone in the car." Canning suggested.

"Well there was plenty of spaces to park in front of the store. She chose the side. No windows, no lights." Fleur shook her head.

"She told us she didn't want the lights or the nosie to wake Gabby up." Canning shrugged.

"Right, but as a woman, especially one with a small child, safety comes first. It's instinctual to find a quick well lit journey from your parked car to the door." JJ agreed.

"It could have been a trial run." Hotch suggested,"We see that in inexperienced criminals who need to build up their nerve."

"Wait a minute, you think she did all of this?" Canning asked as Hotch called Garcia.

"Go." Garcia answered.

"See if there's any recent contact between lan Little and Sue Walsh." Hotch instructed.

"Scanning slimeball's cell now.. Not a lot of repeat numbers. Trick of the trade, disposable cells." Garcia hummed,"Okay- Oh. There are dozens of calls to and from this number, though.  And I'm going to cross-check it with Sue Walsh's home... We have a match- Yeah. They talked. They talked."

*********************************

Fleur and Rossi walked into the interrogation room, sitting down in front of Sue.

"We're trying to fit some kissing pieces together." Fleur hummed.

"Okay." Sue nodded.

"Do you know lan Little?" Rossi asked.

"Kind of. He comes into the diner a few times a week." Sue told them.

"We've got phone records that show you talk to lan.. A lot." Rossi blew a raspberry as he looked at the phone logs.

"Please don't tell Kate. I mean, she never would've let Gabby come over if she knew that lan was coming around." She shook her head.

"Why is a smart girl like you hanging out with this guy?" Fleur leaned forward.

"He's better now, he's cleaned up.. And he's different with me. I'm really good for him." Sue smiled softly.

"You lost your parents when you were young." Rossi mentioned.

"Mhm.. What does that have to do with anything?" She asked.

"Maybe he gives you the attention that you need." Fleur suggested.

"Yeah.. I guess so." Sue nodded.

"You say lan's clean? Is he still dealing?"

Sue shook her head,"No.. I-I don't think so."

"Then why would lan kill Gabby's father?" Fleur raised a brow.

"...I don't know. Maybe it was an old grudge or bad deal or something."

"Uh huh." Rossi nodded.

"Okay, now. We need your full statement." Fleur handed Sue a pen and paper.

"Okay." Sue nodded, picking up the pen.

"Are you sure you're going to be able to write with that hand?" Rossi asked.

"Oh- Yeah. Gabby broke a glass. Kids." Sue chuckled softly,"What exactly am I supposed to write?"

"Just tell us what happened." Fleur smiled.

"Okay." She began to write.

Rossi then walked out to the others, going up to the board,"We know that lan picked up Doug on Sunday then he was killed. What if they surprised Sue at the house?"

"And Doug was threatening to take Gabby." Morgan added.

"They could have been trying to protect Gabby from him and he was killed by accident." Reid continued.

"Except they went to extravagant lengths to cover it up." Blake shook her head.

"Okay, that may be true, but it still doesn't answer where Gabby is or what anyone's motivation is in hurting her." JJ sighed.

"We can keep theorising, but every minute we do is a minute that Gabby's out there." Elijah pointed.

"Dave." Hotch nodded for him.

*********************************

"Are you alright?" Rossi asked Sue as he re-entered the room.

"Did you find Gabby?" Sue asked.

"What do you think?" Rossi sat the photos in front of Sue,"Are we gonna find her?"

Fleur then walked in, holding up the picture of Gabby,"Kate trusted you with the care of her child. You were responsible for this little girl. You had a duty to protect her, and you failed, miserably. What happened to Gabby is all your fault. You know nothing about what it takes to be a mother, you're pathetic."

"You fucking bitch! I'll kill you!" Sue slapped Fleur as Rossi held her back,"Let go of me- Let go! No!"

Fleur cursed as the cops got Sue off of her, walking out of the room with Rossi and into the room Hotch, Blake and Canning were monitoring them from.

"Bitch." She muttered.

"Talk about taking one for the team." Rossi hummed.

"I've had worse." Fleur sighed.

"What was that all about?" Canning questioned.

"If she's a predisposed female offender, a major indicator is uncontrolled rage when challenged. I'd say she passed the test." Fleur shrugged.

"She has no criminal record, no history of violence." Canning shook her head.

"They're very good at concealment." Hotch nodded.

"They're also the rarest type. The go after young children in their care, and their offences can be sadistic, brutal and sometimes bizarre." Rossi told her,"The blunt force trauma that killed Doug says that she has serious violence issues. Something must have triggered that rage."

"Whatever it was, I'm afraid of what that means for Gabby. I know Sue is not gonna talk to us, but maybe she would talk to Kate." Blake suggested.

*********************************

"Disrupted adoptions?" Canning raised a brow.

"That's what the people involved are calling it. They're also referring to it as rehoming and it's been happening underground for some time now." Reid crossed his arms.

They had found out through some research by Garcia that Sue had given Gabby away.

"Until now, it's mainly been overwhelmed adoptive parents of problem children from overseas." Blake nodded.

"Good people go on the site looking for guidance or services, but bad people offer to take problem kids off their hands as a last resort." Reid added.

"So they just give them away to some random couple?" Canning questioned.

"Calling them couples is a bit generous. The article talks about these people who pose as families, but really they're just freaks looking for access to kids." Fleur sighed.

"And no one's keeping track of them." Blake added.

"Why isn't this illegal?" Canning cursed.

"Because it's a relatively new practice, and unsurprisingly, no legislation's been written yet." Elijah answered.

"So how did Sue manage to give Gabby away?" Canning raised a brow.

"She posed as Gabby's mother and gave her to a woman who claimed she knew how to deal with troubled kids." JJ explained.

*********************************

"That was one of the good cases." Fleur sighed as Morgan drove home, Elijah and Reid in the backseat.

"We saved her." Morgan smiled.

"Sue left a mark on me." Fleur looked at her cheek.

"You should've let me hit her." Elijah crossed his arms.

"Dad wouldn't be happy." Reid chuckled.

"I don't care." Elijah shrugged.

"We do."

"Do you?"

"I agree with Eli, let him slap her." Morgan chuckled.

"See? Morgan's got my back." Elijah pointed.

"Morgan thinks knocking down doors is fun." Reid pointed.

"And is it not?"

"No." Fleur smiled.

"It's one of the best parts of getting called to a scene." Morgan pointed.

"It's called being dramatic." Fleur hummed.

"I am nothing if not a little dramatic." Elijah nodded.

"You're always dramatic."

"Obviously." He crossed his arms.

"Right, that's us here." Morgan stopped the car.

"Thanks for dropping us off." Reid smiled.

"Couldn't have Eli falling asleep at the wheel." Morgan nodded.

"I've had at least three cups of coffee, I would have been fine." Elijah shook his head.

"Still not taking that risk, kid." Morgan pointed.

"We'll see you tomorrow?" Fleur looked back.

"Of course." Reid nodded.

"Night guys." Fleur hummed.

"Goodnight." Elijah waved.