Chapter 2

“What the...?” Morgan began but the line went dead. Everyone looked at each other briefly before everything went into utter turmoil.

“Get Garcia on the phone!” Hotch instructed immediately while Reid began writing the entire conversation on the board from memory. Prentiss tried to redial the number as JJ picked out her cell phone and rang someone. Gideon simply closed his eyes and pictured the woman at the pay phone.

“Yes Sir?” Garcia came running into the briefing room frantically.

“A call was made from a pay phone, we need you to track the number right now then get CCTV footage of the surrounding area before searching any information you can find on an Alexandra Rose Black” Hotchner told her and she nodded before running back out of the room and down to her office.

“Why the hell would she call you?” Prentiss began questioning.

“Someone told her about us” Gideon answered simply before opening his eyes “Someone told her she could trust us with her life. She had no-one else to call; she’s probably feeling slightly panicked and very alone. She probably had no other choice but to ask us for help”

“But she sounded extremely calm” JJ cut in when she’d finished on the phone “Isn’t that strange for someone who thinks she’s being hunted?” There was a long pause while everyone considered this. Reid was about to interject with a point about the mystery girl’s speech when the phone rang.

“What have you got Garcia?” Hotch answered.

“Well my little cherubs, the pay phone is situated in Nevada. The CCTV footage of the surrounding area has been blacked out but i have the exact address. In fact she called from just outside the Bennington Sanitarium” Garcia began but paused almost immediately. Everyone turned to look at Reid.

“You think she went to visit my mother?” he whispered quietly. There was another silence before Garcia carried on.

“I rang the Sanitarium as it’s one of the only leads we have and they said that Reid’s mum gets one visit a week from the same woman, she always signs in as Rose Black”

“That’s her middle and last name” Hotch stated and everyone nodded.

“The receptionist also said that the woman was British and in her early twenties with short, light brown hair. That’s all she remembered” Garcia added.

“If she goes to the Sanitarium every week then she must live in the area or at least in Nevada” Morgan said but Reid shook his head.

“Not necessarily, i used to know someone who visited Las Vegas every weekend without fail and he lived in Colorado”

“Reid, do you remember anyone who’s British that knew you or your mother?” JJ asked but Reid shook his head.

“I never knew anyone British. And if she’s in her early twenties then she’s about the same age as me so my mum can’t have known her without me knowing her” he said quietly

“Ok” Hotch said before taking a minute to think “What about her records, did you find anything on an Alexandra Rose Black?”

“No” Garcia said through the phone “I didn’t find a single thing on Alexandra Rose Black...i also tried Rose Black and Alex Rose Black. Nada”. There was another pause before Gideon made another suggestion.

“Garcia, can you check the English records?”

“Yes Sir” she answered before hanging up.

“That accent, she was clearly British but more specifically English” Gideon clarified.

“Hang on guys” Morgan spoke up “Are we even sure she is being hunted? I mean she could just have paranoia or a need for attention?”

“No” Reid said immediately “The way she talked and what she said...she was sure she’s being followed by someone who wants to kill her...”

“But that’s different” Morgan interjected, much to the annoyance of Reid “I’m not saying she doesn’t think she’s being followed but just because she thinks she is doesn’t mean she actually it is”

“She still sounded very calm” JJ interrupted the guy’s dispute “I’m no profiler but surely if she just had paranoia then she’d sound a lot more paranoid and scared on the phone”

“JJ’s right” Hotch nodded “Right now we need to work under the assumption that she is actually in danger. Reid, you, Prentiss, Morgan and i will go to Nevada. Gideon, i need you to call all your contacts in England and see if they recognise the name. JJ, you stay here with Garcia and pull everything you can find on the girl. Make sure you check different names and try people who have recently moved from England”. Everyone nodded before Gideon said.

“If she really is in danger, we have no idea how long she’s got left”