January 23^rd, 2017. 3:19pm.

Landing was not Alex’s favorite part. She felt pressed back into the seat, and it was even worse when she was in coach. At least she had a window seat, and she was one of the first rows to exit. She took the time that the plane was taxiing to its gate to review the file in her hand one more time.

Tally Sommers had been missing for three years almost exactly, and standard CARD protocol had been followed when her disappearance had first been reported. Alex’s dad, Kiernan, had handled the original case. Alex had been a rookie CARD agent at the time, still in training, but she had been determined to follow in her father’s footsteps.

The plane slid to a stop, and she tucked the folder into her carry-on and waited for the seatbelt sign to click off. Her eyes wandered like they always did; she never focused on the same thing for very long. With her long, straight black hair and severe green eyes, people always got uncomfortable if she looked at them for too long. It had been useful for interrogations, but Alex had learned how to soften her look when working with the CARD unit. Kids were different.

“Mom!” A little boy, probably four or five, let out a loud whine-cry, shifting on the seat he was standing on and pouting. It had been a few-hour flight from her small hometown in Illinois to Phoenix, so she could understand the kid being tired. While she worked in Chicago, she had spent the last two weeks at home recovering. Not from physical wounds, no. Psychological ones.

Then he turned and looked at her, and his brown eyes caught her off guard. Her mind flew back in time, a month ago, when she had seen another pair of eyes, just like his - except they had belonged to a dead child. A child she’d failed to save.

Out of habit, she threw herself back into the present, forcing herself to close her eyes and resettle herself in the moment. But she was used to it. The same case that triggered the flashbacks gave her nightmares on a regular basis. It was why she’d been put on leave, and then sent to Phoenix to help in the Sommers case. Something she could do on an advisory basis, without putting her in the middle of all the action.

Slinging her go bag over her shoulder, she stood when the row in front of her did, then reached up and grabbed her carry-on. The flight hadn’t been full, which was nice. It kept people from looking over her shoulder and asking awkward questions. They always did, when they noticed her case files.

Pulling her phone out of her pocket, Alex turned it back off vibrate and checked her messages. Nothing new, just a text from the patrol officer who was due to meet her just outside the terminal.

It wasn’t that far of a walk, especially once she was off the plane. It was almost therapeutic, taking the time to walk and think about everything she had read on the plane. It was a case she was familiar with, remembering back to when it had first happened. Dad had quizzed her randomly, asking about protocol and timelines and anything else he thought was relevant.

Especially when it came to cases he was working on.

She stopped just outside the terminal, glancing around with her phone in her hand. There. It was a young man with short-cropped blonde hair, holding a sign with ‘Alex’ on it. She lifted an eyebrow. Driver for someone else, or the over-eager patrol officer she was looking for? He seemed to be staring at her bag, awe on his face.

Yeah, that was him.

“I’m Alex.” She extended her hand to him, and he stared at her.

“Your SUV is at the police station,” he started.

“Take me there.” Alex kept her voice polite but curt, even as she cut him off. It was late, yes, but she wanted to meet the Detective and talk to the mother sooner rather than later. The file hadn’t mentioned a father, not now or three years ago. That was something to consider, too - if the father knew about Tally, could he have taken her? It was something that had probably been explored a few years ago, but it was something worth double-checking.

Thankfully the rookie officer didn’t attempt to make small talk while they drove. Alex stared out the window, trying to keep her mind on happier thoughts.

Well, as happy as one could get when working a child abduction case. In her opinion, it was one of the hardest jobs in the FBI, dealing with those people and what they did to children. So many of the cases had ended up even more fucked up than she had guessed. But there were kids they had brought home, too.

Those were the ones you had to focus on. Not the cases that rocked her world.

Alex was sentimental. There were nine tattooed lines on her left wrist. She added one, each time she saved a child. She knew their names, what they looked like. Remembered the circumstances of their abduction. She had been part of the group that brought them back. It was strange, being the only CARD agent on a case. Usually she had analysts, a supervisor, and a family liaison (or more) with her. This time it was just her.

While the photo had been sent to the FBI and prelim reports stated its probable authenticity, they had no idea how recent it was and whether or not the girl was still alive. Alex had been sent as a front line of resources. And because her department wasn’t certain she was ready to work another full case. She was still waiting on final psychiatric clearance to go back on active status.

The rookie pulled up in front of the department, and Alex got out without waiting for him to turn the car off. In child abductions, time was of the essence. Even three years later, time was still important. A case wasn’t declared cold until everyone stopped working on it, and no one had. Whether the photo was real or not, someone was targeting the mother - Katy - for a reason. Alex intended to find out what that reason was.

“Detective Greg Rydell.” A tall man with black hair and bright blue eyes stepped through the front door, greeting her there. There were flickers of silver at his temple, but he looked younger than fifty. Probably forty five or so.

“FBI Special Agent Alex Mitchell.” She shook his hand.

“The press has got the story that something has re-opened the investigation,” Greg said grimly. “They haven’t got the photo yet. We’re keeping it under wraps.”

Alex nodded; that was smart.

“Wiggins should have given you the keys?” Greg looked over her shoulder.

Alex heard the door open as the rookie practically stumbled over himself to hand her a set of keys.

“It’s the first SUV on the left when you leave,” Greg advised her. He turned his attention to the rookie and nodded curtly. When Wiggins was out of sight, Greg turned back to Alex with a wry smile on his face. “He’s new.”

“I guessed,” Alex drawled. “What are the next steps in the investigation?”

“We’re reviewing suspects from the original investigation.” Greg led her further inside, to a room that seemed set up to be the command center for the follow-up investigation. “We’re re-confirming alibis, scheduling interviews with neighbors at the time.”

“What about the photo?” Alex looked at it. She had seen a copy of it in the case file, and the original was now in the FBI crime lab, but a convincing color copy was pinned against the wall.

“We’ve got patrol officers searching the area and interviewing neighbors to see if anyone noticed anything suspicious in the neighborhood,” Greg replied promptly. “But it was legitimately mailed, so we’re also checking the post office to see if anyone remembers seeing this letter come through.”

“Not likely.” Alex grimaced.

“We’re also re-interviewing all local registered sex offenders with convictions that match child crimes to see if anything has changed in their stories,” Greg continued.

Alex nodded.

“Anything we missed?” Greg looked at her. There wasn’t a challenge there, more a respect. Alex shook her head, acknowledging he had covered all the bases. She preferred working with Detectives that didn’t engage in pissing contests, if she could. The stereotype that the FBI took over cases was a myth perpetuated by TV. She wanted to work with them, not against them.

“I’d like to talk to the mother,” Alex said, lifting her head as she thought through the next few hours. “I’ll start there.”

Greg nodded, as if he had predicted that. He studied her for a few seconds, his warm eyes curious. “You wouldn’t happen to be Kiernan’s daughter, would you?”

The hair on the back of Alex’s neck prickled uncomfortably. “Maybe.”

“You have his eyes,” Greg said simply, and then he turned to leave the front part of the room. “Katy’s address is already in your SUV’s GPS. She’s expecting you.”

Alex couldn’t help a smile forming on her lips. She’d figure out where she was staying later; she had bigger priorities at the moment. She slung her bags over her shoulder, heading out to the SUV that had been declared hers. It had been supplied by the Phoenix FBI office, and was hers until she left the Phoenix metro area.

Popping open the trunk, she threw her go-bag in there, closing it and getting in the driver’s seat. True to Greg’s word, the GPS activated as she turned it on and was already programmed to a destination in East Mesa, about a twenty-five minute drive away.

It wasn’t the first time Alex had been to the Phoenix metro area, or what people generally referred to when people said ‘Phoenix’. Phoenix had several surrounding cities that were lumped into it, since they essentially circled the major city. You often had to go through one city to reach another, and they were interconnected enough that it was often a puzzle on its own.

Ten years ago, when Alex had been almost 18, her Dad had been stationed there, and Alex had gone with him instead of staying behind with her Grandma. She had been getting ready to start college, and she had wanted to go into the FBI, just like her Dad.

She got on the freeway, and used the Bluetooth device to call her father. Although Greg had given her all the information that he could, it was possible that her Dad had information that hadn’t been put in the official files.

The phone rang twice before he picked up. “Hello?”

“Dad?” Alex exhaled without realizing it, relief coursing through her.

“Land safe?” Kiernan was retired now, but he still kept tabs on the CARD teams.

“En route to meet the mother.” Alex glanced at the GPS. About fifteen minutes to go. “What can you tell me that’s not in the files?”

Kiernan sighed. “Not much,” he admitted.

Alex raised her eyebrows. That was surprising.

“There’s a local sex offender, Devin, who’s only been convicted for crimes against teenagers but there’s some evidence he’s been preying on children, too. He had an alibi. It was shaky when we got it, and shakier when the witness who gave his alibi died less than six months later. Placed him at a local bar.” Kiernan sounded thoughtful. “He was interviewed but then ruled out.”

“I’ll talk to Greg,” Alex promised, even though doubt had crept in already. That was an incredibly diverse age range for one person to prey on. She had read about him in the file, yes, but it was another thing to hear it said out loud. “Anything else?”

“Katy’s a good mother,” Kiernan said. “The media turned on her, but she stood strong.”

That was one of the difficult things for the parents of abducted children. The media could be their friend, but it so easily could be their foe. No matter what the police did, the media did what they wanted to sometimes. “Why?”

“They found out she was hospitalized for depression around the time she got pregnant, decided that Katy got rid of Tally so she didn’t have to deal with her.” Kiernan sounded bitter.

“Any chance that’s true?”

“No.” Kiernan was emphatic. “Absolutely not.”

Alex mulled it over. “Thanks, Dad.”

“Oh, and one more thing.”

Alex paused. “What?”

“She’s gay.” Kiernan said the words carefully.

Alex narrowed her eyes at the dashboard. He wouldn’t be playing matchmaker. Nope. There was no way. “You’re not playing matchmaker, are you?”

She could practically hear his shrug over the phone. “You never know where you’ll meet someone.”

“I have a job to do!” Alex said, exasperated.

“That doesn’t mean you can’t find someone that makes your life better.” Kiernan sounded distant, like he was reminiscing. He probably was. Alex’s mother had died when she was twelve, and it had been just the two of them ever since.

“Well. Thanks for letting me know?” She honestly doubted she would have any time for matchmaking, given her job. But, her dad did have a point.

“Any time, kiddo.” He paused, and for a moment Alex thought he had hung up. “You’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

This time he did hang up, before Alex could say anything in response. She let out a long breath. She was nervous. It was her first case back, after she had been cleared through mandatory therapy and the various hoops one had to jump through. This would be the case that would determine whether or not she was ready to go back onto a full team, to serve as a first-response to child abductions.

As grumbly as she was about her dad revealing Katy’s sexual orientation, it did provide a potential jumping-off point. Alex was probably the sole lesbian FBI agent on the CARD teams, and she knew what it was like to deal with people who didn’t agree with what she was.

Maybe she could gain Katy’s trust through that. Not that she wanted to. God, her sexuality wasn’t something to use as a bargaining chip, or to win someone’s favor.

Mentally she scowled at her father. Matchmaker.

She pulled the car up to the curb not far from Katy’s house. She glanced at the time. She had a few moments. They hadn’t given Katy a time when Alex would be there, but Alex assumed that Katy knew she would be.

Instead she parked the car and turned it off, getting out of it and glancing down at her notes. The playground where Tally had disappeared was within walking distance, she remembered that much. She looked at the street signs, her lips pursed thoughtfully.

She let her mind wander in time, three years back to when a mother and her little girl headed to the park in the middle of Phoenix’s ‘winter’. Tally in the bright red jacket, Katy in jeans and a t-shirt, a hoodie thrown on over. Tally skipping excitedly, Katy walking fast to keep up with her energetic little one. Smiles, laughter, because neither of them knew what was coming.

Katy had brought lunch for the two of them, to make a picnic out of it. Alex turned left when they would have. She could hear the kids chattering now. From experience, she knew the park had been empty for at least six months after Tally’s disappearance, all the parents worrying the same thing would happen to their kids. But eventually they had come back and now three years later the park was bright and bubbly again.

How many neighbors were still there? How many neighborhood kids remembered Tally, or remembered her disappearance? That was something she needed to talk to Greg about.

Standing on the edge of the park, Alex glanced back in the direction of the house. She couldn’t quite see the mailbox, but she knew it wasn’t that far away. Like other neighborhoods, each home had its own individual mailbox instead of a group. The mail had been delivered by the postman, or at least it had gone through the post system. It was still worth talking to the neighbors, just in case.

She turned her attention back to the playground. It was wide, sheltered by a dark-colored awning, thick enough to protect it from the sun. Even then, quite a few of the construction items were plastic versus metal, to keep from overheating. She could see the slide that Tally had been on, the bench that Katy had sat on.

“You must be the FBI agent.”

The voice startled Alex, but she didn’t jump. She turned to look at the woman who now stood next to her and this time she did blink. It was Katy. She recognized her from the photo that had been included in the case file.

She looked older, now, world-weary. Tally’s loss had left bags underneath Katy’s eyes, but they were still a brilliant, all-seeing blue. She was dressed casually, in jeans and a t-shirt, her arms crossed over her chest. Her face was resilient, strong, with its slightly too-sharp nose and thin lips. Her brown hair was pulled back, but Alex could see the ringlets in her pony tail.

It was ridiculous, whatever emotions flashed through Alex’s mind. Out of nowhere she wanted to check her hair for loose strands, ensure her clothes were wrinkle-free.

She wanted to preen.

But there was no room for preening on an FBI case. Nope.

But she couldn’t deny the frisson of energy that slid down her spine when Katy’s eyes met hers. They weren’t sad eyes, no. In a way Katy’s eyes were resigned, but with the strength of a thousand men (or women) underneath them. She was a woman who had gone to hell and then come back, survived everything the world had thrown at her. She was beautiful.

“What’s your name?” Katy asked.

That was when Alex realized she’d forgotten to answer. “Special Agent Mitchell,” she said. “You can call me Alex.” Even if that wasn’t sort of protocol. But whatever. Protocol fell apart in front of cute ladies.

Where, exactly, had her professionalism training gone? She was so much better than this. She didn’t go goo-goo eyed over parents of the abduction victims in her charge.

“As in Kiernan Mitchell?” Katy tilted her head, eyes glittering.

“He’s my father,” Alex admitted. She expected Katy to say something else, to segue that into another conversation, but Katy seemed equally entranced by her, seemingly content to not break Alex’s eye contact and instead studied her back. There was something between them, some bond that had been established without either of their permission.

Alex shoved it aside. She didn’t have time to deal with it.

“That’s where I found the girl in the jacket.” Katy’s eyes shifted to the slide, the base of which was pointed away from them. “I was sitting there prepping lunch.” She nodded her head towards a bench not far from where they were standing.

“Do you come here often?” It had been a while since Alex had worked a long-standing child abduction case. Usually they came in when it was an immediate response, not three years later. She knew the theory behind what the parents did after this long, but it wasn’t something she often witnessed up close.

“I’ve relived this moment a thousand times.” Katy’s voice was sad. “I come here as often as I can.”

“I know.” That Alex had seen. The agony in the parent’s eyes, the way they went over the moments over and over and over again, trying to figure out the one little thing that they could have done better in order to save their kid. To have found them faster.

“Do you do this often?” Katy met her eyes.

Against her better judgment, Alex wanted to reach out and touch her. But wisely, despite her brain, she kept her hands to herself. “I’ve been on a CARD team for about two years now,” she said.

Katy nodded, letting a breath out as she searched the area. Then she turned and started heading back towards her home.

Caught off-guard, Alex took a few steps to catch up with her. She was a few inches taller than Katy, which gave her a bit of an advantage. It felt like, in a way, they had known each other forever. Not over-the-top instant-love, like you saw on TV, but they were two souls that were bound by something that went far deeper than emotion.

It wasn’t anything, Alex reminded herself as they walked back to Katy’s house in silence. Of course she felt protective of Katy. Katy was her charge, just as much as Tally was. Alex was still raw from the case that had gone wrong. Dad was wrong. There was nothing there.

And Alex was going to make sure it stayed that way.