Annabel Lee ─ emily prentiss

nine

We have hit the mid-season hiatus, so the next case or two will be ones I made up.

★★★

"RESPECTFULLY," Jane Ellis, Quantico's Victim Specialist, handed two file folders back to Emily, "I don't understand what you want or what this has to do with me."

As soon as Emily got in that morning, she snagged the reports she and Morgan wrote on the Fuller case and followed Hotch's directions to Jane's small, dark office. Jane, a thirtysomething-year-old redhead, was unenthusiastic about Emily's presence. She listened to Emily's monologue about the case and about what happened since, her expression never anything but stoic. After hearing the whole thing and glancing over the reports on the Howells, she was still stone-faced.

"I think Bel should be transferred to Virginia." Emily looked Jane right in the eyes, hoping it conveyed the message that she would not be deterred. "Both of her parents are dead, and she has no other family, so there's no possibility of reunification. She has nobody to protect her in New York, and when she's that far away, the only thing I have to go on is what she tells me. If she was here, at least I could check up on her and make sure this doesn't keep happening. And this girl has been traumatized. An elevated needs foster home here—"

"Agent Prentiss," Jane interrupted, shocking her into silence. "I agree that this sounds like an abusive situation that's escalating, and a girl who's been through what she has probably would benefit from a higher level of care. But that's the kind of thing CPS handles. It's not an FBI matter, especially now that her case is closed. And as far as transferring Bel out of state, unless you have a concrete reason that Virginia has something to offer that New York doesn't, the ICPC won't pursue it."

She'd lost Emily with that one. "The what?"

"The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children. In a situation like the one you're describing, they're the ones who determine whether an out-of-state placement is appropriate. But they only do that when there's something another state has that cannot be found in the home state." Jane saw Emily's expression shift and felt compelled to add, "Which would be something like a specific program unavailable in the home state or maybe a relative. They have elevated needs foster homes in New York, and you're not family. I'm not saying it would be right for them to dismiss you because you aren't a relative. I'm just saying that that's what they're going to tell you."

"Bel is in this situation because of the Bureau's negligence," Emily countered. "If it took adequate action to protect her at the time, she wouldn't be in this situation. The Bureau was responsible for putting her into this situation. Now they should be responsible for getting her out."

Jane really didn't know what to tell Emily other than that this was CPS' business, and going by the book, there was no reason for the FBI to intervene. Whatever was happening to Bel was abuse, no doubt, but not the kind the FBI typically handled if the victim wasn't part of an active case. The FBI's "Violent Crimes Against Children" initiative was less broad than it sounded; it mostly referred to kidnappings and sexual abuse, exploitation, or trafficking. Was this escalation the result of FBI negligence when they were directly responsible for this girl's safety? Yes. Should the FBI do what Emily wanted? Sure. But "should" and "would" were two very different words when it came to this agency.

"They should," she agreed. "They should have done more after you found her, and they should help her now. I agree with you. But it's highly unlikely that they will. The FBI's involvement with her is over, and unless you think that there's sexual abuse or trafficking or anything beyond neglect and physical abuse, no higher-up is going to listen."

She felt horrible watching Emily's face drop. Clearly, this was personal, not just a professional, moral matter, and she cared deeply about this girl. Getting shut down was probably a massive gut punch. But this was the easiest she would be turned away. Nobody higher up would care at all. At best, they would say it wasn't FBI territory. At worst, they would accuse her of wasting their time and tell her she was being ridiculous.