The annoyingly bright sunrise gleamed through the office window and right into Martin Fitzgerald's eyes. Muttering, he reached over to pull down the blinds and turned back to his ever-present coffee mug. He closed his eyes as he chugged down the dark liquid, trying to mentally compel the caffeine to awaken his brain cells.

Across the room, Vivian pinned up two photographs on the empty disappearance timeline. "Good morning, sunshine."

Martin grumbled. "Whoever invented seven 'o clock in the morning should hang in the nearest courtyard." He took another swig.

"I think it was Jack."

Martin joined her at the board. "I wouldn't be surprised." Squinting, he studied the faces of the two missing children. A skinny teenage girl with long black hair held her arms tightly around a gleefully smiling toddler, the spitting image of the girl behind him. In the other, the same girl was featured in a mug shot, taken no less than a week before. He recognized neither.

"Mother?" Martin asked.

"Sister."

He nodded. "Who are they?"

"Jordan and Jason Coliandri," Vivian answered as she began organizing her remarkably cluttered desk. "Last night big sister escapes from juvy, and on the same night her brother inexplicably vanishes from the orphanage they both attend."

He smirked. "Coincidence?"

"I think not," Vivian sang.

As a thought struck him, Martin's brow furrowed. "From the orphanage, huh?"

"That's what they said."

He blinked, confused. "NYPD sent this to us?"

Vivian nodded, sorting methodically through her papers. "Mm-hmm."

A thoughtful expression appeared on his face. "Wonder what sent it to the top of the pile."

His reaction was no surprise. Martin had grown up to be politically conscious in a family whose life was spent in affairs of state and government. He was wealthy, but with such stature came an understanding of which cases became a priority and which were left to lesser jurisdictions.

People went missing every day. The question on Martin's mind was: what made this case so critical?

"Who knows them? Some government official?"

Vivian momentarily paused in her rearranging. "Danny."

Martin nearly choked on his coffee. He stopped himself before making a scene. "Danny? Danny Taylor?"

"Our very own."

"You're kidding."

"Nope." She had arrived early enough to hear the highlights from Jack. "He volunteers at the same church orphanage they hail from."

"Wow." He stared forward, only now finding it impossible to tear himself away from their pictures.

"Are you really all that shocked?"

Martin knew he shouldn't have been. The news certainly accounted for how short-tempered Danny had been recently. "I guess I just never pinned him as the Gospel type," he admitted. "But then again even though we've spent a lot of time together, there's not much I know about him outside of work."

"Well, Danny likes his privacy." Her voice lowered slightly. "Which is why it's going to be hard for him to come in today."

Martin shrugged. "So, we know he's the volunteer-on-the-weekends-type. So what? It's not like he's selling crack babies out of his basement."

Vivian didn't want to embellish on the situation. It wasn't her place, but when you're on a team, some things have to be made known. "Danny spent a lot of time trying to keep this girl out of harm's way. He's been a stable figure in her life since she was fifteen."

Martin grew somber at the description.

"It's personal, and that's something we deal with very carefully when it comes to these situations."

He took in every word Vivian was saying. It was a solemn topic, Danny's involvement in the life of a child. "She's that important to him, huh?"

"Your first emotional case is the one that matters the most."

"Yeah…" That was all it took. Like a bolt of lightning in a clear blue sky, the scenes flared before his eyes. Memories flashed of an abandoned warehouse. A child missing an ear… A gunshot… He clenched his eyes, physically pushing the disturbing images out of his mind.

He cleared his throat and kept the conversation trained away from him. "Yeah…I can understand that. I just never saw Danny as the type to sacrifice his professionalism."

"Sometimes it can't be helped." She breathed a distinct sigh. "There's always one."

Martin glanced over at her, a small smile in place. "Yeah? Which one was yours?"

Vivian held her mouth open, though no words would form. She was promptly saved from the question when the double doors of the office burst open.

Samantha sauntered into the room, briefcase in hand, hair fastened up in a loose ponytail. "Hey. Sorry I'm late. It seems morning traffic's reached a new realm of claustrophobia." She glanced back and forth between the two agents. "Did I miss something?"

Martin sent Vivian a stare. I'll bring this up again later.

Her hint of a smile birthed a challenge. You're welcome to try.

Looking away, Martin turned back to Sam. "Plenty."

He relayed to Samantha the few details he knew about the two missing youths while she made herself a cup of tea. However, before they could discuss anything but the facts of the case, Jack Malone emerged from his office, bearing readouts from the NYPD and Northeast Detention.

The team moved to their worktable, prepared for the debriefing of their case. Pleasantries and banter were exchanged in the normal fashion, and Jack was about to open up discussion when the office doors once again flew open.

- - - - -

Danny walked briskly into the office, face stern but collected. The car ride from his apartment was short, but it had given him enough time to plan his approach.

"Hey," he greeted, as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred since he left the night before. "What'd I miss?"

Sam sat back in her revolving chair. She followed his lead, just as cavalier. "Just Martin's very entertaining impersonation of Judge Judy."

Martin smirked. "I can do it again if you like."

Danny's smile edged to the side, grateful for the moment of brevity. "Thanks, but I think I'll pass."

The joking died down at that point, a little too abruptly for Danny's tastes. He looked to each of the agents. Though his mind was set on overload, even a fool could have noticed.

They already knew about Jordan and the unconventional paths he had taken to try to keep her safe. He shifted in place. For someone who had spent the better part of his days keeping his personal life out of the limelight, it was uncomfortable to say the least.

Shaking his head, he brushed the thought aside. There would be all the time in the world to be uncomfortable later. He took his seat amongst them and looked to Jack. His eyebrows pent together as he waited for him to explain the situation. Though the articles had been informative, developments were sure to have been made.