Bombs Away
The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time ~Mark Twain
Derek and Reid found themselves at loose ends one afternoon. They didn't have a horrible crime to work on. Everyone else had been smart and took out of the BAU like lightening. Reid asked Derek if he would like to check out the shooting contest that was going on. Every year policemen from all over the country came to the three day shooting contest. The winner got a huge trophy and the right to claim themselves as the best! Until the next year that is.
It was one of those beautiful Virginia days. The temperature was warm enough Derek thought that the girls might be out and showing some flesh. It was, and they were. Derek was enjoying the sights immensely. This was turning out to be a good idea.
They got to where the competition was taking place. Derek was soon surrounded by several women. Reid was watching the competition. As the next contestant stepped up Derek heard Reid say, "Hey it's a woman." And a guy standing next to Reid said, "Yes, she's a woman alright and she can beat the pants off of any man here."
Derek excused himself from his gaggle of girls and stepped up next to Reid. They had a perfect view of the shooting range. It wasn't just shooting either, even though that was part of the contest. Part of it was also where the shooter goes through varies buildings with criminals and good people alike. It was up to the shooter to decide in a split second who they were to shoot and who not too. They would be judged on speed and accuracy. The signal sounded and the lady took off.
After watching her for a few minutes Derek thought to himself, it's like watching poetry in motion. Damn he also thought, Reid is rubbing off on me. The shooter didn't waste a movement, she was fluid, agile, a thrill to watch. Her shots were perfect and dead on, she was hitting all the bad guys and none of the good. The last one was extremely hard as you had to scramble under a fence only to see a suspect above you surrounded by civilians. Derek didn't think anyone could make that shot. He was wrong. Just before she got to the hole in the fence she drove through it coming out the other side. What was really cool, she was turning herself around while diving and hit the suspect right between the eyes. It was truly awesome and the crowd cheered when she was done.
A few minutes later she did the target shooting part of the contest. And it didn't matter what she was shooting at or from which position, she hit the target dead on every time!! It was truly remarkable!
She was the last contestant, and no one was surprised when they announced her as the winner, with a perfect score! In a very sexy, husky voice, (one that sent shivers down Derek's back,) she thanked her dad for her shooting talent because he had taught her everything she knew. She then stepped back. The crowd cheered and yelled.
The crowd was thinning out. Derek was saying good-bye to a couple of the ladies when he noticed Reid go under the tape and go talk to the winner. He watched them, Reid and the lady, and it looked like they were getting along. He did notice however that she glanced over at him a couple of times. So he chased off the girls, went under the tape and over to where they were talking. As he was walking up to them he heard her tell Reid the only thing she could think of to help him learn how to shoot better was to just spend time with his gun. When his gun became like an extension of his arm, then he would be able to hit fairly accurately. Derek introduced himself to her. She shook his hand and said "Hello." Then she took out a card, wrote something on the back, and gave it to Reid. She told him her cell number was on the back, if he ever made it up to New Hampshire to be sure to give her a call. Then she smiled brightly at Reid, said a short good-bye to Derek and headed off the field.
Derek couldn't believe it. He had just been snubbed. This is something he wasn't use to at all. No, not at all.
Derek and Reid headed back to the office, why neither was sure. The office was starting to feel more and more like home. Reid was talking non stop about Sara and how well she shot and wasn't she pretty and he had always wanted to go to New Hampshire, and didn't you know that New Hampshire had 10 counties, 13 municipalities, 22 towns and 22 unincorporated places. Now that he knew somebody from up there, maybe he would go. While Reid is talking away, Derek is starting to feel a little better. The girls that crossed there path would smile, wave, and wink at him. Yea, he thought, this is the way it should be.
When they got to the office they found Hotch and Rossi there. The four men stood around and talked a bit, then one of them suggested they all go out to dinner. So they did. While eating Derek remembered one time when he told Gideon "we are practically living together as it is." Derek thought that sentiment was even truer now.
They took there time over dinner, had coffee and desert afterwards. Then when they walked out of the restaurant, Reid suggested that they go to Browdy's, a bar they sometimes went too. Everyone was surprised, usually they had to drag Reid there. But they really didn't have anything else going on, so they went.
They got there early enough to actually get a table by the dance floor. They ordered drinks, tea, lemonade, and coffee. No one drank hard liqueur, in fact Derek couldn't remember the last time he had a drink. Never knew when a call might come in, had to be ready.
Derek of course was soon on the dance floor, sometimes with three or four girls. Hotch, Rossi, and Reid just sat at the table talking. After a hour or so she walked in.
Derek was just coming off the dance floor when in saw her walk into the room. He stopped dead in his tracks. Wow she sure cleaned up nice he thought. Her black hair was curled beautifully, It was so black it was as dark as the night. She was wearing a form fitting red dress, (and she had the perfect form for it to form around) that fell just below her knees. She had on black high heels that completed the look perfectly. She just glanced at him and the girls around him, dismissed him just as fast, and starting looking for someone else, who turned out to be Reid. He hollered, "Sara, over her," and she waved at him and started working her way to him. She had to pass within just a couple of feet of Derek, but she acted like she didn't even know him. When she went by, Derek got a whiff of her, and he felt himself going hard. He wasn't sure what the smell was, it was like sunshine, roses, and a touch of apple pie all together. He watched her continue to the table where Reid introduced her to Rossi and Hotch, and before long they were chatting and laughing like life time friends. Derek tried to get his groove back on the dance floor but he couldn't concentrate on the dancing, his mind was stuck on her. Finally he gave up, went to the table and sat down with the rest of them. She nodded at him when he sat down, and then went back to listening to something Reid was saying. She wasn't actually rude Derek decided, but she sure wouldn't win any trophy's in the friendly department.
Suddenly Sara stood up, grabbed Reid's hand and said "let's dance". Everyone at the table was shocked, Reid never danced! But as they watched they noticed he wasn't half bad. Sara was a pleasure to watch. A couple of girls came over and tried to get Derek back on the floor but he wasn't interested. They left in a huff. He continued to watch Sara and wondered if she was as good in bed as she was on the dance floor. At that thought he shook his head. told himself to get over this, and turned to see what Rossi and Hotchner were talking about. Seems Reid had told them about Sara's afternoon shooting contest and when Rossi noticed Derek was listening he asked Derek, "Was she really as good as Reid said she was?" He said, "She never hesitated, never flinched, and never missed a shot." When that dance was over she came back and collected Hotchner. When she came back again, she grabbed Reid. When they came back she started to sit down however Derek grabbed her hand and said "my turn." He figured she wasn't going to be rude, and he was right. When they got on the floor they both realized it was a slow dance. She acted like she was going to turn around and go back to the table, but Derek applied just a little pressure to the arm he was holding and she turned back to him. He put his arms around her and even though she didn't put her arms around him she did put her hands on his hips. He pulled her a little closer, got a good strong whiff of her perfume and he thought to himself, 'I'm going to embarrass myself, I am as hard as a rock," He started to talk but she raised a finger to his lips and said "Shhhh". She then put her hand back on his waist and Derek thought she moved in a little closer. Derek couldn't remember the last time he felt so "alive" for lack of a better word. They just danced to the music lost in there own little worlds and Derek thought maybe I judged her wrong. Suddenly she looked up at him and said, "Do you guys have a spare vest with you? I think I'm going to need it if I keep dancing with you like this." Derek looked down at her with a puzzled look on his face and said, "Excuse me?" And she smiled and said, "Look around, if looks could kill, I would be dead a dozen times over." Derek did look around and saw what she. Women were glaring at her! Just then they both felt a vibration coming from the little bag she had on her wrist. She stopped, took her hands off Derek, pulled out the phone, looked at the number and said "I have to take this" and started working her way outside. The look on her face when she saw what number was on the phone, and the tone of voice she used, made Derek wonder just what the hell was up? So he followed her outside.
She was leaning on the building right outside the door. When Derek saw her, he swore she had terror in her eyes. She didn't say a word, she was just listening but that look, Derek was starting to worry about her. She finally hung up the phone, dropped it in her bag, all without taking her eyes off Derek. She started to take a step towards him. She seen Reid looking out side the door and yelled at him to please go get the others. She grabbed Derek by the hand and pulled him away from the door to where it was a little quieter. Derek started to ask her what was up but she beat him to the punch and said "When your boss is out here." When everyone else showed up she turned to Hotch and said "You guys are BAU. You have a plane. Do I have a case for you." She hurried back to them pulling her phone out and said, "Please listen to this."
The disguised voice said "Hello cutie pie. Since we had such a good time last time, I thought we would play again. I am sure if you work harder this time, you might make it and save a life. Instead of being 30 mins late and finding some bodies.. Oh that's right, you are not in New Hampshire. Your in Virginia aren't you? Well it doesn't matter, I want to play so play we will. You have six hours to find the next couple. Otherwise you'll find them in the same state you found the other ones. Weren't they pretty? Should I give you a clue? Hmmm, let me think. How about this? The new couple is like the other couple, but not like the other couple. And just to be fair the couple you are looking are not in a city. HAA HAA HAA. Hustle girl, you're wasting someone's life just standing around. TA TA."
She clicked the phone off. "It's a long drive to New Hampshire, I won't make it in time. But you have a plane, we could get there a lot sooner. And this case should be one you are interested in." She looked at Hotchner but you could also hear the clock ticking off in her head. Hotchner looked at her for a couple of minutes and said, "It helps if we are invited to join an investigation." Without looking at him she opened her phone, pushed a number and brought it up to her ear. They could hear a couple of rings then a strong loud male voice say "This better be good trooper." She took a deep breath and very calmly said, "He called me. Yes. Six hours to find them and I am still in Virgina. So I asked someone for help. I am standing here in with SSA Hotchner from the BAU. I'm trying to convince him to bring me home and help us locate the subject (Reid mouthed unsub) the unsub but he says he has to be invited." She listened for a second and then handed the phone to Hotch. Hotch heard "this is Captain John Thompson of the New Hampshire Hwy Patrol." Hotch then turned and walked off a few steps to talk. When he got off the phone he turned and looked at Rossi and said, "Call the girls, tell them they have 45 mins to get to the plane. Otherwise they can catch a later flight. Also tell them warm clothes, it's snowing in New Hampshire." Then he turned to Derek and said, "Call Garcia, and ask her to get to the office right away. And tell her to call me when she gets there, I am sure we will have lots for her to do." Then he said to them all, "Everyone got to go bags at the office?" When they all nodded he turned to Sara and said, 'But we probably don't have warm clothes and we don't have time for anymore stops, think you can help us out when we get to Concord?" Sarh just nodded her head and he said "OK then lets move."
Before they knew it, Hotch stopped at the office and they all (except Sara) ran in and got there to go bags and ran back down to the rig. Hotch tore out of there and headed as fast as he dared towards the airport. On the way Reid looked at Sara and asked her "What about you stuff?" She just said, "I can't think about material things when a life is at sake.." They rode the rest of the way in silence.
When they got on the plane, the 37 minutes had passed. They all hurried up the plank as fast as they could. Everyone found a seat except for Hotch who went to talk to the pilot. When he came back 44 minutes had passed. Hotch was just getting ready to close the door and tell the pilot to take off when the girls pulled up. They jumped out of the car and ran up the steps and into the plane. Hotch said "Glad you could make it." He shut the door and soon they were taxing out on the run way. Hotch told them, "We are headed for Concord New Hampshire and the weather is a warm 10 degrees. A foot of snow has fallen in the last six hours and it is snowing now." They all groaned, snow was not most of the teams favorite thing. JJ started to ask Hotch what the case was, and he said, "when we get in the air we'll talk."