Prologue: Welcome to France
The roar of the airplane engine emanates from outside, thousands of miles above the troposphere, providing the interior of the plane with a muffling roar within the brightly lit area of the first class suite. From first class, the clatter of champagne flutes taps from within each other as it rests on the metallic cart running down the isles. And in the front of the plane rests the seal of the United States State Department with various men and women from the press conversing in mild, hushed voices.
A gentle groan was omnipresent in one of the seats up front. "Dad, how much longer till we land? I'm honestly begging for the sweet release of death if we stay in this plane for another four hours!" Pipes out the voice full of exhaustion and sarcasm. "Joseph Barthélemy Hunter, I told you not to complai-" "Oh calm down Alex, I'm with him on this one." says the man in a black and blue suit, wiping the sleep from his eyes. He release a bulbous yawn as he sweeps his hair, a dark shade of black, with a slight streak of blonde. "I mean...we packed up last minute and I wasn't expecting it to be...hectic with the press corps. Gotta be frank with you Alexandria, I do not want to present my credentials to the President right now. Like...not now, not today. I'd rather get food once we land."
Alexandria Barthélemy Hunter laughed loudly at her husbands' comical escapades. Her wavy blond hair swepted behind her shoulders as she pulls out her red lipstick. "Yeah, yeah, we'll do that once we land in Paris. But ONLY after we get to our house." Their son sighed even more as he grabbed his phone from his pocket, opened up the YouTube app, and proceeded to watch a random video. "So Jay? Are you excited to go to France?" His mother asked her son with the slightest hint of enthusiasm. He pauses his video, closing his phone he takes his earbuds off. "Well who isn't excited to move to The City of Lights? I mean, it would be a great way for me to take some pretty pictures of Paris at night. And possibly deal with LA traffic all over again."
There was a silent moment between both the parents and Jay as he rubbed his arms uncomfortably, his eyes darting away a bit as he tries to keep his breath steady. "Look, I'm sorry that I'm bringing this topic again...but why did we leave DC? Father, why did you accept the ambassadorship for France?" He sighs gently as he slumps in his seat.
"Jay, it's harder for me to explain it." His father began, taking his glasses off as he places a hand on the boys' shoulder. "I honestly took the job as a way to leave the bureaucratic clusterfuck of DC. But look on the bright side," He says enthusiastically, causing one of the journalists to take a photo of him with his joyful grin, "once we land in Paris, we get a mansion for a house, we're close to the Champs-Élysées, and we can finally get some good food!" Jay lets out a small chuckle as he unhooks his earphones from his ears. The head of Ambassador Hunter's security division, Susana J. Weber, walks up to the family with a few folders in hand. "Ambassador Hunter, I just got word that our plane will land at Charles de Gaulle Airport in just a few minutes. Pilot's also asking us to taxi in the airway but my source in the DGSI has informed me that Prime Minister Philippe and Interior Minister Collomb will not be able to meet up due to..." The intern looked through her phone as she stared in confusion at the word Akuma attack. "Susan? Why did the ministers cancel on us at the last minute?"
"For some reason, there was an 'Akuma attack' in Paris. Two people successfully neutralize the target." Jay looked at the intern with confused eyes. "Well, how far are we to the attack?" Jay asks as he packs his stuff into a backpack. "The attack was far from the airport but from the look of things, this attack has caused traffic throughout Paris. So until the target has been neutralized, I think we should land as soon as possible and stay until its safe to move."
Alexandria groaned loudly as she looks inside her purse. "It's only been 10 minutes since we entered French airspace and now there's an attack in Paris. Is it bad that I want to go to the attack and take photos?" Her husband looked at her with wide eyes, mouth agape, speechless. "Mom...I think your hunger is making you crazy right now." Jay says as he stares at his mother with the same agape look on his face. "Well I mean who wouldn't? We weren't able to get dinner and I'm still hungry." She chuckles a bit as she grabs her phone. "On the bright side, we have a lunch meeting with a fashion designer. It's for one of the classes describing color theory and modern fashion. And-" She was interrupted by her husband as he yawned some more. "So we're meeting up with some person for one of your new classes before we visit our own place...explain to me why we should g-" "He's a friend from college for which we're just gonna catch up. Joshua, you've met him before when he went to our wedding. He even designed the dress and suit for our wedding." He chuckled happily as he reminisces about the good old days.
"Yeah...well, we were young and crazy. Doesn't he have a son?" Alex nodded and a they talked about the designers' son, Jay zones off from the reality of his mind. Oh, sweet Jesus on a boat I'm bored! He sighs with droopy eyes, eye slowly closing deeply as he continues zoning off from reality. Can't wait till we leave this place. I mean..I guess Paris is a great start. He chuckles softly to himself and begins to fall asleep in the sweet escapade of sleep.
Time passes by more slowly than he would assume. The sun shining brightly through the airplane window as the plane lands through the Paris-Charles De Gaulle Airport. A hand pressed against Joseph's shoulder, a comforting hand as it shook him slightly from his slumber. "Jay, wake up Jay. We're finally here." It was his father, of course. "I'm coming." Jay yawned as he unbuckled his seat belt, grabbed his stuff, and immediately walked toward the exit of the plane. "Finally some fresh air!" He yawns loudly, strapping his backpack on he continues to rub the sleep away from his eyes. "Well good to see you're out and about!" said the mysterious woman. She was a sharp, young woman with a red sweater and black cardigan. Contrasting the red glasses were her piercing blue eyes and a casual smile. "Good morning Ambassadeur Hunter, Mademoiselle Hunter. I'm Nathalie Sancoeur, Gabriel Agreste's assistant and manager of his estate." She introduces herself, shaking the hands to the parents. "He asked me to personally escort you to the Agreste manor for lunch, but I believe your DSS escorts advised against that."
Nathalie then looked at Jay with intrigue. "And you must be Joseph Hunter. I've heard so much about you from Gabriel." She greets the boy, bringing a hand up to the boy. "You could call me Jay, Joseph is my grandfather's name." Jay insists as he accepts the hand. Nathalie pulls out a phone and looks down there for a second. " So Jay, if you like you can meet my boss's son? I just need to pick him up from school and he's just the same age as you." He sighs as he unhooks his skateboard from his backpack. "Okay. But before we go I need my BoostedBoard. I do NOT want to lose a $1400 skateboard because of some opportunistic security guard...again." He chuckles a bit as he rides his skateboard through the airport, with some DSS agents following suit but are slightly struggling to catch up with the teen. Oh, a sweet ride through an airport...just like the old days I suppose. He sighs peacefully as he passes by the crowds of traveling through the airport, possibly traveling to other countries if not French territories. He looks at a family passing by, especially the young kids walking with their parents. He sighs internally as he arrived at luggage.
The entire luggage area was full of people and copious amounts of luggage waiting in the metal conveyor belts as passengers grab their luggage at sluggish speeds. He already knew that DSS will most likely grab his luggage, but he wanted to grab his BoostedBoard before he leaves with this Nathalie. "Joseph! Could you please wait for me, you need your security guard." Jay groaned slightly, it was Nathalie. Rolling his eyes as he pops out from his skateboard and latches it back onto his backpack. "Okay Nathalie, I'm just waiting for my BoostedBoard." And just by coincidence, his skateboard slides into the conveyer belt. "Ah! Just in time." He grins a bit and walks towards the skateboard. "Alright Nathalie," He begins a bit as he turns around to see Nathalie and James, his DSS agent, with a cheeky smile; "I'm as ready as ever. Let's go to your car." Nathalie nodded as she walks in front of him and the DSS special agent. They walk out from baggage claim and toward parking.
The outside of Charles DeGaulle Airport was busy, similar to the busyness from LAX as cars drove through the various highways leading to Paris, Melun, and Bruxelles respectively. It's almost like LAX in the sense that a group of people is looking for their loved ones or their clients at the front of arrivals. In front of Jay is a limousine with Nathalie's name on it. Right next to that limo is a motorcade for Ambassador Hunter and his family. "James, don't you think that this motorcade seems...excessive at best?" He asks his DSS guard, looking over the various cars with US flags on both sides of the car. "This is for your father's safety. Same with yours, Jay." He whispers into a microphone on his shirt, signaling two bikes from the front to follow the limo. " I'm sorry, Miss Nathalie. But you'll need a motorcade to be with your limousine for the duration of Jay's ride in your limo. Standard procedure so I'm sorry if it bothers you." Nathalie nodded as he sees some of the DSS agents load his family's luggage. "We'll have to go now Jay, Adrien's going to ask where I'm at." Nathalie informs Jay as he loads his BoostedBoard and backpack inside the limo. "Okay Nathalie. I'm all ready."
With a nod, the DSS agent goes inside next to Jay and afterward, Nathalie follows suit. The car rumbles a bit as the engine turns on, ready for them to leave. With a signal from Nathalie, the motorcade starts ahead, driving through traffic as they exit the airport and into the A1 Freeway into Paris.
Inside the limo lays a beige leather interior for the Bentley Mulsanne Grand Limousine with foldable picnic tables and a soft drink holder and bottle cooler. "Now I would usually ask guests if they would like a bottle of wine. But since you're still under the age to drink, maybe I could offer you a Perrier? She asks, grabbing some drinking flutes from her side of the car. He nodded softly as he looks at the view of Paris, the rays of the sun shining brightly through his window shield. He looks away from the window to see a crystal flute filled with the Perrier water. "Thank you Nathalie." He thanks her, grabbing the flute and begins drinking the sparkling water. "It's no problem. From what I hear, your mother has said quite a lot about you." She chuckles a bit as she grabs her phone from her purse. "My boss has told me quite a bit about you and your parents. He and your mother were friends at school and apparently met your father when designing for their wedding. And if I'm not mistaken, you've gotten some attention from the public because of your music."
Jay nodded softly as he continues drinking his Perrier. "That's all true. My father was Congressman and Senator for my California before he became an ambassador. I've honestly kept that fact private in school." Nathalie nodded as she gazes over her phone. She started texting someone on her phone and thus begins the silence between Nathalie and Jay. "So...what's Adrien like?" He asks her as she gazes over at her phone. "Well, he's a model for his father's line and to be honest, he's also been a busy person since he was young. He's a model, yes. But his father has told him to sign up for fencing classes, piano lessons, Chinese classes while going to the local school." Jay looked at Nathalie with wide eyes, shocked by the amount of oversight that he has to do during his studies. "I mean, I remember having to take language classes and piano lessons as a child...but I never heard of someone being forced to do a sport or a language."
"This is because Gabriel wants his son to focus on his studies, not wanting any bad influences for his son. This also led him to keep Adrien home for most of his life. It was only recently that he allowed him to go to school." Jay sighs a bit, looking over through the window, he sees the Eiffel Tower from the background. "I understand that kind of concern because my father was the same. But as I grew up, he knew that I can handle things by myself and make my own decisions. I mean, I joined my school's swim team, music club, theater club, and let me take cooking classes. Because that's what I want to do." He sighs as they get closer to a school full of people his age, it was the end of the school day and people were leaving school. "So this is the school I'll be going to...it'd be interesting to go here when I'm more fluent in English than to French." He chuckles a bit as a blond-haired boy with black shirt, white polo, and blue jeans walk down with a girl with pigtails, a boy with a baseball cap, and a nerdy girl with glasses. "If you would please. I need to get Adrien's attention."
He nods at Nathalie, watching the four walk toward the limo. "Nathalie, did something happen?" "Adrien, your father's having dinner tonight with a college friend. His friend's child is inside as well." Jay nods as he looks back at the four as he waves at them. "Nice to meet you guys!" He grins happily as he gets out from the car with his security guard. The four look at Jay and his security guard, confused. "I'm Joseph Hunter, but most just call me Jay." He hands Adrien and the others a handshake. "I would explain more, but we're gonna be late! We kinda need to go, I kinda need something to eat right now." The boy with the red cap laughed as he shook Jay's hand. "Well nice to meet you, Jay! I guess I'll see you later Adrien; get some sleep, Jay! You look like you're gonna drop." The blond boy nod as he waved back at his friends, entering the limo with Jay and his guard while Jay waves back at the boy with the baseball hat. The limo engine starts, and the four drive off to the Agreste Manor.
Author's Note: So...it's been a while since I written a piece of fanfiction. You'd probably ask why well...school happens to sap away the creative mind. But at the same time, I'm pursuing a nursing degree at college. So, let's just say that I've been strapped to my future. But here I am! I'm back from the dead and I'm gonna start this new venture out! So I hope you would enjoy this new story that I've started. Maybe this time I can actually finish this story up...but who knows xD
Yours Truely,
Emberfox
