Author's Note:
I'm not giving up on Reid for President. It will be done before Christmas at the latest. I am jumping off a metaphorical cliff with this one to see how readers will respond.
Eleven years ago Reid died after a brutal mugging in Savannah while attending an engineering conference. Jack Hotchner is studying abroad in France and his host family has a neighbor who reminds him of an old family friend and ends up finding his life in danger as a result.
I do not own Criminal Minds. Rated T for violence.
I know very little about France and I may accidentally butcher the language a little so I'll take any advice anyone is willing to offer.
Her Name is Haley
Prologue:
Reid knew he was going to die. His bleeding far too much from his extremities in addition to a chest wound. As he laid slumped up against the wall in the dark alley he wondered is he should be making peace with a higher power. Instead he wondered if Garcia had saved that message for his mom when he thought he was going to die. He felt sorry for the team. They will never find his killers.
He heard the rushing of feet. His name was being called. He heard someone shout "no!" He felt people apply pressure to his wounds. Someone was calling out for him to stay alert but he couldn't see the person's face. All he wanted was to sleep.
His life as he knew it was over.
Chapter One:
Jack was walking home from the bus stop and to his delight Dad's car was still in the driveway. He ran through the door and threw his Darth Vader lunch box on the kitchen table. He started calling his name. He checked the bedroom and then he suddenly heard a sobbing noise. The sound was coming from Dad's study. He carefully opened the door to find Dad crying into his arms while leaning against his desk.
"Dad?" he said softly.
His dad looked at him and he stopped crying loudly. He smile weakly at him.
"Hey sport," he said croakily. He could see tears pouring down his face.
"Dad why are you crying?"
He beckoned him forward sniffling a little. "Jack do you remember Spencer?"
"Of course Dad. He's Henry's godfather. He was doing magic trick his birthday party last week."
"Spencer is dead son," he said simply.
"Like Mom?"
Dad started crying a little more.
"Yes he is gone Jack."
Dad suddenly pulled him into hug. "He was one of the best men I ever knew Jack. The best."
Jack Hotchner woke to a start. They were still an hour away from Charles De Gaul Airport. His face felt damp. He quickly wiped away the tears. That was the last time he saw his dad cry in front of him. More than ten years ago. He wondered why the memory came back now.
His friend Travis also woke and stretched. "Ready for an adventure Mon ami?"
"Oui"
"Did I hear you shouting for your dad in your sleep?"
"Was I that loud?"
Travis yawned. "Not really, I was just leaning into you and heard bits of it."
Jack looked at his shoulder for wet marks.
"If you drooled on me I'll kill you."
"Pardon."
Jack pulled out his tablet with a sigh. He received another message from his host family saying how excited they were to see him. All in French. Travis said some of his messages were in English.
"Hey have you seen pictures of your host family yet?"
"No they're kind of obsessed with their privacy. They don't want pictures of their kids everywhere I guess. I tried googling their names and no pictures came up of them. Just Erik and Maria Schmidt, scientists for Global Environmental Solutions. Their Au Pair is picking me up from the airport. They sound nice but for all I know they could be serial killers."
"Not funny Travis," Jack said seriously. "My dad used to hunt them for a living." And one killed my mom.
"Pardon. Now he's like in charge of the FBI right?"
"Deputy Director, they haven't announced whether he got the top job yet."
One of the flight attendants was walking down the aisle. Travis raised his hand.
'Puis-je avoir un tournevis ?'
The flight attendant smiled as if she had heard this from a million dumb kids before.
"The bar is closed," she said in perfect English.
"It is four a.m. Travis. What did you expect?"
"It was worth a try," he said with a sigh. "Do you think I can teach my host family some mixology?"
Jack knew his best friend could be a bit of an idiot. But he was good company and always had his back.
He sat back in his seat. It felt almost scary to be this far from home. Yet he was also excited. Forget the educational stuff. He had no idea what adventures this trip would bring.
