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Chapter Seven:
"So your spies for host parents are actually a wife who has family in America who are there illegally. They are afraid that they might be discovered because of who my father is and are debating whether they should tell me outright so I might be able to help or worry that I might make matters worse."
"That's all?" Travis said.
That is the best explanation Jack could come up with in an hour. "It is not always what you think Travis."
As they walked to the bust stop Jack felt a tingling sensation. He looked for reflective surfaces and noted the same man with a white baseball cap had been following them for a few minutes. The man could follow them on to a bus full of students and try something or he might be part of team doing surveillance. Either way Jack had a decision to make.
The bus arrived. Travis got on but Jack decided to stay.
"I forgot my homework," he said.
"You are dead man," Travis said. "See you later."
Hopefully, he thought and left for the direction of home. As soon as the bus left, he turned in the opposite direction and walked quickly. He made sharp turns and occasionally checked reflective surfaces. Now he'd seen the same man with a beard, blue shirt, and sunglasses watching. He went into a shop selling cheap souvenirs. He checked another surface and noted the man had now taken out a newspaper. So this was surveillance.
He found the restricted section and quietly opened a door. He moved quickly and found an employee exit that led into an ally. He pulled out his phone check where he was. He kept walking until he found himself in a plaza with a church in the corner.
He walked in the church and found a side exit that lead to garden. There were no other exits. He was trapped.
The door open and Spencer Reid appeared. He was dressed as if he was going to work with a brief case and looked very calm.
"Hello Jack," he said pleasantly.
"Hello Spencer," he said in return.
"Exit the back of the church and you'll find a cemetery. Walk through there and you can get on a main road. I suggest sticking to tourist traps. Always stay in a crowd. How much money do you have?"
"Enough to get around. How do I know my followers are waiting for me in the cemetery?"
"Because they lost you in the gift shop. They're sending amateurs after you for now. They didn't think you'd use an employee exit." He opened his briefcase and pulled out two tall stacks of cash. "Use this to get to Lyons. Text your host family you're studying with Colet in the evening and then later tonight say you missed the last bus out of the area and staying with a friend named Ron who lives in the area. Text Travis you are meeting with me at the Louvre in afternoon."
Travis took the money, growing scared. "So are those people out there assassins?"
"No," Reid said. "They're kidnappers. They want to take you in for questioning after your phone call with Henry last night. With luck they would question you and let you go as you're the FBI director's son. Hotch got the job by the way. Congratulations."
"Or they could ransom me off."
"No, that is not how these people operate. They also don't dump bodies unless absolutely necessary."
"Then why help me leave? Just let the kidnappers have me if that is all want is information."
"I am afraid of what the authorities will ask of you. And I also don't like they're methods."
"Why Lyons then?"
"Because that is where the capitol of Interpol is. You'll find Emily Prentis there. She is the only person I trust to keep you safe on this continent."
"Does she know anything?"
"No, but I don't trust any other law enforcement agencies or embassies to keep you safe the way she can."
"Where will you go Spencer?"
"Back to CERN as a faculty advisor. Travis going to need a new host family. I've already made my recommendations. He is going to stay with you until they find a replacement but you'll be gone by then."
"What about Haley and everyone else?"
"Haley is going to America on dance scholarship and Anton and Maria will stay with me."
"I know about the consortium and the syndicate," Jack said suddenly. "Travis recorded the conversation on his phone and I got the file translated."
Reid sighed. "I knew we shouldn't have fixed that squeaky floorboard." He checked his watch. "We have five minutes, what do you want to know? I'm just assuming that you didn't tell Travis the real truth as he is a terrible liar."
Jack shook his head. "I told him something about your wife's family. So now you're just going to answer my questions?"
Reid nodded. "Good answer. Maria grew up in an orphanage. I will only answer the basics. If you get caught after five minutes you still won't know enough for the kidnappers to want to kill you."
"Okay, why did you fake your death Spencer?"
"Do you think I am good man Jack?"
"Why?"
"Time is running out."
"Of course, Spencer. I remembered how nice you were. Henry still misses you like crazy by the way."
Reid blinked once. "I am not the person you thought I was when you were a kid. The team didn't know that either."
"So what?"
"My mother's schizophrenia was becoming unmanageable through conventional means. There were drugs on the black market I was desperate for her to try. It cost money. Lots of money. More than what David Rossi has"
"What did you do?"
"I used my degree in engineering to help build weapon for private contractors. Not bioweapons. Just more efficient artillery weapons. There is nothing illegal about it."
"What?" Jack shouted. "Spencer you're building weapons for terrorists."
"Anyone Jack. From the military to private security. The Consortium and the Syndicate are the two biggest rival weapons manufacturers who go by more common legal names. The Consortium tried to lure me over with more money but I refused because I knew they only wanted secrets from the Syndicate. I fought them hard in the alleyway rather than be pulled in for torture. So they decided to kill me instead as a message for the Syndicate. But the Syndicate had a tracker on me so they were able to save me in time."
Jack touched his forehead. "I can't believe this. Then what happened?"
"The Syndicate declared ownership of my life for saving it. I have been developing weapons of all varieties except biological ever since then."
"Your wife?"
"I met her two months in to my time at CERN. She fell in love with me despite my protests. She saw in me a person who wasn't broken from the trauma. She made me whole," he said wiping a tear away.
"Haley," Jack said doing the mental math.
"We married a month later and then eight months later Haley came into the world."
"Why are they letting you live a normal life? And why does Maria know?"
"Maria cooperated fully with the syndicate and with her math skills they recruited her. We live in a modest home and live a simple life."
"Did your mom ever get the special treatment?"
Reid nodded. "She could not be controlled for a whole straight week after my death. But two weeks later she was on the experimental meds. They improved her life so she could go on field trips frequently. She died peacefully three years ago."
"Why not just tell team?" he asked desperately. "They'd understand, they miss you, I found my dad crying after your death and that was last time I saw my dad cry."
Reid shook his head. "It is not that simple."
"I'm going to tell everyone and get them to believe me even if it involve a lie detector test."
Reid smiled. "They will believe you and they will try to track me down. But by then I will be gone."
"But you just told me about Haley-"
"I promised to give answers. I didn't guarantee all of them would be honest."
Spencer check his watch. "One minute left. Goodbye Jack. Tell J.J. to stop looking for my killers. They're already dead. You can also tell them I am not sorry for lying as I met my wife and have children. Tell them I wish them all well. Goodbye"
Reid closed the door and left Jack to find his way out.