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A/N: I have been trying to finish this chapter for several days now. I suddenly realized today it was getting a little unwieldy. Therefore, even though time wise it takes place over only about five hours, I've decided to split the trip from Anchorage to Weird into two chapters. I'll get Chapter Five up as soon as possible. Thanks for reading and reviewing!

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'Weird, Alaska'

Chapter Four

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"The first nine miles of the Glenn Highway heading out of Anchorage are designated as the Veterans Memorial Parkway. That's what we're traveling on right now," Sheriff Reischl informed Morgan and Reid.

"Sheriff, does the road to your town have an official name?"

"No, Agent Reid. We just refer to it as 'The Weird Connection' as a joke."

Morgan laughed. "That's funny."

"Well, live life with a sense of humor, right? Especially when you live in a town called Weird. By the way, we just passed the exit that leads to the Boniface Gate at Elmendorf Air Force Base; and we'll be passing by the exit to Arctic Valley Road, which accesses Fort Richardson Army Base."

"Sheriff, what did you do in the Army?" Reid asked.

"I was an Army Ranger."

"We know that. It's part of your military record," Morgan said.

"You've checked up on me then? Good, I would have expected you to do that. Hell, I'd have been disappointed if you hadn't."

"Hotch did have Garcia check up on you. We had to be sure…"

"You had to be sure I wasn't a crackpot, Agent Morgan. I get it. I wouldn't have expected any less from the F.B.I. So, do you have any questions you'd like to ask about the background check you did on me?"

"I have one; why a degree in mathematics?" Reid asked.

"I like math. I'm good with numbers. If I hadn't been transferred overseas I might have gone for a higher degree. By the way, did I mention we should be watching for moose?" He merged to the left as the highway narrowed from three to two northbound lanes.

"We seriously have to watch for moose?" Reid asked.

Sheriff Reischl laughed. "Yes really, Agent Reid."

"You haven't memorized all the guide books that tell you that yet, Reid?" Reid looked at Morgan but didn't reply.

Reischl glanced quickly at Morgan but then returned to looking at the road in front of him. "A lot of visitors either expect to see moose walking down the street somewhere, or they just don't believe it when the guidebooks instruct them to 'watch for moose'." The three men drove in silence for a few minutes before he continued, "Why would Agent Reid memorize guide books, Agent Morgan?"

"My boy usually likes to know everything about the locations where we go."

"Nothing wrong with that."

Morgan glanced at him. "I didn't say there was."

"What's this coming up on the right?" Reid asked.

"That would be the exit to the Old Glenn Highway. It's an alternate route that takes you through Palmer and to the Knik Glacier. It's only a few more miles to the Glenn-Park Interchange, then we'll be heading north on the Parks Highway."

"The Glenn-Park Interchange includes five bridges and over three million tons of embankments," Reid offered.

Sheriff Reischl laughed. "I'm not sure where you got that from, Agent Reid."

"Ahem…well… I found it in a guidebook, 'The Milepost: Alaska Travel Planner'," Reid said sheepishly.

"Where did you read all this stuff? On the plane?" Morgan asked.

"Yes. I grabbed copies of three different guidebooks at a bookstore on the way to the airstrip and read them on the plane."

"All of them?" the Sheriff asked incredulously. "'The Milepost' is about eight hundred pages. You couldn't have read the entire book plus two others!"

"I can read 20,000 words per minute, Sheriff."

"You can read what?"

"I can read 20,000 words per minute."

There was silence in the vehicle for a few moments. "We're now travelling north on the Parks Highway," Sheriff Reischl finally commented. "We only have another four hours or so until we get to Weird," he joked.

"What's the speed limit on this highway?" Morgan asked.

"In some places its sixty-five, in other places it's fifty-five. You just have to pay attention to where you are and what the posted speed limit is." He looked in the rear view mirror at Reid before continuing. "Agent Reid, I'm trying to get my mind around this 20,000 words per minute concept. I get the eidetic memory; however, do you remember everything you read if you read it so quickly?"

"Yes, everything. Some of it I try to forget, but it usually doesn't work out that way."

"Huh. You're a genius aren't you?"

"I don't believe that intelligence can really be properly quantified and measured, but I do have an IQ of 187. Yes, I'm a genius."

"I see. Well, you have me beat. My IQ is 160."

"You're a genius also."

"So I've been told. I also have a photographic memory. Do you know the most accurate types of IQ tests are taken while the subject is unaware they are being tested, Agent Reid?"

"Uh, yes, I did know that."

"He graduated from high school at age twelve," Morgan added. "He also has six college degrees."

"Twelve? I was sixteen when I graduated high school, and I only have one degree. What subjects are your degrees in?"

"I have PhDs in Mathematics, Chemistry and Engineering; and I also have B.A.s in Psychology, Sociology and Philosophy."

"No wonder you were interested in why I went for a degree in mathematics. We're going to have to discuss this a little more. I don't often run into people with as much interest in math as I have. When did you have time to obtain all those degrees?"

"I had all the PhDs by the time I turned eighteen. I just recently obtained the Philosophy degree."

"You're starting to scare me, Agent Reid."

Morgan laughed. "He has that effect on people sometimes."

"Sheriff, can you tell us more about your town? I mean, what are the people like and all that?" Reid asked.

"They're normal, small town people, I guess. Of course they're pretty tough in many respects, most people from Alaska are. You have to be, I think." He laughed. "We do have a few oddballs. I suppose that's a given in a way when you live in a town named 'Weird'. A few of my residents are probably a 'little funny in the head' as I heard it put in a movie once."

"I know, 'Wyvern'.* Claire said in that movie the twenty four hours of sunlight made some of them 'funny in the head'," Morgan said.

"What was the name of the movie?" Reid asked.

"'Wyvern'. It was a Sci-Fi Channel Original Movie about a small town in Alaska being attacked by a flying wyvern." Morgan said.

"A wyvern is a two-legged, winged dragon with a long, barbed tail from medieval mythology. Uh, the word 'wyvern' comes from the earlier wiver, a special use of Middle English wyver, and guivre, for 'serpent' or 'viper'." Reid noticed Morgan was looking back at him and he stopped talking.

Sheriff Reischl looked at Reid in the rear view mirror and then glanced at Morgan. "The word wivre is Old North French, and guivre is Old French."

"Uh, right. I was…going to say that."

"I bet you were," Morgan commented.

"Uh, I guess it was science fiction, this movie; however what was a wyvern doing flying around Alaska?"

"It was roused from its ancient slumber by melting icecaps caused by global warming. It basically had been frozen in an iceberg for hundreds of years until it melted."

"Sounds brilliant," Reid commented.

"Actually it was a lot of fun. I have the DVD at home. You'll have to watch it sometime, Agent Reid. Along with "Marabunta'**, which is all about killer ants that have been lying dormant for years awakened by subterranean seismic forces to threaten the residents of the fictional Alaskan town of Burley Pines." Sheriff Reischl laughed. "That one actually wasn't half bad. Of course neither of them was actually filmed in Alaska."

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In the SUV following directly behind the three men JJ said, "What do you think they're talking about up there, Hotch?"

Hotch shook his head. "I have no idea. With Reid in the car with them, you never know how many tangents the discussion might run off on."

JJ laughed. "True. However, Sheriff Reischl seems to be somewhat receptive to Spence's ramblings." She twisted around to look behind them at the third vehicle being driven by Rossi. "Rossi is the one we should worry about; he's trapped in a car with Penelope Garcia for four or five hours. You know I love Garcia, but once she gets started on a topic she talks as much as Reid does."

Hotch exhibited one of his rare smiles. "Perhaps even more so," he quipped.

/\

"I didn't have a chance to mention it, but a ways back we passed the shop where I bought my Harley. It's actually located just a couple miles north of the Junction."

"You ride a Harley?" Morgan asked.

"Not as often as I would like. It's great being out on the open road on a bike like that." He glanced over at Morgan. "Three of my buddies from California rode their Harleys all the way from Los Angeles through the Western United States and up through Canada along the Alaskan Highway and into Alaska. I met them in Tok; however, I would have loved to have made the entire trip with them. After Tok we rode into Fairbanks, took a few side trips all over the area, including Denali National Park, and then rode down into Anchorage. They eventually booked passage on a ship and sailed down to Vancouver and then rode south down through Washington, Oregon, and Northern California into Southern California and eventually back into Los Angeles."

"Sounds like a great trip. When did all this happen?" Morgan asked.

"Back in 2002. David was staying with his grandparents in Reseda for a few weeks over the summer, so I was able to take some time to go along with the guys for part of the trip."

"It sounds wonderful. I would love the chance to actually see some of this scenery up close," Reid remarked.

"You might have a chance to see a few of the sights…" Sheriff Reischl was interrupted by the sound of Bruce Springsteen singing 'Backstreets'.

"Cool ringtone," Morgan commented.

The Sheriff smiled and looked at the Caller I.D. on his cell phone, which was plugged into a hands free device attached to the Expedition's stereo system. "It's David," he remarked. He pressed a button on the phone and said, "Hello? David?"

"Hey Dad," a faint voice said.

"David, I can barely hear you. Where are you calling from?"

"Believe it or not, we're back in Baghdad."

"Again?" David's reply was garbled, and sounds of static came through the speakers. "David? Are you still there?"

"Yes," came the very faint reply.

"David, I'm on the road. I'm going to pull off so I can talk to you. Hold on for a minute."

"Okay, Dad."

Sheriff Reischl pulled the Expedition off the road and on to the shoulder and said, "I'm going to stop and take this call outside the vehicle. Maybe I can get the signal to come in a little stronger. We're just coming into Willow, so there are places where you can grab something to drink or just wander around for a few minutes. Excuse me." He grabbed the phone out of the holder and put it up to his ear as he walked away from the SUV. "David?"

"Did you know Willow was where they intended to move the capital back in 1976? The funding for the move dried up, however, after the 1982 election. The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race restart was from Willow Lake instead of Wasilla in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007."

"How come?"

"I believe there was a lack of snow. The ceremonial start is in Anchorage, but then they travel through Eagle River, drive to Wasilla and restart the race from there. However, apparently there wasn't enough snow there those years so they restarted from Willow instead."

"What's going on?" Hotch asked, as he and JJ walked up beside them.

Morgan turned around to see Rossi, Garcia and Prentiss walking up to them as well. "Sheriff Reischl's son just called from Iraq, and the signal was really weak, so he pulled off the road to take the call." They all looked at the Sheriff standing about a hundred yards away talking on his cell phone.

"That gives us a few minutes to stretch our legs," Rossi said.

Reid turned around in a circle, taking in the vista in all directions. "Amazing," he said. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and then a smile touched his lips. He opened his eyes and said, "Anyone want to walk to that little grocery over there with me?" Without waiting for an answer he started walking. Garcia hurried after him, calling that she was coming.

"You know, I think Spence likes it here," JJ commented.

"Yes," Hotch added. "He's been a little down lately. Even though we're here on a case, I'm hoping just being here will help to raise his spirits a little."

/\/\/\/\

*Nick Chinlund, who starred in the Sci-Fi Original Movie 'Wyvern', appeared as Max Weston in the Season Two episode Distress.

**'Marabunta' is also known as 'Legion of Fire: Killer Ants'. Mitch Pileggi, one of the movie's stars, appeared as Norman Hill in the Season Four episode Normal.

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