Redemption | Criminal Minds

Chapter 4

I TUCK MY DUFFEL into the overhead compartment and step back, taking in the enormity of this plane.

I let out a low, appreciative whistle before plopping down onto the couch, feeling the metal of my gun push against my skin.

"It's nice; isn't it?" JJ smiles, settling down across from me at the table.

"Nicer than what I've ever flown in for missions; the government doesn't exactly give me a budget for fancy planes," I chuckle, peering down at the file I had been given.

"What did you do for missions, if you don't mind me asking of course," Emily questions from beside JJ.

"Covert intelligence recon mostly, quite a few public assassinations ordered by my superiors, oh and I also wiped out plans for major terroristic incidents," I reply, my lips tugging into a small smile as I recall my missions.

"Public assassinations?" Spencer repeats as he falls into a seat near the back.

"Emory Ross and Illiac Hill are some of my more notable ones," I deadpan, barely glancing up from my file as Derek takes a seat behind me.

"Knew it," Rossi grumbles under his breath as Hotchner passes him a five dollar bill.

"Did you people really bet on me?" I sigh, rolling my eyes.

"Yes and I must say; it was definitely a good investment," Rossi chuckles as he pockets the crumpled bill.

"You guys do realize I'm more of a tracker, not a profiler; right?" I add, cocking an eyebrow.

"I think you know more about how the mind works than you let on," Spencer replies offhandedly.

"What does our unsub look like Alex?" Derek questions from beside me.

"Man, taller than both of the victims and heavyset; he'll have bruised and cut knuckles if you find him," I reply.

"How do you know that though?" Derek questions.

"If you look at the positioning of the injuries on the body; you can tell where the blows were coming from in spots and it's quite obvious that the dude would be injured," I huff, holding up the pictures from the M.E.

"How did you know it was a man?" Derek asks patiently, as everyone else waits for my answer.

"It's spur of the moment, gritty; even if a female had snapped like this, I don't think she would have killed them with her bare hands," I reply.

"Point proven," Spencer pipes up before going back to his file.

I settle in for the ride and before I know it, my eyes flutter shut as I fall to the nagging call of sleep.

"Alexandria?" A voice calls out softly as I pad down the hallway quietly.

I curse under my breath and tuck away my gun, poking my head into the room where the voice came from.

"Go back to sleep Lily," I force a smile at the woman, the target I had grown too close to.

Her blonde curls are tangled and the moonlight illuminates her sleepy face as I gaze at her.

"You should go to sleep; you look tired babe," She smiles, patting the side of her bed sleepily.

"Lily, I..." I try to start, but I stop myself as she looks on in confusion.

"I-I need to go," I stammer, grabbing my bag out from under the bed quickly.

"Alex, what's wrong?" She questions softly, rising from her spot in bed.

I freeze as she places a reassuring hand on my shaking arm.

I drop my bag and sprint from the room, ignoring her cries, the gun attached to my side feeling heavier and heavier as each foot falls against the carpet.

The gun with one bullet for my target to receive. Lily Harold.

I fled, I hid. That didn't stop the others from going after her. She was dead within a day of me fleeing.

I bolt upright, my heart pounding as I try to catch my breath.

"Are you ok?" Derek questions, his eyes widening a bit.

The rest of the occupants of the plane are asleep, save for me, Derek, and Rossi.

It's just then that the familiar pang of hunger catches up with me and my stomach growls; loudly.

"Do you guys have food on this thing?" I question, successfully covering for the nightmare.

"Uh yeah, just a sec," Derek replies, digging through his bag until he comes up with a bag of   m&m's.

He tosses the unopened bag into my lap and I tear it open gratefully, pulling out a handful of the colored chocolate candies.

"That should help you make it until we hit the ground," He chuckles.

"We are currently ready to descend into Worley, please fasten your seatbelts for your own safety," A voice crackles over the intercom, jerking everyone awake.

"Finally," I groan, pulling the seatbelt across my lap and clicking it into place.

I can feel the plane start to descend when all of a sudden, the cabin starts shuddering and shaking.

"Is that normal?" I question curiously.

"Probably just some turbulence," Emily replies.

Her point is proven wrong just a few moments later when the window shatters and starts to pull papers through the gaping hole.

I hear a shrill beeping and my heart practically jumps as I feel the plane start to plummet and nose dive.