Chapter 207: Be a Person First, Then Do Things

Emily Prentiss looked slightly older than JJ, probably around the same age as Zoe. She had shoulder-length black wavy hair, just a bit shorter than JJ's bright blonde locks. 

Although she wasn't as stunningly beautiful as JJ, she had a layer of intellectual and rational charm that made her seem trustworthy. After spending a bit of time with her, one would find that she spoke logically and had a somewhat strong personality, giving off the vibe of a big sister next door. At least Reid was very fond of her, and the two quickly became friends.

Penelope Garcia was an oddball. Although she was in her early thirties, she loved to dress up, often in flamboyant outfits. Her overly full figure made her look more like an ordinary person than anyone else in the group. However, her personality was very simple, and while she occasionally had small schemes, they were easy to see through. After all, everyone in the team, except her, were experts at seeing through people's minds. Jack thought Penelope Garcia might be the most popular person in the group in the future. Her cheerful personality quickly made her friends with everyone, except for the oldest member, Rossi, and the always poker-faced Aaron Hotchner.

However, surprisingly, out of the three new arrivals, the first one to interact with Jack was the stern Hotchner. 

It started at the FBI's indoor shooting range. Jack dragged a reluctant Reid to practice shooting. 

"You said that once my wrist is steady, hitting the target is just a simple ballistics calculation. My calculation skills are innate, so why do I have to practice every day? My reading time is already being consumed a lot," Reid complained about Jack dragging him to practice shooting daily. 

"Because you need to maintain muscle memory," Jack replied without much explanation, putting on his headphones and standing seemingly casually at the shooting position. 

Reid thought he was going to perform some kind of miraculous blind shot, but he suddenly drew his gun and shouted, "FBI, drop your weapon." 

Then, continuous gunfire ensued. Within less than three seconds, he emptied the magazine, pressed his thumb, and the magazine fell out. His other hand already had a new magazine ready, and with a click, he reloaded. 

The gunfire continued. As he emptied the second magazine, he switched the Glock from his right hand to his left and drew the FK 7.5 from his underarm holster. The deafening gunfire resumed. 

As the motor whirred, the target paper was brought to them. It was a 15-meter half-body target, with holes punched in the head and heart, and nowhere else. 

"Did you see that?" Jack held up the target paper, looking at Reid through the hole in the head. 

"We deal with extremely vicious criminals. Even in the final moment, we must be prepared for a desperate fight." 

"If I were a psychopathic serial killer and you encountered me, how would you handle it?" 

Jack grinned menacingly, advancing on Reid, who instinctively swallowed and stepped back, bumping into Hotchner, who had been watching the scene. 

"You'll give Dr. Reid nightmares doing that," Hotchner said, helping Reid and maintaining a serious expression that made it hard to tell if he was joking or seriously advising Jack. 

He took the target paper and examined it for a while, raising an eyebrow. "Jack, are you really from the LAPD and not SWAT? I've never seen shooting like this even in the Operations Office or FBI SWAT." 

"If it were me, I could only hope a SWAT team was right behind me when I met you. Aren't your expectations for Dr. Reid a bit high?" 

As Jack tidied his two pistols, he indicated Reid's loosely worn wooden gun holster on his waist. 

"Do you know why I don't correct Reid's way of carrying his gun?" 

Hotchner pondered for a moment, then smiled slightly, almost imperceptibly. "You want to create a false impression?" 

Jack nodded. "Yes, his appearance is highly deceptive. It's the best disguise; no one will see him as the primary threat." 

Hotchner nodded in understanding and stood silently. 

Jack sent Reid to practice shooting while he cleaned his two pistols. After reassembling them, he started loading bullets into the magazines with a loader. 

Seeing Hotchner still standing there, frowning as if making a difficult decision, Jack couldn't help but smile. 

"Is there something, Rossi asked you to find me?" 

As a local and having spent a year as a patrol officer in Wilshire, Jack was no longer the rookie who needed help from Hannah and Zoe to rent an apartment. 

Although he didn't like having a lot of informants, daily street patrols in downtown Los Angeles made him quite familiar with the area. 

Aside from Reid, who was half a local, Jack had helped the other team members in various ways when they moved to Los Angeles, whether it was finding housing, moving, or even hiring cleaners and applying for parking spaces. A simple note with a phone number could save people a lot of trouble. 

Hotchner hesitated for a long time before finally speaking. "My wife, Haley, she's eight months pregnant. She was diagnosed with preeclampsia. Although it's stable, I'm worried about her recent blood sugar levels, but the insurance company..." 

"I understand. You haven't arranged a specialist doctor yet, right? I'll contact a friend at Central Hospital," Jack interrupted Hotchner, dialing Carrie's number. He quickly arranged a hospital bed for Hotchner's wife to be admitted for examination the next day. 

The next afternoon, Jack baked some delicious cupcakes and brought them to the FBI building. He first went to the 12th floor to find Hannah, who had just returned from a business trip, and gave her a small gift. 

Compared to the yet-to-start-operations BAU team, the FBI Los Angeles office was much busier. The fax machine was buzzing, phones were ringing, and Hannah was frowning at her computer, writing a report. 

Seeing Jack, she scratched her messy hair, looking pitiful. Jack could only shrug, indicating he couldn't help. 

Not disturbing her for long, Jack ignored the curious whispers of Hannah's FBI colleagues, exchanged a sweet kiss, and left. 

He didn't go to the BAU floor but returned to the garage, restarted the Firebird, and headed to Central Hospital. 

Central Hospital was as busy as ever. Jack first found Dr. Carrie, gave her a basket of cupcakes to express his gratitude. 

Carrie looked radiant, clearly in the throes of a passionate romance, likely with John. 

People are back. Sorry for just one chapter. I'll continue writing after dinner, and I'll try to catch up by midnight.

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