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English
Series:
Part 5 of The Frost Chronicles
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Peja's Wonderful World of Makebelieve Import
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Published:
2020-11-05
Completed:
2010-03-11
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3,993
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3/3
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The Interview

Summary:

Brynja, Elsa, and Sophia start a new life in Quantico, Virginia.

Chapter 1: Chapter 1

Notes:

Timeline: Three months after the conclusion of Valkyrie (September 2009)

Disclaimer: I only own Brynja Frost, Elsa, Sophia, and the two newest characters. All Criminal Minds characters belong to their respective producers. I'm just playing in their sandbox.

Chapter Text

Brynja thought the grim-faced man across the desk might be in his late thirties, but the stress-lines in his face and the white hair sneaking in definitely made him look older. Stress, she mused, it ages all of use faster than we should.

He frowned as he glanced over her dossier again, but it was more a look of concentration than displeasure.

"This is an impressive resume’," he finally said, glancing up at the tiny woman standing in front of him. "You were very highly recommended by your Captain Talon, FBI Agent Fornell, and NCIS Special Agent Gibbs. Considering what I know of the men, those documents alone are miraculous. With your qualifications and experience you could have almost any field job you wish. May I ask why you’re interested in a boring desk assignment?" He raised a black eyebrow with the question.

"I’m still healing from my last mission, sir, and so are my children. Even if I wanted to go into the field, I won’t be medically cleared to do so for some time. I need the predictability of a desk so that I can be available for my daughters on a regular basis. They need the stability," she explained.

"You’re disabled?" He seemed surprised, flipping through the pages of her dossier again. "I don’t see that listed anywhere. I see you have impressive computer skills, you’re supposed to be an excellent shot with a rifle and a pistol, you have profiler training, you’re a crack investigator, you have a black belt in kung fu, you’re quadra-lingual…"

"Quinta-lingual, sir. I am mastering European Spanish," Brynja corrected him.

"Indeed. So how are you supposedly disabled?" He looked up sharply at her.

Brynja leaned over the desk, and for the first time he noticed she did so with some difficulty.

"You are looking at the wrong documents, sir. This folder," she pulled a fresh one out from under the folder he had spread out in front of him, "details the closing of the Normand-Hunt-Smythe case, and explains the injuries I sustained at its end. There are photos available if you absolutely need to see them, but the doctor’s explanation and recommendation should be enough," she said crisply.

"Normand-Hunt-Smythe…" he leafed quickly through the thick file, skipping to the end and then skimming over the medical information. His eyes widened, but other than that he showed no emotion. "You’re that Frost, then."

"Yes, sir."

"I see." He leafed through the case file some more. "Physical therapy and counseling ordered, I suppose."

"Yes, sir."

"And how is that going?" He studied her face as she answered.

"Respectively, sir, it’s a pain in the ass, but a necessary evil." Amusement touched her eyes, but other than that her face was stoic.

"Understood." He closed the folders in front of him. "Do you know how long it will be until Normand goes to trial?"

"I just signed some more paperwork at NCIS this morning, sir. It could easily be another 18 months. Their JAG office is apparently backlogged, and Normand is only one of several seamen listed in the indictment. When the trial comes, I will be subpoenaed as an official witness."

"What about Hunt and Smythe?"

Her face…changed, somehow growing colder, if that were possible.

"Both men are dead, sir. I’ve already faced the Interpol review board on that matter, as well as given depositions to NCIS. They consider both cases closed."

"Are they?" The question was cold and direct, and his eyes were piercing.

"I’m not chasing ghosts, if that is what you mean, sir. What those men did to me," she paused for a moment, suddenly uncertain, and her eyes seemed to look through the files on his desk, "was unspeakable, but nothing worse than what they did to Elsa and Sofia. They meant to destroy me, and I won’t let them succeed even in death. I am determined to move beyond mere survival and build a new life."

He nodded. "A respectable answer." Sitting back, he looked up at her calculatingly. "I won’t deny needing you on the force, but I was hoping you could join us in the field. I’m short an agent due to an unforeseen injury." He closed the folders in front of him. "I can use you at ops and as our victim’s liaison’s assistant. She has a toddler, and has asked for a reduction in her workload so she can spend some quality time with him. Can you start now?"

"Absolutely."

He stood up and extended a hand. "Welcome to the BAU, Agent Frost."

She took it. "Thank you, Agent Hotchner."

TBC