EIGHT




ASTRA HART lacked almost every quality that would make her a good person, but if she was being honest ( though really, she never was ) she didn't think that she had done anything horrifically wrong that constituted for prison time. Sure, she was probably a bit mentally disturbed ( who could blame her? She was a twenty-two year old woman who lacked a stable upbringing and joined a gang for the sake of her half-dead grandpa ), possessed zero aspirations, chatted shit a bit too much, a notorious flirt and was the getaway driver for the most infamous heist group in US history.

But she was pretty and some may say funny, so really was she that bad?

Yes. Yes she was.

Though, no matter how morally grey ( that was putting it nicely ) Astra was certain that being forced into a shitty little cargo transport jet, chains around her wrists like she was the fucking hulk or something, capable of beating up seven heavily armed, high-transport security guards and fleeing to her supposed safety whilst still being in her McDonalds uniform, was something so horrifically awful that she was certain she didn't deserve.

And she simply couldn't let it go. Even as she paced the room of Aaron Hotchner's office, knowing that she really should be shitting herself ( metaphorically of course though she had just downed six cups of perhaps the blackest coffee she'd ever seen in her life so, you never know ) over what was about to transpire, she couldn't help but be utterly consumed in how fucking embarrassing it was that she had to wear a McDonalds uniform for 24 hours, smelling of fast food and cleaning products. At least the BAU had the decency to give her a change of clothes, she thought, looking down at the size-too-large jeans and the too-small top. God, she wanted her wardrobe back.

Surveying the office for some little detail about Hotch's life ( not because she particularly wanted to know anything about the man, but she needed a way to connect with those holier-than-thou BAU agents ), Astra's eyes clung to the image of the team alongside a more eccentric blonde woman and a greying old man ( who looked more than familiar ) stood with shit-eating grins outside of an absolute mansion.

So, the old man was rich, Kai hadn't lied. Astra had spent a considerable amount of time around the horrifically wealthy, he carried himself in the same way that they did. Astra could appease his ego, if necessary. Next to the framed image, was a separate photo of Hotch and that insufferably persistent SSA Derek Morgan. Only them, with smiles that just about reached their eyes, like something was holding them back from being truly happy. The job must take a toll, Astra found herself concluding. She could use that, too.

All of a sudden, Astra Hart felt overwhelmed with gratitude that Hotch had left her unservieled for half an hour whilst he did god knew what. But she didn't want to push it. With a satisfied grin, she walked back over to the coffee machine, pouring what was now he seventh cup. Could she die from drinking that much? Well, it wouldn't stop her.

Astra had drunk almost half of her black coffee by the time the man finally entered the room, an ever-stoic expression plastered on his face. Looking over towards the blonde, his dullness somehow managed to falter in slight disapproval as he noticed her leant against his wooden desk, a mug held close to her face as she toothily grinned she needed to slowly faze out of her attitude from the day before in order to convince them of her ruse. Because really, who would believe someone with a shitty personality that they couldn't trust?

"Good morning." Now, Astra wasn't expecting the man to greet her back, but anything would've been better than the complete absence of emotion that remained on his features. He was nothing like the man in those pictures.

"The team is waiting in the briefing room."

"Well then, we should probably go there." Astra nodded, placing her empty mug down ( yes she had downed the seventh cup of coffee and what about it? ) Hotch nodded, holding open the door, a silent gesture commanding the girl to leave.

She followed his orders with her head held high she couldn't have the BAU thinking that she was nervous, now could she? That would be a fast track to them discovering her dual plans.

"So, what's the team like, then?" Astra questioned as she made her way out of his office, her back rested against the doorframe while Hotch searched for a thin file ( the lack of knowledge they had on the Black Wolves was really quite extraordinary). Aaron Hotchner wasn't a man who enjoyed conversing with criminals, let alone the mouthy ones. But there was something in the ease that she spoke with which made her feel familiar, like they were old friends catching up. At times, he almost found himself replying. Still, Hotch had a talent for restraining himself and the girl was met with silence. Tutting, she said. "My god, they're that bad? Can't wait to meet them."

Again, he refused to respond, his hand clasping the brown file, holding it with such a grip Astra would've thought that his life depended on it, as he briskly made his way out of his office. She followed him, less like a lost puppy, more like a woman who knew her place in the world. "Oh we're moving, okay."

As they approached the briefing room, Astra was overcome with an emotion that she scarcely felt. She was nervous. They profiled people, Kai had informed when briefing her on the team, because she knew every one of them. By name, not face, of course. He couldn't have her looking like she'd known who they were from the start, it would make her seem suspicious, undoubtedly so. What if they had immediately clocked that she was a fucking liar? Would they shoot her? Or ship her off to a lifetime behind bars wearing the only colour in the world that she couldn't pull off?

The blonde had been so wrapped up in her own thoughts, that she hadn't noticed Hotch holding open the door, waiting for the girl to enter the room.

So, she did as she did best. She shook the nerves away and walked with as much confidence as one could muster towards where the BAU team were sat. Her eyes skimmed the set-up of the space around her, a round table with maybe eight or more black-cushioned chairs. They'll treat you like a criminal, do your best to not act like one, she'd been warned.

"Astra Hart, meet the team David Rossi, Emily Prentiss, Jennifer Jareau, Penelope Garcia and you've already been aquatinted with Morgan and Reid."

"It's so nice to see a familiar face," Astra said, eyes firmly on Derek. From his hostility towards her, it was undoubtable that he would be the hardest to get through to. Matching her stare, Astra knew she would have to be the first to break it. "I'm Astra."

"We know." The blonde woman Jennifer spoke, cautiously eyeing the girl. Oh, Astra thought, she had kids, and the Black Wolves had certainly killed their fair share of those. Perhaps she would be just as difficult as Morgan

"Well then, I suppose there wasn't much need for an introduction," she said, swiftly sitting in front of the agents, feeling an overwhelming sense of deja-vu it was an interrogation all over again. "I can sit, right?" Take the initiative, Kai's voice rung in her mind. When she did, she took particular note of the blank stares of the agents. She needed to do something quick.

"Alright," she begun, "I know you don't like me, and I don't blame you I'm not particularly fond of my lifestyle either but I practically turned myself in to help you. The least. you can do is hear me out and catch those bastards that destroyed my, and so many others, life." She sounded pathetic and she fucking hated it.

"Well, at least you're aware of where you're unwanted." Derek Morgan jibed from across the table, a small smirk on his lips as he looked towards the blonde, who had to bite the inside of her cheeks to suppress the horrifically rude remark that her mind urged her to share.

"If I'm unwanted, take me to prison, there's nothing stopping you." She shrugged before adding in a more lighthearted manner, "besides, being self aware is one of my best qualities. I've got it on my resume and everything."

"I-" Derek started, spending a glare at the unwelcome interruption.

"You're a difficult person to trust, Miss Hart." David Rossi spoke up for the first time. "You can't expect to ever be accepted. But you are necessary. And the sacrifice of your safety doesn't go unnoticed, I promise you."

Silence overcame the agents once more before Hotch broke it. "Alright then, Astra." he began, sitting down slowly in one of the chairs. "Let's start this off with you telling us everything about the Black Wolves."

"Well," she begun, readying herself for what she was about to do. "First things first, Kai Walker isn't the real leader of the Black Wolves. . .

Have you ever heard the name Enzo Clarke?"


















authors note.
astra's a shit stirrer before anything else tbh.

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