WHO: Spencer Reid, and OTA. WHAT: Reid arrives in Los Angeles on business. WHEN: November 26th, mid-afternoon. WHERE: The Welcome Centre. RATING: TBA. STATUS: In progress.
It was unusual flying on a commercial airline, and even more unusual flying alone, especially after years of travelling thousands of miles in the air with the entire team cramped into the cabin of the private jet. First class was comfortable enough though, and for once Reid was glad he was travelling alone, and had buried his nose in a book for the entire duration of the flight from Dulles International to L.A.X., brushing up on just about every point he wanted to cover about victimology during his presentation to the L.A.P.D..
He had originally meant to be answering the invitation to talk with Gideon, but an urgent case had come up, and the team had been dispatched to Texas, leaving Reid to attend the conference himself. Hotch had called him while he was still in D.C. and informed him that, if everything went quickly and smoothly with the initial profiling on the case, either himself or Morgan would be flying out to meet him before the presentation so that he wouldn't have to give the talk alone. It was no real secret that public speaking was not a skill of Reid's, though the team knew his passion for the job and his extensive knowledge on... well, just about everything, would carry him through. Either way, the cops sitting in on the presentation would definitely have learned something by the closing words.
He eventually fell asleep on the flight, waking up as he heard the intercom buzz through that they were approaching Los Angeles. Strange dreams haunted his mind, and he was hit with the weirdest sense of deja vu as he looked around. He was convinced that that woman sitting beside him had... well... looked different at some point, but he couldn't quite place his finger on how. He frowned at her for a few moments before she looked over, and he glanced away quickly, awkwardly, and gathered his things ready for landing.
A police escort was waiting for him at the airport. He clambered into the vehicle with a solo traveller's cup of coffee in one hand, his satchel slung across his chest, and his gun holstered as awkwardly as ever at his hip. Sitting somewhat attentively in the back of the car, Reid allowed his senses to take in the sights and sounds of Los Angeles, losing time for a short while. It had been a year or so since he'd last been year, and although someone in the team had once mentioned that 'all of these cities looked the same', Reid had an eidetic memory and every single city or town he visited was completely different and held different landmarks in his mind. The team had forced him to take several days for this trip rather than return immediately after the presentation, so there were several exhibits and landmarks and places that he was planning on visiting before he caught his return flight home.
He checked into his hotel room, and left his bags on the floor beside the bed, before heading out into the city. He had been offered a police cruiser as well as an unmarked Sedan for transportation, but honestly Reid had never been comfortable behind the wheel of any car, and he had taken public transit for his entire life so it seemed the wiser choice. If this was... kind of a vacation. Kind of. Maybe. Well, not really. He hadn't taken a vacation in the longest time, and travelling to the west coast reminded him of somewhere else he should be visiting, and it made him uncomfortable.
His gun was holstered, but hidden beneath his courderoy jacket, which he buttoned closed to hide the bulk. He didn't exactly feel comfortable carrying it, but he didn't feel safe without it. When you saw the things you saw, travelling alone without any protection wasn't an option you wanted to explore. He walked through the downtown core, staying reasonably close to the police station, trying to build up a mental map of the area in case he did plan on staying longer than the presentation. It was Thanksgiving, and Christmas decorations were already bordering store windows and brightening up the streets. It was warm compared to Quantico, and he was feeling a little overheated in his jacket.
He flipped his phone out, checked it, and put it away again. He wanted to call Morgan and see what was happening... but he didn't want to interrupt them in the middle of the case. Morgan had already promised to send him the case files that evening so he could look them over. Sickeningly enough, even with a few days of vacation lined up, Reid could think of nothing he'd rather do than mull over the details of the B.A.U.'s latest case in his hotel room. It was times like this he realized just how... insanely dedicated to the job one had to be to be a part of the B.A.U..
Eventually, Reid found the Welcome Centre that one of the sergeants had told him about. Apparently, despite the horrors they dealt with on the streets, the several members of the force were fairly proud of all L.A. had to offer, and had told him to visit this place and get acquainted with the city before he left. He entered the Centre and looked around, smiling and nodding at the woman behind the desk before taking a tourism pamphlet from off the wall and flipping through it at a ridiculous speed.