Malpractice - 3. Chapter 3

Agent Remi Montague stood five feet, eleven inches tall. He was a lean, but muscular two hundred twenty-five pounds. He was second in command of the F.B.I. Behavioral Analysis Unit team he was in. Having grown up in New Orleans, he had a permanent tan and a southern charm that almost never failed him. His hair was jet black, and his eyes were an intense jade green. His mother was a Creole woman and his father was of French and Israeli descent. He was graced with sharp, but exotic features.

As a kid in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Remi spent his summers watching the tourists flowing in and out. He was always curious about what motivated people to behave the way they did. That is, when he wasn't training with his father. Abraham Montague was not only and F.B.I. agent but he was also trained in the manner of the Israeli Mossad, a special forces unit in the Israeli military. He began training his own sons in Mossad tactics when each was seven years old.

Remi had two brothers. Nick, who was six years older, and Jason, who was six years younger than Remi. Nick was the current Medical Examiner for the New Jersey F.B.I. field office, where Jason was a Crime Scene Investigator's office lab tech. Remi's B.A.U. team also happened to be based out of the New Jersey office.

Abraham Montague was killed in action while in the field; on assignment for the F.B.I. Remi was only sixteen. Abraham and Sadira Montague met while Abraham was on another assignment for the F.B.I. Abraham was following an unsub who had been car jacking good Samaritans when they offered him a ride after seeing him hitch-hiking along the highway. The press had consequently named the man "The Bad Samaritan." Abraham was hot on The Bad Samaritan's trail when it suddenly went cold in New Orleans. Sadira was a waitress in the diner that Abraham frequented during his stay in New Orleans. They fell in love in that diner, and Abraham got himself transferred to the New Orleans field office.

A few short years later, their first son, Nicholas was born. He was small, and stayed a bit short for his age for his entire life. So, when Sadira found herself pregnant again when Nicholas was five-and-a-half years old, she worried that she would have another small baby. Who was as prone to sickness as Nicholas was. Nine months later, it was a completely different scenario. Remmington Abraham Montague was born on Friday, October 13, 1972. He was a whopping eleven pounds five ounces and twenty-three inches long. His birthing and gestation were both difficult on Sadira. She was bedridden for the last trimester of the pregnancy, and when Remi finally was born, the intensity of the labor combined with his size caused Sadira's pelvis to fracture. Sadie and Abe still wanted one more child though. And for a while, they thought that Remi's birth may have traumatized Sadie's body so much that she might not be able to carry a baby to term again. To their relief, they discovered they were wrong and shortly after Remi's sixth birthday Jason was born. He was smaller like Nicholas, but for Sadie's safety, the doctors performed a c-section and a hysterectomy.

A few months after Jason's birth, Nicholas turned thirteen and completed the first phase of Abe's training. Their father gave him a choice. He could advance, or quit the training and only spar occasionally, to keep his skills sharp. Nick chose to quit so he could focus on his true passions, biology and medicine.

Shortly after that, Remi began his training. He excelled at everything his father taught him, and finished the basic training three years ahead of schedule. When given the same choice Nicholas had been offered, Remi didn't even consider the alternative. He kept on training.

By age thirteen, Remi was giving Abraham a run for his money during their sparring sessions. More than once, Abe found himself in a compromised position, and Remi beaming with pride that he'd beaten his old man again. Abe couldn't help but be proud of Remi himself.

When Jason turned seven and began his training, Abraham already knew this one wouldn't go past basic self-defense. He began training Jason anyway. Unfortunately, he wouldn't even get to finish teaching Jason the basics.

In the summer of 1989, Abraham was called upon to work a case with the B.A.U. team from the New Jersey field office in Trenton. It was supposed to be a simple stake out mission. Observe and report. This time, though, Abraham was unwittingly being observed. By a killer.

The subject had finally come out of his home. Abe radioed the B.A.U. team, and prepared to follow the man. Before Abe or his partner knew what was happening, two shots at once rang out in the balmy summer air. One penetrated the windshield, hitting Abe's partner in the chest. The other came through the rear window of the vehicle and hit Abe in the head, killing him instantly.

At Abraham's funeral, as Remi stoically watched his brothers comforting their weeping mother, he vowed to himself that he would protect his family, no matter what. Even if that meant that he would share his father's fate.