| “ | Take your time, Matt. I've been thinking about this for years... | ” |
— Hastings to Cruz
| ||
Michael Hastings was an international abductor, rapist, spy, and later attempted murderer who led the Regime Squad, a terrorist regime that appeared in the Criminal Minds Season Nine episode "200".
Background[]
Born on May 20, 1975, Hastings was a 2002 summa cum laude graduate of the CIA Academy. He was also a senior operative who had worked his way up the ranks, going from analyst to elite field agent in operations mainly stationed in the Middle East, including "Dust Storm", "Foxhole", "Desert Tour", and "Sand Trap", due to him being fluent in Parsi, Urdu, and Pashto. In 2010, he was part of the team assembled by Undersecretary Rosemary Jackson that included Jennifer Jareau, Mateo Cruz, then-FBI Section Chief Director Erin Strauss, and Tivon Askari in "Operation: Classified", which tracked down Osama bin Laden. However, he was a traitor alongside Askari and also a closet sadist, raping a woman whom Askari was torturing before the latter killed her. When Askari was exposed as a traitor, the two of them staged Hastings's death during an ambush on a convoy carrying them on April 24, 2011 and went into hiding, working with a terrorist regime. Eventually, in 2014, he, Askari, and several other members of the regime were assigned to retrieve codes that would give them access "Integrity", a database containing information relating to "Operation: Classified", which were intended to be sold to enemies of the U.S.; these codes were known only to JJ and Cruz, the only members of "Classified" who were still alive.
200[]
After members of the regime squad abduct JJ and Cruz in the episode, Hastings presumably watches them being tortured from another room, and when JJ gives up her codes. Finally, when JJ realizes that there is a second traitor and it is Hastings, she demands that "the coward" show himself, which he does. He then takes over the interrogation process, taunting JJ about the baby she lost in Afghanistan before proceeding to slowly tear off her clothes with the intention of raping her. This causes the beaten Cruz to cave in and surrender his codes.
Hastings in a shootout with an M1911.
As the data about "Integrity" is being downloaded onto his cell phone, Hastings tries to flee as the rest of the BAU arrive and rescue JJ and Cruz. JJ personally confronts him at a rooftop and they briefly struggle before both fall off the roof. JJ is rescued by Prentiss, while Hastings is killed by the fall, which also destroys his cell phone, thus canceling the download.
Modus Operandi[]
Little about Hastings's M.O. is disclosed, other than he would brutally rape his known victims in order to help Askari get information from them before Askari would kill them. He later shot at JJ and the rest of the BAU with an M1911 handgun.
Profile[]
No profile of Hastings was made by the BAU, since they were focused on his partner Askari.
Known Victims[]
- February 2011, unspecified location in Afghanistan: Nadia Mubari (raped by him, then killed by Askari)
- 2014, Washington, D.C., U.S.:
- January 23-24: Jennifer Jareau (attempted; tried to rape; later shot at and assaulted)
- January 24: Shot at the following, but missed:
- Aaron Hotchner
- Emily Prentiss (later assaulted)
- Spencer Reid
- Derek Morgan
- David Rossi
- Alex Blake
Notes[]
- Hastings seems to have been inspired by Bruno Hawks ("Secrets and Lies") - Both were rogue CIA agents who had accomplices and tortured at least one victim together.
- When preparing to flee after gaining access to "Integrity," Hastings calls for a "Helo extraction." This may be a reference to Penikett's role on the 2004 reimagined Battlestar Galactica, where he played Karl "Helo" Agathon.
Appearances[]
Criminal Minds[]
Season Nine[]
- "To Bear Witness" (indirectly referenced)
- "Strange Fruit" (referenced)
- "200"
- "Mr. & Mrs. Anderson" (referenced)
- "Angels" (referenced)
Season Ten[]
- "X" (mentioned)
Criminal Minds: Evolution[]
Season Two[]
- "Stars & Stripes" (photo shown)