Thursday
Chapter 20
Just after midnight, the two Blackhawk helicopters arrive at an army base near Phoenix, Arizona. The two helicopters were borrowed from the base for mission, so now, they're being returned. The helicopters land in the designated area.
After arriving at the army base, the SEALs, Tony and Lewis take a private flight to Washington D.C. The SEALs are escorting the Intel, Lewis, to its destination; the SecNav. Tony is with them because it was his job to retrieve the necessary Intel from Lewis Matheson. Besides, the acquisition of Lewis from the prison needs explaining since taking him from the prison was never part of the mission.
Gibbs remains behind in Arizona as he plans to make a detour to Phoenix in order to see the person from his past; Bonnie.
Close to one o'clock in the morning of Thursday, Gibbs arrives at his destination. After parking the car in front of the house, he takes a deep breath as a slight anxiety hits him. It's been almost sixteen years since he last saw Bonnie. The downstairs lights are on in one of the rooms, so he can tell Bonnie is awake; she was always a night owl. Gibbs exits from the car.
Gibbs approaches the house with the duffle bag in hand. Instead of ringing the doorbell or knocking on the door, he walks to the window where he sees the light coming from. Sitting on the couch in the family room is Bonnie. She's watching some late night TV. Gibbs taps on the window a couple times. Bonnie's attention is drawn to the window where she sees the face of a person she hasn't seen in a very long time. She gets up and motions for him to go to the front door.
Bonnie opens the front door.
"Hi Bonnie." Gibbs said. "It's been a long time."
"Yes, it has been." Bonnie agreed as she's still surprised at seeing the person in front of her since him stopping by is completely unexpected. "Come in…"
Gibbs enters into the house. Bonnie closes the front door. The two of the walk into the family room in order to sit down and chat.
"Your visit is unexpected." Bonnie said as the two of them sit on the couch. "I really didn't think I would ever see the day when you just show-up unannounced… Or even show-up at all."
"For the last sixteen years I've been an idiot." Gibbs stated. "After Shannon's death, I completely shut you out of my life. On holidays you send me a card and call. Even on Shannon's birthday and date of death, you call."
"I never get a response." Bonnie chuckled slightly.
"But you still try. Even sixteen years later."
"How can I not? You were married to my sister, Jethro. You'll always be family to me."
"You would take up my entire answering machine with one of your calls." Gibbs chuckled. "Sometimes, I was actually home at the time of your call. I would just sit there and listen to you rambling on and on. But I never picked up. And I honestly don't know why." He continued. "I had no reason to ever shut you out. No reason to ever not answer or to never show-up at the cemetery when you were there. On Shannon's birthday and date of death, you would take a flight to Washington D.C. and call me to let me know where you'll be."
"For those two days of the year, I would sit at her grave for hours just waiting for you."
"I avoided those days like the plague by going early in the morning or late at night so I didn't have to see you."
"Oh, this year, I noticed Kelly's grave is gone. What's up with that?"
"Kelly's alive."
"What?!"
"It's a long story but her name is Jamie now. She's all grown-up and married. She's been back in my life for a year now. I'll tell you all about it sometime." Gibbs said. There's a brief pause where Bonnie says nothing because she can tell Jethro has more to say. "I spent fifteen years denying the pain because I bottled it all up and pretended it didn't exist. I was emotionally closed-off. Than Jamie appeared in my life… The daughter I thought I lost was alive the entire time. It took me this past year, the sixteenth year, to figure out what an idiot I am." He continued. "You've only ever tried to help me through the rough times after Shannon's death. Shannon was my wife, but she was your sister. We're family. And I shut you out of my life for no reason at all. There's no excuse for what I've done."
"Jethro…"
"I'm sorry, Bonnie." Gibbs apologized. "I'm so sorry."
"You never had to apologize to me, Jethro. I'm just glad to see you." Bonnie said. "You know, my sister's birthday is coming up next month."
"Just give me a call and I'll be there." Gibbs said with a smile. "And afterwards, you'll have to come over for dinner to see your niece."
"I really have to ask because I've been wondering about this since you arrived… What's in the duffle bag?"
"I wasn't sure if you would fully accept my apology, so I brought an apology offering."
"Hopefully it's a year's supply of sleeping pills." Bonnie chuckled. "With being a night owl, I've never actually fell asleep with my husband before. The poor man always falls asleep alone every single night."
"It's no bag of sleeping pills, but it is the story of the year." Gibbs said as he places the duffle bag on the couch between them. He unzips the bag so Bonnie can see what's inside. "I'm sure you've heard the rumors about a prison which operates outside of legal and moral obligation…"
"Who hasn't heard those ru… Wait… The rumors are true?"
"The contents of this bag are proof of its existence." Gibbs said. "And it's yours to expose."
"Oh my God…" Bonnie is in shock as she looks through the contents of the bag.
"I found this file to be of particular interest." Gibbs grabs a file from the bag. He hands it to Bonnie. She begins to read it.
"This basically states the government protects the prison. The senators who signed this document are in a lot of trouble."
"On the books, the prison appears to be like any other. The government knows what really goes on there but they do nothing because they don't care. The senators who signed the document will end up being the scapegoats." Gibbs said. "There's another file in there which is proof that the prison Warden was harvesting prisoner organs to sell on the black market. The prison is full of corruption, inhumane treatment of the prisoners…"
Gibbs and Bonnie continue to talk for another hour. Just after two o'clock in the morning, Gibbs leaves the house and Bonnie stays up in order to examine every piece of evidence Gibbs gave her.
In the late morning of Thursday, Gibbs arrives at a small cemetery in one of the Midwestern states. He approaches the grave of Kelly Catherine Gibbs; his sister. After placing flowers at the headstone, he kneels down close to the grave.
"I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd visit to see how you're doing." Gibbs said as he looks down at the grave of his beloved five-year-old sister. "I've been trying to adopt Julianna. You remember her… The girl you put the idea of buffalo into her head while she was unconscious after the car accident. You always had a thing for buffalo, Kelly." He chuckled. There's a brief pause as he thinks about Julianna. "It'll be a miracle if the social worker awards custody of her to me."
Gibbs talks to his sister for almost an hour. After the visit is over, he kisses the headstone than walks away.
In the hour Gibbs was at the cemetery, Kelly never appeared to him. A thought about Kelly's new resting place crosses his mind. After all these years, she truly is at peace.
Gibbs enters into the rented car and leaves in order to go to the airport so he can go home.
Later in the evening, Gibbs arrives at his house. He enters to find Jamie sitting on the couch watching a special news report on TV. Gibbs enters into the room as the news report is already in progress.
"…For the past couple of years, there have been rumors about a prison which operates outside of legal and moral obligation." Reporter Bonnie Moran continued her report. "The rumored prison is known as; The Last Place on Earth. There has never been any evidence of the existence of the prison… Until now. The prison behind me is Castlerock Federal Penitentiary, located thirty miles west of Ajo, Arizona. To the inmates of the prison, it's known by a different name; The Last Place on Earth. What we believe to be rumors is a reality for them." Bonnie said. "What you're about to witness is video footage taken from the archive of the prison. The video depicts the extreme brutality the inmates of Castlerock Federal Penitentiary have to endure if they don't follow the Warden's rules. Due to the violent content of the video, parental discretion is advised. It is strongly advised for parents to not allow their children to watch what's about to be played. It's also advised for those with weak stomachs to leave the room." A couple seconds pass. The video starts for all those watching to see. "In the video, the massively-sized inmate is known as Apocalypse. The scared inmate he's approaching was Pedro Martinez." The video continues playing until Pedro's death is shown; his skull being crushed against the wall of the pit is the only thing blurred out of the video. The camera is back on Bonnie in front of the prison. "Other than the extreme brutality depicted in the video… Guards beat inmates at will, weekly fights between prisoners is setup for the sheer enjoyment of both guards and inmates… And strong evidence suggests that the Warden harvests inmate organs to sell on the black market." She continued the special report. "In the files and documents obtained…"
Jamie turns the TV off as she finally realizes her father is home. In excitement, she jolts up from the couch, runs to her father and gives him a hug. After embracing him, she backs away and takes the necklace from around her neck. She unlocks it and takes the wedding band from it. The wedding band is the one Shannon gave to Gibbs on their wedding day. Jamie was holding it for him. Gibbs immediately puts the wedding band back on his ring finger where it's been for the last two weeks since he started wearing it again.
Suddenly, there's a knock at the door. Gibbs walks to the door and opens it. On the other side are the social worker and Julianna. Though Julianna still has visible injuries from the car accident, such a bruising, she was well enough to be discharged from the hospital.
"Jethro!" Julianna exclaimed in excitement as she quickly walks forward and wraps her arms around him. Gibbs looks down at the eight-year-old girl hugging him as he wonders if he's dreaming.
"May I enter?" The social worker asked.
"Yes… Please enter." Gibbs said.
"Julianna…" The social worker tries to get her attention. Julianna backs away from Gibbs and looks to her. "Can you give us a minute alone? I need to speak with Mr. Gibbs." She now looks at Gibbs. "Maybe someone can show Julianna to her room."
"Oh, yeah…" Gibbs agreed with the suggestion. "Chioke…" He tries to get Chioke's attention. Chioke runs to the front door from the kitchen where he was at the table coloring with Tony. "Take Julianna upstairs… First door on the right."
Chioke escorts Julianna to the stairs. Gibbs looks at the social worker.
"You should thank your daughter Jamie for this. She's a very devoted and loving daughter who can be very convincing." The social worker stated. "I still have concerns, so you only have temporary custody at this time. For the next couple of months I'll be checking in and making regular visits; both announced and unannounced. This is a trial phase in which permanent custody may be awarded if I feel Julianna's best interest is being met."
"I understand." Gibbs said.
"Here's the key to the Sullivan residence so you can pick-up Julianna's belongings." She hands him the key. "Don't make me regret this decision, Gibbs."
"You won't. I promise you made the right decision here."
Chioke and Julianna enter into the bedroom one the second floor, first door on the right. The bedroom is simple; twin bed, night stand, one dresser and a lamp. Julianna walks further into the room. The bedroom isn't much to look at, but it will be. In her arms is the stuffed elephant the nurse gave her yesterday. She looks at Chioke.
"You're Chioke, right?" Julianna asked to know if she heard his name correctly. He nods. "My name is Julianna. Julie or Jules for short. I'm eight. How old are you?"
Chioke raises his hand and puts a couple fingers up to indicate his age.
"So you're six." Julianna acknowledged the finger count, even though he's really six and half but doesn't acknowledge the half himself. There's a brief moment of silence. "You don't talk much, do you?"
Chioke reaches into his pocket. He takes out a little notepad a pen which he keeps just in case he ever needs it to communicate with someone who doesn't know sign language. He writes in the notepad then shows her.
"How come you're not able to speak?' Julianna wondered after reading what he wrote. He writes in the notepad again and shows her. "Aww, that's sad."
Chioke lifts his chin and points to his neck. Julianna looks at the scar left by the bullet when he was shot at the age of four. It was the bullet which damaged his voice box, rendering him unable to speak.
Chioke writes in the notepad again and shows her.
"You speak with your hands?!" Julianna is amazed. He nods.
'Welcome to the family.' Chioke signed. After signing, he writes in the notepad what he just signed and shows her.
"That's sweet of you." Julianna said with a smile. "You'll have to teach me some sign language."
Chioke writes in the notepad and shows her.
"It's a deal." Julianna said as they shake on it. "You're cool, Chioke."
Chioke writes in the notepad and shows her.
"Okay…"
Chioke runs out of the room and downstairs where Tony and Jamie are in the family room. He begins signing with such enthusiasm that no one can understand what he's signing.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa…" Tony said. "Slow down."
'I not want to go doctor tomorrow. No need fix voice. I have friend. She say I cool.' Chioke signed with a smile. In excitement, he runs away and up the stairs.
"What the hell was that about?!" Tony is lost. "Before I left he couldn't wait to see if his voice could be fixed. And now he wants me to cancel the appointment. I don't get it."
"Sometimes all we need is one person to accept us for the way we are." Jamie said with a smile because she knows from Chioke's excitement that Julianna accepts him even without him being able to speak.
A couple minutes later, Gibbs approaches the bedroom. He stands at the entrance to the bedroom and watches as Julianna and Chioke are sitting on the bed. Chioke is teaching Julianna how to sign her name. A smile stretches across Gibbs' face.
For Gibbs, life has changed so much in the past year. The presence of his daughter has changed so much inside of him. He knows he would've never been able to see Bonnie if it wasn't for Jamie. When he witnessed the car accident that Julianna was in, Shannon started to appear to him. She wanted him to protect Julianna. The entire time he wondered if he was going crazy with chasing ghosts. Then he was given proof. One of the first things Julianna said when she finally woke up was; 'The red haired lady said you would protect me.' In the same week there was a problem at his sister Kelly's original burial spot. Their brother unburied her and peed on her corpse. But their brother will never find her now, so Kelly's safe. And now, Julianna is here in his house. Gibbs continues to think about the past year as a whole; thinking about everything. So much has changed. Maybe it was all a simple twist of fate. Maybe everything does happen for a reason. Or maybe some force thought he needed to learn to have faith again. Whatever the reasons are for all of this change in the past year, it's been a good thing. Gibbs is content in his happiness with the way life is at this very moment. His life has meaning, a purpose. It's not as empty as it once was.
THE END
This concludes the story "Last Place on Earth". Coming soon will be the next story in this series. But until then, I hope you enjoyed this story.