Act V: Shattering the Mirror

Late that evening

A news article caught Jesse's eye while he was up researching how to disable the device in Emma's head: Local girl graduates from American School in Geneva, Switzerland. Kallista A. Pierce, 16, daughter of Major Alexander and Captain Lynda Pierce recently graduated cum laude.

Jesse scanned the article and printed it out for Lexa to read later. The coincidences in the names were uncanny.

A short time later

Lexa read the article and was not amused. A line sunk her hopes that it wasn't a joke. The Pierces also have a son and daughter, Leonardo and Alexandra. Lexa crumbled up the printout.

"Funny, Jesse. Pierce is a common name." She faked throwing the paper away and saved it for reading it again later. "So that's why they sent us away when they did," she muttered to herself.

When Jesse took a break, she pulled up more information on this Kallista, her little sister, that she never knew about: accomplished sharpshooter and marksman, various junior R.O.T.C. awards, accomplished pianist, and a name that made Lexa's blood curdle, General Thomas McMiller, the same general that she and Leo fled from years earlier. But something nagged at Lexa about the girl, and she delved deeper, even checking Adam's and Genomex's databases. Finally she found it: Project Replicate. The premise was that a mother's body produced certain antibodies during a pregnancy and if specific conditions were met, the second pregnancy also carried the same exact genes. The effect had been studied in mothers treated by Genomex over a 15-year period for the subsequent pregnancies. Few mothers had the second pregnancies. Of that last group, Lynda Pierce was included under the group who had twins, as the very last mother followed. The date of the second delivery: December 29, 1988. Lexa and Leo were twelve years old then. Lexa remembered little about that year, other than her mother took ill and was gone a lot.

Lexa heard someone coming back into the room and she cleared out the cache of her research.

The next morning

First thing in the morning, Lexa checked her email. She had a message from Lindsay Miller and the subject was "Your little sister." If she had not have done the research earlier, Lexa would have deleted the email. She opened it and read carefully. Lindsay asked her to come get her sister as soon as possible.

Lexa sat back, perplexed and stunned. The words on the screen were not what she expected. She read them again. The writer of the email was somebody Lexa partially trusted. Lindsay Miller had trained with her and Leo, along with her own twin Lorelai, at the military camp and then later on they both worked for the Dominion. They had kept their confidence when the Pierces' screwed up and showed their powers in front of the General. Back when she was young and foolish, and had Leo around to help keep her sane.

Lindsay had included several documents; among them was the girl's birth certificate, with the very same birth date she had found earlier. Lexa reread the end of the email: "Lexa, verify them before you make a decision. However, I needed to add this fact: the General has been attempting to test Kaylee as she has all the genetic markers of both you and Leo in her. Some of those tests have been quite unethical to say the least. Your mom took us into her confidence about Kaylee a year ago in case anything happened to them. No one has heard from your parents since October. Lors and I have been moonlighting in the General's office (yes, I know so stop rolling your eyes). We haven't been able to locate them. Please, Lexa. Don't let your only other sibling fall victim to the General."

Lexa was quite angry by this point. She pulled up the documents and studied them carefully.

"A penny for your thoughts," Jesse's voice broke through her concentration. She quickly blanked the screen before Jesse could see what was there. Jesse shrugged. He was used to Lexa's secrecy at times. "What is it, Jesse?" Lexa said evenly.

"Adam wants us to meet him in an hour."

"Thanks, I'll be finished here in a few minutes." Lexa waited for Jesse to leave before turning back to the computer.

The dates on the birth certificated bothered her the most. Two years before she and Leo were sent away to military camp. Why didn't she know about this girl, this Kaylee? She suddenly remembered that they had not seen their parents much during those two years. Her mother had some sudden illness during that time, if Lexa recalled correctly. Illness, my foot! That almost made her laugh. The next set of documents angered her though. A boarding school in Switzerland? Private Piano lessons? National Rifle Association Cards? Perfect marksmanship, she noted with a snort. At least if this girl was really a Pierce, she had the accuracy down pat. Reflecting on it all, it stank horribly of the General's meddling plans, especially with the schooling elsewhere. Lexa sighed and closed out the documents. Lindsay deserved an answer though and she sent it: "I'll be in touch. Situation too hot right now." Adam might have some answers later.

Lexa quickly got ready and met the rest of the team in the garage. Jesse had given Emma another laser treatment, including a sedative, as he did not want her to move around much during the ride to meet Adam.

Brennan took the wheel and said, "Everybody ready? Jess, you have the coordinates."

Various nods and murmurs met Brennan's questions.

They drove in silence with Brennan and Jesse in the front and the three women in the back seat, with Emma in the middle, sleeping. Shal looked uncomfortable and Lexa kept her usual stony face up.

Arriving at the appointed spot about five minutes early, Shalimar and Brennan jumped out to stretch their legs. Jesse turned around to check on Emma, who remained sleeping deeply. Lexa hopped out and leaned against the front bumper of the SUV.

Adam soon drove up in a smaller SUV. It seems he had raided the other safe houses too of a vehicle. Shalimar and Brennan quickly ran up and hugs ensued. Emma woke up long enough to get her hug from Adam. He left her in that SUV while he gave the others coordinates to a second location.

"Lexa, Jesse can ride with me, while Brennan and Shal take the other car. Do you mind keeping an eye on Emma, Shal?" The group nodded. "Take the route I've downloaded and we'll meet there in about 45 minutes. I don't trust anybody to take us in directly." He gave Shal a quick hug and hopped into the SUV with Lexa and Jesse.

After driving for about twenty minutes, Lexa asked casually, "Does the name Kallista Amethyst mean anything to you, Adam?"

Adam looked at her before answering, "I've ran across that name a few times. Doesn't she play piano over in Europe?" He kept his voice light. Lexa's questioning usually lead to something and he didn't know how much she actually knew about the girl.

Lexa regarded Adam carefully. "You know who her parents are then?"

"Yes. They were a couple of repeat volunteers at Genomex. I didn't get to treat many returnees, so they stuck out in my mind. I believe the first pregnancy resulted in twins."

Lexa looked out the window distractedly and fell silent, digesting this information. She would have to question Adam further when nobody was around. Jesse was quite perplexed with the whole conversation. He wondered briefly if this line of questioning had anything to do with what he had read over Lexa's shoulder when she wasn't paying attention to him earlier.

They made it to Adam's hideout with no further problems. Emma thankfully slept the whole trip. Brennan carried her out of the car and into the new building before she awoke again. Once inside, Adam ran a new scan. "Jesse, you've done a good job. See where there's normal pink tissue showing along her shoulder!" Jesse looked over and nodded. Adam ran his hands through his hair. He turned and looked at the printouts on the governor device and sighed several times.

He pulled Jesse off to the side. "You were right. This is more complicated then Lexa's device. I'll have to look at it more before I can do anything about it." Jesse looked over at Emma, who was dozing again, and said sadly. "Do you think we can get it out of her safely?"

"I hope so."

Shalimar swore loudly as she burnt her hand on the oven door. She ran some cold water over it to ease the sting. Brennan laughed lightly from the corner of the makeshift kitchen. Shal waited until he walked over and then she splashed him with water. He sputtered and jumped back. "Shal!" he protested.

"That's for laughing!"

He grabbed her hand and examined it closely. Kissing it, he concluded, "All better now?" He did not notice Shal stiffening at his simple gesture.

"Pull the meat out, would you?" She asked as she turned away. Last night's conversation with Emma had her unsettled and troubled. She did not know what she wanted anymore. "I'm going to see if Adam has any ointment for this," she called over her shoulder as she hurried into the new med-lab.

Jesse and Adam were intently arguing about which laser treatment was better. "Adam, do you have something for a burn?" she interrupted.

Adam looked up, "What happened?"

"Your cantankerous oven door," Shal grinned and held her hand up. Adam nodded. He pulled out a few drawers before he found the tube of ointment and handed it to her. She gooped her hand liberally, sighing as the pain subsided. "How's Emma?"

Jesse looked over at a curtain. "Still sleeping."

"I upped her treatments." Adam explained. "If only we had known about her sooner. She's built up a lot of scar tissue from the conventional treatment they gave her." A new wrinkle appeared on his forehead, Shal noted with concern. He yawned broadly.

"You need to eat some of my chicken that I got burnt for, and then catch some sleep, Adam," Shal admonished like a mother hen clucking over her brood. Adam started to protest, but saw the determination in both their eyes and relented.

"Alright, alright. I'll catch a nap until Emma's next treatment."

As soon as everybody was occupied that afternoon, Lexa slipped outside and took one of the SUV's. She just had to find out for herself if she did have a little sister. Driving along the streets she had not been on since she was a young teenager, she soon drove up near to her parent's house just off the military base. The old mailbox was still there, bearing the name "Pierce" for all to see. The day she and Leo put that mailbox was recalled as she sat there, motionless and quiet. Her father had scrutinized the whole operation from buying the mailbox to putting it and making sure it was level. Lexa's heart started beating faster as she remembered her frustration that day.

A young teenaged girl walked down the driveway and opened up the mailbox to check the mail. Lexa observed the profile and her heart sank further. Other than the girl's hair color, she recognized her father's build and her mother's face. She was just about to engage the car and go meet the girl when 2 black SUV's came out of nowhere and stopped fore and aft of the girl. A door opened and grabbed the young girl, clamping a hand over her mouth to prevent her from screaming. Lexa sat there in stunned silence until she realized what was happening. Squealing the tires, she took off after the two vehicles.

About the same time, Adam called her on the com-link, "Lexa, where are you?"

"Adam, I'm…" Lexa was at a loss for words. She thought quickly. "Remember Kallista we were talking about earlier. I think the General has just kidnapped her. I'm in pursuit!"

"Need some backup?" Adam asked even if Lexa wouldn't take it.

"Not yet," Lexa broke off the connection, or thought she did. "If they hurt my sister before I get a chance to meet her, I'm going to kill somebody."

Adam ran his hands through his hair as he listened to Lexa's mutterings. He caught her concerns for the younger girl, even though she didn't say it to him. He decided to wait until Lexa asked for help with Kallista.

"Where's Lexa?" Jesse asked, breaking into Adam's thoughts.

Adam looked over at Jesse before answering, "She's taking care of some personal business. She should be in touch soon."

Jesse looked around before asking quietly, "Is this about that young Pierce girl I found an article about?"

Adam nodded slowly, deep in thought.

"Great. Just great." He threw some papers down on the desk. "Well, I guess I should continue that research into figuring out how to rid Emma of the device."

As if on cue, Emma's voice was heard from the other room. "Adam? Jesse?"

"Coming, Emma." Adam left to check on her.