7 months ago

"November 29th, 2007 was the day the police got an anonymous call" Kurtzman speaks, quietly but with as much confidence that was to be expected from the man.

"Did they ever found out who the caller was?" Jhanna asks, but Jack shakes his head.

"They didn't, but whoever called came from a public phone in a library, and told the police what the family had been up to" Jack answered. "That was the first time we discovered that the couple had a son, Mikey." He continued, gesturing to the screen.

"Shawn Feltner was brought in for questioning but they had to release him without any proof, and they didn't have a search warrant yet. When he realised that the police were onto him, he and his wife decided to leave town and flee." There was a strange look on his face, a face of hesitance almost like he didn't want to continue speaking. "While the two parents packed, Shawn ordered Mikey to dispose of his youngest sister, as she would slow them down"

"They had another child?" Jhanna murmurs, Jack nods.

"She was 6 years old at that time according to investigators but she had also been a secret to the government. Both children just did not exist"

"So they just didn't go to school?" Luther asks, but again, Jack shook his head.

"The son did, but he was enrolled under a fake name. The school never questioned it because Shawn and Michelle always paid on time so they had no reason to be suspicious."

"No right to be suspicious? The kid didn't exist" Jhanna scoffs, but Jack waves her off.

"What of the girl?" Bishop eventually asks. Jack sighs again, opening the file he currently had of the whole family.

"As Shawn has put it: 'She is a girl, why should she?'." He states. Jhanna scoffs again, rolling her eyes in disgust. Luther puts a hand on her shoulder, but Jhanna doesn't react to the touch.

"What happened with the girl?" Bishop asks softly, almost too reluctant to do so. Jack scrunches up his nose, and the team knew the answer before he even opened his mouth.

"Mikey followed orders, and disposed of her" Jack said. "Hours later the police decided to investigate the house still, and they found the mutilated bodies of at least 12 girls. But the family was long gone"

"They were caught 5 years later, and Mikey confessed to killing his sister, but never said to have any involvement in the kidnapping or murder of the girls" Jack added.

"But he never denied it either?" Luther questioned softly, but Jack shook his head as a way to deny the statement. But nobody would question it really. It had happened 2 and a half years, those kidnappings that is. That would mean Mikey was 7 and a half when the kidnappings started, and 10 when they ended.

They already didn't believe he would have killed his sister, they already believed that was actually his parents.

"So how are we going to handle this?" Jhanna asks in a low voice, glancing at the three screens before her. Luther was standing in the back, looking uneasy and entirely out of place in the prison. Jhanna couldn't scoff though, she understood that this would be his reaction to this place.

Luther was still young, innocent. He would never hurt a fly, and took this job because he was qualified, over qualified even and liked it.

And she would never ridicule her team… her friends, for their fears, even if she had no fears coming into a prison like that. Those assholes deserved to be locked up in here, and they were safe from the inmates so there really wasn't any reason to be afraid of being in this place.

"We split up, interview the family separately and see if you can undercover something" Jack Kurtzman spoke, glancing at the screens for a moment before turning back to his team. "Rockwell and Jhanna you go interview the father, Shawn. Bishop and I will interview the mother, Michelle. Luther, you interview the son"

Luther seems slightly relieved that he was allowed to interview the kid instead of the two adults, but a linger of doubt and unease still remained there.

"Any evidence I should know, or can read over before?" Luther asks, and Jack nods, handing him the file.

"Familiarise yourself with them before you step in, interview will be in an hour. In the back are reports from his last year in prison. They can be valuable as well" Jack spoke, and Luther nods with a determined look on his face. "The rest of you, try to see what makes the parents tick, see if you can make them reveal anything about the girls"

"That should be difficult. Shawn Feltner is a sexual psychopath" Rockwell muttered, gazing at the files under him about the man. "A sexual psychopath who craved power, manipulation, and control." He clarified at the slightly confused looks on the faces of his team. Jack frowns, walking over to the file.

His eyes skimmed over the pages. "Incapable of guilt and remorse" He stated without any emotion, but the whole team knew better. "Michelle was just an object for him, a possession he could dominate"

"Just like his victims" Rockwell finishes, and Jhanna scowls in disgust.

"He thinks he has won. He won't reveal anything because that means he will lose" Jhanna concludes, and Jack shakes his head thoughtfully.

"Then make him think he didn't win."

TMNT

Luther cautiously walked over to the cell, a slight fear running down his spine. No, not fear, rational worry as he always preferred to call it. Nobody would feel safe between these walls, and with good reason too. He silently followed the guards into the hallway to the cell that held Mikey.

"Has he had any contact?" Luther finds himself asking, but the guard shakes his head.

"Not the last few days, word got out his parents were set to be executed today and they attacked him for it because some made assumptions about what he did." The guard said. "They weren't wrong though, but we had to separate him. He has spent the rest of the year with the rest in juvie"

Luther nods thoughtfully, but didn't say anything else as they continued their walk through the prison. They had to stop for a moment as a door electronically opened before they could continue. The guard slowed down, turning around.

"Open on 4" He called out. A buzzing sound was heard, and the prison door opened. Luther pushed down his nervousness, walking over to the cell. In the back of the cell was the figure of the boy, back turned to Luther and sitting on the ground. Luther frowned, watching at the paintings that were displayed.

The boy was staring at them, despite the fact that he must've heard them enter.

"Interesting paintings" Luther commented, but Mikey didn't react. There were two in front of him. Both as beautiful as the other. One of them was filled with a bouquet of roses, bright red roses accompanied by a beautiful and colourful background. The other one was outdoors, a girl shown running and laughing.

His little sister.

"Not much else to do here" Mikey spoke in a low, and thoughtful voice. Luther nodded, watching as Mikey slowly got to his feet. "Why are you visiting?" He asks, but there was no judgement in his voice, just wariness.

His face was filled with fading bruises, and he couldn't completely hide the winds of pain that went through his body. His knuckles were bloodied, torn open. So he had fought back. But the boy in front of him… he was no fighter. That much was evident.

"My colleagues and I are trying to find out more about the girls. Don't you think those mothers deserve to know why their girls were chosen?" At the mention Mikey flinches backwards, averting his eyes in shame for just a split second. And if Luther hadn't been looking, he wouldn't have seen it.

Mikey inhales sharply, turning back to Luther.

"What do you want to know?"

TMNT

"What was your relation with your parents?" Luther asks softly, leaning forwards so his elbows were situated on the table. Mikey was sitting on the other side, cuffs around his wrists but not actually bolted to the table.

"Distant" Mikey mutters. "They never loved me, and I never loved them"

"Did they look after you? Help you with homework or anything?" Luther asks and Mikey scoffs.

"They didn't want to be bother by those things, I learned that the hard way" He scowls, and Luther knew better than to ask him about it, but he still asked.

"They beat you?"

"I learned quickly" Mikey responds vaguely, turning his head away.

"And your relationship with your little sister?" Luther continues to ask, studying Mikey's face intensely.

"No, you don't get to ask about her" Mikey growls, voice low in his throat. Mikey was anything but threatening right now, he looked miserable and tired, but the anger was clear in his eyes. He was glaring at Luther with fury in his eyes. This was a topic that wasn't meant to be asked about.

Again, Luther didn't care at the moment.

"Did you care for her when your parents didn't?" Luther asks, and Mikey glares again.

"Stop it" He grinds out, and Luther could almost hear his teeth grinding on top of each other. But Luther didn't stop.

"Did you teach her to read? Were you angry when she wasn't allowed to go to school?"

"ENOUGH" Mikey yelled, slamming his hands on the table, Luther wasn't fazed.

"Did you comfort her?"

"Stop it" Mikey hisses, tears jumping into his eyes.

"Why is this upsetting you this much?" Luther challenges. He could see the anger, but also frustration, rolling off of Mikey's form. He knew it wasn't the best way to make friends, but the closure for those mothers.. for those fathers.. meant more to him than the anger that Mikey was feeling.

"Because I failed her!" Mikey screamed, slamming his hands on the table again and standing up suddenly. The chair clattered back, the room echoing at the collision. Luther winced slightly, but he didn't relent, staring up at Mikey with a calm expression. "I failed my little sister okay?! I failed her, I failed those girls… I-.. I failed them"

The voice turned to a whisper, and tears started to run down his face. Luther slowly stood up, walking over to the side of Mikey. He carefully put the chair up again.

"Why do you say that? Why do you think you failed those girls?" He asks softly, putting a careful hand on Mikey's shoulder. The latter flinches, but doesn't make a move to shrug off the hand. "Why didn't you say this in court?" He continues when Mikey didn't say anything.

Tears rolled down Mikey's face, and he slowly turned his face towards Luther.

"I knew mom and dad brought those girls into the basement" He whispers, Luther frowns slightly. "That makes me just as guilty as them"

TMNT

"He isn't a killer, I don't believe it" Luther said the moment he walked out of the room. Kurtzman frowns, nodding slightly.

"He confessed to killing his sister" He remarked, and Luther nods.

"And I'm also pretty sure he was the one behind the anonymous call. The library was close to his former home, and on the exact day he had skipped school. That shows he didn't want his parents knowing about the call" Luther countered. "That's not someone who would kill his sister"

"But that's not enough" Mikey's attorney remarked, and Luther glanced at him. "We need evidence, speculation isn't enough"

"Would proof that his parents killed his sister be enough?" Luther asks, hopefully.

The attorney just nods.

TMNT

"I'm sorry I shouted at you" Mikey murmurs softly. Luther just shook his head, lingering for a moment in the doorway.

"Don't be" Luther waved off, walking into the room. Mikey's eyes immediately landed on what he was carrying. "I took these paintings from your cell, I hope you don't mind." Luther tried, but Mikey's expression said it all.

"Those are private, you had no right" He whispers, almost as if he couldn't get his voice to come out right. Luther frowns slightly, gazing at the pictures.

"A bouquet, 12 roses. One for every girl right?" Luther asks, and Mikey's face fills with shock. "Twelve roses, not thirteen. Did you know they just found the thirteenth body?" Mikey's head whirls to Luther's face, but he didn't move, frozen.

"You didn't know, did you? But then again, you didn't really know about any of them" Luther concluded. Proving Mikey was innocent, proving that he wasn't a killer. Mikey didn't react, face hardened at the statement.

Luther didn't back down. "Why did you lie about killing your little sister Mikey?"

"I didn't lie" Mikey immediately responded, voice clear.

"Where is the body then?" Luther countered, and Mikey's eyes darted down. Just for a few seconds, before he looked Luther straight in the eyes again.

"Do you have siblings?" He asks softly.

"I fail to see how that is relevant" Luther frowns, but Mikey shook his head.

"Younger right? You would do anything to protect him or her?" Mikey asks, and Luther leans forwards again.

"So you killed her to protect her from your parents?" Luther concluded, and Mikey leans back slightly. So that's a yes. "Where is she buried?" Mikey shook his head again.

"That's doesn't matter. All that matters is that she's in a better place"

TMNT

"In a few hours you don't have to be afraid anymore" Luther said softly. Mikey turned around, facing the officer. Luther glanced around Mikey's cell again, eyes landing on the paintings. Mikey didn't say anything. Mikey didn't need a clarification, he knew what Luther was talking about.

The execution of his parents.

"The girl on the painting, she looks older than 6, right?" Luther starts, walking over to the painting. "Is that how you imagine her, or how she is?" Mikey glares at the man again, shaking his head.

"Let it go Luther" He whispered with a steady voice. "She's in a better place."

"Where is she?" Luther countered but Mikey shook his head slowly. "Where is she Mikey? Where is Amaya?" Luther continues, but Mikey shakes his head again.

"In a better place Luther. Let it go" Mikey whispered. And that's when Luther dared to believe his own train of thought.

In a better place. Luther's eyes widened ever so slightly. In a better place.

She was alive.

He slowly backed out of the cell. "I will be right back" He called out, but he didn't give Mikey any time to react. He was out before he even finished the sentence. He put his finger to his ear, activating his earpiece.

"Renet I need you to search something for me" He called out, continuing to walk back to the common room his team used.

"Name it" Renet chirped on the other side of the line, fingers already clattering on the keyboard. Renet was the technical analyst, and the go to person for anything that was on the web somewhere.

"Amaya Feltner is alive, I need you to find her" He calls out, opening the door to the common room. Luckily the team was already there.

"Are you certain?" He could hear Renet ask from the other side. He knew his teammates had heard the conversation, so he made no move to explain it. But they were all looking at him with the same confusion on their faces, yet, no one questioned him.

"Yes, look at abandoned babies back in 2007 around Queens, people looking to adopt, anything" He told her.

"On it" Renet confirmed. Again, the keyboard was heard typing, and the usual humming of Renet as she worked. "Oh my… " She whispered, viciously continuing to type on the keyboard.

"Renet what is it? Speak to us" Jhanna speaks up.

"There was an abandoned child that day. A girl, approximately 7 years old." She states, and Luther can feel his blood run cold. Not because he was wrong, but because he was right. That had to be Amaya. "She wasn't in the system, and she didn't know where she lived before"

"Why didn't they make the connection between her and Mikey? Surely she must've mentioned his name" Jack asks.

"She didn't" Renet whispered. "The reports say that she mentioned her older brother, but she kept calling him Kiki"

"Short for Mikey" Luther muttered. "It was a nickname, and she never went to school so of course she would not know where she lived. And I doubt she even knew her parents' names"

"Where is the kid now?" Jack interjects. There was a short silence, and yet again, the keyboard was heard ticking.

"She got adopted by a family, a father and a mother, no other siblings. They moved out of New York City a year afterwards. Current location is…-" She pauses for a moment. "Dover, new Hampshire"

"We have agents there" Luther came into action, grabbing his phone. "A friend of mine, he can check"

"Renet what is the name of the girl now?" Rockwell asks. A short silence, a phone ringing, begging to be picked up.

"Cassandra Eastman. Parents are Peter and Zoe Eastman." Renet spoke. "Normal family, nothing out of the ordinary" She continued, but Luther had already zoned himself out. Jack glances at his young colleague, watching him intensely as the young man talked to the phone in his hand.

He could hear the voice on the other side of the phone, but he couldn't hear what he was saying.

"Renet we need the current address of the family" Luther suddenly spoke. There was a silence, before Renet spoke with a soft, yet, confident voice.

"7 Niles Street" Luther nods immediately, turning to the rest of the team as he spoke into the phone again.

"Slash, the address is 7 Niles Street" He says, an inaudible response from the other side. Luther looks up. "Slash and Pete are close by, they can get there in minutes" It was almost as if Luther was asking for permission, asking for advice. What should he do in this situation? Should he tell them to go?

"Tell them to go" Luther immediately put his attention back to the phone according, giving the orders to his friends. Jhanna frowns slightly, walking over to Jack with slow steps until she stopped next to him.

"Why didn't he tell?" She asks softly, and Jack looks at her.

"What do you mean?"

"His parents are dead, he doesn't have to protect her. They can't hurt her anymore" Jhanna speaks up, and Jack frowns as well, turning back to Luther as if he held the answers. But he didn't, neither of them did. They had no idea why Mikey had kept Amaya a secret in the first place, why he didn't tell about her in court.

Even when his parents were given the death penalty.. he didn't tell.

He opted to spend the rest of his life in prison. He'd rather be locked away forever than reveal that his sister was still alive, reveal to everyone that he was actually innocent. It would prove that he also had nothing to do with the kidnappings, the murders. It would set him free, and subsequently, reunite him with his sister.

Jhanna looks up at her boss but Jack's attention had been turned to the guard that had walked into the room. The guard directly walked over to the leader of their team. Jack bowed slightly so the guard could whisper in his ear, and Jack frowned slightly, gazing at Luther for a moment.

He straightened up again.

"Mikey is being moved away from this cell block, his parents have just been executed." He states with a low voice. The team stills, and Luther's eyes widened ever so slightly.

"Where is he?" He asks, already walking over to the door. "Take me to him" He orders the guard, who nods silently.

"Luther talk to me" Rockwell murmurs, walking besides his friend.

"Slash is almost at the house… I need to know if it's her." Luther mutters, continuing to follow the guard. He couldn't hear the rest of the team follow him, but he quickly figured they must've stayed behind.

They continued to walk, and after a few minutes the boy came into view. His wrists were shackled together, just a small chain between them.

"Stop" Luther called out, and the two guards walking besides Mikey obeyed, stopping and turning around to watch the other guard, and the two FBI agents approaching them. Mikey stared at Luther in shock, a look that said enough. He knew what was going on.

"Don't do this" He whispers, shaking his head. He took a step forwards.

"There's no one home" Luther could hear Slash from the other side of the line.

"Keep trying" Luther spoke into the phone. Mikey's head whirled towards the phone.

"Please don't tell her" He pleaded again, and Luther quickly gave the phone to Rockwell and took a step forwards as well, looking at the boy with a slight smile.

"They're gone Mikey, your parents are gone. You don't have to fear them anymore" Mikey watched with a broken expression, tears welling up in his eyes. "You protected your sister Mikey, but you don't have to now" Luther states, continuously listening to any change on the other side of the line.

Mikey shook his head slightly "It was never about protecting her from them" He whispered softly. "I choose this… I choose to keep her a secret so she can be whatever she wants… free of me, and of my parents' reputation" He continues. Luther stilled ever so slightly at the explanation.

And suddenly everything seemed to click.

That's why Mikey wanted to keep his sister a secret, so she wouldn't know who her parents were. So she wouldn't be hurt by the knowledge that her parents kill and maimed children wilfully, and everyone knew who they were and what they did.

"What would she think Mikey? Think about it. Would she want to lose her big brother like that? If she knew who you were-"

"If she knew who I was… if she knew who her parents were… imagine how much damage that would do to her" Mikey countered softly.

"I can't let you do this Mikey" Luther insisted, shaking his head.

"They found the girl Luther, what do you want them to do?" Rockwell interrupted softly. Mikey's head whirled towards the figure in the back. Fear was clearly written on his face, but he was frozen in fear. There was a tense silence, and Mikey dared to drag his eyes towards Luther again.

"Don't do this, you can't ruin her life like that. Don't make her my parents' last victim" Mikey pleaded. Luther's expression changed, and a look of empathy crossed his face.

"Please"

"Luther what do they do?" Rockwell asks again, but Luther completely ignores his friend. He tuned out everyone in the room except Mikey. A sense of quiet… a sort of peace washed over Luther as he watched Mikey, and the boy stared right back at him, not seeing anyone else either.

Mikey's blue eyes, muddled by fear, haunted by trauma, were watching him. Bags were under his eyes, bruises littered his exposed skin. He looked horrible, and he was willing to spend the rest of his life in prison for her. Luther stares at Mikey's broken figure, someone who had already given up on life.

He was at peace here… knowing that his sister was safe.

Luther takes a few steps forwards, until he could reach out and out his hands on Mikey's shoulders. Mikey took a shuddering breath, relief filling his body. He wasn't goi-

"It's his sister, get them-"

"NO!" Mikey screamed, charging forwards. "NO! She can't know! You'll ruin her life!" A blow landed on Luther's head, but he ignored it. He simply deflected it, staying as calm as he could. Guards charged in as well, grabbing his arms and pulling him back.

"NO LET ME GO!" Mikey screamed, tears streaming down his face. "You ruined her life! How could you?!"

Luther turned his head down, turning around to face his teammate, who was staring at Mikey's form in awe and shock.

"I hate you! You ruined her life, I hate you!" Mikey seethed, a sob tearing from his throat before they dragged him into a room, and the screaming ended. Luther swallowed painfully, and the image of the boy screaming and crying would never leave his memory. He has sacrificed so much, and Luther just ruined everything.

For Mikey's freedom, so he could be free.

Luther sniffles, turning to Jack. He had no idea when the rest of the team arrived, but now he was glad they did. He highly doubted he could explain what just happened without a mental breakdown.

"I told you he was innocent" He croaks, glancing at Rockwell. "Slash will send you the proof we need to free him"

And then he left as well.

TMNT

Welp there it is, the full story. There are still some small details that aren't told yet, but I will address those in the next chapter. I prefer Mikey talking about those, and it would've been too much to put it in this chapter as well. But tell me if you have any questions about why how when with whom… anything right now. So I know if I actually have to explain something xD Cause I often forgot to explain plot points as I know what they mean etc.
I will still explain the name for example, and how Mikey dropped off his sister etc.

The city his sister moved to is the city where the first TMNT comic was published. Just a little easteregg :)

Thank you so much, and again, 10 reviews for an extra chapter! *hug*