No one knew who had jurisdiction over this situation. A rebirth had not occurred in the United States until the Stockton Event. Foreign governments, particularly ones not real friendly with the US, were not willing to share information. Various federal, state, and local authorities had converged to grope in the dark.
"DNA and fingerprints confirm that this child is Juan Carlos Ortiz," Margaret Murphy announced to the crowded conference room. She rubbed her temples to fight the headache. This was just an unreal situation. There was a hospital closer to the prison, but the powers that be chose to take the toddler to St. Thomas in Charming. "He shows signs of malnourishment, but he seems to be a normal three or four year child despite the whole back from the dead thing."
A collection of photos had been spread out on the table. A toddler with doe-like brown eyes and a small slightly hooked nose stared back from some of the photos. The black ink from his first life had been converted to bright pink scar tissue. Scars from a violent life were equally fresh looking. Dr. Murphy never had much interaction with the man but she recognized those features. If she had not known about the White Reaper, she would have assumed that the child was Ortiz's newly discovered son.
"Has the child spoken yet?" The NSA representative asked.
Dr. Murphy shook her head. "We've tried English and Spanish. He just looks at us." She frowned remembering the little boy clutching the thin hospital gown in tiny hands while he stared at the blanket.
"Is it possible that he retains his original memories?" Assistant U.S. Attorney Lincoln Potter asked. His past connection to the reborn had secured him a seat at the table. He still carried a lot of anger over the failed RICO case. The chance to reopen the case was too much to resist.
"Memory retention has not been confirmed in the other reborn," the CDC doctor said. "Everyone has been tightlipped about the condition of their reborn citizens. All we know it that the other six have been female and reborn in their teens. This appears to be an anomaly."
"What is the plan for custody?" An FBI agent asked. "We certainly can't send him to Stockton to serve out the rest of his sentence."
"Ortiz has two living relatives. His estranged sister Sophia is a single mother to twin daughters in Queens." Potter announced. "He has never met his father Michael Cole. Both would be unsuitable given this unique situation."
"So you want to keep him in a hospital indefinitely?" Dr. Murphy scoffed. "We saw how well that worked for David Vetter."
The NSA agent rolled his eyes. "This is a sensitive matter. We cannot let the public know that the newest reborn is an ex-con prison bitch. The religious nut jobs are still going on about that girl in the West Bank. Could you imagine trying to place that kid with a foster family? He'd probably be dead in a week!"
Anna, Potter's assistant, burst into the room. She held out her smartphone as she gasped for air. "Guard…talked to reporter. Press and social media….blowing up…Mugshot all over the place."
Everyone pulled out their phones to check the notifications. As of ten minutes ago, the story of the year had been broken to the general public. The last mugshot of Juice Ortiz was plastered across the internet with the headline: REBORN IN PRISON.