Author's Note: Sorry about the wait. I just got a job and have been working 10 hours a day. Not to mention the Holiday's have been keeping me busy. But hey I got a new chapter up in time for Christmas. Enjoy.

CHAPTER 76

KINDRED SPIRITS

December 11, 2010

5:11pm

Carthis, Scotland

The New Centre

The room where Peter, Bane and the recruits were gathered was still divided. The sweepers stood off to one side, and the Centre subjects to the other side, between them were Peter and Bane. "You lot can move closer together. I mean none of you bit...Do you?" Peter meant for his question to be taken as a joke but it was not viewed as so.

"That one bites," Derek said pointing at Achilles.

"Only when some dumb ass sweeper thinks that he's better than me," Achilles snapped.

"I am better than you, freak," Derek shot back.

"Enough!" Peter commanded, his voice so commanding that everyone had to do a double take to clarify that it was Peter who had actually spoken. "Look I don't have time for this. Raines and Cox have my sister. They'll kill her because Katie won't give them what ever it is they want. I need your help to save her," Peter begged.

"Why," Ajax asked. "Would we want to help a Parker?"

"Alex isn't a Parker, Ajax. She's a Russell, a Black File, and thus one of us," Airell said meeting Ajax's eyes. Ajax, Achilles, and Ares exchanged looks of surprise -and was that worry as well?- Bane had the distinct feeling that the looks shared had a deeper meaning

"A Black File, here? Why in the hell would one of them come here?" Ares questioned.

"Because of me," Peter answered softly. "Alex came here because of me." Peter than began his tale starting with his, Jason, and Jack's abduction and ending with the reason the twelve of them had gathered in the sim lab. His memories of his life as Peter and the fact surrounding just what led Alex to come to the Centre were a still a bit fuzzy to the boy, so Bane helped fill in the gaps where he could.

"I realize that I am asking you a lot, just by asking the ten of you to trust each other and myself as well. But I need your help I can't do this alone..."

"Yet even with out us you'd still attempt to rescue your sister,"Airell stated.

"Yes I would, she gave up everything to save me," Peter replied.

"And you love her," Airell said.

"Of course I do," Peter told her.

"Not you...Bane," Airell smirked looking over at the young sweeper.

"Should have known Bane had an ulterior motive," Ajax frowned.

"Shut up, Ajax," Bane ordered. "My feelings towards Alex don't matter. What matters is getting her out and bring this place to an end."

"So who's in?" Peter asked.

"We are," Merlin spoke for himself and Airell.

"We'll do it for you Bane,"Ares said.

"And for her she's one of us," Achilles said softly looking at his brothers, who nodded in agreement. Peter wondered if Achilles words had another meaning besides the fact that Alex was a Centre project.

"Works for me," Peter commented. "And you five? Where do you stand?" Peter addressed the sweepers. "You want to be here about as much as the rest of us. And I believe that the five of you have come to realize that you are just as much prisoners of this place as the rest of us."

"In case you haven't noticed we're the ones carrying the guns," Akio said offended by Peter's words.

"Merlin," Airell whispered. With the wave of his hand Merlin telekinetically removed the weapons from the sweeper's holsters.

"Now we're all on the same level," Peter grinned.

"How are we to defend ourselves?" Minna asked looking over at Ares, Achilles, Ajax, Merlin and Airell.

"You have no need to fear each other. Don't you see, the twelve of us are all the same side of a coin. None of you want to be in this hell hole. Jiro you and Akio were taken from your home and sold into servitude by the Yakuza. Your story bares little difference from Bane's. All of us to a degree have been used by the Centre. Let me ask you all something. Aren't you tired?"

"I am," Inara spoke up. It was the first time she had talked since entering the room. "I just wanted to atone for my parents' sins. I didn't want to become them." Peter hopped off from his perch on the sim lab table and approached Inara.

"I know the feeling. I don't think that there is a one of us who stand in this room who can say that we are not ashamed by what the Centre has forced us to do. That shame will stay with us for the rest of our lives. But we can make it so no one else has to endure what we have," Peter told Inara.

"I'll help you," Inara told the boy she then crossed the room to stand next to Airell. Peter looked up at the other four sweepers. Slowly they crossed the room to join the others. Peter looked over his team and nodded.

"Bane help them get aquatinted. I need to make a phone call," Peter ordered.

"Yes sir," Bane replied and approached the group.

December 11, 2010

11:11am

Charlottesville, Virginia

Russell Family Home

Nearly everyone was crowded in the Black Files room after what had happened earlier. The adults were all hovering over Aaron, Andros, Mike, Maddie, Keegan, Jeremiah, Greg and Lissa. Jake understood their concern but he needed for them to leave.

"Aunt Morgan," Jake called out to his aunt. Morgan looked down at Jake.

"What is it Jake?" Morgan asked the boy.

"Let me take care of this, please. You and Uncle Jarod and everyone else take Amy and the boys downstairs they need you more so. Keegan more than likely knows exactly what happened and that means Jason and Jack have read it off of him. Take your baby boys and let them know that their sister is going to be alright," Jake said. Morgan was torn between staying with her eldest and youngest set of sons but knew that Jake could take care of Aaron and Andros. Jason and Jack needed their parents more so.

Morgan kissed Aaron and Andros on the crown of their heads. "Danny, Andy," Morgan whispered to her boys. "I'll be downstairs with everyone else okay. If you need anything that's where your father and I will be."

"Yes Momma," the boy's whispered and Morgan stood up and went to pull Jack into her arms.

"Hey their baby boy. You okay?" Morgan asked her son.

"Want Katie," Jake muttered burring his face into his mother's neck.

"We all do baby, we all do," Morgan said as she tried to ignore the fact that Jack felt hotter than he had earlier that morning. She along with everyone else that wasn't a Black File left the room so that Jake could take care of his brothers and sisters.

"Hey Danny. Hey Andy," Jake said softly as he crouched in front of the younger teens. Aaron and Andros looked up and met Jake's grey eyes. "You two know I love you right?" The brothers nodded their heads. "Then know that my words have no malice behind them, that I'm not trying hurt either of you in anyway, or impose on your grief when I say this. But you two need to let this go. Katie wouldn't want for either of you to focus in what's happening to her. She doesn't have that amount of time and neither do we. Understand?" Jake asked.

"We're scared Jake," Andros admitted. He sounded so small and so defenseless that Jake had a flashback of when the five youngest Black Files had been in a coma for two weeks. And just like then all Jake wanted to do was shield his younger brothers, but he couldn't. There was no way Jake could save Alex, and Peter if he was trying to shield the rest of his group from the harshness of the world.

"I know you're scared baby brother, we all are," Jake told Andros. "But I need for you to push that away for now. We do Alex and Peter no good by being scared, they are depending on us. Are you two with me?"

The younger Black Files closed their eyes and nodded their heads as tears flowed down their cheeks. Jake smiled sadly forcing back his own tears that threatened to well in his eyes. He knew that Aaron and Andros would push away their guilt, grief, worry and pain for the sake of Alex and Peter. Yet Jake wished that the boys didn't have to.

"So where do we stand with getting Bobby out?" Jake questioned the boys. He was testing them to see if they were focused on the mission at hand. It was a stab in the heart to see the brothers blue eyes grow cold and calculating as their Centre training took over and the boy's let go of their emotions.

"We're ready," Aaron told Jake. "The prison bus leaves Sussex Correctional Institute at exactly seven a.m.. Roadblocks will be in place forcing the bus to detour through Blue Cove and down along the county side. There in that secluded area we will all be waiting. Andy and I will shoot out the tires. Jer, Lissa, and Greg take out the guards."

"From there you and Rach will get Bobby out of the prison van and into our van," Andros concluded.

"And is everything ready to go?" Jake asked.

"Yes," The boys answered.

"Good now why don't you two, Mikey and Maddox go and put everything in the van. Then I want you all to go and check on the little ones. After that see about getting a bit of rest, Alex is still weak and by consequence the two of you aren't at your full strength," Jake suggested. Neither of the four children argued as they left the room and descended down the stairs.

With Aaron, Andros, Mike and Maddie taken care of, Jake turned his attentions to Jeremiah, Greg, and Melissa. "How are you three doing?" Jake asked them. It was obvious that the three were quite shaken -maybe even more so than Aaron and Andros- by what had occurred. Granted Jeremiah, Greg, and Melissa had always been connected to one another, but unlike Mike and Maddie the eldest triplets had never shared a bond out side of each other.

"Was this how it was for her back at the Centre?" Lissa asked Jake. Jake did not need to ask what Lissa was referring to. And never before had there been a moment where Jake wanted to lie as much as he did then. But he couldn't. Lissa nor Greg had ever been beaten to the extent that Alex or even Jeremiah had been. In respects to cruelty shown to the Black Files Alex and Lissa had been two extremes.

"Jake," Lissa prompted wanting her answer. Jake wanted so badly not to answer, but he would not be like the people at the Centre and lie to the ones he held dear.

"Yeah Lis, this was how it was for her," Jake answered.

"How'd she last Jake? Katie was nothing more than a baby when they started hurting her. How can one person stand that much pain?" Greg asked. He had never attempted to simulate what Alex had undergone at the Centre, had no desire to experience such pain.

"Katie had us to protect her and keep her sane," Jeremiah spoke up, answering his brother's question. "It's how we all survived. Alex was no exception."

"I understand now why you and Alex are so close," Lissa said looking at Jeremiah. "You two were forced to go through so much."

"Yeah. We're kindred spirits, Katie and me," Jeremiah said softly.

The family had gathered in the living room. They had been talking about Alex when the phone ranged, interrupting the conversation. Adam was the closest to the phone thus the one who answered it.

"Russell residence, this is Adam speaking. How may I help you?" Adam asked.

"A-Ad," came a shaky voice. Adam's jaw dropped he knew that voice better than anyone. For seven years he had shared his room with the owner of that voice. And for seven years the two of them had been best friends, inseparable, joined at the hip, how ever you wish to describe them.

"Adam a-are you there?" The voice asked bringing Adam out of his shock.

"Pete, is that you?"

Up Next: Peter calls home to up date his family on the on goings at the Centre. And Jake and Cassie reveal that they had close ties to two of the members of Peter's team.

Spread some Holiday chear and drop a line or two, it's the best Christmas gift you could give me