Okay, sorry about the weird format of this before. I'm really sure what happened! Just a little side note, hemophilia is a blood disease where your blood doesn't clot well and you bleed easily/for a long time. You'll see why that is relevant later in the chapter!
Jude's POV
After the NI agents were secured and taken out of the building, those of us who were in the surrender group were being loaded into a transfer vehicle so we could be questioned about New Intelligence information. Foxtrot was laying on the sidewalk with a soldiers putting pressure on his would. I smiled inwardly; I never liked Evan. All of the surrenderers had to be restrained, just in case, and I was next in line when an older man came running out of the building with blood on his hands.
"Where is Jude?! I need him now!" His eyes searched our faces quickly.
"I'm Jude!" I jumped out of line and stood in front of him. "What's wrong? Is Callie hurt?"
"Jude, my name is Agent Gibbs. I need you to come with me." He put a strong hand on my shoulder, but stopped when he saw the zip tie restraints on my wrists. "Hold still." Agent Gibbs pulled out a large knife and cut off the restraints.
We ran in the building and towards Commander Doran's office. Callie was laying on the ground with blood pouring out of her arm and the Commander was dead on the floor of the inner room.
"Callie! Oh, God! What the hell happened?!" I locked eyes with the woman at Callie's side. I shoved her hands off of my sister's arm and replaced them with my own. I pushed my finger in the wound to help stop the bleeding.
"McGee, call and ambulance. We need to get her and the injured boy to the hospital immediately." Gibbs yelled at a young agent.
"Don't bother! They will never find this place. Just load everyone in the back of a car and I can get you to the hospital. And it will take too much time to wait for the ambulance." I didn't take my eyes off of my sister's face. It was pale and she was beginning to shiver from blood loss.
"Okay, Ziva, you and Tony carry Callie to the car. Take her and Jude to the hospital." Gibbs said to the young woman kneeling next to Callie. "McGee and I will take the boy in another car and follow."
Gibbs and McGee ran out of the building to get Evan. Tony and Ziva lifted Callie into their arms and the three of us ran outside together. Ziva transferred Callie into Tony's arms completely and ran ahead of us to open the car door. I got in first and Tony laid Callie down with her head in my lap. I put more pressure on her arm, but blood continued to seep through my fingers.
Ziva jumped in the driver's seat and started the car. The engine roared to life and she peeled out of the driveway. I shouted out directions and looked behind to make sure Gibbs and McGee were following. A wave of relief washed over me when I locked eyes with Gibbs.
"Ziva, step on it! Her breathing is getting really shallow! She's loosing way to much blood!" I screamed. She slammed her foot to the floor and the car rocketed forward.
We finally arrived to the hospital and before Tony could come around the help me get Callie inside, I jumped out of the car and carried her inside myself. I guess adrenaline took over because I didn't even struggle.
"I need some help! Please, someone help me! My sister was shot in the arm and she's lost a ton of blood!" I laid my sister down on a gurney and helped the doctors wheel her into an examination room. "Her blood type is A positive and she has hemophilia. Please help her!"
"We'll take care of her, I promise. I need you to remove your hand from your sister's arm and go to the waiting room. Someone will be out soon to update you." An older nurse put her hand on my wrist and slowly pulled my hand away from Callie's wound. She led me out to the waiting area and then hurried back in to help with Callie's injuries.
"Jude, sweetie, come sit down." Ziva walked up to me and put a strong arm around my shoulders. She sat me down in a chair and started talking to me, but I spaced out.
I leaned back in the chair and ran my fingers through my hair, but then remembered that Callie's blood soaked my hands.
"Oh, um, I'll go see if there is a shower you can use." McGee ran up to the nurse's station and quickly returned. "Jude, if you want to come with me, I'll take you to an empty room where you can get cleaned up."
I nodded slowly and let him lead me down a long corridor. He pushed open a heavy door that led into a vacant hospital room.
"I'll go get some scrubs so you don't have to wear the same clothes." Agent McGee smiled weakly at me and left me to shower.
I entered the bathroom and turned on the water. I stripped down and put my clothes in a pile outside of the bathroom door. The water was scalding hot, but I could barely feel it. Physical pain stopped bothering me years ago. I scrubbed my hands clean of Callie's blood. I let the water fall over my head and watched as more of my sister's blood swirled down the drain. I quickly washed my hair and body and then shut the water off. I stepped out and dried off with a scratchy towel that was hanging on a rack. I wrapped it around my waist and stood in front of the mirror, examining myself. Scars from fights glowed bright red on my chest and bruises were starting to for from an altercation with Evan the day before. I thought back to when I first entered foster care and laughed at how small I was. I was destined to grow up scrawny and weak. But, New Intelligence made sure that didn't happen. My muscles were well defined and bulged out whenever I made the slightest movement. There was no one in NI that I couldn't beat in a fight. Well, except Callie.
I was pulled from my thoughts when someone knocked on the door. "Jude? You almost done?" Agent McGee called from the other side of the door.
"Uh, yeah! I just need to dry off more." I ran the thin towel through my hair and then re-wrapped it around my waist. I opened the door and took the clothes from McGee. "Thanks. I'll be out in a second." I shut the door again and dressed in the dark blue scrubs and long white socks. "Ready." I said as I opened the door. "Any word on Callie yet?"
"Yeah, actually the doctors came out right before I came back for you. They said that they got the bleeding to stop and that she will not need surgery. The bullet missed her bone." We walked back to where the rest of the NCIS team was waiting.
"What about Evan? Did he make it? He was bleeding really badly." I knew the shot Callie took wasn't lethal, but it could do some serious damage.
"Evan is fine. They had to take him to surgery though." Gibbs stood and ushered me to a seat next to him. "The doctors are preparing a room for Callie and then you can go see her."
"Thanks, Agent Gibbs." I stared down at my hands and ran my finger over a small scar on my palm. "Are you going to arrest me now?"
"Do I need to arrest you?"
"Well, I mean I was second-in-command in an anti-American agency. We were planning multiple attacks on major government buildings. That's treason and terroristic actions." I gulped down the lump that was forming in my throat.
"Jude, listen. You are not under arrest. First of all, you are a minor who was kidnapped and forced to work for these people. You didn't have a choice. And, second of all, you were in the group that surrendered. You are going to have to answer a lot of questions, but I see no reason to arrest you, your sister, or your fellow agents who surrendered." Gibbs patted me on the back.
"What about those who didn't surrender?" I looked up at him with tears in my eyes.
"I'm not sure yet. But, I'm guessing there will be some consequences if they don't cooperate."
"Well, I have some information that could make it possible to not have to press charges." I sighed deeply. "When we were taken in by New Intelligence, there were hundreds of us. They slowly weeded out those who just weren't cut out for the program or who said multiple times that they were going to expose us. So, the NI doctors put a small chip in each of our brains. If it is activated, it has the ability to erase every memory from our time in New Intelligence. Not only can it erase memories, but it can create them too. Alternate lives were created for every kid who even stepped foot in the building. We were all foster kids so it wasn't hard to get our files and alter them."
"So, they kept adding new foster homes as needed? Like, if someone was only with New Intelligence for a month, maybe one foster home would be on record? And if they were there for years, like you and Callie, multiple homes were in your file?" Ziva said and sat on my other side.
"Correct. And the families who we supposedly "lived with" were agents within New Intelligence. Their only job was to confirm that the kids lived with them if they were ever questioned by a social worker or a cop. The cover goes so deep that the kids who were kicked out of NI were photo shopped into family pictures. New Intelligence is brilliant. They thought of everything."
"So, if we don't want to press charges, all we have to do is question the kids and then activate the chip?" Gibbs rubbed his forehead as he tried to comprehend what we were saying.
"Yeah. I'm guessing most of them will want their New Intelligence memories erased. That place was… messed up to say the least. But, some agents, like Evan, won't want to lose their training. But it will be in their best interest. At least they won't have to spend the rest of their lives in a secure government facility. If you can get me back to NI, I can activate the chips after you are done questioning everyone." I leaned back against the chair and closed my eyes. The day wasn't even half over but I was already so exhausted.
"Jude, do you know what Callie would have wanted to say to the group who surrendered? She asked us to take them all back to NCIS so she could talk to them." Gibbs leaned back and whispered quietly to me.
"Yeah, she was going to ask them if they wanted their chips activated. They all do, but I can talk to them to make sure."
"Family of Callie?" A young nurse stepped out of the trauma bay. He was holding a clipboard and smiled at me when I jumped out of my seat. "Follow me."
I walked with him down the hallway and he led me in a small room. Callie was laying in the bed with a large bandage on her left arm.
"Callie!" I ran to her side and took her hand in mine.
"Hey Bravo. You okay?" She searched my face for any sign of injury and sighed in relief when she found nothing.
"Yeah, I'm okay. Agent Gibbs said that they aren't pressing charges on us, so that's good. I told them about the chips and I'm going to activate them after they question everyone who didn't surrender. And I'll go talk to our group to see if they still want their activated too."
"Good. They'll go into the system though. I hope they get good homes." She closed her eyes and winced in pain. "Are you going to activate ours?"
I looked into my big sister's eyes and saw the conflict building behind them. "I can activate yours if you want, but I don't want fake memories."
"No, don't activate mine. It will be to our advantage to retain our training." She closed her eyes again. I could tell the sedatives were taking their toll on her.
"Go to sleep Callie. I'll be right here." I squeezed her hand tightly and let her know it was okay to let her guard down. She was asleep within seconds.
"Jude?" Ziva entered the room and stood behind me. "How is she?"
"She's hurting, but she'll be fine." I turned my attention back to Callie who was sleeping not-so-peacefully.
"I had to call social services. Did you know that there have been missing persons reports out for you and Callie since the day you were taken from the police station? Your social worker, Bill, has been looking for you two for ten years. He was so excited when he got our call." Ziva beamed at me.
"I remember Bill. He was nice. So what is going to happen to us? A foster home?" My stomach dropped at the thought of another foster home. "We were only in one foster home before we were taken, but it was complete hell." My words became quiet.
Ziva pulled up a chair next to me and leaned in close. "What happened?"
"They were drunks and didn't give a crap about us at all. The house was filthy, they hardly ever fed us, and… they didn't even take us to our parent's funeral." A tear slipped down my face but I quickly wiped it away.
"You didn't get to go at all?" Ziva's voice broke.
"No, we got to go. But there was a lot of screaming involved. My dad's friend from the Corps showed up at our foster home and demanded that our foster parents release us into his care for the day. They finally agreed, but when we got back… they beat us for 'causing them trouble'. Callie took most of it for me. I was only four and she was six, but she still knew that she had to protect me." I looked back at Callie. "I just wish I could have protected her today…"
Ziva pulled me towards her and enveloped me in a tight embrace. "I'm so sorry you had to go through so many bad things, Jude. But, from what I can tell, the foster parents Bill found you are absolutely incredible." She leaned back and wiped a tear away from my face. "But, if it turns out that they are bad people, I want you to call me immediately; day or night, I will answer. I'll come get you and find you and Callie the best family out there."
I laughed a little. "Thanks Ziva, but I'm pretty sure Callie and I will be able to take care of ourselves now. We've been trained by the best. We can fend off drunk foster parents."
"I am sure that you can, but you need someone who is more than physically safe. You need people who love you. Listen, I have to go back to NCIS to question your fellow agents, but I will be back tomorrow to check on you two. And I'll bring you with me tomorrow so you can activate the chips and talk to your agents." She stood to leave, but turned around when she reached the door. "Remember, call me day or night." She winked at exited the room.
"Well, Alpha, it looks like we're back in the system. It's me and you… against the whole freaking world." I laid my head down on the bed and dozed off. I don't know how long I slept, but I was woken up to someone shaking my shoulder. I sprang into action and grabbed the person's arm and twisted it violently behind their back. I ran toward the wall and shoved them face-first into it.
"Jude! It's me, Bill!" My social worker screamed. I released him immediately and turned around to see a gun trained on my chest.
I raised my hands slowly and rested them on my head. "I'm sorry. It was just an instinct. I didn't mean to hurt him." I locked eyes with the police officer. She holstered her weapon and relaxed. "It's not broken or anything. It's just strained. Ice it and rest it for a few days. You'll be fine. And I'm really sorry Bill." I turned back around and helped Bill into the chair I'd been sleeping in.
"Well, this was an interesting first meeting." Bill grabbed his right shoulder and winced a little. "Jude, meet one of your foster mothers, Officer Stefanie Adams-Foster. Stef, meet your newest foster son, Jude."
I stuck out my right hand and she smiled sweetly at me as she shook it. "It's nice to meet you, ma'am."
"Oh, you don't need to call me ma'am; Stef will be just fine!" She patted me softly on the back.
"So, Bill said you are one of my foster moms? You have a wife, not a husband?" She nodded her head and I smiled a little. "Cool." I liked the idea of not having a foster dad. From the stories my agents told me, the foster dads were normally horrible.
"Her name is Lena and she should be here very soon. She is very excited to meet you and your sister." Stef turned and locked her eyes on Callie. "Is she doing okay?"
"Yes. It was a through-and-through gunshot wound. She'll be in pain for a while, but she will make a full recovery."
"Jude, some NCIS agents dropped off your and Callie's personal belongings at my office. They are in the bags by the door. You can go through them and see if there is anything missing." Bill stood up and retrieved the bags.
I opened them and quickly sorted through the items. All of our clothes, pictures, and things from our past were in the bags. "Yeah, I guess this is most of it."
"Most of it? What's missing? I can get Agent Gibbs to go back and get the rest." Bill said.
"No, you really can't." I looked up to him and Stef. Confusion was all over their faces. "I'm guessing this is everything they will let us have. We each have three personal guns and two personal knives. But, since they are weapons, I'm guessing they have been taken to NCIS headquarters. I mean, why would they let two kids keep dangerous weapons?"
"Yes, your weapons were taken to NCIS. They are being tested to see if… to see if they were used in any unsolved crimes." Bill looked at me sadly. "I can't believe how much you two have grown up. Its… absolutely amazing."
"Thanks, Bill. And I know they have to test them, but I promise you that the weapons were not used in any crimes." I looked into Stef's eyes and tried to reassure her that Callie and I would not be dangers to her family.
"Stef?" A young woman, around Stef's age, came in. She had caramel skin and very curly hair.
"Hello, love." Stef embraced the woman, who I assumed was her wife. "Lena, this is Jude."
"Hi Jude. It's very nice to meet you." She took a step towards me and extended her hand.
I shook it firmly. "And you as well." I motioned towards Callie. "This is my older sister, Callie. She would probably say it's very nice to meet the both of you."
The two women laughed and shared a loving gaze.
"Well, I am going to head back to the office. If any of you need anything, please don't hesitate to call." Bill handed Stef and Lena a business card. "Jude, it's very nice to see you again. I'm glad that you're doing… well." He smiled and quickly left the room.
"So, do you have any other kids?" I sat down next to Callie and closely monitored her vitals. I had to make sure that she was doing okay.
"Yes, we have three other children." Stef sat down next to me and Lena stood off to the side. "We have a son, Brandon, who is my biological son from a previous marriage."
"And we have twins, Jesus and Mariana, who we adopted about eight years ago. Brandon is sixteen and the twins are fifteen." Lena added.
I smiled. "Callie is sixteen too. Oh, and I'm fourteen." I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. "I know that you have heard about New Intelligence and how we are involved with it. I hope you know that we will not, under any circumstances, harm your family. We hate the people New Intelligence turned us into. Just, please don't think that we are crazy, murderous kids." My cheeks flushed bright red.
"Jude, sweetie, we do not think lowly of you and Callie. We understand that being a part of that agency was not your choice. We want you to know that you are safe in our house. You can be your true selves." Stef rubbed my back and Lena smiled at me.
I looked into both of their eyes and didn't see hate or harmful intentions. For once, I finally felt as if Callie and I were going to be safe. For once, I knew I could be Jude instead of Bravo. I knew I was going to like these women. I just hoped we would like their kids and they would like us. And, I was already hoping that this home would be our last.