So I didn't plan on it, but this chapter is pretty long and I'm not sure how good it is. It doesn't feel very cohesive. Hopefully it doesn't drag. Also, I'm not going to make a chapter on the legal stuff. I feel like it would be too boring. All of that will be explain within the next chapter(s). I hope you enjoy this! Don't forget to leave me some reviews!
Jude's POV
I racked my brain trying to figure out why NI agents would be here. We activated the chips. They shouldn't have been able to revert back to how they were seven months ago.
Callie closed her eyes and took three deep breaths; it was something she always did before any fight or mission. This day was no different.
"What's the plan? Do we evacuate? Do we neutralize the intruders?" I rolled my shoulders trying to loosen up the tension that had built up.
"We can't move everyone to one location. That would just make everyone sitting ducks: easy targets. We have to find them and get them to surrender or…" She squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to think about the alternative. "We've been sitting here for way too long. Stay close."
Callie started walking quietly down the hall. We checked each door as we passed making sure they were locked. Every time we jiggled the door handle we could here terrified whimpers coming from inside. They probably thought we were going to bust in and kill them. A year ago that's exactly what we would have done.
I shook the thought of that from my brain. I twisted the handle to the last door in the hall. Unlike all the others, this one opened.
"Psst." I whispered to my sister. She looked over at me with a confused and worried look on her face. I motioned to the door that I'd set ajar.
Callie took three big strides across the hallway, ready to take the lead into the room. She nodded, signaling that she was ready, and I pulled the door wide open. We were met with gasps and terrified faces.
"Please, don't shoot. They're only in seventh grade!" The young teacher pleaded. He stood up and stretched his arms out to his sides. Tears filled his eyes.
"We aren't here to hurt you. We're here to help." Callie pulled her NCIS badge out of her inside jacket pocket to show them that we were the good guys. "You have to lock this door. Put heavy items in front of it like the desks."
I pointed across the room to the windows. "Pull the blinds and stay on the floor. Don't make a sound. Someone will be back as soon as possible to get you out of here. We aren't going to let anything happen to you."
The teacher nodded, eyes still full tears and terror. But, regardless, he did what we said.
We made our way back into the hall but Callie paused before we went any further. She pulled her buzzing phone out of her pocket and motioned me over to read the message.
We just arrived. What do we do? Are you okay? Are you getting people out?
Ziva's text lifted some weight off my chest. Back up had arrived and more would be here as soon as mom showed up.
Callie quickly responded.
Do a perimeter sweep. We're fine. No, we're finding the intruders before we move anyone. Make contact once you're done with the sweep. We'll find a good way for you to enter.
I glanced up at Callie's face once she was done typing. Her expression was hard and emotionless. She looked like she did whenever we were on missions at New Intelligence. Was she going to revert on me?
"Okay, we have to move faster. We're going to end up losing hostages if we keep moving at this pace." Callie pocketed her phone and turned to face me. "Bravo, you know exactly what to do in these situations. Push the fear out of your mind and just rely on your instincts. We can't be talking in the halls. They'll hear us and come for us. So, do what you were trained to do. Got it?" Callie squeezed my shoulders, almost as if to tell me that she was scared too.
I nodded in compliance. I did what she said: I pushed the fear that clouded my thoughts as far away as I could. I had to forget about my family. I had a job to do. Jude left me and Bravo took his place.
Callie's POV
I watched as Jude tried to rid himself of his fear. It was an amazing, but horrifying, thing to watch. All emotion was wiped from his young face and his entire body became rigid, almost robotic. He wasn't the Jude I'd come to know over the last six months. He was the Bravo I knew for ten years before that. I hated watching his transformation but I knew I'd done the same thing moments before. I knew that he'd watched my transformation and hated what he saw.
I pointed down the hallway to our left, indicating that we were heading in that direction. Jude nodded in agreement. All of the classrooms in that hall were empty due to construction so we basically ran down it, but all the while searching for the intruders.
It was so weird. We couldn't find them anywhere. It was like they came in, shot off a few rounds, and left. Just as I was thinking this, a familiar voice came over the speakers.
"Alpha, Bravo! We know you're in here. We don't want to hurt anyone; we just want you." The line went dead and Jude and I were frozen in place.
"Alpha… they're in the office." Jude's eyes were wet with tears. "Mama, B, and Jesus are in the office." He didn't even wait for my response; he just took off in their direction. I wasn't too far behind.
We ran all the way, fearing the worst when we arrived. Jude quickly picked the lock once again and we entered the deserted office, weapons leading the way. None of the rogue agents were in the main office or the surrounding rooms. Lena and the rest of the group were shaken up, but they weren't injured.
"I'm going to kill those bastards." Jude muttered under his breath. Rage filled his voice. I nudged him to say his comment wasn't appropriate, but I was thinking the same thing.
My phone lit up with a text from Ziva and one from Stef.
"Bravo, we have to find them before we let backup come in. Stef is saying that her Captain is wanting to move in without our say so. Let's move." I shoved my phone in my pocket ran out of the office with Jude right behind me.
Our pace quickened when shots rang out from the other end of the building.
We came up on the gym where the bullets came from. I peered into the small window and saw two of the invaders. They'd shot their weapons out the window, warning the officers to stay away from the building.
"Bravo," I whispered. "We're moving in on my count." I mouthed 3, 2, 1 to my partner. We pulled open the doors and rushed the agents. They trained their weapons on us but didn't fire. They knew that we would beat them to the trigger.
"Ah, it's so nice to see the two of you again!" Robin, who we knew as Echo from New Intelligence, took two small steps in our direction. We were less than three feet apart. "We've been looking for you." She smiled devilishly.
"Echo, what the hell is going on? Why did you come to Anchor Beach? We don't even go to school here!" Jude lowered one of his guns slightly so it was aimed directly at Robin's chest.
"Wait, what?" Marcus, the other gunman, shook his head in confusion. "Your foster siblings go here."
"Tango, shut the hell up!" Robin screamed teammate. She angrily turned her attention back to us. "What the hell do you mean you don't go here? We've seen your foster family here!"
Jude laughed at her statement. "Did you do any recon at all?"
Robin and Marcus shifted uncomfortably. "This was kind of thrown together a few days ago." Marcus finally spoke up, filling the silence that separated us.
It was my turn to laugh. "Seriously? You started a mission with only a few days of planning under your belts? Did you learn nothing at New Intelligence?"
Unfortunately, my comical moment wasn't so funny to my opponent. Robin took one more big step forward and pressed the barrel of her pistol to my forehead.
"Shut the hell up, bitch! I didn't ask for your help!" She leaned in so her face was inches from mine. "You aren't in charge of us anymore. I'm calling the shots now."
Suddenly, Jude lunged through the air and wrapped a strong arm around Marcus's neck and shoved one of his guns into the boy's temple. The sudden attack knocked Marcus's gun out of his hand. Jude kicked it across the floor, far away from the four of us.
"Echo, I suggest you remove your gun from Alpha's head. If not, I'll blow Tango's off." Jude's threat wasn't an empty one. He wasn't thinking like Jude. Bravo had taken the driver's seat. If Robin didn't comply, Marcus was a goner for sure.
Robin's eyes never left my face. She pressed the gun into my head a little harder.
"Echo! He's going to kill me!" Marcus was straining to speak from the intense pressure Jude was putting on his throat.
She's going to let Jude kill him.
That was the only thought going through my head. I wasn't about ready to let my brother fire the first shot in this battle. I made a choice, hoping it wasn't a stupid one.
In one fluid motion, I quickly brought both of my weapons up and smashed them into Robin's ribs. I knew I only had a few seconds before she recuperated so I holstered my guns and made my move.
I kicked her right hand trying to make her drop the gun. But, her grip was too tight. She retaliated by firing one shot at me. Luckily, it was a bad shot and it only grazed my arm. I was on autopilot from that point on. My fist smashed into her face. My heel came down and crushed the top of her foot. I wrenched her arm up so far behind her back that her shoulder dislocated. I threw her to the ground and pressed my knee into her back.
"You aren't a match for me, Echo!" The words spit like fire coming out of my mouth. I searched her for more weapons but was delighted when I came across a pair of handcuffs. "Thought you were going to restrain me with these, didn't you?" I clicked the cuffs of her wrists with her arms behind her back.
"Bravo, search Tango for a pair of cuffs." I ordered, my knee still pressed into the young girl's back.
"I found some."
"Restrain him, but put him out first." I stood and walked over to Jude.
He nodded and slapped the cuffs on Marcus's wrists. "Night, Tango." He whispered as he pressed two fingers into a pressure point. Jude let our former ally slump to the ground in a big heap.
"Collect their weapons. We have to find the rest of them." I commanded Jude. As he did that, I responded to Ziva and Stef.
Ziva, come in through the east entrance. We've detained two of the intruders. Come take them away while we find the rest. When you're done, start evacuating.
I wiped sweat from my brow before responding to Stef.
Create a safe zone. Ziva is going to start bringing out the students in a few minutes. Get everyone as far away from the school as possible. This is going to be over soon.
"Alpha, I found their plan." Jude walked over to me with a sheet of crumpled paper in his hands. "I found it in Echo's jacket pocket.
I grabbed the paper from him and examined the poorly thought out plan. "Geez, they did a horrible job. There are only two others according to this. Apparently the other two are sweeping classrooms looking for us."
"Does it say what they wanted with us?"
"No, it just says to take us alive." I scoffed at the thought. Like they would ever get the upper hand on us. "Alright, let's go find these idiots."
Jude handed me one of the guns he recovered and I shoved in the back of my waistband. I now had four guns on me and one knife. I think I'm pretty well armored, I thought silently.
As we exited the gym, Gibbs and the rest of his team were coming our way.
"What the hell is happening?" Gibbs's rough whisper cut through the air like a knife. He was dripping wet from the storm
"There are rogue NI agents here. I don't know how, but somehow the chips in their brains failed. They came for us, not to hurt people aimlessly. There are only two left. We're going in search of them now. Follow behind us and take the students after we clear the rooms." I started down the hall but Ziva grabbed my arm. I winced in pain when my wound finally came to life underneath my jacket.
"Cal, you have to let us take the lead. It's too dangerous for you and Jude to be in here. Go out to your mom. She's worried sick about the two of you." She tried to push me towards the door but I tore away from her grasp.
"Absolutely not! We know how these agents operate. We know how to fight them. You don't. If we let you take the lead… they'll kill you. I'm not letting that happen." Without waiting for her approval, I signaled for Jude to follow me.
Luckily Gibbs and Ziva agreed to follow even if they thought I was wrong. McGee and DiNozzo dragged Robin and Marcus outside where I can only assume they were put in ambulances, but not after they were put in full body shackles.
We began clearing rooms in search of the last two gunmen. We came up empty in the first hall so Gibbs took all of the students out to where Stef and her team would be awaiting their arrival.
Hallway after hallway, we kept coming up empty handed. I leaned against the wall, knowing they had to be down the next corridor. It was the last one.
"Ziva, go get everyone from the office and evacuate them. Gibbs, come with us. The last two are down here somewhere." I wiped the sweat from my face and waited for them to agree.
Ziva took off for the office, constantly checking for the agents around each corner.
"You ready, kid?" Gibbs came close and crouched down so he was eye level with me.
I shook my head and blinked away tears. "This is going to end with at least one person dead. I just know it." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
"Hey! You shake off whatever demons are clouding your mind. For Christ's sake, Cal. I'm letting two kids lead me into one of the most terrifying evacuations I've ever been a part of. But, I'm not worried. Wanna know why? Because you are leading me. Now, be a damn leader and get your ass down that hall before I kick it down there."
I cleared my throat and wiped the tears from my eyes. "You're right. Let's do this."
Jude and I led the way. We decided not to waste time picking locks so we kicked the doors in instead. Nearly no one had created a barricade so it was easy to enter the rooms. We did a quick sweep, checking behind the teachers' desks and in the closets if the room had one. Gibbs kept everyone quiet and calm, reassuring them that we were only there to help.
"There are only two rooms left, Alpha. How do we go about this?" Jude leaned over, trying to catch his breath.
"We keep going like we have been. They aren't going to kill innocent kids, so bust down the door." I spoke as I walked towards the door, ready to put an end to this nightmare. But, as soon as I pushed the door open to step into the hallway, bullets flew past the entrance.
I eyed Jude, and silently asked if he was ready for a fight. He nodded, but his eyes were wild with terror. I stepped up to the door and peaked through the bottom of the glass where the curtain didn't quite meet the wood of the door.
"They're both out there. I don't see anyone else."
"Who is it? Can you tell?" Jude's voice was so quiet I could barely hear him.
"It looks like November and Zulu. Well, that's good. They never did have good aim." I put my back to the door and yelled into the open. "Agents! Put down your weapons and surrender. This is not going to end well for you otherwise!"
"Screw you, Alpha!" Zulu's young voice rang in my ears.
"Fine! You want a fight, you've got one!" Jude screamed from next to me.
Death was in front of us. But whose we didn't know.
Stef's POV
Kids poured from the building with their hands on their heads. Their tears mixed with the pelting rain, but even the thunder couldn't mask their sobs. I directed everyone to officers who would take them to the rec center across the street where they could meet up with their terrified parents.
"Mom!" Jesus's voice cut through the roaring storm. He barreled into me and wrapped me in a tight hug. Lena and Brandon were right behind him, tears streaming down their faces. "Where is Mariana? Is she okay?"
"She's fine, love. She came to the station right before we left. Don't worry about her, she's safe." I yelled above the storm that was drenching my children and wife. "You need to go across the street and go inside! It's too dangerous for you to be out here!"
Lena pulled on our sons' arms, dragging them to safety. I locked eyes with her and mouthed I love you.
My attention was abruptly brought back to the scene before me when multiple gunshots came from inside the school. The rain was making it hard to see if anyone was coming out.
Everything was still for a few moments. No one left the school and no more shots went off.
"We have movement!" Captain Arnold screamed above the thunder.
We all pulled our weapons, ready to fire upon whoever exited the school.
The doors opened and two figures emerged. I couldn't make out their faces, but I prayed to a God I only newly believed in that the two figures were my children.
They walked slowly through the storm, hand-in-hand. My heart jumped a beat.
"Stand down, stand down!" I waved my arms to the line of guns on either side of me, urging them not to shoot. I ran through the forceful winds towards the kids who had stolen my heart the moment I met them ten years ago. "Callie! Jude!" As soon as I was within arm's length, I pulled them close to me, holding them tightly.
The three of us sunk to the ground together, sobbing in each other's arms. I pulled away and quickly searched them for injuries. Callie winced when I touched her left arm.
"You're going to be okay, baby. It's only a flesh wound." I kissed her cheek and did the same to her brother.
"Mom." Callie collapsed into my lap, sobbing so hard she could barely breathe. "Mom, I killed them."