Chapter eighteen
Hancock County Jail
Carthage IL

Rossi

The sons weren't talking. The mother had been taken to the hospital for sedation after becomming hysterical. That left Dad. And Rossi and Hotch were going to interview him.

John Holman looked shocked. Good. "So, what made you kidnap someone else's son?" Rossi asked him.

"He's not someone else's son. He's mine."

"I know the mother personally; I can guarantee she'll say that you're not his father. But we can do DNA if you insist…."

"She's not married, is she?"

"Yes, she is." Hotch replied.

"But she wasn't when she made him."

"How did you…."

"His soul was meant to come to our family." Holman sighed. "I still remember the night we lost him."

"How did you lose him?"

"The Enemy! Plucked that soul right from his mother's belly. I still don't know why. But you should have seen that little body when it came out. It had no brain! Nothing on the top of its head, it had all been taken, just these eyes bulging like a frog. And its hands and feet were all melted where it tried to fight! Haunts me to this day."

Rossi sighed. "I'm sorry. I know how hard it is to lose a child. But what made you think this child was yours?"

"About, oh, five months ago Pastor Goodwin had a vision. We were missing children, a lot of us. That's why we weren't able to stick with the Plan, because we hadn't been doing right by the children we have. Their souls had been taken from us by the Enemy and planted in the bellies of some of those evil whores who give birth out of wedlock and then let the State teach the child Socialism. We hadn't gone after them to train them up properly. But now that the Lord had explained it so simply, like any father would to a child, Pastor Goodwin was going to find a way to get them home. Then, about a month ago, he called me and told me that he had found Joshua and was bringing him home. Happiest day of my life. 'Course he was insisting that he had another name and family, but that was just the evil leaving him. By the next day he was just as sweet as honey."

Hotch's phone rang. He looked and stepped out. "Why did you keep your eldest as a shut-in?" Rossi asked.

Holman seemed surprised at the question. "Safer for her," he replied. "I don't…I don't want to talk about that."

"Why didn't you feed your children?"

"I did! Fed 'em just like Pastor Goodwin said, keep them physically and morally healthy. They're fine."

"What do you know about the Black Knights?"

Holman shrugged. "It's a church group. My older boys are involved; they're all good, morally strong young men, good boys."

Hotch came back in. "What can you tell us about what's in the basement of your barn?"

"Um, I don't know what's down there. Michael and Daniel took it over to store stuff for the Knights. I haven't seen a need to go down to look." He looked curious now. "Why? What's down there?"

Hotch signaled to Rossi to step out. "What did they find down there?" Rossi asked.

"A small arsenal, thermite, ANFO. The State Police is calling in the bomb squad. Morgan's on his way out there." Hotch sighed. "This has turned into something a lot bigger than Henry."

"I don't know about you but I'm thinking we need to alert the Counterterrorism Center."

"I already have. We'll need to give them a profile as soon as we can."

Let's keep Susanna close; she might be our best source of information." Rossi was quiet. "What are the chances they'll retaliate against her?"

"I don't think they're high." Hotch replied. "Women are marginalized in their group, the disabled doubly so. I don't think they'd consider her capable of initiating this. They're more likely to blame the father."

"Let's keep it that way, for Reid's sake as well."

"I agree."

Sheriff's station
Carthage, IL

Spencer

It was a common technique, put two or three people you want to observe in a room together and see what happened. In this case it was Spencer and Blake observing Susanna, Leah, and a cuffed Rebekah. She came in last. "Oh dear Lord!" Leah shrieked when she saw her sister.

"And why are we Dear Lording?" Susanna asked dryly.

"Rebekah is in handcuffs! She's being arrested!"

Susanna frowned at this. "Why?"

"I'm accepting this as a martyr." Rebekah announced. "I refuse to tell them who has the other Lost Boys."

"Really?" Susanna asked. "Because, of course, they won't find out any other way." Her snark was nearly as deadpan as Hotch's.

"Be quiet, Jezebel."

"You're doing this to yourself you know."

"I can't decide if you should be stoned for rebelling against our Father or burned at the stake for throwing yourself all over that man back at the house!"

"Better to break my neck falling down the stairs, I'm sure."

"Stop it! Both of you!" Leah shrieked. They stopped. "I just want to know why."

The three of them were quiet a long moment. "They took someone's child away." Susanna said at last. "That's not right. How would you feel if someone just took Justin and we never saw him again?"

"Isn't that what they're doing?" Rebekah pointed out.

"Not the same. We won't lose contact. We'll always know where they are and what they're doing. The LaMontagne's didn't even know if Henry was alive or dead."

"Great, we can watch them become Socialists and Atheists…"

"And learn to think for themselves!" Susanna finally turned all the way into the conversation. "To grow up healthy and never be hungry and get good educations and have a chance to love and marry and have children of their own. And the same goes for you two, you know. You have a chance."

"Have them turned away from the Lord…"

"If the Lord wants them you think He can't keep them, no matter where they go or what they do?" Susanna chuckled. "Oh ye of little faith."

They were quiet again for a little while. "So what do you purpose we do now, sister?" Leah asked.

"Well…" Susanna considered this. "First off I purpose to never again use 'purpose' as a transitive verb. After that I plan to attempt to purge the words 'helpmeet', 'headship', 'fellowship' or 'normativity' from my vocabulary. And in the future if I attend an event where I'm expected to bring a covered dish I will not call that event a pot-provedential meal, instead will properly call that event a pot-luck."

Spencer mashed his fist against his mouth to keep from laughing.

"You seem to be taking this very lightly." Leah complained.

"False bravado, I'm actually scared to death." Susanna admitted. "But I'm going to be brave and take this opportunity to chase a half-dozen dreams or so just in case the opportunity doesn't come around again. Philippians 4:13 if nothing else."

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Spencer murmured.

"Well, as soon as they let us make a phone call I'll call Pastor Goodwin's office and see if we can find families to take us all in." Leah decided.

Susanna sighed. "Not ideal, but it will have to do. Don't bother to find a place for me."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm moving to the city. Specifically Washington DC. Henry's family offered to help me move and I'm taking them up on it."

There were gasps from the other two. "You can't do that!" Leah insisted.

"Why not?"

"You can't see!"

Susanna was quiet a moment. "I never noticed." She deadpanned.

"You'll be...attacked. Raped. Sold off…"

"I'll take the risk. Seriously, a city has better transportation; I'll be able to get around on my own. Once I'm on my feet I plan to go to college and get a properly Liberal education. And hopefully along the line I'll find someone special."

"Who would want to marry you?" Rebekah asked.

"Someone. Know what a paraphilia is?"

"No."

"No."

"That's the proper name for perversions. There are people out there who lust after every sort of perversion, you name it, they desire it. If there are men out there who lust after trees or furry toys there has to be one for a freak like me."

"You're not a freak." Spencer and Blake murmured in unison.

"And I suppose you'll have his child out of wedlock." Rebekah spat.

Susanna chuckled. "There's a difference between the word of the Lord and the word of Pastor Goodwin. I don't intend to break the first, only the second." She reached over to Leah. "Come with me, sister. You can study for a teacher; find the husband you've wanted for so long, have babies of your own."

Leah looked nervous. "I just…I don't….I don't know."

Susanna squeezed her elbow briefly. "That's all right. I'll break the trail; you can always join me later."

Leah looked over at her. "What has made you so brave anyway?"

"I have nothing to lose."