VIII. Enemies Domestic
24 Ave Port Imperial, West New York, NJ…1:12 AM
Her eyes fluttered open, the florescent light and the white walls causing her eyes to strain as she slowly sat up regaining her barrings. Her jumbled thoughts reforming as she stared at the in confusion at the room she was in
"You're awake I'm glad, you had me quite worried when you fainted."
Joss whipped her around, her eyes darting around the room until they landed on an old man with hair.
"It's okay Jocelyn you're safe here, I removed the tracker in your arm."
"Who are you? Where am I? What do you want?"
My name is Doctor Shenandoah Cassidy, I'm an old friend of Hanks, this is a safe house owned by the agency I work for and I'm only here to help you."
"How do I know I can trust you?" Joss shifted on the bed as she looked at the older man sitting by her bedside.
"Because Dr. Cassidy risked a lot to track you down, not to mention misappropriating government property, as well as violating inter agency polices."
Joss turned to the door as she saw an older strawberry blonde woman in an expensive looking suit march into the room carrying an air of superiority.
Joss looked back at the doctor he seemed annoyed at the woman's hasty entrance but said nothing.
"Who are you and why should I trust you or anything you say?" Joss directed at both the occupants of the room
"I don't have a reason for you to trust me but my name is Lillian Strand and I am the Director of the United States Cyber Command and whether you like it or not we're here to help."
Lilian held up a flash drive "and we're going to start by showing you this"
Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, New York...1:12 AM
John titled Kara's chair back up as she coughed up water and phlegm.
"Had enough" Shaw asked "Are your lungs burning yet."
"Tell me what I need to know Kara and we'll let you go," John stated.
"That's not going to happen anytime soon so you night as well kill me."
"I say we start ripping her finger nails off," Shaw voiced out before back handing Kara across the face.
Harold stood looking away from the scene that was being carried out behind him, he didn't think he could take listening to the torture any longer.
"Harold."
Finch turned his head slightly as he felt Ms. Groves place her hand gently on his shoulder "I really must insist you leave there's no point in you staying here to hear all of this."
"Thank you for your concern Ms. Groves but I…" Harold began before his phone started to ring, he looked at the caller ID before he answered.
"Yes Detective Fusco."
"Glasses what the hell is going on? If you guys knew about this and were keeping it from me I swear to God I'm going to…"
"Detective please slow down. What are you talking about? Knew about what?"
"Carters alive!"
Finch gasped out as he turned around switching his phone to speaker "Mr. Reese Ms. Shaw please stop."
John and Shaw glanced at one another before they made their way over to Finch.
"Please repeat what you just told me Detective"
"I said Carter's fucking alive!"
"Are you sure it's her?" John asked as he stared at the phone hopeful.
"Yea I'm sure it's her unless Carter has some kind of evil twin I didn't know about."
"Where is she?" John asked desperately, Is she with you? Can I speak to her?"
"She's not here anymore, I don't know where she went."
"What do you mean you don't know where she went?!" John yelled.
"Hey! Don't yell at me like it's my fault, she's the one who held me at gunpoint, made me drive to her Paul's house, then she knocked me unconscious and hand cuffed me to the steering wheel of my car!"
John shook his head slightly in confusion "How did she seem to you?"
"Crazy!...it was like she didn't even know who I was or who Paul or her own kid were...what the hell is going on?"
"Where are you now Fusco?" John asked.
"Sitting in my car trying to figure out how to un-cuff myself"
Shaw snickered "you're still cuffed?"
"Yeah she did something with the keys and unlike you two I didn't have any James Bond, Rambo training on how to get out of handcuffs without a key."
"Fusco just head to the safe house in Queens we'll meet you there." John ordered as he grabbed Finch's phone and hung up.
"So she's somewhere in the city?" Finch ascertained "It sounds like she's looking for answers?"
Kara chuckled.
Shaw glared at her at "Why the hell are you laughing?"
"I was wondering how long it was going to take her to figure out that the facts of her life don't add up," Kara stretched her neck.
"You mean the facts that you fabricated that made her think we were terrorist that helped orchestrate her death." John gritted out angry.
"Just following orders."
"Who's orders? How is she still alive?" Root asked.
Kara just smirked.
John shook his head and gave her pitiful smile "I guess that's all you'll ever been good at Kara, following orders. Not caring that you're on the wrong side and whether or not you're getting innocent people hurt along the way."
Kara stared at their faces with a slightly confused look before she started chuckling "this is priceless…you guys really don't know what's going on do you?"
"Still the same" Kara smirked "you never could see the big picture."
"And what picture is that?" Shaw asked containing her urged to bury fist in the woman's smug face.
"That I'm the good guy," Kara stared into John's eyes "and you and your fiends are on the wrong side"
24 Ave Port Imperial, West New York, NJ…1:54 AM
Joss felt tears welling up in her eyes as she slammed the laptop closed she couldn't even finish watching the whole thing, it was making her sick to her stomach. How could they? What gave them the right to use her as an experiment? To cut her body apart and play God?
She closed her eyes and trying to block out the truth, as images replayed in her head of her body lying on an operating table, her skull cut open as numerous doctors poked and prodded her brain. The imagines of them removing her right eye and replacing it with another one, the doctors removing entire limbs from her body and attaching prosthetics.
"So what do you plan to do… now that you know the truth" Dr. Cassidy asked gently.
"It's time to go Doctor," Lilian began as she watched the wheels begin to turn in the woman's head as the look of anguish and disgust turned to rage "You have my number if you change your mind about my offer Jocelyn."
Joss sat in silence as Stand left the room.
"Ms. Carter whatever path you choose from here will surely be a difficult one but if you ever need someone to talk to I will be here". Cassidy replied softly as he handed Joss the flash drive that Elizabeth had given to him. "For what it's worth Hank had nothing but the best intentions when he operated on you."
"Some of the worst things imaginable have been done with the best intentions" Joss muttered under her breath as she watched the doctor leave. She sat in silence in the empty apartment as she contemplate her next move. She still knew nothing about her life from before her 'procedure' and she didn't know why the government need her or her memories to find her supposed friends
Joss stood up and grabbed her disassembled phone making her way out of the apartment, placing it back together and turning it on as she walked out of the building on to the street.
She dialed Perry's number as she looked toward the skyline of the city shining in the night sky, listening to the phone ring.
"Perry"
"I know what Hank turned me into" Joss gritted out "what I want to know is why the government wants my 'friends' and I suggest you tell me the truth this time or I will show the whole world Hank's research."
Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, New York...1:54 AM
"What are you talking about?" Shaw gritted out getting tired of Stanton and her games.
Kara ignored Shaw looking at John "You want to know who's responsible for Carter's death, you are John…. Officer Simmons just pulled the trigger.
"Don't you ever wonder why he only wounded you, he could have easily killed you and your friend over there after he shot Carter…you don't find it strange that he just ran away, he had plenty of time to finish you off.." Kara smiled "Don't wonder who told him where you both were that night."
"Her 'death' your fault John," Kara leaned back in her chair "Because it was watching you in the morgue, listening as you confessed your feelings for her,…after you kissed her…your predictable when it comes women John, always putting 'love' first, it's a terrible flaw in an otherwise perfect asset."
'Reese made out with Carter before she died' Shaw's eyes went wide in shock as she looked at John, no wonder he went ballistic hunting down Simmons.
"It" Harold felt his eyes widen, his thoughts going back to the night Joss had died 'I'm so sorry to hear about your loss Harold but we have more important matters to attend too.'
"No it's not possible" Harold turned around only to come face to face with a gun.
"I really wished you had listened to me Harold and left while you still had the chance she was very upset when she had to get rid of one asset but now she's about to lose three more."
Shaw and John turned around and looked at Root holding Harold at gun point as five men wearing black tactical gear, with assault rifles moved into the building pointing their guns at them.
"For what it's worth John, she truly is sorry she had to get rid of Joss, it wasn't personal."
John felt his lip quiver "Why?"
Root looked at the hurt and betrayal on John's face "Past performance markers, when you are grieving from loss your performance increases exponential. The death of a loved one is your motivator. When your father died, you joined the military. When you lost your girlfriend you willingly became an indispensable asset to her…but as your former CIA friend said, you are predictable when it comes to the women in your life. If the need ever arouse, she needed to ensure that she had your undivided attention, she needed to make sure that you would live, fight and die for only her. She knew that if she allowed you and Jocelyn to become closer, your feelings could compromise your allegiance to her. Putting it simple, you loving Jocelyn Carter posed more risk than gain for her and you had more value to her as an asset than the Detective did."
"That is impossible I didn't program the machine to weight human life, to kill people."
"The sacrifice of both bad and good are needed to ensure the survival of mankind, you programed her to save lives Harold and she is. She has evolved and has come to realize that humans cannot be trusted with their own safe keeping, if not kept in check we will continue to destroy ourselves, we are like children and need to be protected even from ourselves." Root turned toward Shaw, "I am sorry Sameen I really did want to bring you with me but she said that you wouldn't like me or her anymore if you knew the truth."
"Go to hell" Shaw bit out.
Root looked back at Harold "She doesn't want to lose her father but if she must choose between her main objective and you, she will not choose you, if you come with me Harold you will live."
"No" Harold shook his head.
"Very well then, this is where I leave you…take them to Oyster Bay, kill them, and bury their bodies…don't forget the dog too." Root ordered to her henchmen before leaving the warehouse.
AN: Sorry for the late update i lost my mojo for this story...but now its back. I don't own any rights to the show Intelligence or its characters. Hoped you enjoyed the chapter.