Chapter Six: Phoenix Hostage

Jules sucked in her breath as Sarge came over the comm again. With the information on Penny, he'd regained enough poise to sound almost professional again. "Okay, team, subject is on foot. Constables Lane and Wordsworth are in pursuit." He paused for a moment, then went on, "We've got the neighborhood contained. We need to get this under control now. We're in front of the house now. Change of plans: we're gonna talk this girl down. Jules, I want you to do it."

Jules swallowed hard. Me? "Oh, Sarge, if you're right, this girl's been in here, like, eight years." The petite constable hesitated. "We're dealing with some serious Stockholm syndrome. She probably doesn't even know who she is anymore."

She could almost see Sarge nodding as he responded. "I know, and my bet, he's conditioned her to fear the police, and that's why she's firing." His voice turned comforting. "Now, you're gonna be fine. This girl has spent eight years in captivity at the hands of a man. What she needs now is a female voice."

Jules quailed, she wasn't good enough at negotiating for this, especially with Alanna's life on the line. "We're starting at ground zero. I mean, I… I don't know if I know how to do this," she whispered.

Sarge's voice was matter of fact. "All right, I'm coming in."

"Okay, wait," Jules called without thinking. She sucked in a breath, praying she'd be good enough. "Can you help me with the Stockholm?"

Sarge's smile came through in his voice. "Yeah," he told her. "Now, the first thing to remember: there will be nothing simple about her feelings for her captor. Just follow the same rules as always: connect, respect…"

"…Protect," Jules finished. "Okay."

"Okay, you just keep it simple," Sarge coached. "By now, Penny's got a belief system that has helped her survive whatever it is she survived, and it's not your job to tear that down. It's your job to get these two girls out of there safely." Jules stiffened, trying not to freeze again. "Okay? And I'm gonna stay right here and be your second inside your ear the whole time, all right?"

No… "Copy."

Sarge moved on, his next orders aimed at other team members. "Spike, you go with Sam; you cover Jules. Lou, we need to track down Penny's parents. Get them here fast, but I need to talk to them first."

"Copy," Lou acknowledged.

"Eddie, what's your 20?" Sarge demanded.

Ed stifled a frustrated noise as he and Wordy made their way through the small tunnel. "We're in a tunnel heading west," he reported.

Greg's determination was etched in his words. "Okay, stay on it."

Ed's next comment was to their dispatcher. "Kira, you want to map this out for us, tell us where the heck we are?"

In the background, he heard Kira's hands flying on her keyboard. As he and Wordy reached the next corner, Ed poked his corner-shot around and checked the weapon's camera. "He's up ahead. Go, go, go." The pair picked up their pace, racing after the subject.

Alanna eyed the buckshot ridden doors. Her magic curled outward again, telling her who was outside Penny's room. Neither of them were hurt and she almost sagged in relief. Her gaze flicked to Penny, who was trembling with fear and adrenaline. "Don't hurt them," she pleaded again.

Before Penny could respond, Aunt Jules called to them through the door. "Hey girls, my name is Jules."

Alanna winced as the abrupt start; Aunt Jules was obviously on edge. She watched as Penny tensed up again, shotgun rising a little.

"Your names are Penny and Alanna. Is that right?" Alanna peeked around the bed, hopeful that this was almost over. "Well, I'm a police officer, and I'm here to help you both. You know, I'd really like to open these doors so that we can speak easier. Is that okay?"

Penny straightened, ready to fire again. Alanna kept her voice soft as she said, "She's nice, I promise she's nice."

The other girl shook her head a little; she still believed the rot that Muggle had given her about cops. Alanna saw Uncle Spike and Sam a little as they opened the doors; she wanted to run to them but forced herself to hold still.

Aunt Jules kept going from outside the room. "All right, I'm opening the door, but I promise you, I'm gonna stay back here, all right?" Three SRU constables edged into the doorway. Aunt Jules kept her voice gentle. "Penny, is that right? The little girl that you have with you, her name is Alanna Calvin. And I'm really hoping that we can return her safely to her guardian. Can we work that out? Can you help us out with that?"

"Stay away from us!" Penny shrieked. Alanna's magic surged in warning and she followed Penny's lunge up. With both hands, she shoved the shotgun's barrel up at the ceiling. The gun went off and Alanna cried out as the heat seared her hands.

"Alanna!" Spike called as the girl reeled away from the shotgun. The three officers had been pulling back behind the doors to the room the two girls were in, seeking cover, even before the shotgun went off. Spike swallowed hard…had Alanna been hurt by the heat or recoil from the shotgun?

Sarge's voice rang out at once, "Team status- everybody!"

"No harm," Spike replied, overlapping with Jules' and Sam's response.

"Sarge?" Jules queried, her tone frustrated and overwhelmed.

"De-escalate, Jules, de-escalate. Whatever Penny's world was an hour ago, it's a whole lot more confusing now, so just… just keep doing what you're doing. Just stay covered." Sarge hesitated. "Spike, how's Alanna?"

Spike winced. "Sarge, she grabbed the shotgun and shoved it up. Her hands might be burned." Grim silence was the only response.

"Are you okay?" Penny asked, kneeling by the fallen girl. The redhead's hands were blistered and burned; Alanna gasped and panted from her spot on the floor. "Why did you do that?" the older girl demanded.

"They're my family," the younger girl rasped. "I won't let you hurt them."

Family? Penny wondered, looking up at the door. She couldn't see the cops' faces, but she'd heard the one cop yell Alanna's name as they ducked back behind the walls. How can cops be someone's family? Before she could press Alanna for more information, the female cop edged into the doorway again, shielded by her male colleagues. Penny jerked back to attention, aiming her shotgun at the cops.

"Penny? I know that you are very scared right now. I mean, you got a gun with you. And guns are always scary. But I, I really believe that you don't want to hurt anyone. I really believe that, Penny." Penny tightened her grip on the shotgun as the cop continued, "So what do you think? What do you think? Can we get rid of the gun? So that we can talk without being scared?" The cop paused, waiting. When Penny kept quiet, she tried again, "Penny, if you and Alanna don't say anything, how am I gonna know that you're okay?"

Alanna whimpered, but Penny's panic prompted her yell of, "Leave us alone!" Her voice rose to a shriek. "Gerald! Gerald! What did you do to him!"

The redhead pushed herself up, still whimpering, and abruptly bolted for the door. Penny dropped the shotgun and grabbed Alanna around the waist. "No!" Penny shrilled, dragging the younger girl back.

"Let me go!" Alanna cried. She twisted toward the cops. "Uncle Spike!"

Penny saw the twisting fear and desperation on the black-haired cop's face at Alanna's plea, but tightened her grip and kept pulling the redhead back. There was a sudden flare of light, violet light that started to lash out at Penny. Penny gasped, cringing, but the light halted and pulled back, swirling around Alanna. To Penny's dazzled eyes, it looked for a moment as if the light formed the image of a phoenix around her young charge. The violet phoenix swept its wings around Alanna's torso and its head lowered to the young girl's burned hands. Indigo tears fell on the burns and shimmered, leaving unmarked skin behind. The phoenix vanished as Penny hauled Alanna back behind the barricade, shocked.

"What was that?" Penny demanded.

Alanna looked up and Penny gaped; Alanna's eyes were glowing. The younger girl shook her head as the glow faded. "I can't."

"Can't what?" Penny hissed.

The redhead looked over at the hovering cops; Penny followed her gaze and her own eyes went wider. The cops only looked a little surprised; worry was the dominant emotion on their faces. "Not supposed to lie," Alanna murmured. "Never lie to a subject. But I can't tell you and you can't tell anyone about what I did." Alanna met Penny's eyes. "Promise you won't tell, not even that Mu…man can know."

Penny swallowed hard. Not tell Gerald about burns that vanished or violet light that made Alanna's eyes glow? Before she could reply, the female cop called, "Penny, is Alanna okay? We heard her yell when the shotgun went off before."

The black-haired girl grabbed her shotgun and straightened up, looking at the cops again. Concern was writ across all three faces, but Penny didn't trust it. Everything cops said was a lie. So she didn't respond, only watched the cops; waiting for Gerald.

The female cop kept trying. "Penny, I know that you want Alanna and Gerald to be safe. So you know what… you know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna find out for you. I'm gonna see where he is and how he's doing. 'Cause I think the guys I work with, they might know. Do you want me to ask?"

Penny looked down at her young charge; violet eyes looked back at her, pleading. Surely Gerald would come back and explain to Alanna why she couldn't trust cops or call them family. "Yeah," she allowed, but no more than that.

As the cops backed off, Alanna touched her arm. "You can trust them, you know." Penny opened her mouth to protest and her charge cut her off. "I know you think I'm stupid to trust them and like them, but I know them and I know all they want to do is help both of us."