Amanda got to the Agency around 11AM. They had called her in. She walked into the office she shared with her son. They had given Phillip her husband's old desk because nobody else had wanted it. Lee would have liked that Phillip had his desk. The Q Bureau had expanded and moved to offices downstairs with different agents. They let her keep her desk and office.

She smiled at her oldest son as she went to the office and put her purse in her desk, "Hello sweetheart."

Phillip smiled at her, "Hey, Mom. Umm you were right about something happening to one of us today. I'm not in trouble yet. But Henderson was torturing the poor kid that they brought in last night. I kind of ended up punching him because he was being a douche and almost killed that kid. The boy is in the medical wing if you want to go see him."

Amanda nodded, "Oh sweetheart. I will talk to Billy for you. Being Lee's stepson may save you from getting in trouble. I mean they are already giving you so much grief for getting special treatment. You minus well take some."

Phillip voice filled with emotion, "That's what Francine said too. Francine said that Stewart covered for me. Told them that Henderson went for me and tripped and hit his eye on the table not my fist. Henderson said the Karbala kids weren't even human. They are human. They are just children. Alex is one of those children. Honestly Mom, I think I need to start reconsidering my career choices. When I was a kid, I never understood why you wanted me to try other things first. You were right. It's not easy. I should have listened to you."

Amanda walked over to her oldest son and hugged him. "Oh sweetheart. I know. But if you quit now. People like Agent Henderson win. The Agency knows how lucky they are to have you. Just give it a few days. Everything will blow over. Do you still want to have lunch with me after I interview the boy?"

Phillip smiled at her, "Yeah, I'd love to have lunch with you. Milo's? I could go for a chili dog."

Amanda smiled at her son, "That sounds great. Alright let me go talk to this boy. He's a little one. Right?"

Phillip nodded "Yeah, probably not more than seven or eight. He's got really nice eyes. They remind me a little of Alex's. Super expressive. He doesn't have that glazed over look that most of the kids have either. This kid is different. He's something new."

His mother nodded, "That's what Francine told me too. Well I'll see what I can find out."

She went down to medical and saw Doctor McJohn. "He isn't still in medical? I thought he was hurt?"

Doctor McJohn smiled. "Well he has a broken arm and I gave him some things to counteract the truth serum. There's a bed in the holding cell. It's safer if he's in there. More comfortable for him to. That way we don't have to restrain him."

She nodded and went to the holding cell area and signed in. She walked to the boy's cell and punched in the code.

She felt him before she saw him. He was sitting in the corner of the room. His head was on his knees. He had the same hair color as her son. He was sitting in the exact same position as her son was in the warehouse. But they said this boy was only seven or eight years old. She walked over to him and gently touched him on the shoulder.

He looked up at her with the most beautiful expressive brown eyes. Very familiar eyes. Oh my gosh. He was alive and looking at her. She knew with every part of her being that this was her son. But she should double check that he had the scar on his calf. Just to make extra sure.

She lifted up his pant leg. The scar was there. This was her baby. It had been almost five years since she saw him. She thought he might be dead. She had dreams about him being with his father. That had made her think he might have died at the warehouse as well.

She touched the side of his face and looked into his eyes. "Oh my gosh, it is really you. Isn't it?"

She just grabbed him and hugged him. He was stiff at first but she felt him relax in her embrace. This was her long lost baby. He was safe and in her arms again. She wanted to take him out of there. He probably was dangerous. But she didn't care. If she left him here. She wouldn't be able to stay here with him. There was no way she was going to ever take her eyes off of him again. The Agency had hurt him. Almost killed him. God she hated to think what would have happened if Phillip hadn't stopped Henderson.

She would take him home. The basement was secure. She could keep him confined if she needed to. But she wasn't sure that she was going to need to.

Alex's hair was so soft like Lee's was. God she never thought she would feel it again. Her daughter had the same hair color as her husband, but her daughter's hair felt normal.

Amanda felt tears streaming down her face and finally let go of her son. "Oh, my sweet boy. It's really you, isn't it?"

Alex looked up at her with pure confusion. She was pretty sure he was trying to figure out who she was. Her own son probably didn't remember her. She wiped her tears on her sleeve and kissed his forehead. "That's okay if you don't remember me. I remember you. And I am not going to let anyone hurt you ever again. Where have you been? Were you there to kill Billy Melrose?"

Alex wasn't speaking. He was probably too scared to speak. He had been through so much. Alex just nodded no.

Amanda felt so helpless "If you weren't there to kill him. Why were you there?"

Alex tapped "SOS" on her forehead. "SOS? Help you went to Billy for help."

Alex nodded yes. "So, you aren't working for Karbala?"

Alex made a disgusted face and nodded no. Amanda pulled him to her and adjusted him so he was sitting on her lap now. She just held him like that for a little bit. She needed to come up with a plan.
Amanda took his head in her hand and turned his head towards hers. "Do you want to get out of here? Go home."

Alex smiled at her and nodded yes. As soon as he smiled she saw that he really didn't look that different than the little boy she lost. Alex was always smiling. Seeing him so haunted and sad was making him look different. They were all going to think she had gone crazy. She didn't care. She was going to bring her baby home. Her husband had died to save this boy. She was going to bring him home for Lee. If they had to live in the basement for a while. Then so be it.

Amanda looked at her son. "I'm going to need you to trust me and do everything I say. Ok? I hope this works. I'm so glad they put you in one of the old holding cells and not the new ones." She kissed the top of Alex's head.

She hoped that Harry the founder of the Agency had not been lying to her when he told her about the secret tunnel system he had installed in the agency. That if there was ever trouble to try to get herself taken to one of the older holding cells.

She muttered to herself. "Harry, I hope you weren't just pulling one over on me."

She walked over to the corner panel and knocked "Pop Goes the Weasel" on it. Nothing happened, then she did another one and absolutely nothing happened. There was one more corner left. If this didn't work. She would have to leave Alex for a few minutes. She would have to recruit Phillip to figure out a way to help her get Alex out of here.

Then she walked over to the last corner and knocked, and the panel opened.

She reached out her hand for him to take it. Alex came over and took it even though he had three broken fingers on his right hand. She realized right away that it may hurt for her to hold his hand because of the broken fingers. So she switched to holding his wrist.

There was a string in the tunnel, and she pulled it hoping the light would still turn on. It was very dusty and full of spiderwebs, but the lights turned on when she pulled the string. Then she closed the panel behind them, and they started walking down the dusty tunnel.

They got to the end, and she knocked again, and another panel opened. She pulled on the string and the lights turned off. The panel opened into the parking garage.
She walked Alex fast to her car. "Shoot! I don't have my purse. That's upstairs in the office." But she went underneath the bumper of her Wagoneer and pulled a taped key out from under it.
Then she unlocked the back door and said, "I'm sorry about this sweetheart but lie down on floor for now,"

Alex nodded and did what she said. Then she went in the back and pulled out a picnic blanket and covered him over with it.

She drove out of the parking garage. She waved goodbye to Janice the new parking lot attendant as she left. Amanda hoped that Janice could not tell how nervous she was about doing this. Amanda drove a couple of streets and pulled into a gas station. Her heart was beating so fast. What was she doing?

Amanda pulled the blanket off of him. "I'm so sorry sweetheart. That can't have been comfortable."
And she pointed for him to come sit in the front with her. He climbed into the front seat. And she put her hand on his head and ruffled his hair. "I figured you would use the door but whatever works. Both your brothers would have done it the same way as you. The hard part is done. Let's go home."

She kept one hand on the wheel and one hand on Alex. She needed to keep touching him. Make sure that he was real. It almost felt like if she stopped this dream would end. God, she hoped this wasn't just a dream. She just needed to get him home. Once they were home. Nobody would be able to get to them down there. Nobody but her other sons. But she could trust Phillip.

She would have to look for the instructions on how to change the passwords to the basement if she couldn't convince her other two sons. She would just need to prove to Phillip that Alex wasn't dangerous.

Amanda pulled into the park down the street from her house. She looked at her son. "It's not a long walk but I need to buy us as much time as possible. So, I'm parking here instead of the driveway." She grabbed his wrist gently. He just went with her.

They started walking in back yards and went through a loose fence and then they got to their yard. They went to the backdoor of the garage. She picked the lock of the back door since she didn't have her keys. They went inside.

Then Amanda moved a carpet and there was a trap door. She opened it and they went down a little ladder and there was a steel door with a number panel. She punched in a bunch of numbers, and it opened. They went in and she closed the door behind them. They were in a storage room. There were boxes and all kinds of stuff. She led her son through to another door which opened to a little hallway where there were two rooms across the hall from each other and a door at the end. They went into a room that looked like it was an office. There was a row of monitors and a computer at the other end.

Amanda had Alex sit on the love seat. "Welcome home sweet boy. Now I need you to pay attention. I'm going upstairs but you need to stay down here. You see this button. You push it if you see anyone at all pull up into our driveway."

All the monitors showed different rooms in the house. "I'm going to get us some supplies from upstairs that should last us a few days before we have to break into your daddy's food."

Amanda really didn't want to break into her husband's stash of food. He had gotten all that stuff ten years ago and while it was supposed to last forever. She was pretty sure it wasn't fresh when Lee bought it. She was supposed to go to lunch with Phillip at 1PM. Then she had a meeting with Billy and Francine about Alex. It was about 12:30PM now. She figured Alex and her would have until about 3 or 4PM before they figured out she took him.

She would get as much food and supplies from upstairs as she could. She had been buying Alex clothes in case he came home since the first year he went missing. She went based on Jamie's sizes. Alex was smaller than Jamie.
She wondered if it was the malnourishment that these kids went through. Except Alex didn't look malnourished. He was just small and thin. She was a little worried that he had not spoken a word since she took him. But with everything that happened to him. He was probably just really scared. Once she got all the supplies. They would talk. He could tell her what happened to him.

Amanda took three trips up and down the stairs getting supplies and putting them away.

Amanda went back in the office. Alex was there just watching the monitors. He was doing exactly what she had told him to do. She wondered when the last time he ate was.

She looked at him, "I'll set the alarm. I can hear it down here if someone comes. I don't need to go back upstairs but I need to finish putting all the food away now. You want something to eat while I do that, sweet boy?"

He nodded yes.

Amanda led him to the couch of what they called the game room. It had a foosball table. There was a giant television. A big couch that could pull out into a bed. Some gaming chairs. Her husband had designed the whole thing with Leatherneck.

She finished putting the food away. She made Alex a peanut butter and fluff sandwich and brought it to him.

She handed it to him. He took a bite and she could tell by the face he made he didn't like it. But he was trying to be polite. "Oh my gosh. Give me that. I forgot. You don't like marshmallows or fluff. How could I forget that? Phillip kept telling me I brought the wrong baby home from the hospital because you don't like marshmallows. But then you told him that he could have all the ones allotted to you. He's going to be so happy your back. You and he used to be really close despite the age difference. He adored you. So does your other brother, Jamie. They are both going to be thrilled to have you back. Your grandmother too."

She made him a new sandwich that was just a plain peanut butter sandwich and she could tell he liked it much better. God she forgot about the cute little smile he would get when he would eat. He still did it. This really was her son. She finished putting everything away

Then she came and sat next to him "You smell like the agency. Let's get you a bath and changed hopefully before the cavalry comes."

Amanda went to the bathroom in the bedroom and started drawing a bath for Alex. Alex was looking around the bedroom. He was starting at her late husband's collection of signed baseballs. Then she saw him go up to her late husband's Tibetan Ram's horn. She could tell he was trying to figure out what it was.

Amanda put her hand on Alex's shoulder. "That's your father's Tibetan Ram's horn. I always thought it was ugly, but I guess it's one of the few things he had from his own father. He didn't like me always putting flowers in it at first but then when I stopped. He seemed disappointed. Most of the stuff down here was your father's. He designed this whole crazy place. It was my compromise when he moved in. Your daddy wasn't exactly the suburban type. But he moved here for me. Then you came along, and he wanted you to grow up in this house. That he wanted you to have a real home. God your daddy loved you. He would be so happy right now knowing you were finally home."

A flash of pain went across Alex's eyes. Had he seen Lee get killed? It would make sense. When Lee had left her in the warehouse. He had Alex in his arms. Nobody would have been able to take Alex away from Lee without killing him. Which is what must have happened. Alex probably knew exactly what had happened to Lee.

She would finally get some answers about that as well but one thing at a time.

She went and turned off the bath water before it started overflowing. "The bath's ready. I put bubbles in it. I did not bring any toys though. I'm sorry about that. You get undressed and I'll see if there is anything waterproof you can play with down here while you're in there."

She left him alone in the bathroom. She went in the game room to see if there were any toys or anything down there. She could run up into her daughter's room. But those were all girl's toys and Leann was only 4. She decided he was probably fine.

She walked back to the bathroom. Alex had gotten his shirt stuck on his head while he was trying to try and take it off.

She smiled at her son gently "Oh sweetheart, I'll help you. C'mere." She helped him get undressed and he got in the water. She looked at his back. There were scars all over his back. She had seen scars like that before on some of the other children. But this was her child. She felt sick. She needed to hold back the tears that were threatening to come. She needed to be strong right now. Alex had not even been five years old when he was taken.

How could anyone hurt such a sweet child? These people were pure evil. Nobody was ever going to hurt him again. Not if she could help it.

She could tell he was embarrassed that she noticed his scars, "I'll never let anyone hurt you ever again. They'll have to kill me first."

She helped him wash his hair an then helped him get dressed. She kissed the top of his head.
"You look good. Less like a fugitive. It's been almost three hours since we left now. I'm guessing the cavalry is coming soon. Let's go to the office."
They went into the office, and she sat on the love seat with him and had her arm around him.

She then said, "Alex sweetheart. Where were you? I know you don't want to or can't speak. I'll just keep it to questions you can answer yes and no for. How about if I guess?"

Alex smiled at her and nodded yes.
She asked her first question "Were you in the DC area this whole time?"

Alex nodded no.
"Did whoever you were with treat you okay?"

Alex looked like he was reliving something bad. He nodded yes.

Then she turned her attention to the monitors. "We will talk about this later? It's showtime."

Notes:

Next Chapter - Billy, Francine, & Phillip come to the house. Phillip chooses where his loyalties lie.