No Such Thing as "Normal", Part 8--

Joe had the feeling that whoever they were, be they his sister and brother in law, or imposters, they were on to him.

He had noticed a marked change in Amber's demeanor over the past several weeks, to the point he was now convinced that whoever she was, she wasn't the sister he had very hazy memories of as a child.

Amber's attitude towards her daughter and Jeremiah took a turn for the worse as well. Whatever was going to happen to them, Joe thought, it's going to happen soon.

The report Jeremiah got back from Dan was startling. Yes, the people his brother was living with were imposters, while the real Amber and Drew Carson were being held against their will in a secret location.

"Don't use force unless it is absolutely necessary," Dan had written in the communique to Jeremiah. "Meantime, be aware of yourself and your situation at all times, and never drop your guard. The lives of your niece and brother are at stake, as well as your own."

So, hang tight and hope they don't kill us? Jeremiah thought; Really, Dan? But, more information was coming, and Jeremiah looked at it and thought, what the fuck did we get ourselves into?

Karla Brinson was the Region Director, the contact for the imposters posing as Amber and Drew reported to? Jeremiah thought. This isn't possible!

Because Karla Brinson was Jeremiah and Joe's aunt. Their mother's sister.

----------

Karla had all the hangups that a younger sister with a talented and studious sibling had, and then some.

She was more than a little pissed off when her "perfect" older sister Antonia married a man who was not only older than her by nearly two decades, but was of mixed race. At least her daughter's father was white, she thought bitterly.

So it was not a problem for her to have her sister eliminated and her husband and daughter imprisoned. Karla didn't care what happened to the two sons her sister's marriage produced, they could die for all she cared.

Then they turn up like a couple of bad pennies a decade later, and Karla learned that they had been wards of the government's most feared opposition: David Draiman and his Disturbed Ones.

She had intel that stated the Donovan boys had extensive weapons and survival training prior to becoming Draiman's wards. That their "sister", the daughter of Draiman's companion, Jordan Terranova, had killed five New Army troops after the deaths of their guardians; that a fourth child, Nikolai San Marco, was in line to be a Disturbed Ones organizer.

Since it became clear that Joe Donovan and Antonia Carson didn't believe that the agents she sent to replace Amber and Drew Carson weren't who they said they were, there were two more people who needed to die. Karla had no trouble killing off her own flesh and blood. They had stained the family bloodline, which in Karla's mind, was unforgivable.

But Karla's main objective was to get information from Jeremiah Donovan. And if she had to threaten to kill his brother and his niece, or anyone else close to him to get it, then she'd do it.

Her goal, and her governments goal, was to eliminate David Draiman.

----------

"Just what is your problem, sweetie?" Karla sneered as the fake Amber reported that she was losing Joe Donovan and Antonia Carson in the believeability department. "You can't convince a couple of snot nosed kids to believe you're their sister/parent?"

"Joe called me out on a damn scar Amber has," the fake Amber replied. "And when Jeremiah comes to visit, he's not confiding in me about what his upbrining was like, especially the years he spend in the Draiman/Terranova household. Because God knows I've asked."

"Just because he's a college student means he's smarter than the whole government?" Karla said; "I don't fucking think so. He's of age so we can't force into the New Army, so the only thing we can do is make it very uncomfortable for him."

Karla was seething inside. She hated being made a fool of, but to be made a fool of by an 18 year old was just too much. Even if that 18 year old was her nephew.

"Bring Joe and Antonia to me!" Karla said. "Jeremiah may come around if his brother and niece have guns to their heads."

----------

The snack that Joe made for Antonia just sat there.

She was an hour late coming home from her all day kindergarten and Joe was worried. Amber had told them both this morning that she would be late and asked Joe to fix a snack for Antonia when she got home from school.

After two hours had passed and still no Antonia, Joe was starting to get alarmed. The illegitimate government kidnapped kids all the time from school, on their way home from school, practically at their front door...just like in Chicagoland. Joe worried that had happened to Antonia and got his phone out to call Jeremiah. Instead of dialing the number, Joe looked up and saw that he was surrounded by New Army guards.

"Joseph Donovan, you have been summoned to Regional headquarters to speak with the Region Director, Karla Brinson," the Guard Leader said.

"Karla Brinson?" Joe asked, recognizing the name from...somewhere.

"Yes. She is in charge in this Region."

"The name sounded familiar, like I'm supposed to know her somehow."

The Guard Leader just looked at him. He obviously hasn't been here long enough to fear Karla Brinson.

"Let's go!" he barked at Joe, "I have orders to bring you in."

"What for?" Joe asked, stalling for time. "And where's my niece?"

"Director Brinson wants to talk to you. Your niece Antonia is already there."

"Am I being charged with anything?" Joe asked, "Because if I'm not, then I demand that you bring Antonia to me."

Joe thought the Guard Leader was going to slap him, but he apparently thought better of it.

Then the Guard Leader covered him mouth with a cloth soaked in chloroform, and Joe collapsed.

But not before he activated the GPS button on his phone.

----------

Shit! It's getting deep in here. *rooting through my closet* Where the fuck did I put those hip waders?

No Such Thing as "Normal", Part 9--

Unfortunately, when Joe pushed the GPS button, it may have put his brother in more danger than Joe originially thought.

When the GPS function was activated, a signal went not only to David and the other members of the band, but it went to Jeremiah, Julia, and Nik as well. Seven people knew where Joe was being taken, but only one could do anything about getting to Joe in time.

Jeremiah saw the activation on his phone and knew immediately that Joe, and possibly Antonia, were in danger.

Problem was, Jeremiah was in the middle of a statistics class at the time.

After the class ended an hour and a half later, Jeremiah noticed that Joe's location had changed. Jeremiah knew where Joe was.

Under the Carson's house? Jeremiah thought. "Must be a trap Brinson is setting for me," he said under his breath. He couldn't believe that his mother's sister was the Region Director, and that she was doing all this shit to get him to talk. Imposters, his brother and niece getting kidnapped, his aunt a leader in the illegitimate government? Jeremiah wished he'd just gone to Northwestern University instead.

He headed towards the Carson's house. In his bookbag, Jeremiah had two guns with ammo. He hadn't had to use them yet and hoped this wasn't the time for that.

He had to get his family out of trouble, and had no idea that from Chicagoland, there would be help coming.

----------

"What the hell is this all about?" David said when Dan presented him with the GPS reports from Joe's phone, and a message from Jeremiah that his brother and their niece might be in trouble.

"Jere may have to use force after all, and he messaged me to do a background check on his mother," Dan said.

"Hasn't his mother been dead for most of his life?" Mike asked.

"Yes," Dan said, "but wait til you hear what I found out."

"I'm almost afraid to ask," David said.

"Here, I'll let you read it for yourself."

/NAME: DONOVAN, ANTONIA ROSE BRINSON

BIRTHDATE (MM/DD ONLY): 08 09

BIRTHPLACE: BOSTON, MASS

MARRIAGES: DONOVAN, JOSIAH DAVID (DEC'D)

OTHER RELATIONSHIPS: FARLEY, KYLE J.

CHILDREN: FARLEY, EMILY ROSE
DONOVAN, JEREMIAH MATTHEW
DONOVAN, JOSEPH PAUL

CAUSE OF DEATH: BLUNT FORCE TRAUMA (PRIMARY)
STAB WOUNDS (SECONDARY)

PARENTS: BRINSON, ANTHONY JAMES (DEC'D)
BRINSON, KATHERINE ROSE DAVIS (ASSUMED DEC'D)

SIBLINGS: BRINSON, HEARLD JEREMIAH
BRINSON, JOSEPH PETER
BRINSON, KARLA ANNE
BRINSON, TRACY RENEE (DEC'D, AGED 2)/

"Holy fucking shit! Antonia and Karla were sisters!" David said. "Oh, dear God! I sent those two boys right into the hands of the illegitimate government!"

"What's the next move, David?" John asked.

"Do you know how powerful Karla Brinson is?" David asked the other three in the room. "She had her own parents murdered, she possibly killed her sister, and now she's going after Jeremiah and Joe because of their affiliation with us! And Jeremiah is about to walk right into her trap, if this GPS report is current."

"That one isn't," Dan said; "But this one is!"

Jeremiah was about to enter the Carson's house, where Joe and their niece Antonia were being held.

"Jeremiah better be careful, and rely on the training that Peter San Marco gave him, because he's going to need all of that knowledge to get himself out of this mess," David said.

----------

The members of Disturbed weren't the only ones who knew of Jeremiah's predicament. A previous savior was about to defy her parents and save her brothers.

----------

David put a call out to Morbus.

"Yes, David?" the assassin asked when he received the message.

"New Haven. Dan's bringing the coordinates to you now. This is a Code Red."

Morbus knew Code Red was that an agent was in trouble. "Who am I looking for?" he asked David.

"Your daughter's brothers."

"All three of them?"

"No, just Jeremiah and Joe. Nik is safe here on the compound."

Dan knocked at the door to Morbus' living quarters and delievered the coordinates to him. "Good Luck, Morbus, and Godspeed."

"Thank you, brother Dan."

----------

Julia grabbed her bag, her weapons, and made her way to the private airstrip where there was a Disturbed Ones plane waiting.

She didn't see anyone about, so she snuck onboard and hid in a little used conference room. Any passengers would sit in the main cabin.

She saw Morbus board the plane and thought the worst-- that he was looking for her. But he just sat in a seat, dressed in his usual black attire, and went over strategy.

She started to do the same, and hoped that this time, she could beat Morbus at his own game. She had her target in mind, and her eyes became focused on the hunt.

She was, after all, her father's daughter. She just didn't know that her father was also on the plane.

----------

The next morning, Jordan noticed that Julia hadn't come down for breakfast and went to her room to wake her, convinced the girl had simply overslept.

"Come on, sleepyhead, time to get..."

What Jordan found, however, was an empty bed.

Oh, my God, girl, what have you done? was Jordan's last rational thought.

Then she screamed David's name at the top of her lungs.

----------

*grabs the waders from the bottom of the closet* Oh, here they are. About time I found these things. Now where is that raft and ore. I'm gonna need those too, I think.

Great job. I'm loving it. Keep it up.

No Such Thing as "Normal", Part 10--

David tore down the hall as soon as heard Jordan screaming his name. Once in Julia's bedroom, he saw why.

"Julia's missing, David," Jordan said in a hyped up voice. "They've got her, I was afraid something like this would happen!"

"Who's got her? Jordan...talk to me!"

"The fucking bastards, they took my girl from me! They took Jacob, now they're taking our daughter, too!"

"Jordan, calm down!" David said to her, but Jordan seemed to be getting more upset, screaming words he couldn't even understand. She swore that she wouldn't lose Julia a second time, and now she had. She was upset to the point of hysteria. David was at a loss as to what to do. He'd never seen his lover like this, and he was concerned.

Jordan continued to scream insults at anyone she thought had taken Julia from her, and David realized Jordan was having a major flashback, triggered by Julia's disappearance. But he couldn't calm her down. Talking to her didn't seem to help. He rubbed her back because sometimes that helped by forcing her to calm down when she was upset.

Instead of calming down, something in Jordan's brain clicked over to survival mode, and the next thing David knew, she had pushed him against the dresser with such force that everything on top fell to the floor, including a picture of Julia with the San Marcos taken when she was just a few months old.

"Where is my daughter you bastard!" Jordan screamed at David, though David knew she wasn't talking to him, it still upset him.

"Jordan! It's me, David! Please, baby...Jordan!"

When she started pummeling him with her fists, he knew he needed to get the doctor. As far as he knew though, he and Jordan were the only ones in the house.

He was still struggling with her when Nik appeared in the doorway to Julia's room and asked, "What the hell is going on here?!"

"Jordan...needs a doctor, Nik," David said between blows. "Call the Medical Center...now, boy, MOVE!" he yelled when Nik just stood there, not believing what he was seeing.

Within minutes, the doctor was there, giving Jordan a shot to calm her down. When she was calm, she simply fell asleep. David picked her up and carried her to the sofa in the living room and laid her down there.

He told the doctor what had happened, and how Jordan got extremely upset. The doctor said it might be a good idea to have Jordan hospitalized overnight for observation. David reluctantly agreed.

After accompanying Jordan to the Medical Center, David came back home to an empty house. He knew where Julia had gone, and he'd talk to her about it when she returned. If she returned.

He sat on the sofa and put his head in his hands. God, give me a minute to compose myself, he thought.

Then he got on the phone. He needed to warn someone to be on the lookout for a petite brunette fourteen year old with murder on her mind.

----------

"She what?!" Morbus said when David called to ask him to be on the lookout for Julia. "She ran away from home to complete a mission? David, are you nuts?"

"Morbus, I'm pretty sure she's headed to where you're going," David said. "She may have even been on the plane with you."

"She's running on pure emotion because her brothers are in danger," Morbus said. "She could get killed that way."

"Morbus, what was I supposed to do?" David asked; "Lock her in her room until she's 18?"

"David, I'll be looking for her, but I'm still going to complete my mission," Morbus said.

"That's why I sent you there."

After hanging up with David, Morbus continued to concentrate on his target. He didn't like to kill women if he could help it, but this one was hellbent on spilling as much blood as possible, she didn't care if they were family, or strangers.

He didn't know that his own flesh and blood would beat him to it. He resigned himself to the fact that he'll have to train Julia properly to be an assassin.

Who else would take over if Morbus lost his eyesight?

----------

wow....
*finds ore and boat* yay!

Sorry I haven't updated more today. I've been a li'l busy. I should have something posted later tonight or early tomorrow.

*speaks while sitting in my raft, ores at the ready* I know the feeling, I've only gotten a couple of posts in my own story done because I've been busy turning a year older and studying for a final that I have to take tomorrow. I got three chapters in. Check them out. In the mean time, this was GOOD! Keep it up, girl. I'm on the edge of my seat.

Hey, Penni, you wanna ride with me in case it gets too deep in here?

No Such Thing as "Normal", Part 11--



A small, dark figure skulked around corners and kept their identity hidden from any New Army troops patrolling the area. They knew that they had been allowed to have been seen full in the face, they might be recognized, and that was something they could not afford to happen.

Finding their way around somewhere they had never been was pretty easy thanks to the technology they possessed. They found the location where Disturbed Ones were being held prisoner and made a strategy to take the enemy by surprise; by doing that, it would not give the enemy time to react. That would make the visitor's job easier.

They knew that if they were running purely on emotion, then innocent people could get hurt. So they put all emotion aside and concentrated on the mission ahead. The mission, they knew, was to eliminate the Region Director of the New England Region, and any other enemy combatants. The objective was to get family members out alive and reunited with their loved ones.

They felt the familiar feeling of revenge and the acrid smell of spilled blood fill their nostrils. There was no place for mistakes in this mission. The hunt was on, and they fed off their own adrealine. They had deadly aim, precision accuracy and skills beyond what trained soldiers get.

And youth. Literally.

They could not fail; they would not fail.

---------->

Jeremiah entered the Carson's house and saw no one about. He could see the peanut butter and jelly sandwich sitting on the counter, waiting for Antonia Carson's return from school. Except it was nearly midnight, long after the five year old, and Joe, would have gone to bed.

Unsheathing his weapon, Jeremiah relied heavily on the training that Peter San Marco had given him, and the additional training that he, his brothers, and Julia received from Morbus.

He heard motion somewhere in the house, so he turned and aimed his weapon in the direction of the sound. As he made his way into the study, he suddenly was surrounded by New Army troops; but before any of them could get a shot off, Jeremiah had shot all but one dead. That one now had his automatic weapon trained on Jeremiah's head.

Jeremiah knew he had one more shot, and that shot needed to count. Moving suddenly to catch the soldier off guard, Jeremiah shot him in the face, and he fell to the floor with a thud.

Checking to see if there were any other people in the house with the automatic rifle that had previously been trained on his head, Jeremiah was satisfied that there appeared to be no one else.

There was always the possibility that there was someone else, Jeremiah thought as he took a second, then a third, tour around the house and its rooms. But something struck Jeremiah wrong.

It was at that second that he felt someone overtake him. Jeremiah fought back, but seemed to be powerless against a stronger foe. Then he felt the cloth soaked in chloroform placed over his nose and mouth and Jeremiah felt weakened suddenly. He had the presence of mind to press the Urgent button on his phone before losing consciousness. He hoped, as he fell into a dark abyss, that would signal someone to send help.

Later, when he regained consciousness, a familiar figure held a gun to his chest and said, “Welcome, nephew. So glad you could make it to our family reunion, my dear.”

Help was about to come in the form of a defiant, but deadly, force. And God help anyone who got in her way.

---------->

Morbus made his way to the same place the previous one did. He breached the threshold of the Carson's home and saw dead New Army troops, and wondered if Julia had already been here.

He couldn't take the chance on that so he made his own rounds about the house. He spied a familiar pistol lying at the feet of one of the dead soldiers. It was Jeremiah's gun, Morbus thought with a brief sigh of relief. Maybe Julia hadn't been here; perhaps she saw that this was more than she could handle alone, and headed back to the plane.

The more that Morbus thought about it, the more unlikely that scenario was. Julia just wasn't any fourteen year old girl, she was his daughter, and she knew how to fight her way out of any situation. He'd seen her do just that on many occasions when Peter had staged mock fights between her and her brothers, and he did the same in Peter's absense.

If she was here, or even in the immediate area, she more than likely would be laying low until the right moment, then strike. That was how she'd been taught.

Morbus pushed Julia aside for a moment to concentrate on his target, Karla Brinson. She would kill anyone, family, friend, foe, a total stranger if the occasion called for it, and the Committee would cover up her crimes and protect her back. That she has put Jeremiah, Joe, their sister and her family in harm's way was inexcuseable; that it was her own family members made Morbus sick.

His assignment was still the same: take out the target, any additional enemy combatants, and get the family to safety. He just didn't know that Julia had the same plans. Except to her, it was save her brothers, their sister and her family. She would have no trouble killing anyone who got in her way.

Morbus knew that he'd have to start training Julia the right way to be an assassin. If that meant the moment he got back, so be it.

But now, he was on the hunt.

---------->

Jordan awoke in a hospital bed, and suspected the reason why she was there. She didn't need a doctor to tell her that she'd had a brief break with reality that was triggered by the disappearance of her daughter.
She knew that whatever she said or did while in that state she would not have any memory of. She just wondered who she had taken her rage out on.

Then she saw David sleeping in a chair, and her heart sank.

She saw the cuts and bruises on his exposed skin and knew she had tried to beat him up. A cut above his left eyebrow looked to have been stitched; and another on his chin in the area where his labrets curled under it. He didn't wear them unless he was making an appearance, and he wasn't wearing them now.

“David, please...” she said softly; “Please forgive me for treating you so badly.” She then began to sob. What have I done to this incredible man who did nothing but give me his heart, his soul, his love...

Jordan didn't see David stir in the chair and wake up slowly.

He saw that she was awake and went over to where she lay in the bed. She looked up at him and he saw her tears. “Oh, Jordan...” he said as he wiped them away; “don't cry, baby. It's okay...”

David took Jordan into his arms and held her, all the while she muffled apology after apology into his neck. He stroked her dark hair, her face, her shoulders. “It's okay, angel,” he said to her. “Please don't cry anymore...”

That only made her cry harder, and David's heart absolutely broke.

I will never rest until the people who hurt you so deeply are brought to justice, he thought defiantly. They will fucking pay for the shit they put you and others through.

The Illegals would feel his wrath. This shit has gone on long enough, he said to himself. It's time to end this!

damn. that was sooo good.

*does a double take* What! David's turning blood thirsty. I think I like it! No, I KNOW I like it!

*plays indestructible* yeah! lets do this shit!

awesome

*boat gets hole and both ores break* shit im up the river without a paddle...more posts please! lol Disturbed1forEternity ---scanning for your boat! haha

*paddles up next to you* Here Penni, jump in. There's plenty of room in here, and I'm working on more for mine as I'm sure she's working for more on her's.

No Such Thing as "Normal", Part 12--

When Jordan was strong enough, she and David talked about Julia's disappearance.

"Why did she leave? Was it something I did wrong?" Jordan asked. Now convinced that no one took Julia, Jordan was having trouble with the idea that Julia would just run off.

"No, Jordan, it was nothing you did," David said gently; "Julia thinks she has something to prove. She is frustrated that she is only a teenager and can't do things to help the cause that would make a difference."

"What does she think she can do?"

David looked at Jordan and wondered what to tell her about where he thought, no, he knew, where Julia had gone.

"She thinks she can use her firearms and survival training to help the cause."

"You mean she wants to kill people? Kill our enemies? Like what Morbus does for you?" Jordan asked, knowing it sounded stupid to her.

"Yes," David said. "She is very good with weapons, and she's small enough that she could hide anywhere."

"I don't want her doing that," Jordan said. "She's the only thing that connects me to Jacob. I can't lose her..."

"Jordan, I don't think you or I will have any say in the matter," David said. "She's a stubborn girl, and in a couple of years, she won't need permission to pursue whatever it is she wants to do. Morbus has offered to train her, but not until she's sixteen."

"She gets that stubborn streak from both me and Jacob," Jordan said. "You're right, she's going to do what she wants whether we like it or not. Jacob and I would have never gotten together if we weren't stubborn." She let out a small laugh, which made David smile.

"That's my girl," he said tenderly.

"Do you have any ideas on where Julia may have gone?" Jordan asked.

"Yes," David said.

"Where?"

David said nothing at first, wondering how much he should tell Jordan about the trouble that Jeremiah and Joe have found themselves in. Then he decided that Jordan was going to find out one way or another, so he said,

"New Haven."

"New Haven?" Jordan asked. "She ran off to see Jeremiah and Joe?"

"It's not that easy, Jordan, though I wish it were," David said. "Jeremiah and Joe found some things out recently that have put them in danger. I've sent Morbus to take care of the problem. I think Julia may have stowed away on the plane that took Morbus there, thinking that she could take care of the problem on her own."

"Oh, dear God," Jordan moaned. "Does Morbus know this?"

"Yes," David said. "I contacted him after you discovered Julia missing."

Jordan sighed. "At least he's aware that she might be there and be looking out for her while she's running around in a strange city alone."

Then it was David's turn to sigh. But deep inside, he was worried.

----------

Julia found her way to the roof of an adjoining building and waited for her opportunity to strike. She was totally focused on her target, and knew who the principles in this mission were.

While she waited, she put the silencer on the high powered rifle she carried. How anyone didn't notice a five-foot-three inch teenager carrying a rifle, she had no idea. She set up the sight to see the people in the building next door. There were several New Army soldiers, a woman about fifty, and a younger couple all carrying weapons of their own. On the other side of the room from where the armed party stood. Julia recognized Jeremiah and Joe, then another young couple she recognized from photographs of Jeremiah and Joe's sister Amber and her husband Drew; and a child about five or six years old.

Julia quickly realized that all five of them would all die at some point.

Her view of the armed individuals was perfect to take them all out. All she needed now was a clear shot.

----------

Morbus made it to the same building and went immediately to the roof. Upon seeing Julia staking out her position, he decided to let her take it. If she got into trouble, he'd help her out.

He was virtually invisible in one corner about 300 yards away from Julia, ready to scramble to her aid if she needed it. He had to somehow let her know that he was there without making any noise to distract her.

He flipped open his satellite phone and typed out a message. It would get sent to Julia's phone, but also to David, Mike, Dan and John as well.

JULIA: I AM APPRX 300 YDS FRM YOU. DONT TURN AROUND TO LOOK. TAKE OUT ANY ARMED COMBATS. IF YOU NEED ASSIST, HIT THE RED BUTTN ON YR PHONE. MORBUS.

Morbus pressed "send" and hoped she looked at her phone at least once.

----------

Julia felt the phone vibrate against her hip. She removed it and read the message and thought, shit, how did he know I was here? Then she realized that he had tracked her through GPS. She didn't like the idea that he found her, but was grateful that he could assist her if she needed it.

What she didn't know is that she wasn't the only one to get the message. That never even crossed her mind. She was intent on taking out the targets, getting her brothers and their family to safety, then going home to explain why she disobeyed her mother and David.

----------

"David," Dan said. "Good news. Morbus made contact with Julia. He's going to let her do the job."

"I saw his message," David said, "but I didn't want to say anything while I was with Jordan. She's been though enough for one day."

"You thinking that Julia could do Morbus' job when she's older?" Mike asked.

"If Morbus' eyesight is as bad as the doctor let on, I may have no other choice. There isn't anyone else who is as good a shot as Julia," David said.

But I hope that I can change things before Julia is old enough to be a profession assassin, he thought.

----------

*floats by* Let her kill 'em! LET HER KILL 'EM!

That's what I'm going to let her do.

I might even get her involved in a car chase later. She's only 14 and can't legally drive...but since when not being old enough to do something ever stopped this girl?

This Fan fiction is great

GuiltyPleasures wrote:That's what I'm going to let her do.

I might even get her involved in a car chase later. She's only 14 and can't legally drive...but since when not being old enough to do something ever stopped this girl?

Never

awesomeness! xD

Awesome. Again.

*jumps in the boat and coughs up a fish* thanks girl!

this shit is gettin real good! ooh Julia is gonna whoop some ass! yeah baby! *plays Divide...cranks up the volume*

No Such Thing as "Normal", Part 13--


The reception inside the room that Julia was watching was pretty chilly.

Jeremiah was forced to give up his weapons, and forced into a chair then strapped into it, just as Joe, Amber, Drew, and Antonia were. He realized that they were all going to die at some point.

Karla Brinson, the fake Amber and Drew, and three New Army soldiers stood before him and his family.

"It is so nice to have the family gathered round again, isn't it, Jeremiah?" Karla said with a sneer. "It's been much too long since all that abandonment business when your sister and father went to jail and your mother was murdered. Now you'll tell me the things I need to know."

"And if I refuse," Jeremiah asked.

"Then you'll just have to join your parents in hell, then won't you?"

"He won't tell you jack shit, Karla," Drew said angrily. "Disturbed Ones don't crack!"

"Shut up, won't you Andrew?" Karla said. "We don't really need you anymore or your lovely family. You were just bait to get Jeremiah to come here. And if Jeremiah doesn't tell us what we need to know to bring David Draiman down, then you'll all be meeting in hell."

"I'm not telling you a God damned thing!" Jeremiah said angrily; "We only lived with David a couple of years, and weren't privy to anything you might want to know."

"Oh, you weren't?" Karla asked. "I'll bet you can tell us lots about his relationship with that Resistance whore Jordan Terranova and her half breed daughter Julia."

"I'll never betray the trust they have in us," Jeremiah said. "And Julia is our little sister. Our bond is unbreakable."

"Oh, how touching," Karla said. "Meanwhile..." Karla grabbed one of Antonia's ponytails so hard that some of the hair was pulled from her scalp, which caused the five year old to cry. "You'd risk your niece's life because you have this so called 'unbreakable bond' with that little Jew girl."

"She's your flesh and blood, Karla!" Amber exclaimed. "You'd kill a child for information you're not priviledged to have?"

"Emily, my dear, I've killed people before, some of them were even related to me," Karla said. "It doesn't bother me if I kill all of you, because you're the enemy. Our cause is right, and it's you who are misguided, led into thinking that the way things used to be were the right thing all along? Does Draiman brainwash his followers?"

The fake Amber nodded yes. The fake Drew said nothing.

"So we are brainwashed, huh?" Jeremiah sneered. "You think any one man has that kind of pull? It took a group of men to write the Constitution, a document you now say is irrelevant? It worked for over 235 years, then you people come along and brainwash people into thinking that Communism is just."

"You have that wrong, nephew," Karla said. "We're not Communists. We're realists. The old way wasn't working, so we fixed it."

"By putting innocent people in prison for no reason!" exclaimed Jeremiah.

"Mixed race and mixed faith marriages are illegal. The children who result from these couplings are not pure, therefore are outcasts. We believe in one race, one faith. If you disagree, you deserve to die," Karla said. "Since you and your brother are not pure, you're outcasts. You should be either in prison or dead. Draiman is a Jew, he has a big mouth, and he spreads lies. If we could get to him, this 'war' as he likes to call it would be over."

"It is you who spreads lies, you and your bogus leaders!" Joe said heatedly. "Many innocent people have been hurt, maimed and killed by the New Army on the orders of the fake President and her handlers!"

"Sarah Kathryn Hope is a wise woman. She doesn't need handlers to tell her how to do her job," Karla said. "Her policies are just and fair."

"Bullshit," Jeremiah said. "She couldn't win a fair election, so her handlers stole it for her, assassinated the rightful winner, and was made President for Life. Oh, yeah, real fair and just there, 'Auntie Karla'!"

Karla was losing her patience with this smart mouthed kid. He was just like his mother-- she thought she had all the answers and so did her kid.

"Enough, I'm tired of all this fucking shit!" She looked at Jeremiah and said,

"You tell me what I want to know, or you won't leave here alive. None of you will."

High above on the roof next door, Karla didn't know "that little Jew girl" was about to take her out.

----------

Julia adjusted her aim now that the fake Amber was in her sights. Once she went down, fake Drew would go to her aid and Julia would get him. Karla would try to make a break for it with the New Army troops, and Julia would get then, too.

Inside, Karla, fake Amber and fake Drew all took turns trying to get Jeremiah to give up any secrets about David. Jeremiah refused and was met with a slap in the face, or a kick to the stomach, or being choked until he nearly passed out.

Just then, fake Amber fell, and Jeremiah noticed a nice, neat blood red entry wound right between the eyes.

Julia squeezed the trigger. Fake Drew fell next to fake Amber with the same wound.

"What the fuck is going on!" Karla said, losing her cool. She got flustered and tried to make a break for it with the New Army guards covering her. Julia picked off all three of them in succession. Karla headed back to the front of the room, grabbed one of fake Drew's guns and started shooting wildly in any direction. One bullet found its way into the real Drew's thigh, just missing a major artery.

Then Karla made the one mistake Julia was hoping she would make. Karla started to panic. When she faced the window where Julia could see her, Julia pulled her trigger once more, the bullet easily finding its target in Karla's neck at the jugular vein. Karla Brinson was dead before she hit the floor.

Those inside never heard the shots that came from outside. Jeremiah wondered who was shooting from the rooftop next door. That question was answered when Julia and Morbus burst into the room.

Morbus cut the restraints on the chairs to free everyone. Julia got everyone together and told them, "We don't have much time. New Army patrols this area every fifteen minutes. They just passed when we were on our way down here. So we have, maybe, less than ten minutes to get out of here."

The group followed Julia and Morbus out to the street. Morbus had broken into a car, and Julia ushered the group inside the vehicle.

Jeremiah went to the driver's side to get in, but Julia told him to get in the front passenger's seat, that she was driving this car to the airstrip. Morbus would meet the group there.

"You can drive?!" Jeremiah asked Julia. "When did you learn to drive?"

"Nik showed me a few things," Julia said. "Now be quiet and let me get us out of here!"

The car started up just the way Morbus said it would, and she headed to the airstrip. Just then, a dark car started following them, and Julia floored it.

"Jules are you trying to get us killed?" Jeremiah yelled at her as she sideswiped other cars and went the wrong way down one way streets. The occupants of the car behind them started shooting at them.

"Jere, take this and return fire!" Julia exclaimed as she handed Jeremiah a gun and kept driving towards the airstrip. "Remember Peter used to play this game with us where we had to shoot from a vehicle. This is real, so start shooting at the sons of bitches, okay?"

Holy fuck, what's gotten into Jules! Jeremiah thought as he shot at the car filled, he could now see, with New Army troops. He took out a couple, but the driver and a couple of other passengers were still with them.

Just then, off in the distance, Julia heard a train.

"Shit!" she said.

"What, what?!" Amber cried out.

"A train! We're not going to make it across the tracks before it reaches the entrance to the airstrip!" Julia said. "I'm going to jump over it!"

"The fuck you will, Jules!" Jeremiah said excitedly.

Just then, Julia broke through a barricade that led to an unfinished highway onramp. The onramp stopped about ten feet above the train tracks, and if she sent the car airborne just right, they'd sail into the entrance to the airstrip.

This was a move the vehicle chasing them wasn't anticipating, and sure enough, the train was blocking the tracks as it went by.

"Here we go!" Julia cried, and Jeremiah screamed, "Jesus fucking Christ, Julia! Are you insane?!"

The car was now airborne, flew over the passing train, and landed hard on the other side at the entrance to the airstrip. The tires deflated immediately on impact, and everyone inside the car was shaken up, but they were alive.

The same couldn't be said about the New Army troops in the car that was chasing them. They crashed into the train and burst into flames.

"Sorry soldier boys," Julia said without a hint of remorse in her voice.

"Jules," Joe said, "that was very cool!"

"Nik DID NOT teach you that," Jeremiah said. "He's scared of heights!"

"I never said he did, Jere," Julia said laughing. "He only showed me how to drive."

"I have a question," Amber Carson said. "How old are you, Julia?"

"Fourteen, why?"

"You're not even old enough for a license!"

"Shhh," Julia said, "don't tell anyone!"

"We're just glad that you showed up when you did with that other guy," Drew said, holding Antonia. "What was his name?"

"Morbus," Morbus said as he walked up. He shook Drew's hand with an iron grip.

"You're David Draiman's bodyguard, aren't you?"

"Yes, it's one of the many jobs I perform for the Disturbed Ones," Morbus said.

"Did you train this young lady to shoot like that?" Drew asked.

"No, I cannot take the credit for that," Morbus said. "A weapons specialist named Peter San Marco taught her, Jeremiah, Joe, and their brother Nik how to shoot. The New Army killed him and his wife two years ago, and Julia killed the five troops who came back looking for the children."

"You're a pretty impressive young lady, Julia," Amber said. "We are grateful that you saved our lives. Now maybe we can really get reacquainted with my little brothers."

"There are Disturbed Ones here at the airstrip ready to help you get back home," Morbus said; "They'll help you relocate and get settled in another place if you want. I've been told that you can stay in New Haven. I'd lay low on the Disturbed Ones rallies for a bit though."

"Jules, you want us to come home with you?" Jeremiah asked. "Make things with your mom and David easier?"

"No, Jere," Julia said. "I'll go home with Morbus. I ran away to help you, now I have to take my punishment like an adult."

"In case someone hasn't reminded you," Jeremiah said, "you're only fourteen. You're not an adult yet."

"I took on an adult role, Jere, now I have to admit I disobeyed my parent and take my punishment like an adult."

"Your choice of course," Jeremiah said. "We'll be home for Christmas I'm sure."

"Go get reacquainted with your real sister and her family," Julia said. "I'll see ya when I see ya."

"You're always going to be our little sister, Jules," Jeremiah said, giving Julia a hug. "Ain't nothing going to change that!"

----------

After Jeremiah and Joe went with the Carsons, Julia and Morbus got on the jet to head back to Chicagoland.

"I'm not going to lecture you, Julia, because it's not my place," Morbus said. "But you owe your mother and David an apology. Jordan didn't take finding you missing very well."

"Is she okay?"

"Yes, but it's been a rough couple of days for her."

Julia was silent for a moment, then she said. "Morbus I owe you an apology, too. I could have gotten us both killed. I'm sorry if I made you, and Mom and David worry. I wanted to help Jeremiah and Joe."

"That's admirable, Julia," Morbus said; "But you have to be properly trained to do this job. No more flying off things in cars, okay? You're not James Bond."

"Who?"

Morbus laughed. "Never mind."

----------

That last bit was funny. "You're not James Bond. WHO? Never mind."