Chapter 40-- Triumph

Part 1--

The Disturbed Ones jet landed at the airstrip at Chicagoland that evening. They didn't call anyone to come get them, they just took transport back to their respective homes.

Julia arrived home, tired but glad the day was over. All she wanted was to see her husband and her baby girl.

She slipped the key into the lock of the backdoor. Opening the door into the kitchen, she saw that the lights were out except the one Ryan kept on when he went to bed.

Well, damn, Julia thought, they've gone to bed. She looked at her watch. It was late, after all.

Julia remembered that she hadn't eaten at all that day, so she fixed herself a sandwich. As she ate it, she thought she saw something.

"Ryan?" she called softly, but not hearing him answer, Julia dismissed it.

Until she saw it again.

She remembered a story that Kiera had told about how animal spirits protected warriors as they were about to go to war.

"I know what your animal spirit is, Julia," Kiera said.

"What?"

"You're a wolf," said Kiera. "You seek to protect those in your pack who are weak or old. You fight to the death. You mete out the punishments."

"How do you know?" asked Julia.

"Because I'm a wolf, too," Kiera said. "My grandfather told me this when I was not much younger than you are. He was a shaman, a spiritual healer. I see the same things in you that my grandfather saw in me. The Great Spirit, whom we call God, chose the wolf for your animal guide."

"How does the Great Spirit know that, Kiera?"

"That would be like trying to read God's mind, Julia," Kiera said. "It's not for us to know."

Kiera closed her eyes a moment, then said,

"One day, Julia, when Peter and I are no longer here, we will be protecting you and the boys. It's our job in the afterlife to take care of those we loved when we were still living on earth."

"But that's along time from now, right?" asked Julia.

"We don't know," Kiera said; "We all hope for long life, but when it's our time, God calls us home. None of us know when our time is."

"I hope it's not for a long, long time, Kiera," Julia said.

"Me, too, Julia," Kiera replied.

Julia closed her eyes, wondering if Kiera was right, if she and Peter were watching over her and her little family.

In her mind's eye, she saw the wolf, standing tall on a rock, watching over her pack. She saw Peter and Kiera, standing in the backyard, watching over their now adult children and their families.

And sitting there, in the kitchen, Julia Summers felt a great weight being lifted from her; the weight of avenging the deaths of her guardians. Her burden, that she carried since she was twelve years old, was now just a memory, and she could live her life in peace.

Julia left the half eaten sandwich on the counter, picked up her bags and headed towards the stairs. Once upstairs, she put her bags down outside Miri's room and went in to check on her daughter.

The baby was sleeping, covered with a light blanket and her favorite stuffed toy at the opposite end of her crib.

Julia reached down and touched one of Miri's curls. "The war is over, Mirielle, and we won. We are safe now," Julia whispered. She then left the room, picked up her bags, and went to the room across the hall. Her bedroom. The one she shared with the first man she ever made love to, who accepted Miri as his daughter, and who made Julia's life complete.

Julia removed her Glock, in its case, from her bag and placed it in the gun safe in the back of biggest of the two closets in their bedroom. For the first time since she got the Glock when she was fourteen, it was not going to be within arms reach of her bed. There was no need. No one was going to try and kill her tonight or any other night. And it was not safe to have a gun within reach of a little girl who would soon be learning to walk.

Once the gun was locked in the safe. Julia readied herself for bed. It had been a long day.

"Jules? Is that you?" she heard Ryan say sleepily.

"Yes, Ry, it's me," Julia said as she slipped under the covers.

Ryan took her into his arms, kissed her forehead, and went right back to sleep.

Julia sighed. A new life.

----------

Jeremiah returned home where Jasmine and Adriana were still up. Adriana was walking and getting into everything now, and part of her antics were getting up out of bed and crusing around the house. Which what she was doing when Jasmine got up. Jeremiah walked in and Adriana screamed, "Daddy!" and ran toward him.

"Wow! I feel like a rock star!" Jeremiah laughed as he picked up his daughter and swung her around, which made her giggle. "Have you been a good girl for Mommy, Adriana?"

"Ya."

Jeremiah looked at Jasmine, "Has she, Mommy?"

"For the most part, she has," Jasmine said; "then she pulls stuff like this, and I'm up chasing after her."

"Adriana, it's time for bed," Jeremiah said. "For real."

"No, Daddy. I stay up wif Mommy."

Jeremiah took the girl to her bedroom and laid her in the bed that was converted from her old crib. "You sleep now, Adriana," Jeremiah said; "I'll see you in the morning."

"Night Daddy."

Jeremiah walked out of the girl's room and down the hall to the kitchen where Jasmine was drinking a glass of water before heading back to bed herself. She came around the bar and gave Jeremiah a hug.

"I'm so glad you're home, baby," Jasmine said. "I've missed you so much! I've been watching the TV all day for word about what was happening, and only during the late news did they say something about Lane Sizemore and Carl Parks being dead."

"Julia got to all three of them," Jeremiah said. "Sarah Kathryn is supposedly going to be arrested at 8am east coast time tomorrow."

"Good, then the war's really over, isn't it?"

"I'd say so," Jeremiah replied. "An interim government is supposed to be in place by tomorrow some time."

"I'm so proud of you, Jere," Jasmine said. "I'm proud of all of you!"

"I'm glad it's over," said Jeremiah; "I'm beat. Let's get some sleep and talk about it in the morning."

With that, Jasmine led her husband to their bedroom, but sleep wasn't on the agenda. Not yet.

----------


Nik leaned over and asked the driver to drop both he and Vixen at his house. The driver nodded and bypassed the dorms where Vixen lived.

"Why are you taking me to your place, Nik?" Vixen asked, curious.

"Because it's late, and I think you need to be with others tonight," said Nik. "You shouldn't be in the dorms tonight alone."

"I wouldn't be alone, Nik," Vixen said; "Susie and Kylee are there."

"And you'd be up all night recounting your adventures to them," Nik said. "I know how you ladies are! You need to let the adrenaline wear off and sleep the sleep of the dead if you wanted. We have a spare bedroom, and I'm insisting that you stay the night with us. Actually, it was KateLynn's idea."

"Really?" Vixen said as the transport pulled up to Nik and KateLynn's house; "That's really nice of both of you. I really am beat."

Nik got his and Vixen's bags out of the transport and they both headed toward the front door. The door opened unexpectantly and there KateLynn stood, holding her sleeping infant son.

"Welcome home, you two," KateLynn said. "I know it's been a busy day for both of you! I've been watching the news, and I can't believe the war is over!"

"It has indeed," Nik said. "Everything went pretty well. An interim government should be in place sometime tomorrow."

"That's such great news!" KateLynn said as she placed baby Peter into his crib. "The kids won't know what kind of country we had to endure until they read it in their history books in school."

"No children should have to live in the kind of country we've had for the last nineteen years," Vixen said. "I think it's why I've put off finding someone and having kids. And I'm not getting any younger."

"How old are you, Vixen?" KateLynn asked. "If you don't mind me asking. I know you're the oldest female in BlackOps."

"There's a bit of a story there about exactly how old I am," Vixen said. "I don't know if Nik has told you about any of my background, but I was kidnapped from my family when I was nine and was forced to be trained as a prostitute. By the time I was placed with the man who became my pimp, I had aged three years. I'm actually three years younger than what it says in my official paperwork."

KateLynn recalled Nik telling her that, and said, "So if you were, say thirty, you're acutally twenty seven?"

"Yes," Vixen said. "When I found out about my background, I learned that I was born in 1990, not 1987. I had always suspected I was younger than anyone said, but had no way to prove it. I'm actually twenty-nine, though my paperwork suggests that I'm thirty-two."

"That really sucks," KateLynn said. "What happened to your parents? Your siblings?"

"I'd been told that my parents were dead, and that a younger sibling might be as well," Vixen said. "Through research that I asked Dan Donegan to do for me, I found that my younger sibling was still alive."

"Wow! That's great!" said KateLynn; "Are you going to try and contact this sibling and tell them you're their sister?"

"I've already tried once," Vixen said, "and it wasn't a good time. It's not like you can waltz into someone's house and say, 'hey, I'm your long lost sister.' Because of their age when I was taken, they may not even know I exist. Maybe it's better that way."

"I'd tell them, if it were me," Nik said while putting the dishes from the dishwasher away; "They might be thrilled they have an older sibling."

Vixen was very tempted to say something at that point, but held her tongue. It's not like she could declare Hey, Nik, I'm the sister you never knew about! But then Nik asked,

"How much do you know about your family?"

"I learned a lot about my family through the research Dan did for me," Vixen said. "I found out that I had an older sister that died at a year old three years before I was born. How my parents died and a little about their background. None of this stuff I knew. I didn't even remember the name I was given at birth until Dan unearthed a copy of my original birth certificate. The only name I knew was Amanda Amador."

"That's not your birth name I take it," KateLynn said.

"No, it's the name I was given by the couple who were hired by my future pimp to train me to be a whore," Vixen said; "I hated that name. When Morbus hired me to work for him, he asked if I wanted to be called something else, and Vixen Vincent was the name I chose."

"So you've really only been Vixen since you've been at Chicagoland," Nik said. "What was your original name?"

Vixen took a deep breath. Nik and KateLynn both saw that Vixen was a little nervous about revealing something so personal. Maybe she's not really ready for this, Nik thought. He said,

"I'm sorry, Vixen, that was out of line. I know it's a personal question that you may not feel comfortable answering."

Vixen felt relieved. This wasn't the time to spill her guts that Nik was her brother. Maybe later on, after things get settled, we'll see, she thought.

"For the moment, Nik and KateLynn," she said, "I don't feel comfortable answering that question. All this information is new to me, and I need to wrap my head around it and understand it before I can talk about it to anyone other than my therapist."

KateLynn squeezed Vixen's hand gently. "It's okay, Vixen," she said; "We totally understand. There are lots of people here with names they weren't born with. Nik doesn't even remember his birthparents. He has scattered memories of them, but not enough first hand knowledge to remember them."

"That's true," Nik said. "I'd love to know more about my birthparents, because I was taken in by the San Marcos when I was four. Don't remember a lot about anything before that."

"You guys must be tired, though," KateLynn said; "Vixen, I'll show you to your room." She led Vixen down the hall to the spare bedroom.

Nik finished up putting the dishes away, then followed his wife and Vixen to the spare room.

The San Marcos bid Vixen a good night and she was alone. She changed into pajamas and got under the covers. Within a few moments, she was asleep.

----------

The news came as people were awaking for the day.

When Sarah Kathryn Hope, the former President for Life, didn't show as agreed to be arrested for crimes against the United States of America, Security Forces personnel forced their way into the Presidential living quarters.

There, laying in, and covered with, dried blood, was Sarah Kathryn. No one had to be told she was dead. Her corpse was black and blue from head to toe.

"Jesus Christ!" one of the officers that had accompanied the Security Forces exclaimed; "What happened to her that caused head to toe bruising?"

The official physician for the former New Government was summoned, and after examining Sarah Kathryn's body, determined that she died of a massive heart attack or stroke. "She had lots of pressure on her, and it caused her blood pressure to skyrocket," the doctor had said. "She was negligent in taking her medication to control the problem. I'm not surprised that this is what led to her death. Why she is completely black and blue, only an autopsy will be able to tell."

----------

Jordan turned on the television she kept on the kitchen counter, when the report came over the air:

Former President for Life Sarah Kathryn Hope failed to materialize for her arrest on charges of crimes against the United States, Security Forces personnel for the Resistance Movement gained entry to the President's living quarters.

The former President for Life was laying in the floor, having expired, by some accounts, as much as eighteen hours before. A preliminary cause of death is expected in the next twelve to twenty-four hours, but sources indicate that a heart attack or stroke may have been a cause of death. Mrs. Hope was known to have high blood pressure.

As previously reported, both the former Chairman and former Co-Chairman of the Committee had been found dead yesterday. The remaining three former members of the Committee are currently in custody, pending the filing of formal charges...

"Holy Mother of God!" Jordan exclaimed; "I can't believe it! The war is finally over!"

And Jordan Draiman danced around the kitchen of her home, which is where her daughters found her when they awoke after hearing the commotion coming from the kitchen.

"What's wrong with Mama?" Niki asked her sister.

"She looks happy," Kimber said. "Maybe she does that dancing thing all the time."

"That what she does when we're sleeping?" Niki asked. "She dances around looking silly?"

"She's a grownup, Niki," Kimber said. "They act so funny sometimes."

----------

Over.

It was finally, totally, and completely over.

Christofferson just stared at the television shaking his head. The war was over, and the side he had been a part of had been defeated.

He was glad.

"I wish I'd seen the light much, much, earlier," he said sadly.

Nothing was said about whether any of the deaths were actually hits by Resistance or Disturbed Ones assassins, but Christofferson knew that Julia had to be behind some of them, if not all of them.

"Brave, sweet Julia," he sighed. "God, I miss you!"

----------

Vixen got up later than she ever had in the entire time she had been at Chiacgoland. Not even the commotion of a new baby and two active preschoolers awoke her from her slumber.

She eventually made her way into the kitchen, where KateLynn was making breakfast.

"Good morning, Vixen," she said. "I've got waffles, oatmeal, or cold cereal on the menu today. Which will it be?"

Vixen just stared at KateLynn for a minute, then, "Do you go all out like this every morning, KateLynn?"

"Sometimes, yes, I do," said KateLynn; "Nik usually is the first one up after I get up with Peter, so I'll have something ready for him to fix. Then Matty and Sandrina get up and are starving, so oatmeal or cornflakes usually quiet their tummies."

"Wow! And I think my morning routine is tough!" Vixen said. "Usually I have a protein shake or a quick bowl of grits, then go to training. My big meal is usually lunch."

"What can I make for you, Vixen," said KateLynn. "You're our guest and you shouldn't have to lift a finger."

"Waffles sound heavenly," Vixen said; "I haven't had waffles for breakfast in a very long time."

Without a word, KateLynn put a ladle of waffle mix in the waffle iron, and in moments, it seemed to Vixen, a stack of hot waffles with butter and syrup sat before her at the breakfast bar.

"I'm going to have to work harder to work off all the calories," Vixen said as she ate, "but it'll be worth it!"

KateLynn only smiled. She liked Vixen. The woman had been through a lot in her life.

I wish I could tell you what Nik found out about you last summer, KateLynn thought. But that's Nik's job, not mine. I'll be proud to call you my sister-in-law.


----------

Part 2--

David had his usual meetings with the band and Morbus, only this one was to discuss the eventual restructuring of the Chicagoland complex.

"Personally," Dan said; "I'd like to see the Academy and the paramilitary training facilities remain intact. We've gotten a lot of praise for the quality of the graduates from the Academically Gifted Students Program from several colleges and universities, and keeping it in this location would be good. It's relatively private, we can expand it to include a separate college prep academy, and we could even include a two year college program."

"I was thinking the same thing," John said; "I know my kids enjoy going to school here. Kylie received several scholarship offers from major universities because of the work she's done here."

"What about the training facilities?" David asked; "I agree they should remain intact, but what exactly are we going to do with them other than the purpose Peter San Marco had them built for?"

"We could lease it out to the National Guard," Morbus said. "Now that we're not going to have to maintain our own police or fighting forces, may as well let the armed services have a chance to use it."

Mike had remained silent up to this point, then said,

"You guys do realize that half the land this compound sits on belonged to Peter San Marco. He purchased it on his own so that we could consider it for the compound. Shouldn't members of his family be consulted as to what we should do with it?"

The others looked at each other, then David said, "Besides Nik, who was his adopted son, are there other members of his family still in the area?"

"I can look that up once I get back to my office," Dan offered. "But Peter and Kiera considered Jeremiah, Joe, and Julia their family, too. Shouldn't they be included?"

Everyone nodded in agreement. David ended the meeting after they decided to meet weekly in regards to the future of the Chicagoland complex.

"I'll work on finding any relatives of both Peter and Kiera, and see what developes," Dan said.

"Very good," David said. "If you find anything significant, let me know. We could meet again if we need to."

And with that, everyone left David's office. He was alone.

The war was over, and the band could go back to making records and touring.

"I thought this day would never come," he said aloud. "Now I don't know what to do with myself."

He then thought of four little kids and the most patient woman in the world waiting for him at home, and he smiled.

----------

Ryan got up with Miri while Julia slept. He brought the baby into their bedroom to show Miri that Mommy was home.

As they headed down the stairs, Ryan told his daughter, "Let's make a special breakfast for Mommy, okay Miri?"

Miri only made baby sounds as he sat her down in her high chair and fed her breakfast. After that, Ryan went to work on Julia's special breakfast while Miri watched. She tried to reach stuff on the counter, but couldn't quite reach it.

While Ryan was busy making breakfast, Julia had come downstairs to see what Miri was all excited about. The baby was making excited sounds every time Ryan looked in her direction.

"What's going on here?" Julia asked sleepily as she reviewed the scene: Ryan flipping pancakes, Miri trying to reach a spoon Ryan had left almost in the baby's reach.

"Aw, baby," Ryan said in mock disappointment; "We wanted to surprise you with breakfast in bed."

"How sweet of you to think of me like that," Julia said, kissing Miri on top of her dark brown curls. "You needn't have gone to such trouble for me."

"Why not?" Ryan asked. "We just wanted to do something for you now that you're home. It's ready now, Jules. Sit and have a unhurried breakfast."

Julia sat at the bar and had pancakes, turkey bacon, and scrambled eggs. It was a filling meal, and certainly better than what she usually had for breakfast (if she was lucky).

Ryan grabbed a plate and served himself and sat next to Julia at the bar so he could be close to Miri as well. He flipped on the television, where a special report was about to begin.

The news anchor was detailing the events of the last twenty-four hours; the deaths of Parks, Sizemore, and the unexpected death of the former President for Life.

"Other members of the former New Government's Committee are in custody at this hour, waiting for charges to be compiled and brought against them.

"An autopsy is being scheduled to find out the true cause of death of former President for Life Sarah Kathryn Hope. Her personal physician stated that Mrs. Hope had high blood pressure and was lax about taking her medication to control it. He isn't saying anything about what may have caused her demise, though 'with someone with the kind of out of control high blood pressure as Mrs. Hope had, death from heart attack or stroke is certainly not out of the question.'"


"Wow," Julia said; "she must've died shortly after I left. She seemed fine to me when I bid her goodbye."

"That's nothing you have to worry about," Ryan said. "She probably would have died anyway at some point if it was as serious as they're making it out to be."

"She'd have never made it to prison, and that's what she was worried about," Julia said. "She told me that she would turn herself in when I told her that the Committee was no more."

"Listen, Jules, there's more..." Ryan said.


"At this time," the anchor continued, "an interim government, based on the government that was in power before the Illegal Government takeover, has been assembled and will take office as soon as this evening. The Interim President will be Christine Collins, formerly the Director of Security Forces for the Resistance group known as the Disturbed Ones. Ms. Collins has military experience and is extremely knowledgable about the United States government. No Interim Vice President has been named, though former Circuit Judge Bryce Jackson has been approached about the position.

"Interim President Collins is expected to give a press conference sometime tomorrow outlining the plan to get a permanent government in place. She has stated in several interviews today that she expects the transistion to be smooth and swift, lasting no more than two years.

"Regions are already making plans to re-establish the states that were in place before the Illegal Government took power nineteen years ago. According to WestCoast Region Director Howard Goff, WestCoast Region states will be re-established in the next ninety days..."


"That's pretty fast!" Julia said. "They must have had a plan in place for just that occasion."

"Seems like it," Ryan said. "At last, things will finally be the way they were before Sarah Kathryn and the Committee took over. Not that I remember what it was like before..."

Julia was about to say something when Miri began to cry. "There, there, Miri," Julia said as she took the baby out of the high chair and cuddled her.

"I think she needs a change, Ryan," Julia said as she headed with Miri to the stairs.

Once upstairs in Miri's bedroom, Julia went about changing the baby. When she was done, she saw a happily smiling Miri.

"Welcome to a new world, my little flower," Julia said. "I hope the only place you hear about the way things used to be is in a history book...and that you'll forgive me for having to resort to violence to help make that happen."

Miri only babbled at her mother. Julia picked her up and brought her back downstairs so that she could babble her goodbyes to her daddy before he left for work on the other end of the compound.

"Jules, I wanted to stay home today, but duty calls," Ryan said. "I'll try and be home early."

Julia reached up to kiss him. "I don't know what I'm going to do with myself other than play with Miri all day. Maybe I'll go to Mom and David's and see what's going on there."

"If you're not here, then you'll be there, then, right?"

"Call me if you can leave early?" asked Julia.

Ryan kissed Julia, then Miri, and said, "I will."

Then, he was gone and Julia and the baby were alone.

"What shall we do today, Miss Mirielle?" she asked her daughter. Miri just babbled. "Okay, then," Julia continued, "we'll play, then you'll take a nap, and I'll try to remember what being a normal person is like. Okay?"

Miri babbled some more as Julia put her on the floor. Miri started crawling and Julia was trying to keep up. "No, no, Miri, not over there," Julia found herself saying over and over.

If this is normal for everyone else, I think I like it, she thought.

----------

Vixen came over to Julia's a couple of hours later with the computer that had the program for the video bugs that Vixen had placed in Sarah Kathryn's office.

"Miri's down for a nap, though I think I need one more!" Julia said as she let Vixen in. "That little girl can sure get around quickly by crawling!"

"I have the recorded portion of your visit with Sarah Kathryn before her, ahem, untimely demise," Vixen said. "I've only watched a little of it. Haven't seen anything freaky yet."

"Vix, it was just a weird experience," Julia said as Vixen set up the laptop on the bar. "I'm not exactly proud of how I acted towards her before I left."

"Because you, unlike her parents and unlike the Committee, have a conscience, Julia," Vixen said.

Vixen had gotten everything set up and she began the recording of Julia's visit with Sarah Kathryn.

"We're not going to watch the whole thing, are we?" Julia asked.

"No, just this first part where you're exchanging pleasantries and such," Vixen said. "Then when she gets all down in your business; finally the last part just before you leave and shortly after you leave."

Julia sighed. She had a feeling she wasn't going to like what she saw.

The first part wasn't too bad. Julia actually laughed when she told Sarah Kathryn that she wasn't Julia's President, she was Julia's bitch. "Where did that come from!" she exclaimed.

"Looks like she got the message though," Vixen said; "Because she let you do what you wanted to her."

The second part Julia had to ask Vixen to fast forward through, because it was the part where Julia's anger took over and she took it out on Sarah Kathryn.

"You got her to confess, Julia," Vixen said; "She'd have never admitted that in a trial."

"Yeah, and I'm glad of that," Julia said, "but I practically had to..."

Vixen could see that Julia was uncomfortable what she had to do to get that confession from the former President for Life.

The last part, when Julia leaves and Sarah Kathryn is alone, sitting at her desk, contemplating something on her desk. Julia realized it was Rebekah's heart attack capsules, and whether to take just the one Julia warned her to take, or take them both. Though Sarah Kathryn didn't speak before she left her office, on the recording both Vixen and Julia saw that Sarah Kathryn took both capsules out of the office with her.

"On the news, they said that Sarah Kathryn had high blood pressure," Julia said. "This is something that we didn't know."

"She probably didn't want people to think she was weak by admitting that she had medical problems," Vixen said. "I saw that report, too. I wouldn't be surprised if her doctor spilled all of Sarah Kathryn's medical secrets at some point."

"You think he was threatened by the Committee not to say anything?" asked Julia.

"The Committee threatened a lot of people," Vixen said. "Why would the President's personal doctor be exempt?"

"True..." Julia said, musing. Then, "What are we going to do with the recording?"

"I made a copy of it and it's in a safe at Nik and KateLynn's," said Vixen. "In case we ever need it."

"Speaking of Nik," Julia said; "Did you tell him what you found out about your family and that you're his sister?"

Vixen laughed. "I didn't have to! Nik was doing his own research and found the same documents I had. He told me he was my brother!"

"So you both know now!" Julia said, hugging Vixen; "That's wonderful! What did KateLynn say? Was she surprised?"

"She knew about it," Vixen said. "Nik told her everything."

"So you have two nephews and a niece now!"

"Actually," Vixen said, "I have two nephews and five nieces. I'm counting Miri and all the other kids that Jeremiah and Joe have in addition to Nik's three kids."

"So you want to be Auntie Vixen?" asked Julia.

"Auntie Natasha," Vixen said. "I'm going to change my name to Natasha Viktoria Vincent sometime in the next few months. In fact, Matty and Sandrina are already calling me Auntie Natasha."

Julia just looked at her new "sister". Changes are coming fast, she thought.

----------

Over the next several weeks, things at Chicagoland were changing.

One of the biggest changes was to the Academically Gifted Students Program; it would now be the Chicagoland Academy for the Gifted, offering students who graduated from conventional schools earlier than their peers a chance to earn college credit and work skills. There would also be an alternative school where those who have difficulties in conventional schools could earn a high school diploma. It would also have a nursery and child care facilities for teen mothers.

And a community college would be added to the site as well, which would be called San Marco Community College; offering two year degrees in everything from the arts to military sciences. It would even have its own ROTC unit affiliated with the Marine Corps.

But these changes would take a while to come to fruition.

The members of Disturbed had decided to move back to their own homes that they were forced to abandon by the New Army, though all four of them would have to be rebuilt or renovated.

The homes on the compound would remain intact, and those living there would be allowed to remain. The forested areas surrounding the compound would be left as is.

Dan had been able to find several relatives of both Peter and Kiera San Marco, and a meeting was called for them all to decide what would become of the land on which the compound sat, since half of it belonged to Peter San Marco. Neither he nor Kiera made provisions for who would inherit the property in their wills.

One of the first to arrive knocked on Nik and KateLynn's front door one afternoon about two months after Interim President Collins took office. KateLynn answered the door with little Peter in her arms, and, upon seeing the elderly Native American man, asked,

"May I help you sir?"

In a strong voice that belied his looks, the man said, "I'm looking for Nikolai San Marco. Is he here?"

"He is," KateLynn said; "Won't you come in?"

As the man came inside and sat in the living room, Matty and Sandrina came in to see the visitor. "Hi!" Sandrina said.

"Hello," said the visitor. "What is your name?" he asked Sandrina.

"Sandrina Kiera San Marco," the little blonde girl said.

The visitor was taken aback at first, then KateLynn said, "She just learned her full name, and she's been dying for someone to ask her."

"Oh, I see," said the visitor. "I was just surprised. Her middle name is the same as my daughter's first name."

"Can I tell Nik who you are?" asked KateLynn; "He's tinkering in the shed out back and can't hear anything going on in here."

"My name is Daniel White Feather," the visitor said. "I'm Kiera San Marco's father."

KateLynn's eyes grew wide. To Matty she said, "Go get Daddy and tell him he has a visitor."

The boy ran out of the room, out into the backyard, and got Nik. Once he was inside and saw the man sitting in the living room, he knew who he was.

"Are you Nikolai?" White Feather asked.

"I am," Nik said; "Just call me Nik. You're Kiera's father, aren't you?"

"I am indeed," White Feather said.

"I recognized you from pictures she showed us as we were growing up," Nik said. "Kiera thought you and her mother had died."

"We made it through the hell that the New Army put us through," White Feather said; "But my wife died two summers ago. We knew that Kiera and Peter were killed, so we didn't want to risk your life or the lives of the kids you grew up with by returning, so we settled in the Minneapolis Sector."

"Please forgive me for asking," Nik said; "but why have you come here to Chicagoland?"

"Peter apparently owned most of the land that the Chicagoland compound sits on, and he didn't make any provision for it in his will, nor did Kiera," White Feather said; "So I was contacted along with Peter's brother, David, and his sister, Natalie, to decide what should happen to Peter's portion of the land."

"Peter's brother and sister were in hiding, and so I've never met them," Nik said. "But I am glad that you came by to meet us..." Nik paused, not sure how White Feather wanted to be addressed. White Feather picked up on this.

"Call me Daniel," White Feather said; "After all, it is my name."

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Part 3--

He was trying to resist the urge to travel to Chicago, just to see how Julia was doing.

Christofferson had toyed with the idea for a couple of months. But each time, he felt that Julia should be allowed to live her life and not be made to choose between him and her husband.

He had heard that Julia had a little girl who, ironically enough, shared Christofferson's birthday. He wondered if he was the father of the little girl Julia had given the same name as his late wife.

How presumptuous of me to think that, Christofferson thought; Ryan Summers may have gotten her pregnant before her arrest last year. Quit being such a dirty old man, Jack!

In the end, he decided, again, not to go to Chicago. Let her think I'm dead like everyone else does.

He went into his bedroom and pulled out the picture and the note she left him. He was just happy to know that she felt for him as he had for her. But it was her life now, let her be, he thought.

But that didn't stop him from wondering...

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People were leaving by the dozens in the months leading up to the holiday season. The members of the BlackOps and Ghost Squad were all finding new ways to use their skills.

Rebekah and Chris had married and found that they were expecting twins. Both of them were happy beyond belief. However, there was only one thing Rebekah wanted to do now that the war was over; that was to take her new husband to Vermont to meet her family and tell them that Jessikah didn't die in the car accident nearly a decade before.

This made Rebekah nervous. What if her father, sister and brother didn't believe her? Especially with the way she looked.

Rebekah worried about it on the cab ride to her father's house. Chris reassured her that everything would be okay.

Rebekah had a file full of paperwork proving her identity and her name change in her bag.

Chris asked the cabbie to wait for a few moments, then went to join Rebekah at the front door.

The door opened and Luke, Sr. answered the door. Rebekah looked at him and thought, he's gotten so grey.

"May I help you?" he asked pleasantly.

"My name is Rebekah Mannion," she began; "this is my husband Chris Patrick. I have some information for you that you will be interested in."

"I've heard the name Rebekah Mannion before, from my niece," Luke said; "Won't you please come in?"

While Chris ran out to pay the cabbie, Rebekah stepped inside the foyer and saw the picture of herself with her sister on the table. Chris soon returned and Luke led them into the living room. Rebekah got the feeling that Luke was the only one home.

"Are you son and daughter here? This would be of interest to them as well," Rebekah asked.

"Luke, Jr. isn't due home until later in the week, and my daughter Jordana is working out in town," Luke said. "But I'm curious, are you related to my late wife somehow? Her maiden name was Mannion."

"Yes, I am," Rebekah said, "and I'll get to that in a moment. But first I wanted to ask about Jessikah."

"Jessikah eight years ago in a car accident," Luke said. "I don't know why you'd want to ask about her."

"Because," Rebekah said, "I have some papers to show you. If I told you Jessikah didn't die in that accident, but Angela Pearce did, would you believe me?"

"Frankly, no," Luke said; "I buried my daughter in a closed casket service. I only got a brief look at her before then. I'm sure it was her."

Rebekah handed Luke the document that Dan Donegan found detailing the switch between the Pearce's deceased daughter, and Jessikah Terranova. Luke read it over carefully several times, asking himself, is this true?

"If I understand this correctly," Luke said. "It was Angela who died, and Jessikah was essentially stolen from me to be raised as Angela by her parents. Is that correct?"

"Yes, unfortunately it is," Rebekah said. "Angela's parents were very cruel and abusive people, and Jessikah found that out first hand."

"I had a feeling the Pearces were doing something to their daughter, but I couldn't prove it," Luke said; "Angela was here all the time in the months leading up to the accident."

"She had been beaten and raped repeatedly," Rebekah said. "And Jessikah got that same treatment when the Pearces claimed her as their child."

"So how do you know about all this?" Luke asked, briefly wondering if the young woman in front of him was Jessikah. He then brushed it aside. No, it's obsurd, he thought.

"When Jessikah escaped from the Pearces, she ended up in Arlington, Virginia, or what was then known as the Arlington Sector," Rebekah said. "She fell into a bad crowd, hooked up with a man who got her addicted to drugs, impregnated her, then abandoned her. At her lowest point, she was recruited by Christine Collins to work for her.

"There were conditions. Angela, as she was known, had to give up her child at birth and go through rehab before Collins would train her to be a sniper. Angela did all that, though giving up her son was the hardest thing she'd ever done, but it was for his own good.

"After three years, Rebekah had gotten good enough to be recommended to Morbus for training with BlackOps in Chicagoland. At that point, Angela changed her name again."

"To what?" Luke asked.

"Rebekah Mannion," Rebekah said, and waited for Luke's reaction. It didn't take long.

"You're Jessikah?" he asked, not believing his eyes. This girl did look like Jessikah, even with the scarring on the side of her face, he thought.

"Yes, Daddy," Rebekah said. "I'm Jessikah."`

Before she knew it, her father had taken Rebekah into a huge hug. "Why didn't you come to me sooner?" he asked.

"I was told not to, because it would put you, Jordana and Luke in danger," Rebekah said. "Christine Collins, Morbus, and David Draiman thought that if my true identity were known, the New Army would come after you in retaliation for anything that the Disturbed Ones did."

"That seems reasonable," Luke said; "I can't wait for your sister to see you!"

"I can't wait to see her and Luke," Rebekah said. "But I have to ask one favor of you."

"What is it?"

"That you call me Rebekah," she said. "The Jessikah you knew is dead, if you think about it. Everything I've done to get away from the lie I was forced to live has been as Rebekah. In fact, when Chris and I got married three months ago, I legally changed my name to Rebekah Mannion. I didn't take Chris' name."

"She's too much of a rebel to conform to convention that easily," Chris said. "Bekah, tell your father the other news."

"What other news?" asked Luke.

"We're expecting twins," Rebekah said; "Identical twins. We just don't know if they're boys or girls yet."

"Wow! I didn't see that coming," Luke said; "but I shouldn't be surprised. But what of the son you had to give up?"

"His name is Jared, and he's being raised by a nice family in Arlington," Rebekah said; "he's six years old now. He knows about me, but I've chosen not to interfere in his life until he can make that decision for himself."

"Your mother would be so proud of you," Luke said. "That you thought of him before yourself."

Just then, a car door slammed outside. "That's Jordana," Luke said; "I'll let you tell the story, Rebekah."

"Okay," said Rebekah. Chris hugged her, saying,

"See, Bekah, it wasn't that bad."

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