Chapter Five
Alex

I haven't been to a FBI headquarters in a long time, but despite that, it is just the same as it was the last time I was here. Each headquarters for the FBI has really ugly cream paint, torn up carpet, and agents who completely dispise enhanced people. Soroya, Bucky, John, and I get a lot of glares as we pass agents by on our way to the holding cell Anderson is being held in.

Sharon is waiting for us in front of his cell, and before she lets us inside, she leans in and whispers to me: "I wiped Josephine from the official report, so Ross won't know that she's unaccounted for. I also just talked with Everett, he and I are working on the adoption papers."

I pull her in for a hug, whispering back to her: "Thank you." I mean it with every atom of my being.

Sharon pulls back from me and takes out her ID badge, sliding it through the card slot, making the door unlock with a loud click. She holds the door open for us to go inside before slipping inside herself, informing us: "Ross is going to be here in two hours to interrogate Anderson, so we need to be quick about this."

"Trust me," I say through clenched teeth, clenching my hands into fists. "This won't take long."

Anderson's hands are cuffed to the bar attached to the interrogation table, his head resting on the cold metal surface. He lifts it once the door locks behind us, and his expression in indifferent, stoic, but I can sense the fear welling up in side him. Good. He should be scared.

Soroya approaches him first, ever the cool and collected one as she begins by asking: "Enjoying your stay?"

Anderson shakes his head, looking a little annoyed. "Quite the good cop act and just get to the point."

"Alright I'll get to the point," I say, cutting my sister off. I approach the two of them and place my hands on the table, leaning closer to him as I ask: "How did you steal all those kids? Chose your words wisely, my sister and I will be able to sense if you're lying."

"Most of them I took when their parents were asleep, it's easier that way."

"Then where did you steal Jo from? The little girl who can turn invisible, where did you take her?"

Anderson looks confused at me calling her Jo, but he doesn't comment on it, he just answers the question: "She was with two enhanced people, I found them holding her in a run down house when I attacked them and stole her away. She was a baby at the time so there wasn't any struggle like some of the other kids."

This man makes me sick, it takes all my self control not to shift right here and maul him alive. "How did you know she was enhanced? How did you know any of these kids were enhanced?"

"I watched, I listened, I planned. I knew about the invisible little girl because I saw her use her powers in a back alleyway with the two other enhanced, so I followed them and waited for the right moment. The same goes for the other children, they are so careless with their powers, they use them freely and don't understand the consequences."

"A child should be able to use their powers and not worry about being taken by a sick creature like you."

"Who are you calling creature?" Anderson asks, his indifferent expression fading into aggression. "You're the enhanced filth who turns into mutts and grovels at the feet of the government."

I reach forward and grab onto his shirt, pulling him onto his feet, his face only inches from mine. "Nothing would make me happier than ripping your throat out, so please behave before I give into my animal urges and turn your insides into your outsides."

Anderson's heart beat picks up as I let go of him and force him back down into his seat. He lets out a slightly shaky breath before saying: "You took her didn't you? The invisible girl? I bet your boss would love to know that information."

Everyone in the room freezes up, but none more than me. I think my heart physically stops beating for several seconds. My anger and hatred is replaced by intense fear, my voice coming out breathless as I say: "I've done this enough times to know where this conversation is leading. What do you want?"

"I want a reduced sentence."

Bucky scoffs, crossing his arms as he says sourly: "You can't be serious."

"You're familiar with prisons, Barnes, you know how unpleasant they are. In that report of yours for the case say that I was the one who gave you the locations of the kid's homes and identities. That will get some years off of my sentence. If you do that, I'll keep my mouth shut about your precious little girl."

"Fine." I say before anyone else has the chance to say anything.

Soroya grabs onto my arm and pulls me away from Anderson, dropping her voice low enough so only I can hear her. "We can't do this. He'll never stop doing this, once he gets out of prison he'll take more kids."

"He probably won't make it out of jail. People like him are usually killed in prison, especially when they specialize in children."

"We can't take that risk. It isn't right."

"So you're telling me you wouldn't do the same for Olivia or Steve? If you could stop Ross from taking them away from you forever, you would do whatever was necessary," I say to my sister, my voice shaking slightly. "If protecting my daughter means getting his sentence reduced then I will do it."

Soroya knows that she would do anything to protect her children, so she doesn't fight me on this, she just nods her head and lets go of my arm. I make my way back over to Anderson, nodding my head down to him. "Your sentence will get reduced, but I am warning you now, if you say anything about my daughter, or if you continue taking children after you get out of jail, I will hunt you down and I will break every bone in your body and then eat you alive. Are we clear?"

Anderson knows I'm serious, so he just nods his head, keeping his mouth shut. I lean down towards this pathetic excuse for a human and ask him one final question, the question all of us are dying for the answer of: "How did these children get their powers?"

Anderson shrugs. "Your guess is as good as mine. I just saw an opportunity and took it. Children are valuable, but enhanced children are even more so."

I punch Anderson so hard in the face that his nose breaks, making him let out a long string of curses. I force my feet to move towards the door, fighting off every urge in my body to hurt that man. It's what he deserves, but I know that if I hurt him or kill him it will get everyone in trouble, me especially. I know justice will come soon enough for that man, I just hope it's very slow and painful.

Soroya slips her hand into mine and brushes my knuckles as we exit the cell, her voice filled with concern as she asks: "Does your hand hurt?"

I shake my head. "It was worth it."

Sharon runs a hand through her hair and gestures for all of us to follow her. She leads us into a janitors closest, one that's surprisingly big enough for all of us. As soon as the door shuts Sharon lets out a sigh, directing her attention to me.

"The report is in my hotel room, I'll make the corrections and...and write that he gave us that information."

"You searched through CIA databases for those kids though. Can't Ross find out that you found them that way? And what about the other agents? They know you didn't get those answers from Anderson." Bucky points out, making some excellent points.

"They also know about Jo and that I wiped her off of the report," Sharon replies. "They're my team, I trust them. I'll have them go back to Nigeria and wipe the search history in the database. I'll explain the gravity of the situation to them, I know they'll keep quiet."

My fears for Jo's safety still persist, but I don't voice them. I chose to trust Sharon and her judgement. John, who has been very quiet this whole time, reaches forward and places his hand on my shoulder, giving me a reassuring nod. "I'll go with the team back to Nigeria while Sharon an Everett work on the adoption papers. We'll make sure nothing happens to Jo. I promise."

I place my hand over his, grateful that I have such trustworthy friends in my life. Without them I couldn't do this, I couldn't keep Jo out of Ross's hands. I'm a very lucky man.

"I wish we had gotten the answer about how these children are getting powers." Soroya comments after a moment.

Bucky wraps his hand around her waist, pulling her against him. "We'll get answers eventually. Nothing stays hidden forever."

"We'll keep working to figure out what's going on," John assures Soroya, giving her a half baked smile. "No matter how long it takes."

I think back to the conversation we had in the throne room, about the possibility of our government, of the UN, being responsible for these children. The thought of Jo, only a baby, being experimented on by the government I work for makes me sick to my stomach. I hope it's not true, I really do. If it is, then I'm not the hero I think I am, I'm just the groveling mutt that Anderson said I was.