Work Text:
POV: Jameelah
I was watching TV in the living room. Correction, I have been watching TV in the living room for the past 2 hours. And now I am getting bored. The only good cartoon that was playing on cable was Dora the explorer and that ended an hour ago. And when I wanted to change the channel, TV remote wasnt wokring. And that meant that I also couldn’t switch to Netflix or Disney TV. So, I have been stuck watching the news for the last hour. And it is not interesting at all. The men on the screen keep complaining about women and how annoying they are and how they should just stay at home and not work.
I am a woman, and I do not want to stay at home. I want to work. I want to make my mommy and daddy proud. I will become something usually only man can become, just to prove them, that I can. An astronaut. Or a fireman. Or a millionaire. Or a doctor. Or a pilot. Or a sailor.
Sailor
Like my daddy.
The only problem is that he gets hurt a lot. Like a lot. In fact, I am watching TV right now, because he got home yesterday from a weeklong trip away. And today he woke up hurting. I heard him crying at night. My parents think they are smart, that they are good at hiding. Well, they are, but I am even better. Maybe I could become a detective! I always uncover the truth my parents are hiding. I know my daddy and his friends work verry hard to keep us safe and they get hurt a lot. And I don’t want them to keep hurting. They are getting old.
Maybe, I can become a sailor, like my daddy, and then he won’t need to protect me anymore. And I can help him protect anyone I like. Except Amy from school. She bullies me all the time and I don’t like her. But I can protect anyone else.
But how does one become a sailor?
Just then the man on TV screen start talking about military. Something about recruitment. How more and more women are interested in military and the recruitment centres are overflooded with them.
Military recruitment center. I know what that is. We had to do a presentation of jobs that our parents do last year at school. That’s when my dad took me there to get some pamphlets and posters so I could show them to kids. But he said that I am too young for that type of thing, so he didn’t tell me much. Only that he often has fun in nature and he often swims (something that uncle Sonny hates).
I like both of those things. Nature and swimming. And being independent. I am independent. Independent enough that my parents have left me alone at home, watching TV alone, because my babysitter is sick, and she couldn’t come to take care of me while my mom took my dad to the doctor. And she took RJ with her as well. So, I am all alone. That means I am independent, right?
Then I got an idea. Maybe, I can walk to the recruitment centre and ask them, how can I become a sailor. They will know. My daddy said that they are verry smart. And sailors are good people who always help others.
I tried to, unsuccessfully, turn off the TV. I guess I will not become a repairman. Then I went upstairs to my room and changed in a blue jeans and a blue and white t-shirt with cartoon of a boat on it. I wanted to look like a sailor. I found a pair of white socks and my only white shoes. I also took my small bag, that was (sadly) pink with unicorns on it and filled it with cookies from the pantry. Mom always keeps them around because she says that a sailor’s stomach is never full. So, I need cookies to feed the sailors at the centre. Just before I left, I remembered to put on a jacked (again, sadly pink in colour) and take the keys from the hiding place in living room. Then I went outside, locked the door, and left to find a recruitment centre, so I could become a sailor.
POV: Emma
Me and Hannah were shopping and talking about boys when Naima called. Apparently, Uncle Ray is sick and hurt and she needed to take him to ER. However, her usual babysitter is also sick, so she has no one to watch over Jameelah. She didn’t want to take her with them because she has a dance recital in a week, and she didn’t want her to catch something at the hospital. Therefore, she asked me to go to her house and watch her until they get back.
The only problem is that that was over two hours ago. A car had run a red light and crashed in a car in front of us. Thankfully, Hannah is a good driver and managed to brake in time, so we weren’t hurt, but we still needed to stay there to get checked on the scene by the paramedics before giving the witness statement to the police. Then, we needed to go around the car crash, that blocked the whole street and find another way to the Perry house. And all that took us just over two hours and twenty minutes. So, I really hope Jamellah is a good girl who is watching TV or sleeping or playing with her toys in a mean time. Because otherwise, I am toasted.
Hannah decided that she does not want to go home yet. Apparently, her dad takes her mom out for diner every chance he gets to make up for the time he lost while on active duty, and an international women’s day is a good excuse for that. She does not want to be home watching both getting ready while giggling like a bunch of hight schoolers.
She parks her car in front of the Perry house, and we ring the doorbell.
There is no answer.
I try again. Ringing it twice in a row before knocking on the door. Maybe the TV is too loud.
Still no answer.
I try ringing it again before banging on the door. Maybe she is listening to the music and does not hear me.
No answer at all.
Hopefully nothing is wrong and she only isn’t answering because her parents have taught her not to open the doors for anyone. Yes, that must be it. I need to find the spare key. I know they have it in one of the lights on the front porch, but I can not remember in which one.
So me and Hannah spent next five minutes searching all the lights before finally finding the key and unlocking the door.
“Hey Jameelah, Emma and Hannah are here. We came to stay with you while your parents are away!” I say as I enter, so I wouldn’t scare the young girl. I hear the TV in the living room and decide to look there as I get no answer.
Except, she is not in the living room. And that is when I get a sick feeling in my stomach. Something is wrong.
Hannah can read the uneasiness on my face and says “Maybe she is in her room. You go check there, while I check the bathroom.” So we check it. And then I check RJ’s room while she checks the master bedroom. And then I check the back garden while she checks the kitchen.
Jameelah is nowhere to be found.
POV: Lisa
Being a working woman is a pain in the ass sometimes. Someone, broke two machine guns in the last two weeks, used all the batteries, cracked his night vision, and totally destroyed all of his electronics. I am so blaming Sonny and his clumsy ass for this. He did fall down the hill on the last mission. So that is probably it. But to worsen the problem, the last order of medical supplies and dog treats that I ordered before we left got cancelled for no reason at all, so I need to reorder it again. And, of course, I need to do it digitally. Which wouldn’t be a problem if my laptop wouldn’t star updating itself in the middle of my work. Why does military always schedule the updates on the workdays, at some random time they know we will be working. And the updates always take ages. From the random grunts, screams and curses I have heard I can only guess how many people on the base were affected by it.
I sight and stand up. There is no way I will finish this today. I guess the good thing is that we are unlikely to get spun up again this week, so we are not in a dire need of those things. But just to be sure I decided to go and check up on Mandy. I have seen her in cafeteria earlier and she is usually not here unless she is preparing to send us somewhere. Bette safe than sorry, I guess.
Just as step out of the door of the cage room, Mandy comes rushing down the hallway.
“Lisa, thank good you are here. We have a problem. I need to get a hold of Naima and I don’t know how. You do have her number, right?”
“Hold up. What is going on?” I asked. The whole situations seem strange,
“Emma just called me. Her mom is working and not answering her phone and she couldn’t get though you either so she called the base to get you. I was in the office when the call got transferred to Blackburn and I volunteered to relay the information.” She takes a deep breath before continuing.
“Jameelah is missing.”
“What do you mean she is missing. From where? Has anyone called the police yet?” I inquire while re-entering the room to grab my stuff.
“I am not sure. She just said to get you should call Naima to break the news to her because Emma is too nervous to do so. She was almost crying on the phone as well.”
Holly hell. This is so wrong. Emma is a strong girl. And Jameelah is a young girl. Has someone kidnaped her? Is it some random guy? Is someone holding a grudge on Ray and took her as revenge?
“We need to go.” I say before running out of the building.
“ I am coming with you!” she says, clearly thinking of the same scenarios as me.
POV: Mandy
As we arrive at the house, Hannah Seaver greets us with tears running down her face.
“Emma is so distraught. She was supposed to babysit Jameelah, but we took too long to get here and now she is gone. It is all my fault! I should be driving faster. Or taken another route. Then she would still be here.” She cries out.
“It is no one’s fault. And don’t worry. We managed to get a hold of Alana and she is coming here to help. She will also pick up Stella so she will help us as well. We will find her.” I try to reassure her.
“You shouldn’t promise something you can not keep.” Adam thought her well.
“Sweetheart, I find bad people for living.” I remind her. “Let’s look inside.”
We spend next 15 minutes trying to figure out what is going on. There is no sign of forced entry, so either someone had a key, or she has opened the door to someone. But something isn’t adding up. I have people back at the agency looking at anything that might indicate that a daughter of a SEAL has been targeted and they have nothing. I also called my friends at the FBI and local police, and they also have nothing.
On a whim I check a TV programme she has been watching and, after Lisa changes the remote battery, I also check the watch history. That gives me an idea.
“Maybe, she wasn’t kidnaped.”
“What do you mean? How could have she disappeared otherwise?” Alana asked.
“She watched Dora the explorer for at least an hour. That has give a bored kid some crazy ideas, does it not?” I explained. “So maybe we should split. Emma and Alana, you two go down the street, Stella and Hannah go the other way. Me and Lisa will split as well. You should ask neighbours if they have seen her but do not alarm them. We do not need more attention than needed. The best guess are those people, that are already outsides. Me and Lisa will check the playground before splitting to cover more ground. Also, I have called the police, but they are busy with some armed bank robery and don’t know when they will get here. So for now, we are on our own. Let’s go!”
And so we went. House by house, looking for in insight where a kid could have gone.
Half an hour passes by and we still have no idea where she is. Some neighbours have seen her walking towards the direction of the city centre, but otherwise we got nothing. Until I got a message from on old FBI friend saying, that I need o come to the Navy recruitment centre because a girl matching the description I gave him is there. Alone.
I pass the information to the other and we decide to meet there.
POV: Naima
I am so tired. Exhausted. I slept for maybe two hours all night.
Ray cam home yesterday with what he called minor injuries and a slight cold. He moaned and cried in pain all night, throwing up everything he put in his mouth, including pain medication. He left me no choice then to take him to the doctor. After an hour of wait time and another hour of testing, the doctor informed me, that the dearest husband of mine has two bruised ribs, one broken rib and cracked bone in his left arm. On top of that, he was poisoned by something. Probably some spider. Sonny would know for sure. That gave him high fever and difficulty breathing. Which is why the decision was made to keep him under observation at least until tomorrow. Or whenever his fever breaks.
Once he is settled in his hospital bed, I gather our stuff and pick up RJ. He has luckily fallen asleep about ten minutes ago. Battling a baby and a want to be hero of a husband in a nightmare. Luckily Jameelah is a good girl. I hope she isn’t giving Emma any troubles.
I exit the hospital when I get a call from Lisa. A little unusual, but I figured she must have known that Ray got hurt.
“Hey Lisa. Let me call you back when I get to the car.” I say, strugelling to hold the phone as well.
“Stay on the phone with me and do not panic. Everything is all right, but you might want to sit down as soon as possible.” She said.
I froze. Something is wrong.
“If it is about Ray, I know he was injured and is now in hospital.” I was hoping that was it.
“Are you in the car yet?”
“Give me a second” I answered before unlocking the car door and quickly strapped RJ in his car seat, throwing other stuff underneath it. I shut his door before collapsing on the driver seat.
“Tell me, Lisa. What is going on.”
“Well, you see.” She paused. “You need to come to the recruitment centre downtown.”
“Why. Is someone hurt?”
“Everyone is all right. But Jameelah is here.”
“Jameelah?!” I screamed. “Why is she here? What is she doing? Is she all right? She is there with who? She was supposed to be home! With Emma!!” I slammed my door shut, started the car, and pulled out of the parking lot.
“You know what,” I continued, “do not answer that. I will be there in few minutes. Wait for me there and keep an eye on my child!”
“You got it. Drive safe.” She said before she hung up.
POV: Alana
All six of us gathered in front of the recruitment centre. Then Lisa and Mandy went inside to pick up Jameelah who was reading some brochures in a corner. We looked from the outside how Mandy thanked some guy and then went to pick up the girl, while Lisa made a call.
Poor Naima. As a mom I can tell she is probably worried out of her mind. Now knowing where your kid is is a special kind of hell. Especially when you know from your husband about the dangers of the world. They really try not to bring those horrors home, but sometimes you just can not escape.
I smile at Emma and Hannah, who are silently standing next to me.
“She will not be mad.” I assure them. “If she screams, it is just her mother instinct. You two did nothing wrong so please stop worrying. Everything is all right.”
They both nod, not exactly convinced.
Just then a car screech to stop in front of us.
“Where is she, where is Jameelah.” Naima screams.
The door of the building opens and Jameelah comes rushing out.
“Mommy, mommy, look. I will become a sailor, just like my daddy.” She screams while running towards her mother. The same mother who picks her up in gives her a crushing hug.
“Do not scare me like this again!” She scolded, before looking at Emma. “How did this happen anyway? You were supposed to watch after her!”
After short explanation, given in pieces by all of us, Naima slowly looks at her daughter.
“What were you thinking. You could have been kidnaped! Run over by a car! Robbed! Hurt! Do not leave the house alone ever again, do you hear me?”
“But mommy!” Jameelah whines. “If I want to become a sailor, I need to be brave. And brave people can walk alone.”
We are all baffled. Lisa is first to recover.
“Jameelah, sweetie. I am a sailor, a brave one at that, and I never go anywhere alone. I always have someone with me. Either your daddy, your uncles, or their friends. And even they are never alone. Because being brave does not mean doing something alone. It means working as a group so we can do something better together. This is the secret magic of bravery.” She wisely says.
Naima looks at her with thankful eyes.
“Why do you not tell us all why you want to be a sailor while we all get some ice-cream. Does that sound good?” Naima asks, as she takes RJ out of his baby seat and locks the car.
“Yeey, ice cream!” Jameelah screams.
And that is how the eight of us (plus a sleeping baby) march down the street to get the good iced treat.