Athena looks timid and afraid but her face crunches when she sees the men grab her Mama Rosa.
Two of the special forces climb the tree to monitor the area from the men of the Tucson Gang. Peter Haufbanhoff points the direction of the exact big tree where the gang might be hiding.
Underground the tree, Athena stays silent at the corner near the stairs. The little girl's eyes shift on the table. Her face lights up. It looks similar to one of her toys. She takes a few steps to pick it up. She caresses it and weighs it in her hand. She smiles gleefully.
Peter draws on the ground several key structures inside the hideout. Captain Brad Madrid presses on his earpiece, instructing his men of their position. Suddenly, three gunfire echo in the air.
Hermes Marco gets highly alerted. The sound reverberated from the inside of the big tree.
Senator Graysen runs pulling Peter alongside him. "Show the way!"
Everyone runs inside the tree. They find the entrance going down ajar. Some of the men are about to go in when they almost bump into the two figures - Rosa leading Athena up the stairs.
Graysen gets Athena out handing her to Paulus, then pulls Rosa to bring both of them out of the suffocating space. He tightly embraces his wife. Senator Graysen finally gets some relief from the tension he has been feeling for the past couple of days.
The moment Rosa safely comes out, the special forces jump in to take down the kidnappers.
They find three bodies huddle together, with blood seeping from them. One man still has a pulse beating while the two are already dead.
Paulus hands Athena back to her father. Graysen carries Athena while holding Rosa's hand. He takes them outside to the ambulance that recently arrives with two military vehicles behind.
He wraps Rosa and Athena with blankets. Paulus hands two bottled water to his boss. The senator twisted the cap and gives it to Rosa. He twisted the other bottle, takes off its cap, and nudge Athena to drink it while he holds it for the little girl. He inspects his daughter's body for bruises or any signs of torture. Graysen then turns to observe his wife. Rosa has bruises on both of her arms.
"Are you alright?" He inspects Rosa's arms and lifts the hem of her pants to her knees. There are some marks on her legs, too.
Rosa takes a deep long breath. "Athena saved both our lives. She nimbly fires at our kidnappers down there."
He lifts Athena and takes her seat. He put her on his lap and put his arms around Rosa's shoulder to comfort her. "I am sorry, mia Rosa. It was my fault to let my guard down. I put both of my girls in danger. Please forgive me. I promise to protect all of you to the best of my abilities. I don't dare lose anyone of you."
He gives Athena a peck on the cheek. Graysen strokes his finger through his little girl's hair. To affirms his support, he tells her, "Good job, sweety. You remember your lesson well."