"Mamma!!!"
Albee shouted as he watched his mother being thrown down the floor. She crawled and tried to stand up but someone kicked her chest, sending her body flying and hitting the wall.
"Stop it! You'll kill her!", Albee yelled. He and Aaliyah were being restrained by a man with a well built body. His arms has scars and he was really scary, making Aaliyah tremble beside him. But Albee wasn't the least threatened by him. He was more concerned about her mother who was being beaten by another big man. Arianna's hands were bound and her eyes were blindfolded. She was helpless against their abductors!
"Stop hitting her! What do you want from us!" Albee yelled. "Leave her alone!"
Arianna was kicked on her chest and back. She was punched on her arms and was slammed on the wall twice. Why are they doing this to a woman? They didn't wrong them. They were just peacefully eating some ice cream outside their car when these people came and took them away! Who are they? What right do they have to do this to his mother?
"That's enough. Just leave her there." the man holding the kids finally said. The other man quickly complied and let the woman go at once. "Let's go now. We still have things to do."
The moment the scary man let go of the children, they immediately ran towards the woman who was currently lying motionless on the floor. Both the kids' hands were also tied up so they were unable to help Arianna up, but they snuggled next to her anxiously, hoping to comfort her.
"Mum, where does it hurt?", Aaliyah asked as she started crying. Albee on the other hand leaned closer and using his teeth, removed his mother's blindfold. "Mum... are you alright?"
Arianna glanced at the children after her blindfold was taken off. More than her painful body, her heart ached more as she saw them in tears. "Don't cry, Aaliyah... I'm alright. I'm not hurt.."
Albee gritted his teeth. He knew his mother was lying. She was only saying that so they won't get scared. Those men were really cruel. What was their purpose for doing this? Did they owe them something?
"Mum, do we have ties with the underworld?" Albee asked.
Arianna stared at her son. "By underworld, you don't mean hell, do you?", Arianna uttered hesitantly. Why would her innocent son know about such things?
"This is not the time to joke around, Mum! I meant mobsters!" he replied.
Arianna fixed her gaze on the little boy and then sighed. "What exactly did you see, Albee?" she asked with all seriousness. She was brought in blindfolded, but kids were not. Albee must have seen something strange.
"Firearms. There are a lot of them next room. We saw several men taking out rifles out of big wooden boxes." he told her.
Arianna lowered her head. "Rest for a while. Don't worry! I'll think of a way to take both of you out of here." she promised.
Albee studied her mother's face and saw a different glow in it. There's something strange about her mum this time... something Albee had never seen before.
Arianna looked around the room. They were in a small room with no window. It'll be hard to escape from here. They need to wait until it's dark. Then maybe they can force their way out of that door!
"Albee, do you think you can take the lighter out of my pocket?" she asked. Earlier before, she put the lighter they used to lit up the grill on her pocket without realizing it. Maybe it'll be of use now!
Albee kneeled beside his mum and reached for her pants' pocket. Arianna's hands were tied behind her but the kids had their hands tied on their front. With a little technique, Albee was able to get the lighter. "I got it." he mumbled.
"Great! Now lit it up and burn the rope binding my wrists." she ordered. Albee then kneeled behind his mum and followed her instructions. The rope was burning hot but Arianna endured the pain. They needed to get out of there soon.
Albee was almost done when they heared some footsteps approaching, followed by the door suddenly opening. He had no choice but to squeeze the lighter into his waistband.
"Take them out." they heard someone say and two men came in and dragged them out of the room. Are they going to kill them now?
"Is she really the woman?" A man in a gray suit asked.
Arianna glanced at the man in the gray suit and then looked around. There were about twenty burly men in there. The place is like an old warehouse with a lot of boxes piled up. She wondered what's inside those cardboard boxes.
"Arianna Reid?" the man called her name. "I thought you were dead."
"Who are you? What do you need from me?" she asked. This man in gray seemed to be the thugs' boss. But she was sure she had never seen him before. Was someone else behind this abduction?
"You don't know me, but I know you. I took a mission that is.... to wipe out the Reid family... including your kids."
Arianna's orbs bulged in fury. They intend to kill the kids? She won't let that happen! "I don't owe you anything! And these aren't my kids! You can kill me, but the children are innocent!" she yelled.
The man chuckled. "You want to save them?" the man said before taking out a mobile phone. "Here. Call your father and tell him to come and get you himself, then I can consider letting go of your kids."
Arianna stared at the phone. So they wanted her father as well? Who exactly is this lunatic who wants them dead? "Tell me first. Who are you and who are you taking orders from?" she demanded.
The man pulled a chair and sat before them who were kneeling on the dusty floor. He looked at them as if they were puny bugs which are easy to quash with even a single finger. "I'm the new leader of Phantom Eagle, Maddog. When I took over the post, the President only asked me one thing... that is... to exterminate the Reids."
Howard Finn... Arianna was dumbfounded. Even when he's already in hell, he still won't let them go! Her father didn't owe him anything! He's the one who wronged them!
"This is ridiculous! He's already dead!" she shouted. But the man didn't listen to her. He just flashed that evil smile of him and enjoyed watching her anguish.
"Tell me your father's number so we can phone him, or else you all will die tonight. How about that?" he repeated while waving the phone in front of them.
Arianna gritted her teeth. How can she betray her father? There's no way she can do that just to save herself, but the kids.... Arianna stared at the hateful man seated comfortably as if he's an emperor and they were slaves asking for his mercy. It was both humiliating and horrifying at the same time. The fate of the children was in her hands but she didn't have the heart to choose one. Both her parents and the kids are precious to her!
"I'll do it." Albee mumbled breaking the on going silence. Arianna instantly turn to her son, but he couldn't utter a word to stop him. Should she even stop him? She didn't know anymore. "Give me the phone and I'll dial grandpa's number. I'll beg for him to get us." he added. His voice sounded as if he was very afraid. "I don't want to die. I'll call grandpa in my mum's stead."
Arianna closed her eyes and clenched her tied hands. The boy's acting was very bad. Who would buy it? But it looks like he's into something. Now, she's even more worried!
"No! Just tell me the telephone number!" the man roared.
Albee lowered his head. "But I just turned four. I don't know how to say it. I need to see the keypad image." he replied, his expression more pitiful this time, as if he was about to cry. Aaliyah who was hiding behind Albee stared at him with awe. It felt strange for her to watch him like this. Albee has always been cold and expressionless. Seeing him about to cry, Aaliyah's tears came running down her face and hugged him from behind; her tears soaking the back of Albee's shirt.
"Alright. Men, untie him!" the man ordered. He then handed the phone to the little boy after his wrists were freed. He's just a kid. What could he do at a time like this anyway? "Call your grandpa and tell him to come here, else I'll kill you, your mother, and your sister." he intimidated him much more so that the old man would find him pitiful and agree to come.
Albee took the phone, and with his small but quick thumb, he opened the phone's location and checked their coordinates. He then pressed the home button, the call icon, and then key-in a string of numbers.
Albee put the phone close to his ear as he waited for someone to answer. After just a few second, the call went through. He waited for a while before saying a long sentence in german language.
Maddog angrily snatched the phone from the boy's hands. "What were you saying? You were calling the cops, were you?" he yelled.
Albee began crying. "I wasn't. My grandpa's butler is German. I was just asking him to get my grandpa on the phone!" he explained.
The man put the phone against his ear and said hello. Immediately, a man's voice echoed. "Wer ist das?".... "Brauchst du etwas?"
Maddog stared at the small boy crying with his head lowered. Maybe he's telling the truth? He turned on the speaker phone before giving the phone back to Albee. "Tell him to bring the phone to your grandfather." he commanded.
Albee took the phone and after an exchange of just a couple of sentences, the boy returned the phone to Maddog. "Grandpa is not home. He told me to call later." he murmured.
The man narrowed his eyes. "You better be telling the truth because if I find out you're deceiving me, I'll cut off your tongue to feed my piranhas." he warned, before turning around and leaving them. "Watch after them carefully! I'll be back after thirty minutes!" he told his subordinates.
Arianna turned to the previously frightened kid who was now wiping his tears. His eyes instantly turning cold. The kids grew up in Austria so it wasn't a surprise to hear Albee talking in German but... It wasn't true that Carl Reid has a German butler. He's in Canada and his butler should be French. Moreover, that first sentence he conveyed, she was sure it was a string of numbers. A coordinate. Did he just pass their coordinate to someone? And that voice on the phone.... he sounded so much like....