The men got to the gate and began to pull and push at the bars but it wouldn't budge.
They pushed and pulled to no avail.
They were given specific instructions to bring the three of them back alive so they could not use brute force, hence the chase.
One of the men turned and spoke into his comm device.
"boss the children are out of the property"
The man at the other end didn't take it lightly. It was Griffith.
The children stood outside the gates and looked at the growth surrounding the property.
The men at the other side still stood, but we're no longer pushing and pulling at the gates.
"how are we going to get through that" Jon muttered pointing.
Annie eyed him and put Bertha down.
"Maybe you would like to go back home to the warm and cozy fire waiting for you inside" she smirked.
"It's either that or or this....well when you decide to make up your mind, you can do as you wish.... I'm outta here...c'mon Bert" she smirked.
Jon eyed her, eyed the growth and eyed the gates with the men standing and made up his mind pretty fast.
"wait for me Annie" he called and ran after his sisters.
Griffith listened to the man on the other end of his comm device, his face growing darker with every word the man said.
"Find a way" came his reply.
He picked up his phone and made a call.
"The children are out fucker" he said into the receiver smirking.
"what"
"what what.... you got outsmarted again tonight... twice now if I'm counting properly"
The man on the other end gave no reply.
"well you best get going and do something about it" he said and dropped the call.
William eyed his phone and unleashed a string of colourful words at it before returning it to his pocket. Then he wondered how he was able to get a call underground.
After being a regular at the Hart mansion, never in his wildest dreams did he imagine a secret pass through the Hart walls and underground.
They were indeed very clever. They had made it their own little personal secret over the years.
He retracted his steps and went back to the surface.
He pushed the men standing guard by the trapdoor and went directly outside, without even bothering to stop at the living room.
Then he stomped his way through the grounds to the back gates.
He wasted no time in shoving men aside to clear a path for himself.
He grabbed the iron bar one of the men were using it attempt prying the door open and shoved the man aside.
He proceeded to do the job himself.
In few minutes, the doors were open.
"split into groups. It's 4 hours till daybreak and they better be found before then. If not, it's going to be your heads" he said and proceeded to begin hacking away at the growth in front of him, clearing a path.
The men split into groups, each group going in different directions.
Annie and her siblings walked for hours, only stopping to have a drink of water. She remembered a little cave she and jon used to play in before her father forbade them from leaving the Hart estate.
They had a driver who took them to and fro wherever the wanted to go and bodyguards who accompanied them.
The cave was not really a cave per see, it was an opening created by the action of weather elements on an area full of rocks, hidden by more rocks and shrubbery growth.
She had mistakenly found it or rather, slipped through and had gotten lost on one of her childish expeditions with her brother, long before Bertha was born.
She was found two days later, cold, hungry and barely alive.
The incident led to her father forbidding Any expedition outside the walls of the Hart estate.
That was their only hope. They had better find it, and fast too, Else they were done for she thought.
"I'm tired" Bertha whined, breaking through her thoughts.
"don't be a sissy" Annie said eyeing her.
"leave her alone.... even I am tired let alone her... what happened to mum and dad by the way" Jon asked.
"They're dead." Annie replied, tears welling up in her eyes.
"huh?" Jon asked speechlessly.
"I said they're dead.... uncle Will and dad's friends killed them"
"why" Jon asked, hot tears falling freely from his cheeks.
"I don't know" Annie replied, letting her own tear roll down her cheeks.
"they seemed to be looking for something but I don't know what"
"Uncle Will shot mum and dad"
"but Uncle Will is a friend" Jon said sniffing and rubbing his already reddening nose.
"yeah some friend he is...it wasn't even a stab in the back. It was a shot in the face" she said, scrunching up her face and setting her jaw in a firm line as she cleaned the lone tear that had rolled down her face.
Jon cried and his shoulders heaved ass he held his elbows with opposite hands and sobbed.
He never got the chance to say goodbye.
"c'mon" she said as she stopped in her tracks and turned to her brother.
"we have to keep going. Whatever they're looking for, we don't have it and I don't think they will believe that, even if we tell them so.
You don't want to get caught do you? We might end up like mum and dad or worse. I'm sure they're probably half way to us by now" she said as she used her fore finger to wipe off Jon's tears.
She was exhausted too and even hungry as she did not eat dinner the night before.
She was busy entertaining her Father's guests and playing host alongside her mother, but showing that would mean trouble for the three of them. The last thing they needed was her being weak and letting it show.
If anything, she wanted to put up a strong front. They had to leave alive and being miss putty softie wasn't going to cut it, neither was it going to help their predicament.
"we have to keep moving" she squatted and motioned Bertha to get on her back then she handed the bags to Jon.
"when are we going to eat I'm hungry"
"not now.... let's go forward. A little bit far away then we can rest and eat"
They had not gone far when they heard sounds of heavy footsteps approaching from afar and the sound of a rising and falling knife.
Annie and John looked at each other, fright took over.
They began to run.
The thick growth didn't make it easy on their legs and skin.
Branches tore at their clothes and scratched their skin.
Still they pressed forward without taking a break.
"Do you think William is capable of doing what he was asked... afterall they are like family" Shaun asked no one in particular as the remaining four men sat in the living room, waiting for news of the children's capture.
"oh pullease.....that fucker would do anything for the right price and of course, a piece of the Hart fortune.... even if he isn't to be trusted, his greed can be trusted. That can never fail" Griffith smirked.
The bodies of Adam and Elizabeth had been bundled up in a corner by their henchmen after Glint had muttered something about feeling Elizabeth's vacant eyes, staring directly at him and him being uncomfortable about it.
For lack of something to do, Bart busied himself with is mobile device, Running the affairs of his company, afterall, he had a cooperation to run.
He was just present to protect his own interests and secrets, and to make sure no mistakes were made in cleaning up their dirty laundry, same as the other men present but Griffith had personal issues with Adam.
He was all too glad to see him come to his end and his dark heart was satisfied when he watched their lifeless bodies being rolled up in the center rug.
William also had issues with him, not to mention the handsome reward he was getting for being their mercenary.
He was chosen because he was a person the Hart family trusted and with him, getting access to their property and the estate itself was very easy.
"whatever the outcome, we best be outta here before daybreak news spreads like wild fire in these parts....not to mention the gunshot sounds. Someone must have heard.....or rather, people. Either way, we best be out" Shaun said from his position close to the floor to ceiling window, which he was staring out of, watching the charade occuring at the gate.
"yes" Bart agreed.
He didn't want to be found sitting comfortably in the middle of two known underworld kingpins and two lifeless bodies rolled up in a rug and a servant quarters full of dead people and if the children were found, a probability of three more dead bodies. No sir, he was having none of that.
He had managed to keep his reputation in the eyes of the public blameless and to make people view him as a saint.
Only few people knew the kind of man he really was and he intended to keep it that way.
"how hard can it be to catch three children" Glint asked no one in particular.
"rephrase that Glint.... not just three children. Have you forgotten? They're Adam's children. The apple can never fall far from the tree and you're wondering why they're so elusive" Griffith smirked.
The entire house had been searched and nothing was found.
The entire building looked as though an army of elephants had a stampede right inside.
The only other clue was the children.
"call the fucker for an update" Glint said to Griffith.
He picked up his cell phone and dialed, the call disconnected each time.
"apparently, the cell tower does not extend to the middle of nowhere" he said grimly.
"No choice but to wait it out then"
"you bet?" Bart replied, raising his head and eyeing him before he returned to busying himself.
Annie ran through the forest confused and bitter and angry. She felt like they were just going around in circles.
She was beginning to get more tired and desperate. It had been two hours of walking and running not to mention she was carrying Bertha on her back all the way.
"Face it.... we're lost" Jon said to Annie grimly.
"you think I haven't noticed smarty pants?" Annie said as she set Bertha stooped for Bertha to get off her back.
"I know you're trying to find that cave" Jon said to her.
Annie eyed him and said nothing.
Her hands were on her hips, her chest heaving. Her eyes were darting from one corner to the other.
The hacking and swooshing sound of a blade grew louder and Annie was so exasperated she felt like crying.
At this point, she gave up. She set down and dumped her ass on the ground, refusing to go an inch further.
She surrendered herself to fate.
If she was going to die, then let it be.... afterall, a person only dies once she thought.
"why do you two always argue" Bertha asked.
Annie and Jon just looked at each other and didn't say a word.
"what are you doing Annie...why did we stop" Jon asked.
"I'm tired and let's face it we're lost. even if we go farther, there's no way out. We might end up getting eaten by wild animals or worse, falling to our deaths somewhere"
"so your bright idea is to sit here and do nothing? just get caught?"
"got any bright ideas Einstein? I'm so enthralled I'll like to hear it" Annie asked as she stretched herself from her position on the floor. As she attempted to get up, she fell backwards and in trying to get back her balance, pulled Bertha along with her. They both screamed as they fell.