Writer
The two kidnappers hurried out of the building and got into their van. The police sirens were getting louder by the second and they drove off in a frenzy. Luckily for them, they left the premises just before the police got there. Hearing the siren sounds, Sonya went over to the door and opened it. She screamed in fright as she saw what was before her.
Mr. Hanson rushed to her. "What's wrong dear ? What has happened ?"
He looked on the floor and saw what had made Sonya scream. Just in front of them, Kelvin laid unconscious on the blood painted floor. Close to Kelvin, was the remaining kidnapper who couldn't escape due to Kelvin rendering him immobile. The sight was too ghastly for Sonya and Mr. Hanson, so they left the scene and went looking for the police downstairs.
They met the police downstairs and they wasted no time in showing them the injured people in the building. The police called for an ambulance and minutes later, the ambulance arrived at the agency. The police questioned Sonya and Mr. Hanson on what exactly happened and they gave the police an account of what they heard the whole time.
Two paramedics got into the building and checked on all the men. When they were done, they placed the kidnapper on a stretcher and they were sending him to the ambulance when Sonya and Mr. Hanson approached them.
"Where are the other men ?" Mr. Hanson asked.
The paramedics placed the kidnapper in the ambulance, before focusing on the father and daughter. One of them spoke up.
"The two men who wore suits are dead. They are out cold. There's nothing we can do for them." she said.
"What about the other guy ?" Mr. Hanson inquired. "His name is Kelvin."
"We met him close to the guy in the ambulance," the other paramedic joined in. "He's alright. He doesn't have any serious physical injuries. He is just sleeping."
"Sleeping ?" Mr. Hanson and Sonya chorused.
"Yes," the first paramedic affirmed. "If you know where he stays, please help him get home. He needs a lot of rest."
Mr. Hanson and Sonya had sighs of relief.
"Thank you very much for this vital information," Mr. Hanson said with gratitude. "We will be taking him home now."
"Alright." the first paramedic nodded. "We are taking this guy to the hospital. He is still alive but he is severely injured. Especially on his ribs. Also, we will deal with the dead men later. So, it's all good. Have a good night."
The paramedics got in the ambulance and shut it close before the driver drove off. Mr. Hanson went to his car and found his driver sleeping. He had been sleeping the entire time and Mr Hanson scolded him before asking him to go bring Kelvin. The driver obliged, went in the building and carried Kelvin back to the car.
The whole commotion at the real estate agency attracted the attention of news reporters and some swooped in to get much info about what happened. After getting info about the whole incident, the news went on air and it started to spread like wildfire.
Meanwhile, Mr. Hanson and Sonya sat quietly in the car as the driver drove them back home. They didn't say a word to each other and minutes later, they were at home.
The driver parked the car in front of the main house and Gabriel and Olivia were the first to approach as Mr. Hanson and Sonya got out of the car. They bombarded Mr. Hanson and Sonya with questions but none of them were answered. The driver then carried Kelvin out from the car and questions went flying again.
"What happened to him ?" Gabriel asked. "He doesn't look okay."
"That's not important right now," Mr. Hanson finally replied.
"Is he unconscious ?" Olivia queried and Mr. Hanson ignored her question.
Delilah and Hannah came out from the house to meet the group and they were dismayed to see the state of Kelvin.
"What happened to my brother ?" Hannah asked in fear.
"Hannah, please follow the driver up to Kelvin's quarters and take care of him. He needs rest at the moment." Mr. Hanson instructed.
She nodded and followed the driver as he carried Kelvin into the house. Delilah tried to follow Hannah but her father called her back.
"Stay back. We have an important meeting right now." he announced. "Let's go to the parlor."
Mr. Hanson started walking towards the house and everyone went after him. When he got into the house, there were some people still partying, so Mr Hanson ordered the closing of the party. The ones who had reservations in the guesthouses went there whiles those who didn't have reservations went home. Mrs. Hanson met up with her husband as he was ordering everyone around.
"Are you going to explain what happened or you are going to tell me it was a lie ?"
"Matilda, I'm going to tell you everything. We are meeting in the parlour upstairs after this." Mr. Hanson responded.
Just as promised, when the party was closed and majority of the guests had left the main house, Mr Hanson and his family alone went up to the parlor. Everyone sat down on the sofas and there was a brief moment of silence.
"I know you all have a lot on your mind...." Mr. Hanson spoke first. "So I'm going...."
"What happened to you guys at the agency ?" Delilah interjected with concern. "What happened to Kelvin also ? Is he alright ?"
Mr. Hanson paused for a while before he began his narration. He told them about how the armed men barged in and shot the bodyguards. Delilah covered her mouth in shock. Gabriel shook his head slowly and Mrs. Hanson had a look of dismay on her face. Mr. Hanson went on to narrate how Kelvin led them to an office to hide from the men.
"So what happened next ?" Gabriel inquired.
Mr. Hanson continued and told them about how Kelvin had asked him to call the police. When he told them about how Kelvin had offered himself as a distraction, everyone became more shocked than before.
"Stall the armed men ?" Delilah repeated. "That's dangerous. Why would he do that ?"
Mr. Hanson went on to explain how Kelvin didn't want any of them to get captured. He resumed and told them about how the first gunshot came on their door and how series of gunshots followed with sounds of struggle coming in later.
He then told them of the last series of gunshots and after that, the police sirens came. He didn't leave out the part where they found Kelvin on the floor next to an unconscious man.
Almost everyone gasped. "So what happened to him ? Did he get injured ?" Delilah quizzed.
"No, they said he wasn't injured." Mr. Hanson replied. "Apparently, he was sleeping..."
"Sleeping ?" Gabriel and Delilah chorused.
"I have no idea how but that's what I was told. Kelvin is sleeping and he needed rest to recover. He wasn't really injured."
"Oh thank God." Delilah said with a sigh of relief.
"So what happened to the armed men ?" Gabriel chipped in. "Did Kelvin kill them all ?"
"No, Kelvin didn't kill anyone. The two armed men escaped and Kelvin managed to stop the other from leaving." Mr. Hanson explained. "He has saved our lives..."
Everyone started showering thanks and praises on Kelvin's name. When they were done, Delilah focused on Sonya.
"Wow, just wow." she started. "Do you all know why Sonya has been quiet the whole time ? Cause the person she called 'perverted' has just saved her life. Twice!"
"Sonya!" Mrs. Hanson exclaimed.
"Perverted ?" Gabriel echoed. "Kelvin is not perverted. He's a good guy."
"Sonya, explain to us what's going on. I'm waiting." Mrs. Hanson demanded.
Seeing that everyone was waiting for her to speak, Sonya sighed and narrated the first time she met Kelvin. When she was done, Gabriel had his hand to his forehead. Mrs. Hanson was just eyeing her daughter. Delilah just looked up at the ceiling and Mr. Hanson didn't react at all.
"So you are telling me that just because you saw a guy look at you from behind, he's automatically a pervert ?" Gabriel rephrased.
"That's not what I meant—" Sonya defended.
"What do you mean that's not what you meant ?" Gabriel asked, cutting her off from speaking. "Have you thought about if it was an accident ? Forget the accident, things like this happen. Can't guys appreciate your beauty or you caught him doing it more than once ?"
"That's enough, Gabriel." Mrs. Hanson intervened. "You know how Sonya is. She has a problem and I'm praying for it to go away one day. Just back off a little."
"I hear you, mom." he nodded. "But someone has to talk to her and open her eyes. This can't go on forever."
Sonya had the looks of shame and regret. Delilah was just watching her the whole time and Sonya avoided the gaze of her younger sister.
"Sonya," Mrs Hanson called out. "Tomorrow, if Kelvin recovers, you are going to apologize to him, you hear me ?"
Sonya nodded.
"With the way Gabriel is defending Kelvin, it seems he's a good guy." Mrs. Hanson commented.
"He's a good guy of course," Gabriel said. "I've known him for some hours and I know what I'm saying...."
"About one week...." Mr Hanson uttered as he faced the ceiling. Everyone's mood changed after hearing that.
"Why didn't you tell us before ?" Mrs Hanson asked with a gloomy face. "I was just about to ask you what you said in the living room."
"I had no intentions of telling you guys at all." Mr Hanson admitted. "It was 5 years ago and I had persistent coughs while I was in Dubai. I went to see a doctor and after some tests, he informed me that I had stage 3 lung cancer."
There was another loud gasp. Sonya started tearing and Gabriel covered his face. Mrs. Hanson watched her husband with teary eyes and Delilah couldn't move a muscle.
"I had a notorious young life," he went on. "And I used to smoke a lot in those days. If I hadn't met your mother, I would have continued. She was the one who helped me to quit smoking and she helped me focus on work, which is one of the main reasons why I am where I am today."
"I didn't think my young years would catch up to me," he chuckled. "Until last 5 years. I was given five years to live. If I went after five years, it would be a miracle. But I don't see that happening. I had several treatments to help minimise the coughing of blood, chest pains, shortness of breath and even improve my appetite but they are fighting back little by little. I don't think I have much time left..."
"Don't say that," Sonya cried out with tears falling from her face.
Mr. Hanson watched her for a while before continuing. "This is why I didn't want to tell any of you. I didn't want to put the weight of my inevitable death on your lives. I wanted us to spend time with each other like a normal family. I didn't want any of you to feel worried about me all the time. I wanted to die quietly without causing you all to worry."
"That's not fair." Delilah found her voice. "We are family, you should have said something."
"Yes, I could but I chose not to. See how you all are now in grief for me. It hurts me to see this." Mr. Hanson wiped a tear on his cheek. "As I knew I was going to die, I wanted to see one thing before I pass away and that was seeing one of my children take over from my business. That's all I wanted. I didn't want anyone to come and take something I worked hard away from you guys. That's why I was pressuring you two to take up my business."
"Initially, I wanted Gabriel but he wasn't interested and I respected his decision. For Sonya, you know I love you very much and seeing you take over would let me die a happy death. I tried all I could but you didn't want to accept the takeover." Mr. Hanson said with a sigh. "So, I will be handing over the business to someone else, since you all aren't interested. That's the only thing I can do now since my death is looming around the corner."
Sonya fell to her knees and bowed down with tears. "I'm very sorry dad. Please forgive me. I have been such a terrible daughter over the years and I didn't want to take over because of my selfish reasons. Please, let me fulfill your wish and take over the job as you had always wanted."
"Sonya, there's no need....."
"Please!" she wailed. "I'm begging you. I'll change. I'll be the daughter you want me to be."
Tears flowed from Mr. Hanson's eyes and he went over and raised Sonya up. "Please, stop crying. You have shed enough tears already. Save some for when I'm gone, okay ?"
They hug tightly and Gabriel joined them. Delilah cleans her tears and joins them as well. Mrs. Hanson got up and wiped her tears too. Mr. Hanson broke up from the rest and embraced his wife before they finally kissed passionately.
Mr Hanson faced his children as he broke away from his wife. "Let's all get some rest. I'll see you all tomorrow."
* * *
Bill Gates and Blacksmith drove into the hideout and Raymond was waiting for them. They got out of the van and took their seats, groaning as they felt pains all over their body, especially Tupac since he was still bleeding.
"What happened ? Why is the kidnapping attempt on the news ?" Raymond asked in anger.
"We didn't plan everything out well," Bill Gates managed to say. "We were beaten again by that guy. I don't know how but he managed to hold us down."
"Hold you down ?" Raymond rephrased. "You had guns. He didn't. How did you three—where's the last guy ?"
"I couldn't save him but I saved Tupac. He's bleeding now and he needs help." Bill Gates pleaded.
"What ? How should I help ?"
"Then we are leaving." Bill Gates announced. "Good luck with your kidnapping plan. We quit."
"Oh no, you can't quit on me." Raymond brought out a gun. "I make the shots around here. You don't tell me what to do. You caused a great mess out there and you have placed me in a huge trouble. There's no way you are getting away with that."
"Boss wait, we can—"
The sound of a gunshot echoed throughout the building as Raymond fires a bullet into Bill Gates' chest. He falls down and Raymond fires again. This time at his head. Raymond focused on Tupac as he was trying to escape.
"And where do you think you are going ?"
With those words, Raymond placed two bullets in the head of Tupac and he fell down on the floor. With both of them dead, Raymond sighed frustratingly and puts the gun back in his pocket.