AN: Hope you like this one. Worked quite hard on it , sorry for the wait (: Oh, and the lyrics are from All Along the Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix. There might be some lyrics or a quote at the start of a chapter or there might not.
'There must be some kind of way out of here, said the Joker to the Thief.'
Mollie had never known her parents. Joe told her they died in a car crash when she was only four and she had automatically been put into care along with her brother. But then Joe had turned eighteen and he was allowed to leave; to go where he liked. Mollie had been almost sure he would leave her and she had cried for weeks in her room. He had come back though and become her legal guardian. From then on it had been her and Joe against the world. He had worked hard to keep up with the rent and the bills of the small flat they lived in. Hard enough to get promoted and buy a proper house for the two of them. He met Norah at a friend's party, when Mollie was six. The little girl hadn't completely understood but she knew what love was. It was something Joe never failed to explain; he needed Mollie to feel loved, to feel wanted.
He was going to buy her a puppy for her birthday and she was going to call it Fudge and play with it every day. Mollie thought of Joe and the puppy as she watched the bright colours of the streets fade away into blackness. The man called Wade had fallen asleep, snoring softly, but John was still awake, a deep frown creasing his forehead. The truck slowed and she glanced out the window. They were going through a security gate, a barrier lifted to let them past and John drove on over the bridge. Mollie shuffled over to the other seat and peered out the window, staring down into the gloomy water below. Her gaze drifted upwards, landing on a dark island. Large concrete buildings and cooling towers dotted it, emerging out of the darkness and looming over them threateningly.
'Is this where Joe is?' She asked quietly, her young face hopeful as she looked up at John.
'Not yet, honey.' John replied and turned the truck round a corner, pulling up outside a huge gloomy building.
Wade's eyes snapped open as if he had been awake all along and he smiled, cracking his neck. 'Home sweet home.' He said brightly, jumping down from the truck.
John cut the engine and the vehicle shuddered to a stop. Mollie quietly watched him as he got out, slamming the door behind him. For a moment she thought he'd forgotten about her as he talked to Wade, but the younger man turned to look at her and smiled; a cold, unfriendly smile. He sauntered to the truck and yanked open the door Mollie had been leaning on. She nearly fell, throwing her arms out with a shriek and catching a hold of Wade's top. He stumbled back, his hands finding her shoulders and pulling her upright. She stayed clinging to him even when her feet touched the ground and he had to pry her fingers from his shirt in surprisingly gentle manner.
'C'mon, shorty.' He said and jerked his head towards the building.
Mollie hesitated and stepped back from the intimidating place, but Wade placed a hand on the small of her back and softly propelled her forwards. It wasn't a particularly welcoming place; the windows thick and dusty, the walls grey and made out of a dull concrete. By this time a thousand thoughts were running through Mollie's head. She had a small inkling in the back of her mind that Joe wasn't here. It was a bad place, something told her, a place she didn't belong. She went along obediently, though, a small flame of hope still burning inside of her that these men were genuine. Ahead of them John swiftly stabbed a code into a keypad beside the metal door and it clicked before swinging open, casting bright light upon them.
'Good evening, Mollie.' A new voice said and the girl turned, looking up at the man like a deer caught in headlights. He was old, older than the others, but he held an air of authority over him and she felt Wade's hand fall from her shoulder as he took a step back. 'Don't be afraid; we're going to help you.' He smiled.
'W-where's Joe?' Mollie whimpered shakily.
He ignored her and continued. 'My name is William Stryker. You'll be looked after here, Mollie,' he put his hands in his pockets, rocking back on his heels. 'Take her.' He nodded at John. 'Wade, come with me.' He turned and walked away down an empty corridor. Wade rolled his eyes and sauntered after him, ruffling Mollie's hair as he passed.
'C'mon,' John muttered, his eyes downcast. He took her arm and pulled her away. His touch was soft but Mollie had known a time when it had been softer.
She tilted her head up at him. 'Why are you sad?'
'What?' John's steps faltered and he raised an eyebrow. 'I'm not sad.'
'Yes you are.' She answered as if it was obvious. 'Even when you smile; it's in your eyes.' She stopped and waited patiently as a burly guard slid open the metal gates to the cells. The guard regarded them quizzically as they passed. She was young, too young, even he knew that but what could he do about? What would he do about it? This was his job and he had his own little girl to worry about, not someone else's.
'You would be sad,' John finally answered as he walked her down. 'If you had to do what I do.'
'Why d'ya do it, then?' She countered.
They came to a halt at the end and John swung open the cell door. 'Because I have to.' He told her, jerking his head towards the cell.
Mollie hesitated, the full extent of the situation suddenly hitting her. She looked at him, bright purple eyes wide. 'Joe always told me no one has to do anything they don't want to.'
'I'm sorry, kid.' He said quietly. Without another word, Mollie walked into the cell. She leant against the far wall and slid down it until her bum hit the concrete. John locked the door and he could still feel her eyes on him as he walked away.
This time Norah was quiet. Her dark hair had been pulled back into a tight bun and she wore no makeup. She had barely managed to pull herself out of bed. Hamilton regarded her warily as he shuffled the papers about the desk; beside him Davids stroked an imaginary beard. Only a day had passed since Mollie had been taken and Joe killed but to Norah it felt like an eternity. She felt no bitterness towards them both, although she had been left alone; alone to cope and alone to live. Joe and Mollie would be hardly missed by anyone except her so she had taken it upon herself to make people remember.
'How are you, Norah?' Hamilton asked with a smile.
'How do you think I am?' She snapped back.
Hamilton sighed. 'I'm sorry, Miss Hadfield, I understand how hard this must be for you. But we need to know more about Mollie if we have any hope of getting her back to you.' Norah nodded. 'So, I'll begin with a simple question. Where are Mollie's parents?'
'They died in a car crash and J-Joe's looked after her ever since.' Her voice cracked. 'I don't see what this has to do with getting Mollie back.'
'It all helps, Norah, every little helps.'
'I just want to have her back. She's so small and helpless.' Norah choked on a soft sob.
To everyone's surprise, including himself, Davids reached over and took her hand. 'It'll be okay, Norah, we will get her back and she will be safe.' His voice was soft in contrast to his tall, lean physique.
'How do you know that?' She whispered. 'How do you know she's not lying in a ditch somewhere?'
'Don't think like that.' Hamilton said.
Norah shook her head, tears brimming her lashes. 'She's all I have – I'm all she has.'
Mollie didn't want to go home. She wanted to stay in the park and play with her dolls. Her mother and father had tried everything they could think of to coax her back to the car but they didn't force her, they believed in children making their own decisions. Even Joe had plied her with an ice cream but Mollie was having none of it and had ran off into the small cluster of trees near the lake. It was getting the late, the sun just touching the horizon.
'Mollie!' She heard her mother shout and she giggled, shuffling further into the bush she had crawled into. They would be mad once they found her but she didn't care, she liked the park.
The voices were fading away as the mini search party moved on. Mollie frowned and inched forwards onto the path, her doll clutched tightly in her hand. All of a sudden a shadow loomed over her and a grinning face appeared. A hand grabbed her arm and wrenched her small body from the ground. Mollie screamed. This wasn't her father or Joe; this was a great hulk of a man who stank of beer and cigarette smoke. The man's grin got wider, revealing two missing teeth, and he shook her up and down. Tears streamed down her face as she wriggled in his vice like grip.
'Hello little girly,' he breathed and chuckled.
'Leave me alone!' Mollie shrieked. 'Mama!' Her small hands smacked at any piece of him she could find. They must have heard her by now, they would be coming to save her, and she knew it. She opened her eyes to see them and then suddenly the man was gone.
She dropped to the ground with a thud. A loud crack resounded around the woods and she flinched, her eyes searching the darkness for the man. He was on the floor and he wasn't moving. Mollie curled up, sobbing into her arms, clutching her doll close to her chest. She didn't hear them when they finally came, running down the path frantically. She was startled when her father grabbed her shoulder to hug her and she spun round, a scream released from her small lungs. Her father flew off his feet and smacked sideways into a tree, his neck snapping instantly and he fell to the ground dead. Her mother screamed shrilly which set Mollie off like a fire alarm and she stumbled to her feet, wailing like a banshee. Her mother ran to her but Mollie panicked and backed away, throwing out her arms. It was as if an invisible force had been thrown up in front of the girl and her mother stopped, waving her arms in front of Mollie. The force was lifted and the woman was lifted up into the air before smashed down into the ground. She lay still; lifeless. Mollie screamed, her body wracked with sobs.
'Mollie, stop!' Joe shouted desperately. Without hesitating he ran to her and wrapped his arms around her. She fell into him, soaking his shirt with her tears.
'I'm sorry, Joe,' she whispered. 'I'm sorry, sorry, sorry, Joe.'
'It's okay, Mollie, it'll be okay.'
