We pulled up to the FBI building, which honestly looked more like an office building. It could definitely blend in with the downtown scenery it was surrounded by. A man stood outside and walked over when we pulled into a spot. Dad rolled his window down and the agent poked his head in.
"Good morning guys. I'm Agent Perkins, I'll be helping with keeping you guys safe," Suddenly I recognized him as the agent from the hospital, the day we picked up the kids. I smiled as he saw me.
"Alright, do you want us to come in?" Dad asked.
"No sir, we have everything right here. Including a list of what you need to do," Perkins passed Dad a sheet of paper, "You'll be allowed to head home and pack anything you might need, and you'll want to pack for a few months at least. We don't know how long you'll be there. We already cancelled everything you had coming up for the next few months, and discussed with some of your appointments to moving them. Don't worry about anything."
Dad nodded, looking at the list.
"There's a moving van already at the house, they'll take you and your stuff there. There's already furniture for everyone, and plenty of food. Food will also be brought periodically. And you'll want to leave your phones and anything like that at your house. There will be an untraceable phone that only we will call you on when we need to."
"Alright sir, thank you."
"I'll see you soon," Perkins got up and went back inside. We all took a deep breath and Zach pulled out of the space and started to head home.
At some point I fell asleep, only to be awakened by Dad when we pulled in. I groaned, turning around to wake the kids up. Westley grinned and shot up, waking Max up himself, then Phoenix. I giggled, climbing out of the car. Max gently picked Phoenix up and passed her to me. I helped Max and Westley inside, and Zach followed to make sure we didn't get hurt. FBI agents followed us in as well.
"Mari, I'll get the boys' stuff, you get yours and Phoenix's, okay?" Dad asked, taking the boys into their rooms. I nodded and led some of the agents into my room so they could help me pack my stuff up. We ended up packing a total of 5 boxes for me, all of them large. We moved into Phoenix's room, the baby playing with some of her toys on the floor. We packed 4 boxes for her, one for clothes and the others all for toys and stuff for her to play and learn with.
We brought all of the boxes into the living room where agents took them out to the moving van. I took a deep breath as Dad came out with boxes galore from his room. He had twice as many as I did, but I noticed that most of them were instrument boxes. After all the boxes were moved out we packed one more full of entertainment stuff from around the rest of the house, like movies and board games. Eventually the house looked scarily bare.
Dad and I turned to each other, "We should probably turn our phones off now, huh?"
I nodded, "I'll put mine in my room." I stood from sitting next to Phoenix and moved into the hallway, pulling my phone and charger out of my pocket. I swung my door open and tossed my phone onto my bed. I was about to leave when I heard a deafening BANG!
I collapsed to the ground, trying my best to get away. I couldn't really see, except for black blobs in a sheet of white. Flash bang, they managed to find the house. What I presumed to be agents ran into my room, one stopping to pick me up as the effects wore off.
The ringing slowly faded as I was rushed out to the moving van. Dad and the kids were already there, and I could see the worry on Dad's face as the agents began to shield what sounded like gunshots from the opposing side. The rolling door slammed shut and I had barely any time to get into my seat before the truck lurched forward. The FBI had luckily already put bulletproof metal in the sides.
Before you freak out and say "Oh my gosh there's nothing in the back of a moving van what are they sitting on?", they had also set up what looked like the back of a car or a van, except surrounded by walls separating it from the cab and the actual storage part of the van. It was an undercover van, basically.
Dad held me close, "Are you okay Mari?" His voice shook, and I could see tears threatening to spill out.
"Yeah, it was just a flash bang, I'll be fine," I whispered, turning to the kids as I tried to calm them down. Westley wouldn't stop sobbing. I felt horrible. It wasn't their fault this happened. I knew the adrenaline was still flowing, but as soon as it stopped I was going to crash. The kids had to be okay first. I unbuckled and knelt in front of the kids, allowing them to lean forward and touch me in order to know that I was okay. Max immediately leaned forward and touched my face, running his fingers across my forehead. Westley grabbed my hand and put it against his chest. I frowned, near tears.
How could I do this to them? They didn't deserve this. No one deserved to deal with this.
I let the kids calm down and eventually they fell asleep. I could feel my eyes begin to droop as I stood and crawled back to the seat next to Dad. He opened his arms and I immediately crashed, my head landing in his lap.
