Chapter 9 – Something New Begins
Letty and Nola arrive at the hospital and are immediately seen by the head obstetrician. Nola is sitting up on the table answering a series of questions about the bleeding and cramping she's been experiencing. About her past history and trying to keep her composure through it all.
"The first thing we need to do is an ultrasound to see if the baby still has a heartbeat. Then we'll discuss what to do from there."
Nola nods and tears run down her face. She had too many ultrasounds that had showed her babies with no heartbeats.
The doctor leaves her to change into the hospital gown and scrub pants.
When the ob and the nurse return they have her lie back on the table. Nola grips the sides of the table, trying to suppress the urge to throw up. This was slow torture. She just wanted to hear the news.
The nurse squeezes gel on her stomach and the transducer is put there.
Immediately the heartbeat is clear on the screen and loud and fast in the speakers.
Nola touches the screen and starts to cry. Letty even feels the urge to release tears at the sight of the baby with a beating heart. The baby is flipping and moving around.
"Ms. McKnight, she has a really good and strong heartbeat," the doctor explains. "That's a very good sign. We're going to keep looking. Have you had the anatomy scan?"
Nola shakes her head and shallows the lump that had been in her throat. "I went in two weeks ago and they gave me an ultrasound and told me the sex. The anatomy scan was scheduled for next week."
"Well let's do that today then."
The doctor and the nurse spend a long time performing the ultrasound and talking amongst themselves.
"Wait, what's that?" The doctor asks squirting at the screen.
Nola's heart pounds in her chest and she looks at Letty.
"Ms. McKnight, will you turn onto your right side?"
Nola does as asked and Letty steps up and rubs her arm and watches them work.
After much more pressing and moving the transducer around the doctor turns to talk to the women.
She gives Nola a towel to wipe her stomach and helps her sit up.
"This baby is fine. Nothing at all for you to worry about."
Smiles filled with joy and relief cross Nola and Letty's faces. Nola rubs her tummy and pats the skin there.
"There was a blighted ovum in the background. I don't know when it happened. Most likely you fertilized two eggs at the beginning of this pregnancy. The empty sac also attached to the uterine wall and didn't develop. Your body didn't shed the lining because of this little girl developing."
Nola nods taking in all the information. Much of it familiar even if the scenario was different. Much different.
"It's starting to detach, that's where the bleeding is coming from. Probably because she was pressing against it. I'm pretty sure the worst of the bleeding is behind you. It'll pass when the baby is born."
"That's it?"
"That's it. You'll have a little more spotting, maybe pain but not much if any. You go home and have a healthy baby girl in twenty weeks."
Letty laughs out loud and puts and arm around Nola who can't breathe from the shock of the good news. This wasn't what she was expecting, but it was the greatest thing that could have happened.
"Get dressed. I'll be back to send you home."
When the doctor leaves, she turns to Letty smiling.
"Thank you for being here!"
"Shut up! Of course."
Nola hops down from the table and walks over to her closes on a nearby chair. Her cell rings as she starts to pull her dress on.
"Will you please answer that?"
Letty looks down at the display. "Hello?" She answers the call, wondering if she should cover with Han.
"Get the kids and get out of the house. We think you're in danger!"
Letty is on instant alert.
"I'm not at the house! I'm at the hospital with your wife!"
The panic in Letty's voice causes Nola to worry, but she remains quiet listening to Letty's side of the call.
Han turns away from the phone and yells to someone in the background. "Call Mia! They aren't there!"
"What's going on at the house Han?" Letty shouts into the phone.
"The house?" Nola starts to dress rapidly.
Letty hears a lot of commotion in the background and listens for more information. Trying to gauge her next move.
"Letty, there are men at the house. Reyes called someone and sent them after you guys." Han explains as concisely as possible. "What's wrong with Nola?"
Letty turns to Nola. Her mind couldn't even process the rest of Han's words.
"Nola, we gotta go. The kids are in danger."
Nola pulls on her shoes and they run out of the building back to their car. They both climb into the vehicle and Letty peels out of the parking lot of the hospital and through the streets towards home.
Dom comes onto the line suddenly.
"Where are you Letty?"
"Not at the house!" She's panicking thinking about men harming her children back at the estate. "I had to take Nola to the hospital."
"My babies!" Dom roars.
Letty's mind start to whir as she weaves around traffic.
"I have to call Mia Dom. I have to tell her to what to do! I will call you back!"
"Fuck! Okay Letty! I love you! I fucking love you okay!"
"I know! I love you!"
Nola climbs over the seat and into the back of the car. She opens the compartment to the trunk from the inside and pulls out two cases of weapons. They kept them everywhere, just in case.
"What's going on?" Nola asks, checking the guns.
"Reyes sent men to the house. I have to call Mia and tell her about blowing those explosives."
"She can blow them as close as the men being to the fountain and they'll still feel the effects."
"I know Nola."
Letty dials the number as she drives full speed back to the house and her kids.
Earlier
Mia picks up her cell phone from the counter and texts Brian.
I'm in love with you. I know you're doing this for me. See you soon.
I'm glad you know that Mia. Only something for you could take me away from you.
Brian please be careful, do whatever you need to do to come home. Nothing extra. I don't need a hero, I need a husband.
As long as you're waiting for me, I have all the motivation I need to come home.
Mia, Rosa, Nicole and Marco get all the kids fed and dressed in their swimsuits and down take them out to the pool for a swim. The playtime and the fun is a huge distraction from the missing adults and all the worry of the past few days.
The bigger kids spend the next couple hours playing on the waterslide and running around the pool area.
Nicole and Mia have Noella, Nolen and Caden in the in ground kiddie pool playing. It's just what they all needed.
Mia's phone rings and she jogs over to the lounge chair carrying Caden to answer it. She wraps the baby in a towel and picks up the call.
"Hello?"
"Get out of the house and get somewhere safe!"
Mia knows the drill. She turns to Marla Summers who had been standing nearby talking into microphone in her sleeve to one of her men.
"Marla! We have to take the kids and go!"
Marla walks over to Mia quickly and Mia doesn't like the look on her face.
"There are men everywhere! We're not going anywhere!" Summers relays the information that has just been reported to her.
"Fuck!" Brian overhears the agent's words.
"I have to go!" Mia hangs up the phone. She needed to concentrate.
"OUT OF THE POOL NOW!"
All the children sensing Mia's urgency instantly start to listen. They come running over confused but quiet.
Mia bends down and puts Caden into Ana's arms.
"Ana, carry Caden. Do not put him down no matter what?"
Mia turns her attention to Nicole who has Noella in her arms bouncing her.
"Take the twins and the other kids and barricade yourself in the movie theater in the basement. Do not come out for anyone but me."
"Mia…"
"GO! Summers give them guns to keep in case these men get through your agents. Rosa, Marco take care of them."
"What about you Mia?" Rosa asks scared to hear Mia's answer.
"I'm going to protect my babies."
Mia hugs as many of the kids as she can quickly and kisses Luci and Liam.
Mia grabs her cover up and runs through the house to find Summers who has started rallying her teams into action near the front of the house.
"I need a gun."
"No! My orders from everyone are to keep you out of harm's way."
Mia gets in Marla's face.
"Do you think I give a damn about your orders? I have access to weapons, yours are just quicker."
Marla hands over two guns and ammunition to Mia.
Mia's phone rings again causing her to look down at it. She had forgotten she was holding it.
"Yeah?"
"Mia! What's happening?" Letty asks.
Mia makes her way to the front windows. Outside there are at least 50 men destroying the front gate and coming over the extremely high fence all around.
"There are a lot of men here Letty. The kids are locked in the basement with Rose, Marc and Nicole."
"Alright, I need you to get to the front room."
"Already there," Mia says pulling her cover up on. "What to do?"
"There is a case under the sofa. It has the detonators for the bombs we placed. The code to activate is Dom and my wedding anniversary. When they are inside the fence…"
Mia pulls out the case and opens it.
"I'll blow all this shit up."
Letty smiles at Mia being a badass. She couldn't help it.
"I need my hands free Letty, I'll call you back. How far are you?"
"Fifteen minutes at most." Letty answers.
The two women hang up the phone.
Mia gets the case out as the agents spread out at the front of the house and take aim at the men, some of which are approaching the house.
Mia types in the code and glances out the window again.
Once Mia deems that there are enough men in the blast zone she presses the button for the explosives to blow.
Nothing happens.
"Fuck!"
She looks up out the window. As she tries to contemplate her next move the first explosion rocks the house followed by several more around the entire property.
Mia watches as the ground opens up and several dozen men are swallowed up or blown apart.
She smiles to herself and heads outside to join in on the fight.
Letty pushes the car to its fullest limits. Nola has all the weapons loaded and ready to go. It was on as soon as they arrived.
"Mia has everything she needs. She's doing everything we would be if we were there." Letty says out loud trying to convince herself.
Letty looks over at Nola.
"Nole, you're pregnant. You just got some really good news. Maybe you should sit this shit out."
"I can't choose my life and the life of this baby over Noella and Nolen's. Over all those kids. I couldn't live with myself."
Letty nods in total agreement, but she felt like she had to say it.
"We'll be there soon."
Mia stands with the agents taking out as many of the intruders as they can. Many of the people charged with her family's protection lose their lives around her.
Mia uses the pillar of the porch for cover as she reloads her weapons.
When she stands up five men are approaching her rapidly. Mia shoots two of them with precision before the other three are on her.
One of them pushes her on the ground to her knees and relieves her of her guns. The agents around her are busy in the gunfight and are of no help. Panic starts to flood through her as she struggles to think of a way out of this.
"We're supposed to keep her alive," one of the men says to the others.
"She's trouble. Kill her and call it an accident.
Two men stand beside her. One grabs her by the arm and he tries to hold her in place as she fights against him.
The one standing before her takes puts his gun against her forehead.
Before he pulls the trigger three rounds are emptied into his back. Mia takes the opportunity and elbows the man on her left in the groin and takes his gun and shoots him in the stomach.
She looks up as the man on her right goes down.
Letty and Nola pull up the estate and jump out of the car and run onto the property.
The scene before them is pure chaos. There is smoke and debris everywhere. Gaping holes in the ground all around. And piles and piles of dead bodies.
Most of the battle wages on closer to the house.
Letty shoots everyone in her path that wasn't a part of Summers' security detail. Many of those guys are wearing masks.
Nola takes aim and clears the front of the house of all the men on the porch giving the agents there a chance to recover.
Mia gets up off the ground and throws herself into Roman's arms.
"Haha! I told you girl next time shit went down it was me and you!"
He kisses her on the cheek and they turn back to the action.
Letty and Nola are coming up the lawn and most of the men are dead. The rest are subdued by what's left Summers' men.
Letty runs over to Mia and hugs her quickly, but tightly.
"Where are the kids?"
"Still in the basement."
She looks over at Roman and a smile spreads across her face.
"You're alright!"
She hugs him too.
Nola walks over to Marla leaving Roman, Mia and Letty to their greetings.
"Before we get them out of basement I want you to check for the all clear on the perimeter and we'll check the house."
Marla gives her the okay and moves into action securing the perimeter. She heads around the side of the house.
Letty turns to Nola to say something but Nola cuts her off.
She scans to make sure they are out of earshot of everyone else. Once she is sure they are, Nola turns back to Letty.
"I need to talk you inside now!"
Letty gives her a quizzical look, but doesn't protest. She and the others all hurry inside.
Dom and the others load onto the plane.
They are watched as they climb aboard to head to Spain as fast as the flight will carry them.
The man sent to watch over them calls his employer.
"They are on board."
"Good, blow it up. Hopefully the men in Spain have as much luck with the children as you have had with the husbands."
The watcher hangs up the call and presses a button that blows up the plane.
A/N -Thoughts?
