"Isabel," Owen said, louder. She never broke eye contact with him. The other three men moved in, cutting them off.
"As you can see, she doesn't respond to you anymore," Cipher explained. "She was very hurt to learn that her Daddy had abandoned her."
"I never did!" Owen shouted. "Isabel, she's lying to you."
"Get on the ground," Isabel ordered.
"No," Owen said. One man already had Suki detained. He was left standing while the third untied Cipher. This couldn't be happening.
"I don't actually kill children, Owen," Cipher said in his ear. "She has learned so much from me. You could almost say I was like a mother to her."
"Don't you EVER say that!" Owen shouted. He put his gun against her temple.
"Ohhh. That's nice," Cipher said, closing her eyes. Isabel struck Owen in the face hard with the butt of his gun. He went down hard.
"Stop," he said. She ignored him.
"You see? She only responds to me," Cipher said. "Good work, Isa."
"You don't get to call her that," Owen growled as the first man yanked him up. Cipher signaled them to take Suki and Owen outside.
"Where are we going?" Suki asked.
"Riku didn't say which one he wanted, Han or you," Cipher said. "Since your brother bailed, I guess it's you."
"So it's Riku working with the mob," Owen said, trying to get more information from her.
"He's into lots of things," Cipher dismissed. Once they were all loaded into the van, the second man drove off. Owen stared at his daughter. She refused to look at him. He couldn't believe this was happening.
Brian
"Owen's not answering," Brian said.
"Neither is Suki," Han responded. They looked at each other.
"This got way out of control way too quickly," Brian said. "I gotta call in the big guys."
"You can't bring FBI into this," Han said, preventing Brian from dialing. "I'm a dead man, remember?"
"My wife and children, Dom's son, and your daughter are missing," Brian snapped. "You really wanna worry about that right now?!"
His phone rang then, and he answered it.
"It's me," Mia said.
"Oh thank God! Where are you?" Brian asked.
"I'm with Magdalene. We're safe. She single handedly killed six people, Brian. I feel pretty safe with her," Mia reassured him. Han was staring at Brian, so he covered the phone to relay to him what Mia had just said. He was extremely relieved.
"Where are you going?" Brian asked.
"We are at a safe place. Can you promise me you'll be okay?"
"I'll do my best," Brian said. "I love you."
"Love you too."
"Now what?" Han asked once Brian hung up.
"We gotta get to that hospital before she gets Amelia," Brian said. They hurried to Han's car.
Eric
"You can see her now," a nurse said, startling Eric out of his doze. Leon was already to his feet. Eric followed behind, feeling foggy. He became more alert once he saw Amelia in the bed all banged up.
"Hey," she wheezed.
"Hey, baby," Leon said, moving in to kiss her. "You okay?"
"I hurt."
"I bet."
"Where's Brian?"
"He's otherwise engaged with something," Eric answered. He didn't really know where Brian was. He was going to call him once he left the room.
"That's code for you don't know, isn't it?" Amelia asked. He lowered his gaze. She was good. Must be the twin thing.
"When can you get out of here?" Leon asked.
"They said maybe tomorrow. They want to observe me overnight to make sure there isn't any other complications."
"Okay," Leon bobbed his head. Eric glanced at his phone. Brian had texted.
Stay there. Cipher got away. Be alert.
"Shit," Eric swore. Trouble was going to start.
Mia
"Where's Daddy?" Jack asked, tugging on Mia's sleeve.
"He's busy with Uncle Han. Go back to sleep," Mia urged, tucking Jack into the bedsheets again.
"Owen isn't answering," Magdalene said. "That isn't good."
"He's in danger?"
"One might assume so."
"Oh no."
"It's all right, dear. He's tough."
Owen
He was infuriated. Cipher had had his daughter all this time. She had poisoned Isabel's mind, and now he was most likely going to die by her hand. Trust Cipher to get the ultimate revenge. He barely listened to Suki's chanting of reassurance to herself. He didn't believe they were going to be "just fine."
"Team one isn't answering," the second man said to Cipher.
"Neither is Team two," the third chimed in. Owen could see Cipher was shocked at this. She hid it quickly.
"No matter. All I need is the girl and we're all set."
"I'm assuming you mean Amelia," Owen said.
"Of course. Riku wants her dead for losing so much money."
"Death doesn't always have to be the answer, you know," Owen said.
"Says the man who shot his own helper in cold blood?" Cipher pointed out.
"I'm not him anymore. You didn't ruin me forever."
"Aww. You're cute. Now shut up."
"We have arrived, ma'am," the driver called. Cipher smiled.
"Let's get down to business, shall we?"
Eric
"Eric! There's a van out here. I don't like it," Dustin said into Eric's ear.
"She's here," Eric said, horrified. He looked at Amelia.
"What?" Leon asked.
"She's not safe here."
"I'm not bustin' her out of here," Leon argued.
"We have to. They've come to get her."
"Who?"
"Cipher!"
"Who's that?"
"A really, really bad woman. Trust me."
"All right," Leon grumbled. He went to pick up Amelia.
"So romantic," she said. "Sweeping me off my feet to escape from a hospital."
"Where to, man?" Leon asked.
"Um...this way," Eric answered, pointing. He led the way. He really had no idea what he was doing. He wished Frank was there.
Brian
"That's her," Brian whispered, pointing. Han peered through the binoculars to see. It was indeed Cipher. He saw Suki tied up in the back with Owen when the back door opened briefly to let a man out.
"Not good," Han gulped.
"Where you at, Eric?" Brian asked into the phone.
"Here," Eric said. There was a knock on the car door. Han opened it to reveal Amelia, Leon, and Eric.
"Get in," Brian ordered. Eric squeezed in between Han and Brian to see Cipher.
"Call Mia and find out where they are. I need to take you guys to them," Brian said. Leon obeyed.
"How are we gonna save them?" Eric asked, seeing Owen and Suki as well.
"I'm thinking," Brian said. "First, we gotta get Amelia far away from here."
"I got it," Leon said, hanging up with Mia and giving Brian directions. Brian started the car and quietly drove away. He hoped Owen and Suki could hold out a little longer.
Owen
"She's gone," the third man said to Cipher. She punched the side of the van angrily.
"All right," she said. "I guess it comes down to this. Let's go." They drove to a new location, and Owen and Suki were led inside to the basement and shoved to the floor side by side.
"We'll deal with you later," Cipher promised as she left. Isabel didn't look at Owen as she stood guard.
"I'm sorry," Owen to said to Suki. "You would have been better off at home with my mother. That's embarrassing to say."
"It's okay. I'm with you," Suki said. Owen felt heat to his face then. What did she mean by that? She smiled sadly at him.
"Shut up," Isabel ordered. Owen gritted his teeth. He had to get through to his daughter. He just had to.
Six hours later
"Eric sent me his location," Frank said. "Let's go rally and then clean up this mess, shall we?"
"Agreed," Hobbs nodded. Deckard wasn't getting a hold of Owen, so he knew what that meant. It wasn't good.
"Is the baby safe?" Letty asked.
"All the children are safe thanks to Deckard's mother," Frank answered. "That's where we are headed actually." When they arrived, Dom immediately went to check on his son. Baby Brian was sleeping like an angel. It was almost six a.m., and Dom knew that boy would be waking up soon.
"What's the plan?" Hobbs asked.
"We gotta get Owen and Suki back. Dustin had them followed. They're awaiting orders."
"All right. Let's start with that," Frank agreed. "I'm assuming Riku is gonna meet her there."
"Probably. He's been on the move since three a.m.," Eric added.
"Okay. So, who's with me?" Frank asked. Everyone but Amelia, Mia, and Magdalene stepped forward.
"All right," Eric nodded.
"Here's the plan..." Frank started as everyone huddled in closer.
Owen
The sun was rising. He felt hopeless suddenly. Isabel hadn't moved a muscle, and she wasn't talking to him.
"Wakey, wakey," the one man said, coming down the stairs. "Let's go."
Owen and Suki tramped up the stairs and out into the yard. Cipher was waiting by the van.
"Riku has suggested a different location," she said. "Seems he's being followed, which means we are too."
"My brother will kill you," Owen said. "I know he will. He'll kill Farah too."
"Not a chance," Cipher said. She didn't watch as they were shoved into the back of the van again. Owen knew Deckard would be back by now. He hoped they had a plan. He hoped it was a good one.
Super, super close to the end guys. I hope it's being enjoyed. I hope my twist about Isabel being alive was interesting a little bit.
