Hey guys. It's time for Chapter 20! And it's time for the rescue mission to be put in place. The adults are planning the rescue, and the kids are planning the escape. It's a race at this point. I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OC.

Chapter 20: It's Now or Never

For the first few hours, the kids decided it would be best to rest until it would be time for Reagan to take them to the auction. By then, it would be when they would put their plan into action.

Theo suggested, that when they got to the auction, the twins would distract Reagan by asking to be taken to the bathroom. And while that was happening, the others would escape to find a nearby phone to call their parents and/or the police. Then they would hide until help would arrive.

At least... that's how they hope it would go. They knew they would only have one shot at this...

4:30...

"Okay, guys... he should be coming..." Theo said to everyone.

They were all just waking up, still very tired, but ready to put this plan into action, "You really think this plan will work...?" Alya asked, yawning, "What if he catches us?"

"He won't... hopefully," Theo assured her.

"Yeah." Harry nodded, "We just gotta be real slick and sneaky."

That's when the door opened, and in came the dreaded man the kids feared but were confident in outsmarting. He smirked as he greeted them all, "Morning, early birds. I didn't expect you to be up already. But we had better get to the auction. We've got a thirty-minute drive.

To make sure they didn't run away, he had his gun out and forced the kids out of the room, out of the hideout, and into the back of a black van. They all sat quietly as he drove. From what Theo and Sondra could see, they had to have been heading towards Dover.

"Once we get out, the twins will distract him..." Theo whispered.

Elvin and Nelson nodded with a thumbs up. As they sat in the back, the kids couldn't help but feel like they were in their father's places right now. Why? Because they all remember their dad's telling them of the time they all got 'arrested' for racing down Dead Man's Hill. Of course, it was all a joke disguised as a safety warning, but that didn't mean it didn't scare them.

But this time... things were quite serious, and good thinking was required for them to be safe.

Harry looked over to April, who was sitting next to him. He could tell that she was very nervous, so he took her hand and squeezed it softly for support and comfort. The eleven-year-old smiled back at the kind gesture.

Theo noticed that, and he looked at Alya. Feeling that she too was nervous, he took her hand and rubbed it softly. Of course, Alya was touched by it, and snuggled up against Theo in response, making the ten-year-old boy blush right back.

Thirty minutes later, the van pulled up to a large building. Theo realized that now would be the time to put the plan in action.

"Okay, guys. Operation: Get Away From This Creepy Guy is a go. Elvin, Nelson. You know what to do..." He whispered to the three-year-olds.

With that, they waited... until the back door opened, "Okay, you brats. Time to meet your future masters..." Reagan chuckled. He had his gun out again and ushered the kids out of the van, which gave them a better view of where they were.

The building looked like some kind of warehouse on a hill, and below were a bunch of cars parked in a lot. Theo looked closely, and saw a van that looked rather familiar... could it be...? He wouldn't know unless he got a better look at it...

"Um... Mr. Reagan..." Elvin called, "Nelson and I have to go potty..."

The man seemed rather annoyed, "Seriously? Now? Both of you...?"

The toddler nodded, "Yes, sir... we both have to potty..."

"It can't wait...?"

"Nope... it can't. We have to go. Really bad..."

"Really really bad..." Nelson added with a nod.

Reagan stared at them, before groaning, "Ugh... fine. But let's make it quick. The youngest one always have the weakest bladders..." He took the hands of both twins and led them near a bush.

This was the moment the older kids needed, "Alright. Follow me..." Theo whispered as he led the others away to the parking lot.

"What about the twins...?" Fucshia asked, "We can't just leave them with that monster..."

"They'll be fine, once we find a phone and call our parents and the cops."

With that, he continued to lead them to the parking lot, towards the van he saw earlier. Once reaching it, Theo took a look inside, much to the confusion of the others, "Theo? What are you doing?" Harry asked.

"Just as I thought. It's mom's minivan..." The ten-year-old confirmed, bringing over Sondra, "See? It's got the comfy seats, and decorations on the rearview mirror and stuff."

"Mommy and Daddy are here?" Sondra said with excitement.

"They must be here to save us." April suggested, "But did they know that we'd be here?"

Harry shrugged, "Well, it doesn't matter. All we gotta do is find them and get the heck outta here- oh! Quick! Hide!"

The kids ducked when they spotted Reagan walking towards the parking lot. He must've noticed that they were gone. Quickly, they made their way through the lot, trying their best to avoid the villain catching them. They kept going until they made it to the very end of the lot, near some bushes. The kids decided it would be best to hide there, but before they could...

"Psst. Quick. In here if you wanna live..." Whispered a gruff voice from said bushes.

That startled the young ones, but anything to hide from Reagan, so they did as the mysterious voice told, and hid in the bushes. When they saw who helped them out, they, well, Theo and Sondra were thankful.

"Mr. Mudfoot!"

The Robertson children went about hugging the old man as he grinned, "Hey there, kids. Didn't think I'd find you here..." He said.

"We were kidnapped." Sondra replied, "By this bad man who wants to give us away to other bad people..."

"I figured that was the case."

Harry, April, Fuschia, and Alya were confused, "Wait? Are you the Mudfoot my dad talked about once?" Harry asked.

"My dad mentioned a Mudfoot," April added.

"Mine too..." Alya also added.

Mudfoot chuckled, "Now. You three must be Harold, Donald, and Rudy's kids. It's been a minute since I've seen them or the others. Although I do see Fat Albert pretty often these days.

"Mr. Mudfoot sometimes babysit Sondra and me when our Mom and Dad need a date night..." Theo explained, "He served as a mentor like person for our dads when they were kids. Say, what are you doing here anyway, Mr. Mudfoot?"

The old man looked around, "I heard that some kids were going missing and that these people were selling them, taking them from their homes, and hurting them. So, I decided to do some detective work, and I managed to snoop out this auction place. I figured I could save some of the kids, but I'm more likely to get shot, so I'm staying undercover for a bit."

"Mr. Mudfoot. We think our parents are here to save us. I saw my mom's van in the parking lot." Theo said, "Do you know where they are?"

"Can't say I do, son. But I have a feeling they're in the building looking for ya. I can help you, but you're gonna need this..."

Mudfoot reached into his pocket, and pulled out an old flip phone, giving it to Theo, "You can call your folks and find out where they are. But I'd suggest getting into the building first..."

He then pushed back the bushes a little, showing the kids a ladder on the side of the building, leading to a door, "Go through that door, and it'll lead to the storage room. I checked. There, you should be safe for the time being 'til your folks come for ya... now get going before that guy finds ya... I'll stay back and keep watch..."

The kids smiled, "Thanks, Mr. Mudfoot. For someone who's in his nineties, you really are a big help..." Theo grinned.

Mudfoot nodded, "This heart ain't ready to give out just yet. Good luck kids... you're gonna need it..."

With that, the kids crawled out of the bush and towards the ladder. Once they felt that the coast was clear, they quietly climbed the ladder, with Harry keeping surveillance of the area. As soon as they were sure that Reagan wasn't looking, they reached the door and found themselves in the storage room that Mudfoot had mentioned.

"Okay... we made it..." Theo said with a sigh of relief, "Now, all we gotta do and call our folks, tell them where we are, and we can get outta here..."

"And hopefully with the twins..." April added.

Harry locked the door and used a few things to barricade it in case anybody tried to get in. Theo opened the flip phone, which was surprisingly fully charged and working well for how old it was. But it was that moment where he realized something...

... He had no idea what his mother or father phone numbers were...

"Um... guys, can you give me your mom or dad's numbers... I don't know mine..." He admitted sadly.

"I can't remember my dad's..." Harry shook his head.

"My dad doesn't even have a phone..." April added, "And all I remember of my mom's is that it has some six's... that's it."

Alya began thinking, before she smiled, "Hey! I remember my Dad's number. Give it to me, and I can call him."

Theo did as told, and Alya began to dial the number she knew by heart, mostly since her father helped her memorize it for the case of an emergency. As soon as she punched in the numbers, she put it to her ear and waited ever so patiently for her father to answer...

Ten seconds had passed...

Fifteen seconds...

Twenty seconds...

"Please... please... answer..." She pleaded quietly.

After another ten seconds, it went to voicemail. Determined not to give up, Alya dialed the number again, hoping to get a response this time. Twenty seconds passed again, and still no answer.

At this point, the kids were starting to lose hope... until...

"Hello...?"

Alya lit up at hearing that voice, "Daddy! It's me!"

"Alya? It is you! My baby girl! Dudes, it's Alya! Where are you, sweetie?"

"We're in a storage room at this building. The man who took us wants to sell us to other people to be slaves. We got away and found a place to hide. Theo thought he saw his mom's van here. Are you here?"

"Yes... we're here. We found out where the auction was and came here to find you kids. We had to sneak in, though. So just stay where you are, and we'll find you."

Theo reached for the phone, "Mr. Rudy. It's Theo. Can you put my Dad on the phone?"

There was a brief silence, before Theo heard his father's familiar deep tone, "Hey, hey, hey, Theo. Are you and Sondra okay?"

"Yeah, Dad. We're fine. Everyone's fine. We're here... except the twins, though."

"What?! What happened to my boys?" He heard Bill ask in the background.

Theo sighed, "We formed a plan for them to distract that Reagan dude so that we could get away. We... don't know where they are. Reagan still might have them. And we're hoping the cops will come."

"Don't worry, son. The police will be on their way. Everything's gonna be okay..." Albert assured him.

"Harry! Are you good, buddy?" They heard Harold asked.

Harry took the phone from Theo to speak with his father, "Yeah, Dad. I'm good. I'm protecting everyone."

"That's my boy..."

"April! Fuschia! It's Daddy!" Donald called.

"We hear you, Dad. Hi!" April greeted.

"Hi, Daddy!" Fucshia added.

Theo took the phone back, "Dad, what are of the building are you guys in?"

"We're not so sure. We're walking down this hall. There's no one here... and we're trying to keep quiet."

"Well. I hope you find us soon before-"

BANG!

What the kids didn't realize, was that there was another door on the other side the storage. So when something banged on it, it startled not only them but their parents on the other end, "Theo. What was that?" He heard his father ask.

"Someone's at the door. I think they're trying to get in." The ten-year-old answered.

"Whatever you do... keep quiet... don't make a sound..."

They didn't have to be told twice, as the kids and the adults on the other line stayed silent. But it barely did any good as the banging on the door became louder and harder... the kids held onto each other for protection... until the door swung open...

Meanwhile on the other end...

Albert and the gang had infiltrated the building early in hopes of catching the criminal who took their children Right now the men and woman has split up to search throughout the building for their beloved children. When Rudy had gotten the call from his beloved daughter, perhaps it was a good thing that he didn't silence his phone.

The men were relieved to hear their kids voices, except Bill, who was now paranoid about the whereabouts of the twins, if Theo's explanation was anything to go by. And now, it seemed that someone was trying to get in the room the kids were hiding in.

Suddenly, they heard a very loud bang (Rudy had put his phone on speaker), and screaming from the kids, "Theo! Theo! What's going on?" Albert asked, hoping to get a response.

"Dad! Dad-"

BANG!

A gunshot.

More screams were heard, but among them was a high pitched one that Rudy recognized deeply, "ALYA!" He snatched his phone back from Albert and glared at it, "Alya! Baby girl! Are you okay...?"

But instead of hearing his daughter's voice, he heard the voice of the man he knew of months ago...

"Your daughter is fine... at the moment. You will pay for screwing me over, Rudolph Davis. And as the for rest of you, your kids will suffer along with Alya as an added bonus. Don't bother trying to find us... you might as well go home while you can... or else you might not make it out of here alive..."

Before any of the guys could respond, Reagan ended the call...

Yikes. The kids have an escape plan that seems to have failed. But they had some help from good old Mudfoot, who's still alive after all this time (I didn't have the heart to kill him off. He's such a lovable character. If the actors of the Brown Hornet can still be alive and well enough to do a reunion special, then Mudfoot can still be around to help anyone when they need it). But now the race has become more intense than ever. And everyone must do what they can to survive.

Next chapter is where all the action will take place. Plus, you'll see what happens when you mess with the Junkyard Gang's offspring. Until then, I'll see you guys later, and don't forget to review, please. Thank you!