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Thanks to CrippledChild, buttonsdelaguerra, and Anabelle for the reviews!

CHAPTER 15!

Albert hurt. Morris never showed mercy when beating him, and Albert didn't think that would stop anytime soon. He just wished that he could see his brothers again.

"Morris. I think that's enough for today." Oscar commanded. "Take him away, but don't put him back in the closet. I think the neighbors are getting suspicious."

Morris dragged Albert by his hair and threw him into a cupboard. He shut the door and locked it.

Albert struggled against the duct tape binding his hands behind his back. He raised his wrists as high as he could, and then threw them to his sides.

He heard ripping sounds, and felt the tape loosen. It worked.

He did it again, and heard the tape rip again. He did it one final time, and the tape ripped. Albert looked at his hands in disbelief. Why hadn't he thought of that before?

Albert peeled the duct tape off of his mouth and looked around the cupboard. It was fairly empty, save for a few knick-knacks on the ground and on a small shelf.

He froze when he heard one of the brothers walk by. The brother kicked the cupboard, causing something to fall from the shelf and hit Albert's head.

He let out a small gasp when he saw what it was.

A phone.

Race looked around at his and Albert's room. He had spent a few hours cleaning it, hoping for it to look nice when Albert came back. He had picked up the Legos, put clothes back where they belonged, and restacked the books.

The room was full of his and Albert's belongings.

But it felt empty.

Race turned his attention to a picture on his nightstand. It was of him and Albert, ten months earlier, right after Jack had adopted them. He was on Albert's back, shoving a baseball cap over his brother's eyes. Both boys were laughing, Specs had been lucky enough to snap a picture before the moment faded.

Race sat on the edge of his bed and picked up the photo. He ran his hand over Albert's face.

"Please come home." He whispered, although he knew that Albert couldn't hear him.

The tranquility of the moment was broken by Jack coming in.

"Hey, Race?" Jack asked.

"Yeah?"

"Just came in to say, lunch is ready."

"Okay. I'll be there in a second." He placed the photo back on his nightstand, and quickly wiped a tear.

Jack walked over and sat on the bed, wrapping Race up in his arms.

"Shh...baby, it's okay."

"I miss him." Race sniffed. "I miss him a lot."

"I know, baby. Me too."

"911, what's your emergency?" Bill repeated the phrase that he had said almost.a dozen times that day.

"Um, hello?" The voice said from the other side.

"Hello, is this an emergency?" Bill sighed, he did not need to deal with prank calls right now.

"Um, yeah, these guys have, um, been beating me, and, um, they locked me in a cupboard." The voice sounded young. Bill didn't like that.

"Okay, what's your name?"

"Albert."

"And your last name?"

"Kelly. Albert Dasilva-Kelly."

"Okay. Hang in there Albert, I'm gonna help you, okay?" Bill typed Albert's name into his computer. He recognized the face that popped up. "I need you to tell me where you are."

"Um, I don't know."

Bill paused. "Okay. Do you, ah, do you know the guys who are beating you?"

"Their names are Oscar and Morris. They're brothers."

"Do you know their last name, Albert?"

"Um, no. But, I know that Warden Snyder is their uncle."

"Okay." He typed that into his computer. Bingo! Snyder had a criminal record, so his nephews were mentioned in 'Family Relations'.

"Please don't leave me." Albert sounded so scared.

"I'm not going anywhere, Albert. I promise."

"Okay." Bill noticed that Oscar and Morris Delancey also had a criminal record, they had taken part of small thefts when they were younger.

Bill switched over to dispatch radio, "I need any available units to dispatch to 654 Jamaica Avenue. We have a kidnapped 15-year-old, who is being beaten trapped in a cupboard."

"Nine-Echo-Twelve, copy that."

"Okay, Albert, are Oscar and Morris still there?"

"Yeah. They're still here."

"Okay," muting his call, "Nine-Echo-Twelve, what is your ETA?"

"Nine to ten minutes."

"Okay," Bill un-mutted himself, "Albert, I need you to stay on the line, can you do that for me?"

"Yeah."

"Good. I've sent units your way, so just sit tight, can you do that?"

"Mhm...who are you?"

"My name's Bill."

"Bill, I'm scared. I-I'm really scared."

"I know. But we're gonna get you through this. Okay?"

"Okay. Am I gonna see my brothers again?"

"Absolutely." Bill muted himself, "Nine-Echo-Twelve, what is your ETA?"

"Six to seven minutes." Bill cussed. They needed to hurry up and get this boy to his family.

Jack smiled as his pencil drifted across the paper, leaving a graphite streak in it's wake. He hummed to himself as he drew, not paying attention to the shapes forming on his paper. Jack breathed in and out, letting his body relax for the first time in months.

The littles were watching a Christmas movie in the living room, Specs was reading in his room, Crutchie was baking cookies in the kitchen, and Race was next to Jack, resting his head on the table.

Jack let his pencil fly, while thinking of the Christmas he had hoped this would be. All of his boys with full bellies, full stockings, and piles of presents underneath a Christmas tree.

"Watcha drawing?" Race's voice snapped Jack back to reality.

"Um..." He hadn't thought of what he was drawing, he had just let it happen.

Looking down, Jack realized what those strokes on the paper had formed.

Albert.

"Morris, do you hear sirens?"

Morris perked up, and sure enough, he heard sirens. "Oscar, we live in Brooklyn, there are gonna be sirens."

"Right." Oscar relaxed into the couch, waiting for the sirens to fade away.

They didn't.

"Morris, they're getting louder."

"So? They're gonna just pass right by on the street. They wouldn't be the first ones. You're being paranoid."

Oscar breathed in, Morris was right, he was just being paranoid. He looked out the window to see the police car turn onto their street.

And park in front of their apartment.

"Morris, what cupboard did you lock him in?"

"Uh..."

"Was it the one with the phone?"

"Oh no."

Oscar seized his brother by his shirt and said, "Listen here, we are going to take the kid and run. This is all your fault. I'm going to get the car ready and you go grab the kid. Understand?"

"Understood."

"Now go!"

"Bill, I can hear the police cars." Albert said.

"Good. Okay, sit tight, we are so close to getting you home, got that?" Bill replied.

"Yeah. Bill, I have a question."

"What is it Albert?"

"What day is it?"

"Saturday, the tenth of December, just over two weeks until Christmas. Why?"

"So I'll still be able to spend Christmas with my brothers?"

"Absolutely. You and your brothers are gonna have a great Christm-"

"Bill, someone's coming." Bill sat up.

"Okay, stay calm," He said, and proceeded to mute himself in the call. "Nine-Echo-Twelve, what is your ETA?"

"We have arrived at the apartment complex, and are climbing the stairs now."

Switching back to Albert, he said, "Hang tight, buddy, we have a unit climbing the stairs to the apartment."

"Bill, I think Morris and Oscar know the police are here." Bill could hear the fear in Albert's voice.

"It's okay, Albert, it'll all be okay."

"Bill, they're opening up the cupboard!"

"Stay on the line, Albert! Do not hang up!" He heard Albert scream. The line went dead. He yanked off his headset and threw it onto his desk. "NO!"

He was so close to finding this boy. So close to bringing this boy back to his family.

And he had failed.

*insert evil grin*

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