"I told you!" bellowed Lynn Sr. "We came here to FIND MY SON!" The officer that the Loud father raised his voice to stood unflinching and undaunting. He wasn't about to give an inch, as his job would entail. Maintaining a calm air, he spoke back.
"Regardless, your family has a lot of bravado," said the officer. "If I wasn't siding with the law, I would applaud your efforts." Three of the four rooms that the Loud family occupied were guarded by an NYPD officer each, while two officers accompanied the staunch one interrogating the parents.
"Please..." begged Rita. "Please leave my babies out of this."
"Oh, that's a joke," said the internally leading officer. "Your 'babies' caused this mess!"
"Because we failed as parents," Rita sobbed. "It was our job to stop them and we never made the right decisions for any of them! Their rage took control and they took it out on my baby boy. Please, officer," she begged. "I want to see him again." The officer was of course stone-faced, his eyes dry as a bone. He was a man of respect and dignity, one whom many officers looked up to for his gracious and bold attempts to keep the peace in the Big Apple. The air around him suggested that he was not about to cave in to even a mother's tears or even show any mercy, as it were.
"I'll have you know that the police were involved since right from the very beginning," said the officer. Luna knew exactly what he meant, as Sam had shown her that one post from online that went viral - Lincoln Loud reported missing and the names of the seven sisters involved. And now, as of recent, the parents to some degree had a hand to play, especially since Rita just confessed to that. "Miss Leni Loud here can fill you in, if you'd like."
"I can?" Leni sounded curious, not knowing if she actually did anything to help the police of Royal Woods hear of the situation from the get-go.
"Officer Schoffner was informed during early morning hours. Two high school students said they were looking for Lincoln and she agreed to post the information online."
"Fiona and Miguel!" Leni gasped. "They told the police! ...I was out looking for Linky and they... did what they had to..."
"The post that started the rumors gained views over 9,000 in less than two hours," the officer stated firmly. "And in less than 24 hours after the post went viral, all of you were on your way here... before the police back in Royal Woods could take action."
"We had to!" insisted Lynn Sr.
"You had to what?" retorted the unimpressed officer. "Cross the fine line with the law rather than let the police find your son instead?!"
"For the last time, we weren't fleeing from the police!" the Loud father huffed.
"And I told you," said the officer. "It would be hard to convince them of that. And even then, after your daughters committed domestic abuse, you all decided to chase him down and bring him home? You really think he wanted that?! He ran away, and for a damn good reason, I might add. At this point, it's going to take a VERY LONG TIME for things to return to what you call normal." From the other rooms, the other six sisters were of course listening in on the building tension, tears streaming down all of their scared and helpless faces. The officers blocking them held their positions, not about to let the kids leave their rooms until the dispute ended. And it wouldn't be on a good note.
"Do you...?" Rita swallowed hard. She was afraid, but still determined to know if her baby boy was at least in safe hands. "Do you know... where Lincoln is now?"
"We do," said the officer. "He's safe." Rita practically collapsed on the spot, falling onto the bed and releasing all that anxiety she held onto since Day 1.
"My baby is safe," Rita sobbed. "Thank God. Wh...where is he?"
"I think your daughters right here can answer that for you," said the officer. And here came the hurricane. Lori and Leni would have no choice but to let the cat out of the bag, and to some extent, Luna. Rita's eyes widened, looking at the three of them.
"Tell me this isn't happening." Her voice was beginning to shift steadily from sadness to anger. Naturally, Leni decided to spill the beans first.
"We had to!" the sweetheart sister cried. "He didn't want to come back with us! What were we supposed to-" Lynn Sr. was beside himself and swiftly cut off Leni.
"YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD US!" he roared. "YOU SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST TOLD US HE WAS OKAY!"
"And then what?" said Lori, finding the courage to stand up to her angry father. "We had to help Lincoln! Leni and I were the only ones he could trust!"
"YOU KEPT MY SON FROM ME! FROM ALL OF US! WE COULD HAVE BROUGHT HIM HOME DAYS AGO!" When Lynn Sr. yelled these words, the other sisters in their rooms were completely dumbstruck. They had been running around in circles not having the slightest clue which ground they had covered, and not only did Lori and Leni find him first, but they kept it a secret. Lynn Jr. and Lola were sorely tempted to give their eldest sisters a piece of their minds, but with the officers at their doors, that obviously wasn't happening anytime soon. Luan and Lana had to up their strength to hold their sisters back and remind them they were already on thin ice as is.
"To what point and purpose?" asked the officer. "Even if you accomplished all that, did you even think for a minute that all these troubles would just go away overnight?"
"Well... yes," said Lynn Sr. And then the unthinkable happened. Leni did a facepalm. Yes, Leni, I tell you. Even she knew that nothing would have been hunky-dory at the Loud house if they did succeed in bringing Lincoln back, maybe not ever again, but to her credit, she and Lori had been kicking the dogs that were the other sisters while they were down. The officer was clearly unimpressed that the Loud father truly thought for even a minute that they could simply take back the white-haired boy with open arms and try to start again. No, Lincoln needed way more time than that and to Luna's credit, maybe her brief talk with Lincoln could be mentally preparing him prematurely as opposed to wanting to stay away, say, for the rest of his life.
"Lincoln Loud is currently at a residence of two people I know personally and work with respectfully - a lawyer and a psychologist," stated the officer, having not the sentences at his disposal to respond to Lynn Sr. being idiotic. "And yes, they are parents. They've provided a roof over his head after their daughter found him out in the cold. He dodged a bullet, but let it sink in that he only came out here to get as far away from all of you as possible and nothing else. Without a real plan, if no one found him, there's a chance he would have perished."
"Did my daughters tell you everything?" said Rita.
"No," said the officer. "We already knew. Ever since Officer Schoffner called and we knew you were here, my colleagues were spying on you for the last three to four days."
Luna understood that her relationship with Sam and the police zeroing in were of no concern to her, but she did start to feel parched. Eventually coming to a corner store, she took a bottle of water and placed it on the counter for purchase, but the clerk was in the back room and there was no bell to alert him, forcing her to wait. She tapped her foot to the beat of her music, growing impatient and unable to get the clerk's attention, so she glanced out the store window while waiting and was semi-shocked seeing both Lori and Leni walking on a path on the outskirts. They appeared deep in conversation, but she couldn't quite hear them. Remembering their weird mood changes, coupled up with them walking together, something was definitely setting off alarms in her mind. While she thought to march straight up and talk to them, she also thought instinctively that they wouldn't tell her, even if she asked. Yes, she remembered vividly that Lori and Leni kept reminding her how much of a screw-up she was and during the days of searching, she had tried to avoid them wanting to keep her mental health. But this time, things seemed a little different. What exactly made it seem like Lori and Luna had lost track of searching for Lincoln, walking around as if this was a vacation for them? She had to know, even though she hated to avert from searching. Her mind made up, Luna skipped getting water from the store and followed Lori and Luna. She kept her distance behind her two older sisters and tried to make out exactly what they were saying, but had to be a little more careful not to get caught.
"Wonder what he wanted to tell us?" Leni asked, with Lori shrugging her shoulder.
"I dunno, but he sounded excited over the phone," Lori said with a slight smile on her face. Luna tried to hear in more, but her foot slightly slipped on a patch of ice, the noise alerting her sisters. Luckily, Luna ducked into an alleyway out of sight and caught her breath. Lori and Luna turned around suspiciously, but seeing no one, they chalked it up as nothing and continued their walk. Luna was almost hyperventilating from almost getting caught, leaning against a brick wall. Just who is this 'he'? she wondered to herself. When Luna glanced out of the alleyway, she saw Lori and Luna across the street, seemingly waiting for someone, as Lori was checking her phone. When a car pulled up to them, she put away her phone. Luna squinted her eyes and saw a female driver, but she appeared to be a total stranger and she was giving Lori and Luna a lift, leaving her beyond confused and her mouth agape. What the hell is going on? she thought.
Just as the car left, Luna quickly snapped a photo of the license plate, intending to find out who the car belonged to. Looking around, she spotted a nearby library, went inside, and smiled upon realizing there was free Wi-Fi inside. Watching Luna's every move, her sneaking behind the backs of Lori and Leni, capturing a photo of Kate's license plate, and entering the library, was what appeared to be a civilian car. But inside was an NYPD officer, holding a speaker in one hand.
Rita walked along the bustling streets with her youngest daughters close by. Lola and Lana held hands and would not let go while Lisa was getting a piggyback ride. Lucy looked emotionless as usual, but worry started to seep into her eyes hidden behind her bangs.
"Mom?" she finally said, breaking her own silence.
"What is it, sweetie?" said Rita.
"Do you think we'll ever find Lincoln?"
"I don't know, honey. I really don't."
"I'm scared," Lucy admitted. Rita sighed sadly.
"I know you are," she said. "I am too." Lola and Lana looked at each other, the prospect of not seeing their older brother ever again haunted them, even more so knowing that it was by their hands what made him run away. What they didn't know was that one particular car was driving along keeping pace with Rita and her children. Inside was an NYPD officer, holding a speaker in one hand.
"The police know that your family is here," said Kate, finding a spot to drop off Lori and Leni. "Are you sure you don't want to tell them that you found Lincoln?"
"We really can't," said Lori. "They already lost Lincoln's trust and the last thing he needs is us stabbing him in the back."
"This could be consequential," warned Kate. "I'll do my part to help out in whatever way I can. Be careful, girls." After Lori and Leni got out of the car and Kate drove off to speak with the NYPD, they were unaware that a certain car was nearby. Lori and Leni soon made their way back to the hotel and from inside the car watching them, there was an NYPD officer, holding a speaker in one hand.
"So you knew where we were the whole time," Luna croaked.
"Correct," said the officer. "We decided to make sure you wouldn't change locations and move to, say, another hotel. Who knows? Not switching locations may just be your saving grace in all this." Rita stood up, she and her husband holding on to each other.
"Please, officer," she pleaded. "Try to understand that we only wanted our son back and that's why we came here."
"Your son didn't make the smartest move, coming out here all by himself," the officer admitted. "But I doubt you did either. Now then, no more beating around the bush." The Loud family in each of the four rooms shuddered, including Lori and Leni. They knew what was coming next. "Fortunately for you, a full-on trial would take too long and the NYPD simply has not the time nor patience. We must bring this to an end as swiftly possible so everyone can move on. But for now..." The officer then spoke into a speaker of his own. "Get the popcorn, it's gonna be good." He snapped his fingers and used the same hand to point to the Loud parents. The two officers with him calmly walked to them and apprehended them. "Rita Loud and Lynn Loud Sr.," said the internally leading officer. "We're arresting you under suspicion of child negligence and endangerment. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can be and will be used against you in a court of law." Handcuffs were promptly slipped onto the hands of both Loud parents. Leni started to cry, as did the younger Loud sisters in their rooms, though not as loudly as her.
"Officer!" Luna suddenly said. "It's us you want! We did this!"
"Be that as it may," the officer acknowledged. "But the seven of you are all minors, so your parents must be held accountable as well. We'll be presenting this case to a court judge we know, so the law will have intended consequences for each of you. However, for now, we'll have to ask all of you to accompany us to the station for questioning." The other Loud children were too sad and scared to protest, so they willfully followed the officers out of their rooms, tears in their eyes. One officer made a nod to Lori and Leni, indicating that they too had to go to the station and face questioning. Leni buried her face in her hands as one of the officers gently escorted her along, even draping a blanket over her.
Transitioning from Leni's crying, Lincoln was also crying back at Jordan's place. He was in the guest room he had slept in and was lying face first on the bed, crying into the pillow. After everything so far, Lincoln's emotions had finally caught up to him with the force of a train, the same train he took here to leave his family behind. Jordan did not leave Lincoln's side. Seeing her boyfriend crying his eyes out, even if it was over seven of his sisters that she still despised, brought tears to her own eyes. But she held it together and gently started rubbing Lincoln's back in a back-and-forth motion.
"Lincoln..." she sighed. "Linc..." After about five minutes, Lincoln managed to sit up and the two sat on the bed together, the poor white-haired boy still sobbing and hugging himself. Jordan wrapped her arms around him and began rocking him very slightly back and forth, almost like a mother would. They stayed there for the entirety of the afternoon. They did not watch a movie. They did not play video games. Lincoln just cried. He cried for his family. After a while, Jordan's mom came in to offer the same comfort her daughter was dishing out. Jordan released her hug and let Lincoln cry in her mother's arms. He's been through a lot, Kate thought to herself. He could lose his family forever, and... Kate was unsure of what fate had in store for the 12-year-old boy, but for now, she knew of one thing. Until things were more certain, she decided to bring it upon herself to look after him. She had promised herself that she and her husband would do everything in their power to spend more time with their daughter and the officer she spoke with was enough of a respectable figure to help gain the necessities the parents needed to pull off a well-deserved extended leave of absence. Kate lowered her head and gently kissed the top of Lincoln's head. Lincoln looked up at her, his pale face coated with tears.
"Lincoln," she cooed promisingly. "Whatever happens... you'll be taken care of... and loved. I promise."
By dinnertime, Lincoln had calmed down and was eating with Jordan and both her parents. His eyes still looked like he had half zoned out, though, and it seemed that he was eating subconsciously. Kate and Jack looked to each other, concerned for the boy, but said nothing. They didn't really have to. About one hour after dinner, there came a strong knock on the door.
"Lincoln Loud?" boomed a voice from outside. "Do not be alarmed. We're here to talk." Lincoln stayed where he was on the living room couch, so Kate answered the door, expecting the officer she spoke to days ago. But to her surprise, not only was it him, but Lori and Leni had accompanied him.
"Lincoln!" exclaimed Lori.
"LINKY!" shouted Leni. Lincoln took a flying leap off the couch and rushed at his two sisters and they all hugged each other for dear life, in tears.
"Officer?" said Kate.
"Lori L. Loud and Leni L. Loud are free to go," declared the officer. "They were very cooperative and answered all our questions to the best that they knew."
"It's like this one incident shaped them," said Katie. "Almost like they're ready to become mature adults and face the world, even though they mostly lacked parental discipline in their lives."
"Maybe."
"I thought I would lose you forever!" Lincoln wailed.
"So did we, Linky!" Leni sobbed. "So did we!"
"The NYPD intends to settle this case quickly, so we apologize for rushing," said the officer. "Kate, Lori and Leni will stay here for the night. Tomorrow, we're holding a private court hearing and I want everyone present, including you, Jack, Lori, Leni, and of course..." The officer turned to young Lincoln Loud, who finally looked up at him and bravely let go of his sisters. "Lincoln." The officer bent down to the white-haired boy's level. "I apologize for my demeanor." He stuck out his hand. "Officer Gavelyn, NYPD." Lincoln stared at the size of the officer, but he was at least making a good first impression. So he shook the officer's hand. "I'm aware that this is hard for you to swallow, but the rest of your family is now in custody." Lincoln looked down.
"I know," he murmured.
"I strongly encourage you and everyone else in this house to get a good night's sleep," advised the officer. "We intend to get this all done in just one day, and we believe you, young Mr. Loud, can help see to that."
"I can?" Lincoln was surprised. The officer nodded.
"We know you are unwilling to return to your family anytime soon, much less face them," he said. "As you are a victim of what we've put together as domestic abuse, we strongly encourage you to speak honestly and from your point of view. Can you do that tomorrow?" Lincoln came to realize that he wouldn't remain at the junction of his emotional crossroads for much longer. What was it that he wanted? Would he condemn his family to punishment by law, whatever it would be? Would he trust his family again and take his chances that returning to his old life would be better? If only I hadn't run away, he thought, mentally browbeating himself. Back when he first talked with Jack, he had asked for more time and as of now, it had run out. A decision had to made, one that would change the Loud family as he knew it forever, but it had to be done. And he knew that no one would think differently of him if he did admit what his family did to him. Lincoln took a deep breath and exhaled.
"Yes," he said.
"You're a brave boy," the officer complimented. "This will be your chance to look into the eyes of your family and provide whatever closure needs to be said." Lincoln knew this meant finally facing his family after almost a week, but it was finally time for him. The officer then addressed everyone in the house. "Everyone, come to the hearing tomorrow. Be there or be square."
There was no turning back.