"Sergeant, what do you have?" the head of the unit spoke into his cell
phone after receiving the red-alarm notification.
"A definite invasion, Sir," the sergeant answered.
"An invasion?" the unit head scoffed at the possibility. "The facility is controlled by the FBI's best crews and monitored by top-of-the-line security equipment - security equipment not even available to the public. In fact, there are no records that this type of intelligence even exists." The man's voice became more and more strained as he spoke.
The sergeant detected the developing anger in the voice of the unit head. "I am aware, Sir," he assured the head that he knew the elevated level of defense that was in place for the building. "We are not… quite sure… how the intruders got over the security system. The cameras appear to have been… uh, melted… and the retina scans never sent out an alert for suspicious use."
"How could anyone get past a system without knowledge of how it operates? And we, Sergeant, are the only unit aware of its existence, much less how it functions," the head touted. "Are you positive the intruders were not insiders, Sergeant?"
"Yes, Sir. In fact, one of the intruders attacked one of our men," the sergeant answered the head knowing that his latest news would do nothing more than to further anger him. The sergeant held the phone away from his ear as the other man cursed and shouted. When the sergeant heard the cursing stop, he returned the phone to his ear and waited for instructions.
"Who?" the head breathed angrily into the phone not understand how he'd come to be paneled with such dimwits.
"Fields, Sir," the sergeant answered.
"Fields was overcome by one man? One man!?" The head yelled unable to control his anger.
"Fields believes he was the victim of a team effort. He heard communication in use prior to his attack," the Sergeant answered knowing such information was not going to help Field's case.
The head breathed slowly grasping at any small piece of sanity he had remaining. "I will take care of Fields… personally." The head regrouped his thoughts and focused on the matter at hand. "The important thing is they showed up. And eventually, they will return... just as we planned. Did they get the girl?"
The sergeant was glad to finally have a bit of good news to share and a positive answer to one of the head's questions. "No, Sir. The girl was sent to your personal facility as you ordered. By the time the suspects arrived she was out of this facility." The sergeant grinned as he heard the unit head chuckle on the other end of the phone. Feeling proud of his efforts, the sergeant continued. "Today's incident was a close call, but your quick thinking and impeccable direction saved the unit's plan, Sir. Your immaculate plot and flawless strategy are to be commended, Sir. I am sure I speak for the entire unit when I say…"
The unit head interrupted the sergeant. "Do you think you could type your comments on letterhead and send it to me, Sergeant?"
The sergeant became excited to know his words had delighted the head. "Why, yes, Sir. Of course, Sir."
"Great," the head answered. "Then I can file it in my rear with your nose. Now, do you think we could focus on the matter at hand?"
"Yes, Sir," the sergeant answered stunned that the unit head had called him on his self-serving compliments.
The unit head spoke, "They are getting too close too quick. I don't like the idea that they are strategizing as a team. There is only one of them that we want. The others are just in the way. It's time to activate the next step of the plan. That will assure us we get the target by herself. I want that alien, do you understand me? Marianna, is that the name she goes by?"
"Yes, Sir," the Sergeant complied.
"You know what to do sergeant, now get to it," the unit head hissed.
"Right away, Sir. But I need the little girl in order to…" the Sergeant spoke.
"No, Sergeant!! She's much too important to risk losing in the hands of your mediocre crew," the unit crew spouted.
The sergeant thought for a moment before asking, "But, Sir, the object of phase two is to entice the mother to turn herself over to us. How can I accomplish the directive without the girl as incentive?"
"How long have you been with the special unit, Sergeant?" the unit head asked with a tone of sarcasm in his voice.
The sergeant suspected the question was not asked out of curiosity, but he was obligated to answer truthfully. "Twelve years, Sir."
"And during those twelve years, were you trained by Johns and Adams of the FBI or were you trained by Bert and Ernie of Sesame Street?" the unit head asked mockingly. He breathed a heavy sigh and gave up. "If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself. You know what? Just leave everything to me. You apparently haven't any clue about the delicacy and importance in this matter. American lives are at stake here, rookie; your life, my life, the lives of your daughters and your son. We have only broken ground on the first layer of knowledge in understanding what this alien woman is capable of. Not only is she an alien and may well be capable of killing us, but she is famous and has the world in her hands. No doubt she'll use that to her advantage. She is probably just waiting for the perfect time to get rid of us all. And if there are more like her…there is just so much we don't know. We cannot lose her. For the good of our country, we must not fail."
"I am aware of..." the sergeant began but was cut off by the unit head.
"Silence!! As of this moment, you are no longer directing this case. From this point forward, you are to speak of this case only when given direct orders to do so. Otherwise…" The unit head took a moment to calm his quickly deteriorating nerves. "I will be directing all matters. I need you over here. Phase two of the plan is about to commence. You've got the kids under surveillance?"
The sergeant paused for a moment as he flipped through the most recent logs of his crewmembers. He wanted to be certain the appropriate staff was on the surveillance team before confirming.
The silence tried the unit head's patience. "Answer me when I talk to you, Sergeant!!" he demanded.
"They are all under surveillance, Sir," the sergeant replied quickly.
"Perfect," the unit head chuckled.
…………………………………………………………
Maria frantically paced back and forth in the living room of her townhouse apartment. Each second that they waited without some legitimate action towards rescuing her daughter wore more rigidly on her nerves. She pictured the white room. Max had nightmares for years. He woke up in cold sweats. To this day, he won't talk about some of the things that happened to him in the white room. Max… a brave king and leader. She dared to imagine how Hope would handle such torture… if she survived. Maria pulled her fingers through her hair and focused on controlling her uneven breathing.
"Cálmate M'ija. Ten esperanza. No ganaras nada si sigues en esas condiciones."
Maria stopped pacing and looked at Lupe. She had been so caught up in her worries that she had not even noticed when Lupe entered the room.
"But that's the problem, Lupe! I don't have Hope," Maria sighed and slumped on the couch. She understood Lupe's reasoning about worrying not solving anything, but at the moment, nothing made sense to her. Nothing except searching for Hope. She buried her face in her hands and Liz wrapped her arm around Maria's shoulders.
When everyone first arrived back at the apartment, Michael, Alex and Max had immediately secluded themselves in the kitchen with Alex's laptop. Michael described everything he saw in his flash while Alex took notes and together the three men tried to determine their next course of action.
After much deliberation with little hope of answers, Alex came into the living room where Lupe, Liz and Isabel worked to comfort Maria.
"Alex!! What happened? Do you know where Hope is? Alex answer me! Where's Michael? Alex, what's going on!" Maria blurted. She stood silently as she looked at Alex's grim face. She reached for Alex and shook her head as she prepared for the worst.
"I'm sorry, Maria," he whispered. "We just don't know."
Isabel stood from her seat on the couch and joined Alex. She knew he was hurting and would need her.
Michael and Max slowly walked into the room. Immediately, Michael's eyes locked with Maria's. "We don't know where else to look for Hope, Maria," he said looking down. He knew the words would upset Maria, but they hurt him, too. He refused to quit, but he had to be honest with Maria and let her know that they were at a loss for a plan. In fact, they didn't know where to even start. The vision he had was too brief. He knew Hope was alive, but he didn't know for how long and he didn't know where.
Maria instinctively ran to Michael and melted into his arms. She buried her face in his shoulder.
Without a second thought, Michael accepted Maria into his arms and held her tightly. He debated whether or not to tell Maria about finding the locket or about the visions. He was afraid that she would not be able to cope with knowing the fear he saw in Hope's helpless, tear-filled eyes. He didn't know how to tell Maria that her daughter screamed for her mother… needing her mother's comforting touch. He didn't know how to tell Maria that he stood safely and watched as Hope sobbed uncontrollably out of sheer terror. He hugged Maria tighter and wished he could take the pain from her life… and his. He stroked her soft hair and held onto his last piece of hope. They would find their daughter Hope. He silently vowed that if it were the last thing he ever did, he would find Hope.
Michael knew he couldn't lie or contain any more information. He knew that if he and Maria were ever going to be what they once were, then honesty was something that couldn't be taken lightly. "Maria I saw her again," he whispered.
His voice was so faint that Maria wasn't quite sure she'd actually heard him say anything at all. Slowly, she lifted her head from his shoulder and looked questioningly into his eyes.
He answered her unspoken request. "I saw Hope."
Maria concentrated on Michael's eyes giving him her full attention as she urged him to continue.
Michael spoke, "She was at... some facility, or some clinical-type white.." his voice trailed off as he realized what he was saying.
"What do you mean you saw her? Why isn't she with you, then? Michael?" Maria stopped talking when she realized Michael had seen Hope in visions only. "Oh," Maria said as her brows lowered. "You just said you saw her in a white room, didn't you?" Her eyes lowered and she began to sob quietly.
Michael lifted Maria's chin and brought his finger up to her lips. "Shhh…it's gonna be okay. I got visions when I found the this." He dug into his pocket and retrieved the locket. Slowly he opened his hand to show Maria.
Maria glared at the locket and extended her hand to touch the locket.
Michael released his fingers and allowed the locket to fall into Maria's open hand.
Maria stared at the locket in silence.
"It's the locket I gave her," Alex whispered.
Isabel looped her arm through Alex's just to let him know she was there... for him.
"I know," Maria replied still staring sadly at the locket. Liz moved closer to Maria and affectionately touched her arm.
Max and Michael looked at Alex. Alex looked at Isabel with thankful eyes before dropping her arm. He approached Maria and reached out to touch the locket. He wished he could put the locket where it belonged - around Hope's neck. "I gave her this locket so she would always have a piece of her mother with her...close to her heart," he said explaining to Michael and Max. "It's a piece of you, Maria."
Michael looked back at Maria. He wanted more than anything to take away the pain he saw in her face. He wanted to see her smile the way she did years ago. It suddenly occurred to him that he hadn't seen her impulsively smile from happiness at all since they'd become reacquainted - so to speak. He thought about what Alex had just said and frowned as he realized Maria's condition was partly his fault. He thought, "Hope's in trouble because of the piece of me she has." He scoffed at the irony associated witht he locket.
Michael looked at Maria and felt utter guilt. "She was in the base, Maria."
"But now Hope's gone isn't she Michael? Isn't she?" She looked at Michael already knowing the answer that she dreaded. Still, she had to hear the words to make it real.
Everyone looked at each other with concern. Max didn't want to intrude on a moment that belonged to Michael and Maria. Liz hung her head and silently prayed. Alex closed his eyes and remembered Hope's spirit. Isabel nervously fiddled with her nails. Michael and Maria continued to stare into each other's eyes. Maria waited for the inevitable. Michael tried to speak, but the right words escaped him.
Lupe looked at everyone with disbelief. She could not believe what was happening. "Que pasa aquí?" she shouted into the silence. She looked back and forth at each person in the room. "Are you kidding me? You are just going to give up? Just like that? Let them have her? What's wrong with you people?" She shook her head as everyone stared at her. "This is Hope! And you are all going to just sit by and give up? After one try? Whatever happened to 'if at first you don't succeed?' This is a human life we're talking about here...not lost keys!"
The phone rang loudly. Everyone continued to stare at Lupe in shock from, not only her outburst, but also the in-your-face truth she spoke.
Maria was the first to move as the phone rang a second time. Everyone else continued to stand in thought.
Maria cleared her voice and tried to push aside all remnants of emotion from her voice. "Hello?" Maria spoke into the phone.
When no one replied, Maria repeated louder, "Hello?"
After another long pause, Maria allowed the anger in her voice to come through. "Listen," she muttered between her gritted teeth. "I am in no mood for your unpleasant and untimely jokes right now, so please just…"
"Mommy?" she heard a frail delicate voice.
Maria's breath caught in her chest. She felt her legs weaken and she reached for the wall to steady herself. "Hope?" Maria whispered.
Alex and Michael looked up when they heard Maria's whisper. Alex pointed Michael to the phone in the kitchen as he headed to the phone in the bedroom upstairs.
At hearing her mother's voice, Hope's tears became hysterical sobs. "Mommy!" Hope cried.
At hearing the sound of her daughter calling out for her, Maria wanted to drop to the floor and cry. She had no idea how long the God-sent opportunity to speak to Hope would last. She assured herself there would be time for a breakdown later. At the moment, however, she needed to be strong for her daughter. She needed to convince Hope, if not herself, that everything would be okay.
"Hope where are you? You need to tell Mommy where you are so I can come and get you, okay? Everything will be fine, baby. Just stay strong, okay?" Maria heard muffed voices at the other end of the line. "Hope?" Just as quickly as she had come, Hope was gone.
"The girl's fine. Give us what we want and we'll give you the girl," a voice spoke. The man's voice sounded vaguely familiar to Maria, but she couldn't quite place how she knew it.
"Anything," Maria spoke in anger. "Anything! But please don't do anything to Hope," her voice cracked as she spoke.
"Your daughter's safety is in your own hands, Marianna," the man said plainly.
"What do you want?" Maria cried. "Is it money? Tell me how much you want... anything at all. Just please, return my daughter."
"This isn't about money, dear Marianna. This is about you!" The man paused. He knew she was hanging on his every word and it thrilled him to have so much control. "We know all about you. We know who you are…or should I say 'what' you are? Surrender yourself to us and you have our word your daughter will be safe from all of this."
"How?" Maria asked.
"There's a pier on the west side of LA near the Manhattan State Beach. Be there at 5:45 tomorrow morning - alone. And Marianna? I'm warning you - come alone. If you try something... if you bring your little friends... if there is the slightest indication you are not complying with the rules, then I know a cute little blonde girl who will pay the price."
Maria could hear muffled cries in the background. "Hope?" she called. As Maria shouted, the man severed the call. "Hope!"
Michael hung up the phone and walked out of the kitchen. He stared sadly at Maria. "You can't. I won't let you," Michael said almost begging Maria not to accept the terms. He couldn't bear the thought of losing both Hope and Maria. He didn't understand why the caller wanted Maria, but something in the man's tone of voice told Michael he had no intentions of returning Hope.
Maria raised her eyebrows to tell Michael she had no choice. She turned her face to Liz. "Hope will be home tomorrow.
"A definite invasion, Sir," the sergeant answered.
"An invasion?" the unit head scoffed at the possibility. "The facility is controlled by the FBI's best crews and monitored by top-of-the-line security equipment - security equipment not even available to the public. In fact, there are no records that this type of intelligence even exists." The man's voice became more and more strained as he spoke.
The sergeant detected the developing anger in the voice of the unit head. "I am aware, Sir," he assured the head that he knew the elevated level of defense that was in place for the building. "We are not… quite sure… how the intruders got over the security system. The cameras appear to have been… uh, melted… and the retina scans never sent out an alert for suspicious use."
"How could anyone get past a system without knowledge of how it operates? And we, Sergeant, are the only unit aware of its existence, much less how it functions," the head touted. "Are you positive the intruders were not insiders, Sergeant?"
"Yes, Sir. In fact, one of the intruders attacked one of our men," the sergeant answered the head knowing that his latest news would do nothing more than to further anger him. The sergeant held the phone away from his ear as the other man cursed and shouted. When the sergeant heard the cursing stop, he returned the phone to his ear and waited for instructions.
"Who?" the head breathed angrily into the phone not understand how he'd come to be paneled with such dimwits.
"Fields, Sir," the sergeant answered.
"Fields was overcome by one man? One man!?" The head yelled unable to control his anger.
"Fields believes he was the victim of a team effort. He heard communication in use prior to his attack," the Sergeant answered knowing such information was not going to help Field's case.
The head breathed slowly grasping at any small piece of sanity he had remaining. "I will take care of Fields… personally." The head regrouped his thoughts and focused on the matter at hand. "The important thing is they showed up. And eventually, they will return... just as we planned. Did they get the girl?"
The sergeant was glad to finally have a bit of good news to share and a positive answer to one of the head's questions. "No, Sir. The girl was sent to your personal facility as you ordered. By the time the suspects arrived she was out of this facility." The sergeant grinned as he heard the unit head chuckle on the other end of the phone. Feeling proud of his efforts, the sergeant continued. "Today's incident was a close call, but your quick thinking and impeccable direction saved the unit's plan, Sir. Your immaculate plot and flawless strategy are to be commended, Sir. I am sure I speak for the entire unit when I say…"
The unit head interrupted the sergeant. "Do you think you could type your comments on letterhead and send it to me, Sergeant?"
The sergeant became excited to know his words had delighted the head. "Why, yes, Sir. Of course, Sir."
"Great," the head answered. "Then I can file it in my rear with your nose. Now, do you think we could focus on the matter at hand?"
"Yes, Sir," the sergeant answered stunned that the unit head had called him on his self-serving compliments.
The unit head spoke, "They are getting too close too quick. I don't like the idea that they are strategizing as a team. There is only one of them that we want. The others are just in the way. It's time to activate the next step of the plan. That will assure us we get the target by herself. I want that alien, do you understand me? Marianna, is that the name she goes by?"
"Yes, Sir," the Sergeant complied.
"You know what to do sergeant, now get to it," the unit head hissed.
"Right away, Sir. But I need the little girl in order to…" the Sergeant spoke.
"No, Sergeant!! She's much too important to risk losing in the hands of your mediocre crew," the unit crew spouted.
The sergeant thought for a moment before asking, "But, Sir, the object of phase two is to entice the mother to turn herself over to us. How can I accomplish the directive without the girl as incentive?"
"How long have you been with the special unit, Sergeant?" the unit head asked with a tone of sarcasm in his voice.
The sergeant suspected the question was not asked out of curiosity, but he was obligated to answer truthfully. "Twelve years, Sir."
"And during those twelve years, were you trained by Johns and Adams of the FBI or were you trained by Bert and Ernie of Sesame Street?" the unit head asked mockingly. He breathed a heavy sigh and gave up. "If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself. You know what? Just leave everything to me. You apparently haven't any clue about the delicacy and importance in this matter. American lives are at stake here, rookie; your life, my life, the lives of your daughters and your son. We have only broken ground on the first layer of knowledge in understanding what this alien woman is capable of. Not only is she an alien and may well be capable of killing us, but she is famous and has the world in her hands. No doubt she'll use that to her advantage. She is probably just waiting for the perfect time to get rid of us all. And if there are more like her…there is just so much we don't know. We cannot lose her. For the good of our country, we must not fail."
"I am aware of..." the sergeant began but was cut off by the unit head.
"Silence!! As of this moment, you are no longer directing this case. From this point forward, you are to speak of this case only when given direct orders to do so. Otherwise…" The unit head took a moment to calm his quickly deteriorating nerves. "I will be directing all matters. I need you over here. Phase two of the plan is about to commence. You've got the kids under surveillance?"
The sergeant paused for a moment as he flipped through the most recent logs of his crewmembers. He wanted to be certain the appropriate staff was on the surveillance team before confirming.
The silence tried the unit head's patience. "Answer me when I talk to you, Sergeant!!" he demanded.
"They are all under surveillance, Sir," the sergeant replied quickly.
"Perfect," the unit head chuckled.
…………………………………………………………
Maria frantically paced back and forth in the living room of her townhouse apartment. Each second that they waited without some legitimate action towards rescuing her daughter wore more rigidly on her nerves. She pictured the white room. Max had nightmares for years. He woke up in cold sweats. To this day, he won't talk about some of the things that happened to him in the white room. Max… a brave king and leader. She dared to imagine how Hope would handle such torture… if she survived. Maria pulled her fingers through her hair and focused on controlling her uneven breathing.
"Cálmate M'ija. Ten esperanza. No ganaras nada si sigues en esas condiciones."
Maria stopped pacing and looked at Lupe. She had been so caught up in her worries that she had not even noticed when Lupe entered the room.
"But that's the problem, Lupe! I don't have Hope," Maria sighed and slumped on the couch. She understood Lupe's reasoning about worrying not solving anything, but at the moment, nothing made sense to her. Nothing except searching for Hope. She buried her face in her hands and Liz wrapped her arm around Maria's shoulders.
When everyone first arrived back at the apartment, Michael, Alex and Max had immediately secluded themselves in the kitchen with Alex's laptop. Michael described everything he saw in his flash while Alex took notes and together the three men tried to determine their next course of action.
After much deliberation with little hope of answers, Alex came into the living room where Lupe, Liz and Isabel worked to comfort Maria.
"Alex!! What happened? Do you know where Hope is? Alex answer me! Where's Michael? Alex, what's going on!" Maria blurted. She stood silently as she looked at Alex's grim face. She reached for Alex and shook her head as she prepared for the worst.
"I'm sorry, Maria," he whispered. "We just don't know."
Isabel stood from her seat on the couch and joined Alex. She knew he was hurting and would need her.
Michael and Max slowly walked into the room. Immediately, Michael's eyes locked with Maria's. "We don't know where else to look for Hope, Maria," he said looking down. He knew the words would upset Maria, but they hurt him, too. He refused to quit, but he had to be honest with Maria and let her know that they were at a loss for a plan. In fact, they didn't know where to even start. The vision he had was too brief. He knew Hope was alive, but he didn't know for how long and he didn't know where.
Maria instinctively ran to Michael and melted into his arms. She buried her face in his shoulder.
Without a second thought, Michael accepted Maria into his arms and held her tightly. He debated whether or not to tell Maria about finding the locket or about the visions. He was afraid that she would not be able to cope with knowing the fear he saw in Hope's helpless, tear-filled eyes. He didn't know how to tell Maria that her daughter screamed for her mother… needing her mother's comforting touch. He didn't know how to tell Maria that he stood safely and watched as Hope sobbed uncontrollably out of sheer terror. He hugged Maria tighter and wished he could take the pain from her life… and his. He stroked her soft hair and held onto his last piece of hope. They would find their daughter Hope. He silently vowed that if it were the last thing he ever did, he would find Hope.
Michael knew he couldn't lie or contain any more information. He knew that if he and Maria were ever going to be what they once were, then honesty was something that couldn't be taken lightly. "Maria I saw her again," he whispered.
His voice was so faint that Maria wasn't quite sure she'd actually heard him say anything at all. Slowly, she lifted her head from his shoulder and looked questioningly into his eyes.
He answered her unspoken request. "I saw Hope."
Maria concentrated on Michael's eyes giving him her full attention as she urged him to continue.
Michael spoke, "She was at... some facility, or some clinical-type white.." his voice trailed off as he realized what he was saying.
"What do you mean you saw her? Why isn't she with you, then? Michael?" Maria stopped talking when she realized Michael had seen Hope in visions only. "Oh," Maria said as her brows lowered. "You just said you saw her in a white room, didn't you?" Her eyes lowered and she began to sob quietly.
Michael lifted Maria's chin and brought his finger up to her lips. "Shhh…it's gonna be okay. I got visions when I found the this." He dug into his pocket and retrieved the locket. Slowly he opened his hand to show Maria.
Maria glared at the locket and extended her hand to touch the locket.
Michael released his fingers and allowed the locket to fall into Maria's open hand.
Maria stared at the locket in silence.
"It's the locket I gave her," Alex whispered.
Isabel looped her arm through Alex's just to let him know she was there... for him.
"I know," Maria replied still staring sadly at the locket. Liz moved closer to Maria and affectionately touched her arm.
Max and Michael looked at Alex. Alex looked at Isabel with thankful eyes before dropping her arm. He approached Maria and reached out to touch the locket. He wished he could put the locket where it belonged - around Hope's neck. "I gave her this locket so she would always have a piece of her mother with her...close to her heart," he said explaining to Michael and Max. "It's a piece of you, Maria."
Michael looked back at Maria. He wanted more than anything to take away the pain he saw in her face. He wanted to see her smile the way she did years ago. It suddenly occurred to him that he hadn't seen her impulsively smile from happiness at all since they'd become reacquainted - so to speak. He thought about what Alex had just said and frowned as he realized Maria's condition was partly his fault. He thought, "Hope's in trouble because of the piece of me she has." He scoffed at the irony associated witht he locket.
Michael looked at Maria and felt utter guilt. "She was in the base, Maria."
"But now Hope's gone isn't she Michael? Isn't she?" She looked at Michael already knowing the answer that she dreaded. Still, she had to hear the words to make it real.
Everyone looked at each other with concern. Max didn't want to intrude on a moment that belonged to Michael and Maria. Liz hung her head and silently prayed. Alex closed his eyes and remembered Hope's spirit. Isabel nervously fiddled with her nails. Michael and Maria continued to stare into each other's eyes. Maria waited for the inevitable. Michael tried to speak, but the right words escaped him.
Lupe looked at everyone with disbelief. She could not believe what was happening. "Que pasa aquí?" she shouted into the silence. She looked back and forth at each person in the room. "Are you kidding me? You are just going to give up? Just like that? Let them have her? What's wrong with you people?" She shook her head as everyone stared at her. "This is Hope! And you are all going to just sit by and give up? After one try? Whatever happened to 'if at first you don't succeed?' This is a human life we're talking about here...not lost keys!"
The phone rang loudly. Everyone continued to stare at Lupe in shock from, not only her outburst, but also the in-your-face truth she spoke.
Maria was the first to move as the phone rang a second time. Everyone else continued to stand in thought.
Maria cleared her voice and tried to push aside all remnants of emotion from her voice. "Hello?" Maria spoke into the phone.
When no one replied, Maria repeated louder, "Hello?"
After another long pause, Maria allowed the anger in her voice to come through. "Listen," she muttered between her gritted teeth. "I am in no mood for your unpleasant and untimely jokes right now, so please just…"
"Mommy?" she heard a frail delicate voice.
Maria's breath caught in her chest. She felt her legs weaken and she reached for the wall to steady herself. "Hope?" Maria whispered.
Alex and Michael looked up when they heard Maria's whisper. Alex pointed Michael to the phone in the kitchen as he headed to the phone in the bedroom upstairs.
At hearing her mother's voice, Hope's tears became hysterical sobs. "Mommy!" Hope cried.
At hearing the sound of her daughter calling out for her, Maria wanted to drop to the floor and cry. She had no idea how long the God-sent opportunity to speak to Hope would last. She assured herself there would be time for a breakdown later. At the moment, however, she needed to be strong for her daughter. She needed to convince Hope, if not herself, that everything would be okay.
"Hope where are you? You need to tell Mommy where you are so I can come and get you, okay? Everything will be fine, baby. Just stay strong, okay?" Maria heard muffed voices at the other end of the line. "Hope?" Just as quickly as she had come, Hope was gone.
"The girl's fine. Give us what we want and we'll give you the girl," a voice spoke. The man's voice sounded vaguely familiar to Maria, but she couldn't quite place how she knew it.
"Anything," Maria spoke in anger. "Anything! But please don't do anything to Hope," her voice cracked as she spoke.
"Your daughter's safety is in your own hands, Marianna," the man said plainly.
"What do you want?" Maria cried. "Is it money? Tell me how much you want... anything at all. Just please, return my daughter."
"This isn't about money, dear Marianna. This is about you!" The man paused. He knew she was hanging on his every word and it thrilled him to have so much control. "We know all about you. We know who you are…or should I say 'what' you are? Surrender yourself to us and you have our word your daughter will be safe from all of this."
"How?" Maria asked.
"There's a pier on the west side of LA near the Manhattan State Beach. Be there at 5:45 tomorrow morning - alone. And Marianna? I'm warning you - come alone. If you try something... if you bring your little friends... if there is the slightest indication you are not complying with the rules, then I know a cute little blonde girl who will pay the price."
Maria could hear muffled cries in the background. "Hope?" she called. As Maria shouted, the man severed the call. "Hope!"
Michael hung up the phone and walked out of the kitchen. He stared sadly at Maria. "You can't. I won't let you," Michael said almost begging Maria not to accept the terms. He couldn't bear the thought of losing both Hope and Maria. He didn't understand why the caller wanted Maria, but something in the man's tone of voice told Michael he had no intentions of returning Hope.
Maria raised her eyebrows to tell Michael she had no choice. She turned her face to Liz. "Hope will be home tomorrow.