Chapter 2
The Rabb House Washington, DC 0821 ZULU
"Good morning sunshine!" smiled Lauren to Sergei.
"Good morning.sunshine?" Sergei looked confused. "Huh?"
"Oh, never mind!" Lauren laughed, and wrapped him in a hug. When she finally pulled away, he grinned.
"You stayed in the room with them most of the night, didn't you?" he asked. "You're an over-protective mother. Admit it." He was teasing her now. The mocking grin on his face was almost an exact copy of his older brother's.
"I am not!" Lauren defended herself.
"You are so!" Sergei retorted.
".the twins are crying.." Lauren slipped quickly from the room.
Sergei could hear. He knew that the twins weren't crying. He sighed, stretching and slowly rising from the bed. From the night stand, he pulled a small box. Inside the box was a beautiful ring. He looked at it a moment, playing with it, and twirling it around his finger. He shoved it back into its home just as Lauren walked into the room, a twin on each arm.
"What was that? What were you doing?" his sudden movement had sparked her curiosity.
"It was nothing." Sergei lied. "I'll tell you later."
"You'll tell me what?" she asked. "The twins are six months old, Sergei. I doubt that they'll go repeating your thoughts to anyone.."
"It's nothing bad.I hope." He sighed. "But I can't tell you now."
".Okay." Lauren shrugged.
"Are the twins okay?" Sergei asked, switching the subject. "What were they 'crying' about?"
"They needed to be changed.and to say good morning to their uncle." She added.
"Morning Sasha! Morning Trisha! How are my favorite little niece and nephew?" he smiled at them.
"Sergei, sweetie, I hate to disappoint you, but, err.they're your only niece and nephew." Lauren whispered.
"Yeah, well, maybe someday.." He whined.
"I know what you mean." Lauren cut him off. "I can see Harm and Mac with a whole troop of their own, too." she laughed at the thought. "Hey, I'm going to put them back in their cribs. I need to be at work in twenty minutes." she realized.
"I'll get breakfast ready!" Sergei volunteered.
"You do that." Lauren laughed.
Somewhere in Jacksonville, NC 0900 ZULU
"Look, I've had one too many visits from these JAG people, Richards. I need you to handle it. If they figure this out, my whole operation goes down the drain." a man named James Zimmer whispered into a payphone.
"Handle it, sir? What do you mean?" came the voice of the other man, Daniel Richards.
"I mean if these people figure out what I'm doing, I'm done." He hissed. "You find out what you can about them." suddenly a thought struck him. "I heard them telling Gunny Perez about their new kids.twins, I think." the grin on his face widened.
"Sir?" Richards sounded confused.
"You get those kids, Richards. They can be our ticket out of this mess."
"But." Richards stammered.
"They've already got me on corruption. All they have to do is file the paperwork. They find out I'm also the one supplying the juice, and I'm screwed, get it?" he smirked.
".Yes, sir." Richards nodded, and with that, the conversation ended.
The Rabb House Washington, DC 1402 ZULU
Lauren had left for work long ago, and it was just Sergei and the twins in the house. He handled himself well with both of them, and had already seemed to have developed the characteristic 'eyes in the back of the head' that all parents had.
The twins were already crawling. This made his job slightly more difficult then when they were younger, but the fact that they basically followed him everywhere helped, too.
He had gone into the kitchen while the twins, for once, remained in the living room. He could hear the sound of 'Yankee Doodle' from one of their toys, and their constant baby chatter, indecipherable to him. He was only in the kitchen for about five minutes when he realized that he no longer heard the music, or the twins.
He ran into the living room. Neither of the twins was where they had been when he left them. He looked around. He had heard nothing. "Sasha! Trisha! Where are you? You're scaring me, little ones!" he yelled.
Sergei became panicky when he didn't find the twins on the first floor of the house. He knew that they did not have the ability to walk up the stairs, but he ran up there anyway, calling for them the whole way.
"Oh, god." he realized, and picked up the phone. It was dead. He reached for the cell phone he carried on his belt loop. He dialed 911 first. The number didn't work. "What in the..?!" He screamed, and next dialed the JAG office.
At JAG, Harriet answered the phone. "What is it, Sergei?" she asked.
"Harriet! Send Lauren! Send the police!" Sergei was sobbing now. "Someone has taken the twins! I left the room for five minutes!!! I didn't hear anything!!" he shook as he held the phone.
"Oh no!" Harriet gasped. "Stay there.keep looking, okay? I'll send Singer with the cops!"
"Thank you!" Sergei choked. "You tell them they need to.."
Harriet listened. It seemed to her as if the phone had not been hung up. She could hear the television, and then, with a click, the line went dead.
"Lauren." Harriet whispered. "Something's gone terribly wrong. Someone kidnapped the twins. I called the cops. Sergei was cut off. I think something might've happened to him, too."
"What?!" Lauren's scream echoed through the building.
The Rabb House Washington, DC 0821 ZULU
"Good morning sunshine!" smiled Lauren to Sergei.
"Good morning.sunshine?" Sergei looked confused. "Huh?"
"Oh, never mind!" Lauren laughed, and wrapped him in a hug. When she finally pulled away, he grinned.
"You stayed in the room with them most of the night, didn't you?" he asked. "You're an over-protective mother. Admit it." He was teasing her now. The mocking grin on his face was almost an exact copy of his older brother's.
"I am not!" Lauren defended herself.
"You are so!" Sergei retorted.
".the twins are crying.." Lauren slipped quickly from the room.
Sergei could hear. He knew that the twins weren't crying. He sighed, stretching and slowly rising from the bed. From the night stand, he pulled a small box. Inside the box was a beautiful ring. He looked at it a moment, playing with it, and twirling it around his finger. He shoved it back into its home just as Lauren walked into the room, a twin on each arm.
"What was that? What were you doing?" his sudden movement had sparked her curiosity.
"It was nothing." Sergei lied. "I'll tell you later."
"You'll tell me what?" she asked. "The twins are six months old, Sergei. I doubt that they'll go repeating your thoughts to anyone.."
"It's nothing bad.I hope." He sighed. "But I can't tell you now."
".Okay." Lauren shrugged.
"Are the twins okay?" Sergei asked, switching the subject. "What were they 'crying' about?"
"They needed to be changed.and to say good morning to their uncle." She added.
"Morning Sasha! Morning Trisha! How are my favorite little niece and nephew?" he smiled at them.
"Sergei, sweetie, I hate to disappoint you, but, err.they're your only niece and nephew." Lauren whispered.
"Yeah, well, maybe someday.." He whined.
"I know what you mean." Lauren cut him off. "I can see Harm and Mac with a whole troop of their own, too." she laughed at the thought. "Hey, I'm going to put them back in their cribs. I need to be at work in twenty minutes." she realized.
"I'll get breakfast ready!" Sergei volunteered.
"You do that." Lauren laughed.
Somewhere in Jacksonville, NC 0900 ZULU
"Look, I've had one too many visits from these JAG people, Richards. I need you to handle it. If they figure this out, my whole operation goes down the drain." a man named James Zimmer whispered into a payphone.
"Handle it, sir? What do you mean?" came the voice of the other man, Daniel Richards.
"I mean if these people figure out what I'm doing, I'm done." He hissed. "You find out what you can about them." suddenly a thought struck him. "I heard them telling Gunny Perez about their new kids.twins, I think." the grin on his face widened.
"Sir?" Richards sounded confused.
"You get those kids, Richards. They can be our ticket out of this mess."
"But." Richards stammered.
"They've already got me on corruption. All they have to do is file the paperwork. They find out I'm also the one supplying the juice, and I'm screwed, get it?" he smirked.
".Yes, sir." Richards nodded, and with that, the conversation ended.
The Rabb House Washington, DC 1402 ZULU
Lauren had left for work long ago, and it was just Sergei and the twins in the house. He handled himself well with both of them, and had already seemed to have developed the characteristic 'eyes in the back of the head' that all parents had.
The twins were already crawling. This made his job slightly more difficult then when they were younger, but the fact that they basically followed him everywhere helped, too.
He had gone into the kitchen while the twins, for once, remained in the living room. He could hear the sound of 'Yankee Doodle' from one of their toys, and their constant baby chatter, indecipherable to him. He was only in the kitchen for about five minutes when he realized that he no longer heard the music, or the twins.
He ran into the living room. Neither of the twins was where they had been when he left them. He looked around. He had heard nothing. "Sasha! Trisha! Where are you? You're scaring me, little ones!" he yelled.
Sergei became panicky when he didn't find the twins on the first floor of the house. He knew that they did not have the ability to walk up the stairs, but he ran up there anyway, calling for them the whole way.
"Oh, god." he realized, and picked up the phone. It was dead. He reached for the cell phone he carried on his belt loop. He dialed 911 first. The number didn't work. "What in the..?!" He screamed, and next dialed the JAG office.
At JAG, Harriet answered the phone. "What is it, Sergei?" she asked.
"Harriet! Send Lauren! Send the police!" Sergei was sobbing now. "Someone has taken the twins! I left the room for five minutes!!! I didn't hear anything!!" he shook as he held the phone.
"Oh no!" Harriet gasped. "Stay there.keep looking, okay? I'll send Singer with the cops!"
"Thank you!" Sergei choked. "You tell them they need to.."
Harriet listened. It seemed to her as if the phone had not been hung up. She could hear the television, and then, with a click, the line went dead.
"Lauren." Harriet whispered. "Something's gone terribly wrong. Someone kidnapped the twins. I called the cops. Sergei was cut off. I think something might've happened to him, too."
"What?!" Lauren's scream echoed through the building.