Taking It All Back
Written by: Anti Darth Ani
Chapter III : Mayhem
-----
Danny Taylor shot away from the window as soon as Samantha screamed. He stumbled backwards on a bush and fell flat on his butt. Martin disappeared from view only to have Samantha standing in front of the window again. "God, Danny!" she snapped. "You're such an ass, sneaking up on us like that!" Danny took his time getting up, wincing at the pain in his backside.
"I wasn't sneaking up on anybody," Danny retorted, getting to his feet and looking at them through the window. "I didn't even know you two were in there." He snuck a glance over his shoulder, hoping the neighbors wouldn't call the police about an intruder. That was the last thing the poor FBI agent needed right now.
"Well you shouldn't be poking your head into the windows of a house you know someone's missing in," Samantha hissed before turning away. Danny shot Martin a confused glance as if to say 'What the hell?' He had no idea what she meant by the statement because to him it made no sense whatsoever. Martin just shrugged and left sight.
-----
"God," Samantha muttered under her breath, running her hands through her hair after she had taken it out of the ponytail. Her hands were shaking slightly and she couldn't help but be relieved it had only been Danny at the window. Martin walked over to her, and after making sure no one was walking down the hall towards them to see what she had screamed about, he wrapped one arm around her and pulled her into a hug. "Are you okay?" he asked her. "You about gave me a heart attack there when you started screaming. I had no idea what the hell was scaring you."
Samantha nodded against his jacket before pulling her head away, "Yeah, I'm fine. Danny just scared the crap out of me for a second. I'm not used to seeing people popping out of nowhere to look at me through a window."
Martin wanted to smile, but he knew if he did that Samantha would hurt him - in more ways than one. Samantha slowly pulled away from him and went back to the crib, trying to get the stupid railing to click back into place. "This really does seem pointless," she muttered after a moment of fighting with the railing, only to have it fall back down time after time. "I give up," she sighed as she let it fall one last time and followed Martin out of the bedroom and into the living room, where mayhem was currently taking place.
-----
"Will, just give your sister the damn remote, already!" Mr. Westfall shouted over his son and daughter arguing. Vivian wondered if she was ever going to be able to get any work done on this case with all the fighting in the family. Having Martin and Samantha suddenly appear from the hallway didn't help matters much either.
Vivian looked up from the blank page in her mini notebook to the two FBI agents. Samantha looked a little worse for the wear, but Martin seemed to be handling everything fine. Vivian noticed the way he placed his hand on the small of her back and the way a tiny smile appeared on her face. "What did you two find out?" Vivian called out over the noise, but Martin and Samantha both gave her questioning glances, so she got up from her seat and motioned them out onto the porch through the opened sliding glass doors.
"What did you two find out?" she repeated the question when they were further away from all the noise in the house.
"Nothing important," Samantha reported, covering a yawn with the back of her hand. "There's no way someone could have gotten through that bedroom window. It's locked from the inside and no one's touched it. Besides the railing on the side of the crib not wanting to say closed, there's nothing odd about the boy's room."
Vivian nodded, glancing back at the madness in the living room. Did she really want to go in there without any news? No, she decided, she didn't. She would check with Danny before she told the Westfall family anything. "Have you guys seen Danny at all?" Vivian asked, hoping he had had better luck than the three of them.
Martin looked at Samantha uneasily, "Um, yeah, we've seen him. He, uh, stuck his head up against the window of the bedroom from the outside. It scared Samantha a little," Martin downplayed it a bit.
Vivian nodded and then saw Danny jumping over a short chain fence into the back yard. He walked over to his coworkers, a grimace set on his face, "Nothing," he reported.
Samantha's shoulders visibly slumped. At this rate, they wouldn't be any better off in three hours and every second that passed was another chance that the little boy had drowned. Turning around to face the house, Samantha watched at the older brother yelled something at the mother, who was pulling on the younger boy's hand, trying to get the Gameboy out of it. By the look on the little girl's face, she was still upset about the stupid remote, tears streaming down her cheeks. Besides the obvious, something seemed out of place. "Hey Vivian?" she turned slowly to face her supervisor.
"Yeah, Samantha?" she asked, looking up from the grass on the yard.
Samantha turned back to face the other way and pointed at the sliding glass doors, "Were those open when we got here or did someone open them?"
Vivian looked at Samantha, wondering where she was going with this train of thought. "We're the only ones here from the government, and I know I didn't touch it. Danny, you were in the backyard, and you and Martin were inside. So I guess it was already opened before we got here. Why are you asking?"
Samantha glanced up at Martin's face before looking at Vivian. "What if the little boy wasn't kidnapped? What if he managed to get over that stubborn railing and out into the backyard?"
"What about the family members inside the house?" Danny asked, shoving his hands into his pockets, trying to protect them from the ever growing cold. "He has three older siblings and two parents who were between the bedroom and the backyard."
Martin let out a little chuckle, "You haven't been inside that house, Danny. It is so chaotic, they wouldn't noticed if an elephant stormed through their roof. That little boy could have made it out of their without a problem."
Vivian looked at her group, "So where does this leave us?"
Written by: Anti Darth Ani
Chapter III : Mayhem
-----
Danny Taylor shot away from the window as soon as Samantha screamed. He stumbled backwards on a bush and fell flat on his butt. Martin disappeared from view only to have Samantha standing in front of the window again. "God, Danny!" she snapped. "You're such an ass, sneaking up on us like that!" Danny took his time getting up, wincing at the pain in his backside.
"I wasn't sneaking up on anybody," Danny retorted, getting to his feet and looking at them through the window. "I didn't even know you two were in there." He snuck a glance over his shoulder, hoping the neighbors wouldn't call the police about an intruder. That was the last thing the poor FBI agent needed right now.
"Well you shouldn't be poking your head into the windows of a house you know someone's missing in," Samantha hissed before turning away. Danny shot Martin a confused glance as if to say 'What the hell?' He had no idea what she meant by the statement because to him it made no sense whatsoever. Martin just shrugged and left sight.
-----
"God," Samantha muttered under her breath, running her hands through her hair after she had taken it out of the ponytail. Her hands were shaking slightly and she couldn't help but be relieved it had only been Danny at the window. Martin walked over to her, and after making sure no one was walking down the hall towards them to see what she had screamed about, he wrapped one arm around her and pulled her into a hug. "Are you okay?" he asked her. "You about gave me a heart attack there when you started screaming. I had no idea what the hell was scaring you."
Samantha nodded against his jacket before pulling her head away, "Yeah, I'm fine. Danny just scared the crap out of me for a second. I'm not used to seeing people popping out of nowhere to look at me through a window."
Martin wanted to smile, but he knew if he did that Samantha would hurt him - in more ways than one. Samantha slowly pulled away from him and went back to the crib, trying to get the stupid railing to click back into place. "This really does seem pointless," she muttered after a moment of fighting with the railing, only to have it fall back down time after time. "I give up," she sighed as she let it fall one last time and followed Martin out of the bedroom and into the living room, where mayhem was currently taking place.
-----
"Will, just give your sister the damn remote, already!" Mr. Westfall shouted over his son and daughter arguing. Vivian wondered if she was ever going to be able to get any work done on this case with all the fighting in the family. Having Martin and Samantha suddenly appear from the hallway didn't help matters much either.
Vivian looked up from the blank page in her mini notebook to the two FBI agents. Samantha looked a little worse for the wear, but Martin seemed to be handling everything fine. Vivian noticed the way he placed his hand on the small of her back and the way a tiny smile appeared on her face. "What did you two find out?" Vivian called out over the noise, but Martin and Samantha both gave her questioning glances, so she got up from her seat and motioned them out onto the porch through the opened sliding glass doors.
"What did you two find out?" she repeated the question when they were further away from all the noise in the house.
"Nothing important," Samantha reported, covering a yawn with the back of her hand. "There's no way someone could have gotten through that bedroom window. It's locked from the inside and no one's touched it. Besides the railing on the side of the crib not wanting to say closed, there's nothing odd about the boy's room."
Vivian nodded, glancing back at the madness in the living room. Did she really want to go in there without any news? No, she decided, she didn't. She would check with Danny before she told the Westfall family anything. "Have you guys seen Danny at all?" Vivian asked, hoping he had had better luck than the three of them.
Martin looked at Samantha uneasily, "Um, yeah, we've seen him. He, uh, stuck his head up against the window of the bedroom from the outside. It scared Samantha a little," Martin downplayed it a bit.
Vivian nodded and then saw Danny jumping over a short chain fence into the back yard. He walked over to his coworkers, a grimace set on his face, "Nothing," he reported.
Samantha's shoulders visibly slumped. At this rate, they wouldn't be any better off in three hours and every second that passed was another chance that the little boy had drowned. Turning around to face the house, Samantha watched at the older brother yelled something at the mother, who was pulling on the younger boy's hand, trying to get the Gameboy out of it. By the look on the little girl's face, she was still upset about the stupid remote, tears streaming down her cheeks. Besides the obvious, something seemed out of place. "Hey Vivian?" she turned slowly to face her supervisor.
"Yeah, Samantha?" she asked, looking up from the grass on the yard.
Samantha turned back to face the other way and pointed at the sliding glass doors, "Were those open when we got here or did someone open them?"
Vivian looked at Samantha, wondering where she was going with this train of thought. "We're the only ones here from the government, and I know I didn't touch it. Danny, you were in the backyard, and you and Martin were inside. So I guess it was already opened before we got here. Why are you asking?"
Samantha glanced up at Martin's face before looking at Vivian. "What if the little boy wasn't kidnapped? What if he managed to get over that stubborn railing and out into the backyard?"
"What about the family members inside the house?" Danny asked, shoving his hands into his pockets, trying to protect them from the ever growing cold. "He has three older siblings and two parents who were between the bedroom and the backyard."
Martin let out a little chuckle, "You haven't been inside that house, Danny. It is so chaotic, they wouldn't noticed if an elephant stormed through their roof. That little boy could have made it out of their without a problem."
Vivian looked at her group, "So where does this leave us?"