Chapter 130

The adults moved quickly towards the door. They weren't sure what they would find, but they knew they would need to be quick. Rikki was in the lead. She peered through the window nearest the door. Rikki sucked in a sharp breath and ducked down again.
That was close!
There were two men walking around, patrolling. Rikki had peeked in just as one of them went past. She waited and soon the hallway was clear.

"Guards patrolling," Rikki whispered, "We've got to go in now before they come back around,"

The others nodded.
"Where is Ash?" Cleo asked.
"He was at the van," Zane said, "We don't have time to wait for him,"

Quickly they sneaked into the building and ducked into a small side room. As they did, they could faintly hear a man further down the hall – someone was speaking loudly. They couldn't make out his words, but if anyone was barking instructions it was probably Ryan.

They moved into the hallway again and quietly moved forward.
Tap-tap-tap-tap.
The sound of footsteps was coming closer. Rikki pointed aggressively at the next room up the hallway. They dashed inside and tucked in behind the door.
Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap. The steps paused. Cleo hoped they couldn't hear her thumping heartbeat. Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap.

The footsteps grew fainter as they moved away.

Cleo released the breath she didn't know she was holding.

She knew that this would likely end in a fight, but they didn't want to tip their hand before they were ready. At the moment, surprise was on their side.

There was a double-door entrance at the end of the hallway. This was the main section of the warehouse. They knew their children were inside. It was time to face the villain.

OoOoO

"Welcome everyone. Today I bring you live evidence of mermaids and mermen among us," Ryan started with bravado. "I was able to capture these specimens in the ocean between the mainland and Mako Island,"

Ryan was slightly disappointed that noone had yet clicked on his livestream, but no matter, it had only just started, and he knew he would post this link many places at the end of the stream. He pushed this out of his mind so he could focus on his words.

"This is a momentous occasion and huge discovery for the scientific community! We have proof that mythical sea creatures existed and still exist today! " he said enthusiastically, "I have been searching for live evidence for some time now! Here are three juvenile mers: two males - twins, and a female,"

Ryan gestured for the man near the camera to turn it towards the mers. They had been placed in a large glass tank so that their tails would be on full display – conscious enough that they could tread water but still weak and not coherent enough to plan an attack.

"These mers can swim at amazing speeds and they have incredible influence and control over water. Imagine what else we can discover about this species now that the world knows about it? The research and possibilities for harnessing their powers! There is so much we can learn and do! I want…"

Ryan was interrupted as the hallway door burst open. He turned to face the intruders.

"You!" he shouted.

OoOoO

Zane and Anna pushed open the doors.

There were the kids and Ryan.

"I want…" Ryan trailed off as he took in his unwelcome visitors.

The group moved into the room quickly, not wanting to lose momentum.

"You!" Ryan shouted, "Guards!"

Rikki, Cleo and Anna moved towards Ryan and the camera man. They lifted theirs hands threateningly. Anna sent a burst of water and hit the camera, knocking it over. Ryan moved back slowly, glowering at them.

"How dare you Ryan?!" Cleo yelled. "You kidnapped our kids! Again! My baby Andy, and Rikki's boys. They aren't just science experiments. They are our children! People just like you! I don't recognise you anymore. How could you stoop so low that you kidnap babies – six and seven year olds. Just to exploit them for what? – Fame? To push your narrative?"

"They are NOT people just like me!" Ryan said aggressively, "I did take them, but for a good reason. I need them for proof and research. This is a huge breakthrough for science! Besides, you can't 'kidnap' another species. You live on land and hide among humans, but you are all freaks. Freaks. Not human," Ryan continued his rambling, "No one believes me. I need to show the world your secret. How DARE you interupt me – the moment I've been waiting for! The world deserves to know!"

Cleo shook her head in disbelief. How had Ryan sunk to this?

"You need to drop this," Rikki said through gritted teeth, "Don't make us hurt you,"

"No chance," Ryan replied. "This means everything to me!"

As the girls approached Ryan, Zane rushed forward to the tank.

"Daddy," Alex mumbled softly, recognition piercing through his drugged fog.

"It's good to see you all," Zane smiled, relief obvious in his voice. They were drugged but didn't look physically hurt.

Ryan's employees from around the building ran into the room. They were all armed with tranquiliser guns. And these guns were aimed at the mermaids.

As the guards started firing, the trio got into action. Anna created a thin sheet of water in front of them – a shield to stop the tranquiliser darts. Cleo started throwing water balls at the guards and using water tentacles to try and wrestle the guns off them. From behind Anna's shield, Rikki started to melt the tranquiliser guns – this took longer per gun than Rikki hoped – metal took a bit longer to liquify.
Ryan quickly ran to a box nearby and got a tranquiliser gun for himself, and throw some more to the guards whose guns were melted by Rikki. Keeping the shield in the same place, Anna moved over to make sure the camera had stopped recording. They would deal with the actual livestream video after the fight.

At the tank, Zane put his hands under Alex's armpits to try and lift his son out.

"Oof," Zane huffed, "When did you get so heavy, Al?"

With difficulty Zane lifted Alex out of the tank and gently placed him of the ground. Breathing heavily, he reached in to lift Andy.

As he started lifting her up, two of Ryan's guards grabbed hold of him. They pulled him roughly away and Andy dropped back into the tank.

Zane got an arm free and swung a punch at the man on his left. Zane got him squarely on the nose. He grabbed his nose with a yelp. Before Zane got another hit in, the other man grabbed hold of him again. Zane elbowed him in the chest but before he could move away, a water tentacle suddenly wrapped around the man behind him. He was pinned still. With an almighty punch, Zane knocked the guard out.

"Thanks for the assist," Zane grinned at Anna.
"No problem," Anna grinned in reply. With one hand she kept her shield up, and with the other she quickly sent another water tentacle after the other guard. He had started running towards Ryan when the water attacked his buddy. With Anna's water tentacle now chasing him, he freaked, changed course and ran for the exit. Anna decided to let him run. Anna had a pleased smirk on her face as she returned all her focus to the shield.

Now in peace, Zane lifted Andy and Jay out of the tank.

As the water assault continued and as their weapons kept melting in their hands, the fear on the faces of Ryan's employees increased. Rikki could tell that they were wavering.

"Keep firing!" Ryan yelled.

"I'm out of darts!" One man replied.

"My second gun melted!" Another responded.

The sound of police sirens getting louder and louder is what sealed it. All of Ryan's employees started bolting towards the exit.

"Cowards!" Ryan yelled.

Panic seized Rikki. What if the police got hold of the evidence in this room?

She ran towards Ryan's stalker board. So many photos and personal details. Rikki pulled off the photos of them or the kids with tails. She burned the paper in her hands.

"Rikki," Zane called out to his wife, "Can you help me?"

Rikki looked up and rushed over. The kids were no longer in mer form, but were still too drugged to walk on their own. Rikki picked up Andy, and Zane picked up Alex and Jay, one in each arm, getting ready to move them out of the warehouse.

As Ryan was finally imprisoned in Cleo's water, Rikki reached to open the door to the hallway. The door suddenly burst open.

"Police! Put your hands up!"

OoOoO

With Rikki and Zane and the children in their arms blocking the view in the doorway, Anna and Cleo quickly hid any unusual water - which unfortunately included releasing Ryan. As Ryan was released, his finger continued the motion that being encased had stopped. A tranquiliser dart hit Cleo in the upper arm.

"Cleo!" Anna shouted in alarm.

"POLICE! Put your hands up! Don't move!"

Cleo's vision was swallowed up by darkness.

OoOoO

"Put your hands up!" a policeman called out. Anna froze where she was kneeling over Cleo's unconscious form, and lifted her hands. Rikki and Zane stood still with the children in their arms. The police had seen Cleo fall.

"Put down your weapon and put your hands on your head," he addressed Ryan.

"Noooo!" Ryan groaned, "How could this happen?!,"

"Put your hands on your head!" The policeman asserted.

Ryan did so and another policeman took the tranquiliser gun.

"Officer, you need to arrest these women! They are mermaids! Dangerous mermaids!" Ryan pleaded. "They threatened my life!"

"Ryan, are you kiddi…" Rikki started angrily, but was stopped by Zane nudging her and shaking his head.

The officers got all the adults to kneel on the ground with their hands on their heads. The children were gently laid down. The officers needed to assess the situation. They quickly took in the 'stalker board' with photos of the kids and including pictures of the blonde woman and brunette woman in the room. Seeing this, along with the description of concern from the 000 caller, helped paint a decent picture. There were still a lot of unknowns, but that could wait.

"Sir, you are under arrest," an officer addressed Ryan. They handcuffed him and started moving him out of the building. The whole time Ryan was muttering and pleading for them to believe him about mermaids. Once Ryan was cuffed, the paramedics entered the room and saw to Cleo and the children.

OoOoO

As they all moved from the warehouse with the police and paramedics, they saw Ash waiting for them outside. In the chaos they hadn't had a chance to think about what he had been doing this whole time. They all had mixed feelings. Ash had called the police.

OoOoO

In the aftermath, Cleo and the children were taken to the hospital with the paramedics to be checked out. Ryan was escorted and sat in a squad car while the police got the statements of the others.

Everyone was nervous. They had never dealt with the police in a 'threat to their secret' situation before. Across mindspeak the girls agreed they would be honest with the police to a certain extent. When Anna was giving her statement, Rikki quickly and discretely whispered the plan to Zane. Zane squeezed her hand gently as acknowledgement. He had assumed that is what they would do anyway.

Each of them talked about how Ryan had been obsessed with mermaids and he believed that Rikki, Anna and Cleo, and all their children, were mermaids. He wanted to prove this to the world, so he kidnapped their children.
As they were questioned, they felt the policemen's implied disapproval at the fact that they had not reported these crimes earlier, especially if they had been aware that he was stalking them.
They each continued talking and answering questions about how Alex, Jay and Andrea had been kidnapped while they were swimming (near the mainland house), just out swimming before going to school, and how they had searched for them via boat. They found out where Ryan could be, so they came to get their children back. Anna mentioned that Ryan's employees had left when they heard the police sirens.
They just omitted the most important information – that they were in fact mermaids.

The group were allowed to go home, but they were informed that they were still persons of interest, and the police would be in contact again.

As they left, they could see the white flashes of photos being taken inside the crime scene.

OoOoO

Cleo woke up slowly, groggily. Her head thumped. As her awareness came back to her, so did the sudden panic. Police. Ryan.

She sat up suddenly, and then regretted it just as suddenly. A wave of dizziness rushed over her and she slumped back again.

"Hey," a voice greeted softly, squeezing her hand gently.

Lewis smiled at her. "Take it easy,"

"Mummy!" Andy said excitedly, bouncing into her vision. Hayden babbled happily from Lewis' lap, picking up on the shared joy around him. Jenny walked over too, coming to join her family. Cleo felt her heart swell with relief, her family was safe and all together again.

At the hospital, whatever drugs the children had been on had finally worn off. Alex, Jay and Andy were more alert and had been playing with the hospital toys. They were still shaken and scared, but having their parents nearby made a huge difference. Due to the recentness of Cleo's tranquilisation, she woke up a lot later than the others. Lewis, Jenny and Hayden came over from Mako as soon as they had the news update.

Alex and Jay had been observed for a few hours while Cleo was still waking up, but they were deemed okay to return home. Rikki, Zane, Alex and Jay had just returned to Mako when Rikki received the mindspeak message from Jenny that Cleo was awake and OK.

The police had asked for a few group members to come to the station and formally press charges. Anna and Ash went so that the others could go with Cleo and the children.

The group majority hadn't planned to press charges, but it was satisfying to know that with police involvement, there was a chance that Ryan would receive the penalty he deserved.

At the police station, Anna and Ash answered more questions and Anna received a very stern warning about the group taking the law into their own hands. At this stage they weren't sure if there would be further repercussions for them but they would take that as it came. There was also the unknowns with Katya and with Ryan's fate. Today though, they would celebrate.

By the evening, they were all home.

There was tangible joy in the dining hall that night.

Emma and Bella had pulled out all the stops and had made a feast, celebrating the end of the nightmare.

There was relief and laughter, and most joyful of all; peace.

A/N: Hello everybody! How have you been? This world is crazy isn't it. I hope you have enjoyed this chapter - consider the length a reward for waiting so long haha. I wrote the first half of this (long enough to be its own chapter) over the last few months and it was ready a few weeks ago, but I didn't want to leave you on yet another cliffhanger, so I waited until the whole thing was finished to post - finished today!

Thanks to everyone who still reads this story over 10 years later. Crazy how time flies!

Thanks to the following people for reviewing (each review really makes my day!): YaleAceBella12, Guest 1, CrazyHayniac, Guest 2, Avywavy69 and Eleanoodle. I love you all. I love your detailed thoughts about the chapter and possible plots :)

Thank you MysteriousMarch for all the comments you have given me as you have read through this story. I have loved reading every one, and found your comments something to look forward to each day - so thank you!

Thanks Ava and Eleanoodle for your comments - welcome to my stories! I love hearing that people are still finding and reading through my stories all these years later. I hope you keep enjoying the chapters to come (and sorry in advance for the wait times haha)