Chapter 31

6pm, Wood Oak City Airport.

"Police!" Adam shouted. "Have you seen this woman?" He frantically ran through the terminal towards any passengers and crew bound for the next flight to London. He held up a photo of Amira on his phone whilst Axel and Cherry stood both close by on the lookout for Tim and any of his officers.

"Hey, look!" Axel pointed towards one of the airport security offices. He then picked the lock as the others cautiously followed him in.

Straight away, Adam started to type away at the keyboard in front of a monitor. "Any sign of Amira from the last four hours should show up on this surveillance. Shit…."

"What is it?" Cherry asked.

"It's not granting me access!" Adam remained focused on the screen.

"Daddy, someones coming!" Cherry whispered, peeking around the corner. She could see two security guards with walkie talkies fast approaching the control room they were in.

"I just need a minute to get in! Think of something…!" Adam could feel the sweat starting to pour over his forehead as he typed away. Axel and Cherry both readied their fists.

Suddenly however, Cherry had a change of heart. Out of the blue, she decided to step out of the room and into the hallway as the two guards armed with their guns drew in closer.

"Hey! This part is off limits!" One of them shouted at her.

She then started to heavily breathe as tears broke out in her eyes. "But I can't find my family! I think they boarded the plane without me! Please can you help me!" Cherry cried.

The two men immediately lowered their guns then glanced at one another.

"What's your flight number and surname?"

"BA1275, surname is Hunter…" Cherry immediately regretted revealing her actual surname to them which flew out of her mouth, but they could see she was just a child.

One of the guards pulled out a tablet from his back pocket as the other tucked his gun away. "I'll escort the girl back out to the terminal. Find out first if their flight has left yet…."

As soon as the two men became distracted, the teenager leaped in the air between them then delivered a fast split kick that knocked them hard, simultaneously down to the ground.

"Alright!" Cherry celebrated on the spot as Axel emerged to quickly cuff the two guards with their hands behind their backs.

"You can always count on these spares to be lying around the office!" He smirked, holding up a third set of handcuffs.

"You won't get away with this!" One of the guards shouted with his torso pressed against the floor.

"It's times like this when I really miss being a cop. But then again, I'm not sorry that I didn't end up like you two!" Axel grinned.

One of them snarled, "we're just tryna do our job!"

Axel immediately retaliated by kicking him in the jaw. "Is that so?" He said as he crouched down beside the guard. "So where were you when this woman disappeared?" Axel held up the phone, demanding answers.

"I haven't seen her, who is she?... Owwww!" The security officer shrieked again in pain as he gave him a jab across the face.

"See, I know that anything or anybody that comes in or out of this terminal has to be cleared by you. That includes the feds. So I'm gonna ask you this one time and one time only. Where did officer Murphy take her?"

"Please…."

"Where the fuck is she?!" Axel's tone became more impatient as the seconds passed.

"Murphy took them about 45 minutes ago. Holding cell 189, two floors below. The keys are in my back pocket, see?" The officer complied.

"Them?" Cherry frowned, confused.

"Hey! I've cracked the code, finally!" Adam enthusiastically appeared out into the hallway.

Without saying another word, Axel held up the set of keys looking smug.

"Looks like you beat me to it then," Adam huffed.

"We have to go downstairs…"

"Ok. Send me the all clear when you reach there. I'll wait here so if any of these two are lying, they'll be sorry!" Adam glanced down at the two restrained officers.

"It's only a matter of time until the other cops come and find us! You'll be the one who's sorry man!" The second guard shouted.

Adam gave him an amused grin. "You think so?" He flashed his silver badge in the air, acknowledging that he was the superior one in the rankings.

"If I wanted to, I could have you both arrested and losing your jobs for not following protocol. Murphy and his officers had no warrant or no business restraining an innocent passenger here. And you didn't try anything to stop him according to the surveillance…"

"But Tim said it would be ok…."

"How much did he pay you then?"

"100 bucks each,"

"Was it really worth your job?" Adam folded his arms, shaking his head at them.

Meanwhile downstairs, Cherry was the one who picked the lock this time as Axel scanned the bright corridor around them. For a moment, the teenager froze in awe as she witnessed the four surveillance cameras in each corner start to flare with fire. The flames appeared from nowhere and the smoke alarms remained silent.

"Did you just….?"

"Yes!" Axel answered.

"How the…"

"We have to keep moving! If Amira is still here, Murphy and his men will be here too…"

Axel then forced the door open, unsure at what or who was on the other side. He immediately dropped his guard as he could see a plain, empty office with one wooden desk and rotating chair in the corner of the room. There was no sign of Amira anywhere, nor Tim and his officers.

"I knew those scumbags were lying to us!" Cherry huffed.

"Wait a minute…" Axel quietly said as he stepped forward, approaching the desk. He then knelt down on the ground.

"It's ok…. Come out, we're not here to hurt you…" he quietly said.

Cherry glanced over towards him with confusion on her face. What or who was hiding behind that desk?

To her surprise, a voice shouted back. "Stay back! I'll hurt you if you come closer, I swear!"

Cherry and Axel exchanged glances with uncertainty on their faces as they could hear the voice of what appeared to be a young boy who was hiding behind the desk. Axel gave her a silent nod before Cherry snuck over to the other side of the desk. She then dragged the shaking infant out into the open by the collar.

"Hey! I said don't touch me!" He kicked, punched and even tried to bite her, but Cherry stopped herself from retaliating and was strong enough to handle him. The child was at least 4 or 5 years younger than her and even though he was acting tough, they both could see that he was petrified of them. Cherry then pulled off the boy's Marvel backpack and threw it over to Axel. He then unzipped it and pulled out the boy's passport.

"What do you want?!" The child shouted. His accent was English and he appeared to be around 9 or 10 years in age.

"Where are your parents?" Axel asked, still crouched down in front of him as Cherry lightly restrained him from running away.

"They took my mother!" He heavily breathed, staring down at the ground.

"Who?"

"The police officer. She told me to hide, but I don't know where she is now!" The boy's voice shook. He had curly brown hair, green eyes and lightly tanned skin.

Axel opened his red coloured passport which revealed the name Kaiden Fielding-Johnson.

"How long ago did they take your mom?" He asked.

"About an hour ago,"

"We're here to find her, and we will, I promise."

"What's going on?" Adam entered the room.

"Tim and the others have gone, it's too late. It looks like we'll need to meet them later at the docks. He set this whole thing up," Axel shook his head, pissed off.

"Who's the kid? I ain't staying to babysit…" Adam took a brief glance over towards the Cherry who was standing behind the young boy.

"Neither am I" she angrily snapped back, understanding what her father was insinuating.

"I don't need no babysitter!" The child snarled.

"Oh, so he has a mouth on him as well huh?" Adam sarcastically remarked. "I'm calling child services, why the hell is there an infant in…"

"Wait! I think he's Amira's son…" Cherry placed one hand on Adam's arm, halting him from reaching for his cell phone.

"Great! This shit gets better and better by the minute! Another detail she failed to mention!" Adam huffed.

"You know my mother?" Kaiden asked them, surprised.

"Do I know your mother…?" Adam sneered. "Your mom is a pain in the ass, just like her sister. Must run in your family!"

"Do you know where my aunty is? That's the whole reason why mum and I came here in the first place! She's been missing all this time."

Axel and Adam briefly exchanged glances.

"We're friends of your aunt, ok? You don't have to worry. Just come with us and we'll take you home." Cherry tried to reassure him.

"NO! I'm not just gonna leave with a whole bunch of strangers. Do I look stupid to you?!... And give that back, that's mine!" The boy quickly snatched away the passport out of Axel's hand.

"Oh, there's definitely something in those genes!" Adam smirked.

Axel stood up, then he started to lead the way out. "It's up to you kid. You don't have to come with us. If you want, you can take your chances staying here then seeing if those police officers return. They might be good and take you home, or they might be bad like the ones who took your mom…see you around."

"What are you doing? We can't just leave a 10 year old…." Cherry whispered anxiously whilst the three of them left the room. They casually walked down the corridor that led back out into the main terminal.

"WAAITTT! WAIIITTTT!"

Less than a minute later, the child panicked and ran after them.

"I meant what I said about babysitting…" Adam rolled his eyes towards Cherry.


"We still have 3 hours left until 11pm. Good thing I kept that record back at the house after Zan finished with it!" Adam speedily pulled up into his garage before the three of them and the boy got out of the car.

"Come on in Kaiden! Let's get you something to eat, you must be hungry," Cherry took his hand. "Uncle Sammy can come and babysit this time by the way, his sorry ass should be home any time soon…" she turned towards her father.

"He's gonna love that!" Adam grinned.

By now, Kaiden appeared quieter than earlier and withdrawn. The shock of seeing his mother captured and taken away by a brutal group of cops was starting to sink in.

"What do you wanna eat then? There's rice cakes, protein bars, salad…" Cherry suddenly realized she was offering the child her own fitness diet which any 10 year old was unlikely to say yes to.

"I'm not that hungry, thanks…." he sighed, slumping down on one of the breakfast stools.

They were then startled as they heard 5 fast loud knocks at the front door.

"Take the boy upstairs, now!" Adam instructed Cherry as he and Axel cautiously approached the door.

Adam took a relieved exhale after glancing at the security monitor on his side, "it's ok" he nodded before glancing back at Axel. "It might be a good idea for you to hide though," he advised as he opened the door.

"What the hell is that urgent, that I've had to risk my life coming all the way here, huh?" Blaze angrily bursted through the doorway like a raging bull.

"Just invite yourself in then…" Adam sarcastically said after she brushed past his shoulder. Her black leather jacket was cold and damp, so he figured that she must have walked here all the way from Chinatown in the rain. Adam then carefully scanned front the porch and outdoor area to see if anyone had followed her.

"And what the fuck is he still doing here?!" Blaze was now filled with rage at the site of Axel in front of her.

"I know you hate me, but you need to hear this…" He calmly replied.

"I don't need to hear anything from you!"

"Yeah you do!"

She laughed with sarcasm to herself. "Stuck around this time then, did you Axel? I told you, I never wanted to see you again! I should have known that good cop over there planned this little get together with you! What is it this time huh? The feds finally got back the record you took from me?... Or don't tell me, you lost the thing and suddenly need my help finding it… Or is it…"

"Just stop arguing with me and listen for once in your life!" Axel snapped. "... Please…" he sighed defeatedly.

After the initial outburst, Blaze could tell by the look in his eyes that something was badly wrong. She took a deep gulp, pausing when she noticed a young boy coming out of the kitchen with Cherry.

"Who's the kid?" She frowned, confused.

"Say hi to your nephew…"

"Huh?" Blaze's eyes widened at him in shock.

"Kaiden? You recognize this lady don't you? Your mom has been posting missing photos of her for years, right?" Axel asked.

"Wait, you're really…" Blaze paused with shock, staring at him.

Without saying a word, Kaiden rushed forward then tightly wrapped his arms around her as she knelt down to hug him.

"Wow, how did you get so big?" Blaze smiled, gently stroking his hair. "You look just like your mom!" She then turned her attention back up towards Axel and Adam as her voice started to shake.

"Where's Mira then? Is she….?"

"No, she's still alive. But Tim has her…" Adam answered with regret in his voice.

"I see," Blaze took a nervous exhale, trying her best to contain herself as she glanced back towards Kaiden who was still in front of her. "Listen to me. These people here are gonna look after you and I'll get your mommy back safe, I promise, ok?"

Kaiden sheepishly nodded at her then hugged her one more time before Cherry took him upstairs.

"This is my mess. They have my sister hostage because of me. What do I need to do to fix this?" Blaze asked.

"Tim's demanded that we return the record to them… then he's ordered that you turn yourself in in exchange for your sister's life….." Axel explained, unsettled in his tone.

"Okay," Blaze calmly nodded in agreement. "Murphy knows exactly what he's doing, they all do. That's why they left Kaiden alone for you to find him. They knew that we weren't gonna let this kid grow up without his mother…."

"We'll fix this, I'm here…"

Blaze shook her head as she turned away from him. "For years now I stayed away from my sister, but deep down I knew this day would come sooner or later. I can't stay on the run anymore, I'm so tired…"

"Then we'll find another way…" Axel replied, reaching for her hand.

"SShhh, hold up…!" Adam interrupted when his cell phone started to ring. He immediately placed it down on the table in speaker mode.

"Have you got the record?" Tim's voice was direct with little emotion.

"It's here with me," Adam answered.

"And Fielding?"

"Murphy, we can't just…"

"Listen to me, you bastard!" Blaze angrily leapt forward, grabbing the phone. "You leave Amira out of this! If you hurt her, I promise you, it will be the last thing you ever do!"

"As long as you're on your way to me darlin'..." Tim casually laughed.

"Oh, you got one thing right! I'm coming for you! And I'm bringing hell with me!" Blaze hatefully threatened him.

"I don't expect anything less from you Blaze," Tim sneered. They suddenly heard another loud scream in the background.

"MIRA!? Hey, leave her alone!" Blaze shouted down the phone.

But it was too late and by then, Tim had already hung up.

Blaze tightly held the cell phone in her palm, almost breaking it in her grip as she stood there with her eyes closed.

"This is what he wants. Don't give into it," Axel advised.

"You don't know what they're capable of!" Blaze worriedly answered.

"But I know how Murphy works. He won't risk rocking the boat with the twins if he doesn't retrieve that record. We'll get her back…."

"No! I'll get her back…" Blaze suddenly pulled out a loaded gun then pointed it straight towards him. "Hand me the record and throw those keys over there!" She ordered.

"You don't have to do this," Axel calmly answered whilst raising his hands in the air.

"If you shoot him, you know how this will go down!" Adam shouted, removing his own gun then aiming it towards Blaze from the other side of the room.

"Then give me the fucking record then!"

"Ok," Axel nodded. He carefully reached for it from Adam, then he slowly placed it on the ground before sliding it forward a metre or so towards her.

"And the car keys…."

"Blaze don't do this. You don't have to turn yourself in," Axel tried his best to reason with her, but it was no use.

"Car keys, now!"

He bit his tongue before throwing them towards her.

Blaze slowly backed away, still facing him. "Stay where you are!" She instructed, aiming the trigger in Axel's direction until she was out of the door.

Within seconds, they heard Adam's car screeching whilst she quickly took off.

"I thought Blaze changed, but how the fuck could she switch like that on you?!" Adam angrily slammed his gun into the table.

"She wouldn't kill me. Blaze is just trying to protect her sister…. Call Iraia! We need to find a faster way of getting to the docks".

Adam ignored him for a second as he delved into one of the drawers.

"What are you looking for?" Axel asked.

Adam turned around, smirking victoriously with determination in his eyes. "Blaze might think she's smart for stealing my car, but she won't beat this!" He held up in the air a set of ignition keys for his old helicopter.

"That thing still flies after all these years?" Axel raised an eyebrow, surprised.

"You bet she does!"