Sorry I haven't updated. I've been busy. This is a short chapter...enjoy.

Chapter 5

"Maisie Lockwood? His…granddaughter?"

"Yes." Claire was careful not to give Russell any information he didn't already have. She had to be careful in how she approached the subject of Maisie. "Do you have any of her original documents?"

"Didn't you receive copies from my firm?"

"We need the originals." Owen's voice was tight. Claire shot him a pleading look, silently begging him to keep his cool.

"Ah. I see. Well, I'm not sure if I—"

"If you're about to give me some bullshit, I'll knock you out right here, right now!" Owen was not managing his anger well today.

"Okay." Russell put his hands up in defense. "I can't give you what you want."
"Do you know what we want?" Claire asked, still not sure if they were on the same page.

"The Certificate of Authentic Ownership." He whispered.

"What—?" Owen growled, ready to attack when Russell spoke up quickly.

"There's a certificate of authentic ownership that Mr. Lockwood had created for Maisie—since she is the first of her kind, along with her formal documents like her birth certificate. I can't give it to you."

"And why not?" Claire demanded, now feeling anger welling up inside her, too.

"It's…not currently in my possession."

"Why do you even…" Claire's mind was racing. "Who has it?"

"It's currently being transferred to a third party."

"WHAT?!" Claire and Owen screamed, causing Russell to jump.

Before Claire could stop him, Owen had a fistful of Russell's shirt, and brought Russell inches away from Owen's face. "Who. Is. The. Third. Party? And I swear to God, you better not say who I'm thinking."

"…Ingen. I'm sorry! They offered me—ow!"

"Owen!" Claire screamed again, and this time, Russell's assistant popped her head in, only to take in the disorienting scene in front of her. Owen had landed one punch right in the center of Russells face before releasing the man, causing him to grab his face in pain. It was a wonder he wasn't bleeding. Claire grabbed onto Owen's hand, afraid that he wasn't finished. Ignoring her, Owen poked a finger in Russell's shoulder, causing the man to flinch back.

"You are going to fix this. You are going to call inGen and arrange to get it back, immediately."

"I—I don't have their information. Every-y time—it's like they reach out and then disappear!"

"Mr. Herrera, is there a problem?" His assistants eyes flickered between Russell and Owen.

Glancing briefly at Owen, he shook his head quickly. "No Dolores, no problem. Please close the door."

Dolores hesistated for a split second before closing the door.

"Mr. Grady, I'm sorry. I don't think there's anything I can do at this point."

"I'm going to report you to the government that you're taking bribes." Owen threatened.

Russell's face showed shock. "Perhaps I can give you the number and email they have been using to contact me. Not sure if it will help, but—"

Claire thought of Franklin's skills and immediately cut Russell off. "We'll take it."

"You better hope we make some headway, or I'll be back." Owen grumbled, standing up.

15 minutes later, Claire and Owen we on the highway, heading back to their house. Owen was still tense, and Claire was too. She texted Franklin the information Russell had given them, to see if he could make some headway. He'd promised to check in later with an update.

"That son of a bitch really tried to give Maisie away! He wasn't even going to tell us anything! It makes me want to knock his face in!" Owen yelled, gripping the steering wheel tighter than necessary.

"Do you think we'll still have a chance to stop them? They can't legally take her, can they?" Claire asked, afraid of the answer.

"I don't know. But we're not waiting to find out." Claire watched as Owen pulled out his phone.

"Who are you calling?"

"The Government. If we beat them too it, it will be better than them surprising us and showing up at the house."

He put the phone on speaker, and quickly arranged to have 2 agents meet them at their house tomorrow afternoon. Hanging up, he looked over at Claire.

"So now, we have to prepare Maisie, just in case."

"Just in case…" Claire couldn't finish the sentence.

"They have to take her." Owen whispered sadly.

What do YOU think is going to happen next?! Review please!