A/N: Hi everyone! We're back with another chapter, and I want to welcome on board my friend Estherdabookworm, who is helping to betaread for this story. And without further ado, I bring you...
Chapter 3
Gru stood up and brought out his mission file. He flicked through the papers before pulling out several sheets stapled together. He sat back down and sighed. Lucy gently took the papers from his hands and glanced over them. The title 'Orphanages and Children's Homes' caught her eye, and one name in particular was highlighted.
"Is that-" Lucy began. Gru nodded soberly.
"Miss Hattie's Home for Girls? That's where the girls were from, right?" Lucy asked.
Gru slumped down into his chair. "That's right."
"It doesn't have to mean anything," Lucy soothed Gru.
"I suppose you're right; they would have to maintain a mix of kidnapped children and real orphans to keep their cover." Gru admitted.
"Don't jump to any conclusions just yet. Especially not tonight, while you're so worn out. Let's get some sleep, alright?"
"You're right. I'm probably overthinking this." Gru rubbed his face wearily. He leaned over to give Lucy a kiss before collapsing onto the bed in pure exhaustion. Lucy smiled and turned out the lights.
Gru tossed and turned before falling into a fitful sleep. It seemed barely a second later he was awakened by a sharp tap on the shoulder. His instincts kicked in, and he unsheathed a dart gun he kept under his pillow. The little yellow minion yelped and threw his hands out in front of his face to ward off any attack. Slowly, Gru lowered his gun.
"What is it?" he grumpily asked.
"Agnie. Nine-meh. (Agnes. Nightmare.)" Stuart whispered.
With those two words, Gru was up and out the door. He cracked the girls' bedroom door open and slid in. Agnes' bedside lamp cast dim shadows onto the walls. Kneeling down beside Agnes, he looked down at the two wide dark brown eyes staring up at him.
"Hey, kitten. Eez everything alright?"
Agnes shook her head. His lower lip quivered, and she hugged Fluffy the unicorn tighter.
"Tell me what your dream was about."
"I dreamed that a man in a red shirt and blue jeans came to our house. He was scary. He wanted to take me, Margo, and Edith away." She sniffed and buried her cheek into Fluffy's soothing white fur.
"Now, kitten, you know I would never let that happen," Gru reassured his daughter. He reached out his arms and tenderly drew her into a gentle embrace. Agnes clung on to him like his hug was a lifeline.
"You weren't there in my dream. I wish you could protect me in my dreams too," she whispered.
Gru said nothing; he just sat there holding her and rocking gently. His heart echoed, "I wish I could be there for you, too." Agnes started slipping back into semi-slumber.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Margo had roused. The older girl immediately grasped the situation, clambered out of bed and laid one hand on Agnes' back and the other hand on Gru's shoulder. She gently lifted her sister off Gru's chest and laid the younger girl back down on her bed, before climbing in herself. Gru watched with a faint smile as Margo smoothed down Agnes' hair a couple of times. Bone weary, a yawn escaped his mouth.
"I got this, Dad." Margo mouthed.
Gru smiled at his oldest daughter and nodded. He padded back to his bed to chase the sleep that continued to elude him. He thought for a while about Agnes' dream. Was it too coincidental? Could it be? As his many questions, like agitated sheep, jumped through his mind again and again, he dozed off.
"BEE DO BEE DO BEE DO-" Gru's pleasant dream about riding a pink unicorn through a field of flowers was rudely interrupted by a droning voice. Kevin the minion was decked out in full 'fire alarm' costume and blaring his catchphrase through a megaphone.
"There's no fire, so shut up!" Gu sleepily groaned, turning over, pillow held over head to muffle the incessant noise.
"There may be no fire, but there are freshly made pancakes," Lucy stuck her head into the bedroom.
Gru sat up and sniffed the air. "No, there's definitely something on fire." He looked around, seeking the source of the burnt smell wafting through the air.
"Are you criticizing my cooking?" Lucy playfully demanded. Before Gru could respond, the crescendo-ing yell of a Minion neared them, and Bob burst into the room, his rear end on fire. Hot on his heels was Dr. Nefario, wielding the freeze ray.
"Hold still Bob! Don't panic!" Nefario said.
"Whatever happened to privacy?" Gru asked.
At that point, Kevin helpfully broke out the fire extinguisher and blasted Bob with carbon dioxide. Bob sighed in relief.
"Vill someone please explain vat is going on?" Gru demanded, annoyance making his accent kick in.
"I just sent Kevin to wake you up." Lucy said. "I didn't invite Dr. Nefario."
"I was merely testing the, um, flamethrower-converted-into-a-portable marshmallow-roaster," Dr. Nefario said. "Unfortunately, it roasted the wrong object." Bob waved. "But now we know it works, the next time your family goes on a camping trip, you'll never run out of perfectly roasted marshmallows!"
Lucy grinned and turned back to Gru. "Your meeting with the AVL is in two hours. You'd better get up."
"Don't worry. I'll be able to make it." Gru said, ducking under the covers again. Lucy shook her head and took the freeze ray from Nefario. With a quick shot, she froze Gru's feet. She shared a chuckle with the other three before closing the door on her husband.
"Agh! That's cold; too cold!" they heard Gru exclaim.
The AVL's agents brought Gru up to date on the latest developments of the case. Miss Hattie had been identified as one of the regional coordinators of the kidnapping ring, and had been taken into custody. Another two homes in the US had been raided and shut down based on the information Gru had secured through his raid. The AVL had also begun raiding the overseas homes, with an eye to bring in the main mastermind of the ring.
"We've begun running background checks on the children who were still in the homes, as well as tracking down those who were previously in the homes." Anna Bailey, who was briefing Gru, was the assistant head of the missing persons department. She looked at her notes before continuing. "The kidnappers were smart enough and skilled enough to move children around quickly, forging papers to even move them across borders. It's a gargantuan task, even for an organization as large as ours."
Gru cleared his throat. "My girls were from one of their homes here. The one under Miss Hattie."
Anna looked straight at Gru. He shifted a little, but kept his composure.
"I would like to know any information about my girls as soon as it comes in, in case they were…" Gru's voice trailed off.
"I see. That information has not actually come to my attention yet. Naturally, we are working our way through all the names of the children." Anna replied, seemingly a little hesitant.
Gru nodded.
Anna slowly said, "I will try to expedite the process, but even so…"
"Do you doubt me?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"Do you think I may be mixed up in all this? I know I was a former villain who adopted children from what turned out to be a kidnapping ring." Gru said.
Anna seemed taken aback. "Sir, I did not mean any such thing."
Gru sighed. "Because if I were you, I'd think that. The links just seem too tidy and coincidental."
"No, sir. I wouldn't think such a thing of you."
"How do you know?"
"Because I know your wife." Anna smiled. Gru raised his eyebrows in surprise. "I've met your girls. I've talked with them. The way they love you and you love them… It's something to be treasured."
Gru smiled back. "Thank you." Fresh vigor filled him and he bent over the notes with renewed determination.
Gru stopped on the curb outside the school and watched Margo and Edith race for the coveted front seat. This time, Edith won the race and triumphantly grinned at her older sister in the backseat. Margo pretended not to notice, stretching out full-length across three empty seats and putting her hands under her head. Edith's expression immediately turned slightly sour.
"So, girls. How was school?"
"Pretty cool. Hey dad, you remember the annual awards thingy the school does every year?" Edith said.
"Yeah, sure. What about it?" Gru replied.
"Just wanted to remind you it's coming up in two weeks."
Margo sat up and chimed in. "Yeah, cuz you've been busy with your new case and all. We didn't want you to forget."
"Plus, the school is finally letting me do a ninja demonstration as part of the performances! You can't miss that!" Edith happily exclaimed.
"Only blunt swords and non-lethal props, right?" Gru asked.
"Yeah. Where's the fun in that?" Edith grumbled.
"Weeelll…maybe they don't want you killing yourself halfway and not be able to finish the performance," Gru slowly replied.
"Dad, I managed to top math class this year, and my English teacher told me that my short story was up for an award." Margo said.
"That's amazing! Good job, Margo." Gru replied.
"So, you're coming for sure, right?" Margo asked.
"Yeah, of course. I wouldn't miss it for the world!"
"What about for the moon?" Edith snuck in a playful shot. Gru frowned and pushed Edith's hat down over her eyes before all three burst into laughter.
They stopped beside Agnes' kindergarten, still chuckling. Agnes climbed into the backseat and hugged Margo. She waved goodbye to her teacher and leaned forward. "Dad, my concert's next week. You remember, right?"
"The one where you play a dancing butterfly?" Gru asked. Agnes' face fell. "Well, that's what I thought it was when Lucy showed me your costume," Gru endeavored to defend himself.
Margo cleared her throat. "That's actually a fairy princess costume."
"Right! Of course I remember. We're all going to be there, don't you worry." Gru said.
The girls piled out of the car, chattering. Margo hung back a little, waiting for Gru.
"Dad, can I talk to you for a while?"
"Sure, Margo. What's up?"
"Agnes, last night." Gru nodded in understanding. "She was having a nightmare, right?" Gru nodded again.
"By the way, thanks for what you did last night, Margo."
"It's no problem, Dad. Only…"
"Only… what?"
"Agnes isn't the only one having bad dreams." Margo looked away.
"Are you and Edith sleeping alright?"
"No, Edith is fine. I'm the one who's been having the bad dreams. It almost doesn't seem like a dream at times; it's so real."
"Come, we'll go out to the park to talk, okay?"
Father and daughter headed out at a leisurely pace. The breeze danced about them and the sky stretched clear and blue above them. A perfect day for a relaxing walk, but Gru had more than that in mind. He waited for Margo to continue the conversation at her pace. She had never brought up such a topic before, so Gru wanted to let her talk as she felt comfortable.
After a few minutes, Margo began talking. "I've dreamed about being caught in a fight between my dad and mom. Not you and Lucy, but some other people that were my parents in that dream. I cower away and cry for it to stop, but the fight keeps going on. Finally, my dad walks away, and my mom is just lying on the ground."
Gru listened quietly. Margo took a deep breath and continued.
"I've dreamt about being alone at home, with no one around. I look for anyone I know, but there's no one. I was locked in a room with no way to get out.
I've dreamt about being back in the Home. It's like I was just brought there, and it was felt horrible not being loved and not having parents."
Margo's voice choked up slightly and she stopped. She cast her gaze down on the rough pavement.
Gru's mind was in a whirl. He tried to keep his thoughts focused; but his mind kept straying to the what-ifs. Now is not the time, he berated himself. Margo needs me to be supportive.
Gru refocused. "Are you worried that could still happen?"
"Not really, Dad. I know you'll be there for me, but it just feels too real sometimes." Margo said.
"Don't worry about it. The dreams can't hurt you, because reality is different." Gru and Margo shared a warm hug. Behind her back, however, Gru's face grew furrowed and worried. Could it be that these nightmares weren't nightmares…but memories?
A/N: Cliffhanger again :) but it helps motivate to get to work on the next chapter. Do review and let me know what you think will happen; any constructive criticism is also welcomed. I will try to respond to all reviews (except for guest reviews whom I can't PM with - why not set up an account?). Until next chapter, see you and God bless!