Standing across from the blonde, Duncan Carlisle was at a loss of words. So many questions bombarded him at once that he couldn't quite wrap his head around the fact that he was free. The petite frame of the woman reminded him of that night when all came crashing down. Though he saved his wife's life, he was sentenced to ten years in hardcore prison. Whatever Ellen managed to do to get his release seven years earlier, was beyond him. The sharp husked of the officer's voice broke Duncan's thoughts, "Okay Mr. Carlisle. You better kiss the ground that this woman walks on because if it wasn't for her…your ass would still be in the slammer." The officer patted him on the back before releasing him to Ellen's care. He cut his attention back to the blonde and opened his mouth to speak, but was stopped by her hand. "Not here." She whispered as she motioned for him to head outside. Taking her queue, he followed her, his eyes glancing over his shoulder. What if this was a trap? What if the Government found out everything that he and his men did to the Sanders and now were using her to get revenge? No that couldn't be it. Ellen wouldn't fall for something so low unless she was forced to.

Once outside, Ellen walked over to her car and waited for him to crawl into the passenger's side. She followed suit and shut her door and cut her eyes from side to side. He knew she was taking extra precautions and once she was sure no one had followed them, she broke her silence. "Duncan, I need your help. I can't explain anything yet, but…"
"Ellen, what's going on?" He said, glancing in the review mirror. "You have to give me some info…" Before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by the ringing of Ellen's cell phone. His eyes widen and shot down to the buzzing device and then waited for her to answer it.

"Hello…yes, Mr. Carlisle is here with me. Okay…one second." She held the phone out and clicked the side button, allowing it to be on loud speaker. "Okay, he can hear you know." Duncan tilted his head slightly hoping to read some type of information from the woman's face, but nothing.
"Mr. Carlisle, can you hear me?" The same rasped voice said. Duncan waited for a moment and heard the voice once again.
"Yes, I can hear you."
"Good. Now that's settled, I can explain to both of you where your next location will be. Again, if you go to the police or tell anyone that's outside of this vehicle, well let's just say that Ellen knows what will happen."

"What the hell are you talking about!?" Duncan demanded, his hands twitching in his lap.
"Mr. Carlisle, patience is a virtue. If you continue to be demanding with me, I will have to punish you and I don't think you want that, now do you? NOW THEN! I will text you the directions to your new location and there you will find a briefcase full of information. And…it seems as if my time has run out. Oh, Mrs. Sanders, you can choose to share you information with him."

The line went silenced. Duncan avoided staring over at Ellen until she shut her phone and cranked the car up. Pulling on to the road, they both remained quiet. He finally glanced over to her and said, "Mind telling me what that was about? And what information?" Ellen kept her eyes on the road and turned the wheel slightly here and there. "…you see, my children and grandchild have been…taken hostage…for my services."
Hostage. Just hearing that word again made Duncan's skin crawl. He had served three years in prison because of what he did to her family and to the rest of the governmental agencies but to hear that she was experiencing it all over again was hard to accept. "Do you know by who or what they want?" When she didn't answer right away, he slid his hand over to her and gently placed it on her thigh. He had caused her to be wary as it was and now this. Making sure to push past his guilt, he asked her again. This time around she managed to answer him. "…I don't know by whom, but…whoever it is has my family. If I don't do as they say…my kids and grandchild…dies."

So that's what it was. Her family was being held hostage once again and if she doesn't obey their beck and call they would die. What could he say to that…nothing. He had done the same damn thing three years ago to her and her family. Even threatened killing her family to protect his own. His own. He had to contact his wife and daughter before going any further. Ever since he was locked up he had dreamed about seeing the smiling faces of his family; and now he finally had the opportunity. "Ellen…I hate to ask you this, but after we get to our destination could we swing by my house so I could see Nina and Sawyer."

Ellen shook her head and kept her eyes on the road. The last thing she needed to do was run off of the road and wreck. Though she thought Duncan's request was mention at the wrong time, she couldn't blame him. He had been locked away for three years with no contact with the outside world. She would keep her promise and take him to see his family but she could only think about the whereabouts of her own. She turned the wheel slightly and pulled up to the coordinates that were on the GPS and parked the car. Opening the door, she swung her legs out and walked over to a wooden picnic table and took a seat. It wasn't long for the all too familiar ringtone went off and she quickly answered it. "Hello."
"I see that you have made it there. Now let's get down to business, shall we?"

For a brief moment, the line was silence and she went to ask if anyone was there when the same raspy voice interrupted her. "Across the park there will be a shelter with five rows of tables and chairs. Check the third table from the right and look underneath it. Then check the last chair and you'll also find something there. Once you're done, get back into your car and head south. Follow the directions and then get out. Until then…"

She didn't have any time to lose. She stood to her feet and crossed the park until she found the shelter the person on the phone was talking about. Searching the tables, she found a large, brown envelope and then a gallon sized bag with items inside. Heading back towards her car, she opened the contents of both the envelope and the bag. The items seemed pointless but she punched in the directions off of a piece of paper and backed out on to the road. Heading south to the location, she glanced in her mirror. Duncan's eyes met hers and that was when she remembered about taking him to see his wife and daughter. She had forgotten completely. "Duncan…"
He shot his hand up and cleared his throat. "No, it's okay. Let's go here first and then I can check on them." Ellen nodded and was quite touch on his compassion. Here he hasn't seen his wife and child in 1095 days and he was still willing to wait another hour or so. Easing her foot over to the pedal, she floored it, the speedometer clocking at ninety MPH before the GPS indicated that she was two miles away from her desired location. With each quarter of a mile, the beats of her heart quicken and when she finally heard the narrator's voice that she had reached her location, she stopped the car. Glancing over at Duncan, he gave her a reassuring nod and both of them stepped outside of the car. Doors slammed and they headed up to the abandon house.

The house was worn down by the weather and age but it served its propose to shelter those from the harsh storms over the course of the years. The blond woman sucked in a deep breath and then exhaled it slowly, feeling a soft hand against her shoulder. She knew that it was Duncan giving her the security that she needed for this life-changing game. When her nerve returned, she opened the door and went inside, Duncan quick on her heels. The living room appeared to be lightly used and untouched in years but that didn't mean there was no one there. Searching through the bottom part of the house they came up empty; however, they were only halfway down. The second floor still had to be investigated before they could conclude it was completely vacant.

Ellen climbed the stairs and her feet slid across a dense liquid. Bending down slightly, she noticed that it was darker than water and it resembled blood. She placed two fingers in the substance and put it up to her nose and smelled the familiar scent of the ER. She glanced up and saw that the liquid formed a trail to one of the rooms. She straightened her stance and walked slowly over to the room, her senses alert. Placing her hand against the wooden door, she pushed it forward and gasped. "Oh…my…God…" She took a step back and tried using her body to block Duncan from entering but to no avail. He pushed past her and saw the same horrific scene she did.
"NINA….." Duncan's voice panicked as he rushed toward the body, collapsing down beside his wife's limp body.