Chapter 8: Saving Gilbo, Alfred Gets Shot

Alfred woke up. This was it. The big day: The day he would rescue Gilbert and bring him home to his family. The young detective got out of bed and put on the clothes he was to wear: baggy jeans; a pair of dirty sneakers that he didn't wear anymore; a black jacket complete with a hood that covered most of his face; and a pair of black fingerless gloves. Alfred also picked up his gun and badge, and put them in the two front pockets of the jacket.

Alfred walked out of his bedroom and into the kitchen/dining room. There, he saw Matthew putting a plate of pancakes down on the table. "Hey, Mattie. These look great." He took two pancakes and put them on a plate.

"Thanks," Matthew replied. "Today just feels like a pancake day for me."

Alfred put some butter and syrup on the pancakes. "Ready for school?"

"Yup," said Matthew. "Hey, Al, can I bring Kumajirou today?"

Alfred sighed and laughed a little. "Sorry, Mattie…but Kumajirou's a pet, remember? And last I checked, they don't allow pets in school. Especially pet polar bears, no matter how cute said bear is."

"Oh, man," Matthew said and pouted.

When Alfred and Matthew were finished with their breakfast, they fed Kumajirou.

"Come on, Mattie," Alfred said. "I'll drive you in today, okay?"

"Sure. Thanks, Al." Matthew grabbed his backpack, and he and Alfred headed out the door. The brothers got into Alfred's car and were headed towards St. Paul Academy and Summit School, the school Matthew attended.

Matthew looked at Alfred questioningly. "Why are you dressed like that?"

"Oh, this?" Alfred replied. "I have to wear this for my undercover thing today."

"Oh," said Matthew. "How come?"

"I'm supposed to pose as a drug dealer," said Alfred. "I have to bid on the kid to get someone to traffic drugs for me."

"Oh. Okay," said Matthew.

A little later, Alfred pulled into the high school drop off/pick up area. Matthew got out.

"Bye, Al," said Matthew. "Good luck." He closed the door and ran to join his friend, Carlos.

"See you later, Mattie," Alfred called back. He then pulled out of the high school parking lot and drove off to meet Arthur and Vash at the old auction house. It was 8:30 a.m. The auction was set to start at 9:00. He had to hurry!

At 8:50, Alfred showed up. He got out of the car and ran up to Vash and Arthur. "Hey, guys."

"Just in time," said Arthur.

"So, you know what to do, right?" asked Vash.

"Yes," said Alfred. "I'm supposed to go in and win the bid for Gilbert. Don't worry, guys, I'll win!"

"But what if you don't?" asked Arthur. He was nervous now. "Then we'll never get him back."

"I won't let that happen," said Alfred. "Trust me."

Vash checked his watch. "It's 8:59. You better go in. We'll be waiting out here."

"Okay," said Alfred. He turned and ran into the old building.

Alfred looked around the old auction house. It was an old building that smelled a hundred or so years old. It fell into disuse exactly one hundred years ago, but there was one particular room that the Russian Mafia had modified just for today.

Alfred followed the other people into the modified room. The room had a bunch of chairs sitting around a large glass cage, which was barely noticeable with the lights off. Alfred thought he heard crying in there. In front of those chairs were speakers and some keyboards for typing in bids. The speakers were for this automated system to announce said bids. Alfred sat down in one of those chairs and watched as the clock hit 9:00. He took deep breaths. 'This is it. This is life or death.' The lights came on, and Alfred saw about five other children in the cage; three were drugged heavily, while the other two were crying for their parents to save them.

Right at that moment, Sasha came out and thanked everyone for coming to bid.

"And, for today, in addition to our prime merchandise, we've got a cute 5-year-old kid," Sasha said. "Very unusual hair and eyes." He indicated Gilbert, who was, once again, in shackles and this time he was being pulled along by Yuri. Gilbert was also wearing a collar to show that he was property; the chain Yuri was pulling Gilbert with was attached to the child's collar. Alfred's eyes widened in shock at the sight, but had to strongly resist the urge to punch Yuri's lights out, grab Gilbert and run away from the building.

"Come on!" Yuri said forcefully. He gave the long chain a big tug, forcing Gilbert to stumble and almost fall. The poor boy was still drugged, so he had no choice but to keep doing as his captors said.

Gilbert was crying, and his speech was slurred. "I want Mommy and Daddy, and my big brother. Please lemme go."

"Shut up and get in there," Sasha sneered. Yuri drugged Gilbert more, unlocked the shackles, took the chain off, and pushed Gilbert into the glass cage. Sasha shut it, and Gilbert was now sitting in a corner and hugging his knees, along with the other children.

"Okay, start the bids…now," said Sasha.

Everyone began bidding right away. One bid after another was announced. Alfred feverishly entered bid after bid, after bid.

"$1,000," the automated system announced for one person.

"Shit," Alfred muttered. He typed in $2,000.

"$2,000," said the voice.

Someone bid $2,010, and someone else bid $2,050.

Alfred punched in $3,500. Everyone kept entering bids. Alfred looked at Gilbert. The boy was covering his now glassy eyes.

"Help me..." Gilbert whispered to nobody in particular. He was looking up at the ceiling of the cage. Now, he was slumping lower to the floor and tried to keep himself sitting upright so Sasha and his men wouldn't kill him for being what they would call a "defective product".

Three hours later, Alfred typed in the final bid: $8,000.

"Thank you for choosing AutoBid for your event," the voice said as the auction ended. Everyone who lost got up and walked away, grumbling amongst one another.

Sasha walked up to Alfred. "Congratulations, man," he said, shaking Alfred's hand. "Now, here are those brats."

Yuri brought Gilbert and the other children out and forced them towards their unknown-at-the-moment savior.

"Thanks," said Alfred. He took Gilbert and another child by the wrists and saw the boy and girl looking up at him with wet, sad eyes. Gilbert and the other kids thought they were never going to see their families again.

"Use them well," said Sasha.

"The key to the collars, please," Alfred said; he noticed the other kids had collars on them as well. He held his hand out.

"Okay," said Yuri. "Here." He handed Alfred a key.

"Enjoy life with your new master," Sasha said maliciously to Gilbert and the other kids, who were wiping their eyes.

"Thanks again," said Alfred. "They'll make good mules." He then grabbed his phone and dialed the number to Arthur's cell as he walked away with the children. "Iggy, I've got Gilbert and the other kids. Now."

"Please lemme go home, Mister," Gilbert whimpered. The other kids pleaded for Alfred to let them go.

Just then, Arthur and Vash burst in, brandishing their guns and flashing their badges.

"Police!" Vash shouted. He and Arthur took down the Russian Mob members, while Alfred took the hood of his jacket off and bent down to Gilbert's level. He took the key out and removed every one of the children's collars.

"It's okay, guys," Alfred said reassuringly. "We're police officers."

Gilbert and the other children sniffled and clung to Alfred, burying their faces in the detective's jacket.

"I wanna go home," Gilbert said weakly.

"Ssh, it's okay," Alfred said gently, hugging Gilbert and the other kids, trying to calm them down. "We'll get you home to your mommies and daddies."

Gilbert looked up at Alfred with worry. "Mister? My big brother's dead, isn't he? One of those guys hit him and he didn't wake up! The guy said he killed Lui!"

"No," Alfred said softly. He continued hugging Gilbert and rubbing the child's back. "No, Lui's not dead, Gilbo. He's okay."

"Al, get the kids out of here!" Arthur said urgently.

"Right," said Alfred. He took Gilbert by the hand and ran out of the auction house, the other children in tow.

"Come back here!" Sasha shouted. He escaped from Vash's hold on him and ran after Alfred. "Those kids are our property!"

Sasha made it out of the building. "Hey! You're a cop, aren't you?"

"Yes," Alfred said angrily. He flashed his badge and stood in front of the children. "And you're under arrest, for kidnapping and attempted child trafficking, you worthless piece of shit." He got out a pair of handcuffs and walked towards the mob leader, who pulled out his own gun.

"That's where you're wrong," said Sasha. He pulled the trigger. The bullet hit Alfred, sending him to the ground just as Arthur and Vash came out with the rest of the members. The other kids screamed and scattered, while Gilbert remained behind, still dazed and disoriented.

"Mister!" Gilbert cried as he ran over to Alfred. "Al! Al, get up."

Alfred looked over to Gilbert. "Run, Gilbo. Go with...the others..." His voice was weak.

"Al, please get up," Gilbert pleaded.

After Vash and Arthur put the members in a police truck, they rushed over to Alfred's side. Arthur got out his phone and called an ambulance.

"I lost the others, but I'll be taking this boy back," said Sasha. "Come on, kid." He grabbed Gilbert by the wrist.

"No!" Gilbert said. "Help me!"

"Let him go!" Vash yelled. He ran over and tackled Sasha. Gilbert ran over to Arthur and Alfred.

Arthur looked at Gilbert. "It'll be okay. We'll get you home." He held Gilbert protectively while applying pressure to Alfred's wound to stop the bleeding. Meanwhile, Vash arrested Sasha and put him in the truck with his mob buddies, then found the other kids. "Hang in there, Al."

Vash ran over to Arthur, Gilbert and Alfred. "Al, stay with us. You've gotta stay awake."

Alfred swallowed before speaking. "Get…Gilbo and the other kids…home."

"Vash," Arthur said. "Can you take these kids home?"

"I dun wanna leave Al," Gilbert said softly. His breaths were now shaky; he was upset because Alfred got shot. He then coughed very hard and put his hands on the ground in order to keep from falling over; the drugs were still in his bloodstream.

"Gilbo's gonna need to be checked out by a doctor," Vash told Arthur. "He's sick, and I don't know how much drugs those bastards packed into him. Same goes for the other kids." He put his arm around Gilbert, while the other kids held onto the young detective.

The police truck with the mob members inside drove away, while an ambulance was heard not too far away.

"Al, an ambulance is almost here," said Arthur. "Stay with us, Al. Please."

"M-Mattie…" Alfred said quietly as his eyelids became heavy. "Iggy…take...good care...of Mattie...for me..."

"Al!" Arthur said frantically. "Al, don't close your eyes! Al!"