Gwendolyn is pacing inside a quiet room at the police station. Waiting for the phone to ring, which sits on a nearby table. She's too nervous to touch it. Her mind races about where her children are… they sounded fine on the phone, happy even, but she's learned not to trust her husband, trust him to take care of their children. She hasn't stopped crying quietly to herself the entire time. It's like waiting for a bomb to go off or a rabid wild animal to pounce.
The police have installed a tracker on her phone so they can track Arthur, that is if Gwen can keep him on the line long enough. It's like something out of a spy movie or some thriller. Gwen even recalls a horror movie that used this trope too.
David stands outside the door with Nova guarding it to make sure no one tries anything. David is equally nervous, maybe more so, but also hopeful. He wasn't sure what this man Arthur was going to try to pull, but even if Emma was not with the children at the rendezvous, they would still be able to track his phone and rescue her. Wherever she is, he hopes that she is well fed and at least warm. The conditions in the house that she'd been kept in were almost inhumane, but not the worst. David had once read about a case where a man kept women in a pit in his basement and filled it with water when they disobeyed him.
Nova has a list of police stations in the nearest states. David had a hunch that he might've fled to Connecticut, as it would've been the easiest way to go, but he had written several others for Nova to call the minute the address was said.
Both officers wait with baited breath. That is until Jack brings Mary Margret and Henry down the hall.
David rushes over and embraces his wife, kissing her and holding her tightly. This was sort of difficult considering how pregnant she was, but he held her as if she might disappear suddenly. Henry stands by, his face filled with concern, but there was an appearance of hope there too. David reaches over and ruffles Henry's hair like his mother used to do.
"We'll find her kid," he says. "I promise. How's Killian?"
"Feeling incredibly guilty and upset that he can't be here," Mary Margret answers.
"Well serves him right for making such a stupid decision."
"Don't blame him too much David, he wasn't thinking, everything has been so overwhelming and emotional, at some point one of us was going to snap and do something crazy."
"I was thinking crazy being more along the lines of marrying a total stranger in Vegas or moving to Cuba suddenly, not nearly killing themselves," David sighs.
"We all cope differently," Mary Margret says sympathetically. "Besides, I already gave him a lecture about his reckless decision."
"And everyone knows that your lectures are the most insightful," David says in good humour.
The three of them hear a snort of derision from down the hall and they spy Gold walking along with a cup of evening coffee. Obviously, he was eavesdropping on their conversation and couldn't wait to put his two sense in. This irks David quite a lot. The Commissioner still cared very little about Emma, even though he had been proven wrong in terms of the theory that Emma had run away. David was still quite worried that Gold might try to shelve the investigation too early, leaving Emma in the hands of a maniac. It had also become apparent to David that Gold had wanted to arrest Killian for what happened last night. It took David, Nova, and Jack to stand up to the commissioner and tell them there were more important issues to deal with than a drunk driver. The worst-case scenario would be that Killian had his license taken away and his car impounded, but the poor man was suffering enough; the docks man didn't need a stuck-up commissioner on his back. Plus his car was undrivable anyways.
David glares down the hallway at Gold before the commissioner disappears back towards his office, then all of a sudden the sound of a phone ringing from the adjacent room catches his attention. Immediately, everything about Gold is forgotten as David tears away from his wife and enters the room.
Gwen has her phone in her hand as it rings and she has it away from her ear like it's a poisonous snake that this about to attack. The number is unknown and David presses the tracer to begin to get the man's location. He nods at Gwen and she drags her finger along to answer it.
"H-Hello?" Gwen says. She puts it on speakerphone so everyone can hear it.
"Hello Gwen,"
"Arthur," she says.
"How are you doing?"
David grinds his teeth, angry that this man is trying to make small talk with his wife, whom he attacked and abducted her children from as well as holding an innocent person hostage. He wants a chance to meet this man to punch him in the face for what he's done. He remains quiet to have Arthur King believe that Gwen is alone.
"I'm fine, but where are you?" she says sternly, keeping her anger from overflowing.
"I'm not going to tell you," the man says.
David grimaces even harder and clenches his hands into fists.
"What do you mean…?" Gwen says, equally as angry. "You were going to…"
"Just listen, Gwen…" Arthur says. "You'll find what you're looking for off Highway 63 at Burger King, next to a tire repair shop. I believe the address is 1364 Waterloo Boulevard in Connecticut."
David immediately signals to Nova to call the nearest Connecticut police department. The blonde officer hurries down the hall to make the call.
"Will everyone be there?" Gwen asks, skeptically. "Arthur you better let that poor girl go. She's done nothing wrong and she deserves to be free!"
Arthur says nothing, there's nothing but silence. David knows that the tracker must be working and the longer they listen, the stronger the signal. His stomach turns in apprehension and fear; Arthur might try to escape with just Emma. He immediately rushes out and goes to where Nova is.
"Tell them they have to get there as soon as possible; he might not release Emma with the children."
"Alright," Nova says as she turns back to the conversation with the Connecticut police.
David rushes back to the room, past his concerned wife and Emma's son, they both sit helplessly, waiting for good news or news of any type.
"Don't worry," Arthur's voice says. "You won't be seeing me for a long time."
David bites his lip hard, trying not to shout at the man out of anger. He has to stay calm, for the sake of the hostages.
"I never want to see you on my doorstep again. It's over between us. The only place I want to see you is on TV and behind bars, mark my words," Gwen warns.
David swallows and shakes his head. When he does this, Gwen immediately regrets her words, this might make things worse and Arthur might not release Emma or the children at all.
"That's nice Gwen," Arthur says in a sickeningly calm voice. "It's really a shame, I think this could've worked out well between us. We were going on 12 years of marriage you know. I had a special weekend getaway planned… a nice quiet cabin in Vermont."
"Don't try to lure me in with that kind of talk, you're a monster and you deserve to be in prison for all the suffering you've caused!"
"Perhaps I do," Arthur says. "Perhaps I don't, but I will always love you, Gwendolyn Julia King… till death do us part. I won't hold you to that vow anymore, but if you promise to see me behind bars, I'm going to hold you to that. Tell the kids I love them…"
Then the line goes dead.
Gwen then collapses on the floor and begins to weep. David is by her side, trying to comfort her as best she can.
"I-I'm so, so, sorry," she says. "I l-let my anger get the better of me, now he won't…"
"Don't worry," David says. "We've already called the Connecticut police and I told them to make sure a road block is set up to prevent anyone from leaving the area. No one is going any further into Connecticut." He knows that what Gwen did was rather impulsive and it could have consequences, but the woman deserved her chance to stand up to the man who had hurt her in so many ways. She'd been stuck in a toxic marriage and was merely a helpless pawn in this sick and twisted game.
…
A call from the Connecticut police department has officers racing to the specified address, they were looking for two children, ages eight and four, and a young blonde woman, aged 28. They also had to set up a road block so no one goes any further into the state or leaves. Two local police stations from neighbouring towns were setting up the block, while the main officers went to find the victims.
The sirens are blaring loudly as they speed along the highway towards the restaurant, cars pulling to the side to avoid the hurrying police, some rather angry at this inconvenience.
Two older officers with graying hair and tired faces come to the specific address and hurry inside to find the children, while another patrol car blocks the parking lot and nearby streets. Many people in the restaurant are confused and very alarmed, but the police ignore them and go into the playground area.
Many children become shocked and a bit afraid of the policemen, some even fascinated, waving from the structure. The two look for the young blonde woman, but can't find her. They then call the children's names.
"I'm looking for a Megan and Ben King."
A young girl peers around a swirly slide at the two men and a boy looks over from the ball pit.
"We're looking for a Megan and Benjamin King."
Megan is immediately afraid, wondering what she and Ben had done to have the police come and arrest them. She wants her daddy right away, so he could explain everything to them.
One of the employees of the restaurant asks the officers what the problem is and the officers tell him that they are looking for two children who had been missing.
Missing? Megan wasn't missing, she was right here and so was Ben. She knows that police are good guys, but she was still afraid. She reluctantly goes towards the men.
One of them kneels down to be at Megan's eye level.
"Are you Megan King?"
"Yes," she says. Ben has exited the ball pit to join his sister, whom he hides behind.
"I'm Constable Handler and this is my partner Gerard, your mother is looking for you."
"But she knows where we are," Megan says.
"I'm afraid she doesn't little one."
"But my daddy is with us,"
The officer gets a call over the radio.
"No suspect in sight sir, and the blonde woman has not been found."
The officer looks back at the small girl and boy.
"Is there a blonde woman with you?" he asks gently
Megan shakes her head. "It's just me, my brother and my daddy."
"I'm afraid your Daddy is gone, sweetheart," he says as calmly as he can. "He's run away with someone who doesn't want to be with him."
Sorry to the readers who want Emma rescued, it's not always going to be that easy. I'll do my very best not to drag it out for too long, but please stay with me if you can. In fact, if you tell me that it is getting too long, I will take your advice and try to end it soon. I just have still had a lot planned out to write about, I may have to make a sequel even. I also might not be able to update as regularly. Like this plot, you'll never expect what comes next. Thank you for the reviews and your support, it means the world to me.