A few hours later, Henri heard from his team. There was good news and bad news. They had found the kids, most of them at least. The men were gone and so were Eileen, Charity, and Diana.
Taliyah and Zelnique were found cowering in the corner with their kids, far away from the agents. Their kids - Elishia and Sion - hiding behind them, the two mothers acting as shields.
"It's okay." John assured the kids, "We're here to save you."
"But I don't want to be saved." Taliyah uttered, looking John dead in the eyes.
It took a few minutes, but eventually John was able to convince the children that they were safe and that they could leave. However, he wasn't able to convince them to get checked out at the hospital. Baby steps, baby steps. The first priority was just getting the kids out of the warehouse.
Neil was there too. Standing outside, watching from a distance. He saw John and Henri's team walking out of the building with the four children. He didn't see Eileen or Diana with them. It was a bit discouraging because it meant that those monsters still had his daughter and niece.
Not long after the two black government SUVs drove away, Neil received a text from one of the monsters who has his daughter and niece. The text read: 'I left you a gift inside. But hurry and find it. The place blows in ten minutes.'
Neil's eyes widened as he felt his heartbeat quickening, thumping inside his chest as he wondered what the gift could be. He also wondered if this could be a trap, but not wanting to take any chances, he raced inside the warehouse, frantically searching every nook and cranny.
As much as he hoped that it wasn't Diana or Eileen trapped in this building that's about to blow up, he couldn't afford to be wrong, so he started calling out their names. He hoped that if they were there, they would be able to hear him and answer him back. Or better yet, if they could, come out from wherever they are hidden away.
He searched everywhere and didn't find anything or anyone. He heard the sixty second countdown and was starting to believe that he really had been lured into a trap.
The countdown got to the thirty second mark before he started hearing any movement in the warehouse. And he felt a little more hopeful.
A child jumped out from a hidden door in the wall and ran over to him like the child knew him. Like this little girl that was now hugging tightly to Neil had seen him before. It took a few seconds before Neil actually recognised the little girl.
It was Diana.
"Oh my gosh." He uttered, hugging his niece back, "Dee."
"I missed you, Uncle Neil."
He tighten his grip around her slightly as he picked her up, "I'm so sorry."
Neil almost forgot about the countdown until he heard it hit ten. Still holding Diana in his arms, he ran out of that warehouse as fast as he couldn't, making it out and a barely safe distance away just in the nick of time. He felt the heat on his back from the explosion as he shielded his niece with his body.
As much as Neil wanted to take Diana home with him, he knew it wouldn't be safe for her. She would be much safer somewhere else, because his mission wasn't over. He still needed to get his daughter back. And while he did that, he needed Diana to be somewhere that those men wouldn't think to look for her, which meant she couldn't be with him and she couldn't be with the Coraline.
It pained him to do this, but he drove to the police station and walked his niece inside, leaving her there before turning around and heading back out to where he had parked his car on the curb. After almost seven years apart, he was leaving his niece. Abandoning her in a police station filled with cops, and the one cop that he knew he could trust. The cop who worked with John's team - Lionel Fusco.
However by the time Lionel glanced up from his desk and saw the little girl sitting on a chair, unattended, Neil was long gone.
Lionel walked over to the almost nine year old, squatting down, "Are you here alone?"
Diana nodded, "Yeah. My uncle dropped me off. Are you Detective Fusco?"
"Yes, I am." He told her
"Uncle Neil said you'd protect me. I'm Diana." She introduced, "Diana Palino."
His eyes widened, "No way."
"I wanna see my bubba." She told him
Bubba is her brother. It's what she called Buck.
"I will try to make that happen." He promised
She pulled a crumbled paper out of her pocket, handing it to Lionel, just as Neil came rushing back into the precinct. He heard his niece telling Lionel...
"My uncle told me to give this to you."
Neil reached where his niece and the detective were, snatching the paper from her hand just before Lionel could take it. He stuffed the paper into his pocket and then picked up his niece, holding her closely against his chest.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I made a terrible mistake."
Diana wrapped her arms around him tightly, "Does this mean we can go home now?"
"Yes. Let's go home now." He choked out, feeling like he was on the verge of tears, "Let's go home."
Hope you enjoy. Comments are greatly appreciated. In fact, they keep me going.
What would you like to see happen next?
Sorry I've been gone so long. I've had major writer's block with this story. I don't really know what direction I'm going. Please, just bare with me and be patient.