A/N: I want to thank everyone for reading. Regrettably, next week, I will be unable to write. My schedule is just not playing out that way. I hope you enjoy and I'll be posting in two weeks. :)
A/N2: A shout out to my anonymous reviewer! Glad you liked it. The race is going to get some help this chapter. ;) Thanks!
Chapter 32
Fiyero was angry, scratch that, he was beyond angry. Farhidi's games cost his wife her life and now his kids were still missing. He and other soldiers from the morning's raids quickly went to the address that was different than the others they'd searched. The man in custody had actually been quite helpful, another small win in what seemed like a losing battle.
The artist was with Elphaba now and the man, trying to get an image of this new player in the game. Admittedly, the Prince could not think of anyone who went by Rocky in the old Gale Force. This meant that Foster knew him from before or after his service. Lieutenant Zetti was looking up his records and would send word to his home country that any place Foster had lived previously be searched and family members questioned.
"I'd say penny for your thoughts but you're not exactly hiding them," Sergeant Schultz broke into his commander's riled up emotions. They were searching the building that the imprisoned man had given them. It was an abandoned warehouse, so it took a while to search but there had been no outward signs of occupation. Everything was covered in dust and there were only footprints that had dust in them when they entered it.
"He's not here and he's not anywhere else people have seen him. Why kill Mrs. Farhidi and keep the kids? It's over. What do the kids get him?" Fiyero asked the young man.
"I'm probably not the best person to ask," Schultz admitted. He had no experience with this kind of thing and couldn't even understand why his own father never wanted him around. Foster was a man, who clearly had lost his mind, and he'd kept the kidnapped children of the man who had become his stooge. Schultz supposed that given Foster's long list of crimes, him keeping the kids wasn't the worst thing he'd done. Still, Foster had killed the children's mother. If he thought they were difficult before, he imagined that motherless children would be more difficult now. They may not care about their own safety and be more ready to challenge him. These weren't little children, after all. They were teenagers.
"You do know that one of the children is a girl, right?" Fazil spoke up.
"You think he'll force her to marry him?" Schultz wondered. The spy gave him a look and then turned to Fiyero. The Prince knew what the older man was getting at. It was quite possible that the daughter was facing a horrible reality. They did not know if the same had happened to Mrs. Farhidi. Doctor Talib would probably be able to tell them when they got back though.
"Why keep the son then? He'd try and protect his sister, even if he thinks he failed his mother," Fiyero said.
"Maybe the son is a true believer," Fazil shrugged. The Vinkun nodded. If Farhidi's son believed in the lies that Foster was spewing, they'd have their work cut out for them, when they found them. If they found them.
"Let's head back to the Palace. We need to regroup," Fiyero heaved a sigh. That's when they heard a shout from outside. It was followed by the characteristic screech of a Flying Monkey. Fiyero and the two men hurried to the nearest doorway and exited the building. There they saw Chistery tackle someone and lift them up off the ground – far enough that the drop would most likely end in injury.
"What have you got for us Master Chistery?" Fiyero called out.
"Caught this one sneaking around Captain! I suspect he knows something!" Chistery shouted.
"Bring him down! We need to have a chat!" The Prince smirked. He then turned to Schultz and ordered him to grab some men and fan out into the surrounding area. There might be others lurking. Maybe, just maybe, things were starting to look up.
To Be Continued…