Part 92

Back in Calatonia, Marcus helped Rosita and Meena with the dinner preparations. Or he tried. Rosita noticed his mind seemed to be on something else. "What's wrong?" She asked.

The gorilla shook his head. "It's nothing. What makes you think something's wrong? Nothing's wrong."

Rosita put her hands on her hips. "Shall we try again?" She smiled.

He sighed. "Alright. Suki and I… we had a fight," he admitted as he laid a tablecloth. He looked down.

"About what?" The sow asked.

Reluctantly, Marcus filled her in on the argument. "Suki thought she needed to go to be polite but I don't trust them. Crystal went nuts for a reason. And I don't think she should have to go to a party she didn't want to attend. But Suki thinks it's important that she learns how to do things she doesn't want to do. What do you think? You're a mom."

Rosita nodded. "Sounds like she's been doing that for years. And you're just trying to protect Porsha and give her a voice. That's what the father is supposed to do." She sat down. "Suki is new at this though. Most parents start with a baby. She started with two teenage girls. One of whom is now an adult. Be patient with her. She's trying."

Marcus nodded. "I'm so worried. Nooshy is keeping me updated but… I can't wait for them to be home safe." He looked out the window.

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Porsha leaned over to blow out the candles. Just in time for a flash of lightning to streak across the sky and thunder roared. And the power went out.

She looked around and another flash of lightning made her scream and she threw herself at Suki. "It's okay, Porsha. It's only a little lightning. It's just a small storm."

"A storm? We can't fly back in a storm!" She cried. "We'll never get back in time. I knew we shouldn't have come! Why'd you make us come, Suki?!" She cried.

Suki rubbed her back. "It'll be alright. It'll blow over soon and we'll be on our way." She promised. "Let's just have a piece of cake and wait it out. I'll let Marcus know."

Nooshy held up her phone. "On it!" The lights flickered and came back on. "Well, that was quick." She sent the message about the storm.

Suki looked around. "See, the power's already back. It's just a heat of the day pop up storm. It'll be gone in twenty minutes. Enough time for us to get back to headquarters. Did you want to stop by the mansion?"

Porsha nodded. "Yeah. I want to grab a few of Daddy's things now that I know they're throwing away his stuff."

The Saluki glared at Olivia, who only shrugged. "We didn't think you'd want the reminder of how he treated you and what he did. We know it's painful."

"He was my father! He wasn't perfect but he tried his best!" She held up the snowglobe. "We're leaving. This is the only gift I care about. Please, return the rest to the guests. Thank them on my behalf for coming."

"You can't go anywhere now? It's pouring out there!" Olivia protested. "Your father put a lot of thought into this party, you don't want to seem like an ungrateful daughter, do you?"

The gray wolf trembled like a leaf. "No… No, I don't want to… I'm not ungrateful… I'm a good daughter… I'm not ungrateful. I'm not selfish." Tears pooled in her eyes.

The older female wolf looked at the other adult. "Suki, please talk some sense into Porsha."

Suki looked between Olivia and her daughters. Nooshy was glaring at her as strongly as she had the night Moon died.

"Yeah, Big Mama, do talk sense into my sister," she said in a protective tone.

"Come on, Porsha, Nooshy. Let's go get what Porsha wants and go back to HQ to wait out the storm," the new mother said, feeling defeated. Marcus was right. She had broken Porsha's trust by forcing her to go to the party. She could almost feel Crystal's harsh gaze boring a hole into her. Protecting Porsha was her first job, not satisfying some corporate idiots. They ignored Olivia on the way out to the limo that was waiting. "To the mansion, Raoul," Suki requested of the pig.

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At the mall, Glenn explored all of the stores. He found a sweet birthday card but he couldn't find what he wanted. She was a special wolf, that Porsha. She deserved a special gift. Finally, at Claire's, he spotted the perfect thing.

"Do you guys do gift wrapping?" He asked the clerk. "It's for a girl."

The clerk smiled. "Of course, we can gift wrap it. Give me just a few minutes."

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At the mansion, Porsha went about collecting as much of her father's things as she could pack. Tears poured down her face.

"Those jerks! Trying to tell me I can't sell without permission. Please, tell me that's not true, Aunt Suki," Porsha pleaded.

"We will sort it out, Porsha. I promise," Suki said. "The board is just afraid of what happens to them if you do sell. Maybe they need to be. If they had done their jobs, your father wouldn't have had to do it for them. Whoever buys it won't want to waste time finding a whole new staff unless it's necessary. Look, the rain's stopped. Come on, let's get back to HQ. We'll bring a few boxes for the rest of this soon."

Porsha nodded. "How can we make sure they don't try and throw it all away!"

"Simple. I'm scheduling a meeting in Teemz for Monday morning and you will be there. You will inform them that if they touch the mansion, they will be immediately fired," the saluki stated. "I'll also send an email when we get home."

They took what they could and headed back towards headquarters. They took the golden elevator that only went to the top floor. They were just past 175 when a huge boom rocked the building and the elevator came to a stop, the lights going out for just a moment before the emergency lights came on.

Porsha screamed. "Oh, I thought the storm was over!" She hugged Nooshy for comfort.

Suki tried pushing the buttons to open the doors or make it move. "Well… the elevator is stuck…" She pulled out her phone. "I might be able to…" she pushed to call her husband.

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Alphonso was just fixing the chocolate model on top of the three tier cake while Meena put on 18 candles. "I hope she likes this," he said.

Meena nodded. "She should. I did exactly what she asked for."

They looked up as Marcus' phone rang. "Hello? Suki?" He cringed to hear the static. "Suki?"

"Marc…. I… me… storm… Power out… elevator… tra… BEEP BEEP!" The phone cut off.

Marcus shook his head. "What? Suki? What happened." He tried to call back.

"We're sorry, the number you dialed is temporarily unavailable. Try your call again later."

Rosita looked at him. "What's wrong?"

"That was Suki but… there's something wrong," he said.

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Suki groaned as the call cut off. "Damn!" She whispered. She looked around. "Okay… I need to stay calm…" she told herself. "It's going to be okay, girls. They'll get the power back on soon. We just need to sit tight."

"Sit tight? Sit tight! Aunt Suki, we shouldn't even be here. We shouldn't have come. Now we're trapped in an elevator on my birthday and we're going to miss my birthday dinner!" Porsha cried.

Nooshy rubbed her back. "It'll be okay, Porsha. It's only just now 3 o'clock. They had the power back on pretty fast before. We'll make it back in time." She bit her lip and turned her focus to the snow globe. "You know, whoever made this did great work."

Porsha nodded. "This is the only gift he ever gave me that wasn't all about him." She wound up the music box and listened. "Sleep now, my little girl in this big and busy world. Daddy's here, he'll keep you safe. In his arms, you'll always have a place…" She hugged the crystal ball.

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10 floors down, in a utility room, an employee decided to try to fiddle with the power box. He didn't see the flash of lightning strike the building right as he tried to turn everything back on. The box exploded and he cursed as sparks flew and flames appeared.

"Crap! Crap! Crap!" He ran from the power room and down the nearest stairs screaming, "fire!"

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Marcus paced nervously around the dining room. Guests were starting arrive, eager to spend time with the birthday girl before dinner.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Johnny asked while he helped Neo take off his jacket.

Marcus shook his head. "Suki called but there was interference. Something about a storm and an elevator. I think she and your sisters are in trouble." He looked at Jerry who had just arrived with Eddie and Gunter. "Do you know anyone there we can reach?"

Jerry nodded. "Sure, I have Olivia's number. Let me call her. The power might have been knocked out and they're just stuck in the elevator." He pulled out his phone and stepped away. "Hello, Olivia? Do you know where Mrs Green is? Ugh, Suki?" He asked with a long-suffering tone. "She left the party an hour ago. They were going to go to the mansion for some stuff and then to HQ to wait for the storm to stop." He relayed. "Olivia, is the power out? That's what we thought. It's possible that they might be stuck in the elevator at HQ. Can you send someone to check? Yeah. I'll be right here. Give me a call back when you know something." He hung up. "She's going to call Karen and ask someone to check.

Rosita looked at the worried gorilla. "I'm sure they're alright. They'll be alright."

Marcus shook his head. "I won't be able to relax until I know for sure."

Eddie thought. "What if we took Nana's chopper? We'll go pick them up ourselves."

"Thank you, Eddie, I'd appreciate that," he replied. "Rosita, can the rest of you stay here and look after the kids? Johnny, I might need your help."

Johnny nodded. "No problem, Dad. Ryan, you stay and help with the kids." He kissed his husband. "Don't worry, Neo, I'll be back soon.

"No problem, Dad. I'll help Papá," the leopard promised.

Marcus looked at Ryan. "Porsha invited a guy to dinner tonight. When he gets here, I expect you to give him the third degree in my place. Understand?"

The tiger laughed. "Of course, Big Daddy. It would be my pleasure."

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In the elevator, Suki felt terrible. "I'm sorry, Porsha. If I'd respected your wishes… we'd be home. I am so sorry. Protecting your right to boundaries is my job as your mother and I failed."

Porsha sighed. "No, Aunt Suki. I was being selfish as usual. You were right to make me come." She hugged the music box.

Nooshy sighed. "I shouldn't have butted in. Or I should have stood up for you, Porsha."

"No, Nooshy. Thank you for getting me to do this. So at least I could get Daddy's last present," she held it close. "I know what I said about gifts but…"

The lynx hugged her. "This is different." She looked around. "Is it me or is it getting hazy in here…"

Suki's nose twitched. "That's not haze, it's smoke!" She put her hand to the floor. "I think we have a problem."

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AN: Cliffhanger again. How will the girls escape their predicament? Will Marcus get there in time? Keep reading to find out. And please leave a review. I really love hearing your thoughts.