Chapter 3

Marcus swung his backpack to his back and left the dining room after having his breakfast. He looked around and went into his room to collect the pack.

Unfortunately, Emma and Aiden were in his wardrobe. As he picked up the pack it accidentally fell down and a powdered substance spilt.

"What the hell is this?" He stuttered, sniffing the substance. It was too strong for him.

" Gosh! This is cocaine. What have I gotten myself into now? Eric never told me the business was of this nature".

Emma wanted to scream but Aiden was quick to close her mouth,

" Shh… Don't make a sound. We have to follow him to where he's going".

Bella nodded.

Marshall packed up the cocaine and sealed it in another plastic bag. He put it in his backpack and hurried off.

He didn't go through the usual route but decided to take a path that would be shorter. He knocked sharply on the door and a man opened it. Emma and Aiden hid behind a car a few meters away from the warehouse. Marcus put his backpack down on a table and brought out the package.

"What happened to it?" Fregley asked, blinking at Marcus. His voice was hoarse as though he had stayed up all night taking alcohol.

Marcus shivered, "it dropped and split open. So I put it in a new plastic bag. Nobody saw me, okay? Everything's safe".

Mackey moved towards Marcus and threw a punch across his face. This sent him crashing on the table. Emma and Aiden heard the noise.

"What're they doing to Marcus", Emma nagged in her teary voice.

Mackey and Keith pulled Marcus up roughly.

"Hey kid, you saw what was inside the pack, didn't you? Speak up, you junk".

Marcus cried. He raised his head and pleaded for mercy. Fregley pulled Marcus and tied him to a seat.

"Now talk to me. What did you see inside the pack?" He asked.

Marcus had blood all over his face and clothes.

"I don't know what I saw. But it is white and powdered", he said.

Fregley gestured to Keith and he threw a slap across Marcus's face which got his eye swollen.

Emma and Aiden had long been watching everything going on through a window and heard everything.

"Hey, you've got your phone with you? We need to put a call across to the cops right away before things get out of hand", Aiden spoke as silently as he could with his gaze fixed on what was going on in the warehouse.

"Dad has my phone. He took it a few days back and is yet to return it".

" Dang it! What're we gonna do now? Marcus is badly hurt", Aiden had a confused look on his face. He was still trying to figure out what to do when Emma came up with an idea.

"Why don't we run across the street and activate the security alarm of that car over there", she said pointing at a BMW that was packed in front of the coffee store just opposite the warehouse.

Aiden didn't think that it was so good an idea but that was the only possible solution at hand.

"Hey….. What's going on? We've gotta get outta here this minute. Keith, you and Mackey bring this kid along", Fregley yelled, pulling out a pistol, terrified.

The three thugs came out of the warehouse, dragging Marcus along.

Marcus sighted Aiden and Emma at a distance. He said things that neither Emma nor Aiden could comprehend. But they knew he was calling for help. He wasn't done talking when he was hit with the butt of a gun by Fregley. This sent him crashing down and he immediately blacked out.

They pulled Marcus into their vehicle and zoomed off leaving a cloud of dust behind and the two kids chasing after them. Emma and Aiden, realizing they weren't helping matters, stopped to catch their breath and think of the next possible solution.

"What's next Emma? We've gotta do something real quick", Aiden was crying.

" Why don't we go report at the station? They should be able to help out. This is a kidnap case", Emma said, pulling Aiden along. They were still exhausted from chasing after the vehicle but still had to drag themselves along till they got to a police station.

On making their way into the station, all eyes were on them. Probably wondering what kids their age would be doing at the station at that time of the day. They both ignored the gazes and kept on. They made for the counter and approached the officer who was trying to sort out some files.

"Good morning sir", Emma stuttered without knowing what to say next. Should she just go straight to the point or wait for his response?

She was still contemplating this when the officer who had been staring at them replied in a neither harsh nor calm voice.

"Good morning. How may I help you young children? Are you in some kind of trouble or somethin'?"

At this moment, Emma broke down in tears and this was one thing she hated so much about herself. She didn't like looking pathetic in front of people but she couldn't help it. Aiden realized it was up to him to explain the situation.

"They took our brother away. Three guys….. They took him away", he was still trying to arrange his words. The officer who had been calmly staring at the kids, stood up and made for the telephone across the room. He picked it up and clicked on the dialler. The phone rang and the kids could hear a feminine voice at the other end. In no time, the call was over and the officer walked towards the counter. This time around he didn't return behind the counter but stood right next to them. He patted Aiden on the back and asked Emma to calm down, assuring them that all will be fine.

After what seemed like a minute or two, a young, pretty lady dressed in an elegant suit walked in.

'She must be in her late twenties', Emma thought.

She had a cheerful smile which made Emma and Aiden feel more relaxed. She stepped aside with the other officer and after a little chit-chat, she turned to the kids and led them to a desk. There, she sat with the kids opposite her. She had her note and a pen.

"Hello", she said, her voice as calm and peaceful as always,

"Good morning little ones. How're we doing today? I'm Miss Carmella by name", she continued.

Emma had stopped crying by now, and was still trying to figure out how perfect a human being could be.

"We're good", Emma replied, her voice still shaky.

"So what's going on? First, what're your names? Why are you here?" Miss Carmella went on.

"Uhmm… I'm Emma and my brother here is Aiden. This morning, our older brother was taken away by some bad guys", Emma said, still not sure if she should tell the whole story or wait till she was asked.

Miss Carmella put down something in her note then looked up at the kids.

"What is your brother's name and can you tell me how this happened? I just need a detailed explanation okay?" and she smiled.

Emma smiled back at her and went on,

"A'ight. So this morning, our brother, Marcus stopped by at a warehouse on his way to school to deliver a package. And that was when these guys held him and started beating him. The supposed package he was to deliver had fallen and split open earlier this morning so they refused to let him go until he told them what he saw in it. We had been watching them and we thought if we scared them away, they'd let our brother go".

She stopped to catch her breath and that was when Miss Carmella chipped in,

"So what did you do?", fixing her gaze on Aiden this time around. Aiden looked away.

"We ran over to a vehicle across the street and activated the security alarm", Emma paused for a second and gave Miss Carmella a guilty look. Maybe if she hadn't suggested that, their brother wouldn't be 'only God knows where'.

Miss Carmella smiled without saying a word.

There was a brief silence, then Miss Carmella spoke up,

"Listen guys, I know you're feeling guilty but it wasn't your fault. You acted your age, I didn't expect any less. I'm gonna be asking you guys a series of questions that'll help us out here, so do well to give a detailed answer, okay?"

Aiden and Emma nodded with their heads down.

"So where do you stay and what's the address of this supposed warehouse?" Carmella picked up her pen again to continue writing.

"We live on 28 Allen Street and the warehouse is just two streets away from ours", Emma replied. She was starting to realize that this was the point where their parents had to get involved.

"Okay….. And your parents, what about them? Do you live with your parents? Are they aware of the situation?" Carmella gave them with a quizzical look.

"Yes, we stay with our parents but they're not aware that this has happened. We didn't bother going home to tell them. We just decided to head here", Emma kept on.

Miss Carmella went on with the writing.

" So what're your parent's names and can you give us their contact information? We need to reach out to them. You guys are way too young for this. Have you been noticing anything strange about Marcus lately?"

"Yes", Aiden chipped in for the first time since they sat down, "Marcus has always been a very nice brother. Our parents are so proud of him and he always takes his studies seriously. Until lately, I guess two weeks back, he suddenly started acting all funny. He hardly had time for his studies anymore and he'd rather spend the entire day flirting with girls. He also started putting on expensive dresses and wristwatches. Each time we approached him for some issues, he'd just yell at us and walk away. And this is something Marcus never does. He even got a tattoo".

Aiden was becoming emotional so he paused for a while.

Miss Carmella was moved by this, but she didn't let the kids see her weakness,

"A'ight, calm down. Can you describe the guys that took your brother away?"

"We didn't see them too well but from the little we saw and heard, their names were Keith, Mackey and uhm…." Emma paused to think for a while, " I don't think we heard the name of the third guy. He seemed like their boss. Keith is lanky, tall and has a tattoo all over his right arm. He has a scar below his right eye as well. Mackey isn't so tall, robust and just has this dull personality around him".

The last part made Carmella burst out in laughter.

"As for the third guy, he's dark, well built and if you ask me, I'd say he just gives off this kinda mafia personality", Emma continued thinking to make sure she didn't leave anything out.

"How old is Marcus and what kind of vehicle did these people drive off with?" Carmella continued writing.

"Marcus will be 18 this year and he's in 12th grade. We attend Beacon high school at 522 West 44th Street. They drove off in an old, black Chevrolet SUV", Aiden concluded.

"Thanks a lot for this information guys. This would really help a lot and I also want to commend you for your bravery. You did very well. One more thing, you'll have to leave your parent's names and contact information behind so that we can contact them. We assure you that we will do our best to rescue your brother. Nothing will happen to him, okay?"

Emma and Aiden felt relieved a bit. Miss Carmella had done a very great job here. A pen and a note were handed over to Emma and there, she put down their parent's contact details.

Miss Carmella saw them out of the station and made them promise her that they would go home straight, which they did.

Emma and Aiden walked home slowly, not sure of what they were going to do next. They were so exhausted and wished that the hands of time could be taken aback. Emma sat down on a pavement to rest a bit and Aiden just stayed by pacing around.

"What do you think is gon' happen now? Where could they be taking Marcus? What're they even doing to him at the moment", Aiden blurted out under a space of two seconds.

Emma had since been drowned in her own thoughts. She didn't know what to answer to Aiden.

"I'm going in search of Marcus", Emma said and got up quickly.

" What d'you mean by that?" Aiden laughed and turned to gaze at Emma, "you think we're in a movie or somethin'? That's crazy", and he kept on laughing.

This got Emma really mad. She started walking away from Aiden and he ran after her.

"Emma, you really have to calm down. How can you go after three armed guys? How old are you? Listen, all that stuff we see in the movies ain't real. You have to get that thought outta ya….."

" Hey! Can you shut the fuck up? You just keep going on and on. I said I'm going in search of Marcus, you can stay back. That's your business but I don't want to hear one more scornful remark from you", and she stormed off, headed home.

Aiden realized how serious she was and he knew he couldn't hold her back.

When they both got home, Emma went in and no one was home. She ran up to her room and changed her dress. Then she packed a few things into her black backpack and came down the stairs. Aiden was confused on what to do. Was he going to stay back and watch his sister walk off to wherever or was he going to follow her, walk off to wherever? He just stood there, transfixed. Emma had made her way to the freezer and was packing some snacks.

"I'll come with", Aiden muttered, unsure.

Emma paused for a while, "are you coming or not?"

"I am", and he ran up the stairs to change and pack some clothes as well.

Afterwards, he made his way to their parent's room and searched for their phones.

He came down stairs to meet Emma who was already done packing some snacks and was writing what seemed like a note. It was actually a letter to their parents explaining everything and telling them not to be worried. How do you expect a parent not to be worried when all three of their children have gone missing on the same day?

The note read….

*Hey mom and dad, we know reading this would be really really weird for you guys. We're sorry that we had to do this. Marcus was abducted this morning by some guys and we've been to the station to report but we don't know how long it'd take before they swing into action. So we've decided to go find him. We know this is so inappropriate but we can't help it. We're really sorry. We will return, it's a promise.

XOXO

Emma & Aiden.

Aiden handed Emma's phone over to her. She was amazed because the idea hadn't even crossed her mind yet. They both got their bikes from the garage and zoomed off to nowhere.

* * *

"Emma! Marcus! Aiden!.... Where have they all gone?" Mrs Kinney yelled as she got home to meet the house deserted. This was so unusual as she knew that Marcus was always home early to study followed by Emma who never jokes with her stomach. She walked into the kitchen and looked out into the garden but still no sign of the kids. She turned around to leave but her attention was drawn to the piece of paper sitting on the cabinet. She picked up the paper and scaled through it. She wanted to throw it into the bin but the last part which was signed by Emma caught her fancy. And that was when she decided to read what was in the note that Emma signed.

"What's this? Is this a joke or somethin'? Why would Emma write such rubbish?" She rushed out of the kitchen to fetch her phone and car keys and zoomed off.

* * *

"I think we've gotten far enough. Besides we shouldn't be running from kids", Keith said, lighting up a cigarette, "Hey Marcus, you care for some?" And he laughed scornfully.

Marcus was still trying to recover from the blow. He was soaked in his own blood.

"I need water", he cried.

Fregley moved over to him and poked his head roughly. This made Marcus shriek in pain.

"Keep calm kid. You'll only get water when you tell us what you saw. Quit joking with us", Fregley's voice echoed.

"I don't know what I saw", Marcus cried. He was getting uncomfortable being all tied up.

"This kid is more stubborn than I thought. Let's see how long he can keep up". It was Mackey this time around. He had just woken up from a nap and immediately made for a bottle of rum which was beneath his seat.