Hello?

13 – No Answer…

After we tell Jo what happened and what we found it is clear that he is just as confused as we are. He examines the bracelet in his hand looking at each charm. A backpack, a fish, a deer, a Mercedes, a vault, a pair of gloves, the number 21, a heart, a small diamond key and a palm tree…

“This cant be possible”  Jo mumbles 

“If he is alive he just left me.” Bella sniffles 

“No Bella, if he is alive he is hiding and with very good reason. It would put you in more danger if people thought he was alive.” Jo explains with a sad smile

My dad is right, people like Swen would make guarding Bella a nightmare if they knew her father was alive because they hate him and getting to Bella would mean getting to him. 

“I want to be 20 again, when things were easy.” Bella sobs 

“It’s alright love, come on.” I fold Bella in my arms and just hold her while she cries 

“It will get easier, I promise.” 

My dad and I glance at each other, both of us not knowing what to think and there is this uneasy feeling inside of me that we know far less then we thought… 

“Take Bella upstairs, let her rest.” Jo sighs running his hand through his hair 

“You might need some rest too dad.” 

Jo nods and kisses Bella and me on our foreheads before heading towards the kitchen. Bella has healed my dad in so many ways by being his daughter and I am grateful because I missed the dad that gave me kisses on my forehead, even though I am a grown man my dad is still my dad. 

We slowly walk up the stairs “Can I stay with you tonight?” 

“Bella you don’t need to ask, of course you can, you are mine.” I tell her

Sometimes Bella is too polite for her own good; relationships are a whole new concept for my little fawn.

Not long after we fall asleep 

“Adam… Adam… Baby your phone is ringing”  

I feel two tiny hands on my shoulders shaking me. 

“Oh, fuck… I’m up, I’m up.” I groan 

Brice’s name flashes across my screen and I quickly sit up. He is with a crew at the factory tonight moving some “product” around. 

“Brice” 

“They broke in?” 

“Do you know who it was?” 

“So they knew where the cameras were.” 

“Fuck… I am on my way.” 

“Jellybean what happened?” Bella whispers with her eyes closed 

“Someone broke into the fish factory. They avoided the cameras so we don’t know who it was and the weird part is it doesn’t look like anything was stolen.” 

“I will come with you.” 

“No Bella, please stay. We shouldn’t be long.” I tell her 

Bella groans slowly blinking her eyes. She is fighting to stay awake but I am sure she will be fast asleep by the time I get to my car. I quickly do my business in the bathroom and rush out. I throw on pair of black jeans and a black t-shirt paired with my sneakers. I think it’s unnecessary to wake up Jo, this is nothing that Brice and I cant handle. 

“See you soon love.” I whisper kissing Bella on her cheek 

I rush out the room and down the stairs; jogging out of the house to my car.   

(Who the fuck would be this stupid?) 

Bella 

My eyes feel heavy from tossing and turning the whole night. I slowly blink; yawning and giving my brain time to wake up. 

(Adam isn’t back yet?) 

The empty bed beside me has my heart racing immediately and I quickly sit up clutching his pillow. It’s just before sunrise judging from the time on his alarm clock and he should’ve been back hours ago.

(Shit!) 

I grab my phone from the nightstand and dial Adam’s number 

“Off?” (his phone is never off) 

(SHIT!) 

“Okay I will phone Brice.” 

I scroll down on my phone log to Brice’s name and select to dial him 

“Pick up, pick up…. come on.” 

Brice’s phone just keeps ringing and now my heart is not just racing it feels like it is going to jump out of my chest. I race into Adams bathroom and quickly do my business. I get myself as presentable as I can with my shaky hands. I grab my jeans off the floor and one of Adam’s t-shirts; my room is right next door but there is no time to waste. Jumping on one leg out the room as slip my sneakers on I am already panting 

“Jo!, Jo! Poppa!” I yell 

Jo’s door swings open just as I am about to knock. I stare at him blinking with my fist suspended in midair 

“Bella?” he asks with a groggy voice 

“Pop, it’s Adam… Brice phoned him last night and said that someone had broken into the factory. He said it shouldn’t take long but he’s not back yet and his phone is off, His phone is never off and….” 

“Slow down Bella.” Jo says in a calm voice 

“We need to go, now!” I squeal 

“I am sure they are fine, who would be so stupid to break into our factory?” 

“Swen or Charlie!” I yell whisper at Jo 

Jo stares at me expressionless for a few seconds like he is debating what I just said and then he nods. 

“Take a crew I will meet you there, because there is no point in asking you to wait.” 

“Thanks Pop.” I breathe relieved kissing his cheek 

I turn on my heel and race down the stairs. 

“Be careful!” Jo yells from above 

“Yes pop!” 

I phone Frankie and he picks up after two rings sounding all cheery. 

“Yeah, tiny Copo, what’s up?” he chirps 

“Don’t you ever sleep?” 

“Nah, things to do.” He says 

“Right, well can you grab a few guys and get to the factory pronto, Por favor? There was a break-in last night and Adam and Brice with all the crew hasn’t come home yet so be careful.” 

“What the fuck? How can someone be that dumb and still breathing? We are on it.” 

“Thanks Frankie.” I tell him before ending the call 

(Who indeed…) 

I race towards the factory in my Merc like a lightning bolt and silently pray that they are all alright. I really hope that no traffic officers are awake. My grip on the steering wheel is so tight that my knuckles turn white and every time I breathe out my body slightly trembles. 

(They’re okay. This is nothing… They are fine, just fine.) 

As soon as I get to the gate it’s obvious that nothing is fine. The security guard’s booth is covered in blood and fleshy bits which I assume is his brain. The gates are wide open and the lights are burning. 

(FUCK!) I scream in my head 

All the cars are still here but the factory door is open. 

“This is not good.” I whisper to myself while taking the safety off my 9mm 

As I get out my car Frankie with the crew pull up beside me. 

“Who drives that?” I ask pointing to a black SUV with no plates 

“Fucking Swen” Frankie hisses 

“Anyone in there that’s not family, dies… clear?” I ask them 

“Yes” they all nod and we team up in pairs quickly entering the building from all sides. 

I swallow hard blinking back tears as soon as we enter the factory because a very familiar smell assaults my nostrils. People are dead… Bodies are scattered everywhere.

(Oh, shit… no, no, no, please?) 

“Over here!” Matt yells 

We run to Matt where he is standing over Brice. Brice is beaten up but he is alive. 

“Brice!” I yell shaking him 

Brice jolt awake grabbing onto my shoulders. 

“What happened?” He asks panicked 

“I was hoping you would know; where is Adam?” I ask 

“Fuck!” Brice yells 

“What?” 

“After the phone call last night we got jumped. They never left the factory, they were waiting for us. We fought like crazy but they were ready and there were a lot of them. I never saw Adam. Someone hit me from behind.” He explains frustrated 

“That probably saved your life, you’re lucky.” I tell him 

“Tiny Copo, you need to see this!” Frankie calls 

I jog towards him where he is standing in the walk-in freezer over a large male corpse with expensive shoes and way too much gold jewelry. It can only be one person… 

(Swen) 

I pull out the knife from Swen’s chest and read the note sticking to it; Adam was kind enough to join us at Sunny Acres… Come alone and keep your mouth shut! C

I feel the blood drain from my face and my heart is hammering in chest. (No! They took him!) 

“Where is he?” I hear Brice behind me 

I shove the bloody piece of paper into his hands staring into the distance. I need to stay calm because if I give into the panic trying to surface inside I will be no help to Adam. 

“Fuck!” Brice hisses “What do you want to do?” 

“This guy is bat-shit crazy. We need to get to Adam now, but I wont play his game” I say tell Brice taking my phone from my pocket 

We walk out to my car and I dial Jo’s number. 

“Pop they have Adam” I say softly with a broken voice (keep it together) 

“Charlie took him to Sunny Acres. He said I should come alone and not tell anyone” 

I listen carefully to Jo’s instructions. His voice is even and calm but I can feel the anxiety he is hiding. 

“I have everything in the car Pop’s, no problem. See you soon.” 

I put my phone away and take a deep breath to calm my nerves and push back my tears. 

“You and I are going in first. They will have Adam underground on G2, that’s the floor with all the dangerous patients. It’s sound proof and private; isolated from the public. G1 is a private parking area so I suggest you come in from there; the crew can follow. You need to be invisible. Pop is sending Daisy’s crew.” I tell Brice and he nods 

“The doors outside and inside need access cards and to move between the floors you will also need a pin number so find another way” 

“No problem” 

“I want Charlie alive, we are taking him to church” I say getting into my car 

Brice smirks as he heads for his Jeep and we drive off to Sunny Acres. My fingers nervously drum on my steering wheel and I keep telling myself to stay calm. Adam needs to hold on. I shudder to think what they might have done to him remembering the condition my mother was in. 

(No… stop it) I take a deep breathe 

I mentally go over the weapons I have in the car with me. I have enough firepower to take out a small village but for this specific situation that won’t be necessary. Given what Charlie does down there the number of people he would trust to know will be very few. I have my father’s knife in my boot and my 9mm pistol in the back of my jeans but because I want Charlie alive there is one more special little weapon I am taking with me. I stop in front of Sunny Acres and quickly open the glove compartment of my car. I take out my wrist dart gun and strap it to my hand. Pulling my sleeves over my hands will hide it. The institution doesn’t have any metal detectors so at least I have that going for me. 

“Oh fuck” I breathe out as I step on to the gravel trying to calm myself