Chapter 6: Government Interdiction

Louie's Pancake House

They watched as the woman walked towards them. Clutched in her hand was a folded piece of paper. She came to a stop at the table and looked at them.

"Can I help you?" Annabelle asked as she set her coffee cup down.

"I'm here for these children," Lidia Wayne replied.

"Excuse me? Which children," Annabelle asked in confusion.

"All of them!" Lidia replied and reached out and grabbed Sasha's arm.

"LET GO OF MY DAUGHTER!" Annabelle snapped as she stood up.

"Ma'am, please sit down," one of the police officers said.

"I will not. You have no right to take my children," Annabelle snarled as she reached for the lady's arm.

Victor started to get up when the second police officer stopped him.

"Look, I have court papers to take all these children. If you interfere, I will have you arrested," Lidia said as she thrust the papers at Annabelle.

Annabelle took the papers and started reading them. She saw that they had the triplets name on them as well as Amber's, but her daughter's wasn't. She had just finished reading them when she looked up and saw the woman grab Sasha's arm again.

"Excuse me, but some of these children are mine. Now let them go, or I will see you in court!" Annabelle snapped out in anger.

"What? We were told they were all rescued from a kidnapping ring," Officer Jack Wilson said as he reached for the papers.

Annabelle handed the papers to the cop, and stepped up to the woman, and grabbed the woman's hand, "Let go!"

"You let go of me, or I will have you arrested!" Lidia snarled out.

"Ma'am you have four names on the list, there are six children..."

"I am an adult," Amber said as she dug into her purse and handed the emancipation papers to the police officer, and then continued, "As to the triplets, their mother put them in my care."

"I don't know what you did at the hospital, but it won't deter my mission. All four of you children are coming with me!" she said as she pulled Sasha out of her seat.

"Let go of me ... Mommy!" Sasha cried out and reached for her mother.

"Stop it! You're coming with me!"

Officer Wilson looked over at the woman from the department of children and welfare and replied, "Ma'am, please let her go. All you can take are the Holt children."

Lidia looked at the cop and fumed, "Fine, then they are coming with me!"

The children cried out as she led them out of the restaurant while Annabelle dug her cell phone out and started dialing.

"Hasting Law firm. This is Jamie, how can I help you?" said a voice on the other end of the phone.

"Hi Jamie, this is Annabelle. Is Mister Hasting in?" she asked. She noticed the cop look at her and raise an eyebrow at her words.

"Hi Annabelle. Yes he is, do you want to speak with him?" Jamie replied.

"Thank you, can you ask if he can talk to me. It's an emergency," she said as she handed Victor her card and the bill, "Victor, pay the bill. Officer Wilson, where is she taking the kids?"

"Yes, I can ask him," Jamie replied and put Annabelle on hold.

"Ok mom," Victor replied as he slid out of his booth, grabbed the card and walked to the counter.

"Downtown to DCF, and then to foster care," Jack replied.

"Thank you ... Richard, I need your help. Can I and some friends come in and see you?"

"Yes, I can, come on in. It sounds important," Richard replied.

"Thank you," Annabelle said.

She felt a shiver go down her back as she turned and looked; standing five feet away from her was the image from the hospital.

"What the hell is that?" Jack said as he looked at the image.

A hollow voice boomed out across the room and the patrons screamed and scattered as she spoke, "WHERE ARE MY CHILDREN!"

"Maggie, I will get them back, please don't cause problems here. We need you to help us, but not here. In court is where you're needed!" Amber said as she walked towards the young mother.

"VERY WELL, BUT DO NOT FAIL!" she said and faded out.

"Annabelle, he said you can come in and talk with him. He can see you at ten; can you be here by then?"

"Yes I know, we are leaving now," she replied as she hung up the phone. Turning she stopped as she saw Victor sitting down, his head back and a paper towel pressed to his nose.

She walked over and said, "What happened?"

"Noose bleeed, whaz it look like mom?" Victor replied with his nose pinched.

"Sorry, what did you do?" she asked.

Victor looked at the cop who seemed to be listening and replied, "I neeed tooo wach were I walk!"

Annabelle giggled and pulled her son to his feet. With a gentle push, she said, "to the car. We have an appointment with my boss."

"Ohh, shiit! I didnn't doo it. OUCH!" Victor replied as he hit his leg into the corner of a table.

Annabelle grabbed Victor's shoulders and guided him to the door of the restaurant. Once they reached the door, Amber took him and walked him to the van as Annabelle walked to the driver's seat.

Twenty minutes later they were walking through the door to Annabelle's work.

"Hi, Anna, what's happening?" asked a redhead sitting behind the desk.

"Hi, Jamie. I was doing fine until something happened at breakfast ... how are you doing?" Annabelle asked.

"Doing ok, go on into conference room one, I will let Mister Hasting know you're here," Jamie said as she picked up the phone.

"Thank you, Jamie," she said and led her kids down the hall to the conference room.

"Everyone sit down. My boss, Mister Hasting, will be here in a few minutes," Annabelle said to everyone and pulled a seat out.

Richard opened the door and walked into the room. He looked at his personal secretary and her son and daughter. The other girl dressed all in black, he didn't know. But he was sure he would probably find out in a few minutes. Going to the head of the table, he looked at Annabelle and said as he shook her hand, "Good morning, Annabelle, your call seemed important. Why don't you tell me what is going on?"

"Hi Mister Hasting, I don't know how to really tell you, but it started the other day when Victor here, was shot. If you remember, I received the call here at the office by his boss," she said as she sat down.

"Yes, I remember. Victor, shouldn't you be still in the hospital?" he asked as he took his seat and picked up his pen.

"I released myself, my wound is healed. What you may not know is when I was shot. Amber here," Victor said as he reached over and squeezed her hand, "Was kidnapped. Well, she escaped last night, when the police raided the plane they were going to fly her out of the country on..."

"What?" Richard said as the pen slipped out of his hand.

"Yes, Sir, they were going to fly her and hundreds of other children to another country, to be auctioned off like cattle. Well, Amber woke up as they pulled up to the airport's gate and started screaming for help. When she was rescued, she took three children with her to the hospital. It seems she promised their mom, that she would look after them.

"While we were at the hospital a Lidia Wayne showed up and tried to take the kids. She was stopped temporarily, but this morning. While we were having breakfast, she showed up at Louie's Pancake house and took the girls. We need your help to get them back," Victor replied.

"How old are these girls?" Richard asked as he started writing again.

"They are eleven," Amber said.

"And you're how old? Fifteen? There is no way a judge will grant it. Especially, to a minor..."

"I'm an adult. I have my emancipation papers right here. Victor and I are going to get married. With us married, I can get my inheritance, which is several million dollars. With that, and what we make at our jobs, we should be able to do it," Amber replied before he could finish.

"Please, Richard, I don't like this woman. I don't trust her. She tried to take Sasha as well. I need your help," Annabelle said.

"Take Sassy? Did you tell her she was your..."

"Yes, it was the police officer who stopped her. I fear for these kids," she said as she hugged Sasha's shoulder to her.

"I agree ... Did it get colder in here?" Richard asked and noticed the kids looking behind him. Turning in his seat, he blanched as he looked at the image of a woman floating there. There was a hole between her eyes, and she seemed to be looking at him.

"Get my children back and give them to Amber and Victor to raise or else!"

"Who are you? What are you?" Richard asked in fear as he backed away from the ghost and almost fell over the table when his ass hit it.

"My name is Maggie Holt, my children are Amy, Lisa and Cindy Holt. Their birthday is March 1st 1999. My family lawyer is Judith Baker over at..."

"I know her, let me call her right now," Richard said and reached for the phone and picked it up, "Jamie, call Judith Baker and ask her to walk across the street ASAP. It deals with a Mrs. Maggie Holt."

"Right away, Sir," Jamie replied.

"Thank you," Richard said and hung up. Looking back at the ghost, and that was the only thing he could see her as, he asked, "Mrs. Holt, where were you murdered? Where is your body?"

"I was murdered by the man who wanted my children to sell. Where is my body? Right now it's in the bottom of a new construction over on Fifth Avenue and Echo Street."

"Do you know the man's name that killed you?" Richard asked.

"Yes, his name is..."

"Maggie, don't say it. If you do, he will know you're talking about him. Later, you can say, but for now, we don't need him interfering in the custody case," Victor ordered.

"You're right. He is powerful, and would know."

Before anyone could ask any more questions, there was a knock on the door, and it opened. A tall woman wearing a tan suit walked in and froze as she looked at the ghost. Before she could scream, the door slammed shut, and she jumped. Judith turned and grabbed the doorknob and tried to yank it open. Panic raced across her face as she looked back over her shoulder at Maggie.

"Judith, I need your help. As you can tell, I am dead. We are prepared for that. You have my will, and I want you as executor, I trust you. My kids, I want Amber and Victor here to raise them. Only they can protect them from the man who killed me. Will you help us?" Maggie asked her former college roommate.

"Maggie ... I don't understand what is going on. But you know I will do anything for you. Who are Amber and Victor?" she asked.

"I am Victor, and this is Amber," Victor replied as he held up both of their hands.

"Kids? You want kids to have custody of your children? There's no way a court will allow it," Judith said as she slid into a chair.

Maggie floated across the room, a chair slid out of from under the table, and she sat down. "I think they will, especially when I appear and convince them," Maggie said and then looked at Victor. Seeing the nosebleed, she continued, "Victor your nose is bleeding again. Which I'm sorry for. I'm using your powers to stay here, but it should be over soon."

"What powers?" Judith asked.

"Never mind what I said, can you help us, Judith? Mister Hasting?" Maggie asked.

"Yes, we can. Let us get our teams working on it and we will get the results you need. All of you, why don't you wait here, and we will do our magic," Richard said as he stood up and walked out of the room. Judith Baker followed him out with a final glance at Maggie.

Amber got up and sat in Victor's lap, while Sasha climbed into her mother's. They sat there waiting while the lawyers worked. Every few minutes one would come in and have them sign a paper. When it came to be paid for, Amber paid the bill with cash and then hugged Victor. Out in the lobby, Jamie was tracking down the kids and checking the dockets for a judge over in the courthouse to hear the case. At one pm, she finally received the docket for Judge Julia McGregor, and found the kids listed there.

Richard stood at Jamie's desk going over the paperwork being printed out. Between him and Judith, they were ready, as they had Jamie staple them all together. Walking into the conference room together, they sat down and started to explain everything to Amber and Victor.

Victor didn't even read the papers, he just signed where he was told to sign. Amber and Annabelle, on the other hand, read each page.

"Richard, it looks good to me," Annabelle said as she cosigned everything.