The Adventures of Emily Tual Book One
Chapter Sixteen

Emily looked towards her door again as she heard a thud. “Who’s there?” She asked. She knew that she hadn’t imagined that noise. There was definitely someone out in the hallway. She was about to press the nurse call button when, to her relief, and somewhat surprised, Agent Simmons came in. “Agent Simmons?” She asked. Three men followed Agent Simmons into the room. “What are you doing here?” Emily asked, suddenly really nervous. She saw that they were all in suits and long coats but she didn’t recognize the three men behind Agent Simmons. She wondered if they were more agents.

Agent Simmons turned to his three men. “How about making sure that our way to the car is clear.” He told them. The three men left without saying a word.

Agent Simmons turned back to Emily. “My superiors in Washington want me to take you to a safe house.” He told her.

“Why?” Emily asked. She was still really nervous.

Agent Simmons sat down in one of the chairs. “They believe that the people who kidnapped you are a part of a child trafficking ring.” He explained. “My superiors think that you and your relatives were supposed to be kidnapped all together but they only ended up with you. When you were found in an alley way, our best guess is that they decided you were a lost cause and punished you because your cousins and sister had escaped being captured.”

Emily thought it over. She didn’t understand entirely what Agent Simmons was saying but it sounded pretty serious. “Are my cousins and my family coming to the safe house?” She asked. She had to make sure that they weren’t captured by the traffickers.

Agent Simmons nodded. “I have other agents on their way to your family and your cousins. They’ll pick them up and meet us at the safe house.” The way he said it made Emily believe him.

Emily looked down at herself. “I’m still in my hospital gown.” She said. “And I haven’t been released from the hospital.”

Agent Simmons took out his sheet of paper. It glowed for a brief second. He handed it to Emily. “There’s your release form.” He told her.

Emily looked at the piece of paper. Sure enough, it said that she was healthy enough to leave. “I don’t have anything to change into.” Emily then said. “I think my family was supposed to bring them for when I was originally supposed to go home.”

Agent Simmons took out his phone and called one of his men. “I forgot the bag of clothes that we were given for Emily.” He said. “Please bring it up.” He then hung up. “I guess we were so focused on getting you to safety that we forgot to bring the bag in.” He smiled, making Emily giggle a little.

One of the Black Hands walked towards Emily’s room. He had the bag that Agent Simmons had told him to bring. The other two were carrying James into a hospital room. They nodded to the one with the bag as he went by. They then carried James to the hospital bed and strapped him down to it. “Sorry boy.” One of the two said. “We can’t risk you going back to that fool and telling him what we’re up to.”

The other one took out a sedative from one of the cabinets. He injected James with it. “There.” He said. “The boy should be asleep for quite a while now.”

The first one duct-taped James’s mouth shut and then cut the nurse call button away from the bed. “And he shouldn’t be found for quite a while.” The two Black Hands laughed as they left the room. The first one locked the door with a spell, changing the lock so it couldn’t be unlocked with a key. They then headed down to the car.

Agent Simmons and Emily looked at the door as an agent came in with a bag. “Here you are Sir.” He said to Agent Simmons. He then looked at Emily for a second. “I’ll be out in the hallway making sure that no one threatening comes our way.” He left quickly.

Agent Simmons took the bag to Emily. “Here you are.” He said. “We had to guess on your clothes sizes since we were rushed in getting them.”

Emily removed the tubes from her and unzipped the bag. She pulled out the clothes. “They look like they’ll fit.” She said. She looked at Agent Simmons. “Thank you.” She said.

Agent Simmons nodded. “Of course.” He replied. “We’re going to keep you safe from those child kidnappers.” He went to the door. “I’ll wait out here while you get dressed.” He went out into the hallway and closed the door behind him.

Emily waited until the door was closed before she got out of the bed. She had to hold onto the side of the bed. Her legs were still a little shaky from being stuck in the bed. After a few seconds, she was able to stand on her own. She got changed as quickly as she could. She was happy to finally get out of the hospital. She looked at her book as she finished getting changed. Maybe now she could solve the mystery as to why she was given that book. She’d have a lot of time with her cousins and sister while they were at the safe house.

Out in the hallway, Agent Simmons looked at the Black Hand. “Jerome and Leo were able to deal with the boy?” He asked.

The Black Hand nodded. “When I was bringing you the book, I saw them taking him into the one room.” He pointed at the room he had seen them take James to.

Agent Simmons smiled. “Excellent. By the time he’s awake and out of there, we’ll have completed our mission.” They both smiled but managed not to laugh. They didn’t want the chosen one asking questions.

The door to Emily’s room opened and Emily peeked out. “Is it safe to come out?” She asked Agent Simmons.

Agent Simmons and the other agent turned to her. “It is for now.” Agent Simmons said. “My men by the car haven’t reported anything unusual.” Emily sighed with relief. She couldn’t wait to get to the safe house and be with her family. She missed her cousins and her little sister. Agent Simmons smiled. “I’m glad to see that the clothes were able to fit.” He said. Emily looked down at herself. The agent had gotten her rather plain clothes but she was happy. She didn’t want to draw attention to herself. She wanted to appear invisible.

“We should get going.” Agent Simmons said. He took the lead. Emily followed him while the other agent followed from behind. As they were walking, Emily looked around. The hallway seemed mostly cleared except for a few medical staff. “I thought I had heard a thud earlier right before you showed up.” She said.

Agent Simmons frowned. “Might have been one of my agents closing a door too loudly.” He said quickly. “We were checking closed doors to make sure that there weren’t any threats in them.”

Emily looked at the doors. They were all closed except for the inhabited ones. “Do you really think they would try to kidnap me from this place?” She asked.

The agent behind her smiled. “According to your file, they kidnapped you from a library.” He reminded her.

Emily thought it over. “I guess you’re trying to say that any public place that is supposed to be a safe place isn’t.” She said.

The Black Hand behind her nodded. “And with how many kids there are here, we can’t take chances that they haven’t targeted this hospital or have people on the inside working here.” He told her.

Agent Simmons looked at the agent before he looked down at Emily. “My two agents are waiting by the car at the front entrance.” He told her before he looked ahead of them. “We need to get to them as soon as possible.”

The nurse at the receptionist desk looked up as she saw Agent Simmons, Emily and the other agent leaving. She smiled at Emily. “I hope you’ve enjoyed your stay here Emily.” She said.

Emily smiled back at her. “Thank you.” She replied. She looked around as they headed towards the doors. She hoped that she would never have to go back there any time soon.

“Let’s get you to the car.” Agent Simmons said.

Outside the hospital, Emily looked around and winced at the loud noise. She held her book closer to her chest. The agent behind her noticed that. “What’s wrong?” He asked.

Emily shook her head. “The noise.” She said. It’s a lot louder than I remember.”

Agent Simmons looked at her. “The highway is close by.” He told her. “You’re probably hearing that noise.” He said.

Emily shrugged. “I guess so.” She said. The two men hurried her to their car. “We should get going before those child traffickers come by here.” Agent Simmons said.

Emily looked at the car. “Let me guess. I’m in the middle of the backseat.” She said.

Agent Simmons nodded. “We can’t risk the wrong people seeing you.” He answered. One of the agents at the car opened the back door. “We should get moving.” Agent Simmons said. He looked at his watch. “We’re supposed to be at the safe house as soon as possible.” Emily got into the middle of the backseat. The two men got on both sides of her. It was a bit too squished for Emily’s liking but she wasn’t complaining. Especially if they were risking a lot to keep her safe from kidnappers. Agent Simmons and the last agent got into the front of the car.

Agent Simons and the Black Hand in the front seat looked at Emily before looking ahead and smiled. They had gotten the child without creating a scene. What was funnier was that she trusted them all completely and didn’t realize that they were in the same organization that had sent the kidnappers after her to begin with. Agent Simmons wondered how powerful the mind wipe spell had been to make Emily so willing to trust them and not suspect a thing. Not that it mattered. They were going to use it to their advantage. Agent Simmons started his car up and sped out of the parking lot. “Next stop. The safe house.” He said.

Emily looked at Agent Simmons. “Can I call my dad or someone to let them know I’m on my way to the safe house?” She asked. Her father would want to know for sure that she was on her way there.

Agent Simmons shook his head. “I’m sorry but we can’t call ahead.” He answered. “There’s no telling if the traffickers have a way to eavesdrop on our phone call.” Emily sighed and leaned back in her seat. She looked down at her book. She failed to see the agent in the shotgun seat take his phone out and press send on his phone screen.

In her small rental car outside a restaurant out on the outskirts of Cleveland, Bastet looked at her phone screen at the text message. It read: We have her. On our way to the meeting place. See you there soon. She put her phone down and smiled. She would finally be able to embarrass the Man with the German Accent in front of their master. She started her car up and drove away. She needed to get to the meeting place.