"My child is in there!" Angie cried out, struggling against Rollie and the force of blue in front of her.

"Get Detective Sanchez out here, now!" Rollie demanded, his mind racing. It could not have been the two from the silo…and they could not have known where Aidan was or could they?

"Let them through," came Mira’s voice from behind the patrolmen and Angie, muffling a small cry came up the steps to Mira with Rollie behind her, his hand in the small of her back as he felt her trembling.

"What? Where’s Aidan…Mira- what’s happened?" Angie asked, her eyes widened with fear as Rollie watched his detective friend’s face fall from her hard-line clench jaw into a look of helplessness.

"Come inside, okay? We need to talk inside…" was all that Mira would say as the couple, holding each other in pure terror, followed her. They could see Sarah sitting on the couch, with Tony Rizzo. Sarah’s tear stained face made Angie almost crumple at the knees as Rollie steadied her with his grasp.

Francis was nowhere to be seen. As soon as Sarah saw Angie and Rollie, she burst into tears again and the bewildered couple came over to her as Tony rose.

They sat beside Sarah on the couch as Sarah turned to face them. Mira sat across from the three with Tony standing behind her. There was still a flurry of activity going on around them but it seemed like slow motion, chaos without any distinguishable language understood.

"Oh my God, Angie- Rollie! I…my girls!" Sarah blurted out, not making any sense and Mira picked up from there, looking at both of them as Sarah squeezed Angie’s trembling hand, Rollie holding her other hand.

The girls are missing, and Aidan…he’s gone too…" Mira said, firmly and waited for the intake of breath and the shock to roll over them.

"WHAT?" Rollie shouted out, standing up as Sarah dipped her head against Angie’s shoulder. Angie, still in shock was numb. Mira’s words had no meaning to her. Where was Aidan? She wanted Aidan.

"I had put Aidan down, we didn’t know when you were coming back…he was asleep when I checked on him in the guest room. I had propped him all around with pillows…I had secured everything…" Mira began, going over in an almost police-like description of the activities up to the time of disappearance.

"Francis, Sarah and I were watching television…the girls were in bed…" Mira continued when Sarah interjected;

"They were all asleep! How could someone have come in and taken them? We were all here in this room! It doesn’t make sense! I checked them all at ten and everything was fine. I just don’t understand!"

Angie’s grip on Sarah tightened as Mira swallowed harder, Rollie was frozen, his fists clenched as he waited for more information. Tony began to pace back and forth as Mira cleared her throat and continued;

"I decided to go up and see how Aidan was doing around ten-thirty and he, he wasn’t there…I called out to Sarah and then ran into the girls’ room and found their beds empty as well."

"Callie! Oh my God, her medication is here. What will happen?" Sarah suddenly cried out as Tony came over and put his hand on her shoulder.

"No noise, no break-in….not a sound?" Rollie asked, incredulously, frowning as Angie remained strangely quiet, her face drained of all color.

"No…the backdoor was locked. The front door was locked…I don’t know what happened!" Mira said, exasperated as she wiped away a tear from her normally stoic face.

"They are combing the neighborhood…no one has seen them so far…." Tony added as Rollie looked around suddenly and shut his eyes briefly;

There was a noise from below, the door to the basement opening, with Francis leading the way up. The look on his face was almost hopeful.

"Rollie….Angie! We know how they got out of here…the basement door was opened. We found footprints, small, tennis shoe types right outside in the yard," Francis said, encouraged, without missing a beat. His affect was strangely aloof to them, as if nothing had transpired between them in the past twenty-four hours.

"What? They simply walked out of here? Took Aidan with them? I don’t understand?" Rollie asked, coming over toward Francis who backed up for a moment as Rollie’s towering form almost threatened him.

"I think it was on their own…we didn’t see any larger, shoed prints out there and frankly, it’s the only plausible explanation. Why? I don’t know!" he said, becoming animated, angry, pushing by Rollie then as he came back to sit beside Sarah. She muttered something to him and he hugged her as Angie sat very still beside them.

"He must be cold out there…I only dressed him in a little lightweight pants and shirt…you think they will keep him warm?" Angie asked, as Rollie, seeing that she was dry-eyed and rigid; came over to her and pulled her up into his arms, holding her tightly.

"They’ll keep him warm, sweetie…okay? We just need to find out why they decided to take a stroll outside at this time of night, eh?" Rollie said, trying to console her but she remained stiff in his arms.

"We are canvassing the neighborhood…we have put out a missing children’s alert on all of them…we need a picture of Aidan, okay?" Mira asked as Rollie stared at her, trying to comprehend her words as his mind was filled with fear for both Aidan and Angie. He looked into her dull, unfocused eyes and put his hands to her face, trying to get her to look him straight in the eyes.

"Picture, Ange- They need a picture of Aidan…" he told her and she finally looked at him, her eyes misting over as she mouthed the words to him;

"Your wallet, your picture- use that one…" she told him and he immediately pulled out his wallet and flipped through, grabbing a recent Polaroid with Aidan standing, holding on to the side of the coffee table, smiling at the camera. He smiled as he touched the picture, seeing his smiling, wavy, fair-haired boy wearing his Yankee’s T-shirt. It had totally engulfed him and dragged on the floor.

Angie smiled and touched the picture herself as he handed the picture over to Mira. She gave it to Tony who immediately had a technician send it, along with the Gatti girls’ pictures to the precinct.

Rollie sat back down with Angie as the two couples sat side by side, staring at the frenzy going on around them. Francis was no longer a cop right now as he suddenly let go, putting his face into his hands as Sarah held on to him.

"What happened to your hands, Angie?" Mira asked, directing attention on something else for the moment as Rollie got a good look at her hands as well. They were cut, bruised and swelling as Angie grimaced slightly. She had forgotten all about her climb out of the silo, she had forgotten the pain she had been in as well.

"Long story…" Angie replied, as Rollie nodded and shook his head at Mira not to probe into it at this point. Mira clamed up and stood, going over to Tony who put a hand on her shoulder. She bent her head slightly as he said something in her ear and she almost leaned against him.

Morning broke with still, no sighting of the children, no ransom notes or calls and scarce other detail. Sarah had gone upstairs to help determine if the children had dressed or were still in their bedclothes. She rummaged through the bedding to find the girls’ nightgowns and finding several sets of clothing missing, determined what she felt they must have been wearing. Mira took down all information as she sat on the edge of Callie’s bed, watching Sarah sift through her children’s things. Angie had found that Aidan’s diaper bag was missing and that his formula that Mira had put in the refrigerator was gone as well.

"Why did they leave? What the hell is going on?" Sarah asked, throwing the bedsheets up, picking up Callie’s pillow to plop it against the headboard.

Mira noticed that as she threw the pillow, a small, brown vial rolled forward from under it.

"What’s that?" she asked, standing up as Sarah picked it up and stared at it suspiciously.

"It’s labeled "rhus toxiconum"…weird- nothing in it…where did it come from?" Sarah asked as she handed the vial over to Mira.

"I don’t know, but- I will have the lab take a look at it," Mira said, holding up the vial and reading the label.

They headed back downstairs and as Mira grabbed Tony, Rollie watched as she handed a vial to him. The vial was very familiar and he stood up, leaving Angie who was giving a detail description of the contents of the diaper bag to another officer.

"Where did you get that?" Rollie asked, stepping up to Tony and taking the vial from him.

Mira frowned as Tony took it back from Rollie briskly; "That’s evidence…we’re sending it to the lab."

"It’s Rhus Toxiconum, right?" Rollie asked, his heart skipping a beat.

"Yeah…that’s what the label says…hey- how’d you know that?" Tony asked as Mira echoed his question as well.

"My guess, it came from my father’s case. He has been selling this homeopathic drug in the states," Rollie commented, and quickly pulled Tony and Mira over to the side of the living room, away from Sarah.

"Rollie! This is the drug that your father was arrested over, isn’t it?" Mira asked, in a coarse whisper.

"Actually, you need to test the residue NOW. Some vials were really a pretty mild homeopathic drug…some vials were not," Rollie replied, his voice cracking slightly as he put his hand through his disheveled hair.

"What?" Mira grabbed his arm and made him look directly into her eyes; "what kind of drug was he selling?"

"He wasn’t selling it intentionally- he was a mule for a group that was bringing in heroin – 92 % pure, from what Assistant Director Serrano said," Rollie told her, as her eyes went wide.

"How did a vial of his get upstairs in Callie Gatti’s bed?" Mira said, gripping his arm tighter, her voice pressured and harsh.

"I don’t know. I need to call Elena and tell her a vial surfaced here. It could be a calling card from a couple of his distributors. I didn’t tell you earlier but, Angie and I were abducted at gunpoint this morning by Dingo’s contacts after he turned himself in to the FBI."

"I don’t believe this!" Mira said, putting a hand up to her forehead as she looked over to Sarah who frowned as she saw the three huddled in the corner. Angie also looked up, seeing Rollie looking very stressed and Mira Sanchez’s grip on his arm was not exactly a friendly gesture.

"You telling Francis about this?" Rollie asked her then, worried how he would take the news. Once again, the possibility that Dingo’s web of intrigue had touched the lives of the Gatti’s would probably send him over the edge.

"I have to tell him, Rollie. I also will call Serrano myself. Don’t call her- this is official police business now. You will only get yourself more in trouble here, so just don’t say anything more, okay?" Mira was adamant and Rollie knew it would be probably produce a volatile reaction from Francis. Angie stood up and came over to him, as he closed his eyes and held on to her. He told her what had happened and her mouth dropped open as she saw Tony with the vial.

"Oh Rollie…it’s my fault for escaping from the silo. You told me not to do it!" Angie said, her face crumpling as she couldn’t stop the tears that were rolling down her cheeks. Rollie just held her tighter;

"No, it’s not your fault. We don’t know what the story is here yet. Come on, let’s go outside on the porch while Mira talks to Francis and Sarah. I have a feeling we won’t be welcomed here much longer." Rollie looked down at her as she wiped her nose and looked over at Sarah. The confusion on her face was torturous to Angie and she pulled away from Rollie, running outside.

"What’s going on?" demanded Sarah, standing up as Francis looked over at the cloistered group and joined his wife. Mira looked at Rollie and he shook his head, going outside to join Angie.

"Hey, mind if I join you out here?" Rollie asked, seeing Angie sitting on the stoop of the porch. He came in behind her, sitting down on the step above her, wrapping her with his arms and enclosing her with his legs. She grasped him, hugging his knees as he kissed the nape of her neck. Her hair, short again like before they had married, was as disheveled as his and he smoothed the top of it with his hand, kissing the top of her head.

"We’ll get him back. I know this is not what it seems. There is no way that Lindquist could have known where the children were…no way," Rollie told her, shaking his head.

"Is that what his name is, Lindquist?" she asked, in a soft voice, low and depressed.

"That’s what Dingo told me and there’s more…" Rollie went on and he told her what had happened at Marchard and went ahead, explaining who Dingo had been working for all the time. He felt Angie grip his legs harder, feeling her tremble.

"No, not them again…oh God, why won’t they let us alone?" Angie said, in an exasperated tone. She stood up and turned to face him when suddenly, the door opened and Francis stood on the porch. His face was reddened and hard as he stood there and both Angie and Rollie could tell he was trying to formulate in his mind, what he was about to say.

"I, uh, don’t take this wrong but I just would prefer it right now if you two would leave, okay? It’s probably better if you ride this out at the loft and let the police handle this. At least, the FBI can help us now that it is a federal case. We might be able to get some more help…"

"Francis, look- I am sorry…" Rollie began but Francis put his hand out, gesturing Rollie to stop.

"Rollie, go home because, man- I just don’t want to hear anything right now from you, just go home!" Francis reiterated and turned his back to him, going back inside, the door slamming shut.

Angie muffled her crying in Rollie's chest as he held her in his arms and they walked slowly back to their car up the street. She was not consolable and he drove on instinct alone as they reached their empty loft.

"What’s this place?" Ashley asked as she huddled next to Callie who was smiling as they looked around the abandoned building.

Rebecca Gatti, with Aidan Tyler in a baby carrier sack on her back, sat down, exhausted. Aidan weighed more than she expected but he had been very good and not cried since they had left the house. She had found Ashley’s carrier sack in the closet in their room and thought it would be a breeze to carry him. At first, she wasn’t going to take him along, but then- why not? His parents had abandoned him. And now, she was going to take care of everyone. Callie was never going back to that hospital and Ashley would be able to help her take care of both of them.

"I want to go to sleep…" Callie protested, sinking to the ground, still very tired from her ordeal in the hospital and now, with their two mile hike.

"Okay, here…there’s a bed over there, see?" Rebecca told her, and pointed to a bench in the corner.

Callie smiled and wearily got up, going over to the bench and lying down. She used her coat for a blanket as she shivered slightly and instantly fell asleep.

Rebecca smiled, looking around as she undid the harness and pulled Aidan out of it, immediately putting him on the floor in a sitting position.

"He stinks!" Ashley told her sister, holding her nose.

"Yep, he’s poo-poo’d in his diapers. Give me that diaper bag. We have to change him," Rebecca directed her.

Changed and diaper disposed of, Aidan was placed next to the sleeping Callie with his bottle. It was cold milk but he drank it anyway as the Gatti sisters huddled together for warmth at the end of the bench.

"This is going to help Mommy and Daddy, now they don’t have to worry anymore about us. They were too sad. We can stay here for awhile until they stop being sad and upset. We can go back when they see that Callie is all better. I have the magic drugs that Mr. Dingo had…Callie will never have the shaking spells again!" Rebecca told Ashley, who had put her head in Rebecca’s lap.

"When will Callie get better?"

"Soon….I already gave her half the bottle of the pills. I put them in my heart locket here…" Rebecca told Ashley as the little girl looked up, seeing her older sister lovingly hold her big locket in her hand.

"I hope it's soon, 'cause I want something to eat," added Ashley, wiping her nose.

"We have peanut butter and crackers in our bag over there. We will be okay. It won’t be long now," replied Rebecca, patting her on the head as she heard Callie’s slight snoring from beside them on the bench. She looked above them, seeing the rafters exposed of the old church, the hole in the roof, letting the birds come in and out. Rebecca knew that God wouldn’t fail them here.

Angie lay in the tub, her world falling apart around her. Rollie had carefully bathed her sore hands and feet, fed her something that filled her stomach and she closed her eyes now, the warm water over her tired body.

She felt his hand on her head and looked up, seeing his brown eyes, so much like Aidan’s looking at her, the concern, the warmth was there… She moistened her lips and tried to speak, rather to ask if there had been any news but he shook his head, knowing what she wanted to hear.

After helping her out of the tub, he bundled her up in her terry-cloth robe. He then, put her to bed, never leaving her side as they lay there together, holding each other silently. Rollie kissed her ever so often as she pressed herself against him, her head on his chest, hearing his strong heart beating and imagining she could hear Aidan’s as well, as when she had been pregnant with him. The three of them together, safe and sound was what she imagined and she finally drifted into oblivion. Rollie lay beside his wife, staring at the skylight, his dreaming calling out to his homeland for strength and guidance. He had never felt so helpless and so unable to do something in his life. His life was suspended- waiting for the sound of his son’s voice and his songline to join his and Angie’s…