The Adventures of Will Irving: Automaton Trouble

Chapter 15

"It was Claire's dad," Will said once they were safely back in the car and on the road again. "I only caught a glimpse of him, but I'm sure it was him."

"I agree," Hank replied. "But what I wanna know is, where did that automaton come from? And who was on the roof?"

"Automaton?" Max asked.

"A black automaton broke into the Emporium and took Claire's dad just as we were about to rescue him," Will explained. "There was also someone else up on the roof who seemed to be giving the automaton orders."

"A black automaton...hmmm...most unusual," Max mused aloud.

"That's exactly what I thought," Will noted.

"So what now?" Hank asked. "Our guy's been kidnapped from his kidnapper. This isn't even back to square one. This is a whole new case! What do we tell Claire?"

"The truth...what else can we do?" Will answered. "At least we know he's alive...and perhaps safe for now...at least from Moe."

"Safe?! Did you see what that automaton did to Jasper?!" Hank said skeptically.

"What exactly happened in there, William?" Max asked with intense interest.

Will proceeded to give Max an account of what the automaton had done. The three friends continued speculating until they finally arrived home. Will pulled into the driveway alongside Hank's truck, and they all exited the car. They reached the porch, and Will was about to unlock the front door when he hesitated.

"Hey," Will whispered. "Look...the front door isn't fully closed."

Sure enough, there was a slight gap between the door and the jamb that showed that the door had been shut but not completely latched. Both Will and Hank immediately pulled out their firearms and readied themselves.

"Max, keep a lookout here," Will said quietly.

Max nodded his assent and turned to keep watch. Will looked at Hank, who gave a nod, and then he slowly opened the door. They entered the house and found a disaster scene. Furniture was strewn about; cupboard drawers had been opened and ransacked; broken glass and belongings littered the floor. After methodically searching the entire house and finding it empty, Will threw caution to the wind.

"Emily!" Will shouted, going from one room to the next. "Emily! Claire!"

Hank joined him in calling out their names.

"They're not here, Will," Hank finally said as Will met him in the living room.

"Damn that Moe Salley!" Will shouted angrily.

"We don't know it was him. For all we know, it could have been that automaton," Hank stated.

"I doubt it," Will protested. "My money is on Moe. If he hurts her..."

Suddenly, Will paused as he thought he heard a noise – no, a voice – coming from upstairs.

"Did you hear that?" Will asked quietly, straining to listen.

Hank turned his attention to listening as well.

"Emily?!" Will called out a moment later.

"Will?" replied a faint voice from upstairs.

"It's her!" Will said excitedly as he ran upstairs.

"Wait, Will! Be careful!" Hank called after him.

Will reached the top of the stairs and paused a moment to call out to Emily. This time he heard her voice distinctly coming from his room. He ran into his room and looked around, but Emily was nowhere to be seen.

"Em...where are you?" Will asked anxiously.

"Is it really you, Will?" Emily asked cautiously.

"Yeah, sis, it's me. Where are you?" Will said kindly.

"I'm down here...in your secret spot. I can't get out," Emily replied in an annoyed voice.

Will rushed over to his closet, which was now just a jumble of clothes and boxes strewn about on the floor. He knelt down and began removing all of his belongings until the bare wood floor was exposed. He felt knowingly along the floor and then pulled up on one of the wooden planks, which lifted easily. There, in a small space below the floor, Will could see Emily's adorable little face peering up at him anxiously.

"Emmy!" Will greeted with a smile of relief as he gently lifted her out of the secret space and wrapped her in his arms.

The two siblings silently embraced for what seemed liked hours. Will heard his sister sniffle a bit and knew that she was trying hard to be brave. He was trying hard too...but that could not stop the tears that were running down his cheeks at the moment.

Eventually, Will pulled back slightly, still holding Emily in his arms.

"Em, what happened?" Will asked gently. "Where's Claire?"

"We were upstairs when two men came," Emily shared. "They knocked on the door and said they were police officers. Claire didn't open the door though. She told me to hide, and so I did. Eventually, I heard the men come inside, and they started breaking things. They kept asking Claire about her dad's plans. I also heard one of the men call the other one Nick. They came in here, and I was afraid they would find me, but they didn't. Then, I guess they left and took Claire."

Emily looked over Will's shoulder and suddenly beamed a giant smile.

"Henry!" Emily shouted as she broke away from Will and ran into Hank's waiting embrace.

"Hey, sweetie!" Hank greeted, picking her up and giving her a giant bear hug. "Boy, am I glad you're safe!"

"How long were you standing there?" Will asked, smiling at Emily and Hank's joy.

"Long enough," Hank replied.

"Then you heard what she said," Will said, becoming serious. "It was Dante and Grayson...and that means it was Moe. He has Claire now."