The House in the Woods

Make good choices?

Owen POV

We have been doing surveillance on my father's house for an hour. Victor was able to get us a floor plan of the house. After getting some aerial shots we have been able to make an educated guess that Sang is being held on the west side of the house. There are recently poured areas of concrete slab with rebar sticking out of them underneath six windows. It is my guess that he knows about Sang's ability to fall from high distances and made sure that she would not make an attempt. We also know that there are twenty guards on the outside grounds and at least six inside.

Sometimes guards maintain radio silence while on patrol, but this group seems to be a chatty bunch. They are talking so much that Victor and Corey were able to record multiple conversations and Corey is having someone slice and dice into new recordings.

Taking in all the information we develop a plan that we will start taking the guards out, and we are gathering their radios together. Nathan and the two Atlanta team members will play the recordings into the appropriate radio to make it appear that the guards are still on patrol. Once all of the guards on the grounds are subdued, we will make our way inside the house and extract Sang.

I receive word from Victor that the woman's phone is now showing a location. Of course it is about thirty minutes away from here. I instruct the decoy teams to follow the signal and give my team the go ahead to start taking down the guards.

I check my weapons and make sure that everything is ready. Once this is all over, I need to take stock over my life and try to determine what I could have done differently. The pain that I am feeling from Sara's betrayal, the fear and guilt that I basically handed Sang over to Joshua because of my friendship with Sara. I do not trust many people, but Sara was different. I felt something for her from the moment that I saw her asking for help on the video. Before Sara, Sean was the only person that I had truly let in since my mother's death. Helping her through her recovery, letting some of the walls that I built slip, made me open to taking on my brothers. It has been a long road, but Sara is the one that convinced me that I should let Sang in. Why would she do that only to try and take her away from me?

Why would Sara exploit the two things that can shake me to the core, the hatred of my father and the love I feel for Sang. Sara convinced me that I could reach past my hatred, and that I would never turn out like my father. Sara convinced me that I was strong and giving my love to Sang was not a sign of weakness. If Sara can lie so easily, then maybe it is a mistake that believed anything that she said.

Joshua POV

It is time. Time to bring my family back together. I pick up the phone and dial his number.

Owen picks up on the first ring.

"Where is Sang," Owen screams at me through the phone.

"Owen, that is no way to say hello to your father after all of this time. You will get your anger under control before you arrive. I am sending you an address. I expect you to be here within forty five minutes for a family dinner," I say to him calmly.

"Dinner. You have kidnapped Sang, and you expect me to come and eat dinner with you?" Owen says.

"Yes, that is correct. Sang and your mother are already here. Oh and Owen, I expect you to come alone. If you try to bring your friends, it will not end well for them. What is that saying that parents are using these days, make good choices," I laugh as I disconnect the call.

Owen POV

Make good choices? I will make the best choice available when my hands are wrapped around his neck, and I am choking the life out of him.

"He is right about one thing, you need to get your anger under control, Owen," Sean says as he walks up behind me.

"I need to get my anger under CONTROL. I am Owen F%&cking In Control Blackbourne. ANGER...now that not something that you cannot tell me not to stop right now. He has Sang. My mother, he says that she is my mother. He told me ten years ago that he killed her, so how can she be alive? Has she been playing me as a fool for the last five years? How am I supposed to process anything that is being said to me," I say in a low tone.

My best friend looks at me and says, "There will be a time for figuring this out later. For now, you need to get it together so we can finish taking out these guards and focus on getting Sang and Sara out of the house. I am not saying that you cannot have the feelings, Owen. I am saying that anyone, even Owen Blackbourne, can make a mistake if he is distracted."

"No, you and the others will focus on getting SANG only out of the house. I will deal with my parents. This is one family reunion that the two will them will regret calling," I say as I start moving closer to the house.

Sean looks at me and says, "You check in with the Atlanta team, I am going to brief the boys."

Sean POV

I quickly fill the boys in on the phone call and the time table that Joshua gave Owen.

I motion for Luke to join me so we can talk privately. When we are far enough from the others, I say, "We have been able to neutralize most of the guards on the ground. Your job for the rest of the evening is to tail Owen, but stay out of sight from everyone, including him. I have a wired phone that I want you to plant on him. I know that you have been trained on each of the guns that you are carrying, but I have to ask whether you are prepared to use them if it is to defend Owen and Sang?"

Luke looks at me a moment and says, "I am willing, and I will obey."

I look at him and say, "Good, you are Owen's shadow. Luke, you might see things and hear things that are meant to confuse and distort the truth. I don't believe for one minute that Joshua Blackbourne wants to rebuild his family. He is sick bastard that only knows how to destroy those around him. Your job is to keep Owen from killing his father."