The House in the Woods

Who is the Caterer?

Owen POV

I gently pick Sara up and move her to the couch. Joshua glares at me as I am doing it, but he does not say a word until he sees that Sang is still standing in the doorway.

"Sang, please join us over on the couch. We delayed our conversation earlier regarding your family, and now that Owen is here, I believe that we should continue. Owen, I am deeply disappointed that you have not taken care of the situation with Sang's parents. I believe that we need to find a more permanent solution to the situation, and I have someone in place to take care of her stepmother this evening," Joshua says.

"Yes, Sang, it is fine for you to come and sit down on the couch. I did not say it earlier, but you look beautiful tonight," I say to Sang.

Sean says through the com, "Roger that Sang is okay. Sara?"

Sang moves across the room, and sits down between me and Sara, grasping each of our hands as she settles in.

"Sir, I hope that this does not sound disrespectful, but is this really the conversation that you want to have before dinner? We walked past the kitchen on the way down and it smells like the chef has prepared us a wonderful meal. I was hoping that we could keep the conversation on us getting to know each other," Sang says.

"While I appreciate your frankness, Sang, I think that your safety is paramount. We will have plenty of time to get to know each other," Joshua says.

"Sir, I need to ask you a question because depending on your answer, I may have a larger problem with someone else than my parents. There is someone who has been following me. I think it is a man, and he wears a white mask with a voice distorter. We call him Volto and I thought I saw him out on the grounds earlier," Sang says.

I reply, "Volto is here?"

Sean says through the com, "Roger on Volto. Sara?"

Before anyone else speaks I lean towards Sang's ear and whisper, "Sara did he bring you here by helicopter?"

Sean says through the com, "Roger, Medical helicopter will be on standby."

Sang starts to shake her head no, but I kiss her on the cheek and she realizes that I was not really speaking to her.

I look at Joshua and say, "Father, I would like an explanation regarding Volto."

Joshua pauses and says, "I will admit that I made a bargain with him, but looking at the two of you together, I am not going to go through with it. I will handle it."

Sang looks at him shocked and says, "What do you mean a bargain?"

From the doorway I hear the mechanical voice say, "You will go through with it, Joshua. A deal is a deal, and I am not someone that you want to cross. I brought you Lindy so your family would be complete, and now I will take Sang with me."

In my com I hear Sean say, "We are in the house."

Then chaos happens all around us. Sang is pulled from the couch by Joshua. He grabs her around the neck and there is a gun pointed at her. I pull Sara from the couch move her to the floor behind the couch to shield her from Joshua's gun.

I stand back up, looking at Joshua and say, "Father, give Sang to me. I will not have her hurt in any crossfire between you and this man."

Joshua looks at me and says, "Who is out there? Is it your boys? Have they tried to come in and steal my family from me again? You and your girlfriend will pay for this, Owen."

Voices start fading away as it sounds like the boys are being taken down. I only hear Sean and North. Of course North is the loudest and cussing up a storm. Either Volto brought his own men or we seriously underestimated the number of guards that Joshua had. I hear Volto say, bring those two in here. Find the others and take them off of the property.