Subjects

9- Leo Phone Home

"Come on, kids. Your day off was over yesterday. It's time to test our new theory," Leo calls the four as they walk lazily down to their usual spot.

"Why do you always call us 'kids' anyway?" asks Emily. "How old are you even? Thirty?"

"I'm forty-seven years old," Leo answers. "I have a daughter."

"Are you serious? You don't look anywhere near forty," Eva gasps.

"I think that my kind ages slower than you do," Leo says.

Something this morning just feels different. It's one of those rare days when you wake up and the sun shines brighter and the temperature's just right and you know it's gonna be a great day. Or maybe it's just the fact that this morning things were different for them. This is what they have been waiting for, a glimpse of hope. This may not be a solution altogether, but it is a start. Only if it works, though. I sure do hope it works.

"Are you ready, Emily?" Leo asks her.

She starts nodding but then turns to Eva again, "wait, so you said you just didn't think about resisting at all?"

"I didn't really listen to what Leo said. I was kind of distracted and by the time I realized what he said I guess it was over," Eva has been trying since yesterday to understand what happened but she's not even that sure herself.

"Okay," Emily says. "I'm ready to give it a try."

"Go over there," Leo tells her.

Wait! She wasn't supposed to hear this! She can't listen! She has to-

She has to go, NOW!

"Oh no," Emily realizes she wasn't ready after all. "I need to try again."

"I want to try too!" Sure, Ben. Just remember to keep your arms and legs inside the ride vehicle at all times. He's sure he can do it. I mean, if Eva did it, there's no reason he won't be able to. He's usually the master of disobedience. Last year he had this teacher who really didn't like him (can't imagine why) and he gave him HELL, seriously. This poor fella almost gave up his entire career in education. One time Ben switched sits every time he turned to...

"Ben," Leo says to Ben. "Pick up the leaf."

And by the time the principal got to their class he saw the best behaved student in school. The teacher almost got fired that day, it was hilarious.

Yes, so, what was Leo just saying?

Ben really has no clue what Leo said. He tries to remember but he was just too distracted.

"Can you say it again? I was just thinking of something else," Ben takes a breath and gets ready for the usual thing.

"You did it!" Roger says.

"Well done!" Leo seems very pleased.

"I... I did?" Ben feels kind of weird about this, he didn't even really try. "I just didn't hear what you said, does that even count?"

"That's exactly the point," Eva says. "If you don't think of what Leo says than you can't obey him!"

For each of them it was a little different. Ben somehow made it right away. I guess ADHD is good for one thing. Eva still struggled but she got it right at least 60% of the time. Roger was alright too, it only takes him a little bit longer to shake it off completely. Only Emily still couldn't figure out how to make it work. It was never like this, she's pretty much average at most things. She's great at mechanics but she's not really bad at anything.

For Ben, it's the best feeling in the world looking into Leo's eyes, telling him 'no', and then running around like he's doing some sort of ritual worshiping his own achievement. After a few hours of practice Leo finally says maybe Ben, Eva and Roger should have the rest of the day off (maybe even the rest of the week, it seems that they are way more productive while not working) and he'll stay with Emily for a while to try to figure this out.

After a while he lets her off too, it seems like this whole thing just got her down and she didn't really make any progress. Also, he has an important phone call to make. He misses little Angie far too much.

The landline may not be at the standard he is used to but it will definitely do for this call. Leo types in the number he remembers by heart and picks up the phone.

One. Two. Three. Four beeps.

"Hello? Leo, is that you?" a shaky voice answers the phone.

"Liv, it's me," Leo is relieved to hear his wife, Olivia, on the other end of the phone. For some reason, he couldn't put his mind at ease before he spoke to her. "I'm sorry I didn't call before, I -" he stops when he hears a whimper from Olivia's side of the call. "What's wrong?"

"It's Angie," she hiccups the words, her cry getting louder. "They came and took her."

"Who took her?" a most horrible fear crawls into Leo's heart and he nearly chokes.

"I don't know," she can barely speak between the tears. "They... They came looking for you and I told them you were gone but they just-" she breaks and starts crying uncontrollably. "Who are these people Lee? What do they want from you?"

Leo stares forward, utterly shocked. How did they find them? No wonder they did, he should have known nowhere on earth is safe from them. "I'm sorry, Liv," he whispers quietly.

You may not know a thing about Angie, so I'll tell you. That girl is the most precious thing in the world. Her name suits her angel face perfectly. Even at the young age of eight, she is more intuitive than most people. She is probably the most sensitive and empathic person you could ever meet, I am not exaggerating.

Now that you know dear Angie, you can understand why Leo reacts the way that he does. After the phone call ends, Leo sits in his room and contemplates the different options he has now. He can't stay here and do nothing, he isn't sure if he can even live knowing what danger she's in. He either has to leave the subjects alone here or...

Leo has a feeling that he won't be able to live with putting them at risk either. He grew to quite like them over the last couple of days. They don't deserve being a part of all of this.

Leo decides to look for them and tell them what happened. He knocks on the door to the guys' room. No answer. He goes to the girls' room. Emily opens the door for him. Immediately she knows that something is wrong.

"What happened, Leo? Are you alright?" she asks.

"I just..." he moves a hand through his hair nervously. "I just called my wife at home and Angie wasn't there. They took her."

"Angie - she's your daughter?" Emily asks and Leo nods.

"I need to get her back, she must be so scared," Leo is completely broken. Emily never thought she would ever see him in such a horrible state.

"Why did they take her?" she asks.

"They must be wanting to get to me. They must've found out that I hid you away and now..." he lets out a long deep breath. "This is all my fault."

"Leo, if it wasn't for you, we would never have known what was done to us. We would be hopeless when the time comes." Emily puts a comforting hand on his shoulder. "We will do anything to help you get her back."