Sang's Freedom (Original And Rewritten)

Chapter 42: Cameras

-Chapter 42-

Gabriel Coleman's POV:

We were trained to pick up on our surroundings, but I knew I never caught everything. Not the way my brothers did. That's why I was last in command.

Mr. Blackbourne had informed us that Mr. Hendricks was keeping pictures of girls in the vault Luke had cracked. The pictures had been distributed and we were suppose to look for the ladies we shared classes with. Eight of the twenty were not in school, but whether they were missing or simply skipping class was debatable.

Nathan and Kota had left the grounds to do some scouting to see if any of the girls were at their houses.

Dr. Green was likely catching up on some much needed sleep.

Silas and Victor were working the crowds, trying to find out what people thought of Mr. Hendricks or if anyone had notice any missing persons.

And Mr. Blackbourne was reviewing footage from Mr. Hendricks' office while North, Luke, Trouble and I finished out our study hall.

***

Owen Blackbourne's POV:

I had to be extra careful to school my features with Miss Sorenson sitting so close. She was chewing the end of her pencil, which I despised, as she tried to tap out an essay for English.

The girl had missed a handful of assignments while she had been recovering, and the boys were helping her catch up.

It was a good distraction for her, especially when I had her mother in my ear peeping to Mr. Hendricks that she wanted her own daughter to disappear.

What kind of mother was she?

I winced at the realization that many of my brothers had mothers like her. Mothers who should have never had children.

Nathan's mother abandoned him. She had left a little boy with an abusive father.

Luke still had nightmares after all of the atrocities his mother put him through.

North never knew his mother. The boy had been running on the streets in Germany and over the years had made his way to Greece where he and Silas met.

When the Academy finally tracked down Luke's long lost brother, North refused to come to America unless Silas was permitted to come as well.

I thought for a moment about my own mother and how lucky I had been.

When my father began beating us, my mother took us out of the situation within the week. We moved to Minnesota. She started a new life for us.

My mother was brave, and she did not leave her family behind.

Her eyes were steel like mine. I remember her beautiful, dark hair and stern expression when taking on the unknown.

I was like her in a lot of ways.

In the winter, I used to play out on the lake behind our house. My father had not made an appearance for three years, but after a particularly long night, I came back from the lake to find him in our living room, like an Eskimo from hell.

He stood over my mother, more drunk than I had ever seen him, slamming his booted foot into her ribs, though she was not moving.

Blood was on her lips.

Her steel eyes saw nothing.

And I hid.

Like a coward, I hid.

I tucked myself away into a closet behind our storage boxes. I scarcely breathed until my father passed out drunk.

I called the police then, but it was the Academy that came. I was ten at the time. Sean came out of an ambulance and hugged me fiercely. He told me everything would be alright now, and that I was safe.

He said we would be a team.

And we are.

We found our family here, with the boys, and Miss Sorenson.

It was my job to keep us safe.

No matter the plan Mr. Hendricks had concocted to make Sang Sorenson disappear, I was going to foil it.

***

Victor Morgan's POV:

The bell rang, signaling school was out for the day. North and Luke would take Sang home and then we would have our full force on Mr. Hendricks.

Speaking of Mr. Hendricks, I wanted to check the cameras. "Wait a second, Si," I called as we stopped at the double doors of the school's front entrance. Silas looked back, dark eyes blazing with an anger that could rival my own.

"None of these ηλίθιοι ξέρει τίποτα!" he growled, hands clenched into big fists at his sides. "They know nothing! People are missing and they're marked as runaways because we are in a school full of scum." Another string of Greek came from his mouth before I distinctly heard: I swear to the gods, if he trys to take Aggele Mou...

"No one is taking Sang." I punched his arm lightly, but the giant didn't soften. "That's why we are doing this."

"We are doing this because it's our mission," Silas rumbled. "But now that Hendricks has dragged in Aggele Mou..." He was shaking.

I could count the number of times I have ever seen Silas this upset on one hand.

Students were beginning to fill the halls, pouring past us as I pulled out my cellphone. "Here, Si. This will make you feel better. Mr. Hendricks is in his office. Sang is safe."

When I pulled up the cameras, we could clearly see Mr. Hendricks sitting at his desk. His arms were folded. He kept glancing at the clock, and I couldn't help but wonder why.

School was already out.

What could he be waiting for?

The footage skipped, and my blood ran cold. "Fuck!" The word left my mouth in a hiss, and Silas looked over startled, unaware of how much our world had just gone to shit. My footage never skipped, not unless Mr. Hendricks had gotten his hands on a scrambler.

I looked at the time stamp on the footage and the numbers were all wrong.

How long had the numbers been wrong?

How many hours had we not had eyes on Mr. Hendricks?

I was shoving through the crowd. The students weren't moving out of the way. I was panicking.

"EVERYBODY MOVE!" Silas' voice boomed down the hall. People leapt out of our way, and I looked back to Silas, eyebrows raised. "I'm on the Brute Squad," he told me, seriously.

"On the Brute Squad? You are the Brute Squad." I quoted as I dialed Mr. Blackbourne.

He answered on the first ring. "Yes, Mr. Morgan?"

"Where's Sang? We have lost eyes on Hendricks. He had a scrambler."

There was a long, terrible pause.

"Mr. Blackbourne?"

"Have Silas call North. See if we are too late."

Silas called him up and confirmed that North had just drove away.

My heart was thundering in my chest.

"Mr. Blackbourne, I installed cameras at the Sorenson house. What do you see?" Panic took over. My whole body began to tremble. I felt Silas' hand on my shoulder as he tried to lean in to hear.

He was speaking quietly in Greek. I wasn't sure if he was cursing or praying.

"I see nothing, Mr. Morgan."