" What!" The exclamation rang through the phone's loud speaker. The reaction was very strong and expected. From the other end of the line, they could hear the screech of a chair being pushed back , then followed by the sound of hurried footsteps. " How could you let her run off like that and lose her! She's not feeling well and with all of that strong emotions, she could have fainted.....but she could still outrun all three of you there!"
" I'm sorry Mom, she caught Michael off guard. And I wasn't paying attention then." Philip apologized in guilt and frustration as he rushed and searched through nearby possible places Stella could have gone to ." We were chasing her when a bus blocked us. Then she was gone ."
" Goodness! Send me the location, I'll be there." Millicent Baron's anxious and slightly irritated voice was accompanied by the clicking of heels on a smooth and hard surface. Then the line went dead.
" She's coming?" Chris's voice sounded behind him.
" Yeah." Philip replied while looking behind him at Chris for a brief moment, then stoped beside a noodle fast food joint by the street. They were completely in another neighborhood then. Pulling out his cellphone, he began sending his mother their location.
" Don't you think it will get dangerous when too many people get involved in this?" Chris questioned worriedly as his eyes darted around.
" Trust me, " Philip replied as he put his phone's screen off and pushed it back into his pant's side pocket. " even if we consciously try to keep people out, it won't happen."
Chris sighed while rubbing his face firmly from the button up and whispered;
" Damn, how can we lose a sick girl like this? This is a first." He chuckled half-heartedly.
" There'll be a lot with Stella now in the picture. Get used to." Philip informed calmly, looking around constantly.
" So....what are we waiting for?" Chris asked with an audible sigh as he glanced through the fast food joint which had a couple of people sitting around engrossed in their meals. " Aunt?"
" Maybe. But if we an old couple in matching green outfits come from there..." Philip replied and pointed to in the opposite direction. " we go that way by the sweets shop. If a line up of four black Rovers with a dark-green Hammer car leading appear, we immediately go back in the direction we came from.
" How sure are you?" Chris asked with slight skepticism in his voice and eyes as he looked closely and curiously at him.
" As sure as my messy dream fr last night." Philip replied calmly as his eyes looked in all directions.
Chris broke into an amused short laugh, his eyes sparkling in the sunlight. " For real? Okay, let's see how accurate it can get."
" Mmmhhh...." Philip merely replied, not looking at him.
A long moment of silence passed between the two whilst things went on normally as usual in the poor neighborhood around them. As impatient as Chris was, he was immediately put off and was just about to voice his doubts when his searching eyes spotted a procession of a dark green Hammer car leading four shinny Black Rovers towards them - catching a lot of attention in the the poor neighborhood and leaving Chris' eyes wide and mouth agap in shock.
" What the actual heck...." The words left Chris' mouth in a whisper, unconsciously.
" Come on, let's go!" Philip's urgent voice snapped Chris out of his shock and he turned quickly to see Philip looking serous and tensed. Then he remembered Philip's words to him.
" Oh....yeah." He said quickly and began following Philip who was walking very quickly back the way they came, while typing on his phone with a deep frown on his face. Afterwards, he made a phone call - waiting barely patiently for the call to connect. All the while his steps not faltering and slowing down. When the call connected, he spoke quickly;
" Michael.....hurry. Let's meet at the woods." Then the call was over. Not looking at Chris he instructed with a calm seriousness; "Run."
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Anxious with his heart beating so fast as though it may burst up and out of his mouth any moment, Michael half walked and ran through the neighborhood, ignoring the curious stares and glances he was receiving as he rushed towards his just given destination from Philip. A while earlier, Raymond had text him Leo and Leona's location and it seemed to be around the location Philip had given him. Which just shows they were quiet close to finding Stella.
His anxiety and guilt were already eating up his insides from losing Stella while she wasn't feeling well. Now with Philip's urgent brief instructions, he felt certain of the increasing unsettling feeling he was having of Stella being in danger.
Having had enough experience with Philip in similar situations, he knew better than to take his instructions lightly even if Stella was in great health condition.
Pushing and forcing his way through people and cars, he finally sighted the woods close by and a familiar red car. He realized Richmond and Raymond had arrived with Brian Lewis