The Royal Contract

Ethan went back to his office where they were conducting their operation. He was thankful that the commissioner of the police force was keeping the situation under wrap.

Only involving his most trusted investigators to handle the case. Otherwise, this entire search would be all over the news. He did not want that to happen.

"Any news on the secret buyer?" He quickly called Marcus, checking on his progress.

He was informed that the board meeting was now over. He wanted an update on the situation. But more than that, he was curious about the man, making a play at taking over his company. 

He rubbed his jaw, feeling the long stubbles of his beard as he tried to relax his body from the tension of the entire situation. He had barely calmed down his wife. 

He was glad when she finally dozed off to sleep. He would just have to worry about her when she woke up. He had to convince her then to eat.

"It seems that it was not Nick as we suspected. Otherwise, he was putting up an elaborate show." Marcus answered Ethan with his assumption.

Marcus said on the line, still wondering who else could be setting up the show. He had called some of his contacts with their competitors, fishing for some answers. But so far, he had come up empty.

"What do you mean? This entire chaos had Nick's fingerprints all over it." Ethan yelled on the phone, unable to control his temper. He could not believe the news that he had just heard.

It would be far easier if he could pin down one piece of evidence against Nick, but it seemed that he was always one step ahead of him this time. 

"Apparently, his company is under attack too." Marcus proclaimed on the line, slightly moving the phone away from his ears.

He was expecting another outburst from his boss. Technically not his boss, but he still would like to consider him as such out of his respect.

He could not also blame him for taking his anger on him. He would also feel the same way if his family was in danger. He did feel that way because Alex had always been a brother to him, and Dani was now his sister.

Someone had to keep their cool in a situation like this, and he elected himself as the one, not counting on Ethan for now. Alex had entrusted everything to him before he left. He planned to deliver on that promise.

"Shit!" Ethan rarely swore, but when he did. He only did it in extreme circumstances. "I don't know what Nick's game is, but I swear he had his hands deep in this whole shinanigan."

He still could not shake off that feeling that the man was behind the abduction. Maybe not the part about the business, but he could feel it in his guts that Nick was the mastermind behind the couple's disappearance.

He could still remember his face when he saw Nick at the party. He remembered the swine smiled at the couple as he congratulated them before leaving the party. 

He knew then that he was cooking up something. He should have listened to his instincts then. Instead, he had let his guard down, thinking that they had won the game.

"Let me know if you have any other news." He quickly ended the call and walked out of the room. 

He decided to check on Tim and his operation to get Ben back. It had been a couple of hours since he left him. They should have Ben in their custody by now.

"What is going on here?" Ethan asked the man guarding the door. He could hear the loud commotion along the hallway on his way over to the room.

The scene when he reached the room left him speechless. It was chaos as Tim yelled over the receiver as if he was in a war. He could hear shouting on the other line and what would appear to be gunshots.

Tim held his hand to him to stop him from talking. He was probably distracting him from his mission, so he opted to stay on the sidelines and observe.

"Secure the package and get out of there. The airplane is ready to go as soon as you are all on board." Tim said in his commanding voice. 

He would not let any of his men down. He wished he was with them on the mission. Unfortunately, he had to admit that he would only be a liability to them in his condition.

However, he was proud of his team for doing everything they could to get Ben back. But he heard some of them had been injured, but all were accounted for.

"ETA, ten minutes, give or take." The man in charge of the mission informed him before cutting the line.

Tim finally put the receiver down on the table and sighed deeply. The team was not clear yet. Not until they were on board and on air. But their enemies were still in pursuit, so there was that.

He finally sat down on his chair, feeling the tension still hanging on his shoulders. Then, he remembered that Ethan was waiting for him, nodding in his direction, acknowledging his presence.

"What was that all about?" Ethan wanted confirmation of what he heard. 

He heard one side of the conversation and was unsure of what to make of the scene he had just witnessed. He did not want to assume anything at this point. Only facts mattered.

"Whoever took Alex and Dani almost got Ben." Tim finally explained the situation to Ethan.

When his team reached the facility where Ben was treated, they were almost too late. If not for the commotion made by a young boy, they would have missed him when his unconscious body was wheeled out of the hospital.

One of his men only noticed that Ben was the patient under the white cloth when a young boy questioned a man wheeling him into an ambulance. "Where are you taking, Ben?"

They became suspicious and investigated, then the gunshots were fired. They had to retaliate to protect themselves and Ben. They finally had secured Ben, but the unexpected shots hit two of his men. 

"Are they critical?" He would have to arrange for his best doctors to attend to their wounds.

He could not let any of these men die after sacrificing their lives to find his children. He had to do everything he could to reward their bravery and loyalty.

"We will know as soon as they are on board. I already have doctors waiting for them to administer first aid once they are on air." Tim had always been thorough in his missions. 

Having Alex as their financer had allowed him to be prepared. He did not have to worry about finding funds for their necessities. The military doctors were also on call every time they were needed.

"Let me know if you need anything else." Ethan offered, glad that they had Ben with them.

"I will. I appreciate that." Tim told the old man. He could understand the respect that Alex had given to this man. 

He believed Alex was no different from him. They could pass up as actual father and son.. It was as if they were cut from the same cloth.