Plan B

As Matt turned the car, the past and the present were integrated in his mind once again. Flashes of the time when he had been waiting eagerly for Jianan came to his mind, followed by the time when he had received the horrific phone call. And even then he had prayed and prayed that he was not too late. He had refused to believe that fate would be so unkind and cruel to him.. And now, the same thing had happened. Once again fate was playing a cruel joke. Cursing and praying under his breath, Matt raced through the night, weaving through the oncoming traffic with ease.

Aunty An stared out of the window as the people gathered there. They were not looking in the direction of the house but seemed to be waiting for someone. Slowly, she whispered," Miss Qian Qian? Are they planning to attack us or have they gathered here to go somewhere else. See? I have told you so many times that this place is not safe. It is too isolated for a woman and child. Or at least you need to buy some firearms or even keep a guard dog. Now you see why I always told you this! No place is free of crime! Not even here. Anyway, this does not look like an attempted robbery. Maybe they think that no one lives here and ae planning to beat someone up."

As Aunty An made wild guesses, one of the men separated from the group and started to walk towards the house. A harsh intake of breath marked the end of Aunt An's slim hope that they were not the target of the goons. She tightened her hold on the knife and nodded to herself before reminding in a loud whisper, "Qian Qian! Hold the bat tightly and hit him on the head as soon as the door opens!"

Qian Qian and Aunty An were hiding in the kitchen while they had placed various obstacles around the house from unturned chairs and Lego blocks to little pointy pins as the goons had assembled around the house. As long as the goons tried to enter forcefully, they were not going to have an easy time. The sound of the door bell ringing echoed in the otherwise silent house which made Aunt An mutter under her breath, "Ha! What polite goons! They want us to open the door for them! When hell freezes over!"

But Aunt An had just finished her remark when the sound of the door being violent kicked echoed in the silence making both the women wince. Even Ella, who was in hiding, shook in terror when she heard the sound. Another swift kick sounded, this time almost shaking the entire home.

When the door still did not budge, Aunty An noticed the other goons rush forward, ready for a consolidated attack! And then the two women knew that they would soon gain entry! Qian Qian noted the time and realized that it was already fifteen minutes since they had informed the police. They should have been here by now! At this point, she knew that it had to be the mayor who had planned this! As the sound of the door giving out started, Qian Qian thought of her Plan B that she had prepared in case Shawn ever found them. Maybe they needed to use that now. She had painfully prepared the place and did not want to let Ella know about it also in case the little girl ever told anyone else. But it seemed she would have to do it now.. Sighing she walked slowly to Aunt An and said," Aunty An, at this moment, all these goons are focused on getting inside the house. I had hoped to hold them off until the police came but the police has not yet come and I doubt it will reach here on time. Listen to me, you are innocent in this. We won't be able to hold them off if the police is on their side. Come up with me. In Ella's room, there is a hidden door inside the closet. She is hiding inside the closet. Come with me and hide there with Ella. There are a few biscuits and supplies in there that will last about two days. It is big enough for only two people. I can't leave Ella alone there. She may suffer claustrophobia. But once you are there then I hope she will feel reassured. I will then jump out of the window and towards the other end of the lake and try to get help. Once the coast is clear, you also come out and go home. I am their target so you need not worry and I will take Ella and go away for a few days."

However as the two people discussed this, they heard the sound of the door breaking letting them know that their chances of being safe were now too slim. Thankfully the lay out of the home was such that they still had a chance.. As they left the kitchen, they missed the screech of tires and headlights that stopped just outside the home and a figure rushed off from the car, ready to protect them!