Chapter 221

"Edward! Edward listen to me. I found out what's going on. It has something to do w..." Pearl began and Edward cut her off immediately.

"We found him. He's in Berlin. We got a tip from a witness there. Highly covert. We have men going in now. Sebastian volunteered to lead them."

Edward said.

"And Charles? Did you find him?" She asked.

"I have no care for Charles. All I am concerned about is my son." Edward said.

"Yes but, but Charles is..." Pearl said.

"Jim, take Pearl somewhere quiet. Things are tense right now." Edward said.

"Jim! Jim I found something out!" Pearl said as Sebastian walked her to the door.

"Pearl. Operatives have positively identified him walking into a warehouse there, blindfolded with two men. It was him. They identified the clothes he was wearing when he left and and his watch on his wrist. It's him. No question. We found him and now we are bringing him home." Jim said. Pearl let out a sigh of relief. She nodded and followed Jim into the sitting room with Auggie and Frances. She sat in the chair and watched Auggie pace the floor. It felt like years went by. Jim called them into the main room where the computers and phones were set up.

"They have arrived in Berlin." Jim said. They watched in real time as several men surrounded an abandoned building. She could hear them speaking on a radio.

"We have the subject in our line of sight. He is tied to a pole and is wearing a blue suit with a gray and white tie. We are approaching subject. Over." A man reported. She heard Sebastian say he was going to surround the building from the back and lead men there while the first team went inside to retrieve Erik.

"Your highness. We are here to get you and bring you home." She heard a man say. She saw movement from Erik on the soldiers body cam. He looked awful.

Just then, another soldier's voice came over the radios.

"We have located an explosive device in the left quadrant of the building. Evacuate now."

Pearl's breath caught in her throat. She heard Sebastian come over the radio.

"Get him out NOW! I'm going in!" The men scrambled. And the next thing they saw and heard was a loud explosion. She couldn't hear anything but static. The military leader at the palace got on the phone and made calls.

"Where is he?! Where is Erik! Get him. Get him!" Pearl cried out. "He's ok. He's ok. They got him." She kept repeating. Finally after they regained communication again with the team, Sebastian got on. "We've lost them all. No men inside survived. They are gone. He is gone." He said.

Pearl fell the the floor. She felt her heart stop. It stopped beating. She was sure she would die right there. "No! No no no no no no" she sobbed. Jim put his arms around her, falling to the floor, rocking her.

"I tried to save him. I tried to help. I tried to save him. I couldn't save him. I couldn't." She sobbed, clinging to Jim. "Bring him back. I need him back. He needs to be back. He said he would be back." She sobbed.

"Shhhh. I know. I know." Jim said, holding her.

*************************

Several hours later, Sebastian and the team returned. Edward was consoling his wife and son. He had requested a meeting with everyone the next morning, after they had some time to process it all.

Sebastian found Pearl in the sitting room. He was still in his swat gear, covered in soot and dirt.

"Pearl. I'm so sorry. I tried. I tried so hard to get him back to you." He said.

"No. He's not dead. He's not. I can feel what he feels. I know his heart. He's still alive. I can't feel him dead yet. I would know. And I know he's not dead. Because I would be dead, too. But I'm not. I'm here. He is me. I am him, because he's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same... ", she said. Sebastian knew it. It was Wuthering Heights. Brontë. And it didn't mean anything good. She was volatile right now. He suddenly became afraid for her well being. Her stability.

He pulled Jim aside, asking him to keep a close eye on her when he couldn't. "I planned on it." Jim said.

"We have to get her out of here. Away from this place. After everyone decides what needs to be done tomorrow, we need to get her out of here and around her own family." He said.

"She doesn't have family. But she has friends. And they will be there for her once they find out." Jim said.

"And so will I." Sebastian said.