try begging
"My suspicions were correct."
They had searched the farmhouse, but all they found were the bodies of the rebels Grace had killed. Her and the child's belongings from the basement were gone. Even after a thorough search of the farm and its surroundings, they found no trace of the child being harmed or any remains, so they felt relieved and moved on to their next operation.
"[To quell the shock caused by the Prescott Circus arson and shooting incident carried out by Nancy Wilkins' gang on Christmas Eve...]"
Grace stood by the window of the annex office, listening to the breaking news on the radio, and gnawed at her fingernails.
"[To serve as a warning to the remaining remnants of the Blanchard rebel group...]"
Just as she had worn down her thumbnail, she started biting her index finger. The door burst open and the man who had gone to headquarters two hours ago entered.
"The news is out."
The man nodded curtly, as if it were obvious, and headed for the desk. As the ones who had orchestrated the news broadcast, there was no need for long explanations. All morning, while waiting for the report on the farm search, the two of them pondered together. If a news article about Leon Winston's death didn't come out within a day or two, Ellie's safety would be in jeopardy.
They considered faking his death and publishing an article, but quickly dismissed the idea. Leon Winston was a military commander, a count, a member of the nobility, and the head of numerous companies. The repercussions of faking the death of such a well-known figure would be widespread and long-lasting. And most importantly, there was no guarantee that those people would return Ellie even if he was dead. So, they decided to strike first. Or rather, it was more like an irresistible bait.
"[...have decided to carry out the execution.]"
The two of them gambled with someone else's life to save a child's life. It was a dangerous gamble. But it was an unavoidable one. Her fingernail was crushed by her teeth again. Even though she knew it was the best option, Grace couldn't shake off her anxiety.
* * *
"Click. Buzz."
Robert sighed as he turned the radio dial. The signal was weak in the remote cabin. He needed to know if Grace had taken care of that devil. Nancy, who had gone down the mountain, might be able to confirm it.
"With that body of hers, she's quite adventurous."
Perhaps youth was the elixir. Realizing that he wouldn't get anywhere by clinging to a radio that was only spitting out static, he gave up and headed upstairs. As soon as he opened the attic door, the child, who had been lying on the bed, sat up.
Even though the child was in a place where the sunlight streaming through the small window couldn't reach, Robert could guess. The eyes looking at him through the gap in the crumpled paper bag were filled with disappointment.
"Have you eaten lunch?"
The child repeated the same question like a parrot as he approached.
"Where did Mommy go?"
Ellie, hugging her muffin, recalled what she had heard yesterday. There had been a loud thumping sound overhead, followed by the angry shouts of her mother and someone else. She thought she heard her mother crying too. And that was the last of it.
Her mother, who had said she would be right back, hadn't returned, and the man who brought bread and the mean woman friend had come and taken Ellie away in a truck.
"What happened to Mommy?"
Noticing that something unusual had happened to her mother, the child's question changed. Robert sighed heavily and pulled up a chair to sit across from the child. As he looked at the child, who was huddled up and watching him with wary eyes, he sighed again.
At such a young age, the child seemed to have a strong will. Despite the fact that it was stuffy, she wouldn't take off the paper bag that her mother had told her to wear, and even though he had bought her toys and food, she didn't even look at them.
"Ellie, I'm not a bad person. So there's no need to be so scared."
When Robert spoke, the child's gaze softened slightly.
"Your mother just had some work to do, so she asked me to look after you. She said she'd come get you as soon as she was done eating and sleeping well."
It tasted bad to lie to a child. Robert cursed Nancy again in his mind and tried to smile outwardly.
"And to think you're not even crying. Ellie is really brave."
Although he praised her, the child pouted her lips and muttered as she hugged her mother's handbag in the corner of the bed.
"When Mommy comes, I'm going to cry. I'm really angry at Mommy. I won't kiss her."
What a punishment, to withhold a kiss when she was angry. Robert felt bitter again, thinking that even a devil's child was just a child.
"It's not your fault."
The child had gathered her mother's belongings on the bed like a squirrel gathering acorns in its nest. When Robert looked closely, he saw that she was wearing a different outfit than she had been in the morning, and that she was wearing her mother's sweater over her own clothes.
Robert noticed that the child had put her shoes on the wrong feet and helped her put them on correctly.
"Look closely. This buckle should go on the outside."
After Nancy and Grace, Robert felt like he had become a nanny to someone else's daughter. "Why didn't you eat this?"
On the table beside the bed was the lunch he had given her an hour ago. The milk carton was empty, but the sandwich was untouched except for one bite.
"It doesn't taste good."
"It's cold. The cheese isn't melted. The bread is soggy." The child glared at the sandwich and complained.
* * *
"The bomb has been dropped."
Now all that was left was to wait for the enemy's counterattack. Grace stared at the clock on her desk. Only two hours had passed since the radio news report, but it felt like two days. Just as she turned her gaze back to the phone, her fingernail snapped off. The man sitting across from her desk caught her hand.
"Trying to pull out your own fingernails now?"
He chided her, then placed her hand on the desk and put an open inkwell on top of it. Grace chuckled and removed the inkwell.
"I can't believe I'm laughing in a situation like this."
The desk, covered in numerous documents and maps, seemed cramped, so she kicked the empty plate at the corner to the floor. The sandwich that had been on the plate was now in her stomach. The man had returned from headquarters and nagged her about why she hadn't touched her lunch, and he had threatened her until she gave up. Come to think of it, she hadn't seen him eat anything.
Grace stared at the man, who was engrossed in his work, and asked, "Did you eat lunch?"
"Yeah."
He replied carelessly without looking at her. Then he put the hastily written memo in an outbox and picked up the phone. He seemed busy requesting support from various places to track down the remnants. I wish I had something to focus on too...
"Is there anything I can review?" She asked, expecting to be scolded again, but he searched through the pile of documents beside him and handed her a file.
"Check if the information written there is accurate and if there's anything to add."
The file contained information to be distributed to police and media across the country. The key information had already been verbally conveyed to the police, but detailed information was being prepared in writing to be sent out later today. She was waiting for Nancy's response, but she didn't expect her location to be identified even if she did get in touch.
This was just a strategy to buy time by creating a reason to keep her alive. Within a limited time, the two of them had to find Ellie's location. Grace reviewed the truck information, added a few more features, and turned to the next page. As she read the identity information of Nancy and Uncle Bobby to be published in the newspaper, she suddenly realized.
"I see her face every Sunday, but he looks healthier than I do." Uncle Bobby shouldn't be publicly wanted. "So, we'll actively cooperate..."
"Leon."
Grace couldn't wait for the call to end and excitedly called out to the man. He glanced at her curiously, then immediately hung up the phone.
"I know how to track Ellie's location."
When she told him that Robert Fisher's wife was in the hospital and that he visited her every Sunday, the man's usually dark expression brightened.
"You don't know which hospital?"
"He said it was the hospital Jimmy sent her to. He must know where it is."
The man rested his chin on his hand and stared at Grace with eyes that were noticeably more somber than before. Then, he suddenly spoke.
"Your fiancé is at Winsford Asylum."
"Ex-fiancé."
When she unconsciously corrected him, the man bit his lower lip. He was trying hard not to smile.
"If you find it hard to just wait around..."
He tapped his pen on a notepad, pondering for a moment before making a suggestion to Grace.
"Why don't you try persuading him?"
As soon as she nodded, the man bit his lip again. Why was he smiling when she was about to meet the man he was so jealous of?
* * *
"It's pretty!"
A child playing in the snow in front of the lodge picked something up and exclaimed.
"I have this one too."
The child ran to Robert, who was sitting on the front steps, and handed him a pine cone. In his hands were already four stones and pine cones that the child had given him, saying they were pretty.
"Shall I give one to Uncle Bobby? Except for this one."
The child's sociable nature must have been inherited from her mother.She was as uninhibited as Grace was when she was young.
"Why not this one?"
"Because this one is the prettiest."
She was collecting all these trivial trinkets to give to her mother. Come to think of it, his daughter often did the same thing. The little girl, who had distinguished between what he could and couldn't have, went back to the yard. While playing happily, she would often look out at the road beyond the fence, checking if her mother was coming.
Robert was also curious about Grace. What happened to her? She's not the type to be caught by the military. She's a girl who could easily escape even after firing a gun at point-blank range. She must have succeeded. With a machine gun in her hand and having easier access to that guy than anyone else, it wouldn't be difficult if she set her mind to it. If she set her mind to it... Robert thought back to Grace when he told her to kill that devil. She had cried. As if she had been told to kill her own daughter.
"Grace, you too... Nancy too... you're both so hopeless."
Even with the cold air, his chest felt stuffy. Wait, the air was too cold. He realized too late that he had done a foolish thing by bringing a child who still had a cold outside. He stood up and shouted.
"Hey, come inside."
"No."
"Your throat is sore again."
Just as he was about to coax the child inside with the promise of another muffin, he heard the sound of wheels on the forest path outside the fence, and soon a truck appeared.
"Come inside quickly."
As soon as his eyes met Nancy's, who was driving the truck, he turned his head and pushed the child's back. He was still angry at Nancy. He understood the urge to vent her anger somewhere, but there were lines that even a human being shouldn't cross.
Not only did she torture her childhood friend the way that devil did, but she also encouraged her rape. Nancy said she didn't do it, but one look at Walter's dead body was enough to know.
There's no way that timid guy would have done something like that without Nancy's permission. Still, I pulled up his pants to preserve whatever dignity that disgusting man had left.
"Damn it."
He spat and went inside. He was untying the scarf around the child's neck and undoing the buttons on her coat when he heard a shrill voice.
"Mister! Look at this!"
Nancy burst in, holding a newspaper. In her trembling hands, at the end of the crumpled paper, was the word 'Extra'. A shocking headline was clearly printed: [Execution of David Wilkins, a high-ranking member of the Blanchard rebels, confirmed.]
"It should say that Leon Winston is dead. Why is Dave's execution date..."
Staring at the headline with disbelief, Robert suddenly snapped back to reality. Nancy was glaring at the devil's child with furious eyes. The child, unaware of anything, looked up at Nancy with a mix of caution and curiosity. Thinking that Nancy might take her anger out on the child, Robert pushed the child up the stairs.
"Annie, go to your room."
"It's Ellie."
Robert crumpled the newspaper and urged the child on, glancing at Nancy who was heading for the living room.
"Okay, okay. Go up and stay quiet, and I'll bring you a muffin."
Only then did the child move. Alone, he picked up the fallen newspaper and read it. Below the headline was a large photo of Dave, taken about three years ago. He looked so thin and sickly, almost unrecognizable from the last time Robert had seen him. The long article could be summarized in one sentence: Dave was to be executed in two weeks' time, using Nancy's actions as a pretext.
"Grace, that damned bitch has sided with that guy!" Nancy shouted angrily as she entered the living room.
"Didn't I tell you? Grace is a spy for that devil to her very core."
Robert still didn't believe that Grace had sided with the royalists. But to think that she would choose that devil over the child she cherished so much... He was too shocked to speak.
"How could she do this, knowing I have her daughter? Does she think she can just have another child? Don't worry, Grace. I'll give you back your daughter. Oh, it'll be hard to recognize her."
When Nancy made this even more shocking statement, Robert finally snapped out of his shock.
"Nancy, think rationally."
He unfolded the crumpled newspaper and held it out for her to see.
"This is a message from that devil to you."
The fact that they had never issued an extra edition for the execution of a revolutionary leader before was proof of that.