“Quick, hide Con!” the man exclaimed, “They found us!” He’d known this day was a long time coming, but that didn’t make it any easier.
“No,” the woman asserted, “I can’t sacrifice my baby.” She did her best to put on a determined face, in the hopes that her husband would back down, but behind that face, her eyes trembled.
“Listen, Sharon, it’s either one or both. It hurts like hell, I know, but at least maybe one of our kids can grow up with his family.”
“No!” she shouted, her voice cracking, “I’ll save both of them!”
“You can’t,” the man said, clenching his fists so hard his knuckles turned white, “Lash’s men will hunt you down. If we give them one child, they might leave peacefully.”
“No! They’ll kill him!” Her tears made her face glisten in the dim light.
“Sharon, we’ve been over this, they’re not going to kill him. They’re sending him to Earth.”
“Please! No! There has to be another way!” Her eyes were red and puffy. Her quivering hands reached out toward their son but stopped just short of him. She couldn’t bear to touch him one last time.
“I’m sorry,” the man said, “There isn’t, and I’m not losing my whole family today.” Sharon didn’t see the bar coming in time; she dropped to the ground.Â
The man stood over her with tears in his eyes, “I’m sorry, Sharon. I’m so sorry. I can’t let them take you.” He picked her up and laid her down in an empty closet, setting their smaller child on top of her. The baby’s face was rife with worry, as though he knew what was going to happen: that his twin brother was going to be kidnapped and sent off to a far-away colony planet.
“Now you be good in there,” the father whispered to his child, smiling through his grief, “I’ll be back for you and Mommy as soon as they’re gone,” just then he heard a pounding on his front door, “I have to go now.” He smiled again. When he opened the door, he was anything but smiling. He had picked up the larger child and was rocking him in his arms.
He glared at the agent behind the threshold, “I hope you all rot in hell,” he said.
“Save it, Law. We only want the children,” the agent said.
Law laughed spitefully, “We don’t have children. Just this one.”
“Birth records say your wife had twins.”
Law’s tone turned somber, “Constantine got pneumonia at six weeks; he didn’t last.”
“I apologize,” the agent said unapologetically, “We didn’t get that on record…” he paused, “I’ll be taking the child now.”
Law handed him the bundle of blankets, glaring the whole time, “Tell President Lash he can-”
“Where’s the other child?” the agent interjected.
“I told you,” Law said, “We lost him.”
The agent held a finger up to his ear, listening to a voice in his earpiece, “You are lying,” he said suddenly, thrusting his leg into Law’s chest and barreling into the house. He kicked down doors and smashed tables, looking for the baby. Law lay stunned on the ground, silently praying that the agent would miss the closet.Â
The agent almost began to worry he would fail until he saw the closet door. He immediately realized he had found what he was looking for. He pulled the closet door open to find the infant asleep on Sharon Law’s unconscious body. He picked the child up and exited the house, leaving the door open.Â
When he reached his car, he told the driver, “Put the smaller one in storage. This one’s going to Earth,” he paused, “Oh, and do me a favor and detonate the Law residence.” He didn’t even glance back to see the home engulfed in flames.