Paying The Price

Leon and Gabriel walked up to Wayne and whispered in order for Pearl not to hear their conversation "What is she doing here? Please tell me she's not coming along." Gabriel asked helplessly. They couldn't go on a dangerous mission with a four year old.

Wayne didn't reply he looked exhausted, it could be that Pearl must have tortured him with unanswerable questions on their way here.

Recalling something, Leon asked "Wait a minute, where did you tell Diana you're taking her?" There was no way Diana would allow Pearl to be here if she knew what the trip was all about.

"Vacation." Wayne gave an answer to that.

"What?! Vacation? What vacation?" Gabriel and Leon almost lost their minds. What the hell was wrong with Wayne.

"If anyone of you can convince her that my embarking on this journey doesn't mean am abandoning her, then I'll send her back." They both scorned at Wayne's offer, for it seemed too easy. Was that the reason he brought her along.

Gabriel and Leon felt really confident as they moved to Pearl's direction "Hey there Pearl, I see you've packed your things and ready to come with." Gabriel referred to the pink box the chauffeur held on his left hand and another black bag hung on his right, possibly owned by Wayne.

He continued "But, I don't think you can come along."

"Don't worry Wayne would come back for you. He promise." Leon added quickly.

Pearl tilted her head and asked with her tiny sweet voice "Did he tell you that four years ago?"

Sh*t, she was good.

Wayne did say he would look for them after five years, but who knew they would be back a year early.

That's not even an excuse.

"Well... er...., this one is differen." Leon couldn't give a proper explanation.

As he tried to cook up some, Pearl asked again "Are you guys doing something bad that you don't want me to know? If you are, I'll tell my mom, but I won't say anything if you let me come."

After contemplating for some seconds "Well welcome aboard little miss. You're gonna enjoy the time of your life." They ushered her into the plane.

If Diana found out that Wayne almost took Pearl to somewhere dangerous, it could further slacken their relationship, and they didn't want to be caught up in that. They just prayed Wayne had a plan.

"What are you gonna to do about her?" They turned to Wayne and asked.

"Aren't you the ones who invited her in?" Wayne shoot back.

Leon and Gabriel were startled, now it's their fault.

"Don't worry, she wouldn't come out from the safe house till we're done." He reassured them.

The 'safe house' was a building owned by the government, it's exterior looked like a warehouse but it's interior was decorated exquisitely for a King with Italian furnitures that could leave one breathless. It had high security system that was impossible to penetrate. Pearl staying there for the whole trip made Leon and Gabriel relax.