Early the next morning they were back on the road again heading to a farm owned by Cliff and Sue, where their goods were being stored till they picked them up at a later date. Several people along the route were paid to store their drugs on their farms just like the farm coming up was one of them. Pulling into the yard around noon they parked in front of house while his men parked in front of the barn. As his men loaded up their drug supply Carlos took the boy up to the house because he was tired of dragging him around and hearing his men complain about him. Pounded on the door he waited till someone came to answer it.

            Opening the door Cliff saw it was the drug lord and said, “Come in Mr. Sago.”

            Shoving the boy to the floor Carlos said “I have a problem that I needed to get rid of. It also involves extra cash for you.”

            “If we can help you in any way.” said Cliff looking at the boy.

            “I want this piece of shit to stay here and work him.” said Carlos.

            “Yes, sir I can do that for there is a lot of chores to do here.” said Cliff with that Carlos left the house giving the boy a kick on the way out. At the same time, he threw a wad of cash on the table.

            The child's clothes hung on his thin frame like a scarecrow plus the bruises on his face and arms were turning a greenish yellow. Sue felt sorry for the child and wanted to hug him but didn't try for Cliff would surely beat her for doing it. Seeing that the barn was clean and swept leaving no trace of evidence behind Carlos announced that the boy will be staying here. A few of his men sighed with relief as they climbed into their vehicles to go to Port Innes.  At Port Innes a ship would be waiting for them to take their drugs over seas to other countries.

            When Carlos left him at the farm that day Val had just turned three. For a year he worked on that farm from cleaning the stall to working in the garden. His chores started at sunrise and stopped late at night. Many a night he was so tired that he went to bed without eating anything. When Cliff was not around Sue was a different person for, she would give him food and hug him whenever she could. It got to a point where he looked forward to those hugs. It gave him the comfort of a mother even if for a second.

            Life went on with each day being about the same routine.

            The last thing to do each day was to bring the wood in for the fireplace but Val was so tired and exhausted one day that he couldn't pick up a piece. Instead, the wood fell out of his arms to land on Cliff's foot causing him to shout and yell at him. His hand came down rather quick to slap his face a couple times till he stepped back to avoid any more hits. Hearing all the yelling and cursing Sue looked out the window in time to see him hit the child. Running towards him she stood in front of him to block his blows so the child could be spared. Pushing her to one side he picked up a stick intend on hitting the boy when she pulled his arm down. Instead, he used that stick on her for interfering then turned to the boy who was curled up into a ball. As he was getting ready to strike the boy a group of special ops officers were driving by.

            Andrew(one of the officers) was scanning the countryside looking for Sago's hiding place and glanced out of the window in time to see a child being kicked. Turning into the lane he floored that jeep, so it was bouncing over the ruts. The other men were taken off guard by his sudden movement till they looked out to see a child lying on the ground. Coming to a jarring halt all four men piled out heading towards the man. Seeing the child curled up in a ball with a bloody back, bruises all over and the woman bleeding from cuts to her face and arms had those men furious. Andrew grabbed the man by the collar and threw him to one side. Mark was so mad that he decked the man as he started to get up before kneeling beside the boy. Will helped the woman up and took her to the house as Heath followed behind. Heath took one look around then grabbed the blanket off the sofa and went back outside.

            Tossing the blanket to Mark he grabbed the man by the shirt to pull him up and threw several punches to his chest and ribs. It was Andrew and Heath who pulled him off the man for they wanted to ask him some questions, but also to prevent Mark from killing him. Touching the boy's shoulder the child had cried out in terror till Mark started talking to him softly. Gradually the boy settled enough so he could wrap the blanket around him then took him to the jeep.

            In the house Will got some warm water and a cloth to wipe the blood off as much as he could. He could hear Andrew and Heath shouting questions at Cliff which he refused to answer. Heath was advancing toward the man ready to give a few more punches when Andrew told him to walk off. Sitting in the jeep Mark took a cap off a bottle of water and handed it to the boy who drank half of it before he could take it back. Ripping open a nutrient bar which the boy wolfed down then finished off the water. Which wasn't a good idea cause in a few minutes the boy had vomited everything up.

            There was a lot of blood on the boy's shirt, so he was checking him over and took one look before calling Andrew and Heath to come over. The Sarge pulled the shirt up to show his back which had Heath turning around storming back to the man. Andrew had just managed to pull him back for he was out to kill that man. The look on his face said there was no mercy.

            “What the hell are you doing to your child.” demanded Andrew slapping his face.

            “Not my child.” Cliff smiled an evil smile as blood dripping from his busted nose and cracked lip.

            “Whose child is it then?” asked Heath curling and uncurling his fist.

            “Don't know nor care for he is just cheap labor.” said Cliff holding his ribs.

            Inside the house Sue had finally broken down in tears and told Will everything that has happened over the last year. From Sago using their farm to store his drugs and to the boy who they dropped off. While Sue went to the bedroom to pack what clothes she had and came back to the kitchen to see it was empty. Seeing the suitcase under the sofa which was full of money in other words dirt money she took it. Will came storming out of the house and gave the man a few more punches till Heath pulled him back.

            “Will, back off.” ordered Sarge.

            “Sarge, for a year this piece of shit has treated the boy like a dog. He slept on the floor and ate off the floor. Cliff was always hitting or whipping him for no reason.” shouted Will. “Also, Carlos Sago stores his drugs in their barn and dropped the boy off who was abducted from his family.”

            “God damit!!!” roared Heath moving forward but Mark stopped him.

            “That barn was used for his drugs and left here ten days ago heading to Port Innes.” said Will pointing to the barn.

            “Heath, Mark, go check the barn for any evidence.” ordered Andrew.

            Running over to the barn the two men checked every corner and space for any thing useful. It turned out that the inside was wiped clean not a trace of anything.  As the men came out of the barn Sue was coming out of the house with her two suitcases. Will took the suitcases from her then walked her to where the truck was park. Cliff was trying to get up shouting at her to stop but Andrew wouldn't let him get up. Putting the suitcase in the cab as she got into the truck then drove down the lane not looking back once.

            “Sarge, I'm not leaving that child with him. Fucking hell no!”  shouted Heath.

            “Sarge, he'll kill the boy one of these days.” said Will.

            “Sarge, it would be best if we take the boy with us,” said Mark. “He won't live long here.”

            “I have made my decision.” said Andrew. “The boy comes with us till we find some nice folks to raise him.”

            “Agreed.” said Mark, Heath and Will in unison.

            The men started to walk toward the jeep, but Mark stayed back for awhile looking at the man.

            Pulling his gun out he said, “You'll never touch another woman or child like that ever again.” pulling the trigger to place a bullet between his eyes. Holstering his gun, he walked over to the jeep where the three of them were waiting.

            Opening the door, they saw that the boy was awake, and Mark said “You are coming with us, son. Going to find you a nice home and family. Let’s take that shirt off and put this one.”

            Andrew, Heath and Will saw the extent of his beating he had received causing the men to vent their angry. It was too much for Heath to take so he went back to Cliff's body and put several more bullets into him. Few minutes later Will went over to his body and did the same thing. Andrew was walking toward the house to lock it up when he put a few more into the body also. Finding a piece of paper on the table he wrote out a report for the local police authorities and nailed it to the door. On the way back to the jeep he put some more bullets into him.

            Several miles down the road Health phoned the local authorities as they were going to Port Innes.

The boy's name was Val that was all he said, sitting on Mark's lap wrapped in a blanket. For the first time in a long time Val felt safe. On route they passed several farms but not one of them was good for the boy because they were looking for that certain family.  Will noticed a farm way off in the distant so they continued heading towards it. Parking in front of their house a man and woman in their early fifties came out to see who drove in. Sarge looked the farm over and nodded to his men that this was the right place.

            “Afternoon, my name is Andrew. This is Will, Heath and that is Mark who is holding the child.” said Andrew.

            “I'm Ivan Desmond and my wife Julia. How can we help?” asked Ivan.

            “There is fresh coffee and pie.” suggest Julia. “I can make the boy a sandwich for he looks very hungry.”

            That sounds really nice mama, the child is hungry.” said Andrew following them in.

            When the coffee, juice and sandwiches were put on the table Mark whispered to the child to eat slowly. As he ate Andrew explained the reason why they were here and how they found the child. Ivan was getting very mad till Mark showed him the child's back. Julia let a gasp of shock out, but Ivan had to step outside to get his anger under control. When he came back in, he already knew the answer to a question yet to be asked - they were going to raise this child.

            “Can I hold the boy?” asked Julia.

            “His name is Val and about four years old.” said Mark handing her the child.

            Pulling the boy close to her chest she held him and cuddled him with tears in her eyes. Very quietly you could hear him crying so she wrapped the blanket around him and went to the rocker. Rocking the chair back and forth the boy had cried himself to sleep. As he slept Julia quietly placed him on the sofa.

            “I have some question that need to be asked.” said Ivan. “That man won't be coming back for him? No one will come for him right?”

            “Nope. Not in this lifetime.” said Andrew.

            “Deader than a door nail.” said Heath with Will agreeing with him.

            “Fixed him really good.” said Mark smiling.

            “Well then, we'll raise this child as ours. My wife had three miscarriages, and the doctor said no more.” explained Ivan.

            After another round of coffee, the unit had to get going on their mission and thanked the couple for the meal. On the way out of the house Mark told Ivan that the man was riddled with bullets. The smile that touched his face said everything. Taking his wallet out he handed some money to Julia so she could get the boy some things. She was going to refuse it but changed her mind when she saw him look at the boy.

            Waving goodbye, the unit left the farm in very good spirits for the boy would be well looked after. Pulling his wife into his arms he told her we are now a family and kissed her cheek.