Chapter 25

Martha still stood before the mirror, dabbing at her stained jacket. If had been a birthday presence from her husband for their fifth anniversary. She had accepted it despite her hatred for yellow and had only just worn it today since it was bought. She had wanted a brighter color, hoping perhaps that it would lighten her mood or not show the large crowd how dark her heart felt at the moment. Brown has been pleased with the choice, maybe because he bought it or because it made her look beautiful like he had said. Now, she was hating the suit all over again and wishing she had gone for the black and grey skirt she wanted to that morning.
Frustrated and impatient, she tossed the towel to the sink and decided she would survive with the little stain on the left and the wet patch. It was only a trip to the front door and the car after all, then the car to the private jet and then home.
Martha righted her collar and turned on the water to wash her hands, she scrubbed off the reddish color and the bleach and rinsed it before taking the towel Valeria had left her and wiped at her hands. The bundle unwrapped and she opened it curiously to see a white envelop inside. "I HAVE YOUR SON" was written in blood black letters.
Her heart leapt out of her chest as she read out the words. She moved to the door and flung it open. The hallway was filled with maids running up and down for the coming event and in all the mess, she couldn't make out the woman she'd helped her with her stain and no doubt handed her the envelope just minutes ago.
Heart still thumping in her chest, she opened the envelope and unable to contain her shock at what she saw, she shrieked into the busy hallway. The echoe could be heard to the lobby and many guards began to run towards her.
The news the following morning was what made editor and newspaper houses as well as radio stations and television channels to wag their tails in excitement. Infact, the whole of journalism practitioners had a field day like never before and like none they have had in a very long while.
Many headlines popped up, most humourous, some a little too insane and preposterous and few just plain stupid. The incident had been given many titles and many news houses, radio stations and news paper houses had came up with a number of speculations and reasons as well as claims and counted claims of what the incident was actually and how best to interpret the whole happening. Some of the titles the news men and women as well as audience hungry editors and editorial boards decided to give it were;
The Bathroom Assassin
Cleaner/kidnapper saga
Jilted lover?
Lost but found
Ghost Nanny
I Have Your Son.
Among others that Valeria did not bother herself to read at all. The Capitol Hill estate was no doubt filled with men and women in low heels and clicking camera shutters, flashes and small notebooks and recorders. It would be a frenzy and journalism students would no doubt be sent on assignments and impromptu classwork to gather whatever news they could on the latest and hottest topic in US media for the week or maybe just maybe it would be news worthy for the months that followed.
The press had actually released more than 69 different stories and perceptions about the cleaner/kidnapper lady that had supposedly checked into the Congress Assembly that fateful day as a certain Mrs May Ronalds who was infact deceased for the past two weeks and could not have possibly made it to the event, not unless you were a person that believed in voodooism, reincarnation, necromancy and any such spiritual and supernatural philosophies.
The story stirred so much mystery and unrest that after a brief speech by the Governor of California about how justice would be brought to the perpetrators of such henious crime at all cost, a small protest had been made on the streets of California, men and women with placards and whatever large piece of paper they could find were storming the streets, with their tight jeans and t-shirt, protesting the the best way the average American knew best, they sang and shouted and screamed their grievances.
"Bring Back The Baby"
However, for the past four days, nothing significant seemed to happen concerning the whole kidnap and missing baby saga and so citizens went to newer trends on the media, the case once again left to security officials that kept parading the estate like the queen of England herself was there. This security and military frenzy ensued even stronger than before and restrictions were kept, curfew as well as screening of household staff.
If the whole protest fiasco had though the gang a valuable lesson it was that the general public were infact as lost as a sheep sometimes in the middle of a vast and uncivilized village. It was hard to remain in line and even harder to pursue a course to the very end, no matter how noble. Somehow, they got lost, lost interest in what they once seemed so adamant about bd subsequently stopped protesting altogether, some even sat in their homes at the dead of night in front of their small screen TV's and questioned why they had joined in such an hilarious movement in the first place.
The statement of the FBI regional chief had been that the government and good people of the country would not be cowed or used by "three immoral criminals with no dignity for life or sympathy for a one-year-old baby. Well, that had been an attempt to spark pity in the minds of the masses and it had worked for a while, only for a little while until they remembered their five o'clock to nine o'clock jobs and went back to doing just that.
The gang continued living in the duplex, undisturbed by nosey neighbors or any such trouble. Except for the cleaner and maintenance man that had come in respectively sometime within the next three days to fix the air-conditioning unit once, thy kept to themselves, stocked up on grocery and more or less holed in the apartment as Pete had instructed, it was safer that way. It was infact the only option they had especially now that the protest was on high key and every citizen was listening to the news no doubt and alert about the issue at hand.
For Pete, it was now a game of wills, he did think four days was a lot for a supposed grieving mother to make a decision, a valuable decision to take back her child and make sure he was safely home with her. The press had portrayed the picture of a woman who was beyond distraught, a shell of her former self and sagged with loss and worry, she looked about ready to drop any moment and from the look on her face, she seemed just a tiny inch away from trading her soul to the devil just to get her child back safely. Now, 96hrs plus and no call had reached them through the private untraceable line they purchased neither did any mail drop at the hospital email they'd hacked solely for the job, all channels remained blank and it as obvious that the senator and his wife had made no attempt so far to contact them despite their warning and the fact that they provided a working contact channel.
No doubt, Pete was certain that the delay was only a product of advises and assurance and sidewalks by the numerous security agencies and departments eager to solve the case and appear as heros in their offices, possible to gain promotions while at it and also to obtain favours from the Senator. Either way, he was desperate, yes he wanted his money and he wanted it quickly, he also wanted to the negotiations to move as swiftly and it could so their stacks could be cleaned and their lives would move from the current stagnant state that they were in. Yes, he was a little nervous, a little tense and anxious about the whole thing but not desperate and anxious enough to cave into the risk and temptation of reaching out to them again with a more concrete threat this time, he had a lot in mind as to what would make them act faster, one of them was physically hurting the boy to see how they felt towards that and another was even more despicable and insane, it was something he knew his team would not like but would get him results he wanted.
He didn't want to be seen as a spineless petty thief or a hungry kidnapper, no he was neither. He was a tough man, had been tough from the very start, toughness flowed in his veins and his DNA and he was eager to prove it to them. It was just the risk of getting them the videos that was his problem, if only they had reached them, he would have a return line and then proceed to send as much threats and videos as he wanted and he knew himself, he knew his capabilities and his limits which infact was non-existent, and knowing how much he could come up with to horrify them, he was certain they'd begin to pay the ransom in minutes if not seconds. Not unless they wanted the baby six feet deep. Pete hissed at the delay in his plan, he never really liked babies anyways, he thought, too much trouble for such tiny piece of thing.
Valeria's images from the CCTV footages of that day had surfaces online. Many called her the "Ghost Nanny". Frankly, looking at her self, she did look a little on the ghoul side and her padded skirt did not help her look any less scary. The good thing was that in all the shots from the event, none looked remotely like Valeria, not from the messy brown hair to the painted slight wrinkles on her forehead or the single silicone coat on her lips that made her original lips triple in size and width.
To say she was impressed with herself was an understatement. She was pleased she hadn't lost her touch at disguise at all and even more pleased that she had gotten away with it. She was excited and a little proud of herself, she hadn't truly lost touch over the years, she remained still the best even she could attend to that, she could blow her own trumpet without shame or being called a braggart. It was true and if it was true, she didn't consider it as being spoilt or immodest, no, she was glad and quite proud of herself that despite the years that had passed and the bitter experiences she passed through in those years, her skills remained with her.
And yes, she chose to call them skills, the art of cunning and defrauding was as much a valuable skill as any other in the employment market. It was just the morality that no doubt stopped many from venturing in. She considered it a necessary skill in the world at the time and one that business people should try their damnest to practice, master and be an expert at. To her, cunning was a skill and it was nothing to be ashamed of, it was something everyone at some point in their lives should learn.
Aside from using it to get things from others - which was actually done a lot - it was a sure way of getting something from someone who would normally be unwilling to give it to you and it could be done without force or any weapon whatsoever. They would give it to you willingly and maybe just maybe they would regret it later but then it would be too late and they could not pin a thing legally on you, after all, you didn't point a gun or show them a knife. Most times, they found out a minute or two too late that they had been defrauded and dubbed and they tried to get equal and get even, mostly by means of thugs and thieves and assasins. Valeria knew it and she was always ready to protect herself, she didn't like guns as much as she liked knives but she could wield a knife as expertly and use it as effectively as any man or woman could use the gun.
Protection was a necessity and she knew this for sure. Protection was as important as getting the job done in the very first place. The job always left bitter people and rivals and uneven scores.
If there was one thing was she glad of, if was that he pulled off the whole nanny sage undetected.
Moses had been his usual happy self, sleeping and feeding and babbling at her with a grin when he wasn't playing with his toys and bead. He was a child one couldn't help but love. Even Nick had offered once or twice to put him to sleep whilst she was busy, that was not something he had done in the past for any reason.
As much as she was eager to get the job done and kiss the gang goodbye, she also was even more eager to see Moses safely within the arms of his mother. As much as it confused her, she had mixed feelings about returning the baby, feelings that were beyond her control stirred within her each night she out the boy to sleep and each morning she woke to him either crying or trying to lick her nose. If was scary the emotions he evoked in her. He reminded her of her Lily every single day and that was something in her life she didn't like being reminded of for any reason whatsoever.
Pete hadn't said much to her since she returned from Manhattan, no doubt he was wishing she'd done more, what exactly was what she couldn't tell. She had done everything including sticking out her neck for the gang, it wasn't good enough for Pete, it never has been. The only time she had ever recalled the odd man smile was when their loot involved an antique car or a jet of some sort. Every other smile or smirk was either sarcastic, bitter, mocking or simply part of the scheme in their con artist profession.
Valeria sat on the rug, her legs crossed, shoulders high, back arched, arms outsretched to the elbow and palms together. She trying to remain calm and she quite remembered how yoga had been her solace during her early years until the gun fires and blood she saw had began to haunt her. Was she a killer? We'll she'd killed one or two rats that scurried in her cheap apartments . Some raccoons too if need be. And some men, when she did have to defend herself, they usually died of the injuries and their own carelessness rather than whatever minor injuries she managed to inflict.
In her opinion, self defense wasn't murder and if someone was willing to kill you then protecting yourself by all means possible wasn't murder at all, infact, she could think of cases where the court would think so too. She was no stranger to knives and guns and rifles, most times this was to scare and frighten than with the intent to kill. She knew she was a mile away from a saint but at least, she thought satan still had a few things to teach her before she got to hell.
The door slammed shut and Valeria flinched, eyes open and suddenly alert. In came Nick, with a bag of chips and an apologetic look in his eyes.
"Sorry" he mouthed and sat on the sofa, looked at the TV screen and sighed.
"You do know we're ought to be married right?" Valeria asked with a small smile.
Nick shrugged. "Jealous?" He replied with his own question.
"Wondering why the receptionist is still letting you fuck her" Valeria replied and with that closed her lids and resumed her yoga pose with a deep inhale.
"She likes me"
"I'm your pregnant wife" she stated. "Remember we're to be in character all the time?" She asked.
"Relax, a cheating husband is rarely worth any attention. It's what everyone does, especially when the wife is heavily pregnant" Nick replied with a smile, still feeling lax from the rounds of sex the receptionist and himself had indulged in just by the visitors bathroom close to the reception desk.
"Be careful" Valeria advised softly.
"Well, I wouldn't have my eyes outside if you were performing your wifely duties" Nick teased, eliciting a loud chuckle from Valeria who's eyes were now opens and she had abandoned the yoga, too distracted to relax.
"Nice try" she replied.
"Pete?" He asked.
"Still glued to the computer, hoping the call comes in any minute" she replied with an eye roll.
Nick snorted and munched his chips.
"Patience" he said and leaned on the sofa. "Pete still hasn't learnt patient"
"He's almost saying it's my fault you know" Valeria stated with a sigh.
"But he won't. Everyone knows you did what you could, it was wrong Intel he fed you and you still delivered, I mean the message is all over the fucking nation, it's not anyone's fault the parents are sick bastards that don't give two shits about their infant son" Nick replied, his own flight frustration showing.
"The woman I saw isn't heartless, you could see the grief a mile away, could smile it from her. I don't know why it's taking forever for her to reach us" she said, her forehead wrinkled in worry.
"Still guessing the husband is holding back?" Nick queried.
"That's the only reason that makes sense you know. Someone's advising him to make us panic and make another foul move that will sell us out for real this time" she stated.
"And we won't. Even I know Pete could be a lot of things but stupid, no, he isn't that stupid yet" Nick replied.
"He made me do it then, what makes you think is there are no positive results in a few weeks that he won't stage out another elaborately fancy plan that could get my faces plastered all over the papers yet again? That's me twice Nick, me!" Valeria said, sagging slightly on the couch.
"It's for all of us Valeria and even if Pete doesn't know how to show it, we're both grateful. And your faces aren't quite your faces, it all looks nothing like you, none of the photos, not the ones in California and not the ones from the assembly. You're safe" he assured her softly and she nodded, suppressing her own fears and worry. "I'm sure Nick's cooking something up" he added.
"Still seating by the phone I guess" she said with an eye roll and stretched.
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