Chapter 8

"What do you suggest then? Hightail?" Nick asked as he emerged from the backdoor where he had lit a cigarette.
"And let our stack keep wasting? For every week we let that stuff sir, we risk losing it to other thieves, risk it being discovered too and let's not talk about the value going down in the black market. It's been years already, we clean it now or I don't know when else we'll get this chance again" Pete replied angrily.
"Then we must continue the job then. Baby sitters for life" Nick said with a sarcastic smile and sat on the floor, cross legged in his usual fashion.
"The old man won't let me call the shots, he's a persistent prick, he's using us big time, not even a step to cleaning our stack, I bet you he could do that with just a signature and a call but no, he's making sure he has what he wants first. He's wasting my darn time" Pete stated still fuming.
"Have you spoken with him to speed things up?"
"Like hell I have, he won't budge, just gave me a few hundred dollars for diapers and baby fucking milk! Like that's what I need! I don't need his filthy hundred dollar bills, I have a fortune wasting away!" He snapped angrily and began pacing again.
"The stack won't run away Pete, let's finish the job" Valeria shrugged.
"That stack! that stack is sixteen years of my life! It's my sweat and my blood! My gut tells me we need to to clean it out fast or change the safe, somewhere in Africa maybe" he said, pausing to reason his own thoughts.
"No, hell no" Valeria replied.
"Fuck no" Nick concluded.
"We were nearly busted the last time we changed locations of that and don't forget Shark's dead, we've got no body we can trust with that stuff no more. If it gets into the greedy hands, it's all gone. Poof" Valeria stated.
"See why we need to clean it out? Huh? It's now or never guys" Pete said and continued his pacing.
"We've been surviving without the stack for years now, I don't see why not a few more. We can make a new stack if we want, we did it once, we can again" Nick said with a soft smile.
Pete chuckled, a sadistic smile.
"They're faster trackers now, newer tech and fingerprints and facelocks, it's harder to steal even a cell phone now, dumbass" he spat and sat on the couch beside Valeria, glaring at Moses again.
Valeria took the child away from him and sat beside Nick on the floor.
"The job will be finished. Be alert, half of U.S force is sniffing our asses and it's just a matter of time before someone says something. I don't know about you guys but I'm not going to jail without getting my stack clean first" Pete said and rose.
"We've done better jobs Pete, why are you letting this baby job get to you" Nick asked.
"I don't know about you pretty boy, but I've got over $10,000,000,000 worth of valuables locked away in an under water vault in the middle of nowhere, I can't touch it without going to jail and no one will buy it for fear of going to jail too, that's something to be worked up about" he replied and stomped to his bedroom.
Valeria sighed and rose with the baby.
"I'll take a walk" she said and exited, more shaken than she wanted to be.
Capitol Hill, Washington DC. 11:45am.
The whole estate had fallen into a certain full rhythm, some Senators and Congressmen were slowly relocating with flimsy excuses of their homes being completed and their wives needing a change of environment. The truth was that they were spooked. It was a dumbfounding issue that one should have the guts to sneak into Washington DC, Capitol Hill and cater away a baby and leave scot-free. And still, no word was heard concerning the matter til date, no leads or suspects. It seemed like the baby had all but vanished.
The morning sun was far harsher than the past day and on each estate gate and entrance, double or triple the number of usual men could be seen, strolling and talking animatedly over the phone. Despite the week and days that had passed, many other Senators that had choose to stay didn't want to take chanves with their own family. A truck of the state department had arrived filled with uniformed officer since the morning of the event and patrol had been more intense in the area. The only thing that it accomplished though was fishing out petty criminals and high school kids with eager hands and pocket full of cocaine.
While the government tried all forms of doctored and sugared press releases, the fact remained that Brownson Gray Jnr was nowhere to be found.
The master suite of the building was Senator Brownson's personal home. On his giant bed sat his wife, in her habitual red night dress since the baby had gone missing. Her face was a flaky white, wrinkles adorned his whole face in an ugly fashion, her lips a pale brown and her eyes unfocused.
Beside her sat Senator Brownson, dressed in a freshly pressed black shirt and stripped trousers, a red tie around his collar, a frown on his thin face.
"Darling you must not be like this, the whole of U.S is on this matter" he assured her.
"Is that the lie you tell yourself whilst my son is buried is shallow grave somewhere! I can't even see his corpse!" She thundered and rose, tossing away her shawl and parading the house in her usual routine, shrieking and stomping and crying without tears.
It was a practice Brownson had become accustomed to, she could yell and shout and stomp but in all the twelve years they've been married, Martha had never shed a single tear in his presence nor had he heard that she'd done so, ever.
"Let's not be negative now darling, we must remain hopeful, we'll get information soon" he assured softly.
"From the weaklings in uniform outside? Where were they when my son was taken? Huh? Weak imbeciles, just like you!" She snapped
"I have used all my resources to find him Martha, I am trying" he said.
"Try harder! I want my son! I want him home, I want him right here! Find him Brown! Find him!" She thundered and resumed and stomping.
For a woman in her late 50s, Martha was a fit, strong and as aggressive as a teenage girl. Once a first lady and married to the Ex President, Martha had used her influence to campaign for Brownson and gain him the seat in the Congress once they married. Now was Senator, Martha was making plans and plots to make him Minister, and then perhaps president. She'd done it once and was sure she could do it again. Although she didn't possess much in the beauty department, her looks had little to do with her success in politics, no, she was mindlessly ambitious, loyal when need be and fiercely calculative.
After wining several offices herself and now chosing to retire, she'd been elated to discover she was pregnant at her age and had decided to keep the baby. The abduction was a blow to her and she couldn't wait to destroy whoever had a hand it it.
Brownson was wrapped around her willowy fingers at it were, he firstly was successful owing to her connections and although she was fourteen years older than himself, Brownson had an insatiable sexual desire for Martha, that alone gave her a very powerful and strong hold over him. For the past nights, Brownson had no peace because Martha had none and as he dressed that morning, he had made plans with his personal adviser to meet at a conference building later in the day and come along with at least three woman. All three wouldn't match Martha's strength he was sure but half a loaf was way better than none.
"Why are you dressed?" She snapped at him.
"There's a conference later darling, all Senators must attend" he lied briskly.
She glared at him pointedly.
"I could probably send in a representative, with the current situation I'm sure they'll understa__"
"You will attend" she decided with a lift of her chin "You will attend and you will tell them that your son had been stolen, let them act! Let the bloated fools act! My son can't be mixed in your political nonsense Brown! He's only one year old!" She bellowed angrily, clutching at his ironed shirt and crumpling it in a fist.
"Do you hear me Brown! Find him!" She snapped.
" Of course darling" he said and slowly released her grasp on his shirt.
Just then, the door creaked open slowly and a servant entered, bowed lowly and led the cook in with a buffet.
"Good day my lady, Sir. Breakfast of Irish potatoes, shrimp, lobster laced with ___"
"And where is my son?! Where is he?! " She yelled at the chef who looked about like a lost sheep, his eyes pleading with Brownson to help him.
"I see you cooked, cooked and probably ate, but my boy is starving in the hands of some murderers!" She yelled and lunged at him, the man moved away, hiding behind the Senator.
"Calm down darling, you need your strength, I'm sure they were only trying to help" he reasoned
"To hell with their help! To hell with them! To hell with you all!" She bellowed and tossed the tray, the dishes breaking on the tiled floor, glasses smashing to a hundred pieces and red wine soaking the center rug.