Chapter 40
“I cannot believe you guys could just leave....” Nick
was interrupted and his mother shoved a spoon full of a sticky liquid in his
mouth, “Yuck! What the hell was that?”
Jane looked at him and smiled brightly, “That, my
son, is what’s going to put you to sleep tonight.”
Nick’s eyes enlarged, “That was a cheap trick Mom,”
he was fuming, “I can’t believe how much you’re treating me like a child! If I
want to support my friends, who sure as hell supported me when I needed it,
then I should be able to. And I shouldn’t have to ask permission!”
“Lie down,” Jane gave him a light shove back onto his
bed. He continued to fuss as his mother
pulled his blankets around him. She put her finger on his lips to hush him, “We
just got you back Nicky, and we’re not in any rush to lose you again. Now
you’re under doctor’s orders to stay inside and keep warm... and inside is
where you’ll stay.”
“But Mom...”
“Shh... close your eyes, it’s time for bed,” Jane
smoothed his hair back, ‘We’ll talk more in the morning.”
“We will not talk, you and Dad are just going to
lecture me about how I can’t go, and then you’re going to leave me here with
the wardens.”
Jane’s eyes widened at Nick’s use of the term on his
siblings. “The wardens?”
Nick’s
eyes narrowed, “They wouldn’t even let me watch television.”
Jane giggled, “We’ll have to rent you something
then....”
“They did, off pay-per-view. Non-stop Disney movies,”
Nick was grumbling, “Wait til the guys hear about...” he paused.
“What will they do honey?” Jane asked absently, she
had been so busy straightening his once again blond hair she barely noticed his
voice had stopped. She gazed down at his face to see that his eyes had grown
dark again and he was staring into space, “Nick? Nick?” she shook him slightly. Nick blinked and his eyes snapped to her,
tears were forming in them, “Are you remembering about being there?”
Nick nodded slowly, “Mom, I wanna go with you
tomorrow, please...”
“Nicky, we’ll talk in the morning baby. Right now, it’s time for you to go to
sleep,” Jane kissed his forehead. She
heard the door close and she looked to see her youngest son entering the room
in his nightwear. Aaron smiled at her and jumped into the other bed. Jane smiled back and gave Nick’s hair
another kiss, “I’m gonna turn out the light...”
“NO!” Nick shouted almost at the same time as Aaron.
Jane stared at them both in shock, “No?”
“No,” Aaron said again, less forcefully. He glanced at Nick who still looked quite
shaken at the idea of being left in the dark, “I’m gonna leave on the lamp.”
Jane nodded and sat back down on the bed with Nick,
“Will you be ok?”
Nick inclined his head slowly, “Would you stay?”
Jane felt her smile tremble as her eyes watered, “Of
course, for however long you want me here Baby. Do you want me to switch rooms
with Aaron and have him sleep with your father while I stay in here with you?”
Nick contemplated the idea, then shook his head, “No,
no it’s ok Mom.” He took a shaky breath, “I’ll be ok.”
“Are you sure?” Jane asked him patting his knee. Nick nodded again and Jane sighed, “Ok. If
you’re sure. Good night.” She went to Aaron’s side of the room and gave him a
kiss as well. Then she switched on the lamp and turned off the main light. She
checked to see if Nick was alright with the balance of light in the room. He
seemed to be ok, the lamp shone like a new bulb had just been placed in
it. Jane slipped into she and Bob’s
adjoining room and left the door open a crack before she herself began to
prepare for bed.
“It’s here!” an excited FBI agent was telling the
parents in a cluster outside the van, “The money is on its way!”
“Yes!” John Dorough cheered, “Finally something’s
going right!”
Hoke hugged him and beamed, “How soon until it gets
here?”
“It’ll be here by daylight, you’ll see your boys in
the morning,” the agent smiled and shook their hands. He loved relaying good news to people.
“I told those Carters we didn’t need their money,”
Harold was saying while waltzing his wife, they’re son would be set free
tomorrow.
“Tomorrow...” AJ said softly, and Brian echoed him,
“So how do you guys think they’ll choose the hostage?”
“Well they don’t seem like the type that’ll have us
pull straws AJ, they’ll probably just yank the one closest to them... or the
one with the biggest mouth,” Howie’s eyes concentrated on AJ as he added the
last part in a low voice.
“Howie stop it!” Brian erupted, “I swear when we get
outta this I’m not talking to you for a week!”
“That’s fine by me, I won’t have to wrack my brain
trying to come up with a dialogue that best suits your intellectual status.”
Brian’s eyes widen at Howie’s nerve, “You know what
Howie, I wonder if they’ll let us choose the hostage. Because I can tell you
who has my vote to be taken and never returned!”
“I cast my vote in second,” AJ quickly followed
Brian’s lead. They both stood to face Howie down. Kevin gazed at the pitiful site of them all arguing like
children. Howie standing inches shorter
than Brian and AJ. Kevin cast a glance
at AJ’s face, “AJ sit down. Brian, back
off Howie...”
“But Kev...”
“Yeah listen to your cousin,” Howie was sneering with
satisfaction when Kevin cut him off too, “And Howie, you shut the hell up!
Brian’s right, one more thing out of your mouth and I’ll refuse to talk to you
for a week or two as well.”
“Screw you ALL!” Howie yelled charging to the other
side of the basement.
Brian and AJ stared after him with looks of heated
contempt in their eyes, “Just stay over there Howie.”
Kevin rolled his eyes at the lot of them, “Grow up.”
“Ok, I’m packed and my gun’s loaded,” Brody was
saying tossing his small backpack inside the closet next to Kenyon’s duffel
bag, “Did you get...?”
Kenyon silenced him with a smile and a nod. He set the briefcase down on the floor and
opened it to reveal the money, “I have never seen so much money before in my
life. And to think these people have more of it somewhere.”
“Hell, well this is more than enough for me!” Brody
said running his hands over the cash, “We divide it even, 1.5 for me, and 1.5
for you right?”
“Yeah,” Kenyon said with a sigh of contentment, “For
the first time since Brendonn took over I actually feel good about this.”
“Feel good about what?” Brendon’s voice came from the
next room.
“Shit,” Kenyon closed the case and set the money
inside the closet with their bags. They shut the door, “Happy that this
nightmare is almost over,” Kenyon called back to Brendon. Brody looked at him
with a devilish glint in his eyes.
“I put in a call to the FBI,” Brendon said walking
casually into the room, “They say they’ll have all the cash in the morning.”
“Great, then we can get out of here... What about the
helicopter?”
“They’ll all be here,” Brendon said. He smiled as he
gazed at his companions, “Gentlemen we are going to be rich, and more famous
than those pricks downstairs!”
“I hope you’re right Bren,” Kenyon said trying to
force on a smile.
“Yeah,”
Brody nodded, “I really wanna be famous.”