By Kirsten Page
Jimmy desperately wanted to take action against the men. His anger was rising as he saw his friend lying helpless on the ground. There was no chance for them to make a break. Sure the four of them outnumbered the men, but those same men were also holding the one thing that made them powerful..........a gun.
Lou took a few steps closer to Kid. He slowly started moving and groaning, immediately moving his hand up to his now very sore head. She bent down to help him to his feet.
"All of you, get on the floor in the corner and stay put." Matt ordered. He motioned for Bobby to head towards the door. "We're stepping out for a moment, but don't think of trying anything because we're right outside the door." He waited until he saw that they were doing as he said, then Matt and his 'companion' proceeded out. They heard the door close and the lock clank from the outside.
Stacy quickly went to Lou's side, and then with Jimmy's help they were able to slowly lift Kid and seat him on the floor as they had been instructed. Huddled closely together, more for emotional support rather than comfort, Stacy and Jimmy placed a reassuring hand on Lou who was gently cradling the head of their beloved friend.
Wishing the pain away, Kid struggled to opened his eyes. "I was so worried." He spoke in a tranquil tone.
Lou and Stacy both smiled warmly. "You should know we'd be able to take care of the situation." Stacy said, trying to lighten the mood.
Kid smirked. "Why didn't you tell me that before I got womped on the head?"
Stacy took his hand and held it gently. "What? And deny you the pleasure of attempting to save your 'lady love'? Seriously Kid. I'm not that cruel." They laughed softly amongst themselves. Louise glanced at Stacy and they both took a deep breath. Somehow, although the situation looked grim, it was beginning to feel as if there was hope.
Jimmy lightly slapped Kid's shoulder as he sat up slowly. "Don't let that all go to your head. These women only say something nice when they want something from you." The men chuckled.
"Tell me about it." Kid added.
Lou and Stacy, having been completely oblivious to their conversation, had started one of their own. "That's all I can figure." Stacy replied. "Joe was not involved with much in the money department. About all he told me was that he worked with documents that go directly to our newly-elected President Lincoln. He didn't make it sound all that important."
The boy's ears perked up. "Did you just say what I thought you said?" Jimmy asked. Working under anyone like the politicians could be highly dangerous, and highly important. Especially with the talk of the war that was coming.
She nodded. "Yes. I just assumed he did small errands or whatever."
"Then I strongly doubt that it has anything to do with money." Lou straightened her back and leaned against the wall behind them.
"So all of this is over some piece of paper?" Kid looked around at his comrades.
"As far as we know." Jimmy said.
Kid mumbled. "That figures." Not that long ago, a young woman a few years older than Stacy, had pulled him into the mess of a stolen gold shipping schedule. She had given him a book of 'poems' and failed to mention the significance of it. It almost got Lou killed too. He remembered with disgust.
The night passed slowly. A few of them were able to drift in and out of sleep, and were consistently awakened every fifteen minutes when one of the men outside would open the door. The wooden floor beneath them failed to bring any comfort whatsoever. Lou and Stacy were able to get more sleep than the men, as the boys had gracefully donated a shoulder to each of them.
For what seemed like the hundredth time that day Bobby opened the door. This visit was more unique when he brought in two dresses and tossed them on the bed. Kid gently shifted Lou's head off of his arm, while Jimmy did the same with Stacy. "Looks like you're up." He added.
Rubbing her brow and trying to wake up from her harsh night of sleep, Stacy looked at Bobby. "Now what?"
He walked towards her. "You get us what we've been waiting for." He pointed to the dresses he had just brought in. "Ladies, I do believe it's time to become 'yourselves' again. We're going to need you to act real sweet like, cuz Matt's got a job for you." They both looked down at their clothes and Stacy, more than Lou, had forgotten about her less attractive attire. She was in fact, wearing pants and wouldn't pass as much of a lady at all.
"This is it." Matt said as he stopped the train of people that had been following him from the hotel. In front of them was certainly one of the most elaborate buildings in the town. In fact, it didn't even look as though it belonged there. Two large pillars rose to the top, and a long staircase extended down toward the street. At the very top of the building there was a clock with long black iron hands.
"So, now would you mind telling me what this is all about?" Stacy asked.
He pulled them into an alleyway on the side of the building. "Well, Miss Stacy, since you claim that you do not in fact have the documents that we know your brother was in charge of, that means that they are somewhere inside that building. You are going to break into his office and retrieve them."
Stacy's look of surprise was not hidden in any manner. "You can't be serious."
"Oh, I'm afraid I'm quite serious."
She was determined to argue the point further. "Yeah, but I don't know anything about that! I don't know where his office is, and I'm not even sure what it is that you want."
Matt took his large hands and placed them on her shoulders. "Then I'm going to spell it out for you. You are not looking for treasury documents as I stated before. No, I'm afraid it's a bit more serious than that."
"If that isn't what you were looking for, then why did you ask?" Lou said with her arms crossed as she assumed her defensive position.
"To test you. If you were going to lie to me, you would have said that you did have them.......and Bobby and I know that there are no treasury documents." Matt replied calmly. "Now, inside your brother's office, there will be a red folder. I assure you, there is only one folder of its kind in the entire United States. You can't miss it." He paused. "Your friend, Louise here is going to provide a distraction so that you can get past the security at the front. I don't care how she does it."
Matt motioned for them to be on their way, but quickly stopped them by grabbing Stacy's arm. "Oh and I failed to mention, there are a few lives at stake if you try anything." He illustrated his point by pushing the end of his gun into Jimmy's side. She took the point well, and gave an agreeing nod.
Before the two women entered the front of the building, they turned to face each other. "Bet you never thought you'd be stealing papers from the government, did you?" Stacy asked her friend.
"No more than you did." She replied her voice shaking with nervousness.
Stacy paused before opening the door. "Well, here we go. I just wish we knew what we were going for."
On to Chapter Thirteen