Aquarium

CHAPTER 3

AQUARIUM

Elian

"Ok Mara take good care of Martin Alright?" I say, pinching her chubby cheeks. "I'll come visit you guys every weekend with lots of treats."

She scrunches up her face, blue eyes regarding me with displeasure, "of course I will, I'm the eldest!" She puffs up her chest a little.

Martin rolls his eyes making a face in response. I glance at him with a smile he was getting better at reading lips. It helps of course that Mara talks slower.

"Why?" Martin wasn't quick enough though Mara saw him, "you don't think it's true? ask Eli! I'm fifty days older than you."

"more like five minutes." I mutter under my breath.

Mara glares at me. "What did you say!?"

"Nothing lady Mara now can we leave please? Jess and Chris are waiting."

Jess and Chris are our neighbours and their kid Josh really took a liking to Martin. Though he's not deaf, he's a very shy and quiet kid. Mara has been teaching him sign language to better communicate with Martin. I think they are all very cute.

"Oh hiiiii Elian how are you doing?" Jess says with a smile once she finds us at her door.

"Hi Jess I called Chris already?" I say taking her hand in a handshake, "I'm really sorry for the trouble."

"No, not at all Josh has been so happy since he heard."

I discreetly pass her a wad of cash, the money Mrs. Smith gave me after that whole wallet incident. They too were struggling financially it would be too far too much for them to feed two extra kids so naturally I had to compensate them. Hopefully things will never be this bad again.

Jess face lights up when she sees the bills. "Alright kids say goodbye to your brother."

I drop a kiss on their foreheads, "you guys be nice ok?"

"Ok." Mara says and Mart nods as they follow Jess in.

The Stone mansion is in Silkview which is on the other side of the city. Just transportating there is already a tenth of all the money from my last…haul. I opted to use the train because it was the cheapest option. I settle in my seat, ready for three hour ride.

Naturally I didn't tell Mara and Mart where I'm actually going they think I got a job in another city. I Its not like I can just say; hey, I'm going to go steal from super rich and famous people, fingers crossed I don't get caught and sent to jail." Mara would probably give me a beating.

As the train draws closer to Silkview I begin to feel the fear I've so desperately tried to avoid. Since I met Cecelia and Cradle last week I haven't let myself think about it much because if I did I would chicken out. I thought of running away but Cecelia had a guy parked right in front of our apartment 24/7.

Maybe if it was just me it would be possible, but with two 7 year olds? the odds are not in my favour. So here I am on my way to do something that could either make me or ruin me. I hope for the first. God, how I hope for the first.

"Attention passengers this is your conductor speaking, we have reached Silkview. Please depart…” The conductor begins when the three hours are up

I take in a deep breath, buryingmy fear in the deepest parts of my brain, and with false bravado I carry my single duffel bag and exit the train.

Silkview is simply magnificent. As I walk into the downtown area, I see a beautiful fountain with water gushing out in all directions making its way through the city using a median of streams.

Little kids playing in the stream splashing around while the senior citizens sit on pear-shaped benches watching the young children with glee. Boats make their way as they gently glide on top of the river.

Paddle boats and tour gondolas move across the water gently as their occupants heartily talk and laugh. Mara and Mart deserve to live in a place like this. Playing amongst these children. Living in the fancy houses with pretty flowers, going to school, laughing. Living.

"I'll succeed." No Matter what it takes! Mara and Martin will live in a place like this someday.

I hail a taxi to take me to the Stone mansion since they don't have any buses here.

"Eighty dollers." The taxi drivers says.

"Eighty dollars!??? It's like five miles!"

"Look pal it's eighty dollars take it or leave it."

I leave it and opt to walk instead. I might be a little late but at least I'll save eighty fucking dollars.

Suddenly my phone rings. My heart drops when I see the caller, "yes ma'am?"

"What are you doing?" Cecelia demands "board a taxi right now! If you walk there you will be far too late."

"You have people following me?!”

"Board a taxi now. You don't want to mess up on your first day!" She hangs up

I stare at the phone angrily. This was not part of deal, monitoring me like this. I feel like a fish in a goddamn aquarium.

"Well if you do it right eighty dollars won't be a problem anymore." I console myself as I board another taxi.

My mom used to say; "pictures can never show you the soul of the object taken." I thought she was just rambling but holy shit! The pictures I saw of the mansion certainly did not do it justice. From where I'm standing I can't even see the actual mansion just flowers and lots of trees.

"You are?" A buff security guard approaches me once I reach the gianormus gates.

I try to look normal and hopefully innocent as I hand him the papers Cecelia gave me, "oh you're a new employee eh?"

"Y-yes sir." Just a regular employee I'm totally not here to steal or anything like that.

"Alright, come on in." He says after confirming the name on a list in his hand. I breathe a sigh of relief offering him a friendly smile as I step through the gates.

I always felt I was tall but In this place I just feel dwarfed by EVERYTHING; Statues. Flowers, trees, water fountains, not one but three water fountains! "A little overkill but ok."

I stop at the massive double doors and knock. After nobody answers I raise my hand to knock again before I finally notice the doorbell by the side. I press it.

"Hello." An older man dressed in a suit answers after a few long minutes with a plastered smile.

Of course they have a butler.

"I'm Evan Williams," I say passing him the papers.

He scrutinizes it carefully, "oh Mr Evan Williams, lovely to meet your acquaintance, I'm Harry, do come in."

Not gonna lie I'm a bit taken aback by his politeness it's not like I'm a billionaire's son or something I'm literally here to wash toilets. Harry leads me into the house. I try to keep my expression neutral as I follow behind him.

Massive Crystal chandelier? Nothing, paintings worth ten years rent? Nothing, TV bigger than my room wall? Nothing.

Then I see it.

The fucking aquarium.

The tank stretches from floor to ceiling, wider than the living room back home or any I’d ever seen before now. Blue light ripples across the marble floor, sliding over my shoes like water. Inside, hundreds of fish move in slow circles, silver, gold, and black, drifting like cute, tiny gods that don’t even notice me. I catch my reflection in the glass, small and warped, a ghost standing outside their world. For a second it feels like the glass isn’t keeping them in but keeping me out.

What the fuck am I don’t here?

"Lovely isn't it?" Harry says suddenly his voice forcing me to the present , "late master Alexander was a fan of marine life."

Well if he was a fan he couldn't he have just eaten more fish? This is just too much! “He's has lovely taste." I reply with a fake smile.

The kitchen is at least normal, well normal for a 9,000 square feet manison. Waiting inside is a fair skinned woman in black and white staff uniform.

"This is Janet, the house keeper." Harry introduces.

"Good morning ma'am."

"This is the new guy?" She asks Harry completely disregarding my greeting.

"Yes he is," Harry turns to me, "go with her she will instruct you on what to do."

Janet leads me to a smaller house located at the back of the mansion. Well Small compared to the mansion of course in real life it's a pretty decent house.

"Take that room." She says pointing to a room in the distance, "inside there are some fresh uniforms wear them and come back to the kitchen, you have thirty minutes." During her little speech she doesn't even spare me a glance.

"This is already going so well." I say as I head to the room. The interior is…simple. A single bed, a desk and a chair. Spacious room, a comfortable bed, polished desk and chair but at least it's simple, no aquarium or anything of the sort.

I rush back to the kitchen with minutes to spare. Janet takes me to the second floor, "There are seven rooms and eight bathrooms on this floor. I want four of those bathrooms sparkling by the end of the day."

"Alright." I say, four bathroom rooms isn't too much anyway.

"When you're done report to me then I'll give you lunch." Janet says as she walks away.

I start with the guest bath room. I thought Janet was being generous when she only gave me four bathrooms but I forgot this house has a god damn aquarium, it would be impossible for their bathrooms to be anything less than an Olympic sized swimming pool. It makes me wonder how big their actual pool is.

I don't make it to lunch. By the time I'm done with the four bathrooms, it is already dusk. I am so exhausted all I want to do is sleep. I report to Janet though and she hands me a huge plate of rice and chicken which I promptly devour.

I return to my room to take a short nap. Phase one of my plan begins tonight. I bring out my alarm clock and set it for four hours. I dream of mom and dad, something I rarely do. In my dream we are in one of the houses in Silkview, mara and Martin are playing in the sitting room, every one is laughing.

Brrrrrrrrrrr! The alarm chimes.

"Of course it's a dream." I mutter as I wake. Outside my window I can see the moon is up. It's late already, past midnight. "Time to start."

I don't really like working at night but that's the only time I estimate I'm going to be free. until I get a better grasp of my work schedule this is all I can do. otherwise I'm just going to end up being here longer. And I don't think Cecelia would like that.

Though it's past midnight the entire Mansion is pretty lit up. There are security lights as far as my eyes can see. "There has be some sort of dark spot?" My intention is not steal the documents tonight. I don't even know where they are. I just want to know what I'm dealing with in other words; how big is this fucking mansion?

My heart nearly jumps out of my chest when I see a armed security guard headed my way. I quickly duck behind a flower vase to hide. I finally crawl out when the secrity guard dissappers. It seems like I have my work cut out for me.

"Unngggggg" suddenly I hear some weird sounds.

"Oh?" I look towards the right to find a guy trying to scale the wall. I say 'trying' because he's not actually doing anything who tries to scale a wall in jeans? From the look of things he's climbing from inside out. I walk towards him and he dosent seem to notice at all. That's very bad, when doing a heist villaginace is key.

He continues struggling and just as I predicted he slips. I sprint towards him, as his head is about to hit the pavement I wrap my arm around his waist pulling him upwards. He stares at me like a deer caught in headlights, his pale cheeks growing redder each second.

I can’t help but chuckle, "That's not how to scale a wall."