Patterns of Betrayal

(10) Sabotage

~~

I roll onto my stomach at the sound of Celeste's feet hitting the floor by the foot of the bunk bed. I grumble into my pillow when an all-too-familiar pain starts building in the back of my head. It has been three days since my last visit to the basement.

From the corner of my dozing eye, I drowsily notice my teddy bear on the floor next to the bed, lying face down on the opposite side from where Celeste jumped down. In one quick motion, I reach down and hide the stuffed bear under my pillow before Celeste can notice it. I relax back into the pillow and keep a wary eye on Celeste as she heads toward the wardrobe. Her tired and glum expression lets me know she didn't take notice of my sudden movement.

Thankfully.

Absently, my fingers move under my pillow and brush over the synthetic fur. The action brings me a warming comfort. Though the material rough and stiff, the bear I had found that first night thirteen years ago reminds me of a certain calm, much like the easy and comfortable quiet that fills the house after a hearty meal and successful day in the city.

My eyes close as my fingers cradle the foot of the bear under my pillow. The position reminds me of how I always cradled my old teddy bear all those years before I met Adara, back when the bear always stayed in one hand and my father's hand in the other. The bear had seemed big at the time, reaching up to my knees back then, though I doubt it had been any bigger than this one. Its fur had been much softer and smoother than that of the one I now held under my pillow. Still, at eighteen, I have yet to find actions that put me in a more relaxed state than running my fingers through this mattered stuffed animal.

Except maybe for Mother's drug, I think bitterly as the pounding in the back of my head grows more prominent and restless. An impatient buzzing sensation makes its way through my body, making me shudder. My fingers stiffen around the teddy bear. Tonight's trip to the basement can't arrive fast enough.

I'm met with an air of tension when I enter the kitchen for breakfast that morning. Talk of a possible spy and sabotage group stealing details from Mother's program has been the topic of gossip between the siblings in the house for the past couple of weeks. The first story of this so-called spy had been spread by Alijah, the notorious busybody of the house. She had overheard Mother talking about some gangsters that kept coming in the way of her and her partners' clients. Allegedly, an unfamiliar gang kept showing up to Mother's clients just before Mother's partners were able to settle their debt. After the gang's visit, the clients disappeared; their identification and past just...gone.

Admittedly, I've been quite curious about this spy, and how it will affect Mother and the rest of us. Over the past week, I've been sneaking out to the roof of the garage whenever Mother went to talk to one of her business partners, trying to get as much information as possible. But even with their conversation being clear and unhindered by any wind or hushed voices, I didn't quite understand the depth of it.

From what I gathered, the spy, consisting either of one person or a group, seems interested in ruining the whole program of which Mother's and her partners build on. He has been stealing clients, scattering confidential information from Mother's business out and about like some sort of treasure hunt for competing organizations interested in ridding themselves of Mother and her partners. It would seem that the spy only acts as a middle man, giving out Mother's information and whereabouts either to private organizations to be exploited or to the police. But this wasn't certain.

As I continue to sneak in and out of conversations, I gather some bullet points from what I can understand about this group of gangsters. Whatever part they play, the group is carrying too much information for their own good and influential cooperations seem to be working in their favor. And most importantly; Mother seems to know one of the group members.