Red Nelly And Her Band Of Thieves

Freedom

Freedom

A knock at the door dragged Nelly from her perch on the bed. James uttering Cains name had her mind in a whirl all through the night. When it came to the man who locked her in the ladies room on a train, some things were making sense, now. Nelly had given away the hope of good nights sleep when the first ray of light hit the window.

"Come in." She said, after opening the door, not knowing why she was being polite to him. James had effectively gained her attention the night before, even though he was aiming for her trust. She hadn't run, so he must have achieved a semblance of her trust. Even leaving the satchel in the room, which in return, showed a level of trust on his behalf. She could have taken back her little share of wealth and snuck out. But she didn't.

James had cleaned up a little. The rough man she was confronted with in the dark was no where to be seen. She even noted the crisp white shirt under his vest. Nelly looked down to her worn blue skirt as she closed the door. Changing was the best she could do for herself, and she was glad she did that. Her blue skirt and blouse reminded Nelly she definitely belonged to a different class of people than, Mr James; and, if Cain was his friend, she wondered what Cain even saw in her. Looking back, she had nothing to offer him.

"You didn't leave." He said, going to stand in front of the window. She looked to him while he was looking down the street, claiming her seat back on the bed. Nelly couldn't bring herself to be more jovial, and didn't know how to lift herself out of the low she was feeling.

"What is your plan for me, today?" She asked, ignoring what he said. James picked up on her mood right away, regarding her for a moment before he spoke.

"You're going to come with me to the lockup to get your brother out of jail."

"And then?"

"And then, you ride away and do what I asked." She nodded her head a little, frowning to herself.

"Find out about your friend, Cain." She said, recapitulating his request. James, still observing her, nodded. "Once I find out, how am I supposed to break free from my brother?" Having nothing else to hold onto at that point, her focus had to be on getting away from everyone, like it always had been. That was what got her out of the bed, that is what had to keep driving her.

"He will be in jail, so you will be free, Nelly." She was perturbed, he didn't see this how she saw it.

"Free hm?" She said, not wanting him to answer at all. James frowned at her as though she didn't understand him, but she completely understood. She was both a prisoner to her brother, and to James, the word freedom held a greater meaning to her then he knew. "Free to leave this place." She said looking at him. He still continued to regard her in a way she didn't quite understand.

"Just let me take you in to the jail as though I found you here, and have been questioning you. They don't know that you, we, have the satchel with the money in it. So you are safe in that regard.

"Well that is something isn't it?" He took a deep breath, clearly tiring of her attitude and continued.

"You can walk out of the jail with your brother, it will make it look like you got them out. Hopefully your brother won't be upset with you for things going wrong." She half huffed and sneered at this at the same time.

"Of course he will be upset!" She said turning her head. Silence fell between them, both in deep thought. Nelly was the one who broke the silence. Uncomfortable with the awkwardness between them. "I don't understand how I am supposed to find out what you want to know. I don't think you quite understand the relationship I have with, Gabe. We don't sit around and discuss our day, or talk about anything that we are interested in. We don't have that sort of life! I didn't even know about the bank! I mean, he used to fill me in on things a little more, but lately, I don't even get that." She said. He needed to know this wasn't going to be as easy as he thinks it would be'. "It isn't like I can simply walk up to him and strike a conversation, casually or otherwise. He is a very guarded man, even with me." Nelly didn't want to mention the fact that her brother truly disliked her for whatever his reasons, even though he needed her.