Daddy's Little Girl

The Shanghai

Narrator: Jimmy O'Bannon (One of Chloe's abductors)

  "Damn! We're outta gas", yelled Bling as he hit the steering wheel in anger. "You know this is a very big loot and we cannot afford to draw too much attention, let alone get caught", my other colleague whispered from the backseat as he put a sucker into the baby's mouth. Bling - late 30's, short with a bald head - was our kingpin while the other colleague was Olsen- 26, slender with long blond hair - he was the youngest of us three. "Shut up asshole!", I yelled, showing off my authority, "We have been bikers years before you stopped using diapers kid! You don't tell us what to do".

   We pulled over at a Gas Station and I opened my door, knowing exactly what to do without being told. "Good day sir", said the sales boy - a lean teenage boy with very long arms - as he stretched his arm to shake me. His fingers were so malnourished they seemed like all they could do was press buttons. "Twenty-six dollar gas, fool", I said, lighting a cigarette and rejecting the handshake. Minutes later,  we were done at the Gas Station so we hit the road again. We were headed for our hideout; somewhere in a suburban in Texas, far away from Houston we nicknamed "The warehouse"

   Olsen, who was carrying the sleeping baby, for no serious reason; stretched out from the backseat to turn on the stereo system on the dashboard. "What the heck is wrong you, asshole!", Bling yelled, while giving him a thump on the face with his right elbow. "This dude has no idea how delicate this job is, what an amateur!", I added and sighed. The baby had woken up as a result of the noise and had already started crying. "look what you caused, fool!" The kingpin yelled, while slowing down to pull over.

   One of the reasons why he pulled over was so I would exchange positions with silly Olsen. The other was because we were there blocks away from the known next police checkpoint. I quickly opened the door, went to the backseat and carefully carried the baby while Olsen sat in front. The baby had stopped crying. Well what can I say? I'm pretty good at cuddling babies. It made a facial impression as if to say "I think I've been abducted by three strange guys", funny enough. "Now you're seated next to me, any more drama from you, I'm pistol-whiping you" Bling said, pointing a revolver at Olsen's belly. "I'm so sorry boss", Olsen said, looking scared. "Pathetic", the kingpin added as he drove off.

   We were two blocks away from the checkpoint, but to our greatest surprise, it seemed like they had moved the checkpoint further towards us. How funny. We had to think fast. "Damn!", Bling yelled, trying not to look scared. "What do we do now boss?", Olsen added, looking rather scared. "Shut up and let me think!", the kingpin yelled again. I tried not to panic but the baby had started crying again, this time even louder. I cuddled it but to no avail. Funny enough, but it seemed it was trying to raise an alarm.

   Thinking fast, I pulled out the door-like middle part of the backseat that kinda served as a second door to the trunk of the car. The car was a Volkswagen, good for us. I carefully placed the baby beside a jack in the car trunk; which was the only thing in the dark trunk. We approached the checkpoint and Bling slowed down.

   "Pull over, gentlemen", said the one of the officers on patrol as he signaled us to stop. There was three of them, all armed. "Step out of the vehicle, all of you, please", the office ordered in the most polite manner and we did as ordered. "Officer, what is the meaning of this? We ain't done nothing", I said, acting like a 90's black American being harassed by the police. "Y'all look raggedy, let me see your trunk", the officer added as Olsen walked to open the trunk. "So we get harassed by the police just because of our looks? Welcome to America!", the kingpin yelled, acting angered. "Shut up and open the darn trunk!" the office yelled. The trunk was opened slowly and we were all ready for action but the light of sunset was on our side!

   "Run along" ,The second officer signaled, asking is continue our journey but stupid Olsen was too careless! He hit the trunk of the vehicle so hard that the baby started crying so loud from the inside. "What the hell! ", the third officer yelled as all six of us pulled out our guns.

   Bling; the kingpin made, made the first move; shooting two of the officers while the last one shot Olsen in the head. And then I shot him. "Quick! Let's get outta here man! ", Bling whispered as we hurried back to the car, leaving Olsen's corpse behind. "Stupid Olsen got what he deserved, amateur! I'd have shot him anyway", Bling grumbled as he drove at top speed. I said nothing but gave a concurring facial expression. "I just hope Big Boss pays us hugely as he said",Bling said again. "Big Boss" as we called him, was the man who sent us in this risky errand in the first place.

   We arrived at the warehouse and I carefully carried the baby out of the trunk as we pulled over. We walked to the door of the "warehouse" and knocked. Someone checked from the peephole to make sure it was the right people who had knocked. He pulled up the metal doors and Bling walked in while I followed suit, carrying the bouncing baby. "Assholes! What took you so long! ", the Big Boss yelled. "We got caught up in traffic", I lied, because that was the best option at the moment. "So this is the said baby", the Big Boss said as he gave an evil chuckle while gazing at the baby.

   Lex Petrèli - a Russian-American in his mid-fifties, bald, short with bright eyes - was the Big Boss. He was one of Russell Charlton's numerous rivals. They were all dirty businessmen but Mr. Charlton seemed indefatigable in the past decades because he had no family to worry about. Rumour had it that Russell Charlton was behind the death Lex's only son years  back, but it did not seem like Lex Petrèli was in for "an eye for an eye", he wanted something else.

   I placed the baby in a cot we had kept in the warehouse earlier and Mr Petrèli pulled out his phone and the contact showing on the screen was "Russell Charlton"...