Family of thieves

On the outskirts of St. Petersburg, there were many small houses filled with families whose daily meals came from one of the oldest tricks of magic-Pick Pocketing. For Frank who was just nine, it meant everyday was an adventure. The rush of putting his small hands into the pockets of wealthy and humongous men and taking their wallets, the sensation of slowly getting lost within the crowd gave him immense joy.

Frank was the youngest child of Augutus and Flanning. He was a skinny kid with a big nose which gave him a distinct look. He was easily recognisable and bad for business in the art of blending in. Augustus and Flanning had 7 children. The oldest of them, Dimitry and Ivan had already disbanded from the main house and were living a few streets away with their crew who worked not just on pick-pocketing but heists. Pick-pocketing for them was like shopping. They used to roam the market and shop like everyone else. The only difference being they honed their skills to observe people, attract or distract attention from others and make a steal. Dimitry once explained Frank that pick-pocketing for him was like therapy. He would indulge in this activity and forget about everything else.

The three middle children were Diana, Milakov and Aleksy. They were still young to make the steals, but when they worked together and stole they were the ones to get away from it without any suspicion.

The last two children were Zosima and Frank. Zosima was unlike all the children in the family. He didn’t believe in stealing as a means to make a living. However, from the age of four all the children had gone through the training to observe, to distract and pick-pocket. Augustus and Flanning made sure everyone understood the basic of human nature. The understanding of human nature was crucial not just for stealing but to be wary of other predators.

Living in a society of thieves meant there was a pact. Nobody would steal from each other and once a mark has been set by a crew, it was theirs for the taking. Flanning worked in the main market on the other side of the town. She spent her day talking to other shopkeepers and selling accessories which she had stole and Augustus had mended. She made sure she had connections and was always ear-up for an opportunity.

Zosima also spent most of his time near the bridge in the market, looking at the passing boats contemplating the life different from the one he had. Like Flanning, he too had a sense of finding opportunity. He wanted to go away from St. Petersburg and explore. He didn’t want pick-pocketing to be his means to live a life. Frank too had other plans. He wanted to do something more than pick-pocketing. Adventure was what the youngest was looking for.

After the dreadful winter, Augustus got a new job offer from Moscow. There was a big art exhibit at the end of the year and the paintings were worth more than all the steals he had done so far. The plan was set. Augustus and Flanning were to move to Moscow for a year, plan, execute the steal and return home, leaving all the children in charge of Dimitry and Ivan.

The first few weeks passed by easily, Dimitry or Ivan would come in the morning with some things they stole and hand it to their siblings. The siblings had to go to the market to sell them to get food for themselves. Zosima didn’t want to be a part of it. So Frank took his share and bought him food.

But soon, there was chaos. Dimitry and Ivan couldn’t keep up the with discipline that was executed by their parents. The children were fussy and would not listen to anything they said. Except for Zosima and Frank everyone had to work. As there were no income coming from their parents Dimitry and Ivan had to make do. But, as there had been no massive steal, they were running out of capital pretty quick.

Every morning from then, everyone was recruited as a crew member. Dimitry and Ivan would make the steal, but the others worked as distractions. Zosima and Frank were the look outs for any trouble. They were seated on the ledge of the water tank and kept an eye out for any police or other crews that would cause trouble.

Zosima didn’t pay much attention as the look out, instead he was quite into a book he had on his lap. Frank asked him, where did you learn to read?

Zosima smiled and told him that he climbed the ladder behind the monastery where the monks give lessons to other children. He didn’t want to be a part of it, but wanted to learn anyway. He stole the book when everyone were on a short break.

The year went by with Zosima reading more and more books and the other children making enough steals that would last the winter. By the end of it, their parents returned. There was enough money for them to never steal again. They told the children they were moving to a different neighbourhood where stealing was not allowed. They had earned enough from the last job, that would last for a long time. They had invested some money to buy a house. Dimitry and Ivan were to move to Moscow where their contact would give them jobs. The other children were to attend schooling and learn a new craft. Their days of stealing to make a living was over. Zosima was the happiest of them all.

Frank on the other hand started having tantrums as the mundane hit him the hardest. He would not concentrate in the classroom, his friends were not like him, they studied and that’s all they knew. Some wanted to be doctors and some businessmen. Nobody had the sense of an adventure, he explained to his father once.

Augustus explained to him that stealing was not the greatest thing a man can do. It was out of necessity and now that has been taken care of, they no longer have to steal. The rest of the children loved their new home and their neighbours who were sweet and polite. But Frank hated them for being so superficial. His mother explained to him that human nature evolved in this form where putting on a mask was easier and could help them more than being themselves.

Frank would not have it. He started to distance himself from everyone including Zosima. He missed his classes and started to roam the street. Frequently, he would steal from others. He wanted to get caught, so he stole from the biggest marks that had the most valuables. He was angry and if he got caught by someone powerful, the whole family would be considered thieves.

But, he didn’t get caught. Even his sloppiness while executing the steal made him more trust worthy to his mark. He decided to call quits on pick-pocketing. He attended classes more regularly and his parents could see a change in him. He was quieter and didn’t share much when the entire family were talking and enjoying their time. He stilled yearned for an adventure that never came.

In a few years, things changed again. Ivan got married to a girl in Moscow and Dimitry had found a job as a consultant at a big firm. Zosima wanted to move to America to study further and their parents happily obliged to his decision. The other three children had decided to study in St. Petersburg and work in some field or other. At sixteen, Frank felt lost as he had no ideals or goals to follow through. He felt like he was just passing time without doing anything.

On the other hand, his parents were proud of him. He was dutifully attending the classes and was getting higher marks. He had a few peers who came from aristocracy and were quite rich and powerful. Frank didn’t like them very much but his parents insisted on him spending time with them to learn something from others and their way of life.

Everywhere he looked there was a facade. Nobody showed their true feelings or said something heavy and vulnerable. It was all about religion and the code of conduct in the classroom. The teachers were heavily sedated to religion and would make a point of attaching anything they taught to religious texts. The law of human nature was showcased in Christ. The homework was to write summary of the stories and parables they learned in class.

He observed that his friends would be polite and make everyone believe that they were on the right track and would go so far to make themselves believe that. But, their actions suggested otherwise. After the long hours of study, the students would go to a club nearby. It was hardly a club, it was an outbuilding to the famous club which was quite famous in the nineteen hundreds. It was called Freemasons Lodge. And during Frank’s visit, he could see many well dressed people enter the club. He wanted to go in and see what what happening in it.

His friends on the other hand, would indulge in alcohol and drugs. All the fake promises they made to their parents and teachers about being a devout Christian following the righteous path was no more than a farce.

Surrounded by many pleasures, Frank indulged on them too. He loved drinking as it freed his mind from the claustrophobic feelings he had repressed till now. He learned to let them go and be a part of the group. Conformity at it’s finest. Frank didn’t even realise he was slowly turning against himself. He forgot about the club he wanted to be a part of, of the adventure he wanted in his life.

A year passed by and as the final days of schooling was going on his friends started talking about their plans. Some were moving to different countries to study further, some were handling their family businesses, and Frank felt lost again.

His parents recommended two courses: Chemical engineering or Information technology. The latter still a new field, but his parents knew it would change the world soon. He decided to study technology. And for that he had to move to Germany.

He followed the path which would give him something different. He went to Germany. Having a knack for observation, on his first year he did well in school but he also started stealing again. He felt what Dimitry said was true. Stealing was a form of therapy he indulged in. He didn’t like drinking or drugs as much as the satisfaction of getting his hands on something he wants.

In a group setting, Frank would be the one to speak the most. He would conjure up some memories from the past and exaggerate it. He told his new friends about the life he had in St. Petersburg, how his family was one of the prominent figures. He talked about how his family was disciplined and table manners while eating was the must. There should be no clanking and other noises. He couldn’t read people as he thought he could otherwise he would notice the desperation in others to get out of the conversation and away from him.

People were polite to him and showed no anger towards his character. But, they could sense he wasn’t forthcoming and honest. He never spoke about his feelings or vulnerabilities. Always on and on about the grand past he had.

The superficial facade he hated in his early years had now taken over himself. He was good in social situations, at least some of them. He could follow the cue of the conversation and had a friendly face which allowed strangers to trust him. But once they took an inner look or spend some time with him, they would run. They didn’t give any explanations to why they were leaving and Frank felt lost and broken. He couldn’t figure out what he did wrong and questioned each time, why would such things happen to me? Why always me?

With no answer on the horizon, he would forget about it and the cycle would follow suite.

In two years, he had made a number of friends but none so intimate and close. The relationship he had would have an amazing start with both parties so indulged in conversations. But, soon Frank would stop listening and only talk about his life and how difficult it was or how boring it was. It frustrated a lot of people but he couldn’t sense what was going on. He was a good student and got good marks. He had enough money he made from stealing and was living a good life.

Every letter he exchanged with his parents, they told him that they were proud of who he had become. But he was not proud of himself. He kept on trying to make new friends and the same vicious cycle would continue.

Even his romantic relationships seemed like a crisis. He would date a girl for a few months, but they would let him know they have had enough and are not attracted to him anymore and leave.

Things were going so bad for him, he knew if he didn’t have a romantic relationship he wasn’t really living a life. So he did what most people do in desperate times, he changed his persona to make people like him more. He changed his clothing style, he changed his demeanour and soon it worked. He would be having a good time with them, but the cycle returned again. He couldn’t understand what was going on.

He went back to drugs because he felt like he was the victim and he needed to recuperate from the cruel world he was in. The more drugs he took, the more his inner character was clearer. People stayed away from him. He was still doing well in his study. He spent some time each day studying but other than that nothing in his life seemed to work.

The school holiday was about to start and Frank decided to visit Zosima in America.

Zosima for the longest time wanted to be away from all the stealing. He decided upon landing to the foreign land, he would disband the lessons taught by his family. He worked at a cafe helping the owner, Mr. Samuel Kennedy and joined a neuroscience course in a well-known university. His day was split in two. In the morning he would attend classes and work on his assignments, and in the afternoon till late at night, he worked in the cafe.

He didn’t want anything else and was quite satisfied with both his work and study. Soon that would change because Mr. Kennedy was losing his business. He had fallen in the habit of gambling and was putting up the revenue from the cafe to pay for his addiction. He had a large debt to repay and he sort out a way to sell the business to pay off the loan and move to the countryside where he could be away from the dangers of gambling.

When Mr. Kennedy told Zosima that a new owner would be arriving the following week and having talked with them, Zosima was to continue working here at the same rate. Further down the month, the wage would increase and the owner being a businessman could even let Zosima handle the cafe on his own.

When the owner arrived, it was clear he didn’t care about the cafe but only looked at it as a means to fill the books. The owner, it turned out was a cheat. He only bought the cafe to launder the money. Zosima was given five percent more than his usual rate to stay quiet and continue working there. The first few weeks, there were no issues and he handled the cafe very well. But soon, the owners friends started to crash in. They would hold secret meetings and make many illegal deals with the police and politicians. Zosima though not part of the ploy felt responsible for it. His mind remembered the ill-fate of being a pick-pocket and how he wanted to get away from all the scum and corruption. But, now working in the cafe he was right in the middle of it all.

He tried to find another job, but failed. He was sucked back into the world he tried to get out of. When he heard Frank was coming over, his heart was excited again. He decided to ask the owner for some days off and for an early pay.

Zosima decided he would ask the owner, Mr. Henry Jones Lee, on Wednesday. It was the day there would be less visits from people. In the morning at around 9, Mr Lee had breakfast in the cafe. With him there would be Michael, his right hand man. He knew when and where to push people, to make them understand the gravity of the situation. There were Antonio and Jean, they followed Mr. Lee like his shadow. Never stepping in front of him, but always vigilant. And there was Zosima. The chef’s shift finished when Zosima got to work, at 8.

After breakfast, Mr. Lee would head to the office in the back. There would be a number of meetings with different types of people. There were groups according to race, class, sex, and finally the police. The police were the volatile once that came through. They could come any day of the week, but they only came once a week. Zosima was hoping today was not the day. He had noticed that right after the meeting with the police, Mr. Lee would look shaken and would cancel all his other meetings for the day.

When Zosima saw a chance, he took it. He went straight into the office where Mr. Lee was seated in his chair looking at a newspaper. Antonio and Jean both stood up and went towards Zosima. Antonio with the broad chest and hefty words asked him what he wanted.

Zosima replied, ‘I need to talk to Mr. Lee for five minutes. If he can spare some time?’

‘You may, boy,’, came a reply from behind the newspaper.

Both Antonio and Jean went back to their seat. Their gaze never left Zosima the entire time he was in the room.

‘Mr. Lee, my brother is coming over for a week. I haven’t seen him in a while, we were really close when we were kids and it would be wonderful to spend some time with him,’ said Zosima while Mr. Lee was still looking at the newspaper.

‘Zosima, you have been here for a while and you are good at your job and not just that you and I have something in common,’ said Mr. Lee as he put the newspaper down. There was a long silence while Mr. Lee folded away the newspaper. ‘ You observe. Everyday, you stand there and notice who comes in and how they react. I will give you a week off and as a bonus, additional one thousand on top of your salary. What I expect from you in return is to report those observations to me at the end of the day. Are you up for the job?’

‘Yes, Mr. Lee, I can do that. Thank you for the extra money, it does open up different avenue of opportunity to try new things,’ said Zosima.

Mr. Lee laughed and said, ‘Yes, that is true. You might be more valuable for the business and me than I thought. Keep your head up and continue working for me, there might be some openings in the near future. Here’s the money.’ Mr. Lee handed him the money. Zosima nodded his head and went out to his work station.

A few days later, Zosima had amassed a lot of notes in his notebook with character traits of the different people he saw. He didn’t know their names, but he identified them using their shoes. Most of the people wore different clothes, but what he noticed was that all of them used to wear same kind of shoes, though they might be of different colours. The police who came wore civilian clothes but they didn’t change their shoes. so he identified them easily. The people who work near the farms had mud attached to their shoes. And the would-be businessmen had shiny shoes. There were a few people in the nearby street who made an earning polishing shoes. He befriended them and enquired about the customers they had. He made them observe as well. As a compensation settled between Zosima and Mr. Lee, he paid them a few bucks to keep an eye out. They readily agreed.

So the days were going good. Zosima reported all the notes to Mr. Lee. Mr. Lee would listen intently to each word Zosima spoke never turning his head around. Zosima felt like he was listening to each word he spoke and was taking it all in. Sometimes, Mr. Lee would ask a question to elaborate and he did.

Zosima had enough money to move to a different place to accomodate his brother and to spend on their holiday.

On the day of Frank’s arrival, he didn’t go to work. He went to pick up Frank. Frank was delighted to be reunited with his brother. He looked different. Zosima remarked that Frank was getting older and it might have to do with his studies. Frank replied solemnly that he was tired of the mundane which made him look older, but coming to America and a change of air would make him fresh in no time.

The two boys wasted no time and went exploring the city. After having a heavy lunch and much of exploring done, Frank asked Zosima if he could see his workplace. Zosima agreed.

Mr. Lee and the two bodyguard were not in that day. But the restaurant was still open. The chefs were still in the kitchen as Zosima hadn’t arrived so they could leave. They were in the kitchen playing cards. When Zosima and Frank entered, the chefs let them know that Mr. Lee was’s present and he didn’t come to work. Zosima thought this was strange, it was a Wednesday, and Mr. Lee was always present on a Wednesday. He asked the chefs if they knew anything about Mr. Lee. They didn’t.

Frank was happy to see Zosima’s work place. The restaurant was neat and tidy. There weren’t any customers but it was three in the afternoon. So, he thought people might come in the evening. Zosima told Frank to stay there, he had to check something in the office. Frank obliged and took a seat in a nearby chair.

As soon as Zosima went to the office, a bunch of people arrived. They were wearing shiny shoes and suits on. Frank ignored them, as it was a public setting, anyone can come in. The men asked the chefs if the boss was in, and as the chefs said no. They all looked at each other and proceeded to the office. The chefs didn’t complain as they were huge and thinking they would leave after seeing that Mr. Lee wasn’t in the office.

The men in suits went to the office. Once in, they saw Zosima looking down at Mr. Lee’s desk.

‘Hey, you!,’ one of the men in the suit called.

‘Hi, sorry but Mr. Lee is not in today,’ replied Zosima politely.

‘We can see that,’ said the guy in the middle. He took out a knife and pointed at Zosima. ‘Make a sound and I will carve you like it’s halloween. Now, sit in the chair.’

Zosima obliged and took Mr. Lee’s seat. Zosima wasn’t scared of the knife, as he had seen these men a hundred times and they weren’t the one to cause violence.

Three men scattered the room in search for something. ‘There is a safe,’ one of them said.

‘You, boy, tell us the code!,’ said the guy who looked like their boss.

‘Gentlemen, I work outside the office. I barely enter this room. I didn’t even know a safe existed here. I don’t know the code to open it,’ replied Zosima.

‘Then, what were you doing in the office?’ Asked one of the men.

‘I wanted to see if Mr. Lee left any notes about his return,’ said Zosima.

All the men laughed. ‘Well, sadly, Mr. Lee won’t be coming back. He went on a holiday. Now, we need to open the safe as he kept something in their that belongs to us and we want it.’

‘I don’t know how to open it, I swear,’ said Zosima.

‘Alright, check all the drawers!’ He ordered his men. ‘And you stay put.’ He said looking at Zosima.

Frank was waiting patiently for a while. He noticed that the men went to the same room as Zosima and none had returned. He looked around and saw the chefs were still engrossed in their card games.

He decided to have a look inside the room. He tip toed and peeked in, he saw that Zosima was seated on a chair and two men were searching the drawers in the desk. He saw other two looking at something in the corner of the room. There was a guy looking towards Zosima, back turned towards him.

He looked at Zosima. Zosima signalled to go back with his eyes. He stayed a bit longer and went away.

‘We found nothing boss,’ said one of the men searching the drawers.

‘Well, either these guys find something that will open the safe or I slice your throat. Your boss will enjoy the lovely sight when he returns,’ said the guy still holding the knife.

Meanwhile, Frank went behind the counter and decided to ask the chefs for help. He noticed a notebook hidden under the till. He picked it up and skimmed through it.

Shiny shoes, suits and knives. The knife gang, Frank thought. He turned around to the chefs and asked if any of them had a gun he could borrow.

Zosima looked around the room while the men were now trashing the place in hopes to find something to open the safe. It was futile, he knew it.

‘You will not find anything in the office. Mr. Lee doesn’t keep anything important here, maybe you should wait until he returns and get what you came for,’ said Zosima.

‘You say you don’t know much, but you do speak like someone who knows things. Tell me, how important are you to Mr. Lee?’ Asked the man holding the knife.

‘I don’t know how important he is to Mr. Lee, but he is very important to me,’ said Frank pointing two guns at the man.

All the men in suit turned around to look at the intruder.

‘Take one step and I shoot him dead,’ Frank said with a steady hand and looking directly at their boss.

‘There are six men and you have two guns. Even if you do manage to shoot two of us, you won’t survive this,’ smirked the man. Everyone had a knife in their hands now.

‘Who said I was alone?’ Said Frank and three chefs entered with guns. ‘Drop your knives boys and as I am very happy today, I will let you leave unharmed. If not, Mr. Lee will be really happy to see your bodies riled up with bullets.’

The men in suits simultaneously dropped the knives and walked towards the door while Frank and the chefs moved towards Zosima pointing the gun at the men.

The men in suit rushed to the front door and left. One of the chefs went after them and locked the main door.

Frank lowering the gun said, ‘I thought you were a cashier, or a barista? What the hell is this?’

Zosima sighed and said, ‘I am the cashier, but Mr. Lee handles other businesses as well.’

‘No shit!’ Said Frank who was now laughing. ‘You should have looked at their faces, they might have peed their pants.’

The chefs too joined in the laughter. ‘This shit is melting, by the way.’ Frank removed the butter stuck on his fingers. It was dyed in black.

‘The guns weren’t real?’ Asked Zosima surprised by the whole thing.

‘No, the chefs didn’t have any, but they had butter, loads of them, and squid ink. We carved a shape like a gun. Marcus, here, was in the army. He knew the distinct shape of the gun so he carved them,’ said Frank with a smile. ‘Do you know those men? I thought this was a restaurant, but I see that’s not all.’

The chefs went out of the office leaving Frank and Zosima.

‘I don’t know these men. When I started it was a legitimate business, but when Mr. Lee bought the place it turned into this,’ said Zosima still seated on the chair.

‘Zosima, the pure, the one that hated the shady deals and the life we led. You came here to be different and away from the filth. Yet, you are again in the middle of the swamp of dangerous business,’ said Frank sitting down at the chair opposite to him.

‘I didn’t choose this life, it chose me. It turns out I do have a place in this kind of world, even though I don’t like it,’ said Zosima looking down at the floor.

‘So, you are here in this business. What is the goal in mind? You want to do something in this line of business? You preached a lot about fairness and contempt for the shady deals we lived back then. What made you stay?’ Asked Frank.

‘The adventure it presents,’ said Zosima.

Franks eyes lighted up. ‘That’s my boy! So are we leaving this place and having some fun or what?’

After a cup of coffee at the restaurant both boys made their way towards the ferry. ‘It helps me clear my head, so let’s try it,’ said Zosima as he bought them two tickets at the counter.

‘You need to find a girl,’ said Frank with a smile, ‘that ought to clear you head if this is the kind of day you have at work.’

‘This is the first, actually. Mr. Lee didn’t show up to work, that’s highly unusual,’ was all Zosima said the entire ferry ride. In this head, he remembered the man telling Mr. Lee went on a holiday, and it made him anxious. It didn’t sit with him well. He saw Frank enjoying himself so he didn’t bring the subject up again. But he knew he had to investigate. He decided to visit the restaurant in the morning without Frank and see what was actually going on. For now, he decided to visit a bar for some drinks and eat something to end the day.

The next day while Frank was still in bed, Zosima slipped out and went to work. It was already 9 o’clock, and knowing that Mr. Lee would be at work, he decided to check it out.

When he reached the restaurant, he saw that the main gate was still locked. He peeked in and saw the chefs weren’t even there. He decided to ask one of his agents on the street if they had seen anything. The report wasn’t useful at all. He learned that ever since yesterday, nobody had come to open the shop. Even the chefs who would be there by 6 in the morning didn’t show up. Feeling hopeless he went back to his apartment.

‘Anton or Antonio came by,’ said Frank waving a piece of paper. ‘He wanted to give a message from Mr. Lee. By the way where did you go?’

‘I went for a walk, what’s in the letter?’ Asked Zosima curiously.

‘A walk? You went back to the restaurant, didn’t you?’ Said Frank, ‘I didn’t read it. Thought it would be something important to you, you know, confidential. I am a guest, I don’t want to be pulled into this kind of thing.’

Zosima stayed quiet. He didn’t read the letter until the evening. Frank wanted to go to a theatre. He wanted to experience the story related to the American culture, to understand it better, was his word. Zosima was seeing a new side of Frank. He wasn’t very interested in arts as a kid. Every time Zosima talked about a book or philosophy, Frank brushed it off. But now, Frank was enjoying the art.

The letter by Mr. Lee thanked both the brothers for keeping the place intact and apologised for the encounter with the gang. Mr. Lee wrote that he was actually in a holiday, though an unexpected one. He was double-crossed by the gangs he worked with and had made sure to tell everyone that he worked for the cops. It put him in a sticky situation, and to plan it out he decided to leave for some time. The letter also mentioned that after Zosima’s holiday with his brother, he can open the shop. Anton would be there at all times and nobody would come and cause trouble. Though, Mr. Lee wasn’t sure how long it would take for him to come back. The letter thanked Zosima again.

Zosima felt a relief that Mr. Lee was still alive and well. He went back to enjoy the play.

Frank, after spending just two days in the foreign land fell in love with it. He imagined a life in this foreign soil that is uplifting itself to the newest height. He knew there was something he could do there. He even talked to Zosima about it. Zosima was elated to hear Frank’s thoughts on the future. Frank promised his return after his studies is over in Germany. Both brothers bid farewell and went back to their daily lives.

Frank didn’t feel depressed as before when he was left alone from his university. His classes were quite natural to him. He enjoyed them. Learning about Machine Learning and programming gave his adventurous mind a new path. He started creating algorithms to help refine searches on the internet. The day in life of Frank included lectures in the morning and in the afternoon he would scour the library for any information to experiment his algorithm for better use.

But soon he would be called back to his home town. Zosima too would have to take an unexpected leave to go back home.

When Frank arrived at the doorstep of his home, he saw all his brothers and sisters in wait. Their face appeared grim. Frank immediately asked about their parents. Dimitry assured him that they were fine but the family was in trouble. Augustus in the early days had a close friend who he owed an old painting. But in desperation Augustus had long sold that painting. And now it sat inside a concrete building with the highest degree of surveillance surrounded by guards 24 hours a day. The painting sold by Augustus was taken by an antique dealer who turned out to be an art thief and when he got caught, all the paintings were taken by the British museum.

Flanning’s friend Gregory had asked for the painting otherwise he had threatened to find every one of his children and show them what pain meant. Hence, the family meeting.

Frank felt anger but at the same time, he was happy that it was a dire situation that had brought everyone together and finally he could have the adventure he always desired. He asked, ‘So what are we waiting for?’

Ivan replied, ‘It’s not like the past, Frank. Our parents are older, we have to come up with a plan to either get the job done or jump Gregory before he does.’ Dimitry nodded next to him.

‘What do you say, Zosima?’ Asked Frank sincerely.

‘I say we find out everything there is about this Gregory character and research the museum inside out to find a way in. We’re all here, if we all use our ability we can get the job done. I can feel it,’ said Zosima looking at each and everyone of them.

A man wearing a black suit appeared from the front door. He looked like a man in fifty, he was hefty and carried a walking stick. The stick looked more like a symbol than for his foot. His walk was slow and deliberate. It took him a considerable amount of time to reach the children of Flanning and Augustus.

When he reached closer he exclaimed, ‘Looks like this time the entire family is here to help the codger Augustus. Let me introduce myself: I’m Gregory, your father’s old acquaintance. I already told him what I am after. His promise to keep my painting safe was achieved with the greatest degree. I just flew back from London. But his other promise to return it to me when it is time, well, that’s something I would not like to see broken. I already spoke to your father about it. But I wanted to tell you all the same. I want that painting, and if not there will be grave consequences. Dimitry and Ivan, your family in Moscow, who you think are safe might not be.’ He smiled like a devil who could cross any bridge. He then continued, ‘Milakov, your lovely mistress is not safe either. Now, I could point out everyone’s important thing you love and care about to motivate you to get the job done. But, let me tell you, this painting is important to me and I will have it. If you fail me, I will still get my hands on that painting even if I have to rain fire over that stupid museum. But, if you do fail, each and everyone will face a specific pain only known to you. So, get to work and get that damn painting.’ He walked away the same way he came. Slow and deliberate. He turned himself around before turning the corner and laughed like a maniac.

Frank stood still, looking at the phantom of the man standing opposite him. He felt his blood rush, and saddened by the situation they were on he put on a brave face. When he turned around and looked at the siblings, he could see the same broken hearted picturesque he had on his face. ‘This is no time to be in a stalemate, we have to hurry and plan something out. Time is of essence here. If we don’t get the painting he will hurt us. But, if we do get it for him, he will never let us be. Breaking into the museum is no big deal, I have heard about the security there.’ Frank paused for the second and was interrupted by Diana.

‘If we do break in and get caught, we could put it all on Gregory. It was his plan and he set us up for it. If he is willing to blackmail us, probably he has done so before. The police might have a record of this and would put him away and give us a leeway.’ Diana searched for some assurance in her brothers’ eyes. She could find none.

Zosima put his arms around Diana and said, ‘You are right, my dear sister. But just think about it, if he has done this sort of blackmailing before, what’s to say he doesn’t know a few powerful people who could help him out of this predicament. He is most likely to have an ally everywhere. We need to think very carefully on this one. He has not just blackmailed us but has put Dimitry’s family at cross-heirs too. We need to speak to father now!’

‘Wait, maybe he does have powerful ally,’ Frank responded to Zosima,’ But we know someone too, don’t we Zosima?’

‘And who do you boys know that can help us?’ Asked Augustus coming out into the porch of the house.

For Frank and Zosima, it was the first time seeing their father in years. He looked older with his back hunched and grey hair, his eyes were watery too, and most of all he looked tired.

‘Mr. Lee, from New York. Zosima works for him in a cafe. He is a powerful businessman there. And he has connections all over the world. Tell everyone about it Zosima,’ giving the spotlight to Zosima.

‘Well, yes. He is a powerful man,’ replied Zosima remembering the last discussion he had with his parents about leaving for New York. His father had denied this move to New York. Zosima had then finally decided to tell him that their lifestyle never really suited him and he wanted to move away and be a different kind of a citizen there. No stealing or crime but just blood and sweat to earn a living. But now everything came back to haunt him anyway. ‘I tried my best to be a good citizen. But, I couldn’t escape it, father. I made a promise to you and it has all gone to waste.’

‘No, good son. It has not, I never expected for you to be free from this world. We don’t decide where we are born and which life we are nurtured by. But doing your best with your heart is all that matters in the end. So what you were pulled in to this world again, I know from my heart that you didn’t do anything bad. You always trusted your heart more than anything. So if your heart says Mr. Lee can help us, I would always be in his debt.’ Said Augustus hugging Zosima.

Dimitry couldn’t stop thinking about his family back at Moscow. He had to move them. Flanning came out to meet her children. ‘Dimitry, take this number. Marcus will take your family somewhere safe. He is an old friend who got us out of the life of thievery. He might be disappointed to hear we are back in business. Hurry up inside, everyone, dinner is ready. And after dinner, Frank you begin the plan to get back the painting. Zosima, you will get in touch with Mr. Lee and see if he can help us. And the rest of you will help me with the dishes.’

Everyone followed Flanning inside the house.

After dinner, Zosima called the number given by Mr. Lee. It rang and ,’ Hello, monsieur?’ Said the voice. Zosima knew it was Antonio right away. He felt at peace hearing Antonio’s voice. ‘Hi, this is Zosima. I wanted to talk to Mr. Lee and it is quite important that I talk to him.’

‘Mr. Lee is not available at this moment, but I can take a message for him Mr. Zosima,’ said Antonio.

Zosima tired to keep it brief and explained to him the situation his family was facing. He wanted to know if Mr. Lee could help some way. Antonio promised to relay the message and would get back to him soon.

Frank, on the other hand, was working a plan to get the painting. He learned of the ways the priceless arts would be transported and how every now and then, the paintings would be brought down to keep it in good condition. There were specific people who could touch the paintings and other than them nobody was allowed to work on them. They were like a secret society. He tried his best to find the names of the people working on the paintings but he couldn’t find it. He decided to hack into the museum’s database. But refrained himself because if they found out someone had hacked into the database, the security would be tighter. He needed to find a different way to get inside the museum.

When the family sat down and relayed the information they had on fixing the problem with

Gregory, everyone was quite excited that they could for once and all be a family that can work together and stop the antagonist that posed as a friend.

Zosima wasn’t surprised when Antonio called back in a few hours. He told Zosima that Mr. Lee had a friend working inside the museum and found out that the painting that was in there was actually a fake one. The original was sold to a Russian businessman 10 years ago, and this businessman had actually made a fake one and sold this to another antique dealer named Fyodor. Fyodor was one of the close friends of Gregory. Antonio also said that Gregory was a known name within the circle of Mr. Lee. Everyone avoided dealing with him. He was considered a black sheep in the world of crime. He had many times blackmailed others to ruin. As for the original painting, Gregory might already have it but was using the fake one as an excuse to get inside the museum for something far more valuable. Antonio couldn’t say what it was but would contact him if they hear something.

When Zosima told this at the family meeting, Augustus was flying off the handle. ‘He is blackmailing my family while he already has the painting. He is paying for all this.’

‘Yes, father, we will make him pay for this,’ said Frank rising to the occasion. ‘This family has gone through a lot. We’ve been thieves, we’ve been outliers, we have surmounted many obstacles and come to live a life in harmony without being a nuisance to society. Now, we have to take the step to show one of the brutal creatures in the outlier that nobody messes with our family. We might have retired from that life, but like a lion we must show them they do not mess with us.’

‘Bravo!’ Zosima exclaimed and cheerful atmosphere settled in the house of Augustus and Flanning.

The very next day, Mr. Lee called Zosima. Gregory in fact was after the painting. IT represented somethin important to him. It was his first purchase after his first job. Mr. Lee had a chance to meet Gregory once a few years back. They were both young and restless. It was a time before Mr. Lee became a businessman. Both him, Gregory and a few others had signed up as help at a local factory in New York. The factory was for biscuits but in reality it was a money-printing factory. They didn’t have any knowledge about the business but were keen to find work suitable for them. The money was good and the work wasn’t hard either. They had to repackage the mixing container for biscuits with the ones filled with 100 dollar notes. The weight had to be exact and they just had to make sure that it was. After a month, the boss realised that some containers had less weight than usual. He started an investigation and soon found out that it was one of the new boys. He brought him to the office and it was the last anyone saw of him. A week went by and everything went back to normal. Later that night, Gregory made a business plan and quit the job. But the money he got for that was the money he stole from the factory. The boss was furious but Gregory was long gone. The boss of the factory would be happy if Gregory was delivered to him.

Zosima told Frank about this and Frank set a plan in motion. He talked to the real owner of the painting and asked him to come forward with it. The owner agreed. He also called the museum to let them know of this, they didn’t believe Frank for a second but once he set a meeting with the owner of the real painting they couldn’t hesitate to check the painting.

In the meeting room were Frank, Zosima, the owner of the original painting and the head of the museum sat on chairs looking at the original painting. The painting was real. But, the museum wanted to keep the original one and get rid of the fake without letting anyone know about this. The owner and the museum signed a good deal and he sold it to them. But he also had a condition to let Frank and Zosima steal the fake one from the museum.

Frank let Gregory know that they were getting the painting within a week.

On the day of the heist, all the siblings huddled and got to work. They had to steal a painting from one of the secure locations on the planet.

Gregory and his two men were not too far away from the main scene. All the children of Flanning went in to the museum spent a few hours talking and passing time. They came back out with the painting from the back. Gregory was ecstatic. No alarms had gone off. The mission was successful.

Mr. Lee had called Gregory to let him know about an art dealer who could check the painting for any flaws. Gregory’s men put the painting in the van and they sped up to get it checked. Before leaving, Gregory told Zosima that their trade was done and the family was spared.

Instead of the art dealer, Gregory met his end. He was directed to the office of his old boss. Within a minute, Gregory realised he was doomed. He begged and lied about how Augustus’ family blackmailed him to steal the painting and how all these years ago, he never actually stole anything from him. But begging didn’t work. It was time for him to face the music.

Finally, Frank felt content. He had an adventure he always craved for and the best of all, he had his family with in it as well. After this incident, Frank didn’t move anywhere else but stayed at home. Zosima took Mr. Lee’s place in the cafe while Mr. Lee handled international side of the business. The family of thieves were finally intact and happy.