CHAPTER 7

Come on! We're going to be late.'' Fredrick shouted. The Preston's were on their way to court. Let's just say Aiden has been very occupied these couple of months. A week after his uncle left the house, he met up with his so called 'gang'. Aiden was the kind of person to do anything as long as his guys were thrilled. They had been planning what they referred to as a heist. Not just any small one, they were to rob one of the biggest jewellery stores in Manhattan. Jack, Jill, Arthur and Him rented out a Jeep, courtesy of Fredrick. He obviously had no clue. They met at a bar across Canal street at around 6pm. They had with them backpacks filled with heavy artillery. They were prepared. They all had nothing to lose. Jack and Jill were siblings, partners in crime. They got to this when they were around 12. It all started small until eventually …Arthur was the only child, raised by his mother who was never really around. This exposed him to more than he could handle. He then met Aiden who happened to be besties with Jack and Jill. It started with candy stores, supermarkets, houses and eventually now expensive jewellery stores. Aiden has a blueprint of the building in their Jeep. They had already made sense of all the areas within the store. At around 8pm they headed off. Aiden was behind the wheel, Arthur took shotgun and the other two were back seat. Aiden wasn't really into drugs like his friends. They smoked weed and had booze almost all the damn time. This never really triggered Aiden as long as he wasn't part of it, he was okay with it. As their jeep snaked the entrance, they parked it out back. They were in black suits and black ski-masks. Jack and Jill went through the back door, Arther was the brains of the operations. He was working on disabling the cameras from in the Jeep while Aiden was the 'Jason Voorhees' of the operation. He entered using the main entrance and set guns ablaze. Within a second, everyone was on the floor, Jack and Jill stuffing all they could into their duffel bags. Arther had already taken care of the surveillance. It was all going according to plan. Rowland, who worked in the store, walked in headed to his station. Aiden panicked and let a rip on his riffle. Upon realising who it was, he panicked and ran straight to the Jeep and drove off. It didn't occur to him that Jack and Jill were still there. Call him an imbecile, betrayer, what not. He was too worked up to even pay attention to stop signs. He pulled up at some motel, quickly changed, booked a room together with Arther and just blacked out. He hoped to wake up and find it to be all a dream. That evening, he headed to his house to be confronted by his dad. Aiden proceeded to the living room only to see Jack and Jill on the news taking mugshots. This was nerve-racking for Aiden. Almost immediately, a phone rang from within the kitchen. It was the household one." Is this Fredrick Preston, father to Aiden Preston. I'm afraid he has been mentioned to have been involved in a robbery. We will be at your residence shortly. Fredrick was discombobulated. He did not see his son as a thief, but again he wouldn't be that shocked. He hasn't necessarily been on his best behaviour. Fredrick loved his son, and wouldn't want to see him in jail. He swore to him to get him a good lawyer and to get him out of this. The police had already arrived and took him away. Linda stood by the stairs, an observer. Thoughts racing in her mind, questions that she did not have answers to. The next morning, Fredrick already had one of the best lawyers in the state. Fredrick's dad travelled from the county to witness and support his grandchild. Linda also accompanied them. The courtroom was packed with magistrates, family members of the affected. This was really discomforting as it was their closest friends that had been affected. The plaintiff, Josephine Prester, stood next to her lawyer, wearing all black with a veil. Ire filled in her eyes as Fredrick walked in and stood by his son, the defendant. They had never seen Josphine this pissed off. Not to mentioned the subsequent tears that frequently ran down her eyes. The judge declared the court into session and all hullabaloo broke out. Josephine's lawyer pinned Aiden and his dad to the ground leaving them speechless. Aiden threw in the towel and confessed right in front of the judge. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Fredrick could not believe his ears. Tears tricked down his visage as he watched Aiden being dragged out of the courtroom. Fredrick never thought it would end up like this. His accounts could not even make half bail.