The Circle: Rain's Story by Treasure E. Blue Page A

evening, Autumn and Erin t hrew snipes and shots at each other. Rain busied herself by sitting behind the window, peering out at the parking lot for anything suspicious and plotting her next move in her mind. For safety reasons, Rain opted to stay settled in the motel room instead of going in and out minimizing anyone seeing her, and simply bought purchased snacks and drinks for both girls to munch on.
    Rain was resistant to consulting with her sister Autumn in depth about Dayvid and Fallon and their next plan of action in front of an outsider so she kept everything to a minimum.
    After a while, Rain became amused at Autumn and the girl Erin insults at each other and started to become silently tickled by it. Happy to hear her sister’s laugh and smile again. Seeing her sister in that jumpsuit was a reminder that Dayvid and Fallon, were still locked away suffering, and just like that, she felt guilty for laughing. She killed her smile and became serious all over again.
    In the wee hours of the night as Autumn and Erin, more than exhausted by today’s event, slept peacefully; Rain sat in front of the window, staring out, and deep in thought. Out of nowhere, her mind shifted back to Smitty and their now ominous and dark past.  
     
     
     

    CHAPTER 14
    WINTER 2001
     
    Over the course of two short years, Smitty proved to back his words up with actions, gaining a trust like no other the Porter Family had seen outsi de their own blood, even their Aunt Nanny.
    On the outskirts of suburban Baltimore County, on a nice, tree-lined street, the home for the four Porters was a nice single family home. A bedroom split level. Rain, Fallon and Autumn had their own bedrooms upstairs while Dayvid dwelled in the basement. Since none of them were of legal age to own property in the state of Maryland, they put the house purchased with two hundred cash, in their Nanny’s name. Stipulations in the contract of the home purchased outright stated when Rain and Dayvid become of age; ownership would be transferred to them.  
    A professional from the streets, Smitty educated them down to the very smallest detail, so they would always be safe and sound, and never the fool. Impressed with their minds and their hunger, Smitty thought they were ready for the big leagues. He trusted them enough to introduce the two twins to his real line of duty – robbing banks.
    Like moths to a flame, Rain and David were instantly attracted to it and craved the stories and the details. Smitty taught them everything from A to Z about the highly profitable, dangerous trade, down to the smallest detail. And then, at the tender age of fifteen, he set up their first heist. Six hundred and twenty five thousand dollars later, they never looked back.
                                                                   *              *              *
    Rain was a B student all throughout her formal education and schooling. The only thing that prevented her from getting straight A’s, was her lack of participation in class . But every one of her teachers were amazed by her uncanny ability to ace every single test she was given, and maxing both SAT and ACT test. Rain was courted by the nation’s top colleges to attend their school on full scholarships. School officials were baffled and floored when Rain showed them little interest, didn’t even bother to answer any of them. Rain simply knew that wasn’t the life she wanted to live. She was drawn to be a criminal. She simply loved the thrill of it.
    While her mother taught her the love of books— particularly philosophy, Smitty helped her refine it, by pushing her to learn and play the game of life, the power of the mind and to always know the rules if you want to continue winning. The first book he ever advised her to read and to learn backwards if necessary was: The Art of War. An ancient Chinese military treatise attributed to Sun Tzu, a