The Profesionals

[Maddeline]

"Medicine cabinet. Upstairs by the microwave." He was short and to the point. He was impressed with how fast Aly was to accept the change. He began thinking- a Tribe branch here? They could move to Evansville. Or go further to Nashville. Or further to Louisville. Being in or near your home state was...trivial, though. One familiar face and you're fucked. They could go back to Atlanta...but how could he convince, even if it was practically at gun point, several high schoolers to give up their lives for crime?

Well, there was the easy way. The money was amazing- so was the risk, but so what. Everyone's gotta die at some point, he supposed. They might bite.

 

[CynderTheDragoness]

"I'll be right back." Aly told Maddie. She went upstairs and searched the cabinet by the microwave. She found what she was looking for. Alcohol wipes, various bandages, and antibacterial ointment. She returned with her supplies along with a washcloth and a bowl of water. "First things first, we need to clean you up. See just how bad it is." Aly used a wet cloth to dab the dried blood away from Maddie's head wound. "This next part might sting." She said, opening an alcohol wipe. She used it to clean the wound, which wasn't bad enough to need stitches. Finally, she applied the antibacterial ointment and covered with a bandage. "You'll survive." She smiled.

 

[slayerbat]

Alejandro leaned against a wall, watching as Aly patched up Maddie. He knew that he might not be seeing his mother again. He couldn't risk the police going to her and breaking her heart, nor could he find the courage to admit that he couldn't stop his friend from committing a homicide. He was sure Caleb had a plan at this point, with his entire speech about being apart of a tribe or something. It stung a little to have been dragged into this without any say.

 

[Maddeline]

Maddie's head wound was mostly just a fissure caused by the metal.
"Th- thanks. I tried to slow him down...I didn't know you were going to kill him"

"I didn't know he was going to fuck Atheena"

Maddie winced a little when the alcohol went down on her head.
"Caleb. I even fucked Atheena. Not while you were with her, but Jesus Caleb. Her number is in the mid-60s. I'm a whore and mine is only about 20."

"and? I don't care. She could be the biggest whore on the planet but as long as she was faithful to me that's all I cared about. I only came back for her"

Maddie shook her head, her hair bobbing slightly.
"You ditched your family- your mom, da-"
"Dad doesn't give a shit about me"

"- as I was saying. You ditched me too, and you know that mamí has cancer. I don't have anyone else. I went back to the tar smack while you were gone! And you came back for the bitch that's never given a damn about you?"

Caleb shook his head, and put the gun back into his pants.
"Yeah, I know. But you also don't know what they did for me. What I did to come back."

"I'm sorry if I don't give a fuck" Maddie said, gritting her teeth.

"I have about eighty grand sitting in a joint-locked Swedish bank account that's been gaining interest for about four years"

Maddie stopped talking- she had questions. Now she was listening to what Caleb had to say.

"Independence Bank of Atlanta. Heist of 2010."

"Caleb you were fourteen fucking years old...how?"

"And I wasn't the youngest. We didn't organize it but we did do the dirty work. They won't jail six kids with adult penalties if we failed. But we didn't get caught. We rubbed off our finger prints from our fingers with a belt sander, made our own ammunition with a press...no killing. Statue of limitations keeps them from charging me still, even if they got evidence short of a confession. After that we cleaned some bloods out of the downtown areas- gang violence isn't investigated like murder. You sagged your pants and you wore a bandana, we shot you. Plain as that."

Maddie shook her head.
"You're a fucking dork, Caleb. A loser. A nerd. I refuse to believe that's what you were doing"

"that's because I wasn't Caleb. I was silver."

"That's a stupid ass code name" Maddie said, with more aggitation in her voice. It was hard to tell if she was jealous or just angry or what.

"It was my name. Not my code name. Silver is as much me as Caleb is. They don't like people that look or act hard. They like people that are smart- that can have a double life. I asked to go back to mine, they said they wanted to hold the money in exchange"

"You said you came back for her but no one had a way to contact you."

"I still had people. But I came back for her, yes"

"Why" Maddie asked, cutting her eyes at Caleb with hate burning in her dilated pupils.

"Because I knew she was seeing someone else. The first day I came back, I spent the night at her house. I told her everything. Asked her to go back to Atlanta- we could take my share and go to Switzerland or Sweden or Amsterdam or whatever. But she said no. She was done with that life- so I gave it up to"

Caleb was cold. Speaking about Atheena usually wore him down into an emotional mess- good or bad. But not this time...this seemed more like he was narrating his life story or reading from a novel.

"Alejandro- Aly- Maddie....I'm sorry y'all got caught up in this. I'm sorry it's not your choice. But I will tell you that these people...the Russians....the kid soldiers, too....they loved me more than any family I've ever had. They'll take you in too. The heist wasn't even a big job- it was a test of loyalty. They didn't think we would succeed but we did and when we did I had access to just about anything I wanted too. My apartment I had would practically snow cocaine if you turned the fan on. You take care of the tribe, the tribe takes care of you"

 

[CynderTheDragoness]

Aly leaned against the wall quietly. They say it's the quiet ones you have to watch. The girl had done nothing more than boost a few cars for a joyride, and now she was conspiring to commit a murder. Part of her was afraid, the other part wanted to know if they could get away with it. She had wanted to rule the streets, becoming the top racer in the area. People would come all over in attept to take over her streets. She would have a crew to patrol for her. To take on contenders, testing them to see if they were good enough to face the Queen in a head to head street race. Her NFS crew wouldn't just be in a game, she'd be the head of a real street crew. "A bank heist, huh?" Immediately, Aly thought of the movie The Italian Job.

 

[Maddeline]

Caleb lazily looked at Aly.
"Yeah. We had one person for every teller lane that was open and we told them to place the entire cash tray into each bag. Fired a few bullets to scare everyone and that was it. We got on some dirt bikes we had outside of the banks and drove about forty minutes, changing clothes at gas stations, and then we put the cash in a black Range Rover. From there, I don't know what happened. I just know that I have a fat overseas bank account and that they don't even know our age. I took teller lane 4 and the police thought I was a 30 year old British male because I used my accent"

 

[slayerbat]

Alejandro shakes his head, this was a lot to take in, much less believe. Could Caleb had really been a part of that heist? Everyone knew it was real, but to think he actually knew a man that had pulled it off, and now knew the methods they did it. It seemed that Caleb was only telling the group this, because he knew if anyone said anything it'd mark them as a traitor. If anyone told, they'd be killed b someone. The apology didn't mean much when it came with the threat of death. Alejandro felt that the only chance he'd have at returning to a normal life is by doing the darkest deeds, and becoming someone respected and trusted enough to live as Caleb had. He looked at Caleb and nodded.

 

[Maddeline]

"I know you don't speak much Alejandro. I don't know what you're thinking but I hope you don't hold this against me. If I could have went back in time about three hours I would've waited for everyone to leave before beating the philipino's brains in but I was seeing straight red. I don't believe in excuses, but I do believe in empathy so I hope you do understand. That being said, a year with these guys is about like a year at a PhD job. It takes quite a bit less brains but a lot more balls"

"no. What you do takes less brains. I'm in, obviously; you didn't leave me much choice. While I don't mind to kill a bitch or two, that's not something I'm exactly in to. I prefer to have my soul when I sleep at night. That being said...helping you all plan how to kill some bitches? I'm a lot more game"
Maddie said, chiming in.

"If we convince the big shots that we're a good enough crew they'll let you do something like that. They usually only like kids and people younger than 18 doing the crimes like heists and boosting and killing but my name has weight. I can get us an audience and we'll see where it goes from there. It's not like the movies. I mean, our hideout is straight from a film set practically but these guys...you talk to them, they listen, and bounce it around to some shady people that we don't really know and then boom. It's on or it's not. Killing or maiming your own people for speaking out of turn isn't the easiest way to get recruits. That being said, our hideout was an old strip club that was cleared out and they set up a bunch of pool tables, furnished their tops and added cigar trays and tada. Secret hideout established"

 

[slayerbat]

Alejandro shrugs, "Okay." He knew that Caleb would understand it as him forgiving him, and accepting the where this new path might take him. He would follow Caleb, because he trusted him as a friend. However he resolved to at least convince him later to send money back to his mom and do the talking for him. No matter how it all went down, his mother cared for him as a single and did so honestly. She was a woman that Alejandro respected and loved. She would at least get something out of this if Alejandro had to risk his life in this tribe.

 

[LuckycoolHawk9]

Anthony took a deep breath, as he had to go on an errand for Shaq. He needed to find the man with the bloody baseball bat and laminate it with the special wood cleaner to get it clean too and he wasn't sure who they were and where to find them. After finding the people ( after speeding through town), he was surprised that the person was Caleb, one of the many classmates at his school. " Shaq forgot to laminate the damn bat," he said to him, deciding to start off with that.

 

[Maddeline]

"Christ. Three times in one night"
Caleb drew his revolver, aiming it at Anthony's center of mass, though not cocking the hammer yet.
"I don't recall ever seeing you with Shaq or clay- since when do you work for him?"

"Caleb it doesn't make any fucking sense for him to be here unless Shaq told him. Because, you know...no one else really knows"

"Last thing I want is more people involved in this. I hope you're satisfied-"
Caleb stuffed the gun back down his pants leg.
"-in your position as a mule. I don't know if you...make a lot of money or not but I'll pay you a bit more for, well, staying extra quiet"

Caleb reached into his wallet and pulled out a Benjamin. His face seemed condescending in nature as the bill was offered to Anthony.

 

[LuckycoolHawk9]

Anthony wasn't sure what to say to that.
It seemed that this was'n't the first time that he had been held at gunpoint and was immune to the scare.
" Well, it wouldn't exactly be good news if dad saw me working for a drug lord, wouldn't it?"

" Also, I imagine that you are just defending yourself, but pulling a gun on every person that walks in here is stupid."

Under his breath he muttered. " Because the best work alone too,it seems."
He watched as the gun went back into his pants too.
" I don't do this for the money, I do it for the rush of doing things and not getting caught or being charged with a major kind of any kind.

Anthony looked at him for a moment too. " 100 dollars is nothing, but I will gladly take it, side cash is always nice," he said to the other teen.

 

[Maddeline]

Maddie snarled. Anthony and his brother always seemed entitled.

"Cousin, behave" Caleb said, rolling his eyes.
"Shaq's playing you pretty good if he has you convinced he's the drug lord. I mean, he's as big as it gets before you hit Evansville or Lexington but he's more like a bass in a really big ass lake"

 

[LuckycoolHawk9]

Anthony loved it when he could get someone mad at him, he thrived off her looks.

He decided to not saying anything about the snarl.


" Well, he may be the drug lord, but he is a drug lord here and that's all I care about at the moment. Beats doing nothing with my life in this damn small town in the middle of nowehere too," he said.
--------------------------------------------------
Back home, Matthew noticed how quiet it was in the house. He wasn't screaming in pain or writhing from anything. Hmm . . . . perhaps a midnight drive would be nice now.

 

[CynderTheDragoness]

Aly was quitely contemplating. "I'm a go for boosting, as long as the wheels are worth the risk." She said. "I can drift over anyone. It'll be a breeze to get in as a driver." She got a smirk on her face. "Call me the Transporter." She grinned. Aly always had some action flick reference or another, this one happened to be a Jason Statham movie.

 

[Maddeline]

"Well then, transporter. I think you have another job you said you would take care of"
Caleb said, not taking his eyes off of Anthony.
"As for you, 'tony, I don't think we will be in need of any further services unless Shaq told you to give us anything else. You can get off my property"

 

[CynderTheDragoness]

Aly nodded. "Maddie, I'd like you to come with me." She said as she moved toward the stairs. "Before you argue, let me my say why." Aly stopped and faced Maddie. "One, I don't know the way. And two, I want to keep an eye on you in case being thrown into a radiator gave you a concussion."

 

[Maddeline]

Maddie nodded, and got up to follow her.

The still tripping Caleb started to dip the bat in the wood lamenate before saying
"FUCK IT!"
And taking four fat, white pills. They had "WATSON 853" engraved on them. Pain killers. 10mg hydrocodone, several hundred milligrams of acetaminophen.
"CALEB! You're on MDMA and you've been drinking!"

He began to laugh as he reclined his head in one of the seats in the basement. It was strange how his house was laid out, but that was only because the house was built into the hill. From his position in the basement, to his immediate left was the death site of a Filipino piece of shit, beyond that was the basements refrigerator. Directly in the middle were the stairs that went up to his domain, where his mom and step-father were not for once...they wanted Caleb to have fun on his 18th birthday and were going to let Atheena stay the weekend with him...to his right, was the heating unit for the house (and hidden behind the large square piping were the various laundry and drying machines). Following that route, the heating unit led to the basement door, which was a frail glass door that Caleb shattered at some point barging in to kill Jessie. That basement door connected directly to the driveway- his mother's Lexus still blocking a straight shot from the garage to the car port, which was only about 40 feet from the road. 40 feet from the Echo Lane suburb.
He stood up and hit the large CRAFTSMAN garage door button, and as the garage door started to raise, Caleb felt the influences of a broken heart and a lot of fucking drugs and checked out Aly for a half second. He caught himself before he made a fool out of himself more than he already had. Caleb started to veer back into the basement, and he extended an index finger and his hand at the practically empty room, and turned to face Aly. His brain was currently a mess, and he half way just wanted to say "Fuck me until I forget her" but he shook his head and went back to sit down. It was likely because Aly was kind of hot, and was the only girl here. Well Maddie was here, and even if she weren't his cousin, she was so bitchy that he half way wondered if her non-existent dad was secretly a dog.

Maddie looked at Caleb and could see the gears turning.
"Caleb. No."

"What?"

"You know what. I've seen that look before because I always party with you and I've seen you give to you know who"

"And so the fuck what, Maddie? You sleep with anyone you think is cute"

"I don't sleep with people when I'm drunk or mixing substances. Listen, think about while we disappear for forty five minutes to a few hours, if you still think it's a good idea, still don't say it. Alright?"
Maddie said, gritting her teeth. She always hated it when they would do that- the two grew up together and had a lot of similar interests- including women. Maddie hooks up with a dude? No one bats an eye. She tries to get in a girls pants and then it's a family feud even before the girl says yes or no because odds are Caleb and Maddie are both chasing the same girl all night.
Maddie turned to look at Alejandro and whispered out of Caleb's auditory range.
"Please please please. If he starts to fall asleep, keep him awake. If he starts moving around a lot, sit him down, okay? We'll be lucky if he doesn't have a heart attack or a stroke or something. He's in a dark place, and he cries sometimes. It's awful, I don't know many people that can see him cry and not cry themselves so just be prepared. And if you get the chance, hide any knives you see down here and take the bullets out of that revolver. He won't fight you I don't believe, but I know him and whenever he starts hurting he takes it out on himself so he doesn't hurt anyone else-"
She began to comprehend what she just said, given the context of their situation.
"-I mean when he's like...emotionally hurting. I guess her cheating on him is emotional- fuck you know what I mean, right?" She just half smiled and started walking backwards with a half thumbs up from her right hand, her left hand clutching her head. She could feel the wound occasionally get "leaky" and drip or drop a few blood trails out from her hair and any sort of bandages that were there.

 

[CynderTheDragoness]

Aly sighed, exasperated, from where she stood by the stairs. "The longer we sit here BSing, the less time we have to get shit done." Aly's way of keeping sane, stay on point."Let's go, Maddie. I've got another car stashed in a safe house near here."

 

[Maddeline]

"We won't need it. Bradley lives in the middle of bum fuck nowhere outside of town- ironically, he's halfway between where Atheena is and where we are right now. He's on Carbondale. The old dinosaur sign- that's his road"
She could tell by the silence that everyone thought she was crazy.
"Okay, yeah, I'll go then."

She walked outside to Aly's GT-R and waited for her friend to unlock the car. Shaq somehow got Jessie's geo at some point. I mean, he said he would do it, but no one heard a tow truck or saw another person come over and move the vehicle. Despite his gigantic size, Shaq was pretty sneaky.