Young Writers Society

Riley

"Handle it the southern way." I say suddenly, the idea hitting me on the spot.

"That's suicide!" Reg protested. The method was simple, distract the enemy, then shoot all at once. Jack's invention, actually. It had gotten me out of a few rough spots.

"Trust, Reg." I say. We both get off the motorcycle. The cops step out of the cars, guns raised. I reach into the storage compartment of my motorcycle, and bring out a gun.

"So we're even now." I taunt the cops.

"Far from, there's two of you, six of us." One responds.

"I didn't mean in numbers, I meant skill level." I say with a grin. Then, suddenly, a great mass of fire erupted where the cops were. When the smoke cleared, I saw Sal leaning against her car.

"Don't say I never did anything for you." She said.

"I had it under control." I retort, but am still relieved.

Sal

"I had it under control." Riley said.

"Of course you did, now can we go back to the mansion before I have to use another explosive?" I ask. Without bothering to hear an answer, I get in my car.

Before long, with Reg and Riley on the motorcycle, we get back to the mansion.

"Who did you blow up?" Alis demands, storming out of the house.

"A few cops. They're probably not dead. You know, screw, they probably are. Well, anyway, I have a favor to ask you."

"I'm not doing any favors of yours!" She yells, and walks into the house. I run up to Eve.

"Eve, I need your help."

"With what" She asks skeptically.

"I need you to go down to the Devil's Market and get me this." I show her a picture of a little leaf. I hand her a wad of 100 dollar bills. At least the money I got from giving out information was going to good use. If my dad was right, this could be the plant that could help Ace, even if the plant wasn't supposed to exist.

Maitea

I hear the familar soun of Riley's motorcycle engine in the driveway.

"They're back," I say. I lean down and gie Ace a kiss, "'and it's all thanks to you."

"They could've done it without me." Ace said.

"No, I don't think so. At least, not with keeping us all alive. You know, this is the second time you've saved us."

"Maitea, you're making more out of it than it really is."

"No, I'm not." I say. I sigh, I was tierd, and hadn't slept in a while. That, and I hadn't had a bite to eat in a day or two. But I wasn't leaving Ace, now. Just in case......

I hear Alis yells at Sal and laugh a little. Were they ever not fighting?

Riley

I walk into the room where Ace and Maitea are.

"Ace, I just wanted to thank you. You got me out of a real tough spot back there. I owe you." I say with a smile.

"Oh, uh, your welcome." He said.

"And, Maitea, you can come back with us." I say, turning around before I leave the rom. I had thought about it a bit, and knew it was only for the best. I walk out the door, going to find Reg. He is in the kitchen, talking to Chris.

"Chris, would you go find Aurelie for me, I need to speak to her." I ask, half giving her something to do, half so I could talk to Reg.

"What'd ya need, Riles?" Reg asked.

"Actually, I just wanted to discuss an idea. The government either does, or did know where we are. Instead of moving again, I was wondering your opinion of having people run shifts, standing guard. It would be better in the long run. And, in addition, do the whole fake i.d. scheme. It might just save us, and keep us doing what this gang was formed to do."

Reg Carter

"Suits me Riles," I smiled, "Oh, and I heard you're bringing Maitea back in the gang-"

"Reg, it's because-"

"Hey," I interrupted, "Don't worry. I think it's a good decision, she did good. I'm on your side, remember? We go back a long way, Riles, we need to make sure we don't cock none of that up."

"Agreed," Riley replied, a grin appeared on her face for the first time in a good while.

I looked in the cupboard, scanning the shelves and realising how foul most'a the food seemed to be here. Oh well, it'd hardly matter, since there, at the back of the cupboard, was a few tins of baked beans. Lovely, I thought. Then, putting them on the heat to boil, I looked through the kitchen doorway and into the lounge. Riley, James, Maitea, Ace, Eve, Sal, Chris, Jimmy, Aurelie, Cleo and Alis were all in there, having a laugh. Things were back to the way they were and hell that felt good.

Ace

Riley and Reg coming back safely lifted my spirits enough so that I felt better than I had in days. I was still useful; I'd saved my friends' lives. That in itself had to be a good reason to keep kicking.

"Do you mind if we go downstairs for a bit?" I asked Maitea as I wrapped myself up in a colorful, hand-knit blanket. The girl who'd made it for me was now living it up on some tropical island; she'd had a bad relationship and then ran off to the land of pina coladas on clear beaches. Yet somehow, I felt I was in an even better place than she was, even shut up in a forgotten mansion and on the run from the government.

"Are you feeling okay, Ace?" she asked, but got up to follow me.

Downstairs, I found Reg as he carried out a bowl of beans. "Reg, you did great!" I smiled. "I was hoping you'd be able to spot my camera signals. I mean...wow, if I can hack a high security prison...what's next? Area 51?" Everyone laughed, even though I didn't think it was that funny.

"Please don't hack that," Maitea sighed. "Don't go off being a daredevil and get yourself caught."

"I won't," I smirked. "Don't worry about that."

Riley

"I've always wondered, though..." I say in response to Ace's comment about Area 51.

"Don't encourage him." Maitea said.

"Maybe later." I laugh. It was the first time I had laughed in a long time, and it felt really good. "I think tomorrow we'll pay the governor a visit. He has a mansion in Westbrooke."

"Let's not hold his kid hostage, though." James said, shooting Sal a look.

"It would have worked."She retorted. I smiled.

"Sal, no holding six year olds hostage." I say, then add, "Unless they have a gun."

"How many six year olds have a gun?" Chris asks.

"One," I point to Sal, "Two," and point to Alis. The whole gang starts laughing.

Maitea

I couldn't help but laugh along as Riley pointed out probably the two most likely, of any of us, to have used guns when we were six.

"Are we going to split into teams?" I ask Riley.

"I think we might, though I'm not sure what they would be yet." Riley's eyes scanned the group before her.

"We really have grown, haven't we?" James observed.

"Yes, we might even be bigger than Jack's gang in the south." I say, remembering when we had last visited them, though not exactly under the best circumstances. I saw Reg's mouth press into a hard line when I mentioned Jack, and wondered quickly at his reaction.

I turn to Ace, "Are you doing alright, or do you want to go back upstairs?"

Okay, I'm back. Does anyone mind telling me what's happened???

Riley got captured, but Reg, Ace and Maitea saved her, with some help from Sal at the end. Maitea is back in the gang. They are mostly just sitting and talking about a future heist right now.

Okay. Tell me if there's anything wrong with my post.

Eve

I was really glad to have Riley back, even though nobody ever told me she was gone.

"I saw a really big house around the corner." Alis said. "That would be a good place."

"I saw that one too." Riley said. "The problem is that it looked like it had high security." There was a moment of silence while we all thought of other places.

"My cousin is really rich, but he lives about a mile away." Jimmy said, breaking the silence.

"That could work. A mile isn't too far. That's probably the best one. Do you know if there's a lot of security?" Riley said.

"Not really. They aren't the smartest people." Jimmy said, chuckling a little.

"Plus, we might find other houses on the way." I said.

There was another moment of silence, then Riley finally spoke.

"All right then, we can start there." she said.

Riley

"Actually, I have a better idea. The governor will be away this weekend..." I trail off, thinking, "We will have to split into three groups, two that go into the mansion, one that stays at home, dealing with security and such."

"This will be easy." Ace scoffed.

"Don't get a big head." I snapped. "Now, for groups; Aurelie, Ace, Eve, stay here. Cleo, Maitea, Chris, Sal, Jimmy; you will stay around the house, watching for the cops. Me, James, Alis and Reg will actually be in the house, taking what we can. No, Alis, that is not me giving you permission to shoot people."

Alis looked disappointed, "But...."

"Riles knows what she's doin'," Reg said.

"Thank you." I nod in his direction. "Get a good nights sleep everyone, tomorrow is showtime." I laugh a little, and leave the room.

Reg Carter

I finished up my bowl of beans and then grinned. My bullet wounds had healed a lot quicker than I'd expected and I silently thanked my immune system for delivering another top-notch recovery. Taking the bowl into the kitchen and sticking it in the corner dishwasher, I marvelled about the days ahead; yet, somehow, I knew it wouldn't be the same without Bree.

We'd have 'till tomorrow to prepare for the heist, so that gave me sufficient time to step into the lounge and lay back on the sofa, just listening to some relaxing music. I was alone, momentarily, until Riley joined me and decided to plant her bottom on the end of the sofa, dangling her legs over mine, despite the vacant other sofas and armchairs dotted around.

"Tired?" she asked, smiling happily.

"Just about," I mumbled back. "All that shootin', takin' it out of me."

She laughed. "I knew you could handle it."

That made me crack up too. "Yeah, okay Riles," I said and gave her a wink. Then we were silent for a moment, just listening to the music play through the tracks. "How's you and James?" I asked, curious as he'd not shown his face too often recently.

I can't leave you guys forever!

Name: Howard Hodgins

Age: 36

Picture:

Spoiler

Country and Global Location: American and currently in Nevada.

Languages You Speak: English, French, Spanish, and a little Chinese

Which RHG's were You In Before, If Any?: The character, none. Howler has played in 2 and the beginning of 3, before his character Max died.

Vehicle:

Spoiler

Personality: Pretty social, energetic, polite, but doesn't actually care about anybody other than himself most of the time. At the same time, he doesn't accept gifts from others; he lives the belief that he has to earn and get any physical posessions on his own.

History: If you want the long version, http://www.youngwriterssociety.com/topic65592.html.
To put it in a short form, Howard started out as a born-rich thrill seeker, who used his money to fund a treasure hunting job. He went around the globe, fought criminals to get the treasure, and sold it off. During an average hunt, he ended up being found by a member of the serial killer society of the Paradise Killers (PK), Max Washman. Howard beat Max in a fight, and found out about the PK, and Howard got the idea that he could rob the PK, take some money for himself, and give the rest back. Two days after Howard joined, the RHG hunt began. Howard still hated the PK, so he never killed another person, only buried them and left behind instructions for others to find the victim. Before Max (who was his only friend in the PK, I might add) left the PK, Howard found out that both Max and SS (the boss) had broken into Howard's account and home, and sold off everything to help fund the PK. It goes without saying that Howard was insane with anger, that his only friend in the team stole everything he owned. Howard only ended up killing one person his time in the PK before it all crumbled; Max. He shot him with a taser and buried him alive, as all the PK were ordered. He spent countless days walking, living off of what money he had, to find out if he really had nothing, and it was true. He needed his beloved action lifestyle, and had nowhere to turn, except for one place. Howard got the idea to go back to Nevada and take the rest of the PK money, but he couldn't live off of it, if they were really as poor as Max told Howard in the beginning. So, he got the idea of another start; go to where Max did. Howard has one of Max's cell phone numbers, and is making a call with a shot at big money, and his job offer.

Likes/Dislikes: Loves money and action. Hates gifts.

Up for love: Sure.

Other: Glad to be back! Let me know if I'm not welcome, though. I don't know why I wouldn't be. Nonetheless, let me know if I need to be going elsewhere.

Howard

I might as well have been in some ancient ruins. All the PK were dead or they had fled ages ago, and nobody thought "Hey, let's take all the guns and cars and bikes and money in the currently unprotected base". Maybe I was just smarter than the pathetic killers who fell into this idiotic gang.

I was on the roof of the warehouse, looking at the sun setting and at the screen on my cell phone. I still felt a little frightened to call this new gang that Max ran away to, but I'll give it to Max that he did some good things. I'm glad I got the chance to zap and bury him to his death, but he did want to be a good guy. So did I.

I pressed the phone number on the contact list, and it rang for more than a while. I had a few worries that it'd be thrown out, or I buried it with him, or nobody would care. Even if somebody picked it up, I didn't have a choice but to tell the truth; if I said I knew Max, I'd either have to have been in the PK, or his gang. Nobody else could've known him. I thought out how exactly I'd ask, and got interrupted by exactly what I asked for; somebody picked up the phone.

"Hello?" asked the voice on the other line. A dead man's cell phone just rang, so I had to guess the person was a little frightened or concerened.

"Is this the...", I checked a file we had on the gang that I had beside me so I could remember the name, "...Fishers?"

"...yes..." said the voice, still with the fear or concern.

"Evening. My name is Howard, and I knew an old member of your group, Max. I'm not too proud of where I was to meet him, in...the PK, but obviously, neither was he. But if you let him in, why not me. I'd like a job with you guys, and a place to stay"

Dead silence over the other line. I almost forgot my selling point.

"Oh, and I've got money for you guys. Lots. An abandoned organization with a fat bank account, guns galore, and even some bikes and cars if you want them. Send somebody down to where I am with a car to put a bunch of stuff in, and it's all ours. Key word being "ours". No job, no money. Please, I may seem somewhat needy and unlikely a person, but this is what I want and what I need. You have nothing to lose or risk letting me in"

I hoped for the best, but I was patient and didn't fight too much stronger than this. I probably wouldn't let myself in if I was on the other line of this chat.