Young Writers Society

Sorry it's long.... (And this is going to be interesting once Howard figures out the gang is lead by a girl...)

Riley

"How's you and James?" Reg asked suddenly. His question shocked me a little. Nonetheless, he deserved an honest answer.

"All business now. We rarely talk, and if we do, it's about something along the lines of a heist."

"Nothin' special?" Reg raised an eyebrow.

"No, not really..." I was cut off when I heard a phone ring in the kitchen. It was Max's phone. We had kept it in case more PK came back. Ace could have done some tracking...

I run into the kitchen, and answer. After a second or two of idle chatter, the man on the line says, "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. 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 think for a minute. This could be a trap, but it also couldn't. And who else would have known about Max and his association with the PK than a member itself? Still, I thought we had killed the lot of them.

"I'd like to meet you, before I jump to conclusions. As much as I'd like to hang up and throw Max's cellphone in the nearest lake, something tells me that wouldn't be the best option."

"And so...." He asks, waiting for me to assign a meeting point.

"Do you know Donner park, on Jacob Street by Westbrooke? There is a little clearing in the woods there. I need somewhere I won't be seen, as you may know, anyone in the Fishers has a price tag on their forehead."

"I know, of course. And I can meet you there, in say, an hour?"

"That will be fine." I say, and hang up.

"Who was tha'?" Reg asks, walking in.

"A friend of Max's. He says he has money for us, provided we give him a spot with us. Normally, I wouldn't even consider this, but something tells me this guy might be worth it. Go find James, we're going over to Westbrooke a little early. I would go alone, but this guy could be trouble. I would like to have backup, if this comes to a fight." I say, and brush past Reg out of the room.

Sorry, I've been on vacation...

Alis

I walk by as Riley brushes past Reg out of the kitchen. from what I can see through the door, Max's cell phone lay out on the table. Reg was in the kitchen, still looking at the phone. He left the kitchen through the other door, in the direction of the stairs.

"What's going on?" I ask Riley. Her face was crossed with concern and curiosity, something I didn't often see.

"Phone call from a friend of Max's, I'm going to meet him at Westbrooke." She said, in a tone that obviously said she was in a hurry.

"I'm coming." I decide with a shrug. Riley looks like she would have protested, but she probably decided arguing with me was useless. "If he has friends, and they don't have good intentions, you're going to need some good fighters."

"Reg and James..."

"Won't be enough." I finish her thought, then walk outside to check if my car had enough gas. I hadn't been to the station in a while.

Howard

They were worried. They thought they were going to get killed. And yet, they agreed to meet me. Punched the air in success and got right off the roof. Before I left the warehouse, I locked up...could never be too careful. Although nobody thought to come back to the base after the group died, so maybe I was just being a little ridiculous.

I had pretty much my pick of the litter when it came to my own vehicle. All the cars were left in the base usually with the keys in, so I had a parking lot filled with whatever I'd want. Usually, I had a van or a truck, but I wasn't going to be carrying too much stuff anymore. So, I went with light and quick and small; a silver motorbike.

I went as fast as I could, with my backpack strapped tight. They wanted to know I was safe, so all I brought in it was a map, some snacks, my lucky machete, and an empty, jet black desert eagle pistol. I had some magazines in my pocket, but better too seem as unarmed as I could. I also brought with me a list I had of all the PK members, dead or alive, phone numbers included. Who knows, these people here might want some shots at revenge.

I could just as easily have been riding off towards my doom, but I didn't think to stop. Doom was better than the nothingness I was already in. Besides, in a way, I'm trying to do the right thing. I didn't kill anybody in the PK other than the one deserving of it, Max, but staying in it for any reason was down right evil. As I got off the bike and started hiking through the woods to the clearing, I tried to go fast. I had good feelings brewing in me, and I wanted more of them quick.

Riley

I go up to my room, and hunt down my pistol. I had quite a few guns, but this one was for Mexico. I guess, to me, it was a sort of good luck charm. I checked that it was loaded and put it in my pocket.

"We going to meet a friend of Max's?" James asked suddenly, appearing in the doorway.

"Yes. Reg told you that, didn't he?" My voice was thick with impatience.

"Well, yes, but..."

"So there was no reason to doubt anything. Reg is well informed, and he works on my orders. Now, we leave in five minutes, go get yourself ready."

I think about my best possible options with confronting Howard. I had learned my lesson with the PK, I wouldn't go alone. I ran options through my head, finally deciding to have Reg and James come into the clearing with me, while Alis stayed in the trees with orders to shoot at first sign of danger.

Eve

I was really excited about the heist tomorrow, but a little bummed when I found out I was staying here. I didn't dare disobey Riley's orders, though.

After the talk about the heist, I heard Alis talking to Riley about going to Max's old friends. I tried not to get involved in that one, and just trusted that Riley knew what she was doing.

I decided to talk to Sal, since I hadn't for a while.

"So, glad to have you back in the gang." I said with a smile.

"It's good to be back." She said. There was a long and awkward silence after that. I couldn't think of anything to say. Sal and I hadn't talked for a long time, so we weren't very close anymore.

((Sorry it's so short. I'm still trying to think about what to put cause of being gone so long. I'm just a little bit confused. Tell me if I do anthing wrong.))

Howard

The woods were dark, green, and stenched of nothing. With the closeness of all the trees, the clearing wasn't hard to find. When I walked into it, I was alone. They wouldn't be standing me up, so I was either early or they were hiding. I had one method to find out.

I took the backpack off and started emptying things out. I threw them all forward to the ground ahead of me. The machete, the gun, the magazines, even the backpack when it was empty. I turned my pockets inside out, stepped back, and waited for a second.

"Max was my only friend in that idiotic PK, you know", I called out, "I wouldn't have anybody to bring if I wanted them"

Still nothing. Dead silence.

"Come out already!", I said restlessly, "I ain't gonna bite"

Riley

I had given Alis strict instructions, stay behind a tree, don't shoot until ordered, she knew the signal. I think she had hoped for more of a reaction.

I heard a voice, similar to the one on the phone, call out when we neared the clearing "Come out already! I ain't gonna bite,"

"Well, I should hope not. " I said, stepping into the afternoon sun, "Otherwise there would be trouble for you." Reg flanked my right side, and James my left. Both, like me, had guns out and ready to use at a minutes notice. Alis, too, had a weapon, hidden behind the trees. Even for her, the weapon was a little extreme. I had chosen my more discreet pistol, but still deadly at the first sign of danger.

"And you are?" Howard inquired as I stepped closer. I still stayed a good five feet back, though. I had learned my lesson, never step close to a potential enemy. If you do, there's a chance they will go to shake your hand and stab you instead.

"Riley, for now we will be on first name basis. I don't think the government knows my last name and I'd like to keep it that way." At my side, James laughed a little.

"They know." He covered his words with a cough.

"Well, that's real swell for them then." I turn back to Howard, "If you're going to pull anything, try it now. I'm a busy person, and I hate wasting time."

Howard

"If you're going to pull anything, try it now. I'm a busy person, and I hate wasting time". I felt mildly insulted when she said this. I really could not have guessed somebody like this was the head of the gang (I wouldn't expect them to send a random member to talk to me), some fiesty little girl. Cute fiesty little girl, at that. I suppose that little surprise factor helped her win fights, had to give her points for that too. But I threw my stuff out to them, for god's sake; what proof did they need that I wasn't some mindless killer? Then I remembered that there was something that made us that way.

"You think I'm an enemy, fine. Take my blood", I said. Riley looked somewhat confused by my proof. "I never got injected with that Impulse Injection they give the PK members. I also never killed a single person. I buried them live, and gave their teammates or friends a location and a time limit before the air ran out. I hated those guys. It was a mistake. Max knew that too"

"You still fell for them, like Max", Riley debated.

"I joined to rob them, give them what they deserved. In the end, they stole everything from me. I hated them more and more from beginning to end. Heck, you should be glad I called you guys instead of me just taking it all"

"Generosity isn't usual for you people"

"Call it an apithany. If you want to kill me, go ahead. But I have no reason to hurt you and never have. You don't need to start and end a fight that doesn't exhist, now, do you?"

I think I was finally winning this gunpoint interview.

Alis

I couldn't stand this much longer. I come out of the trees, ignoring Riley's death glares.

"Look, I think he's okay. I searched the whole place, he's alone. Really, honestly, he knows we could kill him know, but he is unarmed. Just let him in." I say with an exaggerated sigh.

"I was going to, just thinking a minute." Riley shot me another look, "And what happened to 'stay behind the trees'?"

"You were being stupid so I butted in." I fold my arms across my chest.

Riley turned to Howard, "Follow us on whatever you came here in, I would assume you didn't walk."

"You assume correctly," Howard looked off in the distance for a minute. Riley walked back in the direction of her motorcycle, with Reg and James behind her.

I turn to Howard, "Welcome to the Fishers. And, Riley mentioned something about cars. I have a little stand-in now, but, it isn't exactly what I'm looking for. I like small, expensive, and fast, if you get the gist."

Eve

Riley, Reg, James, and some new person came through the door. I figured it was Max's friend.

"Everybody, this is Howard. He's going to be joining us." Riley said when everyone had gathered. "Nobody shoot him." She looked at Sal, and I could barely make out a smile on her face. I couldn't remember the last time I saw her smile, but it was good to see it now.

I went to say hello to him, and give him a proper welcome. He was finally someone that we expected, not just someone who came in and ended up joining because we couldn't risk word of us getting out. Besides, he looked like the shooting type. I didn't think I would have any problems with him.

"Hey, welcome to the Fishers." I said, putting my hand out. He shook it firmly with a smile.

"Thanks." he said. "It's good to be here. Seems like a nice place."

I decided to help him out by telling him who everyone was and how things worked. After that, I went to go talk to Chris. She was a nice friend, someone I could talk to anytime, even if there was nothing to talk about.

Howard

I have to say, the hospitality was a nice change. Sure, I fight well as a lone wolf, but I haven't had much company in a few months thanks to the PK bastards. Something told me this'd be a place I'll be happy to stick around in. I didn't want to sit around here too much, for now anyways. I had a deal to keep up.

Seeing Riley eye Sal in my introduction, I won't lie; I did not want to piss either of them off. As childish as it seemed, it seemed best to ask permission if I could to go to Nevada and get them the money and guns I promised. I grabbed Riley just as soon as Eve was done showing me around and passing me the names.

"I promised you money, and it's in Nevada. Can I go get it now?"

Riley just got a little more irritated. She was officially the only one who hated me. I really wish I could've not told them I was ever in the PK, but I didn't do a thing wrong. Overdramatic was what she was. "Take somebody with you", she told me. There was one person I know would want to come. I quickly jumped over to Alis.

"Want to go get a car?", I asked her. She almost sprinted to the garage. Before I left, I yelled a final call through the house.

"Anybody want to come to Nevada with me and bring back some guns and a car or two?"

Ace

"Anybody want to come to Nevada with me and bring back some guns and a car or two?" the newcomer called as he started to leave.

"No!" I yelled back. Any other time, I probably wouldn't have minded riding along with them.

He looked slightly surprised. I wasn't sure he'd actually noticed me, curled up into nothing on an armchair, covered with a heavy blanket. I probably looked like death. I wasn't even really aware of what time of day it was anymore. Well...these things happened.

I then realized that I wasn't even sure when the heist was supposed to be happening. "I'm going crazy," I murmured. It didn't really matter, I supposed, if I was just staying home anyway.

Just for fun, I grabbed my mini computer and navigated through a new system, causing the alarm on Howard's bike to go off. I grinned. Boredom was exhilarating.

********************

I may not be on for a few days; I have a 22-hour (not counting layovers!) flight tomorrow, and then I have to get settled in a new place. I'll try to log on if I can. Just have Ace do whatever, and if he complains, slap him around a bit and he'll behave.

wow... I have completely dropped out... I'm sorry guys. I seem to complain about it a lot and I'm just as bad as anyone else. I'll try and post more

James~~

After Howard left with Alis I wandered around the house, my mind troubled. Something about tonight's collection was bothering me. When the gang was still young we had been good friends, Riley and me. But now... now I could only say our relationship was casual at best.

I didn't really think about where I was going until I was there, but then it seemed fairly obvious where I had been going.

I knocked on Riley's door.

"Hey, what's up?"

I paused before answering, "Would you like to go get some pizza? I really wanna get out, and I was wondering if you wanted to go? You know, like old times. No business, just us as friends."

Howard

"So, is it a rule to either be an asshole or kind?", I jokingly asked Alis. She laughed for a second, and we got riding, her in her car following me on my bike. Riding was pretty peaceful, as always, but the alarm on my bike going off and scaring me into falling, wasn't very nice. Although, it could've been worse...I could've ended up the same as the bike if I didn't jump off. I didn't think it was too finicky. I was glad Alis had her car, but it felt awkward being driven by somebody else.

We pulled up in front of the warehouse and I led her straight to the parking lot. She seemed...nervous, if nothing else. I suppose the PK were pretty destructive on these guys, it was acceptable enough.

"Nobody's been here since SS died, relax", I calmed her. But any fear or concern she had disappeared as we walked into the massive parking lot. The place had a car of just about any kind, and inside was the same with guns. I didn't care much about the cars, so I figured I'd work on that while Alis did her car search.

"Keys should be in everything, take your time. Put some guns in the trunk of whatever you choose, would you?"

There was a black van near the front that I opened up, and I put in a silver motorbike similar to the one that crashed along the way. Before any guns, I went to the middle of the warehouse to the stage with SS and Max's old guitars and amps. SS didn't care much for bank accounts, so he used cash for everything, and I was lucky to find the location written in his computer; inside the amps.

I carried the amps into the van, and I screwed open one of them to check; filled with cash around the sound system tech. This was most of it, anyways. A lot of the PK budget was in circulated money and spent on the guns and cars. Considering how much was spent, it was no wonder they were getting dirt poor before they died off. More of the money was in SS' favorite car, a bulky pink old car that he called "The Manhattan". Probably more money in there than there was the two amps. But, that car could be anywhere now; took it with him at the final showdown. If only I could find that thing. Being behind the wheel of the villains car just seemed like it'd be a feeling of justice. Plus the money'd be pretty good, too.

I started grabbing some guns off the racks along the walls, and threw them in the van. Crappy menial tasks, but who else was going to do them? Alis certainly wasn't. I saw her driving at full speed at the other side of the lot. She was having the time of her life over there.

Riley

"Would you like to go get some pizza? I really wanna get out, and I was wondering if you wanted to go? You know, like old times. No business, just us as friends." James asked. I thrilled a little at his words.

"Sure," I said. I hopped off my bed where I had previously been working out of a french text-book, and walked over to him. "But it's probably best we go to downtown, the way down. There are enough robbers and the like down there that we won't stand out too much. And besides, there's this one place that makes really good cheese pizza."

We both went downstairs, and got into his car. the engine started up, and we drove off towards downtown.

"You know," I said after a minute, "keep a gun ready, just in case."