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Cocktail (Chapter Three)



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Mon Nov 28, 2011 9:01 pm
psudiname says...



Chapter Three
Lisa

As soon as the man left, Matt flipped the sign on the door so that it read 'closed', and turned around with a massive grin. We all broke out into uncontrollable laughter as the realization of how much money we had gotten sunk in. we hugged and shook hands, and Raleigh threw some of it in the air as we congratulated each other.

"Roderick, make sure to get a hold of our accountant so he can use some of this to buy more antiques and launder the money. I don't want to get busted a week from now when some fed gets suspicious," Matt said, as our celebration died down. "Lisa, Raleigh, you two take like two grand go have fun. I'll prepare for tonight."

This was our sixth job since we'd all met a year and a half ago. Like usual, Matt was preparing a some sort of surprise for us. Each time we finished a job, he would use some of the money to get something for us to enjoy, and each time it was different. Once he rented a limo, and we went clubbing at the expensive clubs, dancing to techno and meeting VIP's. Another time he bought a massive stereo and we had a small party in our apartment. It was always a fun surprise, and it made up for the fact that he wouldn't let us spend any of the down payments we got from clients before we finished the jobs.

"Come on Lisa, let's go have some fun!" chirped Raleigh, picking up about twenty hundreds off of the floor. I followed her happily out the door, waving goodbye to the others.

"What are we doing first?"

"Well I don't know about you, but I want a hotdog."

"Two grand to blow however you want and the first thing you ask for is a hotdog?"

Raleigh gave a sly smile. "Just because you have money doesn't mean you need to spend it."

"Whatever. Hey what do you think Matt got us this time?" I asked, now that we were outside the shop, and well out of earshot.

"I don't know. He seemed really nervous about this one, given that we pulled it off in broad daylight. I wouldn't be surprised if he really splurges this time."

"I don't know why he was worried. We pulled one off in broad daylight before, and it's not like any of his plans ever fail."

"His plans never fail because he worries."


I thought about this and wondered if Raleigh was right. Was I being naive to trust him so much? Was Matt just playing this whole thing by ear or was he always three steps ahead, like I imagined. Ultimately, Matt was the plan guy, the leader. He was twenty six, a year younger than me, but he was the smartest man I knew, and demonstrated his brilliance every time we got a new job. His talents however, did not lie simply in strategy and organization, but in pretty much everything. He was a jack of all trades, who was constantly looking for a way to make himself better. He was constantly asking Roderick questions about electronics and technology, and every Saturday I would teach him hand to hand combat up at the gym. Matt always seemed to me like he had it together. Not as if he was in the process of succeeding, but as if he already had. I had not noticed him seeming particularly worried about this job, but Raleigh was an expert at reading people, so he must have been. I began to wonder if he actually felt the way he looked all the time, but the thought was quickly driven from my mind as we approached a hot dog stand.


"I'll have one hotdog with ketchup please," Raleigh told the middle aged man behind the stand, moving a lock of dark blond hair out of her eyes innocently. I narrowed my eyes. I hope she's not doing what I think she's doing, I thought.

"Do you want anything?" she said, turning to me.

"No I'm good thanks," I responded, still a little suspicious.

"That'll be four dollars."

Raleigh smiled sweetly at the man and reached into her pocket for one of the hundreds.

"Oh no. Oh no. Shit! Lisa, I lost the money!"

"You what?!" My heart sank, partially hoping that she was lying, and partially hoping that for once she was actually telling the truth.

"I don't know what happened; I had it earlier, but it must have fallen out or something. God, I can't believe this is happening! This whole day has been terrible." She placed her head in her hand and sobbed gently. I simply stood there stunned.

"Oh don't cry, things can't be that bad. Here, have a hotdog on the house," said the vendor, captivated by the spectacle before him. I sighed as she thanked him glowingly.

"Ok, your turn to pick where we go," Raleigh said brightly as we walked away.

"For God's sake, it was only four dollars! We got over fifty grand for this job alone; that was completely unnecessary."

She wiped a few residual tears from her eyes and took another bite of her hot dog victoriously. "Come on Lisa, you really think he was going to break a hundred? Plus Matt said to have fun, and that was fun."

"Your idea of fun is robbing the city blind?"

"Isn't that literally what we just did?"

She had a point. I had no right to take the moral high ground, but it bugged me whenever she did this. To be perfectly honest, it was mostly because she could do it and I couldn't. Whenever I was around Raleigh, she would get all the attention from everyone, and I would be practically invisible. I'd never have admitted it, but that pissed me off something awful.

"Yeah, but just tone it down."

"Ok, if you say so."


After a quick stop at the gun store for some extra bullets and magazines, we bought some expensive cloths at Raleigh's request, and returned to the apartment shared by the four of us. As soon as we opened the door, the smells of the most high quality foods Matt could get his hands on bombarded our senses. A large table complete with a silk tablecloth and candles stood in the middle of our apartment, topped with lobster, caviar, and steak. The massive stereo played upbeat dance music as Matt fired off a couple hundred dollars worth of party poppers filled with confetti. To top it all off, he opened several bottles of expensive champagne, and poured us each a glass. Matt had sprung for the good stuff too, not just any sparkling wine, this was actual high quality champagne imported from France. I was just as surprised as I always was, and began slowing down to enjoy the exquisite food and atmosphere after a long stressful day where speed was essential. As the night went on, we laughed and joked about the job, teasing each other, and pointing out some of the funnier moments of the past couple weeks. When we finished listening to Roderick's hilarious impression of one of the security guards who had almost caught us while we were doing surveillance, Matt stood up, looking slightly more serious.


"I know this job was a little more stressful, and a little more dangerous, so I got a little something extra."

Everyone at the table instantly became more attentive, filled with the excitement of yet another surprise. Raleigh smirked confidently, having predicted this. I pretended I didn't notice.

"We're a great team, and together, our strengths have leveled even the biggest corporate giants, but when I look at you guys, I don't just see a team, I see individuals. I want you guys to know that I care about each of you, and that even though we are a team, we're great as individuals as well. That's why I got each of you and individual gift."

We clapped at his speech, and at the thought of a personalized present. Matt usually spent several thousand dollars preparing these celebrations, so we could be sure these gifts wouldn't be cheap.

"For Lisa, I bought a combat knife. It's got an extendable titanium blade, with a whisper light plastic handle. Perfectly legal, but still pretty damn lethal."

I hugged him happily, accepting my new weapon with glee. The rubber grip over the near weightless plastic fit comfortably in my hand. I spent the next few minutes toying with the extension feature, which could make the blade be anywhere from completely within the handle, to four and a half inches long.

"For Rod, I got a new laptop. This was the newest model I could find. It should have a lot more processing power and way more storage capability than the one you have now," he said, turning to Roderick. Roderick looked like a kid in a candy shop. As he began turning it on and setting it up, Matt pulled the final gift out of a bag. The diamonds glimmered in the dim lit room, and Raleigh smiled happily. She put the earrings on and thanked him.

"They're so beautiful!" she remarked, looking sweetly into his eyes.

I looked at the floor. I knew that it made sense, because all of our gifts could help us do what we did best even better, but I couldn't help feeling a little jealous. I put the thought out of my mind, scolding myself for being so petty.

The rest of the night progressed as it usually did. The four of us danced and laughed, and occasionally threw handfuls of hundred dollar bills in the air with joy. It was nights like that that kept me in a life of crime. The moral aspect did not bother me, simply the risk versus the benefit. After all, we were not stealing from some jewelry shop, who's employees would suffer pay cuts, we were simply shifting the balance of power back and forth between major corporations, and that shifted naturally anyways. Sure it was a risky profession, but the thrill of reaping the rewards was more than worth it.

"Come on Lisa, have some more champagne," Matt pleaded cheerfully.

"You know I'm not big on drinking."

"Fine, I'll make you a deal," he said, changing the song on the stereo to a slower, more intimate song, "Either you have another drink with me, or you dance with me."

"Now you know very well that's not really a choice for me," I responded, taking his hand. We began to slow dance, swaying gently back and forth to the music. It felt so natural, his gentle hands, on my waist, mine on his muscular shoulders.

"You were great today," He said softly.

"Thanks, but it was your plan."

"I plan I would much rather have done at night. I know you're a little more in your element when there's climbing to be done, but you did great during the day too."

"At least I got to hit someone. It's not every day I get to knock someone out," I said, only sort of joking. He chuckled.

"you know, some guys would get emasculated by how violent you are," Matt said, taking a hand off my waist to brush my light blond hair behind my ear, "But to be honest, I find it pretty sexy."

I blushed, even thought this wasn't the first time Matt had hit on me.

"Then I guess you'll just have to plan more day ops in the future."

"I just might."

The song ended, but we continued dancing slowly for another thirty seconds. When we stopped, I sleepily checked the time. It was two fifteen. I told the others I was going to bed, and headed to my room. The perfect end to the perfect day, I thought. I could still feel Matt's arms around me. Laying in my bed, I was still feeling the residual euphoria from the day's victory, and could barely wait for the next job. After a half hour or so of restlessly trying to sleep while thinking about the day's events, I decided to get up for a drink of water. Standing in the kitchen, oblivious to my presence, were Matt and Raleigh, kissing in the dim light. I just stood there for about five seconds, too tired to know how to process this. Eventually it dawned on me how awkward it would be if they saw me, so I turned around and went to bed.

I had no idea that the next day would be the start of a chain of events that would turn my life and the lives of my team completely upside down.
if anyone wants a review, post on my profile and I'll get to it in a couple days.
  





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Tue Dec 06, 2011 7:35 am
Lava says...



Hey psud!

I'm back, albeit a little later than I intended.

Somehow, this chapter seems like a half deflated balloon. Lisa is interesting and it's nice to get to know her more. But the point of this chapter seems to be a bit of fluff before 'tomorrow'. Like the calm before the storm. It would have read wonderfully, if you managed it tactfully. It might've been better if you focussed only on the prizes area (actually, hotdog scene was good), but added more of what's coming in the next chapter. I am not sure what is amiss; I'll leave you with some comments.

Like usual, Matt was preparing ........we finished the jobs.
This chunk was very info-dumpy. I wanted to skim over it. I think you could've told this to us as Matt was giving off the prizes. It would have come off as a tad more personal and not too much like 'here, have some info.'

As to them flirting, I hope there is a little more to it than his fleeting scene. Because I don't want it here just for space. And I like the two of them, even if it's a fun-flirty-ness. XD

Her jealousy was fun to read, but you could've showed it as a bit more emotion-gesture-wise rather than blatant saying.

Laying inon, yes?my bed, I was still feeling the residual euphoria from the day's victory,


As to the last line, I'm iffy. It's too drramatic-ominous, yet it is necessary here. Maybe rephrasing?

Eitherway, nice chapter. PM me for the next.

~L
~
Pretending in words was too tentative, too vulnerable, too embarrassing to let anyone know.
- Ian McEwan in Atonement

sachi: influencing others since GOD KNOWS WHEN.

  








I am just curious-have I ever been on the bottom quote-thingy?
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