Post by ::.Bites.:: on Jun 14, 2009 12:16:21 GMT -6
Insurance Won’t Cover This
Green meant go, and go she did. With a devilish smile on her face, Fox floored the gas pedal of her red viper –a more beautiful sports car had never graced the streets in her opinion. Steering with one hand, the young lady turned the volume up as “I Don’t Care”(by Fall Out Boy) started playing. Singing along, she deftly followed the long and twisting roads which lead to The Bloods headquarters. It was the first Thursday of the month –the monthly meeting with the Cypts was taking place, and she had the sneaking suspicion that she would have to haul a few asses out of bed –not to mention contact a large multitude of members to make sure they were still coming. ‘They had better fucking show. We can’t be outnumbered like we were last time.’
The leader of the largest, most powerful, and most dangerous gang on the East side –was signing along to a new Fall Out Boy single. Fox saw herself as a normal person with a slightly different job –one she took exceptionally seriously. Despite this, she didn’t try to make herself stand out, and so did do things that people leading normal lives did. The only time she showed how dangerous she could be was when dealing with suppliers, while doing deals, or while meeting with The Crypts. ‘We should try and negotiate a new truce. This once a month thing is keeping everyone on edge.’
Her thoughts reflected the truth –she could see it in the eye’s of her members. They were starting to become nervous –they’d been looking over their shoulders a lot more as of late. She found it ridiculous; both groups wore masks, so how could they be worried about being recognized? Nobody but her and Slade ever spoke at these meetings. Then you had the ones who had become more aggressive. They’re had been rumours that the Crypts had been dealing on their turf. One member had even brought in evidence that they had been. The Crypts didn’t know they knew, and so the meeting tonight was going to be one hell of a chore. She didn’t want any blood to be spilled, but doubted everyone would keep their heads.
Swerving to avoid a pedestrian, Fox cursed under her breath –you’d think people would watch where they were going. Was it really that hard to notice a viper going down the street at about double the speed limit? No, it wasn’t. And had the cops been around, she would’ve been screwed –but pretty much everyone who didn’t lead a sheltered life knew that the cops never frequented this part of town.
A few minutes later she was pulling into the alley that lead to headquarters. Gone were the nice clean streets, the streetlamps, and, most importantly; the people. With the people missing, the run-down, beat-up, warehouse section of the east side was the perfect place to hide a large group of people. Pulling up at the side of the building, Fox parked her vehicle, and all but jumped from the car. Long, confident strides brought her to the door of the warehouse, where she promptly keyed in the lock code. It gave a mechanical click, and she swung the door open, the slight breeze her action caused caught her brown/blonde hair, and pushed it back out of her face. Scowling, she slipped a hair elastic off of her wrist and wrapped it around her thick, long hair three times.
Shutting the door behind her, she allowed herself to relax. This was safe territory –the one place in the whole damn city where she could really be herself, and not put on an act to keep her true identity hidden. Her grey eyes scanned the meeting room –surprisingly a few people were already around. “Don’t you guys have lives to attend to? Lori, aren’t you in charge of the kitchen this week?” Her tone was friendly as she spoke to the three people before her. All of them lived at headquarters full time. Lori, Seb, and Ashlyn. They were good friends, and were generally seen together. All 3 were 17, and had been living with Fox for close to 2 years. Lori grinned,
“Yeah, I am, and everyone will know it.” Fox looked at her questioningly, and Lori continued.
“There are two pots of coffee made, sandwiches have been made for when we get back, and I took the liberty and making a fruit salad with some of the fruit that was going to go to waste if we didn’t do something with it.”
Fox stared at her for a moment before laughing.
“Yes, I think everyone will know. You really should think of going to culinary school –whatever you make is delicious.” She sounded amused, but was also serious. Just because she was part of a gang was no reason for her to not get an education too.
“I’ll see you guys later. Can you guys go check to see if anyone is still asleep? Meeting starts in 30 minutes, and they can’t afford to miss this.” Fox’s expression darkened then. Anyone who missed this was going to need a damn good excuse. The three nodded quickly before scurrying off.
Fox knew what they were going to do. First they’d go up to their rooms, and change into what they always wore for these meetings, and get their masks. Then, and only then would they go and tell everyone else. No matter, Fox’s plan was exactly the same. Following the path the 3 teens had taken, she trudged up the stairs, not bothering to conceal her presence –whoever was still asleep was about to be woken up anyways. Going down the hallway, she opened the door to the last room on the left –her room. It had been Rex’s room before…
A Double bed was on the right, and besides that, all the room held was a dresser filled with clothing, and paraphernalia she had accumulated over the years. It was nothing fancy, but it suited her just fine. For one thing, she didn’t need –or want, a room filled with useless objects that would do nothing but sit around gathering dust. There was only one personal object in the room –a picture frame, with a picture of a younger, smiling Fox and a boy who looked to be 3 years older than her –who was smiling just as brightly. It was a picture of her and Rex, and it meant a lot to her.
Her gaze lingered on the picture for a moment, and Fox allowed herself to get lost in the past. The love she’d felt for him came back in a rush, and, just as quickly, the agony at hearing of his death. Too this day she knew the Crypts were behind it, and it had taken a hell of a lot of effort to not break the treaty for the first few months afterwards. With a deep breath, the young leader returned herself to the present –and was all business once more.
Changing took the better part of ten minutes; she needed to look completely different –for safety reasons. Reaching under her bed, she pulled out the full body mirror she had hidden under there –she only used the thing once a month, and it was to assure that she was unrecognizable. Looking in the vile reflective glass, she realized she wasn’t. Black slacks coupled with a purple/grey corset type top that laced in the front constituted her clothing. It was simple enough, but also semi-Victorian and nothing like anything else she owned. Black lace gloves covered half her hands, and flared at her wrist bone. A matching choker went around her neck, more for the sake of having something there than anything else.
(Clothing & Mask)Beneath her slacks, she wore knee high boots; these boots were practical for a number of reasons. One; they didn’t hinder her mobility, and were comfortable, and two; she could attach six knives to each. The rest of her dress was rather impractical, but a long black coat ( Coat <3) covered everything she wore. Due to this, she could carry her gun easily, and encounter no problems. The gold contacts she put in were a pain in the ass –but necessary, Fox cringed –like she always did, as the coloured lenses touched her sclera –she hated things being near her eyes. Blinking a few times to adjust the contacts, she opened the top drawer of her dresser and took out a mask which looked to be made of metal. Its shape resembled that of a cats face, and it was painted gold, and red, with two small patches of purple near upper right side, and below the left eye hole. Taking the mask in hand, Fox promptly left her room, and made her way down to the meeting hall. She had a few minutes to call those who needed to be reminded of the meeting.
A text message would do the trick. Sliding her phone open, Fox pressed the necessary buttons to bring her to the text message section of her phone –unlike most people her age; she couldn’t text 50 words a minute, and needed to be sitting when she did press the tiny keys. Reaching the front of the room, she sat down at her desk, kicked up her feet, and carefully started typing out the message.
Meeting starts in 20. Be here then at the latest. and hit send. She didn’t know how it had been done, but she could somehow send the text to multiple people without going through the whole forwarding process. Her last phone hadn’t done that –and she hadn’t bothered to inquire whether all phones did this, or if Matt –the tech geek, had somehow changed it. Either way, it was real handy.
Twenty to 10, twenty minutes until the meeting started. She had 15 minutes until people started trickling in to figure out what she was going to tell them, she knew she would have to remind them to keep their cool –everyone getting angry would do nothing. However, the Crypts dealing weed was a problem –a very bring problem. Somehow she doubted that the west side arms dealers would take her telling them to stop very well. ‘Of course they won’t listen to me, this is going to become a war. A war that I sure don’t want… and I doubt they want it either. So the question becomes why? Why would they start dealing? I was under the impression that it was agreed that wwe dealt the drugs in Summerdale. It’s not just about the money, or the territory, but about the quality. I don’t get shitty stock, only the excellent stuff –and only safe stuff. I don’t give them dangerous fillers…’ No, it this was as much about quality as it was about the safety of the druggies –she was a caring person. ‘And besides, Summerdale has a rep. for having the best stuff, and I won’t let the Crypts steal that from us… maybe I can sell them some of our stock… at least then the quality will be consistent.’
”Fox?” The voice jolted her out of her thoughts, she looked up to see one of the new girls coming towards her –she looked nervous. “What is it, Mary? You look like you’re afraid I will hurt you –and as far as I know I’ve got no reason too.”
If anything the girl looked even more afraid,
“We have a problem. Um… Joyce has been acting kinda weird lately… no offence, but you wouldn’t really know since she’s not here all that often-"
“I did notice her absences –medical problems were her excuse, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah. Anyways… she was real pissed when she found out the Crypts were dealing… I don’t think I’d ever seen her so upset. A while back she said she was going to get them back… I figured it was just talk, you know? My dad works for the local newspaper an… well, a while ago my dad was talking about this kid who was killed on the west side. He was a Crypt, and the only thing puzzling them was the red ribbon tied around his fingers. I wasn’t really paying attention… I actually forgot until today. Fox… Joyce is gone, she’s been gone since Monday, and her parents have no idea where she is. She left a note saying she was running away and that she was sorry…” Mary trailed off and looked up at Fox fearfully.
Fox was just staring at her blankly. Beneath the blank expression her mind was working in overtime, and she was trying to suppress the urge to bite someone. This was just fucking wonderful.
“Are you telling me that you think Joyce killed a Crypt?” She asked, and Mary just nodded. Sighing, Fox closed her eyes. This really couldn’t get much worse. ‘Well, there go any chances of a peace talk.’
“Thank you Mary. You can go home if you want.” –her eyes were still closed. Mary’s voice was soft as she spoke again
“I think I’ll stay.” Fox just nodded wearily.
She waited until the sound of the girl’s footsteps faded away before opening her eyes again. She looked tired all of a sudden, and much older than she was. She rested her head in her hands for a few minutes. What the hell was she going to do now? Her lot were upset because the Crypts were dealing drugs –though they had never said the Crypts couldn’t deal, it was understood that drugs were the Bloods territory. The Crypts on the other hand, were furious because one of hers had killed one of theirs. This was going to go badly. “New action plan. Tell them to keep their heads, but dress keeping in mind that a fight will most likely break out and that their lives will be hanging in the balance.” Fox murmured.
Gold eyes lifted to the ceiling of the building, she wasn’t a religious person, but at that moment she was praying for peace. Gathering her wits about her, she levelled her glance to the door. Five minutes to 10. People would start arriving any second, and she had to make sure everyone understood how they were to comport themselves. Fox would do everything she could to avoid bloodshed tonight, but, at the back of her mind, she couldn’t help but feel that her efforts were in vain.
(Title: "For Salvation" -As I Lay Dying.
Opening lyric: "Are You The Rabbit: -Marilyn Manson)
Opening lyric: "Are You The Rabbit: -Marilyn Manson)
