Pricey Ransom Quest - Hit and Run

Subject: Pricey Ransom Quest - Hit and Run Tue Mar 03, 2009 12:31 am

Prologue
I sit in the living room of my apartment on the black leather sofa leaned over with my arms resting on my knees and my gaze down. Before me on the coffee table sat a holographic virtual chessboard that was connected to the visual monitor (television) that rests in the entertainment system placed on the front side of the living room wall centered between the front door and the adjacent wall. The afternoon light shines in through the windows to my left, illuminating the living room floor and almost stretching to the dimly lit kitchen to my right. On the fully transparent game board before me, my pieces were black and my opponent, a male browser with the tag ChesTor, had the white pieces. My eyes scan across the board and after a bit of thought, my arm shifts from my knee as my right hand moves to the board and touches the hollow gram of a pawn, tapping it and then tapping it where I want it to go, as I move it forwards to an advance offensive and the timer resets for my opponent. Though the audio is connected through the television at the front of the room, usually we are silent while doing this with only small comments and compliments as the game passes. The silence is broken by the voice of the television system as it pulses lightly and informs, “incoming call.” With a nod that does not bring any of my attention from the board, I speak calmly, “mute online game audio and answer the incoming call.” There is a soft tone that signals that the audio has been muted from my online opponent and then the call is answered as Tre’s face fills in the screen. I could tell that something was wrong, since his jovial voice did not bring forth a greeting such as “hey sexy” but my gaze remains on the chessboard in front of me as I watch my opponent’s moves. “Ghost,” he says in a low tone, “we’re meeting up at 10 tonight to handle some business. The usual spot.” With that, the call is ended and the television returns to normal, showing the avatar of my opponent mimicking his movements in the chess game. “Hmm.” I murmur lightly as I make my next move. Something was up.

Act 1
Time passes and I find myself at the usual place. It was located in the Lower Commons, a block near where the bus drops me off where I normally meet up wit Tre at. I had made it a few minutes early and was dressed in a pair of black slacks, a black shirt and the large black coat that I often where. Beneath it was the gun I was given, a semi automatic pistol with no bullets. I still had not gotten my cut from the last operation we did, nor did I have any insight into when payday was. Because I was not in it for the money, it didn’t bother me too much and probably would not until it was time to pay bills once more. Before long, the familiar black sedan on oversized chrome wheels pulls up and stops to my side. The back seat door behind the driver’s seat swings open and I make my way into the car. As I enter and seat, I notice the normal crew consisting of Prince, who sat in the front passenger seat; Lil Knock Knock who sat opposite me in the back seat and Jr. who was in the middle between me and the much larger Lil Knock Knock. In the driver’s seat as always, was Tre. I close the door behind me as I am welcomed, “what’s up Ghost” by Knock Knock with an accompanying “hey “ from Prince and a head nod from Jr. A nod answers them all and the car pulls off from its resting position, moving into the almost imaginary nighttime traffic.

“Alright,” Tre says as he drives, “I already told the others, you’re the last one to get picked up. We’re about to go tune up this little bitch by the name of Daniel.” A cosign comes in from Jr. confirming, “yeah, that ****’s a bitch!” Instead of asking any questions in between his words, I decide to simply sit back and listen as I figured I probably had no say in matters either way. Tre continues, “he’s bad for business, so Victor wants him out the way. This is gonna be the come up for us, so all we got to do is handle this and we’re moving up in this shit. That means more money, more power, more respect.” I nod at his words, though I had yet to be paid anything. But that aside, finally a chance had come for me to move further into the organization that funds Tre and his gang. This was good.

As we near the edges of the Red District, Tre begins to slow the car as we creep through the streets with the driver seemingly looking for a place to stop. He explains, “he’s out with his bitch partying and shit, like shit’s sweet. We’re going to handle him then get out of the situation before it turns bad.” The chorus of head nods and “rights” come from the group. The car comes to a stop in an alleyway with the lights of the Red District not to far off in the distance. There is a racketing sound as the break is pulled up and the soft hum of the engine is silenced. We are informed that we had arrived and all four doors open on the car and the trunk pops as we get out. The brisk night air brushes my face as I return into it. I didn’t know how useful I would be with a pistol and no bullets, but I assumed I was here mostly for a supporting roll. A voice comes form the side. “You ain’t no look out this time, Ghost,” Jr. teases with a grin as we walk to the back of the car. Making it to the rear of the car, Tre raises the trunk completely as we surround it. Dim moonlight and street lamps to the side of the alley, glisten off of the surface of black metal. Lil Knock Knock reaches into the trunk at one side as Tre reaches in the other handing a pistol to Jr. and a bag to Prince before taking two firearms for himself and stuffing them into their pants. “We’ll have to make due with these until we get some more money in for better weapons. Ghost…” He turns to me and tosses a clip of ammo to me, which bumps against my chest before I catch it in my hands. “We don’t have that much ammo either, but it’s just one guy. He’s probably got boys with him, but if we can get paste them, it won’t be an issue.” He raises his hand to the trunk and closes it as I pull out my pistol and load the click before setting the safety and stashing it back beneath my large coat. To the side, the Jr. and Knock Knock share a chuckle murmuring preludes to the shooting to come. Jr. laughs, “…then I’m gonna be all like ‘pap pap’!…. Then I’m gonna pee on him!” Prince takes this time to put his cell phone on silent so that “Booty booty booty rockin everywhere” wouldn’t burst out during the hit. Tre looks to the others. “Alright, huddle up. We’ll go over this once, then go snatch him up,” he starts as all attention goes to him.

1281

Act two pending...

Subject: Re: Pricey Ransom Quest - Hit and Run Tue Mar 03, 2009 4:15 am

Act 2
The search begins. I walk alongside Prettyboy, casually, outside the exterior of the Geisha house, a popular spot for gentlemen looking for relaxation after a hard days work. At least that is what the advertisement said. It would be my first time here, but it seemed like a nice place, from the outside at least. The side walks and streets of the Red District were full with activity as people moving past and around the two of us going in either direction of pedestrian traffic. The sound of people laughing, joking and holding conversations echoes off of the building walls mixed in with a variety of music from various venues ranging from loud thumping urban music to fast pace techno. Vibrant colors blend in the night air lingering about creating a glow that could be seen from other sections of the city.

We near the entrance to the Geisha House and turning towards the door, we enter into the club and approach the front counter. A fair looking young lady with long black hair garbed in a China Dress smiles as we approach the counter. Prettyboy wields his trademark smile as he locks in the eye contact. We are greeted in a polite yet generic manner consisting basically of a welcome and questioning on how we could be served. My gaze shifts about the surroundings around me as I admire the novelty value of the storefront. The more articulate in the group that is identified as Tre’s gang, speaking in a soft and smooth tone, Prettyboy engages, “my friend and I would like a drink and a massage.” Looking to me, he explains, “he’s a stiff, so we’ll need your best girl to loosen him up.” I frown slightly, the butt of his flirting, but the lady seems receptive as she nods and answers, “yes, I see… very stiff.” My eye twitches to the fact that she agreed with him. “Right this way,” she leads as we move from the entrance lobby into the main building, which was separated by a crimson velvet curtain. The massage booths were in the back, so in order for us to reach the room, we had to span much of the interior, which allowed us to inspect many of the room on the way there. This was our main reason for coming here, since we did not have a definite location on the mark we were looking for. The hallway is traversed and reaching the back room, we are escorted to where we would be drinking. In the square room with a table in the center where refreshments would be served, the young lady informs us to make ourselves comfortable and two ladies would be with us shortly. The lady bows and turns, leaving as Prettyboy holds up a hand in a soft wave and I nod. Turning to him after she leaves, I start, “I didn’t see anyone matching his description and when I glanced at the guest list, I didn’t notice a Daniel listed.” Prettyboy nods, “I guess it would make sense…” He reaches for his cell phone as he makes a phone call. I look about the room as the call is made and the phone is hung up. Prettyboy informs, “Knock found him. He’s at one of the clubs by Hype in VIP. He’s going to call the others and we’re going to meet there.” I nod, agreeing, and at that time, two beautiful women in soft garments enter into the room. Prettyboy sighs and murmurs, “what a waste of talent… I’ll be back.” Speaking up from the self promise, he informs with a clap of his hands, “ladies, I just found out my friend is gay, so we’ll be leaving.” With that, he walks off and heads towards the exit. Stunned, I stand there for a moment, contemplating pulling my gun on him; he was much more androgynous then I! Embarrassed, I half explain, “I’m not” as I chase after him, “hey… just a minute…”

Act 3
By the time we make it to the right club, Knock had called again and informed us of the exact location of the mark. It would seem like things wouldn’t be easy. There seemed to be a large entourage surrounding the VIP room, but luckily it was cut off from the main room of the club, so if anything happened, the music and atmosphere would help our escape back to the car. That would probably be why doing this here and now would be better than doing it in a non-public area. Tre and Jr. were already in the club and Knock was in place already somewhere unknown to us. The VIP room was on the second floor, so it would be up to Prettyboy and I to breach from the outside since it was assumed that there would be less security in the room where he was, rather than guarding it. Moving through the crowds, Prettyboy and I make our way to the alley to the side of the club. After getting into the alley, Prettyboy looks up and points out the fire escape saying, “The room should be on this side of the building.” I nod and move to the entrance of the alleyway to watch for anyone paying attention to us as Prettyboy pushes a trashcan beneath the elevated ladder of the fire escape and pulls himself up. He gives a “psst” for me and I turn around and walk towards him. He reaches down and I jump up. He catches my hands and pulls me up so that I can latch onto the ladder and climb up myself. Now on the fire escape we make our way to the nearest window. The music wasn’t so loud in this section as it would be on the main dance floor. Prettyboy calls Knock and attempts the logistics of the right window as I move down the fire escape from window to window listening inside. The windows seemed to either be blocked by a curtain or painted over, which would make sense on walls facing an alleyway. Looking up and signaling my attention, Prettyboy whispers as he informs me that the guy would be in the corner room overlooking the streets beneath the storefront. I frown slightly at that news. That would make things harder, but approaching form the side, there was a chance that bystanders would not see us. There were probably two windows on this side that lead into that room and they would be nearest the entrance of the alleyway. I nod and lower my body as I begin to make my way the opposite way across the grated horizontal catwalk of the dark fire escape. I make it to the second to the last window and am able to hear the loud and piercing laugh of a woman from within accompanied by a male voice and a few others. The guy seemed to be entertaining company; something not too unreasonable for a kid with money. I turn to Prettyboy, making eye contact and nod. He nods back and ends the conversation before putting away his phone and reaching for his pistol. I reach for my pistol as well. There is a soft click as the safety is turned off. It’s around this time that the situation hits me; I was about to break into a place and commit murder. But then again, if it was a criminal, the same type who killed my parents, then it should be somewhat justified. I begin to hesitate at this moment, but I’m not given much time to think things over as Prettyboy taps me on the shoulder with the butt of his pistol and asks, “you okay?” I look up, looking to him, not having noticed that I had looked away. I nod and inform him that I was fine. In actuality I wasn’t, and my adrenaline was starting to pump quickly in anticipation to what was going to happen. Maybe I wouldn’t have to kill anyone. I could just hold my gun and keep people back and let them do the rest. I do not have time to continue to formulate the late entry plan as Prettyboy, pushes me slightly and says, “let’s go. The other’s are coming when they hear the first shots.” He pauses and grins, “…this is some crazy ass shit, isn’t it.” With a nod I agree. This was crazy. Prettyboy moved to the second window where he took a moment and seemed to be gathering his nerve as well. He holds his gun to his chest and lowers his gaze for a moment, then looks up at me; “let’s do this, shit, cuz!” The change comes immediately as he stands up, thus causing me to do the same. His body rushes through the glass window and I do the same with the window on my end, glad to have the protection of the large coat. “What the hell?!” can be heard as we enter into the room. From there on, reality blurs for me. Though I am looking at the situation, everything seems to be mixed together and in slow motion. I realize there are several people in the room, about half a dozen. Prettyboy yells for everyone to hit the floor and there are screams of panic near the door, there were only two guards in the actual room. They both reach for their guns at the same time. I do not think at all. I hear a loud blast, the sound of Prettyboy’s pistol going off. It coaxes my finger on the trigger as well. I am unsure on how many shots I fire, but blood splatters the wall behind the guard. The shrill sound of screams fill the air and the unarmed partiers lay on their bellies. The mark, the one known as Daniel is the only one not laying on the floor as he looks at us incredulously. Before attention is paid to him, the door bursts open and more guards rush in. Curse words fill the air as shots come towards Prettyboy and myself. The wall explodes to our sides. I rush to the side, covering my face with one arm and shooting towards the door with the other. There are shots from the other side of the door and the guards attention is split. Three guards lay on the ground inside the room, and six outside the room. Before I stop firing, I realize that the guy I’m clutching only makes a clicking noise as I had used up my eight shots. Jr. pokes his head in as he rushes in and sees Daniel still alive with Tre and a partially wounded Knock in tow. Lil Knock approaches Daniel, no longer with the protection of his guards and without speaking decks him in the mouth. Tre walks up and looks to me and Prettyboy. “You fool’s okay?” he asks. Prettyboy answers, “yeah.” Tre nods and gives the order, “get their ammo and money.” Prettyboy motions for me to follow and I put away the pistol and walk across the floor to the dead guards with him. Jr. crouches reaching into their pockets as I do the same. It was my first time dealing up close with a dead body, and though I knew by watching television and hearing it from people, that I was supposed to be traumatized and feel bad… I couldn’t bring myself to feel anything about the situation. I find a pack of bullets and stuff it into my pockets but am unable to find any cash on the guard. I look with the others as Tre stands over Daniel in the presence of his company. “You know you fucked up, right?” Tre asks the young man who lays on the ground, his mouth bleeding from a heavy blow by Lil Knock. It was a miracle that he was still awake. There are several shots accompanied by short screams and the bystanders are finished off leaving Daniel as the only one alive. Tre points the gun to Daniel. As I check the final guard, I rise up and notice three large vans pulling up in front of the club, dispersing the crowds as they squeal to a stop. The doors to the vehicles open and armed men in black body armor rush out. With this looking very familiar, I wonder what the hell was up with cops interrupting us? “Police outside!” I say, which is accompanied with the necessary “oh shits” and whatnot. Tre pulls the trigger, but his gun jams. “Tsk,” he gets out as Prettyboy makes it to the fire escape and yells for the others to come to. Tre looks to him, then to Daniel and backhands him with the pistol. There is a girlish squeal as the young man falls to the ground. Tre drops it and a bag of drugs before giving the kid a grin and rushes towards the window. I wait for him to make sure he gets through. He nods for me to go first and I get out of the window and onto the fire escape. From there we head the opposite way out of the alleyway and do a hybrid of running and jogging until we make it back to the car. I run along side the others with a rush of excitement mixed with fear and anxiety. What had I done? Either way, it didn’t matter now. We were alive and for that, I was lucky.

Conclusion
Unknown to us, we had just made the job easier for another group. A special division of the police forces had placed a hit on the Daniel, the hotel owner’s son who got into illegal dealings. As we got in the car and made our getaway from the Red District, they found Daniel with drugs, a gun and a lot of dead bodies. Instead of investigating, they took him in and cleaned up for us.

2330

Subject: Re: Pricey Ransom Quest - Hit and Run Tue Mar 03, 2009 4:16 am

TWC: 3611

Subject: Re: Pricey Ransom Quest - Hit and Run Fri Mar 06, 2009 4:42 am

Updated

» Dangling Bait (Pricey Ransom)
» The Transformation (Quest)
» Quest!
» Cleansing Quest OOC
» Hembree's quest (1&2)