The next day, at about 4 a.m, Marv and I get ready together in silence. I sit patiently as she showers and dresses herself first. Luckily, I'm not shooed away as she dresses, and I notice that her clothes fit her perfectly. The skirt she decides on silhouettes her hips divinely and the silk shirt she wears hugs her in all the right places. When she finishes brushing her long, blonde hair, she lets me take a shower. I do so quickly, as instructed, and after I scrub myself raw and brush my teeth, she picks out clothes for me to wear. She gives me a pair of faded blue jeans and a short sleeved plain white t-shirt. The pants are a little long on me, seeing as she's at least four inches taller, but I don't mind. They don't hinder me from walking or running properly, so she lets me keep them.
Marv has told me that today we will take care of Devon, and she wants me at my best. She gives me a once over to asses me and when she notices that my bangs slightly cover my eyes, she has me slick back my hair.
"We'll go out after our job and get you a haircut," she tells me when I run gel through my short dark locks.
After we finish getting ready she makes a few phone calls to her goons. "I know you're capable of a lot," she says, "but I want to make sure we get this right."
We leave the house at 5 a.m sharp. Marv drives us across town to a run down apartment building where, she informs me, Devon has his base of operations. We learned that Devon owns the building and runs his whole operation from the top floor. I nod along as Marv tells me about Devon and how little patience she has for him. She keeps talking and I keep listening until six of her goons show up. Then things get real.
"Alright, I want to take this guy down," Marv says to everyone. No games, no tricks. She's straight to the point with no room for objections.
We're all huddled around her in an alleyway beside the apartment building. One of the guys coughs into his hand. I narrow my eyes at him.
"My pet here, " Marv points at me, "is the leader."
Two guys start to object but Marv glares at them, making them hold their tongues.
"All I want is Devon dead, understand? Leave the residents alone." She looks to each of our faces for confirmation. When she's satisfied that we understand, she lets us go. "This city will be ours."
No one hears this last sentence but me.
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All seven of us walk up to the building nonchalantly, me in the lead. We start to ascend the stairs as soon as we enter the building and pretend like we belong. One of the guys uses this opportunity to introduce himself.
"I'm Carl if you want to know." His voice is raspy. He's bald, but has a full beard and mustache. There are wrinkles at the corners of his eyes that I like. I stop walking, and since i'm in front, everyone else stops too. I look to Carl, then smile. He nervously smiles back.
"What are the rest of your names?" I ask.
"Jeff," a skinny guy says. He's the first behind me and far enough from me that I know he's unsure about my presence.
Next in line is a chubby guy with a sad face. "Carlos," he says simply.
"Will," the third guy says, waving at me. He seems so happy. Behind him is Carl, so the the next guy speaks.
"Ben." Ben doesn't look pleased to have to answer to me. I ignore him and move on. Behind him is the last guy in line.
"Adam." He has to lean over slightly so we can see each other.
