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Ashton stood in the back of the Scout surveying the alley they stood in, J sitting on the side of the tray; Deran standing at the back with Pope leaning on the driver's side door as Craig addressed them all. She crossed her arms over her chest, looking through her sunglasses as her head pounded from a hang over. She'd left Eli in bed to sleep as Craig waited outside with the others for her, she'd squashed herself between J and Deran; resting her head on the elder's shoulder.
'There's cameras on the warehouses on Vine and Thomas,' Craig informed them; 'There's no exterior cameras on this block. That's why it's got to be here.'
'How many people actually work in these warehouses?' Deran asked.
'It's long-term storage mostly. Only four pedestrians every three hours. Traffic's light, too only two cars a minute.'
'Are you sure the security travels separate?' Pope queried.
'Yeah. They're following in the car behind. They stay close, so they got GPS on the truck. This street's one way. You got dumpsters on the south side, another on the east if we get jammed up. We block the intersection on Pine and Hillcrest. Then keep the follow car far enough back so they don't get a clear line of sight.'
'How do you know this is the route?'
'Thing's fifteen feet tall. It's the only route with enough clearance. You got the truck?'
'Yeah, it's at Ray's right now. Lost the VINs, it's getting a new coat of paint, new license plates,' Deran nodded as he took a breath from his cigarette.
'Alright, and the decals?'
'We got a set of Calrides back at Smurf's.'
'I'll get them,' Pope suggested.
'Just make sure she doesn't see you,' Craig nodded.
'I paid eight grand for that truck,' Ashton spoke up.
'Twelve hundred for the car,' J added.
'Why'd you pay twelve hundred for the car?' Deran retorted.
'Why didn't you just steal it?' Pope hissed.
'I did it to minimise risk,' J looked away.
'A bit lazy,' Deran muttered, earning a glare from his sister.
'Look, I'll talk to Frankie about adding it to the fee,' Craig sighed; 'Business expenses.'
'Who's the buyer?' Ashton asked.
'Some douchebag billionaire.'
'Yeah, what do we know about him?' J pressed.
'Does it matter?'
'It matters. If he gets caught, he points the finger at us. And he met you in person so...'
'Look, I used an alias, and Frankie said he was legit.'
'Frankie said.'
'What?'
No one said anything, Deran and Ashton sharing a look.
'Alright, I got to open up the bar,' The man changed the topic; 'Ash, you coming?'
'Yeh,' She sighed.
She started up the street with her hand in his, Craig coming up behind them to grab her other hand.
||||||
'Babe?' Ashton called as she entered their house; 'Hey, I'm gonna head down to the Strand- Oh, hey, Smurf.'
'Hey, baby,' The woman smiled as she sat in the living room with Eli in the love seat under the window.
'What're you doing here?'
'She brought us lasagne,' Eli smiled nervously.
'Oh, thanks.'
'I was just talking to Eli about how much I like the house. You did good, baby. It's very nice,' Smurf looked around.
'Yeh, needed a good clean out.'
'I'm glad I gave it to you. You've done good.'
She smiled tightly, glancing at her husband out of the corner of her eye.
'Alright,' Smurf stood; 'I'll see you later, baby. Good seeing you, Eli.'
'You, too, Smurf,' Eli nodded.
The woman made her way out of the house and down the stairs, Ashton turning to look at the boy with a cocked brow.
'What the fuck?' She asked.
'I don't know,' He stood as he shrugged; 'I woke up, she was in the kitchen. The washing was folded, the living room was cleaned up.'
'Fuck.'
'Hey, it's ok.'
'No, it's not.'
She shook her head, running her fingers through her hair.
'Hey,' He placed his hands on her sides; 'I'm right here.'
'H-How'd she even get in?' She stammered.
'We must've left the door unlocked, we changed all the locks, remember? Hey, breathe, Ash.'
She clenched her eyes shut, leaning into him as he placed his chin on top of her head. She tilted her head back and placed a soft kiss under his jaw, before tucking her head back into it's previous position.
'I'm right here,' Eli whispered.
'I know,' She sighed; 'I just...'
'I know, I know.'
He kissed the top of her head, pulling her a little closer.
||||||
Ashton giggled as Eli's skin jumped, the gun buzzing in her hand as she ink his skin. The tattoo of the moon was almost finished, sitting stark on the skin behind his earlobe.
'Does it look good?' He peered up at her.
'Yes,' She smiled; 'Now, stop talking.'
'I'm doing yours next.'
She shook her head, quick to take her finger off the lever when the door was thrown open.
'You need anything cleaned?' Pope asked.
'Uh, yeh, man,' She nodded; 'There's a few towels in the basket and a few basins need to be cleaned out in the sink.'
He strode into the room and began to grab the towels, piling them into his arms before he left.
'It done yet?' Eli asked.
'Shut up,' She shoved his head back down on the table.
He laughed, letting her get back to work. But, that was when the door opened again.
'What now?' She sighed as she sat back.
'Can I talk to you?' J asked as he shut the door.
'I'm in the middle of a tattoo.'
'I won't listen, man,' Eli waved him off.
The boy looked to Ashton who cocked a brow, causing him to sigh.
'What'd you think about the job?' He asked.
'Will everyone stop stressing about the job and have some faith?' She groaned; 'I don't like Frankie, I don't trust her. But, I trust Craig. And if he thinks she's solid, then I'm going with that... I mean, come on, man, it's just under a hundred k each. You really want to dip out on that?'
'If it's keeping me out of jail, yeh.'
She shook her head, starting on Eli's tattoo once more; 'You can't let fear rule you, J... If you don't like it, bring us another job.'
The boy shook his head and strode out of the room, leaving her to sigh.
'All done,' She muttered.
'Who's Frankie?' Eli asked.
'Showed up with Billy. You remember her.'
'Oh, yeh... Thanks for this, babe.'
She smiled, pecking his lips after she finished covering the tattoo.
'Alright, your turn,' He grinned.
'You fuck this up, I'll kill you,' She warned.
He merely laughed, taking the gun from her hand.
||||||
Ashton stared at her new tattoo in the mirror as it sat behind her ear, smiling softly as Eli's arms came to wrap around her waist.
'What time's your flight?' She asked.
'Outta here at five,' He murmured.
'I'll drop you off.'
'No, stay in bed.'
'Eli. I wanna kiss you goodbye.'
'We can have goodbye sex, but I hate seeing your pouting face when I leave you behind.'
'Because I'd rather be with you.'
'I know. But, it sucks.'
'Yeh.'
She turned her head to rest it on his chest, rolling her body to wrap her arms around his abdomen. His hand came to sit on her bum, squeezing it before she heard the shutter of the camera from his phone sound; a smile lighting up her lips.
'Beautiful,' He muttered before kissing the top of her head; 'Can I put a baby in you now?'
'Don't get my hopes up.'
'I'll just keep mine up then.'
'Eli.'
She shook her head, stepping away from him. She walked around him, moving to continue packing his bag.
'Ash,' He sighed.
'Don't,' She whispered.
'I'm sorry, baby doll.'
'You know how bad I want kids.'
'Hey, hey, hey.'
He stepped toward her, raising her head to flick his eyes between her teary eyes. He cupped her face, running his thumbs under her eyes to rid of her tears.
'We will have kids, Ash,' He spoke softly; 'One way or another. Don't put that pressure on yourself... I'm sorry.'
She sighed, 'No... It's not your fault. It's just up in my head and-'
'Hey, no. Don't you dare blame yourself, baby doll. You're perfect to me. This is just a bump in the road and we'll get past it, ok?'
'Ok.'
He leant down a kissed her softly, his hands sliding down to hold her waist.
'Can I make love to you?' He whispered against her lips.
She nodded, holding his face in her hands as a smile lit up her lips.
|||||
'Oh, you're still here,' Ashton glowered as she entered Smurf's house to find Angela in the kitchen.
'Uh, yeh,' The woman nodded.
'Right.'
She looked away, eyes raking over the kitchen for a second.
'Do you want a coffee?' Angela asked.
'No,' She stated; 'Pope around?'
'Nope. Just headed out.'
'Helpful.'
She turned to leave, only to be stopped by Angela's voice.
'Hey, uh, Pope told me you're not very trusting,' She stated; 'I just want to let you know, I'm not going to hurt him.'
'Not yet you're not,' Ashton answered as she peered over her shoulder; 'The quicker you leave, the better. Because you're the last thing he needs.'
And with that, she stepped outside and crossed the yard. She threw her leg over her bike, riding out onto the road and toward Craig's place. She waved to Deran as she turned into the driveway, the Scout parked out the front. She parked out the back beside Craig's bike, tucking her helmet under her arm as she headed for the front of the house. Deran wrapped her up in a hug as she approached him, kissing her forehead. They headed up the stairs, the man's arm thrown over her shoulder. She pulled the front door open, stepping to the side to let Deran in with her eyes set on Craig and Frankie in the kitchen.
'Hey. What's going on? You ready?' Deran asked as he threw his arm back over his sister's shoulders.
'Does it look like I'm ready?' Craig motioned to his bare chest and pyjama bottoms; 'Want one?'
'Yeah, sure.'
'Please,' Ashton nodded.
The man threw two pop tarts their way, the pair catching one each.
'I'll see you soon?' Frankie looked up to Craig.
'Yeah,' He nodded.
He leant down to peck her lips, letting her walk away afterwards; his siblings watching on as they nibbled on their poptarts. The woman left the house, shutting the door behind her.
'What?' Craig threw his hands up at the look on their faces.
'Look, J's right. We don't know anything about Frankie,' Deran sighed.
'Jesus, man. On the d- You're gonna say this shit on the day of the job?'
'Look. I'm just-'
'She's cool.'
'It's just we're doing this for you,' Ashton spoke softly; 'If something goes wrong, she screws us-'
'It won't, alright? It won't.'
'Okay... Okay.'
'Alright. Well, get your shit on. Let's go,' Deran motioned to his brother's attire.
Craig merely rolled his eyes, waving them off as he wandered out of the room. The Wright girl looked Deran, leaning down to kiss his cheeks.
'We'll be ok,' She whispered.
|||||
Ashton sat on her bike on the side of the road, her helmet resting between her legs as she waited beside Craig.
'Is everyone nervous about the job?' He sighed.
'Not nervous... Apprehensive,' She reworded.
'Why didn't you talk to me sooner?'
'Because you're so set that Frankie's ok and you jack up every time we mention it.'
'I don't.'
She cocked a brow, causing him to sigh.
'Just know, man, if she screws us over, it's you that's gonna be in the shit, not her,' She shook her head; 'And we're gonna want to be paid.'
'I hate it when you're right,' He muttered.
'You don't really,' She chuckled; 'Because you pull your head out of your arse every time I am.'
He laughed with her, leaning over to reach for her head; pulling it toward him. He pressed a kiss to the top of it before letting her go, just as Pope's voice sounded through their earpieces.
'The truck is coming your way, black security vehicle following,' The man stated; 'Craig, Ash, go.'
Ashton pulled her helmet on and started her bike, riding out onto the road behind the black car with Craig by her side.
'We're in place behind the security vehicle,' He informed their brothers.
They followed the small convoy through their detour, riding up behind them.
'Alright, cutting him off,' She muttered.
She pulled out and up beside the black car, Craig on the other side, before they cut in front of the car. She watched them through their arms up in her side mirror, laughing to herself at the sight. She rolled slowly behind the truck, pausing for a second when J spun the sign around in front of them as he played traffic controller; Deran up ahead directing the traffic. She looked to Craig and surged forward, the sign knocking against her helmet; her brother right behind her.
Deran jumped out of the way, letting them ride through and up behind the truck once more. She slowed behind the truck as it pulled off to the side, stopping with Craig behind her; pulling her helmet off. Ashton pulled her mask up over her nose, slipping her gun out of the inside of her boot. She held her gun low, creeping toward the truck where Pope lifted her up to stand on the side of the truck; sticking her gun in the window.
'Get out,' She growled.
'Let's go,' Craig appeared on the other side of the cabin; 'Now.'
She pulled the door open and let Pope pounce, pulling the man out of the car and down onto concrete; their brother doing the same. Ashton jumped from the side of the truck, letting her brothers push the two men into the shipping container as Deran jogged around the corner. She grabbed the cables from the back of Pope's car, chucking a set at Deran as she took her own.
'I got the GPS,' He called.
After tossing the ropes up over the huge sculpture, they pulled the tarp over the top to cover it; swapping out the sign on the back for a Hazardous Materials sign. The girl ran around hooking the tarp down to the trailer, nodding to Craig as he climbed up the side of the cabin.
'J, we're good,' She muttered.
'Coming,' He replied.
She waved Craig off, climbing onto Craig's bike; pulling her helmet over her head. She started the engine, clambering onto her bike as J jogged around the corner. She tossed him his helmet, kicking up her stand as she revved her engine. J moved first, chucking a U-turn in the alley to head in the opposite direction to where the boys had gone; Ashton right behind him.
||||||
'What the fuck?' Ashton whispered as she stepped into her house, all the lights on and food cooking in the kitchen; 'Smurf?'
'Hey, Fish,' Michelle smiled as she walked out of the bathroom.
'Hey, Mum. What're you doing here?'
'Thought we could have dinner together. Is that ok?'
'Perfect.'
She walked up to the woman and wrapped her around her, pressing a kiss her cheek.
'Thank you for the drawings,' She whispered.
'You're very welcome,' Michelle grinned; 'How you been feeling?'
'Uh, yeh, good. I think... It healed up all good after I busted it. No pain, no discomfort, just gotta keep up on those pills.'
'You're doing good, sweetheart. But, I'm still here if you wanna talk.'
'I know, Mama... And I love you for that.'
'When are you heading off again?'
'Dunno. Might head over to our place in Hawaii soon, just to catch a break. You should come.'
'I'll see.'
'Ok. What's cooking?'
'Fish and chips.'
'Oh, good. I'm starved.'
'Been busy?'
'Uh, yeh.'
'Ash.'
'It's all good, Shell.'
'I just don't want you to rock up at my house again like you were last time.'
'I won't. And I'm sorry they did that to you.'
'Don't be stupid. It saved your life, Fish. It just scared the life out of everyone.'
'I'm sorry.'
Michelle shook her head, grabbing her head to press a kiss to her forehead; her thumb running over her hair.
'Let's eat,' She whispered.
'Sounds like a plan,' Ashton nodded.