The Reynolds/Bradshaw Connection - Chapter 4
The Reynolds/Bradshaw Connection
These characters still do not belong to me - they still belong to Angela Robinson. Original Characters - (Corleone, Tiny and Smalls, and Chastity) do belong to me.
As for the humor, it will, unfortunately soon be put to a standstill. While I’ll try to throw a bone or two in there, the story is just about ready to take the dramatic twists and turns I have planned, and the last thing I’d want is for a comedic line to break the mood that I get going. Then again, I’ve thrown things in there before that I did not think were really comical, and yet have been well received comedic lines, so it may happen unintentionally.
I must credit Christopher Moore for the “Like Bear” idea - read his new book “A Dirty Job” if you haven’t yet. The man is a comic genius, and if I had a tenth of the sense of humor he does, this fic would be a thousand times better.
Continued thanks to both Hogwaffle and Kklips. This story would not be as good as it is without them.
By the way, if more than the six people who continually comment are actually reading the story, I urge you to comment, I’d like to know what others think of my work.
Opening lyrics come from Journey’s Who’s Crying Now; end lyrics are from Styx’s Show Me the Way
Chapter 4: Pink Thunder
---------------------
It's been a mystery
And still they try to see
Why somethin' good can hurt so bad
Caught on a one-way street,
The taste of bittersweet
Love will survive somehow, some way
---------------------
Lucy’s POV
I wasn’t able to get much sleep that night, once again. I lay in bed, scenarios that had never occurred running themselves over and over again in my mind. I wanted to admit that my feelings for Chastity were long gone, I mean, we didn’t part on the greatest terms, so to speak. Still, when I saw her again, I felt something - it wasn’t the soothing feeling of utter love and belonging that I felt with Amy, but there was something. I lay for hours trying to straighten out things in my head when it hit me what I still felt for Chastity - lust.
Chastity and I had never been in love, but from the moment I set eyes on her the first time we met, I had this deep infatuation for her, the same that she had for me. The relationship we went through was purely based on a physical attraction. Amy and I were built on more of a soul connection, she knew who I really was and loved me, as did I know and love her. There just wasn’t that kind of intimacy between Chastity and me. Although I had fooled myself into thinking I loved Chastity, I did not know what true love was until I bumped into the girl who made everything in my life suddenly seem inadequate if I didn’t have her.
Then, when I ran into Chastity at the restaurant, I was reminded of that lust that I had experienced during our relationship. It was wrong to Amy, I kept reminding myself, and I made a resolve that I would never do anything to hurt her. At five in the morning, I finally brought myself to shut my heavy eyes that had practically been deprived of sleep two nights in a row, which explains my irate mood when the phone rang at 5:15.
“Who is this?” I asked, not wanting to talk to anyone at all.
“Issss that anyvay to trreat forrmerr bossss?” Corleone asked. He had a very distinct Eastern European accent, having lived back and forth between Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union for thirty-seven years until the Velvet Revolution forced him to abandon his home country. He also had a mix of a hiss and a lisp due to a scar he obtained earlier in life.
“What do you want?” I asked with the venom clear in my voice.
“Jusst forrr you to come to varehouse I indicated in lasst meeting.” There was a discreet warehouse bearing no logos or signs about a mile from the port where we had met; Corleone had showed me the place as he described the plan to me.
“When?”
“Leaf now, and ve’ll meet vhenever you get herrre.”
Just then, Amy lifted her head and rubbed the caked tears from her eyes. She must have been awaking from a deep sleep. Well, at least one of us got a good night’s sleep.
“Who’s that?” she asked me.
“Sorry, you’ve got the wrong number.” I quickly apologized to Corleone, who knew very well what that meant, as I hung up the phone. I turned to Amy, “Go back to bed,” I moved to her side of the bed, bent down and gave her a quick kiss.
“Looks like someone’s feeling better.” She said as a smile formed upon her face. They say that smiles are contagious, and Amy was living proof of that. Just the way that the perfect dimples formed on her cheek as the sides of her mouth turned up at exactly the right angles always found a way to put a smile on my face as well. She closed her eyes as I watched her fall asleep almost instantly.
After I was sure she was asleep, I walked around the bed to my nightstand, and pulled out a notebook and a pen, and set to work writing Amy a note explaining where I was, or more specifically, where I wasn’t.
Amy,
I got a call from a big group who wants to rent a couple of our small cruise boats. This is a big sale, so I really should be there to make sure everything goes smoothly.
As for last night, I’m really sorry…I got a chance to think about everything last night, and I was incredibly foolish. If you’re concerned about Chastity and me, then don’t worry. I love you, I never loved Chastity; I know that and can only hope you know that.
Please let me make up for last night. I promise you won’t regret it
Yours Always and Forever,
Lucy
I left the note on her nightstand and called the offices at my boat rental facility, one of my employees, Pablo, picked up.
“Hola, Diamond Boats,” Pablo greeted
“Pablo, it’s Lucy.”
“Oh, hey Lucy, what’s up?”
“Just make sure everyone knows that I won’t be at the docks tonight, I’ve got something to do. Leave a note for Jorge; I’m putting him in charge today…oh, and let him know, if Amy or anyone calls about me, I’m there completing a big sale”
“Wait, boss, but what if they come over?”
“Just tell him to do it.”
“Right boss, will do. Adiós.”
I walked over to my dresser and pulled on a black blouse and a pair of black slacks, my usual crime attire. Then, trying out my stealth skills I had possessed in my former life as a diamond thief, I attempted to make it down the stairs when I felt a gun pressed to the back of my temple. I made a mental note to brush up on those skills if I was to be successful in the upcoming heist. As I turned around, I realized that I should have been able to guess who it was behind me.
The face that belonged to the arms holding the gun bore a menacing frown, her eyebrows furrowed. It was the same face that had attempted to stop Amy and me before letting us escape at Endgame.
“What are you doing Diamond?” Max asked authoritatively. She was still in her sleeping clothes, a pair of black sweatpants and a blood-red sweatshirt.
“I got a call from the docks, we’re about to make a big sale, and I was trying not to wake anyone up.”
“Well, it’s too late for that; I’ve been up since three. Just keep in mind that I didn’t get that pardon for you. If you cross the line, I will kill you, I don’t care what Amy says, I will shoot you.”
“Nice to know you care Max. Go back upstairs”
“I’m keeping my eye on you Diamond.”
“Once again, nice to know.”
Once I was downstairs, I made my way to the living room where Scud and Janet slept in our pullout bed on the sofa, Scud’s arms around Janet. Amy and I had offered them a bigger room, but typical of Scud, he had to get the room with the computers and TV. I almost felt bad for Janet. I carefully bent down and removed Scud’s arm, and shook Scud vigorously until he awoke.
Scud was a very heavy sleeper, so it always took him a while to get his bearings. That wasn’t the case today, as he turned and rolled off the bed, landing with a thud on the ground. Immediately, he was awake and holding his back, that fall was enough to wake even the heaviest sleeper. I was waiting for Max to come down, but that never happened. She was the oddest person I had ever met. She would come down at the slightest noise I made, but she was conspicuously absent when Scud’s fall shook the house. Even Janet remained asleep, she must have been as heavy a sleeper as Scud.
“Damn, Lucy, what the hell?” Scud asked, still half-asleep.
“Come on, we gotta go.”
“Where?”
“Corleone, where else?”
“What do I tell Janet?”
“Just tell her I’m showing you around the docks. Let’s go.”
“Fine,” Scud replied as he quickly got dressed into a blue button down shirt and a pair of jeans. He bent down over the sleeping Janet and planted a kiss on her cheek. “I don’t mean to hurt you honey,” he whispered in her ear.
“Scud, I’m leaving!” I called as I made my way out the door and walked to my car.
“I’m coming, hold on!”
Scud joined me in the car and I turned the key, released the parking break and started backing out of the driveway. “We’re meeting Corleone and probably the gang at the warehouse.”
“Now I know why you quit, Lucy. These hours are unbearable,” Scud said. He was right, one of the reasons I had decided to get out of the group was to actually get some sleep. Five in the morning was actually a bit late for Pink Thunder, and we would often stay on a job until around twelve, so we really never got a good night’s sleep. When I set off on my own, I made the hours, which meant I could sleep in until ten most mornings.
We drove to the warehouse near Port Suérvo, and pulled up in the parking lot.
“Alright, if anyone asks, Amy and Janet are just flings to us. We can’t have Corleone and Pink Thunder doubting us. Got it?”
“Why? You’re not actually part of the group. Lucy, you’re just doing them a favor.”
“Just do it.” Scud was a genius, but sometimes he didn’t get the art of subterfuge.
The warehouse was totally gray, absolutely no color scheme, and looked like it hadn’t been used in decades. The exterior was crumbling and decrepit, but if I knew anything about Pink Thunder, the interior would be totally different. Walking to the entrance with Scud slinking along behind me, I opened the door and saw that my suspicions had been spot on.
Decorating the room were various cubicles and high tech stationeries. There must have been a couple million dollars worth of computers, monitors, and other various pieces of technology in the warehouse. Corleone was on the far end of the warehouse opposite the door, dressed like always in an entirely black suit - black suit jacket, black slacks, black button down shirt, black tie. He smiled and motioned for us to come to him. Walking through the path made in the middle of the warehouse between the cubicles, two sets of eyes caught mine.
“Tiny, Smalls! It’s been a while,” I greeted. Tiny and Smalls were always the goons on our operations. If pure intellect did not work and our careful plans broke down, they would always be the ones to bail us out. They were not necessarily intellectually gifted, but if you knew what was best for you, you would never tell them such. They were average looking as far as beauty went, but when you saw their muscular stature, you knew it was in your best interest to keep them happy. Their hair was tied back in ponytails, and they were both wearing black trench coats.
“‘Aillo Lucy,” they greeted in unison. They were identical Russian twins, and still bore their heavy Russian accent. They always seemed to be thinking each others thoughts, which I always chalked up to the connection that twins are said to possess. “How are you today?”
“Good as always, you guys?”
“Ve like bearrr,” Tiny replied. They had this fascination with bears that stemmed from Russia, I guess, and they were always comparing things to bears, whether or not it made any sense.
Scud just looked at me. “Like bear?” he whispered. “These guys sure are odd.” I had met Scud after returning to the United States, so he had never been involved in Pink Thunder. The only person in the group he actually knew was Chastity, as we had continued to date for a short time after I left the group. He stopped and looked at the computers in an empty cubicle and looked up at me, his face reminiscent of a begging dog.
“Just go.” I said, and off he went, gleefully sitting down at the computer.
Tiny and Smalls were formerly Soviet weightlifters and wrestlers, who were born to a poor family and never really made much of a legitimate name for themselves to better their situation. Eventually, failing to make enough money to support themselves and their family in the Soviet Union, they resorted to crime to make ends meet. When Corleone came to Russia, he noticed their knack for crime and physical prowess and quickly made them an offer they couldn’t refuse. Soon they were doing his bidding and formed the muscle that Corleone never possessed.
I looked around for Chastity. Not finding her anywhere, I finished my walk to Corleone and found Chastity sitting at a cubicle just right of Corleone. She had her hair down, and for a moment I thought about just how beautiful she looked with her flowing red hair until I forced myself to stop. She was wearing a red tank top with black slacks.
“Chastity,” I spit a greeting.
“Lucy, ‘ow charming,” she said, slipping back into her native French accent.
Chastity Red was not her real name. Her given name was Charitine LeFleur, which in French could be interpreted to “The Virgin Flower,” which was everything Chastity was not. She was descended from the LeFleur crime family, the most feared crime group in France. The LeFleurs were essentially the French equivalent of the Reynolds family, save that they are into drug dealing and weapons distribution. In the end, Chastity was ostracized from her family for being too vicious, a feat many would have thought impossible. When the Soviet Union began to crumble, she traveled to Russia, hoping to make a profit from the suffering. In Russia, she met Corleone, and due to her past, was quickly invited to join the gang. Chastity was a master of dialogue, she could speak English with a native accent if she wanted to, and she could fit in as a native anywhere.
“So what’s up Corleone?” I asked
“Heist goesssh oop tomorrrow, ant ve neet to dvrraw oop plansss.” He replied.
“Tomorrow?!” I asked incredulously. I was a bit suspicious, this would have to be a simple security system, or else he was setting us up. I didn’t work last minute jobs; I always made sure that my plans were perfect to the ‘T’. “Well, where are the specs on the museum?”
“Chassstity hasss them, talk to her.” Just now, I remembered how that Slovak accent used to really grind on my last nerves.
I walked to the cubicle Chastity was stationed at and pulled up a chair. “So what’re the specs?” I asked, a bit of resignation in my voice. If I was going to work with Chastity on this assignment, we would have to be civil to each other.
“Ah, talking a bit nicer, are we? You know, ah missed you, Luce. No one’s made eet as enjoyable as you…”
“Stop it Chastity, it’s not going to work, I have someone I love. Besides, we’re here to work and not reminisce,” I replied.
“Oh, I vorgot. Lucy Diamond’s gone zoft…who could ‘ave imagined? How’s ze D.E.B. by ze way?”
“I haven’t gone soft, and she’s better than you.” I know, I know. I told Scud that Amy and Janet were just passing trends, but this was Chastity. I had to lay down the fact that I was taken and wanted nothing to do with her flirting.
“Ah, she could never be better than me. But let’s get back to business, shall we?” She took a pause as she pulled up the report on the Picasso Museum’s security. “Ze museum has fairly old security. I’m sure you’ve outsmarted zomezing like zis at least a ‘undred timez. There’s a combing laser field on the ground, and ze paintingz all are hung on weight zensitive pins, if ze collective weight zey support iz not correct, zen ze alarm system will trigger.” She gave me a small printout of the blueprints of the building.
“Good, I think I can figure something out,” I said, turning to Corleone.
“Spaseebo. I vill give you fifteen minutes. Vork something out then rrreporrrt back here.”
“Scud!” I called. I waited about a minute before I saw Scud walking down the aisle towards me.
“Luce, this better be good! I was about to beat my best personal time at Minesweeper,” that was Scud for you, the perpetual teenager.
“Yeah, it’s good. Need you to help me work out these plans.”
“Sure, take me off of Minesweeper to do something you could do yourself,” He grinned. “Now what’s your thought process so far?”
As Scud and I went over the plans, making preparations, I reflected on my time back with Pink Thunder. Corleone had found and befriended my father in America, and convinced him that my involvement in Pink Thunder would help me when it was my turn to take over the Reynolds Crime Syndicate. My father was a closet Socialist, so I guess that is where the foundation of the mutual respect was formed.
Corleone was a high-ranking member of the Czechoslovakian Communist Party. He had been “elected” Premier of Czechoslovakia when the Velvet Revolutions occurred, overthrowing the Communist government in Czechoslovakia and several other communist satellite states. Although the Velvet Revolution was generally a bloodless revolution, as Corleone was giving a speech to his fellow members of the CCP, the meeting was stormed by an angry mob. The mob viciously attacked many members of the Communist Party, and Corleone was badly injured, sustaining many wounds, including a deep gash that completely split the right side of his lip and ran to just under his right eye. When the new government took over in Czechoslovakia, bitter and disillusioned, Corleone traveled to Russia.
Despising those who capitalized on the riches capitalism offered, he made a resolve to even out the money to those who suffered from what he saw as the evils of capitalism. Corleone formed the idea to have women do his dirty work seeing that they were inconspicuous enough in the crime world. He recruited the strongest, most beautiful, smartest, and deadliest women. His theory was right; these women were able to get into places and find out things that men couldn’t, and all by using their powers of…persuasion. He called this group of women, Pink Thunder. The word Pink represented the color of femininity; Thunder representing a sonic shock wave. In many ways, that is what these women were - a shock wave - they were a propagating disturbance that you never saw, but only heard about after it was over.
Soon, Corleone had the manpower (or womanpower, if you will) he was looking for and he moved in on America. Sporting a dream team of villainous characters from European nations, Pink Thunder soon rose to the top of the crime world. Quickly after their celebrity status was obtained, Corleone and Pink Thunder began to adopt an almost Communist approach of Robin Hood, stealing from the rich and distributing the money to the poor through charities. Eventually though, he became corrupted, and kept the money for personal gain, at which point he met Robert Reynolds, my father, one of the most renowned diamond/jewelry thieves at the time.
After Scud and I had finished our part of the preparation, Corleone showed us to a rectangular, wooden table. Corleone occupied the head seat, while Tiny and Smalls were already seated on the right side of the table. Chastity was on the left side with two empty seats beside her. She beckoned to me to sit next to her and I shot Scud a look.
“Got ya’” he whispered as he sat down in the seat directly next to Chastity.
“Sssso vat iss plan you vorked up?” Corleone asked.
“Alright, Scud’s printed out a copy for each of you to keep and hold onto,” I then realized that I wasn’t sure whether or not Tiny and Smalls could read. They had been learning to read when I was in the group and I wasn’t sure whether they had continued learning. “Tiny, Smalls, can you guys read?”
“Like bear!” Tiny replied. Scud was right when he said they were strange. All of their responses that began or ended with ‘like bear’ always seemed to be positive, so I took that as a confirmation that they could in fact read.
“Alright, so here are the basics of the plan. Chastity, did you print out a copy of the blueprints?”
“Oui,” she replied as she lay out on the table a printout of the museum’s blueprints.
“Scud and I found the manual override that they use to replace or remove paintings, however only one of us will be able to get there. It’s past the combing laser field,” I pointed out the location on the printout. “It’s too risky for more than one of us to attempt to navigate there, so I will do the honors, unless anyone objects.” I paused and to my surprise no one spoke, not even Chastity. “So I will stealthily avoid the beams…”
“Like bear?” Smalls interrupted. I turned my head and stared at them, like bear for reading, while weird I could live with, but I had never heard of a bear being stealthy.
“Bears are stealthy?” A blush formed on both Tiny and Smalls faces, and they did not respond.
“Anyway,” I continued, “I’ll stealthily avoid the beams…like bear…” I glanced over at the beaming twins. “And I will use Scud’s password hacking device to shut down the security system.” Scud was a technical genius and had created a device that could hack into most systems and through a program that was too complicated for me, discover the correct password for whatever it was needed for. “Then, it will be like clockwork removing the paintings, it should all go smoothly.”
It should all go smoothly, I hope…
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Amy’s POV
I sat on the couch in our living room, just waiting for Lucy to come home. It was already ten at night. Lucy had been out for as long as I’d been awake, a little over thirteen hours, if not longer. I had called the docks, and found out that contrary to the note that she had left, Lucy had called out of work today. I had talked to Jorge, who had no clue about the big sale Lucy had written about either. So, needless to say I was extremely worried about Lucy.
While I had been fretting and nervous all day, the D.E.B.S. had been doing some questioning about Pink Thunder and the heist. They had wanted to be able to do some surveillance, but had not been able to find Pink Thunder’s meeting place. I had suggested to them that, knowing Lucy, it was probably some indiscreet warehouse somewhere, but they had found absolutely nothing. Perhaps it was too indiscreet for even the D.E.B.S. So with Lucy, Scud, and the D.E.B.S. out, I was alone at the house. I had never really wanted a pet before, but I decided to ask Lucy about getting a dog sometime soon.
I heard the door and my heart nearly jumped out of my chest. Jumping off the couch and practically running to the kitchen where the door was, I was dismayed to find the D.E.B.S. at the door and not Lucy.
“So, what’s up guys, what did you find?” I asked.
“Well, they’ve got a local working for them, and the heist is scheduled for tomorrow. Amy, we’ve got something we need to talk to you about.” Max replied
I braced myself for the worst. “What?”
“The local working for them, we don’t know her name, but we’ve found out it’s a woman. Look…Lucy’s not at the docks, she’s lied to you, you’ve bumped into Chastity, they had that weird conversation you told us about…how much do you trust Lucy?” Max asked.
“I trust her with all my heart.” I replied, which wasn’t exactly accurate. I was getting the feeling that there was something going on with Lucy that she wasn’t telling me…but it couldn’t be this…could it?
“Ah, you can’t let ze ‘eart decide zese zings, Amy…” Dominique pointed out.
“Yeah, ‘cause then, if you’re wrong, it could get broken…Not that I’m saying you’re wrong Amy, but if you are…” input Janet.
“All we’re saying Amy is keep a lookout on Lucy. Don’t trust her too much, or she might betray that trust. Remember, as much as you love her, Diamond is still an ex-member of the Ten Most Wanted List. It’s not beyond doubt that she may be aiding her friends here…just keep an open mind, Amy.” Max said.
I wanted to discredit everything that they’d said, I wanted to tell myself that they just had a personal grudge against Lucy, but I knew that wasn’t the case, well, besides Max.
“Just keep an eye out Amy, I’d hate to see you get burned.” Max and the others went to their respective beds. Janet sat on the couch and turned on the TV to HBO, Charlie’s Angels 2 was playing.
I was about to walk to the living room to join her as the door opened and Lucy and Scud walked in, obviously very tired.
“Where have you been?” I asked angrily.
“Geez, what’s gotten into you?” asked Lucy, “Scud and I were down at the docks, didn’t you read my note?”
“I read your note, but Jorge says you called out and left him in charge.” At this news, Lucy’s facial expression changed to one that I registered as a mixture between confusion and annoyance.
She let out a forced giggle. “Umm…you see…Scud and I were…”
“Actually, Lucy was giving me a free tour with one of the boats, and she kinda got lost.” Scud laughed, punching Lucy, “You would think she’d know her way around by know…Anyway, we got dinner afterwards, and that’s why we were out so long…” Scud explained.
“SCUD!!!” exclaimed a joyous Janet, who flung herself at Scud, wrapping her arms around Scud and resting her head in his chest. “I missed you.”
“Missed you too babe…I’ll have to take you with me on the next tour.”
“You better…or else,”
“Or else what?”
“Just…or else,” she replied as she led Scud back to the living room by the hand.
“Charlie’s Angels, cool! Lucy Liu’s so hot!” I heard Scud exclaim right before a loud thud as Janet punched him strongly in the arm.
I turned to Lucy, “You know just as well as I do that that was crap. What did you guys really do?”
Lucy hung her head. “I, I can’t really say…I wish I could, but I can’t…”
“You’re not doing anything with Pink Thunder, right? The D.E.B.S. say that a local is working with them, and they think that it’s you. I want an honest answer.”
Lucy paused for a moment, as if she was mulling it over, “…No, I’m not working with Pink Thunder. You can trust me.”
At that moment, I wish I could have trusted her, but that silence, that pause gave me more than enough reason to doubt her. “Lucy, I wish I could,” I said as I went upstairs.
It was going to be a long night.
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Every night I say a prayer,
In the hope that there's a heaven
And every day I'm more confused
As the saints turn into sinners
All the heroes and legends I knew as a child
Have fallen to idols of clay
And I feel this empty place inside
So afraid that I've lost my faith
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Next Chapter: Preparations - http://laharlthedemon.livejournal.com/1758.html
These characters still do not belong to me - they still belong to Angela Robinson. Original Characters - (Corleone, Tiny and Smalls, and Chastity) do belong to me.
As for the humor, it will, unfortunately soon be put to a standstill. While I’ll try to throw a bone or two in there, the story is just about ready to take the dramatic twists and turns I have planned, and the last thing I’d want is for a comedic line to break the mood that I get going. Then again, I’ve thrown things in there before that I did not think were really comical, and yet have been well received comedic lines, so it may happen unintentionally.
I must credit Christopher Moore for the “Like Bear” idea - read his new book “A Dirty Job” if you haven’t yet. The man is a comic genius, and if I had a tenth of the sense of humor he does, this fic would be a thousand times better.
Continued thanks to both Hogwaffle and Kklips. This story would not be as good as it is without them.
By the way, if more than the six people who continually comment are actually reading the story, I urge you to comment, I’d like to know what others think of my work.
Opening lyrics come from Journey’s Who’s Crying Now; end lyrics are from Styx’s Show Me the Way
Chapter 4: Pink Thunder
---------------------
It's been a mystery
And still they try to see
Why somethin' good can hurt so bad
Caught on a one-way street,
The taste of bittersweet
Love will survive somehow, some way
---------------------
Lucy’s POV
I wasn’t able to get much sleep that night, once again. I lay in bed, scenarios that had never occurred running themselves over and over again in my mind. I wanted to admit that my feelings for Chastity were long gone, I mean, we didn’t part on the greatest terms, so to speak. Still, when I saw her again, I felt something - it wasn’t the soothing feeling of utter love and belonging that I felt with Amy, but there was something. I lay for hours trying to straighten out things in my head when it hit me what I still felt for Chastity - lust.
Chastity and I had never been in love, but from the moment I set eyes on her the first time we met, I had this deep infatuation for her, the same that she had for me. The relationship we went through was purely based on a physical attraction. Amy and I were built on more of a soul connection, she knew who I really was and loved me, as did I know and love her. There just wasn’t that kind of intimacy between Chastity and me. Although I had fooled myself into thinking I loved Chastity, I did not know what true love was until I bumped into the girl who made everything in my life suddenly seem inadequate if I didn’t have her.
Then, when I ran into Chastity at the restaurant, I was reminded of that lust that I had experienced during our relationship. It was wrong to Amy, I kept reminding myself, and I made a resolve that I would never do anything to hurt her. At five in the morning, I finally brought myself to shut my heavy eyes that had practically been deprived of sleep two nights in a row, which explains my irate mood when the phone rang at 5:15.
“Who is this?” I asked, not wanting to talk to anyone at all.
“Issss that anyvay to trreat forrmerr bossss?” Corleone asked. He had a very distinct Eastern European accent, having lived back and forth between Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union for thirty-seven years until the Velvet Revolution forced him to abandon his home country. He also had a mix of a hiss and a lisp due to a scar he obtained earlier in life.
“What do you want?” I asked with the venom clear in my voice.
“Jusst forrr you to come to varehouse I indicated in lasst meeting.” There was a discreet warehouse bearing no logos or signs about a mile from the port where we had met; Corleone had showed me the place as he described the plan to me.
“When?”
“Leaf now, and ve’ll meet vhenever you get herrre.”
Just then, Amy lifted her head and rubbed the caked tears from her eyes. She must have been awaking from a deep sleep. Well, at least one of us got a good night’s sleep.
“Who’s that?” she asked me.
“Sorry, you’ve got the wrong number.” I quickly apologized to Corleone, who knew very well what that meant, as I hung up the phone. I turned to Amy, “Go back to bed,” I moved to her side of the bed, bent down and gave her a quick kiss.
“Looks like someone’s feeling better.” She said as a smile formed upon her face. They say that smiles are contagious, and Amy was living proof of that. Just the way that the perfect dimples formed on her cheek as the sides of her mouth turned up at exactly the right angles always found a way to put a smile on my face as well. She closed her eyes as I watched her fall asleep almost instantly.
After I was sure she was asleep, I walked around the bed to my nightstand, and pulled out a notebook and a pen, and set to work writing Amy a note explaining where I was, or more specifically, where I wasn’t.
Amy,
I got a call from a big group who wants to rent a couple of our small cruise boats. This is a big sale, so I really should be there to make sure everything goes smoothly.
As for last night, I’m really sorry…I got a chance to think about everything last night, and I was incredibly foolish. If you’re concerned about Chastity and me, then don’t worry. I love you, I never loved Chastity; I know that and can only hope you know that.
Please let me make up for last night. I promise you won’t regret it
Yours Always and Forever,
Lucy
I left the note on her nightstand and called the offices at my boat rental facility, one of my employees, Pablo, picked up.
“Hola, Diamond Boats,” Pablo greeted
“Pablo, it’s Lucy.”
“Oh, hey Lucy, what’s up?”
“Just make sure everyone knows that I won’t be at the docks tonight, I’ve got something to do. Leave a note for Jorge; I’m putting him in charge today…oh, and let him know, if Amy or anyone calls about me, I’m there completing a big sale”
“Wait, boss, but what if they come over?”
“Just tell him to do it.”
“Right boss, will do. Adiós.”
I walked over to my dresser and pulled on a black blouse and a pair of black slacks, my usual crime attire. Then, trying out my stealth skills I had possessed in my former life as a diamond thief, I attempted to make it down the stairs when I felt a gun pressed to the back of my temple. I made a mental note to brush up on those skills if I was to be successful in the upcoming heist. As I turned around, I realized that I should have been able to guess who it was behind me.
The face that belonged to the arms holding the gun bore a menacing frown, her eyebrows furrowed. It was the same face that had attempted to stop Amy and me before letting us escape at Endgame.
“What are you doing Diamond?” Max asked authoritatively. She was still in her sleeping clothes, a pair of black sweatpants and a blood-red sweatshirt.
“I got a call from the docks, we’re about to make a big sale, and I was trying not to wake anyone up.”
“Well, it’s too late for that; I’ve been up since three. Just keep in mind that I didn’t get that pardon for you. If you cross the line, I will kill you, I don’t care what Amy says, I will shoot you.”
“Nice to know you care Max. Go back upstairs”
“I’m keeping my eye on you Diamond.”
“Once again, nice to know.”
Once I was downstairs, I made my way to the living room where Scud and Janet slept in our pullout bed on the sofa, Scud’s arms around Janet. Amy and I had offered them a bigger room, but typical of Scud, he had to get the room with the computers and TV. I almost felt bad for Janet. I carefully bent down and removed Scud’s arm, and shook Scud vigorously until he awoke.
Scud was a very heavy sleeper, so it always took him a while to get his bearings. That wasn’t the case today, as he turned and rolled off the bed, landing with a thud on the ground. Immediately, he was awake and holding his back, that fall was enough to wake even the heaviest sleeper. I was waiting for Max to come down, but that never happened. She was the oddest person I had ever met. She would come down at the slightest noise I made, but she was conspicuously absent when Scud’s fall shook the house. Even Janet remained asleep, she must have been as heavy a sleeper as Scud.
“Damn, Lucy, what the hell?” Scud asked, still half-asleep.
“Come on, we gotta go.”
“Where?”
“Corleone, where else?”
“What do I tell Janet?”
“Just tell her I’m showing you around the docks. Let’s go.”
“Fine,” Scud replied as he quickly got dressed into a blue button down shirt and a pair of jeans. He bent down over the sleeping Janet and planted a kiss on her cheek. “I don’t mean to hurt you honey,” he whispered in her ear.
“Scud, I’m leaving!” I called as I made my way out the door and walked to my car.
“I’m coming, hold on!”
Scud joined me in the car and I turned the key, released the parking break and started backing out of the driveway. “We’re meeting Corleone and probably the gang at the warehouse.”
“Now I know why you quit, Lucy. These hours are unbearable,” Scud said. He was right, one of the reasons I had decided to get out of the group was to actually get some sleep. Five in the morning was actually a bit late for Pink Thunder, and we would often stay on a job until around twelve, so we really never got a good night’s sleep. When I set off on my own, I made the hours, which meant I could sleep in until ten most mornings.
We drove to the warehouse near Port Suérvo, and pulled up in the parking lot.
“Alright, if anyone asks, Amy and Janet are just flings to us. We can’t have Corleone and Pink Thunder doubting us. Got it?”
“Why? You’re not actually part of the group. Lucy, you’re just doing them a favor.”
“Just do it.” Scud was a genius, but sometimes he didn’t get the art of subterfuge.
The warehouse was totally gray, absolutely no color scheme, and looked like it hadn’t been used in decades. The exterior was crumbling and decrepit, but if I knew anything about Pink Thunder, the interior would be totally different. Walking to the entrance with Scud slinking along behind me, I opened the door and saw that my suspicions had been spot on.
Decorating the room were various cubicles and high tech stationeries. There must have been a couple million dollars worth of computers, monitors, and other various pieces of technology in the warehouse. Corleone was on the far end of the warehouse opposite the door, dressed like always in an entirely black suit - black suit jacket, black slacks, black button down shirt, black tie. He smiled and motioned for us to come to him. Walking through the path made in the middle of the warehouse between the cubicles, two sets of eyes caught mine.
“Tiny, Smalls! It’s been a while,” I greeted. Tiny and Smalls were always the goons on our operations. If pure intellect did not work and our careful plans broke down, they would always be the ones to bail us out. They were not necessarily intellectually gifted, but if you knew what was best for you, you would never tell them such. They were average looking as far as beauty went, but when you saw their muscular stature, you knew it was in your best interest to keep them happy. Their hair was tied back in ponytails, and they were both wearing black trench coats.
“‘Aillo Lucy,” they greeted in unison. They were identical Russian twins, and still bore their heavy Russian accent. They always seemed to be thinking each others thoughts, which I always chalked up to the connection that twins are said to possess. “How are you today?”
“Good as always, you guys?”
“Ve like bearrr,” Tiny replied. They had this fascination with bears that stemmed from Russia, I guess, and they were always comparing things to bears, whether or not it made any sense.
Scud just looked at me. “Like bear?” he whispered. “These guys sure are odd.” I had met Scud after returning to the United States, so he had never been involved in Pink Thunder. The only person in the group he actually knew was Chastity, as we had continued to date for a short time after I left the group. He stopped and looked at the computers in an empty cubicle and looked up at me, his face reminiscent of a begging dog.
“Just go.” I said, and off he went, gleefully sitting down at the computer.
Tiny and Smalls were formerly Soviet weightlifters and wrestlers, who were born to a poor family and never really made much of a legitimate name for themselves to better their situation. Eventually, failing to make enough money to support themselves and their family in the Soviet Union, they resorted to crime to make ends meet. When Corleone came to Russia, he noticed their knack for crime and physical prowess and quickly made them an offer they couldn’t refuse. Soon they were doing his bidding and formed the muscle that Corleone never possessed.
I looked around for Chastity. Not finding her anywhere, I finished my walk to Corleone and found Chastity sitting at a cubicle just right of Corleone. She had her hair down, and for a moment I thought about just how beautiful she looked with her flowing red hair until I forced myself to stop. She was wearing a red tank top with black slacks.
“Chastity,” I spit a greeting.
“Lucy, ‘ow charming,” she said, slipping back into her native French accent.
Chastity Red was not her real name. Her given name was Charitine LeFleur, which in French could be interpreted to “The Virgin Flower,” which was everything Chastity was not. She was descended from the LeFleur crime family, the most feared crime group in France. The LeFleurs were essentially the French equivalent of the Reynolds family, save that they are into drug dealing and weapons distribution. In the end, Chastity was ostracized from her family for being too vicious, a feat many would have thought impossible. When the Soviet Union began to crumble, she traveled to Russia, hoping to make a profit from the suffering. In Russia, she met Corleone, and due to her past, was quickly invited to join the gang. Chastity was a master of dialogue, she could speak English with a native accent if she wanted to, and she could fit in as a native anywhere.
“So what’s up Corleone?” I asked
“Heist goesssh oop tomorrrow, ant ve neet to dvrraw oop plansss.” He replied.
“Tomorrow?!” I asked incredulously. I was a bit suspicious, this would have to be a simple security system, or else he was setting us up. I didn’t work last minute jobs; I always made sure that my plans were perfect to the ‘T’. “Well, where are the specs on the museum?”
“Chassstity hasss them, talk to her.” Just now, I remembered how that Slovak accent used to really grind on my last nerves.
I walked to the cubicle Chastity was stationed at and pulled up a chair. “So what’re the specs?” I asked, a bit of resignation in my voice. If I was going to work with Chastity on this assignment, we would have to be civil to each other.
“Ah, talking a bit nicer, are we? You know, ah missed you, Luce. No one’s made eet as enjoyable as you…”
“Stop it Chastity, it’s not going to work, I have someone I love. Besides, we’re here to work and not reminisce,” I replied.
“Oh, I vorgot. Lucy Diamond’s gone zoft…who could ‘ave imagined? How’s ze D.E.B. by ze way?”
“I haven’t gone soft, and she’s better than you.” I know, I know. I told Scud that Amy and Janet were just passing trends, but this was Chastity. I had to lay down the fact that I was taken and wanted nothing to do with her flirting.
“Ah, she could never be better than me. But let’s get back to business, shall we?” She took a pause as she pulled up the report on the Picasso Museum’s security. “Ze museum has fairly old security. I’m sure you’ve outsmarted zomezing like zis at least a ‘undred timez. There’s a combing laser field on the ground, and ze paintingz all are hung on weight zensitive pins, if ze collective weight zey support iz not correct, zen ze alarm system will trigger.” She gave me a small printout of the blueprints of the building.
“Good, I think I can figure something out,” I said, turning to Corleone.
“Spaseebo. I vill give you fifteen minutes. Vork something out then rrreporrrt back here.”
“Scud!” I called. I waited about a minute before I saw Scud walking down the aisle towards me.
“Luce, this better be good! I was about to beat my best personal time at Minesweeper,” that was Scud for you, the perpetual teenager.
“Yeah, it’s good. Need you to help me work out these plans.”
“Sure, take me off of Minesweeper to do something you could do yourself,” He grinned. “Now what’s your thought process so far?”
As Scud and I went over the plans, making preparations, I reflected on my time back with Pink Thunder. Corleone had found and befriended my father in America, and convinced him that my involvement in Pink Thunder would help me when it was my turn to take over the Reynolds Crime Syndicate. My father was a closet Socialist, so I guess that is where the foundation of the mutual respect was formed.
Corleone was a high-ranking member of the Czechoslovakian Communist Party. He had been “elected” Premier of Czechoslovakia when the Velvet Revolutions occurred, overthrowing the Communist government in Czechoslovakia and several other communist satellite states. Although the Velvet Revolution was generally a bloodless revolution, as Corleone was giving a speech to his fellow members of the CCP, the meeting was stormed by an angry mob. The mob viciously attacked many members of the Communist Party, and Corleone was badly injured, sustaining many wounds, including a deep gash that completely split the right side of his lip and ran to just under his right eye. When the new government took over in Czechoslovakia, bitter and disillusioned, Corleone traveled to Russia.
Despising those who capitalized on the riches capitalism offered, he made a resolve to even out the money to those who suffered from what he saw as the evils of capitalism. Corleone formed the idea to have women do his dirty work seeing that they were inconspicuous enough in the crime world. He recruited the strongest, most beautiful, smartest, and deadliest women. His theory was right; these women were able to get into places and find out things that men couldn’t, and all by using their powers of…persuasion. He called this group of women, Pink Thunder. The word Pink represented the color of femininity; Thunder representing a sonic shock wave. In many ways, that is what these women were - a shock wave - they were a propagating disturbance that you never saw, but only heard about after it was over.
Soon, Corleone had the manpower (or womanpower, if you will) he was looking for and he moved in on America. Sporting a dream team of villainous characters from European nations, Pink Thunder soon rose to the top of the crime world. Quickly after their celebrity status was obtained, Corleone and Pink Thunder began to adopt an almost Communist approach of Robin Hood, stealing from the rich and distributing the money to the poor through charities. Eventually though, he became corrupted, and kept the money for personal gain, at which point he met Robert Reynolds, my father, one of the most renowned diamond/jewelry thieves at the time.
After Scud and I had finished our part of the preparation, Corleone showed us to a rectangular, wooden table. Corleone occupied the head seat, while Tiny and Smalls were already seated on the right side of the table. Chastity was on the left side with two empty seats beside her. She beckoned to me to sit next to her and I shot Scud a look.
“Got ya’” he whispered as he sat down in the seat directly next to Chastity.
“Sssso vat iss plan you vorked up?” Corleone asked.
“Alright, Scud’s printed out a copy for each of you to keep and hold onto,” I then realized that I wasn’t sure whether or not Tiny and Smalls could read. They had been learning to read when I was in the group and I wasn’t sure whether they had continued learning. “Tiny, Smalls, can you guys read?”
“Like bear!” Tiny replied. Scud was right when he said they were strange. All of their responses that began or ended with ‘like bear’ always seemed to be positive, so I took that as a confirmation that they could in fact read.
“Alright, so here are the basics of the plan. Chastity, did you print out a copy of the blueprints?”
“Oui,” she replied as she lay out on the table a printout of the museum’s blueprints.
“Scud and I found the manual override that they use to replace or remove paintings, however only one of us will be able to get there. It’s past the combing laser field,” I pointed out the location on the printout. “It’s too risky for more than one of us to attempt to navigate there, so I will do the honors, unless anyone objects.” I paused and to my surprise no one spoke, not even Chastity. “So I will stealthily avoid the beams…”
“Like bear?” Smalls interrupted. I turned my head and stared at them, like bear for reading, while weird I could live with, but I had never heard of a bear being stealthy.
“Bears are stealthy?” A blush formed on both Tiny and Smalls faces, and they did not respond.
“Anyway,” I continued, “I’ll stealthily avoid the beams…like bear…” I glanced over at the beaming twins. “And I will use Scud’s password hacking device to shut down the security system.” Scud was a technical genius and had created a device that could hack into most systems and through a program that was too complicated for me, discover the correct password for whatever it was needed for. “Then, it will be like clockwork removing the paintings, it should all go smoothly.”
It should all go smoothly, I hope…
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Amy’s POV
I sat on the couch in our living room, just waiting for Lucy to come home. It was already ten at night. Lucy had been out for as long as I’d been awake, a little over thirteen hours, if not longer. I had called the docks, and found out that contrary to the note that she had left, Lucy had called out of work today. I had talked to Jorge, who had no clue about the big sale Lucy had written about either. So, needless to say I was extremely worried about Lucy.
While I had been fretting and nervous all day, the D.E.B.S. had been doing some questioning about Pink Thunder and the heist. They had wanted to be able to do some surveillance, but had not been able to find Pink Thunder’s meeting place. I had suggested to them that, knowing Lucy, it was probably some indiscreet warehouse somewhere, but they had found absolutely nothing. Perhaps it was too indiscreet for even the D.E.B.S. So with Lucy, Scud, and the D.E.B.S. out, I was alone at the house. I had never really wanted a pet before, but I decided to ask Lucy about getting a dog sometime soon.
I heard the door and my heart nearly jumped out of my chest. Jumping off the couch and practically running to the kitchen where the door was, I was dismayed to find the D.E.B.S. at the door and not Lucy.
“So, what’s up guys, what did you find?” I asked.
“Well, they’ve got a local working for them, and the heist is scheduled for tomorrow. Amy, we’ve got something we need to talk to you about.” Max replied
I braced myself for the worst. “What?”
“The local working for them, we don’t know her name, but we’ve found out it’s a woman. Look…Lucy’s not at the docks, she’s lied to you, you’ve bumped into Chastity, they had that weird conversation you told us about…how much do you trust Lucy?” Max asked.
“I trust her with all my heart.” I replied, which wasn’t exactly accurate. I was getting the feeling that there was something going on with Lucy that she wasn’t telling me…but it couldn’t be this…could it?
“Ah, you can’t let ze ‘eart decide zese zings, Amy…” Dominique pointed out.
“Yeah, ‘cause then, if you’re wrong, it could get broken…Not that I’m saying you’re wrong Amy, but if you are…” input Janet.
“All we’re saying Amy is keep a lookout on Lucy. Don’t trust her too much, or she might betray that trust. Remember, as much as you love her, Diamond is still an ex-member of the Ten Most Wanted List. It’s not beyond doubt that she may be aiding her friends here…just keep an open mind, Amy.” Max said.
I wanted to discredit everything that they’d said, I wanted to tell myself that they just had a personal grudge against Lucy, but I knew that wasn’t the case, well, besides Max.
“Just keep an eye out Amy, I’d hate to see you get burned.” Max and the others went to their respective beds. Janet sat on the couch and turned on the TV to HBO, Charlie’s Angels 2 was playing.
I was about to walk to the living room to join her as the door opened and Lucy and Scud walked in, obviously very tired.
“Where have you been?” I asked angrily.
“Geez, what’s gotten into you?” asked Lucy, “Scud and I were down at the docks, didn’t you read my note?”
“I read your note, but Jorge says you called out and left him in charge.” At this news, Lucy’s facial expression changed to one that I registered as a mixture between confusion and annoyance.
She let out a forced giggle. “Umm…you see…Scud and I were…”
“Actually, Lucy was giving me a free tour with one of the boats, and she kinda got lost.” Scud laughed, punching Lucy, “You would think she’d know her way around by know…Anyway, we got dinner afterwards, and that’s why we were out so long…” Scud explained.
“SCUD!!!” exclaimed a joyous Janet, who flung herself at Scud, wrapping her arms around Scud and resting her head in his chest. “I missed you.”
“Missed you too babe…I’ll have to take you with me on the next tour.”
“You better…or else,”
“Or else what?”
“Just…or else,” she replied as she led Scud back to the living room by the hand.
“Charlie’s Angels, cool! Lucy Liu’s so hot!” I heard Scud exclaim right before a loud thud as Janet punched him strongly in the arm.
I turned to Lucy, “You know just as well as I do that that was crap. What did you guys really do?”
Lucy hung her head. “I, I can’t really say…I wish I could, but I can’t…”
“You’re not doing anything with Pink Thunder, right? The D.E.B.S. say that a local is working with them, and they think that it’s you. I want an honest answer.”
Lucy paused for a moment, as if she was mulling it over, “…No, I’m not working with Pink Thunder. You can trust me.”
At that moment, I wish I could have trusted her, but that silence, that pause gave me more than enough reason to doubt her. “Lucy, I wish I could,” I said as I went upstairs.
It was going to be a long night.
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Every night I say a prayer,
In the hope that there's a heaven
And every day I'm more confused
As the saints turn into sinners
All the heroes and legends I knew as a child
Have fallen to idols of clay
And I feel this empty place inside
So afraid that I've lost my faith
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Next Chapter: Preparations - http://laharlthedemon.livejournal.com/1758.html