Realistic or Modern Fun and Games: The 1% With All the Power and None of the Responsibility

[GhastlySquash]

At the edge of the city scene, there lies a quaint gentrified restaurant known as the Daffy's. It's far enough from the tourist section of town that people feel they're paying for something genuine, but modernized and situated perfectly close by to a police station to keep the trouble where it should be.

Well...most of the trouble that is.

Cathy was currently sitting at one of the old wooden picnic tables that had been set aside in the back, under an umbrella of cheap Christmas lights and exotic plants. With the holidays running around the corner, the brick wall around the restaurant served as a gentle barrier against the brisk wind blowing in. Her schoolbag was tucked underneath the seats and she was warming her hands on a cup of hot chocolate mixed with Irish cream, checking her phone for updates.

Winter Break meant all the kids were returning home from studies either abroad or out of state. For Cathy, it meant dinner with her family followed by a few executive corporate parties and functions. Her father had been strict about not going to their winter home this time. Not that Cathy cared. She'd grown out of it. And besides, it gave her an excuse to explore the city she loved. She really did love this city. From the white and orange roofed houses that dotted the hills and hid among the giant towering pine trees to the colder, ramshackled projects of downtown where you can find all manner of desperate and shady people begging for cash or a quick fix.

And Cathy had the one language that everyone spoke. Money. Not celebrity money that would attract thralls of fans that would never leave her alone but the kind of money that got people to do anything she asked. And that made her fun just that much easier.

"Should I bring out the rest of the beverages, Ms. Dawson?" The waiter asked, his name tag loosely pinned on his shirt.

"No, I'm fine for now Jeffrey, thanks." Cathy smiled. He was pathethic. Drop out. Cathy imagined following him to his car and smacking his head against the windshield until he stopped moving. And then she'd align that name tag.

The thought made her giggle as she waited for the others.




A lecto kasukasu Radio_Rat66.6

 

[kasukasu]

Winter break had begun, and with that came being back in the city. Noah couldn’t say he held any sort of love for the place, but the familiarity was at least pleasant. It was certainly nice to be out of university – he’d been focusing hard on his studies out of a lack of anything better to do, but the ‘entertainment’ of that had soon worn off and he was looking forward to not seeing another textbook for a few weeks. Of course, being back home also meant seeing his father who would no doubt be making him attend a few work dinners and meetings. Noah quite enjoyed the company meetings - everyone there knew that he would eventually be the company’s CEO so they were all rather sycophantic and he got good insights on details and numbers within the company. Dinners on the other hand were far less enjoyable. Constant introductions and pretending to be interested in the small-talk of some mid-level executive were not his idea of a fun or productive evening. Fortunately making connections wasn’t as important for him as it would be for most – being born with silver spoon in hand had many benefits.

Noah pulled up outside Daffy’s, which had been decorated for the holidays with cheap Christmas lights. The little restaurant wasn’t unfamiliar to him; he’d met up there several times before and it was a nice enough place for what it was. The outdoor area was just quiet enough that discussions of any sort could be made there without one having to constantly look over their shoulder, and Noah suspected that such a discussion was the reason Cathy had contacted him and the others. While he felt a little wary at what she might propose, he couldn’t deny that he was looking forward to seeing everyone again. He couldn’t be all that bothered to interact with many people at his university, so Cathy and the others were really the only people he could consider his friends. They were an interesting bunch, to say the least.

Stepping out of the car and into the sharp wind outside, Noah adjusted his coat and went into the restaurant, heading towards the outside section right at the back where he knew to meet. Sure enough, Cathy was sitting at a table casually looking at her phone. The twins hadn’t arrived yet, he noted. “Hey,” he said, taking a seat opposite her at the picnic table and waving down a nearby waiter so he could get something hot and caffeinated to drink. “How have you been?”

 

[Radio_Rat66.6]

GhastlySquash kasukasu

Winter break was ending. That didn't mean it wasn't cold as all get out. Yaling was wearing a simple sweater underneath her fluffy coat. Then she had on thick leggings made for warm weather, the ends were tucked into pink fur lined boots. It was all expensive stuff obviously. She could afford it so she bought it. Well, her parents did, but soon she'd making her own money with little effort. She smiled softly to herself.
She made her way through the crowds of the street. Her small stature made people think she could be shoved around like a little doll. Her brother never had that problem. Perhaps it was because he got the tall end of the stick. She made it into the restaurant. Daffy's. An odd name, but she didn't care. She just walked in and searched the building for her friends.
Everything around was still up from Christmas. It was all cheap looking too. Egh. Christmas was over. Take all this cheap stuff down. Get better stuff or get rid of it. She found Catherine and Noah. Catherine was her absolute best friend. She often invited her down into her basement for some fun. Sometimes she'd invite two people over so they each could do what they wanted. She'd been slowly teaching Cathy some of her tips and tricks, correct her here and there so that she could have some fun on her own. Noah was still a friend of hers, but she always caught his weary glances and gazes. He was nervous around her. She didn't mind. She was used to people drifting away from her. Either because she was too shy or they suspected something else of her. The latter never stayed long enough to discover anything.
"H-Hey guys." She smiled and waved to them. Her Japanese accent was very thick, much more than Jun's, partly because he studied English harder than her and partly because she wanted to keep it for her shy personality. It took away a little suspicion.

 

[A lecto]

Jun Kaneshiro
Location: Daffy's
Interaction: GhastlySquash kasukasu Radio_Rat66.6
​

The cold wind biting at Jun’s skin paired with the shitty day he had made his mood particularly bad as he made his way through the busy streets. He was just walking from a meeting with a woman that had more similarities with a yapping chihuahua then another human being. It was one thing to ask him for a donation but to keep talking and talking like he didn’t have anything better to do was another. “Some people need a god damn off button” he muttered to himself as he crossed the street. He had to visualize her burning at the stake to calm his anger and chase away some of his bad mood. Oh, how he wished he could actually do something like that but it would attract too much attention he didn’t want or need.

As he walked across yet another street he sighed before finally spotting Daffy’s. The sight of the restaurant made him smile, he just couldn’t help himself. Sure the place wasn’t his favorite but he was meeting the few rare people he called friends and that thought alone made his bad mood lessen.

He had a guess about the reason Cathy had called them there. Hopefully it was another scheme she had cooked up in that amazingly entertaining head of hers. He was also looking forward to seeing Noah again. The guy seemed a bit cautious of Yaling and sometimes he could see Noah give him similar looks, Jun had no idea why since he never indicated any of his friends were in danger of Jun’s temper. Other people yes, but his friends had nothing to be afraid of. Who else would he hang out or do crimes with?

He smiled as he reached the back of the restaurant where he could spot the trio sitting at an old wooden picnic table surrounded by cheap Christmas lights. Without knowing the reason the picture looked hilarious to him, but he held back his laugh, barely. “Hey guys, sorry that I’m late. What’s new?” he asked as he sat down. Jun subconsciously pulled out a Zippo and started playing with it before smiling at each of his friends as well as his sister.

 

[GhastlySquash]

Cathy immediately ran up to hug Noah. "Noah! It's so good to see you, Merry Christmas!" Noah was one of the few people Cathy could trust with her plans. Before this group was even a thing, she and Noah were robbing houses together. Sure, they didn't need the money but the excitement that came with it was enough to satisfy her boredom. And then adding getting away with murder and Cathy would gladly trade in a trip to the Bahamas.

"Hey, I got you a present." She pulled out a red-wrapped gift, sliding it to him. "Don't open it yet. But we've been best friends for like almost 10 years now! Can you believe how fast time flies? School is great. A little boring really. Clubs. Classes. Cram. The usual."

kasukasu

When Yaling waived at Cathy, she ran up to greet her as well. "Yaling! Awww you know you can be more yourself around us! Come on, we're going to order the first round of drinks when your brother comes here."

As soon as she sat down, she took note of where Noah was seating and sat Yaling across from her. Out of all their friends, she and Yaling were probably the ones that enjoyed the most violence. Her twin brother Jun could of course light a candle to her, both literally and figuratively but Cathy sometimes felt like she was a little apprentice to the serial killer. Sure, Yaling didn't look the part. Shy, quiet, and kind, it was a nice deterrent. Something Cathy herself could never show.

But once they had their victims in the basement, Yaling pulled a full 180. She adored her work. It was like watching an artist paint and Cathy herself had been trying her hand, although her cuts were more amateur.

Radio_Rat66.6

When Jun finally arrived, Cathy chuckled as he played with his little Zippo lighter. Jun was obsessed with fire. Just like his sister, Jun had two faces that he wore. One was the kind, mentor big brother. The kind of guy people go to for help. Which was funny considering his truly destructive nature.

While Noah was knowledgeable in a lot of security, Jun seemed to have a good grasp of building infrastructure. Where the gas pipes were to start a nice blast. How to let a small fire start and whatnot.

A lecto

All in all, this was her little team of rebels. Sure, according to society they were considered monsters. The kind of psychopaths that no one ever wanted to run into. But when you had money like this, people couldn't help but be drawn to that kind of power.

And that's why as soon as Cathy raised her hand, the servers came to take everyone's order, Jeffrey himself serving a pitcher of virgin mojitos.

"Thanks again, Jeffrey!" She grinned, waiving him away. Although it was tempting, he wasn't the target for tonight. Understanding he wasn't needed anymore, the loser left their table and gave them their much-deserved privacy.

"So, I won't bore us with school or stuff like that because let's be honest...everyone is going to be asking at the Christmas parties." She flashed a devilish grin. "Tonight, the festivities begin! I've been doing a little research on some places."

She pulled out a small brochure map. "A few blocks from here is a hobo town. A fun little side project that the police have been working on by rallying a huge bunch of homeless people together so they have like a ton of pitched tents and stuff."

Cathy pulled out her phone, showing a few pictures of the camp. It was disheveled, hidden underneath the transit line that leads to the subway. "I figured we could gather a bit of supplies and have ourselves a little Hobo Olympics."

Only Cathy truly knew what that meant, but she turned to Yaling and Jun. "Sorry if I'm a little excitable today. After all, we're together again and I've been dying to have some real fun!"

Now she was showcasing something else. A small liquor store. "I also figured we could try a little heist. The problem with robberies like this is that the guy always gets a chance to press the button or pull out his gun. If we shoot first, we can get whatever we want! I'm thinking champagne honestly. I can't take that hard stuff."

 

[kasukasu]

Noah looked at the red gift box in surprise. “Thanks, Cathy” he said sincerely. It was hard to believe it had almost been ten years since they'd met and began pulling off various crimes together. He was curious about the contents of the box, but put it away for the meantime as Yaling approached. Yaling. If anyone had the perfect cover, it had to be her. Who would ever expect that a small, seemingly shy girl could hold such bloodlust? When Cathy had first brought her in, Noah had his doubts. In their particular line of work, violence was a necessity at times, but the sheer amount of joy that the girl took in what she did unnerved him a tad. But Cathy had a good eye for people, and to her credit Yaling had never been anything but loyal. The same went for her twin brother Jun who arrived shortly after she did. He was friendly most of the time, but the guy's sadist streak rivaled his sister's and was topped off with an obsession for fire. Still, he was good at what he did without a doubt and his seemingly niche knowledge had come in handy many times in the past.

After everybody had arrived Cathy moved on to what everyone knew to be the real reason for their meetup. Noah listened to her two suggestions with interest, and took a look at what she was showing on her phone, already beginning to formulate how they'd pull things off.

“The liquor store should definitely be doable,” Noah said, half to himself as he thought out loud. “It’ll probably have security cameras though, we should either deal with those prior or wear a disguise. And if we’re going in during the day – well, that’ll probably be easier security-wise then since we won’t need to deal with overnight locks.” He frowned. “But like you said, there’ll be a panic button. So, yeah - shoot first. Or at least get to him before he realizes what’s going on in time to push the button.”

Cathy’s enthusiasm must have been infectious because Noah was beginning to feel that familiar eagerness he always got when planning things out with the group. He took a look at the brochure map quizzically. “What are you thinking with the Tent City?” he asked, though he had a few vague ideas. “Those places tend to have cops stationed pretty close by, so things will get risky.”

 

[A lecto]

Location: Daffy's
Tags: GhastlySquash kasukasu Radio_Rat66.6

Cathy had been right, there would be enough of the boring school talk and trivial chit-chat at the business and charity events they would no doubt have to go to with their parents while they were home for the holidays. At least with his friends he didn't need to waste time on those pointless things. With Cathy, Noah and Yaling they talked about things they really wanted to, were fun and even some things they couldn't share with others, there were days that was worth more than a private island on the Maldives.

To Jun the suggested jobs seemed like Cathy's holiday gift to the group as it looked like each would get their turn to have fun at some point. Even Yaling could find another test subject among the homeless in 'hobo town'. There were so many people that wouldn't be missed if they disappeared, it was like Christmas for psychopaths and killers. Cops, while they did some work to prevent people from going after the homeless Jun suspected that once one of them was gone they didn't make a big fuss over it, if they even noticed at all.

Jun couldn't fight the somewhat dark smirk that sneaked onto his lips even if he would have tried. Just the thought of getting into something they considered real fun had his body buzzing with excitement. To cover up the slip of his real nature showing he slid a finger over the flame of his lighter before flicking the lighter shut and putting it on the table so he wouldn't be distracted while they talked and planned.

Noah seemed to get into the planning as well. Jun could see the eagerness in the other males eyes as he looked at the brochure map in order to come up with ways to get the jobs done without getting caught. Noah's mind was just as fascinating to Jun at the others of their group. The guy had an ability to see obstacles others might have overlooked or forgotten to take into account.

"Guys there is a way the robbery could be less risky. One of us could either pretend to be hurt or having been attacked or chased by someone. I suggest one of the girls since most people seem to be incapable of ignoring a damsel in distress, especially men. But if we decide on acting like someone is hurt then its probably best if its nothing too big, if someone is hurt too much the person working there is more likely to call an ambulance before even stepping from behind the counter. Whatever we decide, as soon as the worker is away from the panic button we can either shoot them or knock them out depending on how annoying they are. I would suggest to shoot them since they would see the face of the person lurig him out." Jun said before taking another sip of his drink.

 

[Radio_Rat66.6]

Yaling smiled at all her friends. She turned to Cathy. "I prefer to keep everything up...We are still in public...." She took a sip of her drink and took off her coat. Her sweater was a pastel pink with purple stripes. She leaned against the table lightly and listened to her friend's proposition. "I can handle the hard stuff, Cath...." She clasped her hands between her legs and almost shrunk in on herself.

She turned to listen to her brother. His idea seemed pretty good. Pretty foolproof. A man always came to a damsel in distress. The weepier the better. "I-I could be the damsel in distress....." She leaned closer and whispered. "I know how to play people." She gave one of her sinister smiles before falling right back into her act. She could switch from one to the other like a light switch.

GhastlySquash A lecto kasukasu

 

[ZeiruliousMakavar]

Caelyn sat silently at a table not far from a group of kids that under normal circumstances, one could confuse with her as her peers. Granted, that's not to say she didn't associate with people her age, she did, but at the time, she was relaxing after having finished a job for some mafia looking people. She didn't know if they were mafia or not, but she didn't care. All she cared about was that they paid her for information. Which she was able to give. She smiled softly at this, overhearing some of the people talking about pulling off some sort of robbery. She smiled a bit at this, not having expected people to talk about such things out in the open where people could hear. She glanced over, just as the waitress arrived with her food, to see that the group comprised mostly of people her age. "Nothing serious then... I see," she said softly, smiling a bit as she mumbled the words, waving the waitress away when she stopped to inquire what Caelyn was talking about. At this, she took out her phone, wondering what store they were talking about. She smiled a bit softly, as she took a sip of her tea, silently listening to the group.

GhastlySquash

 

[GhastlySquash]

kasukasu

Cathy nodded. She wouldn't expect anything less from Knowing Noah. "The more challenging the better. Although I feel either way having disguises would help in general. We can't kill everyone who happens to see us."

She listened to Jun's plan, explaining a way to get the cashier from behind the register by luring him or her with a damsel in distress. The idea of playing with such a popular trope made Cathy giggle with glee. She loved tropes. Movie cliches were one of the few guilty pleasures she had that wasn't related to crime. "I like you're thinking Jun. And you're right that if we appear too dramatic, they'll certainly call the cops. I think our best bet would have to one of us ask the cashier for an escort to the parking lot. It's dark after all, and with him outside, it'd be easier to get the jump. We can all surround him and then proceed to beat him up."

A lecto

Then Yaling suggested being the target and Cathy was starting to feel that option 2 was becoming more and more viable with her friends. The Hobo Olympics could wait for now. The robbery would get them both alcohol and of course, a little warm-up for future crimes.

"We can probably give you a wig too just in case they have cameras outside. And then the rest of us can get the jump on him while Noah takes care of the cameras." She was satisfied with her explanation.

Radio_Rat66.6

Lifting her glass, she finished her drink before flagging the waiter down to pay with one of her various credit cards. "Than it's settled! First things first will be picking up some party supplies."

"C'mon guys, the party's only starting." Cathy loved places like these for one reason. Nobody would listen in and even if they did, it wasn't like they could do anything. They didn't have names, only guesses. And if a cop happened to come, only more challenging for them as well.