Troubles in the Big Apple for the Scratchin' Thieves

“Okay, girls, what have we agreed on for tonight?” Vinyl asked to Claude and Patty who were sitting on the back seat of the group’s black sedan, her gaze locked on the pink-haired girl.

“No alcohol, no hook-ups with strangers, and no drawing too much attention!” Patty replied solemnly with an excited nod.

“Good. Claude?” Vinyl glanced at the blonde.

“Make sure that Patty sticks to her word in the nightclub while you and Jack are doing all the talk with Alard and his lackeys!” Claude replied firmly.

“Now, that we’ve all agreed on that,” Vinyl took a short breath before facing Jack, who was sitting on the driver’s seat patiently. “Let’s go!”

        The four girls stepped out of the car in the private section of the club’s car park, a section usually reserved for those performing and those with VIP tickets; but, luckily, there was an empty space that just seemed to have been waiting for them.

Patty and Claude were both dressed like elite party-goers - a little out-of-the-way, but not too much: despite the early chill of the evening, Claude’s dress wasn’t the usual long type that she admired - her allegiance to the gang could never kill her inner fashionista sense - but, instead, it was the kind of three-fourth dress that just barely covered the knees and a few centimetres below: a mild purple, with almost-invisible streaks of dark pink, with the fine silk reflecting the light in a most natural way. The breastpiece was partly concealed by the dress, but a keen eye could make out its snow-white colour, the texture forever unknown to a stranger. Her ears were adorned with purple earrings: a cheap substitution for diamonds, sure, but it only made sense to go with the dress. Her long hair flew freely on her shoulders, unrestricted just in the way that its owner was.

Patty made a fine contrast to the overly-formal Claude: her outfit consisted of a rather short pink dress, revealing a smooth tint of her knees’ skin - not Claude’s dark pink, but a bright, cheerful colour that screamed party. No earring or hairslide attached, her look was more of an al fresco kind of outfit, the one you would usually put on for a stroll, not for a dance. But then again, it was Patty, and when did Patty ever make sense?

Claude walked slowly: despite her skill with high heels, she knew how to keep her posture well-maintained. Patty just half-bounced, half-jogged ahead in her usual joyful manner. The doors were close, and they were aiming for them.

On the other hand, Vinyl and Jack were dressed in the polar opposite fashion from their friends. Both were wearing classy black suits with snow white blouses. Jack had decided to leave the thin necktie in their hideout, claiming it made her feel like being on a leash, and turned up her collar while keeping a few buttons open, giving a small peek of her cleavage to anyone foolish enough to stare at it. Jack liked to keep her shirts open like that -She liked the sensation of the breeze on her skin. It reminded her of the fresh air of her dear farmland.- but that didn’t mean she liked when people thought it was open-night.

Vinyl had chosen to stick with it. Given she’ll be the one doing the talking later, she had to be presentable. She put her blue scarf around her neck, letting it hanging on her shoulders before putting her purple glasses on her nose. She went to the car trunk with Jack to take what they needed, only to blink in shock when they opened it.

“Patty!” Vinyl called in a low growl.

“Yeah?” Patty replied with an innocent smile.

“Why is Gummy in the trunk of the car?” The blue-haired woman demanded angrily, nodding at the small green alligator who was wagging his tail at the friendly faces.

“Duh, Gummy wanted to party as well!” Patty answered with a roll of her eyes, convinced in the obviousness of her reply.

“Jack,” Vinyl said through clenched teeth. “Do something terrible, please!”

“Huh…” Jack let out in confusion before glancing at Patty. “No more cupcakes for the next two weeks, Ah guess,” she said in an uncertain threatening tone.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Patty dramatically fell on her knees in a loud shout.

“I said ‘terrible’! I didn’t ask you to terrify her!” Vinyl interjected, while Claude was trying her best to make it look like she didn’t know any of the other three women, despite the car park being void of any other presences.

“Fiiine! One week only!” Jack shouted to Patty in annoyance, while picking the two bags for their monthly payment. “What are we goin’ to do with Gummy?”

“Well, we can’t leave him in the car,” Vinyl said with a sigh, leaning her right arm next to the small alligator. “Gummy, shoulder ride!” she ordered, tapping her right shoulder a few times.

        Gummy climbed on Vinyl’s arm with the speed and agility of an iguana before lying down across the woman’s shoulders, his head and tail hanging lazily each side of her neck.

“If anyone asks, I have a weird taste in scarves, ok?” Vinyl asked firmly at her friends’ cocked eyebrows, while tossing her blue scarf in the trunk before slamming the metal contraption shut.

Her three companions nodded slowly as Vinyl lead the way to the club’s back door. The building itself was old, but the refurbishment had been immense, apparently: neon lights enveloped the whole thing, the bright letters symbolising the proud name, ManeHatOn, and the trademark sign of a horse, a fedora adorning its head; and the whole building looked generally as good as new. It was evident that the owner would spend more money on refurbishment than actually buying a new building to house his establishment.

Could he have possibly come up with a more ridiculous name? Three of the four thieves thought with a roll of their eyes in unison while Patty smiled at it. She had always liked the name of the club, she found it clever.

The four women went inside the club through the VIP entrance, heading through a plain corridor with black walls and neon lightings. The quatuor headed deeper inside the building, slowly coming closer to the origin of the muffled, techno music which became louder and clearer at every steps they made. After a few seconds, they reached the end of the corridor. In front of an elevator shaft stood a man with short, spiky, black hair wearing a black shirt with a white tie along with a pair of black shades on his nose, waiting for them.

“Hey, Claude, be careful,” Jack whispered in a mocking tone. “Alard’s pet dog’s here!”

“I’m scared of dogs, Jack,” Claude replied in a quiet chuckle while Vinyl smirked at the joke. “Not of puppies!”

“Ha, Vinyl,” the man called with a seductive smile, pulling his shades down to glance at the blue-haired woman with his bright blue eyes. “I’ve been waiting for you and your girls!”

“Have you now, Neon?” Vinyl replied casually, unfazed by the lustful glance he was giving her. “You’re not in the booth tonight?” she asked out of curiosity, nodding at the double door wide open on the dance club.

“Nope, I’m invited to the meeting just like you!” Neon replied with a shrug.

“Good! At least we’ll have some good music then,” Claude chuckled mockingly before tapping Patty’s back. “Come on, girl! Let’s go dancing!”

“Yippy!” Patty let out in excitement.

“Low profile, remember?” Vinyl reminded sternly.

“You got it, Vinyl!” Patty replied before skipping to the nightclub part of the building, Claude on her heels. “GOOOOOOOD EVENING, MANEHATON!!!!!!” Patty shouted louder than the music.

“PATTY!” the three people in front of the elevator heard the entire crowd in the club responded in excitement.

“That wasn’t as loud as last time,” Jack commented while Vinyl was rubbing her eyes in annoyance. “That’s kinda low profile for her.”

“Jack?” Vinyl said in a calm tone.

“Yep?”

“Silence!”

“Of course, Sugar!” Jack nodded with a smirk.

“Well, let’s go!” Neon clapped his hands together before pressing the elevator’s button. “After you,” he added with small bow when the door opened.

“Thank you,” Vinyl said before stepping inside the elevator.

        Jack was about to follow her friend when Neon stopped his reverence, and nearly bumped into her to walk after Vinyl, his eyes wandering on the blue-haired’s lower back.

“Horny puppy!” Jack snorted with disapproval for herself while stepping inside the elevator.

“Nice scarf,” Neon commented, nodding at Gummy lying across Vinyl’s shoulders. “You finally decided to get rid of your crocodile?”

        Gummy’s response was to pull himself out of his slumber before snapping his jaws at Neon in an angry, hissed bark, making the shades-wearing man tumble onto his butt with high-pitched yelp.

“Gummy’s an alligator, Neon,” Vinyl corrected casually, scratching the chin of her pet while Jack was openly laughing at Neon. “You better remember it, or you’ll make him angry.”

“Stupid lizard,” Neon muttered under his breath, his cheeks red in embarrassment.

“Cammon, now.” Jack extended her hand to help him on his feet. “Can’t have ya sittin’ on the floor when this here door opens!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Neon replied in annoyance, taking Jack’s hand to stand up.

“So, who’s present today?” Vinyl asked out of curiosity.

“The Japs are here, and the Chicanos as well!” Neon explained, straightening his tie nonchalantly.

“Sanagi-Hime and ‘Rey Sombra’ are here?!” Vinyl let out with wide eyes.

“Boy howdy! Alard must be up to something big if these two are here today!” Jack let out in an awed whisper.

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Neon said with a shrug as the elevator came to a stop with a clear ding.

        The elevator’s door slowly parted open, revealing a long, wide corridor covered with a dark purple carpet, long, beautiful, giving an impression of having never been stepped on. Vinyl hated to ruin the holiness of the cloth with her earthly feet, even if she didn’t want to admit it, even to herself. The walls peeked at the guests with arrays of portraits in the simple linear style that had been popular maybe a few years ago, popular with those rich marginals who had raked in money but didn’t how how to spend it, on what to throw it away, and took solace in pseudo-art.

Though, it may just as well be art, Vinyl thought as she passed one of the pictures that clashed especially furiously with the grand, post-art-deco interior: a vivid constellation of black-ish lines - the Japanese had over forty shades of black, didn’t they? - formed in a stately, but bawdy fashion, giving an impression of the placid, flagrant lines having an orgy or a drunken meeting.

The last door was right in front of her, with the lewdy, bad-taste golden handles, those round ones, the ones that Vinyl despised so much. Now, all she needed to do was open it. So she did.

        The thief opened the door to a luxurious meeting room, around a small, round, polished, oaken table, two of the Big Apple’s underworld leaders: a beautiful, japanese woman with dark green dyed hair styled in a loose bun, wearing a black yukata with green flames pattern, and a tall, muscular mexican with shoulder long, curly, black hair with a perfectly styled goatee wearing a simple pair of dark jeans with an crimson, leather jacket over his bare chest, were sitting at each side of the table and turned their heads to the opening door with curiosity.

        At the head of the table, the expensive leather chair spun on its leg, revealing a man in his late thirties, with long, silk like blond hair in a snow white tuxedo, who glanced in Vinyl’s direction, his light blue eyes slowly finding their way to the bag she was carrying before heading to the one carried by Jack.

Neon brushed past Vinyl and Jack to stand at the blonde man’s right, patting the Irish Setter that was sitting next to the next to the head of the table. The two thieves glanced around the table, noticing that Iron Will, the blond man’s overly massive body-guard, was standing behind his boss’ seat, and that the Japanese woman at the table had come with her usual suite, much to Jack's misfortune, also that the Mexican had brought his own escort as well.

The three nearly identical japanese younger women, all wearing the same white, skin tight dress that had the same white lotus symbol on the left of their chests and that stopped a bit higher than their mid thighs, and a matching headband. If not for their different hair color: pink, purple and light blue, it would have been impossible to tell them apart. They turned their faces to the two thieves, their eyes lighting up with excitement when their gazes fell on the freckled blonde.

And finally, slightly behind Sombra’s chair, a model-figured latina with long hair with pink, blond and purple streaks in it, stood with poise and elegance, wearing a simple pink tanktop with a pair of jeans, her purple eyes casting a dark glare at the short-haired blonde woman.

“Vinyl, it’s good to see you,” The blond man, Alard von Blueblood, said in a very distinguished British accent. “You and your little group have something for me?”

“Alard,” Vinyl greeted him with a curt nod. “Sombra,” she added to the Mexican at her right. “Sanagi-Hime,” she bowed respectfully to the yukata wearing woman who bowed in response.

“Hey, why do you bow to her and not to me?” Sombra asked in a slightly angered tone.

“That’s because, unlike you my under-cultured friend, she knows who she needs to be respectful with,” Sanagi replied in Vinyl’s stead in a mocking tone. “And, she also hopes that I’ll prevent my girls from jumping on her friend,” she added with a chuckle, slightly winking at Jack who was too busy staring coldly at the triplets to notice.

“Something like that, yes,” Vinyl replied with a nod.

“Ahem!” Iron Will cleared his throat loudly, bringing the conversation back to his boss.

“Right, sorry!”

The two thieves slowly walked to the table before putting their bags on it, opening them, and pushing them so they slid across the table to stop in front of Alard, thus spilling their contents on the table. The mix of jewels and rolls of bills earned impressed whistle from Sombra, Neon, and the triplets who finally looked away from Jack. Alard smiled, and invited Vinyl to sit at the remaining chair of the table.

“You and your girls did well this month,” Alard commented as Vinyl sat in front of him.

“Thanks,” Vinyl stated while Gummy jumped from her shoulders to land of the floor in a loud thud. “You make it sound like we did bad the other months though,” she added with a slightly cocked eyebrow.

“Don’t worry, that’s not what I meant,” Alard replied with a chuckle. “How much is there?”

“Sixty-nine thousand five hundred twenty-two dollars in cash,” Vinyl answered slowly. “The bag of jewels contains what we couldn’t sell for today as well as the few we couldn't sell due to other reasons.”

“Why is that?” Sanagi asked with curiosity.

“Some of them are unique designer pieces,” Jack explained. “Not something we could have sold on our own.”

“Who the fuck’s talking to you, cow-girl?” Sombra asked in an angered growl, earning a killer glare from Jack, and the triplets.

“Don’t mind him, Jack,” Sanagi stated calmly. “He’s simply still not over the fact you beat his precious Cadenza in that boxing match he organized,” she added, nodding at the woman behind the Mexican.

“You should try not to be such a sour loser, Rey,” Alard commented playfully.

“I will stop when that blonde accepts a rematch against her!” Sombra growled.

“Well, if that’s what ya wan…” Jack began with a prideful smirk directed at an angry Cadenza.

“Absolutely out of question!”

        All heads snapped in the direction of the one who had spoken, surprised gazes landing on Vinyl who was casting a hateful glare at the Mexican gang leader, who couldn’t help but to feel slightly disturbed by the hatred in the blue haired woman’s ruby red eyes.

“I will not allow Jack to participate in any of YOUR fights, Rey Sombra, am I clear?” Vinyl asked in stern tone. “Not until the dumbass bitch you call your daughter learns how to fight a boxing match without hidden knives!” she added with a glare at his daughter.

“How dare you? You whore of a thief!” Sombra growled while standing up, his hand reaching for the inside of his jacket.

        As the Mexican was pointing his golden handgun at Vinyl, the body guards in the room all reacted instinctually. Jack pulled her short, one handed shotgun out its holster beneath her jacket, and aimed straight at the Mexican’s face, while the Japanese triplets and Cadenza grabbed the different weapons they had managed to hide under their skin tight clothes.

        The pink haired Japanese pulled four strings out of her snow white bracelet, revealing the four tiny blowpipes hidden in it each loaded with a silver dart. The blue haired one had three throwing knives in each of her hands while the one with light violet hair was ready to throw a small scythe connected to a metallic, spiked ball by a thin chain. The edge of all their blades were slightly green, indicating the presence of poison on them.

        At last, Cadenza pulled two small handguns from the back of her pants and aimed at Jack and in the triplets’ general direction, ready to defend her boss while Iron Will was aiming at the Japanese and the Mexican bodyguards with two uzis, ready to swipe the whole room with them.

        All parties stared each other for a good ten seconds in a dense silence.

“All right, now!” Alard said calmly. “Let’s not get carried away. We’re all civilised people, so let’s all calm down!” he looked at Will, Sombra and Cadenza. “You three, settle down!” he ordered.

“Jack!” Vinyl said calmly.

“Girls!” Sanagi demanded.

        All seven armed people slowly but surely lowered their weapons before putting them away.

“Good, now that that’s out away,” Alard said. “Will! Take those bags and put them in secured location,” he ordered to his bodyguard. “Hang on….” he took a few large rolls of hundred dollars bills from the bag full of cash. “That’s your commission,” he explained before making the bundled money slide to Vinyl.

“Thank you, Alard,” Vinyl replied casually before counting the money. “You’re pretty generous today.”

“You did an excellent job, that deserves reward,” Alard explained with a shrug. “Now, you’re probably wondering why these two are here...” he said, pointing at the other people sitting at the table. “...when I usually see you in private every month, am I right?”

“It went through my mind,” Vinyl admitted as she kept counting her money. “Usually you only bring Sanagi-Hime or Macho-man here when you want me and the girls to work with them on something,” she added, earning a small growl from Sombra and a glare from his daughter while Sanagi softly chuckled.

“Well, I gathered you all today to discuss about a project of mine that will need everyone’s collaboration,” Alard explained, instantly bringing all the attention on him. “Though, for the sake of this plan’s secrecy, I’ll ask your partners to leave,” he added waving at Cadenza, the triplets and Jack. “Will will be gone with what Vinyl brought and Neon is about to start his shift in the club, so it’ll only be us four. Your partners could go unwind in the club while we talk, though I must demand that they leave their weapons before exiting this room.”

“I keep no secrets from the girls, Alard,” Vinyl stated slowly. “Whatever you plan on telling me, she can hear it!”

“I know, but I’d rather not have her in the discussion,” Alard replied with a knowing, cocked eyebrow. “I think her impulsive nature doesn’t suit the heated discussion we’re most likely going to have about this project of mine,” He explained.

“Well now, as much as Ah’m feelin’ insulted by that remark, Ah must admit it’s rather true,” Jack conceded slowly. “Yer gonna be okay on yer own, Vi?” she asked her friend in a quiet whisper.

“Yeah, don’t worry,” Vinyl replied quietly. “Besides, Gummy’s still around.” she gave the money to her blonde friend. “Keep that safe and use some to buy the triplets a drink or two,” she added with a playful wink.

“Do Ah have to?” Jack replied uneasily as she secured the money in her inner pocket.

“No, but try to be a bit nice with them,” Vinyl glanced at Sombra’s daughter. “And with Cadenza as well. Don’t pick a fight with her.”

Jack sighed. “Ah’ll try, Ah can promise that much.”

“Good!” Vinyl said with a nod.

        While Iron Will and Neon walked out of the room, the five women bodyguards stopped at the table next to the door and started to unload their weapons. Cadenza dropped her two handguns on the table while the blue haired triplet, Aloe, put the two belts full of knives she had attached around her thighs on the table with the utmost care. The pink haired one, Lotus, delicately put her two bracelets with hidden blowpipes in them and the last sister, Vera, simply let her scythe and chain fall on the table with a loud clang.

        Jack pulled her shotgun from her jacket before putting it on the table, along with the cartridge belt she carried in her jacket’s lining. Then she dropped the two hunting knives she kept attached to her ankles, and the two brazen knuckles she had in her pockets.

“How many more weapons do you have?” Cadenza asked with a cocked eyebrow as Jack pulled a small blade she had hidden in her belt buckle.

“Technically, Ah still got four of them,” Jack replied with a shrug. “But, Ah ain’t really able to put ma arms and legs away,” she added with a chuckle before stepping out of the room with the other four bodyguards on her heels, Cadenza snorting in annoyance at the blonde’s remark while the triplets absentmindedly stared at Jack’s firm butt with a common great interest.

“Well, now that we’re alone, let’s have a talk,” Alard straightened on his chair, before noticing something. “Your alligator fell asleep on Gunther’s back, is that normal?” he asked, pointing at his Setter dog who was asleep next to the table with Gummy sleeping curled in a ball on his furry back.

“Gummy likes your dog apparently,” Vinyl replied with a shrug. “Is that a problem?”

“I think it’s adorable,” Sanagi commented softly at the two pets sleeping peacefully.

“Don’t care!” Sombra growled in annoyance.

“I suppose it isn’t a problem, though he’d better not harm Gunther!” Alard warned slowly.

“Duly noted.” Vinyl nodded with a small salute. “Now, what’s this big project of yours?”

“Well.” Alard opened a drawer from his side of the table and pulled three folders out of it. “The details are in these things,” he said before passing one to each of his interlocutors.

        Vinyl, Sanagi and Sombra looked down at their respective folder before slowly opening them, finding inside of them few blueprints, plannings, a photo of an isolated manor, and few bills of diverse security or informatics companies.

“So, your plan is to rob this manor?” Sombra asked after a few minutes of reading the file. Alard nodded. “I don’t see what’s the big deal about it.”

“And, it's no surprise that you don't,” Vinyl commented slowly, lifting her eyes from the file to stare straight at Alard. “What the hell is that, Alard? Laser sensors, bulletproof glasses, a top notch power generator… Who the hell transformed this manor in a bloody bunker?!”

“Someone with a lot of money, and with something to protect apparently,” Sanagi commented slowly. “I still don’t see why you asked me and Sombra to be here, Alard. That’s more in the field of Vinyl’s expertise.”

“I need you and Sombra for what’s coming after Vinyl's part,” Alard replied.

“That doesn’t really answer my question. Who lives there?” Vinyl asked.

“That’s Trickster’s manor,” Alard replied slowly.

        The blond’s three interlocutors froze with wide eyes, before they slowly turned their incredulous visages toward Alard.

“Come again?” the three asked in unison, all believing they had misheard what the blond had just said.

        They were so wrong in believing that.