Music, Love, and Crime

Six blocks south of Octavia's flat in Barnet cabs and cars past each other in the street. People walked the pavement many heading in the same direction. The happening spot in this part of town was the Foal house a nightclub containing music, booze and gambling. Anyone who entered was greeted by the loud bass of DJ Pon-3 who had so named herself the diva of dubstep. From the south part of town came a jeep containing two individuals who were late for work.

Pulling up on the side of the street the driver stepped out hurriedly running around the side to get the door for his passenger. He wore a black wool coat with black jeans and a dark green undershirt. Unknown to the common eye he had a crowbar and revolver hidden beneath his jacket. Reaching the other side he pulled open the door letting the woman step out.

She smiled at him revealing pearly white teeth she like the driver wore black jeans and a matching wool coat though in her case tailored for woman. Her read undershirt bore the mark of a headset with a wire and read 'music is magic'. To her surprise the man in front of her held out the crook of his arm as if he meant to escort her. She giggled slightly to her self.

"Hold 'em were just going to work not some fancy restaurant."

"Hey I'm the one who lucked out here you could do a lot better than me. Therefor I have to step up my game to keep you around my Nightingale."

She leaned forward and gave him a quick peck.

"How could I do better than you? Now come on Vinyl is already doing her set you need to tend the bar and I need to serve the drinks."

Once again Hold 'em held out his arm. Rolling her eyes Nightingale took it and the two proceeded into the club. Upon opening the door they were greeted by the thudding of bass flashing lights and the aroma of cigarette smoke. People danced on the main floor while others sat with there drinks. The bar sold everything from beer to flaming shots and the amount of drunks would only increase as the night went on. In one of the back rooms were several poker and pool tables. The Foal House their port in the storm.

The pair proceeded to there work station as the current bar tender waved them over. He was clearly displeased with his comrades being late since he had been forced to handle the growing crowd by his lonesome till now. Hold 'em picked up his walking pace as he was waved over by the bar tender Nightingale followed close behind. As expected Ashes did not great them warmly.

"The fuck in Tartarus you two been? Your twenty minutes late!"

"Sorry we slept in a bit and traffic was terrible but were here now." Replied Hold 'em.

"look guys I don't want to be a dick but I can't hold off a Friday night crowd on my own!"

"It won't happen again Ash."

"My name is Ashes not Ash! Now please give me a hand I'm seven orders behind already."

While the three set to work Vinyl smiled amused behind her purple shades. She didn't need to hear them to know that Ashes wasn't happy with there friends being tardy on a Friday. It was one thing to call in the temporary replacements when they were known to be gone but they had not called in so there was no way of knowing when they'd show. Still with Coin Flip acting as the poker room guard the gang was all here. As the record ended Vinyl pulled out another one preparing to place it on the turn table. The audience looked up to her while she adjusted the various nobs dials and switches for her favorite album her own remixed dubstep version of 'I fought the law'.

"Ya'll been a fucking amazing crowd tonight you know that?

Cheers erupted from the audience.

"I've got my personal favorite coming up now. Anyone who has been here before knows the one but for those who don't listen up!

She took a drag on her cigarette while pausing for dramatic effect.

"Get ready for the most brutal fucking bass you ever heard!

The crowd cheered again as Vinyl flipped the on switch. A steady beat filled the room growing in intensity slowly as I fought the law played in a remixed style. The crowd waited in agony for the impending bass drop but Vinyl refused to give it till she was ready. She continued to operate the turn tables working her magic as she would say a grin growing on her face by the second. She started bobbing her head it was almost time. Then when she knew the crowd could take no more she yelled the words they needed to hear. "Bass drop!"

The bass burst from the sound system and the crowd roared at the satisfying conclusion to the build up. Vinyl held up two middle fingers to either side of her as if to say fuck everything but the bass. The electronic sound engulfed the crowd drowning out everything else in the world. These were the times Vinyl was happiest when she was making music not war, Love not hate, Joy not pain. The times when she wasn't fighting on the streets against drug dealers and other criminals.

The problem was that a life of crime had always been her only other skill and she had bills to pay that DJing would not cover. Also there were other reasons she took up the line of work. But for a person like Vinyl no matter how many times you kill it doesn't get easer. The fact that those she killed were the scum of the earth gave some consolation. Still Taking lives even for what she thought was the right reason was hard.

This brought up another question in her mind. Yesterday her gang a group calling themselves the Everfree had broken up a drug deal. It scored them ten grand in British pounds and a suit case of low quality meth. The gang had a strict rule about no drugs and no selling them. Instead they made sure they didn't hit the streets. But this brought up the problem of disposal. How do you discretely get rid of illegal drugs so no one uses them?

She had seen in the news that the bodies had been found but as to whether or not the police had leads was anyone's guess. Still she was confident she had done a sufficient job in destruction of the evidence. As the song finished she came back to the world of now. She was about to pull out another record when she got a text on her phone. Pulling the buzzing device out of her pocket she glanced at the screen. Message from S.G.

She tapped the screen with her thumb and read the message. Finished she sent a text to each member of her teem via group messaging. "Back room now!" She set the table on repeat and called for a replacement team to fill there posts.

"Hey folks I'm sorry to say I got to bounce but don't worry Steady Bass is on his way to fill for me. He'll be here in ten minutes!"

She jumped down from the stage and began walking to the back room door. Once inside she found The rest of the gang had assembled. Vinyl didn't speak instead she walked over to a locker and pulled out a pair of brass knuckles, Switch blade, revolver and a hand gun. She stored them away in various concealable areas on her person. Last she pulled an black bandana and tied it loosely around her neck.

Hold 'em leaned against the back wall shuffling cards between his hands Nightingale on his left. Ashes was checking his guns for any issues while Coin Flip stood with  crossed arms. After Vinyl finished preparing she turned to the group before speaking.

"I just got a text from the Buss boy down at the Lucky Fiddle Pub. It seems the Crowns are hassling Shot Glass about switching protection from us to them. He's stalling best he can but we need to get down there and prove a point to the fuckers."

"What's our plan then V?"

"He says there's six of them down there we can take them. Don't use guns unless you have to and keep damage to the bar to a minimum we have to pay for any damages. All the same give them a beating they won't forget! Make it clear they don't shit where we eat!".

Vinyl stepped out the back entrance into the ally where her Breakout motorbike was parked. Throwing her leg over it she revved the engine before looking back towards her gang. They had piled into the jeep and were awaiting her signal. She sped off down the street past the brick houses and shops. It was common practice to stay in a flat above your business and many people did so. Vinyl kept to the allyways and backstreets it was quicker and more discreet then the main roads.

The jeep was following close behind and they made progress towards their destination quickly with one of her hands Vinyl pulled the bandana around her neck up so that it covered her face. She breathed deep preparing for the worst as she always did. Gang fights had a habit of getting out of hand vary easily. Any fight could be there last for anyone in her team. To her they weren't workers they were family and if she lost any of them she would morn them as a fallen brother or sister.

They were one block away now from the Lucky Fiddle Pub she gripped the handles of her bike hard in frustration. Shot Glass was a good friend to them. He insisted on drinks on the house whenever they popped in even if they tried to pay. He would always say The Everfree get free drinks for evermore. It wasn't just about that though he had been a good friend. He'd given them a place to crash on more than one occasion and he always smiled when they came in. That made this personal.

Vinyl cut the engine in front of the pub the others pulled up behind her. Together they approached the door hearing the sounds of a fight coming from inside. She pulled the pair of brass knuckles from her leather jacket and kicked open the door. It swung inward and the opposition looked up. Vinyl glared from under her glasses. They had been giving Shot Glass cigar burns apparently tired of him stalling. The buss boy was tied up in a chair and gagged obviously terrified. The one holding a cigar spoke up. "This doesn't fucking concern you get out before cut your ugly face!"

Vinyl stepped forward her comrades coming in behind her. She took off her glasses revealing a set of blood red eyes the rage in them evident. Two of the six thugs eyes widened a look of terror on there faces.

"She a bloody daemon!"

"No...I'm worse. Fuck them up!"

All Tartarus broke loose. Vinyl charged the man with the cigar throwing a right hook at his jaw. It made contact and thanks to the brass his jaw broke. The force of her blow was so strong that several teeth flew from his mouth as the broken bone cut through the side of his mouth and came out the other side. He was on the floor in an instant screaming causing his mouth to hurt more and create more screaming. Vinyl continued to kick him in the ribs cracking a few. "Don't fuck with my people you bastard!" She yelled.

The others were busy with there own fights. The sound of crowbars clashing and clubs smacking people were combined with cries of pain. Hold 'em's Crowbar made contact with on of the thugs arms. There was a loud crack and a scream from the injured party before he was silenced by a punch knocking him to the ground unconscious. With that done Hold 'em Proceeded to smack a thug that was giving Coin Flip trouble in the back. He went down like a sack of grain.

Coin Flip nodded thanks before turning to a new target and kicking him between the legs. Once he bent over he brought his knee up to his nose then he fell backwards spewing blood when he breathed. Clapping his hands together he looked up in time to see nightingale choke a man unconscious and drop him on the floor. The sound of a door opening and feet slapping the cobblestone signaled the last man had run.

Vinyl put away her brass knuckles and walked over to Shot Glass. As she did so she gestured to Coin Flip to untie the buss boy. Shot Glass was behind the bar huddled up to avoid anything that might fly though the air and hurt him. She vaulted over the bar and landed next to him crouching. She raised his head up looked and his face and arms to asses the damage. The burns on his arms would leave scars but the cuts on his face would heal.

"Your gonna be fine Shot Glass we'll cover the damages to the bar and don't worry about the medical bill we'll get that too."

"Bless ye Shade."

"We owe you."

Everyone in the gang had a cover name that they used in the field. Vinyl's was Shade, Hold 'em was Death Card, Coin Flip was Chance, Ashes was Dust and Nightingale was birdsong. Shot Glass did know her real name but on the off chance that some of the beaten thugs could still hear it was better safe then sorry.

Vinyl smiled sadly before climbing back over the bar and retrieving her glasses. As she put them on she heard a click in the background. She whirled around pulling her hand gun out to see the runaway had come back and was preparing to shoot her. Before anyone else could do anything to stop him Vinyl fired five rounds in his chest. He fell on his side shuddering and coughing blood up. Vynil winced she hadn't had time to aim so her shots had been sloppy. It looked like she'd hit a lung though.

Quickly yet reluctantly she walked over and popped another round in his head to stop the suffering. The barrel still smoking she holstered the gun in the belt under her jacket. Her nerves were extremely agitated as she drew a cigarette from her pocket and lit up. She took a deep inhale and breathed the smoke out her nose.No matter how many times you do it. It never gets easer. She thought to herself. She pulled out her phone and text her special cleaning crew with information and directions. She was going to need help to clean up a mess this big.