Equestria Girls: Los Santos

I slept with Adagio on the couch on our first night in Los Santos. Rusty bunked with Sonata on the floor. Strangely enough, Rusty had always slept on the floor like a dog. It was actually pretty amusing to watch at times, but I didn't think much of it. The sounds of late LS traffic kept me awake for a bit, but I eventually fell asleep. But it didn't last long. I was asleep sitting up with my head laid back on the top of the couch. Adagio's head was resting on my shoulder, and her arms were wrapped around me. I woke up after I felt a hard tap on my head. I quietly groaned and turned my head away. The tap came again, harder.

“Braveheart, wake up,” I heard a voice whisper. I slowly opened my eyes. Aria was watching me.

“What do you want Aria?” I quietly grumbled.

“Come with me,” Aria said. “I need to talk to you.”

“Can it wait until morning?” I muttered. “I'm tired.”

“No, it can't,” Aria said. “This has to be private.” I sighed heavily.

“Fine,” I said. “Make it quick.” I carefully moved Adagio off of me and stood up. I followed Aria to the room with the no entry sign on it. She stopped at the door, her hand on the doorknob.

“Now, don't tell anyone what you see in here,” Aria said. “Not yet. I have something planned for later.” I shrugged, rubbing my eyes, trying to wake up.

“All right,” I agreed. Aria nodded and opened the door. We walked inside the darkened room. Aria closed the door and turned on the light. As my eyes adjusted to the sudden light, I found that the room was very big. In front of me was a giant map of Los Santos. To the right of it was an equally sized whiteboard. To my left was a long table with computer equipment on it. To the right was a corner of all sorts of things. Weapons, armor, clothes, masks, and more.

“What the hell is all this?” I asked.

“This is my planning room,” Aria explained. “I get a call from my contact, and we plan a heist here.”

“Heist,” I repeated. “As in a bank heist?”

“Or whatever comes up,” Aria said. She pulled up a chair and sat down. “Have a seat,” she offered. I pulled another office chair out from the table and sat down. Aria opened up her laptop on the table, and I moved closer to see. Aria pulled up a few pages of little importance to me. We stayed quiet for a moment.

“Braveheart, listen,” Aria said. “I needed to talk to you for two things.”

“What's that?” I asked.

“I'm sorry for what happened yesterday,” Aria apologized. “That was heartless of me. I forgot about your accident.”

“It's all right,” I said. “I'm fine now.”

“Just, please don't tell the others,” Aria requested.

“I won't,” I assured. “I promise.”

“Thanks.”

“So, what was the other reason you needed me?” I asked.

“Oh, right,” Aria remembered. She opened up a web page for a bank called Fleeca. "My contact called me earlier this week. He has a heist ready for me, but I needed a partner.”

“And I assume that's me?” I guessed.

“Right,” Aria nodded.

“Aria, I've never committed a crime in my life,” I said. “I can't do it.”

“I understand your worry, but you're going to have to get over it,” Aria said. “Crime is the heart of this city. Trust me. I've done a lot worse than rob a bank and got away with it.”

“Oh, all right,” I reluctantly agreed. “What needs to be done?”

“Well, we'll need to start by scoping out the bank,” Aria started. “I've already arranged for my contact to meet us tomorrow. We'll be taking his car down to the bank. I need you to be the hacker. My contact will explain what you have to do. I'm going to be the getaway driver after we've taken the cash.”

“Oh boy,” I groan.

“I know, I know,” Aria said. “You don't like going fast down the highway. But it's the only way to get out of there.” I sighed.

“All right,” I said. “We'll do it.”

“Thank you,” Aria said. “My contact will meet us at noon tomorrow. Be prepared.” I nodded and stood up. Aria stayed in the planning room as I left, closing the door behind me. I returned to the couch, and fell back asleep.

I woke up lying down on the couch. I sat up and rubbed my head. Aria was sitting on the other end, watching TV. I groaned, and Aria heard me. She turned her head.

“Oh good,” she said. “You're up. You have two hours to get ready.”

“It's ten in the morning?” I asked.

“Yeah. You overslept.”

“Damn it.” I looked around. “Where's everyone else?” I asked.

“Adagio and the others went out for some clothes shopping,” Aria said. “We're alone here for now.” I stood up and walked into Aria's kitchen. I grabbed an apple from her nearby fruit bowl and ate it quietly. Aria walked into the heist planning room.

A couple hours later, Aria led me outside. A blue four seater was waiting at the front of the building. An older man with a cane was waiting for us. He had balding dirty blonde hair, a plaid shirt, and blue jeans. He had a stubble beard. Aria walked over, and I followed her.

“So, this is the new guy?” the man asked, in a wheezy voice.

“Yeah,” Aria said. “Lester, this is Braveheart.” She turned to me. “Braveheart, this is Lester Crest. He's the contact I told you about. He plans every heist that he comes across.” Lester and I shook hands.

“Good to meet you Lester,” I said.

“Yeah, you too,” he replied. “So. You ready to do this?”

“I guess so,” Aria said. She walked around the car and got into the driver's seat. I sat shotgun, and Lester sat behind me.

“Go to the Fleeca bank,” he said. Aria started up the car and drove off. We stayed relatively quiet on the way there. As we got onto a highway in west Los Santos, we stopped in front of the bank.

“There it is,” Lester said, pointing out the bank. “Take a look. Drink it in. I've patched into their security feed on my cell. Take a look.” Aria and I leaned in as Lester showed us his smartphone screen. He was viewing the main lobby security camera.

“All right, what are we looking at?” I mumbled. “Small joint, not much security.”

“Staff won't give a crap, especially about the deposit boxes,” Aria added.

“Customers will probably be thinking of how to turn this into a screenplay,” I commented. Lester switched cameras to the vault.

“The boxes are in the back behind a safe door,” he said. “We want box number 167. Remember that.”

“This place is right on the highway with good access,” Aria said. “That works to our advantage. We can get out quick. But it will also work for the cops, speed up their response time.”

“All right, enough of this peeper crap,” Lester said. “Let's go to the garment factory.” Aria drove off down the highway back to LS.

“Now, when you hit the bank, you're going to need to hack into its security system,” Lester told me. “I've written a neat little program that will do most of the work for you, but it's probably a good idea for you to familiarize yourself with it. I've sent it to your phone. Take it for a dry run, keep your hands steady, and maybe the wet run won't be a disaster.” I opened up my phone and found a new program on it. I opened it up and tested it out. The program reminded me of those old snake games, where if you hit a wall or yourself, you have to start over. I easily maneuvered the circuit wires to each breaker, and I successfully completed the three circuits to get into the bank's network. As I put my phone away, Lester spoke up.

“I'm calling Paige,” he said. “She's my assistant. First she's going to get us what we need, then she's going to saw me in half.” Lester laughed at his own joke. Neither Aria nor I cracked a smile.

“No?” Lester asked, still laughing a bit. “You didn't like that one? You don't make it easy.” He dialed up Paige on his phone. As he talked to her, I leaned close to Aria.

“Is he always like this?” I quietly asked. Aria nodded.

“Yep,” she said. “Unfortunately.” Lester put his phone away.

“She's loading the hardware into the back of a truck,” he informed. “Tools for the job, things for you to wear. On a job, your attire will determine the role you're performing. As a job gets more complicated, so will the uniforms. If you're likely to be seen by civilians, you'll be provided with a couple of masks. Then when you go into the bank, you can choose one that goes with your eyes.” We pulled up to the factory, where Paige was waiting in front of a black truck.

“There's Paige,” Lester pointed out. “We're leaving this car and taking the truck.” Aria stopped the car and we all got out.

“I should be using my cane,” Lester muttered. We walked over to the truck.

“Paige, right?” I asked. “I'm Braveheart.”

“Nice to meet you,” Paige said, shaking my mechanical hand.

“You too,” I nodded. Paige wore faded blue jeans and a black shirt with a lightning bolt on it. Her hair was a goth black, hanging free. Aria got into the driver's seat again, and I sat shotgun. Paige and Lester got into the back of the Granger. Once everyone was inside, Aria pulled away.

“Back to your place,” Lester said. Aria drove off, and I listened to Paige and Lester talk.

“Is it all there?” Lester asked.

“I think so,” Paige replied. “You want to get out and check, go down the inventory? Or are you happy sitting there making a perfect butt imprint on your easy-wipe seat?”

“I'll take your word for it,” Lester said.

“Thank you,” Paige said. “It should all be there. The clothes, guns, masks, headsets, holdalls, the drill. The files with all the photos and surveillance work. Hey, there's enough here to make us all look real suspicious. Nice little conspiracy to commit robbery charge waiting to happen.”

“What, they're going to charge us with thought crime?” Lester sarcastically asked.

“Not so much thought as everything-but-the-deed crime,” Paige retorted. “We'd get caught with our pants down and a hard on out to here.”

“All right, that's enough,” I said loudly. “Please.” The two planners shut up, thankfully, as we pulled into Aria's garage. She parked the Granger and we got out. Paige helped us unload the equipment into Aria's heist room, while Lester stood by and watched. As we finished, they turned to leave.

“So Aria,” Lester said. “You, uh...got this covered for now?”

“Yep,” Aria nodded. “All covered.”

“Good.” Lester said. “Call me when you're ready.” He and Paige left the apartment, and Aria turned to the whiteboard.

“Let me just get this set up,” she said. As she started writing on the board, I heard the door open again. Aria stopped writing as her eyes went wide.

“Shit, Adagio's back!” she quietly cried. She looked through the peephole, and immediately drew away.

“Is it her?” I asked. Aria frantically nodded.

“If she finds out about this, she'll flip her lid,” Aria said, worried. She pulled up a security camera of her house. I walked over and saw Adagio and the others walk downstairs to the bathroom. Aria breathed a sigh of relief.

“OK, get out now,” she said. I nodded and left the room. Aria stayed inside. I quickly walked into the kitchen, where I could be out of sight once they came back upstairs. I heard footsteps and the girls talking before they came up the stairs. I poked my head out from behind the wall. Adagio saw me. I walked out of the kitchen and wrapped my arms around her in a tight hug.

“How was your day out?” I asked.

“Not too bad,” Adagio said. “I actually got some stuff for you as well.”

“Oh did you?” I asked.

“Sure did,” Rusty nodded. “I think you'll like them.”

“Well, thank you,” I said. “You didn't have to.”

“Yes I did,” Adagio said. She kissed me on the cheek, then sat down on the couch. I joined her. Aria walked out of her heist room.

“Hey Adagio, I'll be back,” she said, walking towards us. “I have to go run an errand.”

“All right,” Adagio said. “We'll be here.”

“Sounds good,” Aria nodded. She leaned close to my ear.

“I'm going to go get the Karuma myself,” she whispered. “Look it up for details. Once we've got that, I'll give Lester a call, and we can do this.” I nodded, and Aria left the apartment. Adagio looked at me.

“What was that about?” she asked.

“Not sure,” I lied. I put my arm around her shoulder. “Glad you're back safe.”

“Us too,” Adagio said. “You would not believe what happened to us.”

“What?” I asked, concerned.

“Well, as we were walking out of the clothes store, some madman tore through the streets in a faded red truck,” Rusty started. “He was blaring hard rock music that was not at all to my taste.”

“Not to mention he was cussing like a sailor,” Sonata added. “There were two others in the truck, but I didn't get a good look.”

“He nearly ran us over,” Rusty said. “Can you believe it?”

“Psycho,” Adagio muttered. “Then he had the nerve to honk at us as he drove by. I swear, if I find him, I will make his life hell.”

“Damn,” I said. “I'm just glad you're OK.”

“I actually took shots at him,” Adagio angrily said. “They all missed, regrettably. Used an entire clip's worth of pistol ammo.”

“Fuck,” I groaned. We turned on the TV to relieve some tension. After about 15 minutes, my phone rang. I answered the call.

“Hello?”

“Braveheart, get your ass over here now!” Aria said in a panicked tone.

“Aria, what's the matter?” I asked.

“You're going to have to come see for yourself!” Aria cried. I could hear gunshots over the phone.

“Where are you?”

“I'm at the Del Perro multi level parking garage on the top floor!” Aria said. “I need you to get here now!”

“I'm on my way,” I said. I stood up and started to walk away. Adagio grabbed my wrist. I looked back. She was giving me a pleading look.

“Please be careful,” she said.

“I'll come back safe,” I assured. “I promise.” I gave her a kiss on the forehead before bolting out the apartment. The elevator carried me down to the main floor, and I ran out of the building. I needed a vehicle. A nearby stop light was red, and a line of cars were waiting for it to turn green. I ran over to the driver's side of a Bravado Gauntlet sports car. I yanked the door open. A young woman was cowering in fear.

“Come on!” I demanded. “Get out!” The lady quickly exited the vehicle, and I climbed inside as she ran off. I drove around the waiting cars and stepped on the gas, driving to where Aria had told me. As I drove, I saw flashes from the top of a parking garage, and loud gunshots shortly followed. I pulled out my phone and started driving to the top.

“Aria, I'm at the garage,” I said. “I'm making my way up now.”

“My car is parked a level below the roof,” Aria cried over the sounds of gunfire. “Grab a gun in there. I need some damn support.”

“Got it,” I said. I hung up and continued my way up. I parked next to Aria's Zentorno and got out of my stolen car. I opened up the passenger seat to Aria's car and found an AK-47 in it. I rolled my eyes and picked it up, closing Aria's door as I did. I checked the ammo, and found another clip taped to the clip for a fast reload. I loaded a bullet into the chamber and ran up the last ramp. I saw Aria hunched behind the railing, reloading her gun. I ran up next to her.

“About time you got here,” she said. Bullets whizzed over our heads, some hitting the concrete railing.

“What happened?”

“I tried to go for the Karuma, but these fuckers came prepared,” Aria explained. “I'd blow up the cars around them, but I'm afraid I'll destroy the Karuma. Lester said that the car is important.”

“Which one's the Karuma?” I asked.

“When you can, peek over the top,” Aria instructed. “You should see a black sports car with window armor. That's the Karuma.” I nodded and took a quick peek. Sure enough, there was the car Aria described dead ahead. Five thugs were around it, protecting the vehicle. I ducked back down before I could get shot. I nodded to Aria and we came up, guns firing. The thugs were caught off guard, and they were downed quickly.

“Come on, Braveheart!” Aria yelled. “Get to the car!” We ran to the Karuma and got in, Aria driving. She hit the gas and drove to a broken ledge. My eyes went wide.

“Fuck my life,” I cursed. Aria drove over the ledge, keeping the car balanced. We landed on the road and drove away.

“Where now?” I asked.

“To Lester's,” Aria said. “Paige will be waiting for us.” We suddenly heard sirens behind us. I gave Aria a look.

“LSPD! Pull over immediately!” the officer behind us cried.

“No thanks!” Aria said to herself. She whipped around a corner and drove down an alley. She made another right down another path, then another left. She put the car in park and shut it off. She made the motion for me to be quiet, and I nodded in reply. We heard the sirens pass behind us. After a bit, they stopped.

“I think we've lost them,” Aria said. She started the Karuma back up and drove back onto the street. She made her way back to the garment factory. Paige was waiting for us underneath the bridge. We stopped, and got out of the car.

“I'll take care of it from here,” Paige said.

“Sounds good,” Aria said. We left the area, and Aria called her mechanic to deliver her Zentorno. As we waited, Aria pulled out two bottles of Pisswasser beer.

“Want one?” she asked me. I shrugged.

“Because why not?” I said. I took the bottle from her and twisted off the cap.

“That's straight from Liquor Hole,” Aria said. I took a sip, then spat it out. Aria said a phrase. “Where the sign is green and the beer is shitty.”

“You don't say,” I murmured. Despite the flavor, I downed another sip of the alcohol. I swallowed it, then exhaled, sticking my tongue out in disgust. “Yuck,” I said. “That's nasty shit.”

“Well, get used to it as long as you're with me,” Aria said. “That's the only type of beer I ever will have.” I shook my head and took another sip, downing it a little easier this time. Aria looked around, and stood up.

“Come on,” she said. “My car's here.” We walked over to Aria's nearby car, and got in. We drove back to the apartment, ready for the bank heist.