Author's Note: I came up with the idea for this story when I was in the library. The 1920s were interesting with the rise of advertisements, dancing, and (of course) the corruption of Chicago with the mafia. In this episode, Verne and his brother and Marty head back to that decade. Don't worry, they don't run into young Doc. Please review.
Disclaimer: None of the main characters belong to myself. Bummer.
Hill Valley, California
September 14, 1992
3:38 PM
"Where do you think you're going Richards?" a deep voice asked. The young man whipped around and saw a tall and suited figure hiding in the shadows of the alley. The figure with the deep voice came forward. The young man saw a gun in his hand.
"I was…making a deposit boss" the young man said in a funny accent. He had fear on his face. "Didn't know you would be here."
"I just happened to be stopping by," the boss said. "Good thing too because now I know you've been taking my money to the stock market."
"No, boss, no," the young man denied. "It's not what it looks like!"
"No I think it is exactly what it looks like Johnny," the boss said darkly and aimed the gun at the young man. "Number one rule: never cross the boss."
"No please NOO!" the young man yelled.
"Wow!" Verne exclaimed as he heard the gunfire of the movie. "Did that guy have it coming or what!"
"Brother this movie is not at all educational," Jules said. "I can barely draw facts from this to suit my dissertation on mafia affairs."
Jules and Verne were spending the rainy day watching movies in the living room. It was pouring rain outside and had been for most of the weekend. Doc had taken them to the Blockbuster to rent some movies and the boys had gotten all black and white mafia movies. Their father let them rent six video tapes of mafia movies but drew the line at Good Fellas.
So here they were, sitting on the floor in front of the boob tube and had been for hours. Verne was completely absorbed in the film but Jules was just bored.
Clara entered the living room and saw her sons lying lazily among six video tapes. Verne got up to put another video tape in the VCR but stopped when he saw his mother. Clara walked over and opened up the curtains of the living room.
"The suns out boys," Clara informed as Jules and Verne rubbed their sore retinas from the light. "Why don't you two go out and play."
"Aw come on mom!" Verne complained and remained in front of the TV. Clara strode over and shut off the VCR.
"You two have watched more than enough videos," Clara said and the boys left the living room. She looked at the video tape Verne had taken out of the VCR and picked it up.
THE SHOOTING IN THE BIG APPLE.
"Oh golly," Clara said and rolled her eyes. "That's just what Jules and Verne need."
Outside, the boys were heading to their tree fort. Jules was leading the way with his commonplace book in his hand. Verne was following him and still held the video tape they had been about to watch. He was looking at the cover and flipped it over to read the back. Verne had actually seen this movie two years ago. He read the summary twice and looked like he was deep in thought.
They reached the tree fort and put in the password. Jules immediately rushed to his computer to type up his dissertation and Verne plopped down on the bean bag chair. He was still staring at the video tape.
"The Swift Gang and Their Downfall
A movie based on true events from 1926."
1926.
Verne pulled a textbook off the shelf near him and flipped to the table of contents. He skimmed it until he came to the chapter on the 1920s. He turned the pages until he came to that chapter and found the part in it about gangs forming in the decade. Verne read about the "mafia" forming and corrupting Chicago with illegal crimes and cruel business methods. There were some pictures accompanying the text that depicted some gangs. Most of them where dressed in pinstripe zoot suits and had frowns on their faces.
It was all so cool.
"Hey Jules," Verne called but his brother didn't budge from the computer.
"Yes brother?" Jules finally asked. He continued to type away.
"We should go to the 1920s," the ten-year-old suggested. "You know, see all the stuff in the movies for real."
"I don't think so Verne," Jules said.
"Come on Jules," Verne pleaded. His father wouldn't let him time travel alone, no definitely not. "You know, you could get first hand observations for your dissertation thingy."
"Hmm," Jules muttered and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "That would be most helpful. Let us ask Martin if he wants to join us on this time travel trip."
The boys left the tree fort and raced across the grass to the lab. Marty had come over a few hours ago to help Doc test a new invention. The invention was the ELB Stick Like Glue Shoes that enable the wearer to walk up walls or on the roof without falling. Basically these shoes let people defy gravity.
When they reached the lab, Marty was moon walking on the ceiling while Doc was video taping the whole thing. It was like they were making some sort of anti-gravity music video.
"Now try another popular culture movement," Doc said and Marty began doing the disco. Jules and Verne started laughing beside themselves and Marty looked down.
"Oh hey guys!" the musician called from the ceiling. "What's up?"
"Apparently you," Jules said and went over to the DeLorean time machine.
"Marty do you want to come back in time?" Verne asked and watched their dad's best friend jog along the walls.
"Okay but you guys should ask your dad for permission first," Marty said.
"Right sorry, I forgot," Verne said and turned to his father. "Dad can we take the DeLorean back in time?"
"Affirmative," Doc answered as he struggled with getting the tape out of the video camera. "Just be careful and be sure to use the new camouflage function on the DeLorean."
Doc finally got the tape out of the video camera and went over to the world's first time machine. He reached in the car and pressed a green button on the dashboard. Immediately the DeLorean shimmered and then turned invisible. Doc smiled proudly but when he stepped forward he stubbed his toe on the car.
"Oucha magoucha!" He yelled and rubbed his foot. Marty came back down from the walls and felt his way around the DeLorean. He found the button and pressed it and the DeLorean became visible once more. Marty hopped in the front seat and Jules and Verne hurried over. They squeezed themselves into the passenger seat and focused on the time circuits.
"So when and where are we going?" the musician asked.
"To the 1920s!" Verne said happily and saw the time circuits set to Hill Valley, California May 1, 1926.
"Wait a nano second boys," Doc chimed in and leaned in to get at the time circuits. "You should stay out of Hill Valley. I was around you know as a six-year-old and you three cannot run into me… again."
"Okay how about May 1, 1926 in Chicago," Verne suggested. The time circuits were then set to that and Marty hit the gas pedal. They drove out of the lab and broke the time barrier.
Chicago, Illinois
May 1, 1926
12:00 PM
"Marty look out!" Verne yelled when they appeared in 1926. Marty shouted and swerved the car off the path to the tree. He hit the brakes and they all sighed a heavy sigh of relief.
"Goodness Martin you almost crashed the time machine," Jules said. He was holding his heart like it was possible for him to have a heart attack. He moved back to the DeLorean and activated the camouflage function.
They all looked around and saw that they were in a small forested area. At first they thought that they had not arrived in Chicago but then they looked behind them and saw the bright city. it was tall and practically awaiting them.
"Okay guys," Verne began and pulled out the video tape. "We're going into the city... the heart of the city."
Marty, Jules, and Verne looked at the city again and noticed that it was quite far away from where they were.
"Jeez I should of parked closer," Marty said.
0 0 0
The heart of Chicago was bursting with life and fancy-clothed people. Women in slinky dresses and feathered hats walked to and fro accompanied by suited and swanky men. Jazz music graced the air from an open record store and some hip people were even swinging to it. Above everyone's heads were giant bill boards advertising brands like coke cola and several dance schools and new record players. Jules, Marty, and Verne were standing in the middle of everything and were watching everything.
"This decade's really hopping!" Marty exclaimed as he watched a young couple do the Charleston.
Jules looked from the young musician and over to his left. There was a silent movie theater that was showing some film with Harold Lloyd in it.
"Yes this is the the beginning of films with sound," Jules said aloud. "A few years ago we had not had sound in our motion pictures at all. They would show the characters talking and then the words would show up on the screen for the audience to read. Quite interesting."
Verne was looking at the video tape again with the utmost concentration. Suddenly the boy headed off into the big crowd and yelled back "follow me!"
"Whoa wait up Verne!" Marty yelled after the boy.
"Brother cease running!" Jules yelled.
He and Marty headed after the ten-year-old, afraid that Verne would get lost. Verne zig-zagged through the crowd of 20s people and into an alley. Verne rounded a corner and then another until they all were in front of an Opera House.
The Opera House was old and sort of dillapatated. It looked like no one had bothered to keep it stable and clean for awhile. Most people in the 20s probably were more interested in going to the movie theater rather than an Opera House. They all stood there in silence for awhile.
"Listen up," Verne suddenly said and moved in front of Marty and Jules. He held the video tape in front of him and pointed to it. "In the movie, the Swift Gang would gather at an abandoned Opera House. They prearranged their crimes here together to be prepared."
"Verne that was just a movie," Jules retorted.
"Yeah based on true events!" Verne argued. Jules rolled his eyes and they all headed toward the door to the Opera House. Luckily, the door didn't squeak at all when they opened it and they managed to sneak in. Verne led the way and led them to theater B and gestured for his brother and Marty to follow him through the red curtains.
They could hear voices wafting from the long-deserted stage and they all dove into an aisle. On the stage, a group of men were gathered around a makeshift table. They all wore pinstripe zoot suits and were listening intently on what the man at the head of the table was saying.
"Told ya they were here," Verne gloated in a whisper.
"I can't believe you were correct," Jules whispered and Marty nodded.
The three time travelers became silent and started listening to what the suited men were talking about.
"Okay so the plan is we travel down to the Avenue and obtain the goods," the man at the head of the table said. "Collins and his associates are going to meet us down there and absolutely none of you are allowed to screw this up."
"What about the bank job boss?" one suited man asked. He raised his hand when he asked the question like he was in school.
"It's still on," the boss said. "We need the hundred grand for the... business opportunity. You forget about that Bratton?"
"Uh no, boss, no," Bratton said nervously. The boss shrugged and started dictating what they were going to do at the bank and how they were going to do it. As the boss went on and on, Verne turned to Marty and Jules.
"We're gonna follow them," Verne informed and brought out the video tape again. "I want to see what happened that stopped those guys from getting the illegal goods."
Jules tried to switch to a different position but his foot stepped on a piece of glass. It cracked under his foot.
"What was that?" the boss asked. The boys ducked down harder to prevent themselves from being seen. The other gangsters all grumbled and shrugged. The men got up and left the theater from a back door.
"Let's go," Verne said excitedly.
0 0 0
The time travelers left the Opera House from the way they came. It was still daylight outside and the three were grateful for that. None of them wanted to follow gangsters in the dark. In fact, Marty and Jules really didn't want to follow them at all.
"Those guys probably have guns," Marty said and everyone stopped in their tracks. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.
"Verne..." Jules began but his brother kept on walking.
"We'll be fine just don't let 'em see us," Verne said.
They made it to "the avenue" that the boss of the Swift Gang was talking about. The avenue was nothing like the rest of Chicago. A wart on a beautiful face. The three looked around and saw that it was dirty and busy with criminals and gangs. All of the people were ugly and dressed in black 20s attire. Some rats scattered across the alley and settled by some homeless guy in a raincoat. It also seemed darker in the avenue, like the ugliness and menace of the place blocked out all good light.
They managed to gather themselves and move foreward into this horrible place. Verne wanted to lead the way but Marty kept moving in front of the boy. They passed the homeless guy whom was muttering incoherent words to himself. Jules shivered when he looked at the rats on the guy's lap. They walked by a man in a fancy suit and hat and the man took notice of Marty.
"Hey sir," the man said and Marty stopped in his tracks. The man who had called him had a pencil-thin moustache and bad teeth. "Want to buy some liquor? Only a dollar."
The man opened his coat to reveal several small bottles of alcohole. He kept looking back and forth like he was expecting someone to jump out.
"Uh... no thanks I don't drink," Marty said and backed away from the man. Luckily, the guy didn't insist.
Verne seemed to be scanning the Avenue for the Swift Gang. However Jules spotted them first near the end of the alley. The gangsters were talking to another eerie gang of men in whispers. The boys moved forward, hiding along the way behind crates and other junk in the avenue. Soon they came close enough to actually hear what the Swift Gang was saying.
"Okay so here's the money," the boss of the Swift Gang said and handed a fat roll of bills to the other boss.
While Verne and Marty were engrossed in the mafia scene, Jules had turned away and found an old moving device on wheels. He started examining it, fascinated at this artifact of the 1920s. Meanwhile Verne was watching the Swift Gang.
"Something at this very moment caused the Swift Gang to lose the goods," Verne whispered to Marty.
Everything that happened next, happened in a blink of an eye and all at once.
The Swift Gang's boss was handed the small box of goods. Jules lost control of the crate mover and it zoomed from their hiding place. The wheeled device crashed into the Swift Gang and made the boss let go of the goods as he fell to the ground. The box of goods flew into the air and dropped to the ground with a crack.
The time travelers mouths dropped open as they saw the aftermath of what happened. The Swift Gang was unharmed but they were tangled in a heap and the box of goods was smashed open. They saw that bottles of alcohol had tumbled out and were cracked. Alcohol was leaking onto the ground in a river and the homeless guy previously seen rushed forward and started licking it off the ground.
The boss of the Swift Gang untangled himself from his gang and looked to and fro for the culprit. His face was crimson red from his rising anger. Verne, Jules, and Marty were still so shocked that they caused this that they didn't hide when the boss looked their way.
"Hey you three come over here for a sec'," the boss said darkly in a scary voice as he pointed to the time travelers.
The boys grew pale and then Verne made the best suggestion all day.
"RUN!" Verne cried and the three scrambled to their feet and bolted out of the Avenue.
The boys ran at full speed down several alleys and kept going until they felt safe. Jules was running his hand through his hair and had very wide eyes, Marty was breathing hard from the run and kept looking back, and Verne was clutching his chest.
"Holy Moly!" the ten-year-old exclaimed. "That was a close one. I can't believe we were the ones that caused those guys from getting their goods."
"Yeah well at least we got away," Marty said but when he turned around he bumped into none other than the Swift Gang. The musician yelped in surprise and Jules and Verne gaped at the zoot suited gang they thought they eluded.
The Swift Gang was standing there and, pardon my french, looked really pissed off. One of them held a bottle of alcohol that was the lone survivor of the accident. The boss was looking at the three boys like they were scum on his shoes.
"Thought you could get away that easily, huh?" the boss asked. "Well unfortunately my boys and I know Chicago inside and out. We also know that you three caused us to lose our alcohol supply."
"We're sorry it was an accident," Verne said as he hid behind Marty.
"Sorry ain't good enough kid," the boss sneered. "To repay us for our lose you must help us with a little business opportunity."
"We're gonna rob the bank!" one gangster said with enthusiasm.
"Darn it Larry!" the boss yelled and smacked the guy upside the head.
"Huddle!" Jules suddenly shouted and pulled his younger brother and Marty away from the scene for a moment. They crowded together like football players making a plan.
"Oh man!" Marty whispered in exasperation. "Why do we have to always get in trouble on these time trips!"
"We are in danger Martin," Jules said.
"Guys shut up!" Verne whispered. "Look, we have to go along with whatever they want us to do. Remember: never cross the boss."
The three De-huddled and faced the Swift Gang again. All of them looked slightly annoyed at the boys and some looked confused at the term "huddle." Marty pushed Jules and Verne behind just in case and met the boss's eyes.
"And what if we don't help you?" Marty asked in a serious tone.
"Then you'll be swimming with the fishes," the boss declared and his men laughed behind him. Marty, Jules, and Verne looked at each other and gulped.
0 0 0
"Way to go guys now what?" Marty asked. He and Jules and Verne had been locked in a dirty apartment room by the Swift Gang. There wasn't even a window that they could climb out of! They were stuck.
Jules sat down in arm chair and started rubbing his temples in deep thought. Verne kept re-reading the video tape as if trying to decipher some way to get out of this mess. They all were silent as they thought of something to do. They had to think of something to do.
"I got it!" Verne suddenly shouted and waved the video tape wildly. "I got a plan."
"What?" Marty and Jules yelled at the same time.
"Just listen..." Verne began and told them about his plan.
Chicago, Illinois
May 1, 1926
4:08 PM
The time travelers were now crammed into a black automobile with the Swift Gang. The boss and two other gangsters were smoking cigars and Jules was coughing up a storm. He had always been a little sensitive to second-hand smoke.
The boss was telling them how this was all going to go down. Marty was supposed to go in there and ask to get a loan. While Marty was distracting the teller, the Swift Gang was supposed to come in loudly with Jules and Verne as hostages. Then the bank, seeing that two innocent children were in danger, would hand over the money.
So Marty was shoved through the door of the Bank of Chicago and forced to go up to where dictated.
"May I help you sir?" the teller asked.
"Yes I'd like to apply for a loan," Marty said politely, going along with the Swift Gang's whim. He felt a little sick inside.
"EVERYONE FREEZE!" the boss yelled as he and his gang burst through the door. Two gang members were holding Jules and Verne firmly by the shoulders. The two boys looked frightened, but Marty could not tell if their fear was fake or real.
"Yeah freeze!" Larry repeated and laughed a weird laugh. "Or these two little boys will collapse from bullet wounds."
The tellers of the bank gasped.
"If you want to save them then give us all the money," the boss said and the tellers immediately got to work on emptying cash boxes.
Jules, Verne, and Marty looked at each other and smiled.
It was time.
"Enter police!" Jules shouted and immediately dozens of blue uniformed men revealed themselves in the bank.
The Swift Gang panicked and dropped their burlap sacks of money. Some of them tried to scram for the door but were obtained. The boss was so shocked that the boys had set them up that he didn't even move! The chief of police easily walked up to him and put handcuffs on him.
"Ronald Chase you're under arrest," the police chief announced and the bank tellers cheered. The police chief turned to thank the boys that had called them and set up the whole thing but the three were gone.
0 0 0
"I hope that our plan didn't disrupt history," Jules said as they headed for the DeLorean. It was only a few yards away.
"Nah," Verne assured. "In the movie those guys were gonna get caught anyway. Actually it was on this very day."
"Wow," Marty said. They reached the time machine, made it visible, and hopped inside. Marty turned the key in the ignition and started it up.
They hit 88 and returned to the future.
Hill Valley, California
September 14, 1992
3:50 PM
The DeLorean reappeared in the current year and zoomed back into the lab exactly two minutes after it originally left. The three got out and sat down on the floor, totally pooped. Doc looked up from his work and went over to them.
"How was 1926?" Doc asked.
"Pure madness Doc," Marty said. "Pure mafia madness."
END