Dirty Cash
Fandom: H2O Rating: PG-13
Summery: The JuiceNet is getting robbed. E/Z. Written for Rodrigo. Sorry it took so long.
The JuiceNet Café was booming. It was their busiest hour and Emma was moving as fast as she could taking orders. Alfred was making drinks and Amber was helping Emma serve the drinks to the customers while keeping the fruit and dairy stocked. Two people had called in sick. Alfred considered firing them many times. They called out at least two times a month always on the same day. Emma had caught up with the orders and began to pass out drinks.
"I can't believe how many people are in here." Amber said.
"I know. Since that other juice place moved to another location our business has exploded." Emma responded.
"Emma, let Amber finish serving these drinks I need you back here." Alfred ordered.
"Are you sure? Amber makes drinks faster than me." Emma said looking at the mess Alfred had made behind the counter.
"Yes Emma, now get back here."
"Yes sir." Emma walked around the counter and cleared a spot for her to work in. She put on her latex gloves and started to squeeze some oranges.
"Do you still have that skin problem?" Alfred asked noticing her gloves.
"Yeah it comes and goes." Emma answered concentrating on her work.
"I think you should get a new doctor."
"I don't think that will do much good. I've had just about every skin cream and pill you can take for this. What do you think another doctor can do?" Emma looked at him seriously.
"You're right, but it's still worth a shot."
"Emma I'm getting really backed up. Can you help me for a minute?" Amber begged. Emma looked at Alfred and he nodded in approval.
Rikki and Cleo sat in a booth talking about the cover of the latest issue of Cosmo. Lewis pushed his way into the café and sat down with them.
"What's up with all these people?" He asked them, "At this rate we'll have to get a new hangout spot."
"It will die down in a few minutes." Cleo said turning the page of the magazine.
"What do you think about this shirt Lewis?" Rikki asked.
"It's sort of little isn't it? You would have to be a toddler to wear it." He said honestly.
"Where's my drink? I've been waiting for twenty minutes now." Zane shouted over the buzz of people.
"We're moving as fast as we can Zane. Feel free to come back here and help if you want." Alfred shouted back.
Zane fell silent. He hated it when people asked him to help out. He was sitting at a table near the counter with Miriam and Nate. Three tall boys walked through the door. They sat down together at a computer. Cleo noticed them and pointed it out to Rikki.
"The one in the middle is hot." Rikki said quietly.
"No way the blonde is way cuter." Cleo awed.
"You always pick out the blondes. Brunettes are way better."
"Not true." Cleo stole a quick glance at Lewis, "Let's ask Emma."
Rikki and Cleo walked to the counter and leaned over to Emma.
"Did you see those guys that just came in?" Rikki whispered.
"I'm a little busy now." Emma answered putting fruit in the blender.
"They're sitting over there at the computer. Who is the best looking?" Cleo nodded in their direction.
Emma put the cap on the blender and looked up as she pushed the start button, "The one on the right with the hat. They look a little to old for us anyway. They could be in college."
She took her hand off the lid and started handing the drinks she had finished to Amber. Emma's elbow knocked the blinder sending the lid falling to the ground. Juice covered the front of her uniform and she immediately ran to the cool room. Rikki and Cleo started to follow her but were stopped by Alfred.
"You know the new rules girls." He shook his head.
The three boys ducked low and quickly slid masks over their heads. They each pulled a pistol out of their pants. One of the boys ran to the door and locked everyone in, another jumped on to a table.
"Ladies and gentlemen we will be robbing you today. If anyone tries to be a hero they will die. That said give me any jewelry, money and cell phones you have." He jumped off the table and walked around collecting what he could, "Now I want everyone on the floor."
In the cool room Emma franticly tried to dry off. She knew someone would be back here looking for her soon. Her hair was the last thing she had to dry. It was also the hardest to get dry with the little towel she had. Five minutes later she heard a loud bang and froze in place. It sounded like a gun. Next she heard the door jiggling and went into hyper speed drying her hair. The door opened just as she began to transform. When she could see again Zane stood at the door wide eyed.
"You are." He forced out.
"What was that noise?" Emma asked more worried about the noise than her secret.
Zane remembered why he came to the back and quickly closed the door. He grabbed Emma's arm and pulled her into a corner behind a rack.
"The store is being robed. Three tall guys and they all have guns." He shivered against her, "One of the guns misfired while they were arguing I took that opportunity to crawled back here. I don't know if it hurt anyone."
"You're a coward." Emma whispered.
"I was looking for a way out. I remembered you ran back here and thought you might know where the back door is. They took all our phones so no one can call the police." Zane narrowed his eyes at her.
"I've got mine in my bag, but it's in my locker in the break room." She looked at Zane who was now staring at her legs, "What?"
"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked.
"Because it's a secret. If I told you it wouldn't be a secret anymore."
"You don't trust me? We've known each other since elementary school. That really hurts Emma."
"It's not like we ever talk Zane." Emma scooted closer to his warmth.
"We do. Just yesterday we talked right before class." He put his arm around her.
"You asked me for the answers to the test you misses last week. That doesn't exactly count as a conversation." Emma fell quiet.
It was cold in the cool room. Emma had been in it longer than Zane and was trembling against him. She didn't want to try to leave the safety the cool room offered. The thieves didn't know she was back here and she wanted to keep it that way.
"Now I get why you were a swim star." Zane chuckled.
"Do you?"
"Well yeah, you've never lost a competition. How else could you be so good."
"Hard work and dedication? Did you think about that? Maybe I quit the team because of my tail. I haven't always had it."
"Oh…" Zane had enough sense to look abashed and started to remove his arm.
"You can leave it. You know if you want." Emma said quickly.
"Your lips are turning blue we should try to leave. I'm sure the coast is clear." He held out his hand to help her up.
"You're right." Emma took his hand and led the way to the door. She opened it a crack and peered out. Together they tip-toed to the break room. Emma opened her locker and dug through her bag until she found her phone. She let Zane call the police. He knew what was happening better than her. When he handed it back to her she put it on silence and stuck it in her apron.
"The back door is-" She started to say.
A guy with a black mask fell through the swinging door. He looked up at Zane and Emma then pointed his gun at them. They raised their hands in surrender. He got up slowly and roughly shoved them out front. Emma could smell the gun powder in the air and looked around for her friends. Lewis and Rikki were hovering over Cleo. Emma felt her stomach drop. She raced over to her to see what was wrong. Zane sat down with Nate on the other side of the store.
"What happened?" Emma said kneeling beside Lewis.
"She was shot in the shoulder. I don't think it hit anything important. We got the bleeding under control, but she'll need to go to the hospital pretty soon." Lewis informed.
Emma pulled out her phone and tried to surreptitiously hand it to Lewis. One of the thieves saw her and grabbed the phone. He threw it in the pile with the others and grabbed hold of Emma's arm. He pulled her up like a rag doll and pushed her to the other side of the room.
"What the hell?" Emma shouted angrily.
They ignore her.
"That girl needs to go to the hospital! Do you want to add murder to your ever growing list of crimes?" Emma took a step toward them. Rikki looked at her surprised at this display courage.
One of them looked at her, "Sit down and shut up."
"You've got all our money why don't you leave?" Emma said defiantly.
"I said shut up and sit down." They guy moved closer to her, "I will shoot you."
Emma didn't move for a minute testing his resolve. When she heard the click of his gun she walked over to Zane and sat down on the floor. He put a hand on her knee and squeezed it softly. She looked up at him.
"You don't have to be a hero. The police will be here soon." He whispered.
"I know." She spat, "But if something worse happens to Cleo while these idiots figure out what they're doing I swear they'll feel all my wrath."
"You can do more than…you know."
"Yes."
"Mind if I ask what?"
"Yes."
"Will you two shut up. They'll come back over here." Nate whispered.
The phone behind the counter started to ring and Zane looked out the window. The police had surrounded the café and were attempting to make contact. Rikki and Lewis had noticed as well. The thieves answered the phone, but only to laugh at the police. One of the guys started taking their loot to the back of the store. Emma looked around briefly. Zane was occupied by Miriam, Nate looked like he was sleeping and everyone else was staring at the police. Emma held up her hand and started freezing objects near Rikki to get her attention. Rikki looked up after Emma nearly froze one of her fingers. She mouthed the words gun and shoe. Rikki smiled and nodded. Finally some action. Lewis shook his head wildly he did not approve, but there was nothing he could do to stop them.
They waited until all three of the guys were standing together. Emma started freezing there shoes to the floor very quickly. At the same time Rikki started melting the insides of their guns. They were unarmed and stuck to the floor now. Easy pickins. Zane had been watching the whole show out of the corner of his eye.
"Emma did you just?" He asked quietly.
"This is not the time for this Zane. Get some guys together and take them out before they know something is wrong." Emma ordered.
"No. Emma the police are right outside let the handle it from here."
"What? You don't the glory of taking out the creeps that tried to rob the JuiceNet. Everyone would know your name. Oh that's right I forgot you are a coward." Emma was trying to get him worked up. She didn't have time to see the results. The police stormed the store. Coming from all directions and apprehending the guys within seconds. Cleo was taken out minutes later and driven to the hospital, Lewis at her side. After everyone had given their statement to the police they all went their separate ways. Rikki was waiting for Emma to finish outside the café. They were going to meet at the moon pool and wait for Lewis to let them know Cleo was alright before heading to the hospital. Zane stopped Emma as she was trying to leave.
"I want to talk to you." He looked angry.
She nodded and told Rikki she would catch up.
"What happened back there Emma? That was very unlike you." He looked her in the eye.
"Those guys were unarmed. I was trying to get you worked up so we could go ahead and take them out." Emma looked in front of her.
"That's not all. I can see it in your eye." Zane touched her shoulder gently.
"I was scared and I was reckless. I know, but if I hadn't been Cleo could have died and I wouldn't have been able to live with myself." She confessed.
"Lewis said he had it under control. The bullet didn't hit any major veins or anything." His hand slid into hers.
"So you're a doctor now?" She raised a brow.
"No, but I took anatomy last semester." He smiled at her and walked her onto the beach. They were silent for the longest time just enjoying each others company.
"I've noticed something about you Zane." Emma said stopping in the sand.
"What's that?"
"I always find myself around you after a close call."
"Are you going somewhere with this?"
"Yes you jerk. I was thinking maybe we should give dating a shot." She said quietly.
"What was that? I didn't hear you."
"I think we should date." She was blushing bright red now.
"You know Miriam will not like that."
"Who cares about Miriam." Emma stood on her toes and gave him a small kiss.
"I think I might need to get this in writing." Zane said jokingly.
Emma rolled her eyes and ran into the ocean. Zane stood there smiling as he watched her disappear into the rough waves. He got the idea their relationship won't be easy. They argued enough as it was, but he promised himself he would make it work. He finally found his mermaid.