A/N: The mugging is a reference to S9 E15 'The One with the Mugging' ~BB x
Lowell and Joe led Phoebe to an abandoned warehouse where they'd been holed up for a few months. The floors and ceiling were damp with mould and rainwater and rats were scurrying over their feet. 3 sets of bedding were laid out over the floor nestled amongst piles of pots, pans, extra items of clothing and garbage.
"Who else lives here?" Phoebe wondered, chucking her rucksack onto the ground.
"Our friend, Hal, he used to. You can have his bed." Joe gestured to the orange sleeping bag.
"He's not gonna need it?" Phoebe asked, sitting down on it.
"He's not coming back, sweetcheeks." Joe scoffed.
"Joe." Lowell snapped.
"Does your friend do that a lot? Just...disappear?"
"A lot of people do on the streets."
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"Time to get moving." Lowell ordered.
It was early evening, late enough that it was dark but not so late that no one was around.
"You take the girl. She can't be seen on Jane Street. They'll eat her alive." Stabby Joe warned as he made his way to the exit of the warehouse.
"I think I can handle myself." Phoebe challenged.
"You got spunk, I'll give you that. But you never let your little ass get on Jane Street this time of night. Okay? It's a fucking death wish." Joe ducked out of the warehouse.
"Don't mind Joe. He's protective over his territory. All muggers are. But he's been working that lot for years now and he fought damned hard for it." Lowell explained, leading Phoebe outside.
"How?"
"He got stabbed, a fair few times. Shot too. That's why he always carries his knife now. Can't afford not to." Lowell revealed.
"Stab or be stabbed?" Phoebe gulped.
"Something like that."
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"This is St Mark's comics." Lowell gestured, pulling Phoebe into a darkened corner behind the entrance. She'd been with them for nearly a month now and he said it was time she learnt a few things.
"I'm mugging comic book nerds?" Phoebe whispered.
"Yep." Lowell chuckled. "You go for the young teens. They don't carry tons of cash, but if they give you trouble you could take them."
"What do you mean?"
"Watch and learn, kid." Lowell gestured to a young boy coming out of the store.
He pulled his hat down low over his face and stuffed his hand into his pocket.
"Gimme your money." Lowell grunted at the kid.
"What?" He whimpered.
"Gimme your money. I have a gun." Lowell aimed his pocket at the child.
"O-o-o-Okay." The kid stuttered, he shouldered off his bag and threw his wallet to the ground.
"Go!" Lowell bellowed.
The boy didn't need to be told twice, he took off sprinting down the street, the only thing remaining was his bag. Lowell snatched up his prize and up-turned it onto the ground, sifting through its contents.
"Nothing amazing." Lowell shrugged but handed Phoebe the wallet. "Check that."
With shaky hands, Phoebe picked through the Spider-Man printed wallet. "$20."
"$10 for me, $10 for you." Lowell grinned plucking his bill out of the wallet.
Phoebe pocketed her own and stood there awkwardly. "Do you really have a gun?"
"What? Oh, no. 'Course not. I can't afford a gun."
"So I pretend to have a gun?"
"No, that's not believable. We'll get you a pipe from home, Hal always used one of those. 'Cause, one time, funny story actually, he shot me." Lowell guffawed and recounted this tale to the teenager.
Phoebe was scared, sure, did it feel wrong mugging kids? 100%. But she didn't have a choice.
"It's them or me." Phoebe muttered to herself as she laughed in time with Lowell's anecdote. For the first time in weeks, she'd gone the whole day without thinking about her mother.
Phoebe had been living with Lowell and Joe for about 4 months, they'd bought her food, taught her the ropes and she had to admit that she was actually okay living on the streets. She got by.
"Hey, Phoebe!" Lowell called as he came crashing into the warehouse that afternoon.
"What's up?"
"Look what I found!" Lowell excitedly yanked a mangled, white object from his pocket.
"What is that?" Phoebe grimaced.
"A cat skull!"
"Wow! Cool!" Phoebe replied genuinely.
The pair were still admiring it when Joe came in the door a few minutes later.
"What the hell is that?" Joe grunted, pocketing his knife.
"A cat skull. Lowell found it." Phoebe informed him.
"You two are lucky I don't stab you." Joe rolled his eyes and slid into his sleeping bag.
"Stabbed anyone lately?" Lowell asked politely.
"Not since last week. He didn't die though, don't worry."
"Why'd you stab him?" Phoebe inquired.
"He was after this other guy. The other guy was smaller. It wasn't a fair fight." Joe shrugged.
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Phoebe had pretty much established St Mark's comics as her spot. She worked it every night, without fail, her weapon of choice: an old pipe. She whistled as she swung it over her head that night, waiting for her next victim. A boy came into view, heading for the store. Rapidly, she leapt out of the shadows and grasped his ear in her nails.
"Gimme your money, punk." Phoebe hissed.
"Ahhh! Please don't hurt me, mister." A young Ross Geller pleaded.
"Well then do as I say."
Ross shook as he took off his green backpack, with one last look at his most prized possessions he ran.
"Geology Rocks." Phoebe read the sticker on the bag. "Wow this kid was a dork."
All of the boy's possessions tumbled onto the concrete and Phoebe began to rifle through them. She plucked out a collection of lined paper, it read 'Science Boy' and was filled with coloured pencil drawings of a story about a young boy superhero. Phoebe smiled and took it with her, along with the boy's money.
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"What's that?" Lowell asked, downing the last of his can of Coke.
"This thing I got from a kid today."
"And you're reading it?" Joe scoffed.
"Well...yeah. It might be worth something one day." Phoebe defended herself, holding the papers close to her chest.
"How?" Joe raised an eyebrow.
"'Cause...well what if this kid becomes like a famous artist or something? And I've got his drawings from childhood! That's a gold mine!"
"Right. And this kid's name was...?" Joe prompted.
"I...I don't know." Phoebe admitted.
"So how you gonna know if he's famous?" Joe pointed out, sharpening his knives.
"Leave off, Joe, alright? She wants it, she keeps it." Lowell jumped in.
"Bear in mind this is from the guy with the cat skull pride of place." Joe gestured to Lowell's cat skull, balanced precariously on the rest of his things.
"Instead of going to high school, I'm stuck here. So maybe I'll learn something from it." Phoebe sniffed.
"If you wanna learn something, I know these guys who meet behind a dumpster and learn French." Lowell offered.
"Really? That'd be great!" Phoebe asked excitedly.
"Yeah, I mean they'll want payment. But it'll be stuff like a pack of cigarettes or something." Lowell shrugged.
"That's cool. Where can I find it?"