Thieves, Scoundrels and All Kinds of Riffraff
Chapter 11
* * * *
Author's Note:
Just to tell you all, the timeline is no longer suspended for this chapter- meaning that this now takes place after Adrienne talks to Travis (and gets turned down), after Carey and Gabe recruit Katherine, and after Storm finds out about Kurt and Evan following her. Kapeesh? Then let's get started!!
Oh, and before I forget- the disclaimer!! Kilroy and CK both belong to Kilroy Evans, and Adrienne belongs to me.
* * * *
Charlotte, North Carolina
* * * *
Adrienne dug her hands into her pockets, and tried to snuggle back deeper into her coat. Damn, but she hated the cold. The fact that she lived in sunny California didn't help with her resistance, either. It had been worse in Michigan, when she'd tried to recruit Travis, but North Carolina wasn't exactly pleasant, either. Just then, her phone rang shrilly, and a few people walking along the icy sidewalk turned to look at the source of the sound, reacting on pure instinct, before they looked away nonchalantly.
It was a quiet Friday night in Charlotte, and it was late. Most people her age would have been out clubbing, and drinking, but this wasn't exactly the most happening spot in town, so there wasn't much human traffic. She was here looking for the last crewmembers on the list that Amethyst had given her. The list that she said Carey had drawn up.
Adrienne frowned slightly. She still hadn't heard from her elder brother in more than a day, and she was worried. Granted, they were still in the early stages of the heist, but it wasn't like Carey to go so long without any correspondence or feedback- he always checked in with her at least once a day- after all, since the two of them were planning this thing together, they had to constantly update each other. Still, all had to be fine- Amethyst had told her that Carey had called just after she had left for Michigan and asked her to send Gabe over ASAP, and had called just yesterday to tell her that he and Gabe had been successful in recruiting their newest member.
Adrienne reached into her pocket, and pulled out the cell phone. Turning it on, she put it to her ear. "Adrienne here."
"So, I heard that Travis wasn't so enthusiastic about joining us in our little escapade." Adrienne grinned with relief when she heard the voice that sounded over the line.
"Why didn't you call me yesterday? You worried me half to death!!"
"What, no 'Hello', no 'I've missed you', no 'Good to see you, Da Ge?' ?" His chuckle of amusement rang warmly in her ear. "You know, this proves once and for all that you really care for me, Addy. Whether you like to admit it or not, you were worried for me."
"Yeah, whatever." Muttered Adrienne flippantly. However, deep down inside, she knew that Carey was right. She had been worried.
* * * *
Paul Kilroy Evans sat at a bar, sipping at his beer while surveying the crowd here tonight. His pal and roommate CK wasn't feeling all too well, so he had come down for his nightly drink by himself. Heh, that was a funny thought- calling CK both a pal and a roommate. Truth was that CK was either his friend or his roommate- never both at the same time. The two of them really got along better when they weren't living together. It was a vicious cycle. CK screwed up in something, got kicked out of Paul's apartment, and after a few days, they became friends once again. After that, CK would move back in, and then he'd screw up again, and Paul would kick his friend out again. He loved CK to death, but sometimes, enough was enough.
The crowd at the bar tonight was more or less normal, with all the usual patrons. Since it wasn't in the busiest night, the movement at the door immediately caught his attention, and Kilroy turned his head, in time to see CK walk through the door. He frowned. What was he doing here? Don't tell me CK lied to me. Again.
Annoyed, he locked eyes with CK, and his friend took that as the 'hint' it was to get his butt over ASAP. "What's up, Kilroy?" he drawled, as he slid onto the stool next to his friend's.
"You lied to me." Kilroy glared at his friend.
"Hey Brian!! Get me a beer!" He called out to the bartender, and then he answered his friend. "So what's new?" His smooth, rich voice didn't seem to have much of a soothing effect on his friend, however.
"Dude, I am sick and tired of you lying to me!"
"Chill." CK rolled his eyes and started nursing the beer that the bartender had slid over to him. "Truth was that I wanted to see somebody here today."
All right, now Kilroy's interest was piqued. Who did CK want to see? "Who?"
"You remember the new girl who works down at the grocery store?"
"Yeah. What's her name- Angie?"
CK nodded. "When I was buying our Pop Tarts this morning, I found out that she comes down here nightly. So I told you that I was sick so that you'd go to the other bar down the street. You never come here alone."
"Yeah, well, you're wrong." Actually, CK was right. He rarely ever came to this bar alone. Usually, he was with CK when he hung out here. But he'd wanted a change of environment, so he'd decided to get a drink here tonight. "So basically, you wanted me gone so that you could chat up Angie, is that right?"
"In a nutshell." Agreed his friend. "And there she is." He looked up, and the target of CK's affections walked in through the door- right on the arm of a hulking monster of a man.
Kilroy snorted derisively. "Well, you can forget about shacking up with Angie. Not unless you have a way of getting past that guy she's clinging onto for dear life."
"Kilroy, Kilroy. Have more faith, man. Remember- I'm the mastermind of our little duo. And I'm never caught unprepared." Kilroy gave CK a look that was an equal part of amusement, disbelief, and annoyance. "So here's what we do-"
"Hold it!!" Kilroy held his hand up, halting CK mid-plan. "There is no 'we'. There never has been a 'we' whenever it comes to your crazy plans." CK leaned back, allowing his friend to continue his tirade, knowing that trying to stop him would've been useless. Sometimes, he wondered how the two of them managed to stay friends. They were more like a quarrelsome couple than anything else, really.
Meanwhile, Kilroy was still going strong. "I never agreed to help you. Don't forget, you were the one who lied that you weren't feeling well so that you could ditch me and come here to hook up with this girl that you've been eyeing for what, 2 days? And now you want me to help you with one of your harebrained schemes. I won't even bother saying the answer, because you know what it already is."
"You're going to say that it's a no. And that doesn't matter because you'll help me anyways, whether you say yes or no." This elicited a furious glare from Kilroy, but he knew that his friend was right, as usual. It sometimes disturbed him to see that CK broke the law so easily, but truthfully, when push came to shove, breaking the law wasn't all that bad, either. The concept just disturbed him morally. Then again, how else were they supposed to pay their bills? Surely other people didn't pay for their bills with just their day job. Or did they? He wasn't really sure.
CK observed his friend, knowing that Kilroy wouldn't be able to avoid the inevitable. Finally, after he had chugged down the rest of his beer, he growled out something that sounded remotely like a 'yes'. Knowing that that was going to be the best answer he was going to get, he proceeded with the laying out of his plan. "Ok, so here's what we're gonna do…"
* * * *
5 Minutes Later
* * * *
Kilroy was busy playing pool at one of the tables, and "coincidentally" enough, it was the same table where Angie's date also playing. Kilroy was normally an ace at pool, but CK's instruction was to 'suck', and so he was currently playing lousy. And feeling the terrible itch of trying to play better. Damn, but it was hard to suck! Still, he had to carry on the charade, for Kilroy's sake. So he continued with his loud boasts and catcalls. Angie's Boyfriend managed to get another ball in, and Kilroy immediately seized the chance to egg the other guy into annoyance. "Hah! Is that the best you can do? A baldie sitting in a wheelchair could play better than that!!" (A/N: Heh, inside joke!! Invisible monster strawberry daiquiris to whoever guess who I was talking about!!)
"Shut up!" growled another player. "You haven't made a single shot in the entire game." Apparently, Kilroy was succeeding in his task.
"Doesn't mean that I'm not gonna be able to make some more later on." Boasted Kilroy. He noticed that while this was wearing down the patience of the other players, Angie's Boyfriend still remained stoically unaffected. He was rather impressed despite himself- it wasn't easy to put up with him once he got started. Being annoying didn't come naturally to him, but he had learned how to be annoying from the best- CK was the reigning king when it came to that. After having to live and put up with the guy for 5 years, he finally knew what the true meaning of annoying was.
Meanwhile, CK glared at him from the side. Obviously, his friend was getting impatient. "Sod off!!" mouthed Kilroy, before turning back to his game. Kilroy was doing a favor for his friend. If CK couldn't wait a little bit longer, then screw him. He was stretching his neck out for the guy. It wouldn't kill him to wait for a little bit.
The game progressed on for a few more minutes, with CK getting increasingly agitated. Finally, he motioned to Kilroy to meet him, and moved to the restroom. When his friend showed up a few minutes later, he started pacing up and down the length of the small, smelly room. "This isn't good. It's taking too long."
Kilroy snorted. "Don't I know that? Man, I've been doing my best to be annoying. Considering how I learned to be annoying from *you*, that's saying a lot."
CK was about to reply, when he realized what his friend had just said, and glared at him. "Well, maybe it's because I'm *not* annoying."
Kilroy, however, hadn't stuck around to hear his friend talk. He was already on the way out the door. "Yeah, well, that's what you think." But CK was right. He *had* to try something drastic. And he had just the thing in mind.
* * * *
Meanwhile, Adrienne was walking down the street less than a block away. She'd just exited from a bar that Carey had told her about, but she'd been unsuccessful. Apparently there was only one more bar on the list, but she was tired of walking. Heck, she was tired of traveling, and of finding people who weren't keen on being found. But Carey had promised her that this would be the last of the team members, and she knew as well as he did that since Travis was probably not going to be lending his skills to the team, they needed these new crewmembers more than ever.
Might as well head over to that last place now. If they weren't there, then she would head back to the hotel, and call Carey about this- they could figure out this problem together, she figured. No need to stress herself out more than she already was.
* * * *
CK glared at his friend for walking out on him like that, but he waited for a few minutes, before exiting the restroom. However, he did so only to find that Kilroy had already launched into motion his plan- whatever it was. Right now, his friend was leaned over the table, angling, in a rather ungainly fashion, for a very difficult shot from the absolutely worst angle anybody could possibly have imagined. His rather ample rear had been shoved directly into the face of a patron unfortunate enough to be sitting near his friend's position at the pool table, and Kilroy was sawing the cue back and forth, in an exaggerated attempt to hit the ball currently sitting only a few inches away from the tip of his cue.
He paused, wondering if he should make his move. Obviously, Kilroy had something up his sleeve, and he should get into position, because neither of them was going to have a very big window of opportunity. However, before CK could make another move, Kilroy had already shot his pool cue out, and instead of hitting the ball positioned in front of it, the tip of the cue scraped across the worn felt of the pool table, before hitting the cue ball at an angle that was never intended for the table. Before CK could blink, the white ball was sailing through the air, flying, flying, until it hit Angie's Boyfriend square in the eye.
CK's first thought was that Kilroy had screwed up- bad. But then, he realized that that had been the exact plan all along, and he marveled that Kilroy had had the guts and skill to pull such a thing off. To look bad at the pool table when you were as good a player as Kilroy was one thing, but to be able to screw up like this, and hit somebody on the eye with your stray ball, was another thing completely.
Seizing the small window of opportunity that Kilroy had given him, CK slipped over to Angie's side, and flashed his most dazzling grin at the demure brunette. "Hey, how're you doing?"
Meanwhile, Kilroy noticed that CK had already gotten started, and he got started on the second half of his plan, working to give CK as much time as possible. He snorted at Angie's Boyfriend, who was pressing one hand to his eye in pain, and at the posse of men who had gathered around him, rolling his eyes at them. "Oh, puh-leese. My grandma's taken harder knocks than that and shown less pain."
That was not a good idea. Kilroy decided, as he saw Angie's Boyfriend visibly tense up, and ground his jaw angrily. He knew at that point that he'd gone just a little bit too far, and steeled himself.
Sure enough, Angie's Boyfriend looked up, and uncovered his left eye, which was already beginning to show signs of very bad swelling. "Then, let me show you what kind of a knock gives real pain!!"
Kilroy, despite being a rather peaceful guy, had been in his fair share of bar brawls, thanks, in no small part, to his constant involvement in his pal CK's crazy schemes. Therefore, Angie's Boyfriend, while fast, in no way took him by surprise, and he easily dodged the first punch, throwing a left hook to the guy's cheek while he was still recovering from his first attack. CK had better be done by now, because this is about as much time as we get!!
Sure enough, Angie's Boyfriend's lackeys were closing in around him, and it was obvious that there was no way going to miss out on this fight. They'd been itching to pound on him ever since he'd opened his big trap, and he knew it as well as they did. He loosened his mental control over his mutant super strength just a little bit- not enough to incapacitate somebody every time he punched them, but just enough to give him enough oomph that they would keep their distance. Still, they had the advantage in numbers, and this was proved when somebody managed to get a punch through his defenses, hitting Kilroy in the back of the head. However, despite the rather forcible use of strength, thanks to his other mutant ability, Kilroy barely staggered, and instead used the momentum to swing around and land one right on his attacker's nose, breaking it and knocking him out completely.
He glared at the idiot. He hated being snuck up on, and his momentary loss of control had caused him to use more force than was necessary, thus knocking the guy out in one precise hit. But despite his superior strength and invulnerability, Kilroy had enough brains to know when it was time to scram, and this was a very good time. He used a little bit more strength now, as he ducked punches and dodged kicks, hoping to keep these guys a little off balance as he talked to CK.
"Hey, CK!! Time to close shop!!" he hollered over the noise of the bar patrons clamoring for a fight. No point keeping it a secret that they knew each other anymore, since it was obvious that they were done with this place for the time being.
CK had just managed to get Angie to loosen up and smile, when he heard Kilroy holler something about closing shop. Looking up, he saw his friend right in the middle of a full-out barroom brawl, and he groaned. Guess my time is up. He sighed mentally, and stood up. Winking at Angie, he fished out a card, with only his name and cell phone number on it, and gave it to her. "Call me, ok?" She accepted it, and grinned.
Seeing as this was about as good of an ending as he could have hoped for, he got up, and waved to Kilroy, signaling that he was ready to leave. But his friend was apparently busy at the moment, and so, with a heavy sigh, CK picked up a bar stool, and walked up to the nearest brawler. He wasn't worried for his friend, with his mutant abilities, he was more than able to take care of himself, and come out of a bar brawl unscathed, but they had to get out of here before it grew out of hand, and the cops showed up.
* * * *
The heels of Adrienne's shoes sounded against the pavement as she walked up the sidewalk, nearing the flashing neon lights of the last bar that she was supposed to head for. As she neared the place, she saw a crowd packing into the place, and halted warily. Crowds in such places were usually bad news, and she was cautious about wading into such a rowdy group without first finding out what she was getting herself into. She watched a man break away from the crowd surrounding the entrance at the bar, and saw him walking towards her. As he neared her, she stepped out, and plucked at his sleeve as he walked past. "Excuse me, mister, but what's going on in that bar?"
He looked down at the petite Chinese girl in annoyance, and pulled his arm away from Adrienne's grasp. "A bar brawl, that's what. If I were you, I'd stay away from that place for the time being. Messy, and dangerous, especially for a girl like you."
Adrienne glowered at the man as he walked away, before muttering under her breath. "I'm not a girl, you pig." But she decided to follow his advice, and retreated to an alleyway the next building over. Something told her that waiting out here was going to be more profitable than wading into that whole mess looking for those two men, and she was going to follow her instincts and lurk out here waiting for them.
* * * *
CK walked up to a heavily tattooed goon that was doing his best to get in a shot at Kilroy, and CK tapped him on the shoulder. As the guy turned around to see what the source of his disturbance was, CK swung his leg up, and hit the guy squarely in the crotch, before picking up the stool that he'd been holding and swinging it across the guy's face. Having been blessed with the mutant ability of great agility and lower body strength, kicking a guy to incapacitation was absolutely no problem for the lanky CK. If he could jump three stories straight up, this was absolutely cake, and he knew it, too.
This caused the diversion that he'd been counting on, and Kilroy was able to fight his way out of the swarm of brawlers surrounding him, before joining up with CK. Together, they flew out of the bar, and out onto the street.
* * * *
Adrienne stuck her head out from the alleyway, and saw two guys run out from the bar. She recalled the description that Carey had given her, and mentally matched it up to these two. Both were white, and the lanky one with the goatee had black hair, while the other one was on the stockier side, with a slight paunch and brown hair that had been cut into a short buzz cut. She figured that this was about as close as it was going to get, and the fact that they were probably the cause of that brawl I.D.ed them as the people she was looking for- she somehow doubted that people whom Care had described at 'troublemakers with a genuinely nice streak' were going to be law-abiding citizens.
She stuck her hand out, and motioned towards herself, while whispering loud enough to get their attention. "Hey!! You two!! Over here!!"
Both CK and Kilroy heard somebody calling, and looked to their left to see a Chinese woman sticking her head out of an alley, gesturing furiously for the two of them to come towards her. They looked at each other, and shrugged. "Hey, left's as good a direction to run as right, huh?" asked Kilroy, and they sprinted over to Adrienne.
Once they reached her, they looked at the petite woman. "Look, babe, I know that we're pretty hot, but really, now's not a good time to be chatting us up, really." Shrugged CK.
If looks could have killed, CK would have been fried on the spot. But she ignored his chauvinist statement and instead looked at Kilroy. "I need to talk to the both of you. About a heist."
"Yeah, well, in case you haven't noticed, now's not the best time." Kilroy shifted his weight from one leg to the other, and looked around nervously. Those guys were going to be running out that bar looking to have CK and him for dinner anytime soon, and they needed to get out of here now.
"If you agree to at least let me talk to you about this heist, I can bail you out." Said the woman.
Kilroy was about to ask how on earth she was going to do that, when CK chimed in with the most idiotic comment he could ever have imagined at this moment. "Hey, waitaminit. You're from Stanford!" He was referring to the sweater that the girl was wearing. "We're not gonna go with some Stanford chick! Besides, you're better than us, so what do you need me and Kilroy's help for?"
Adrienne crossed her arms and glared at CK, her patience wearing very thin. "Look, you and I can stand here and argue about my alma mater all you want, or you both can make a decision, and I can get you out of this mess."
Kilroy looked back at the entrance of the bar in panic. The brawlers were coming out!! And they had spotted the both of them! "Alright, we'll do it!! Bail us out, and we'll talk!" He snapped, desperate.
The woman didn't respond, only reaching forward to yank the two of them into the alleyway with her. "Keep quiet, both of you." She ordered. Kilroy was baffled, but his bafflement slowly turned to wonder as the entire mob of brawlers ran right past the alleyway, not bothering to even glance in their direction. It was only when the entire mob had run off, and dissipated that the woman stepped out, and signaled that all was clear, indicating that it was safe to talk again.
"I've got a car parked about two blocks away. The sooner we get out of here, the better." She said, lengthening her strides as she walked at a brisk pace in the opposite direction that the brawlers had headed.
"What if they come back?" Asked CK, not being annoying for once.
"Then I'll disguise us again." She said. "By the way, I'm Adrienne."
"Kilroy." Kilroy introduced himself absently. He was trying to figure out just how Adrienne had managed to hide the three of them from the brawlers, and he kept coming back to the same answer. "This is my friend CK."
After a few minutes, they reached her car, and they got in. Adrienne started up the engine, and looked at the two passengers. "Know of any place where we can get some coffee and talk undisturbed?" She asked.
"Uh, yeah. There's a Starbucks a mile or two from here. We could head there." Kilroy answered her question, and returned to his brooding, ignoring CK and his steady stream of chatter, as he contemplated all that had happened in the alleyway.
Once they had ordered their coffee, Kilroy asked his question. He'd done so even before Adrienne had mentioned anything about that heist she'd mentioned, but he felt that he would burst if he didn't ask her about it. "How did you do… whatever you did back in the alley?"
Adrienne looked at him, and at the intensity in his eyes. She'd known from the start that the question about how she'd saved them had been bugging him, and she'd just been waiting for him to ask. "How do you think I did it?"
He paused. Even CK was now watching his friend closely, wondering what he was going to say. CK had wondered about that as well, but hadn't had the chance to ask, or really even think about it just yet. Finally, he responded to Adrienne's question with another one. "Are you a… you know, a mut-"
"I wouldn't say that word out here, if I were you." She cut him off before he finished his question, and looked at the two men sitting in front of her. There was an intensity in her gaze that hadn't been there before. " People don't quite like their kind. But the answer's yes. And I know that you two are, as well."
Both CK and Kilroy looked at each other. So this woman was a mutant. And she knew that they were mutants as well. But hey, if she was a mutant, then maybe they wouldn't really have to worry about being found out. After all, they were in friendly company. Or, at least, company that seems friendly. In this business, you can never be too cautious. Kilroy thought to himself. And it was a great load off their backs- not having to hide their abilities; abilities that were a crucial part of his and CK's arsenal.
CK looked over at Kilroy, and seemed to read his friend's mind. CK leaned forward, and flashed his trademark smile at Adrienne. "So, you mentioned something about a heist?"
* * * *
Author's Notes:
Ok, I finally hauled my butt into completing this chapter. A thousand apologies to everyone for the extremely long wait (how long has it been? 3 weeks? A month?), but this chapter's been on the long side, so hopefully, that kinda makes up for it. I did think of stringing two chapters together, but that would mean that you guys would have to wait even longer, and I don't wanna keep you guys waiting any longer than you really have to.
Ewan .:Don't you think that they deserve more of an apology?:.
Ah, shaddup.
Ok, and now, the advertising section of this particular chapter!!! Yes, I realize that this is shameless and pointless as well, but I'm promoting stories by some other authors (and myself) on FF.net that I feel really deserve some more publicity.
Check out the story Sapphire Run, by Son Queso. If you like Buffy or Angel, you'll love this.
Check out xFreakx's interactive fic A Tenuous Trust. She's still only 5 chapters into the story, so even if you don't have a character, it won't be that hard to keep up. Besides, she's a fantastic writer, and it really doesn't matter if you don't have a character in her fic, because it's such a pleasure to read.
And lastly… I've written 2 more songfics in between chapters- a Zoids songfic based on the song Can't Get You Out of My Head by Kylie Minogue, and a Lance/Kitty songfic Ain't It Funny, based on the song by J.Lo. A fic with a dark twist, very unlike your usual sappy, romantic mush. So read and review!! For all the stories listed above!!
Oh yeah, and one more thing. Kilroy, if I'm portraying CK and Kilroy wrongly, tell me, ok? Also, all constructive feedback is appreciated.
Up Next:
Storm talks to a certain Cajun about this mutant crew that she hears is being assembled, while Kurt and Evan make things difficult for her without even trying to.