Erin sat in the back of the limo, seatbelt secured and holding her in place as her phone buzzed for the third time. She looked down at the illuminated screen on her phone displaying yet another text from her father, apologizing for his behavior. Erin knew it wasn't easy for Hank Voight of all people to apologize so she accepted the olive branch he extended and replied back, thanking him for swallowing his pride and doing that. It was the night before her wedding, the night of her bachelorette party, and she didn't want it stained by being mad at her father. Erin doesn't want to extend a useless argument, today is supposed to be a good day and she's going to do everything in her power to make sure it stays that way. She sets her phone back in her clutch.
"You're quiet over there," Kim called out over the music, "I even got the driver to play Britney Spears, Beyonce, Nicki Minaj and Katy Perry and you hadn't uttered one word. Whatever has you trapped in your head must be something serious. You thinking about the wedding? You nervous?"
"The more people ask me if I'm nervous about getting married, the more nervous I start to get about getting married," she purposely overlooks Kim's question, choosing not to answer it because she doesn't want to give that particular line of thinking any more attention, "and I'm not thinking about my wedding, I'm just day dreaming, nothing serious. Tell the driver to turn the music up!"
Kim does not need to be told twice. She knocks on the divider and waits for the window to lower before signaling for him to raise the volume. She pulls out her phone and restarts the last song that was playing through the speakers of the car. Bluetooth technology is a beauty and has saved the ride from becoming reliant on radio. Erin hums to the beat of the song, all while still trapped in her mind and then suddenly, catching everyone in the back off guard, she asks, "Hypothetically speaking, let's say that I do have some nerves that come and go, nothing serious but I find hard to shake sometimes. Nerves that make me question if I'm ready for all of this, to be someone's wife."
"I'm pretty sure that's normal," Annie leans forward to pat her friend's knee.
"How do I make them go away?" She poses the question yet Erin's the only person in the back of the limo that's about to be married. None of them actually have a leg to stand on yet that doesn't stop her from asking and it doesn't stop them from answering.
Kim, the jokester of the night, grows serious with her answer, "Remind yourself why you're getting married," she twists sideways in the seat to face her closest friend, causing for her red dress to rise a few inches, "say it out loud, tell us right now why you love him, why he's the one."
Erin didn't expect to be put on the spot. Each lady in her wedding party is looking at her expectantly, all waiting to hear the answer. And a part of her thinks she'll need time to think of what to say, but the answer just flows out of her like a current streaming down a river.
"I need him," she starts, gaze falling to her lap, her manicured nails tracing a nonexistent pattern on the skin of her thigh, "It's going to sound odd," Erin smiled, her gaze is off and she's not looking at anything specifically, "but he's like the screw driver that tightens all the loose screws in my head, he's my best friend," she bites her lip as more reasons crowd her mind, "he supports me in every sense of the word, he encourages me, he lets me be right," all the ladies smile at that, "he runs errands when I don't feel like it, he never expects an immaculately clean house or hot dinner on the table but when it does happen, he shows appreciation for it," guilt starts to suddenly fill her at the thought of even entertaining the nerves she had earlier, "he stands up for what he believes in, he's loyal, he's willing to try anything, he's tough and a softie at times, he's handsome, he gives some of the best advice, he listens when I need to vent, he makes me laugh, he values my opinion, he compliments me, he's really damn good in bed," her cheeks tint at that confession, "he has a beautiful smile, he's a man of his word, he'd do anything to keep me safe, I'm the first person he shares good and bad news with and he has a really good heart, one of the purest." Erin finishes and looks up to see each one of her bridesmaids looking at her, grinning because they know no further point needs to be made. The question Erin asked, Erin was able to answer it for herself.
"By this time tomorrow," Kim speaks loud enough to be heard over the music, "you'll be married to the man you just described." She covered Erin's hand with her own.
A man like that chose a woman like her, Erin immediately knocked that thought out of her head. It will lead her nowhere safe. A man like that chose a woman like her which means there are qualities about her that deserves him. She just might not be aware of them all right now. The limo pulls to a stop right outside their first location, a recently renovated nightclub with music so loud that it could be heard blocks over. Erin is the last to step out, standing a few inches shorter than the other ladies even in the high heels she's wearing. The highlights in her hair stood out with the neon sign of the club flashing in sync with the spotlight above their heads swaying side to side.
"This is our first stop," Kim announced, reaching inside the back of the limo to withdraw a bag, "and I have something for you," she pulls out a pink sash, "it says bride-to-be," Erin cringes as its placed over her head along with a matching tiara riddled in sparkling rhinestones, "lift up your arm," Kim directs, adjusting it so the words can be read perfectly, "there, it's perfect." The tiara is placed on Erin's head next by Annie while Kim pulls out another sash, this one purple with words saying maid of honor, "At least I don't have to be the only one drawing in attention," Erin sighs.
"…of course, I know you enough to know that misery loves company, I wouldn't force you to wear it the whole night if I wasn't going to wear one with you."
"Where's your tiara?"
"Sorry my dear Erin, you're riding solo on that."
"Of course, I am."
The ladies all turn to face the building, standing tall in front of them with a line wrapped around the side of it. If they have to stand in that, it's going to take all night to get in.
"So, this is our first spot, the limo driver is going to part in the lot, when we're ready to head to our next destination, we head back to our ride," Kim instructs.
"What is our second destination?"
"It's a surprise," Kim dismisses her friend's curiosity, "all of our destinations for the night will be a surprise so you might as well be patient and just go with the flow." She reaches for Erin's wrist and tugs her towards the front of the line, bypassing and skipping everyone that has been standing outside for the last hour or more.
"Are we skipping the line?" Natalie appears nervous, averting her eyes elsewhere because she doesn't feel comfortable doing this, especially as people groan their complaints.
"Yes," Kim waves to the bouncer standing at the door checking everyone's IDs, "that's Ray," she says as if the other ladies should know who and what she's talking about, "I met him and his brother in an official capacity," as a case manager is what's left unsaid, "I worked alongside their public defender after they got busted for petty theft. I connected them to services and helped them build their resume and long story short, Ray got a job here as a bouncer." Her story ends the second they reach the front of the line and after each of them flash their IDs, Ray unhooks the velvet rope and waves for Kim and her group to walk in, "thanks Ray and it's nice seeing you again."
"You too, don't be a stranger next time. I gotta catch you up on what me and Rob have been up to and you'd be happy to hear that it's nothing illegal."
Kim pats his shoulder, "Keep making me proud. I'll stop by and give you my number, text me and we'll pick a day to meet up and catch up."
Burgess leads their party of women through the crowd. Her arm hooked through Erin's to ensure they didn't get separated. The floors are illuminated by neon lights, providing a glowing pathway for her to get from one side of the club to the other. The music is loud, the bass booming so hard, they can feel the vibrations through their body. Annie is saying something, but no one can hear her over the music. Kim leads them to the stairs, roped off to separate the VIP section from the rest of the clubgoers. The rope is unhooked and each of them travels up the glowing stairs, one by one.
"Congratulations," one of the bottle girls says when she reads the sash draped across Erin's chest.
"Thank you," Erin replies, sliding into the booth. Her face is flushed, cheeks reddened as strangers passed their table and offered more congratulations. The sash was bringing too much attention.
"I ordered two bottles for the table to start us off," Natalie shouts over the music, "I say the bachelorette doesn't pull out her wallet at all tonight."
"I have no complaints against that," Erin voices.
"How about we start the night off with a shot?" Annie calls out, waving the bottle ladies over. She offers to pay, despite the look Erin has on her face, silently reminding her friend that she doesn't have to cover the cost, especially knowing how short on money Annie is, Erin knows Natalie and Kim wouldn't mind carrying the extra load, and if they did, Erin didn't mind helping out.
However, it seems Annie saved up for the night because she pays in cash. She even tips the bottle girl when a tray of empty shot glasses are placed center table, along with the bottle for them to fill up their glasses. It's more glasses than actual people but that doesn't stop them from filling up each one, and Erin takes it upon herself to grab two, "I have one for me," she downs the first shot without waiting for her friends, "and one for my Jay," she downs the second and then slams both glasses on the table as her face twists and torts up from the burn searing down her throat.
"Alright," Kim holds up her shot glass, "starting now, no more talking about the guys!" She takes her shot and Natalie, Olive and Annie take theirs in agreement.
"…but-" Erin prepares herself to argue because the only reason she's out tonight celebrating is because she's getting married tomorrow, she's marrying the person she's not allowed to mention.
"It's your last night as a single woman," Kim hollered over the music and flagged down another bottle girl, "Embrace it my sister! After tonight there is no going back!"
More bottles of champagne are ordered for the table and Kim and Annie take it upon themselves to pop the cork, holding them up in the air to ensure the spilling champagne doesn't drop on their dresses.
Natalie eagerly rubbed her hands together as she watched each of their glasses fill with their preferred beverage. She needed this break. And by the amount of champagne poured into her glass, nearly filled to the brim, she could tell this night was going to be one for the books. Right now, she isn't a doctor, a girlfriend or a mommy, she was simply a bridesmaid with no responsibility other than making sure this night was a blast for the bride-to-be. This carefree and relaxing feeling reminds her of the old adage about always making time for oneself. With work and raising a kid, the free hours of the day are nonexistent, so, Natalie is going to enjoy every moment of this night.
Kim cleared her throat, "I would like to make a toast."
"…not again," Erin muttered under her breath before taking a large swig of her drink.
Annie stood up, "How about I make the toast this time?" She raises her glass of champagne.
"…but I'm the maid of honor," Kim argued.
"Yes," Natalie agrees, "which is why you should save your words for the reception."
Kim retakes her seat, "You have a point."
Now Annie is left standing, holding up a glass and prepared to give an impromptu speech, "Um," she doesn't particularly like attention, she's far from comfortable with it but at least the only people looking at her are Erin and the bridesmaids, and the music's so loud that they may not even be able to make out all that she says, "tomorrow, my best friend is getting married," she pauses to think of her next words; Kim made this look so much easier earlier today, "and I can speak for all of us when I say we're so happy for you," she looks to Erin since that's who she is directly speaking to and when she sees a nod and a raise of her lips, she's comforted to know that her speech doesn't need to be perfect, "Kim knows this but I don't think Olive and Natalie do, but Erin is the greatest Sudoku puzzle solver ever," it's such a random thing to say that it fits Annie's speech, "I can't say what goes on in that head of hers, but she can solve a Sudoku puzzle like it's a first grade math problem," echoes of laughter surround their table, Annie smiles as she finds herself getting more comfortable with speech giving, "as Erin's closest friends, we've always tried to protect her from harm, it's what you do for the people you love, but tomorrow she's marrying a detective and it's comforting to know that she now has someone to take over that role. I love you girl, to Erin," Annie raises her glass along with everyone else as they all echo her sentiments; they clink their glasses together and each of them gulp down their drinks.
"I think," Natalie leaned forward as if she was telling a secret, "We should give dear Erin here some marital advice."
"…but none of you are married," Erin reminds.
"Still doesn't mean we haven't heard marriage advice that we can pass along," Annie argues, "and technically Olive was married at one point," yeah to Erin's brother. That part was left unsaid.
This topic wasn't worth debating so Erin simply sits back, holding the glass of champagne as she waves for them to give her what they have to offer. It wouldn't hurt. She'll either take it or leave it. Olive takes a large gulp of her drink before setting down her empty glass, raising her hand to offer to go first, "Jay is a great guy, but beware, once that ring is slipped onto your finger, you've adopted his family, and I don't mean just the immediate family. You've adopted every long-lost cousin, distant aunt, withdrawn uncle, all of them and I'm telling you, that's a lot of people who could pop up uninvited for Thanksgiving and Christmas or to randomly ask to borrow money."
Erin thinks back to the first time Olive volunteered to host Thanksgiving dinner, a few months into her marriage to Justin and that was definitely an epic failure. It left the poor woman crying in the middle of her kitchen with Justin trying to offer her some type of comfort. That holiday was definitely filled with relatives she hadn't seen in years, family members that remembered her but she couldn't remember them. Yeah, that piece of advice is definitely a reminder she needed.
"My turn," Natalie raises her glass and earns herself a refill, "this is a word of advice for relationships in general, not just marriage," this earns all of the ladies' attention, "if you want something done play the damsel in distress," she noticed a few confused expressions and clarified her meaning, "for example, our air conditioner broke a few months ago and I kept asking Will to fix it and he would say okay, but it never got fixed. So, I attempted to fix it, I did it badly, he came and showed me how to do it right. He got to be the hero and I got to enjoy beautiful AC."
"It's a win-win," Kim acknowledged, tipping her glass in Natalie's direction, "Smart."
"Or," Erin tips her glass and quirks a brow, "you just kindly suggest they're too old to do it. Or that they don't know how to do it."
"Ohhh," Kim taps her chin in consideration, "I never thought about that. I can see that working."
"I thought we're supposed to be the ones to give you advice," Natalie argued, crossing her arms over her chest, "although that is a good tip, I'll have to remember that. Anyone else got anything?"
"My mom used to say never go to bed angry. Stay up and fight all night," Annie offers.
Erin tilts her head, a questioning look crossing her face, "Now I've heard the first part, the second part of that doesn't really sound right though."
"Yeah, it's probably why my parents are no longer married," Annie shrugs.
"Okay, okay," Kim throws her hands into the air, looking around at each of her friends, "Does anyone else have any more advice they'd like to share or are we ready to party the night on?"
While Kim appreciates the words of advice they imparted to Erin, they didn't come out for the night solely for that. She brought Erin here to celebrate, to party and to have a good time. Erin didn't want marriage advice from her unmarried friends. She was just being nice and accepting their unsolicited advice. Kim's question seemed to jolt each of them back to the matter at hand, reminding them of the goal of the night being to have a good time. So, after adjusting the sash draped around her body and sliding out of the booth, they all rush to the dance floor.
"You dance like your mother," Erin laughs over the music as she watches Annie hit the running man. She was such an awkward, carefree dancer that you couldn't help but to enjoy the show she puts on. Out of pure fun, Kim and Olive start to mimic the dance movies Annie was busting out while Natalie pulled out her cell to record the three of them. Erin found herself hunched over, struggling to catch her breath as tears nearly swarmed her eyes at the sight of them. Annie may not like attention but it's something about dancing that helps to bring her out of her comfort zone.
A carefree night filled with laughter, drinks and interesting dance moves has the girls on cloud nine, each of them truly living their best life. The bar is crowded, the dance floor is packed and the table top seems to be the only place where Erin can dance freely without someone rubbing up against her. Erin doesn't know how she ends up on the top of their reserved table with her heels dangling from her fingers, but the way her hips sway to the music and how her hand runs through her head with every turn, she finds herself not giving a damn about it. She doesn't remember when or how she climbed up it but regardless of any of that, she's enjoying the moment. She's having fun. A lot of it! And Kim taking a picture of her having the best time of her life will serve as a reminder of a night that'll go down for the history books. Kim was having a good time, the best time, but that came second in her mind to the duty of maid of honor. She took this job serious. She stood near the table, cheering her best friend on all while shifting in the direction Erin moves towards, just in case her tipsy friend took a tumble. She'd never forgive herself if Erin got hurt the night before her wedding. And Jay probably wouldn't forgive her either.
"Please don't hurt yourself," Kim shouted over the music, pleading with her friend.
"How about you join me?" Erin hollered back, switching moves, "How about a little less worrying and a lot more partying? Show me what you got, Kimmy!"
Never one to back down from a challenge, Kim nods and takes it upon herself to climb up on the table to show her friend why it's best to never encourage her to dance. Both of their petite figures had enough room table top as they swayed and bust different moves, some that should be reserved for private but the old adage of dance like no one's watching seemed to be Kim's motto for the night as some of the moves she pulled out seemed reminiscent of the old days.
Natalie and Annie danced up against each other as the dance floor remained crowded with partygoers. They were center of the floor, twirling around as the colorful, techno lights flashed above their heads. Olive held two glasses of martinis in her hands as she swayed to the hard beat of the music. Kim had joined Erin tabletop, figuring the easiest way to ensure she didn't fall was to join her. Burgess fist is pumping in the air with her other arm wrapped around the waist of her best friend. Olive finished off one of the martinis and set the empty glass on the empty tray being carried around by one of the bottle girls.
"Hey!" She feels someone crowd her space from behind.
Olive looks over her shoulder to see a tall guy, sporting a chubby physique and a kind smile. His hands were tucked in his front pockets as he bashfully asked, "Want to dance?" He rocked back and forth on his feet when Olive gave him a once over. She swallowed the remainder of her last drink before setting that on another empty tray being carried past her, "Sure."
She introduces herself to him. He introduces himself to her. He remained at a respectable distance, his hands never wandering her body and his gaze never leaving hers.
"Do you come here often?" He shouts over the music.
"No, not really," she yells, being mindful of his feet so she doesn't accidentally step on them, "I don't get out much. Between work and my kid, it's not much time to do stuff like this." Briefly, the two of them manage to shout over the music, getting to know one another until they're unfortunately interrupted. Olive knows the bare minimum about this guy but she likes him enough.
"Hey Olive," Annie interjects apologetically, "sorry to interrupt, Kim's waving us over."
"My number?" He states, stumbling over his words.
She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, "Huh?"
"I want to give you it."
Olive sees Kim impatiently waving for her to come back to the table so she thinks quick on her feet and extends her phone to him, "text yourself from my number and save me."
The second numbers are shared, Annie wraps her hand around Olive's wrist and tugs her away, joining the rest of their girls seconds later. Erin is carefully being helped down by both Natalie and Kim by the time they've approached. Annie's feet hurt so she flops down at the edge of the cushion of their booth before tossing her head back, "I am definitely not as young as I used to be."
"Ladies, I hate to say this but no more drinks while we're here," Kim announced, aiding Erin in stepping back into her heels and strapping them around her ankles, "We have other places to go and I don't want you guys to be shitfaced."
"I thought you wanted me to enjoy my last night of freedom!"
"I do," Kim reached her hand out to steady Erin on her feet, "I'd just prefer for you to remember your last night of freedom. You don't have to get drunk to enjoy it. And besides, it's not going to be any fun having to get married with a hangover and I refuse to be blamed so I'm cutting you off. I'm cutting all of us off. None of us are drunk, we're just slightly buzzed, that's good for tonight."
"…then I think we should head to the next spot," Natalie voices.
"But-but we just got here," Olive exclaimed. She was having a good time, especially now that she met Jeff. She felt like sparks flew and their chemistry was intact. She wanted to stay a little longer.
"We've been here for almost two hours," Kim voiced.
"Really?" That seems to surprise both Annie and Olive.
"It feels like we haven't been here that long."
Annie shakes her head in disagreement, "I was going to say the complete opposite. It feels like we've been here way longer than that. Are you sure?"
"I'm positive," Kim chuckled, "but Nat is right, we have other places to go and if we want to make it there, it's best if we leave right now. I'll go close out our tab." She doesn't hang back to continue this conversation, she excuses herself while the girls gather their belongings and Annie adjusts the tiara on top of Erin's head, perfecting the position and further tucking the comb into place.
By the time Kim is back, Erin and Natalie are coming back from the restroom, deciding to go just in case the trip to the next location takes longer than intended. Once they've all regrouped, Kim is rushing and waving them out the door, each of them stumbling onto the empty streets of Chicago.
"What do you think the guys are doing?" Natalie asks, leading the group, facing the girls by walking backwards. She stumbles twice but it doesn't make her want to turn around.
"No, no, we said no guy talk while we're out. That wasn't just for Erin. It was for all of us."
"What about guy talk surrounding guys we just met? I got a number!"
Kim is intrigued, and whips her head to the side to look at Olive, "That's table talk at the reception tomorrow, but trust and believe, you better tell us everything tomorrow."
"What's his name?" Erin grins, nudging Olive's side.
"Jeffrey," she whispers, blushing bashfully, "he's a third-grade teacher. He's divorced. And he also has a kid, she's a year younger than Danny." Erin is so happy for her friend. Olive had been through a lot and she deserves happiness and if this guy can make her giddy like a high schooler after only knowing him for a few minutes and swapping bare minimum information about themselves to each other then she hopes it works out.
"…that's so sweet," Kim gushes before adding, "but seriously no more guy talk tonight."
Each of them jokingly gestures a salute to their leader as they continue walking down the sidewalk. Annie starts to trail behind the group while Natalie remains in the lead, no longer walking backwards to face them because the last stumble almost knocked her to the ground. Kim loops her arm through Erin's and leans her head against her best friend's shoulder as they follow behind Nat.
"How far away did he park?" Annie groaned, limping uncomfortably in her heels, "My feet are killing me," she cries out before deciding to kick off her shoes and carry them instead.
"The lot is technically around the corner," Kim answers, unbothered; her feet were fine, "since they planted this club in the middle of downtown, parking on the street only offers parallel parking and the parking lot itself is behind the building, "We can take a shortcut through the alley."
"Why didn't he just park on the main road?" Natalie rolled her eyes.
"…because he didn't want to get a ticket. Tickets are double this time of night."
Kim turned into the next alley, leading the ladies through the darkened backstreet only illuminated by one streetlight. If she was by herself, she'd never take this way, but being with a group of women, she felt more comfortable about taking this path. A man lying on a stack of broken boxes, appearing to be homeless, extended a cup as they passed, shaking it to request some loose change.
"Sorry, this is all the cash I have," Erin apologizes before dropping a dollar in the can. She doesn't carry around cash much, she usually sticks to using her card.
Another homeless man popped his head out of a tent, it reeked of urine as they walked by it. He didn't bother asking for money, with the way he was scratching and nearly nodding off, it was obvious that he was high and out of his mind right now.
"Let's speed this up," Natalie rushed, picking up her pace. And just as they near the end of the alley, another two men enter it from the far end, the way they just entered. The cover of darkness hides their silhouettes so the two men cannot make out the five women on the opposite side. They don't think anything of the men, guards are down because they simply think the men chose to take a shortcut through the alley as well, that is until Erin takes a look over her shoulder, spotting one man shaking down the man who she had given a dollar to and the other man tearing the tent apart of the homeless man that was high. What the hell is going on?
The second Erin witnesses one man lift the junkie off his feet and slam him into the nearest wall, she reaches for Olive and Natalie, pulling them back to seek cover behind the nearest dumpster. Kim and Annie follow. They still had a few feet to walk before they cleared the exit and they couldn't afford being spotted right now, not when weapons are brandished, "I hope you haven't been fucking using the drugs you're supposed to be selling for me!"
"It seems they got a little ruse going on," the partner growled, kicking the man Erin had given change to in the stomach, "use the drugs and try to beg for cash to make it seem like you've been selling it," he kicks the man again, this time in the face, nearly knocking him clean out, "you're short by more than half," another kick to the face that does knock the man out, "when majority of the supply is gone," he turns to face the man his partner is holding up against the wall.
"Use cuts profit," he withdraws the junkie from the wall and then slams him back into it, "I told you before I brought you on, never get high on your own fucking supply, I brought you on clean, now look at you," he tosses the man to the ground then spits at him, "fucking pathetic, you used more than half of the supply I gave you to sell and there is no profit whatsoever. What did I tell you when I brought you on, when we brought both of you on?"
The junkie coughs, shivering on the ground, "when you make a threat, you make sure to follow through on it," he scratches at his flesh and then coughs again.
"…and what was the threat we gave you?"
"If…if we-" he stutters either out of nervousness or due to the impact of the drugs, "screw y-you over, w-we die." Both men nod. Each man moves to one of the two on the ground, twisting the silencer around the barrel of the gun and aiming it forward. Neither man has an opportunity to beg and plead for their lives before the shots are fired.
Erin holds her breath and covers her mouth in an effort to limit the amount of noise she makes as she peers outward to figure out the best course of action. How do they leave this alley without being spotted? A couple who could barely keep their hands off of each other stumble into the alley from the opposite direction, accidentally alerting the two men. With no emotion evident on their faces, they take their weapons, reattach the silencers and take the couple out in the blink of an eye. The man and the woman didn't even see it coming and if they did, they were taken out before it could register about what they just walked in on. All the couple did was enter the alley for a quick and private make out session and it ended with them dying for it.
Natalie couldn't watch anymore. She turned to Annie, burying her head into her shoulder to block out the sight. The rest of the ladies were glued to the scene, watching in hope of taking advantage of them being distracted so they could get away. There was no obvious opportunity, no clear getaway that wouldn't risk their safety. A wheezing noise is heard, clearly indicating that one of the original victims was still alive. The doctor in Natalie wanted to act but she knew for the safety of her and her friends the best thing she could do is stay put. The wheezing gets louder and they see the man start to slowly crawl away, moving inch by inch in their direction. The men aren't concerned by it, they simply take small steps and follow behind. And just as he drags his knees under him, preparing himself to stand up, another shot rings out, catching Olive off guard and sending a terrifying scream that rips from her lungs. The scream was so loud that it not only startles the ladies but it draws in the attention of the two unmasked men standing just a few feet away.
Fuck.
One of the men, his head dirty blonde, the man responsible for kicking the face of the dead homeless guy multiple times, he takes a step towards the girls and when they turn to run, he growls, "Get them."
"Run!" Kim shouted at the top of her lungs. Each of them take off, Annie unintentionally leaving her heels behind in the alley, forcing her to run off bare foot, adrenaline kicking in as her feet beat the pavement. Each of the men fire off two shots, the closest one that hit was to the brick wall nearest Erin's head. They fire again, these shots further away than the last. Neither of the men have a clear shot because they've exited the alley but it doesn't stop them from holstering their weapons and taking off in the direction they last saw them flee. They aren't the first witnesses to see something they shouldn't see, past witnesses have been taken care of for being at the wrong place at the wrong time, and so will they.