Chapter 6

RING RING RING

"Hello?" Arnold said as he picked up his phone.

"Hey, Arnold." Harold's voice came cracking through the phone. He sounded like he was out of breath.

"Harold?" Arnold asked, his tone full of confusion." You do know it is 10:30 at night, right?"

"No, shit." Harold replied back with a huff." Listen, me and the guys are having a meeting over at my place. Wanna be here in five?"

Arnold rubbed his tired eyes." What kind of meeting is this Harold?"

"It's nothing, Arnold." Harold replied with a sniff." Damn allergies. Anyways, you'll just have to come over and figure it out for yourself."

Arnold sighed before sitting up in his bed. His body was mentally tired from working at the store and then going to the gym. He just wanted to stay in bed." Okay, Harold, I'll be there in five."

"Bye." Harold replied before ending the call.

With another deep sigh Arnold shook his head and ran and hand across his face." Let me go talk them out of trouble." He said to no one.

…

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

A few more seconds and the doorknob turned and opened with a quick tug.

"Helga?" Said a surprised Phoebe." You do know that it is ten thirty at night, right?"

"Yes, yes I know." Helga said as she rushed her friend inside." Can we talk for a minute?"

"Um, sure." Phoebe said in a not so sure tone." Come on, let's go up to my room."

The two girls quickly snuck up the stairs and into Phoebe's room.

"Okay." Phoebe said as she shut the door behind her." Now why did you feel the need to come to my house this late at night Helga? First of all, it's a Wednesday night. Second of all, It's dangerous out."

"Relax Phoebe, I drove." Helga said as she paced around the small table in her friend's room.

"Helga." Phoebe said, giving her friend a more concerned look now." Are you okay? Did something happen with your family again?"

"No no no." Helga said, shaking her head. She then ran her fingers through her long grown out hair." I've just done a lot of thinking over the past twenty four hours and I need to show you something."

"Well come, sit." Phoebe said as she sat down on her bed.

She knew her friend had been experiencing bad anxiety for the past year or so. She knew exactly what Helga needed to calm down. A nice long talk.

Helga looked at her friend reluctantly, before finally giving in with a huge sigh.

"Okay, I guess I can come sit." She replied as she slouched down beside Phoebe on the bed. She stared at the ground the entire time.

"Helga, it's okay." Phoebe said, putting a calm hand on Helga's knee." Whatever you need to talk about, or show me, I can handle it."

"I know Pheebs." Helga replied with a sigh. She then reached behind her and grabbed her backpack. She quickly unzipped it, and grabbed a piece of paper from inside.

"Just read this Pheebs." Helga said, sounding almost depressed as she handed the paper to her friend.

"Okay Helga." Phoebe replied in a lighthearted tone." Just give me a second."

"That's all you'll need." Helga replied with a huff as she stared out of her friend's window, and into the clear night sky.

…

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

"What's the password?" Harold asked from inside the house as he crept the door open.

"Password?" Arnold asked with a sigh." Harold, we're not nine anymore. Who needs a password?"

"How can I trust that you are actually Arnold?" Harold asked.

"Harold." Arnold said with an eye roll." It's me, Arnold. Can't you tell by my voice?"

"Well." Harold said, sounding a bit confused." What if you're just someone pretending to be Arnold?"

Arnold inhaled and exhaled a huge sigh." I brought Mr. Fudgeys."

"All right!" Harold exclaimed as he opened the door up wide, almost hitting Arnold in the process." Come on in, Arnold!"

Arnold walked in Harold's trashed home and followed him down to the basement.

There wasn't much to Harold's place. He had moved out of his parents place about a month ago. They were tired of him disobeying them and living by his own rules, so they told him to go find his own place to live.

And that is exactly what Harold Berman did. He found the smallest little shack he could find, fixed it up with help of his friends, and moved in. The rent of the building was one of the cheapest in town so Harold could easily afford to live there.

The small living space was occupied with four blue walls, the wallpaper being ripped down on all sides of it. A small toilet and shower were in the left hand corner of the small home with only a curtain to use for privacy. A small blue couch sat on the opposite side of the room with a small TV and gaming console laying on the floor before it. Trash and cigarette butts littered the floor all around, creating a junky living style that perfectly fit Harold Berman.

Arnold walked with Harold down the narrow stairwell to the basement. The boards whined under Harold's big frame as he and Arnold quickly made their way down the stairs. They finally made it down the staircase and found Sid and Stinky leaning down on a small table looking over something.

"Howdy, Arnold." Stinky said with a wave as Sid looked up at Stinky and frowned.

"Stinky, focus! Now, do you remember the plan?" Sid said, a look of disgust on his face.

"Uhhhh." Stinky hummed, scratching his head." You might want to remind me, Sid."

"Stinky, you idiot." Sid said as he ran the palm of his hand across his face." How many times must I repeat it to you?"

"Hey guys." Arnold said as he approached the table. It was set smack dab in the middle of the basement. It was set under a small, dimly lit light in the middle of the basement. The light flickered every few seconds, creating an eerie feel throughout the cool, damp room.

"Hey, Arnold." Sid said, not lifting an eye to even look at Arnold." Are you ready for the big hit?"

"The big hit?" Arnold asked, feeling his heart drop. He looked up to see the rest of the gang looking at him. A look of disappointment on Stinky's face." You guys aren't talking about the bank job, are you?"

…

"Well, what did you think?" Helga asked Phoebe as her friend placed the paper on her small table in front of her.

"Well, Helga." Phoebe said with a grunt." It seems that Arnold has a vendetta for Mr. Scheck."

"Yeah, no kidding." Helga said with a scoff as she placed her face in the palm of her own hand.

"Well, now I'm confused." Phoebe said as she gave her friend a concerned look." How does this concern you, Helga? And why did you wait until after school to talk to me about this?"

Helga sighed before turning to look back at Phoebe with a blank stare." You're going to call me stupid, Pheebs. And to answer your question, I didn't want Geraldo peeking his head in our business."

"Helga!" Phoebe said sternly." I would never call you stupid! And also, we could've gone somewhere private and talked about this!"

"I know Pheebs. I'm sorry I didn't tell you." Helga replied with a sigh as she turned to look back at the dark room before her." I let my hopes get back up yesterday."

"About what?" Phoebe asked, putting a concerned hand on her friend's shoulder." You know you can tell me, Helga. You tell me everything."

Phoebe just pretended she didn't know what Helga was about to say. They had in fact had this same exact talk many times before.

The pair sat in silence for a moment. Helga's face buried deep in her hands. All Phoebe could hear was Helga trying to calm down and catch her breath. Shaky breath by shaky breath, Helga was trying to calm herself. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest, hammering against the hard exterior or her sternum. She had to say something. She couldn't just leave Phoebe hanging.

"Pheebs." Helga said as she inhaled a long sigh. She held the breath in her lungs for a moment before finally releasing it. Letting the sweet air flow between her lips, warming them before she parted them once more." What is something you noticed about that paper?"

"What do you mean, Helga?" Phoebe replied with a confused look, picking up the paper." I mean, Arnold wrote it."

"No." Helga replied, dropping her head. She stared at the cold wooden floor of Phoebe's room for a second." What is something you noticed about the paper? Like errors and such."

Phoebe picked up the paper again and stared at it once again. Nothing but short breathing could be heard between the pair. Phoebe's bed let out squeak as Phoebe straightened her posture on her bed.

"It's a very well written paper." Phoebe noted." No mistakes at all. This paper is an easy A." She looked at Helga to see her friend still lurched over, looking at the ground. No looks, no remarks, no anything.

"Helga?" Phoebe asked, a bit worried about her friend.

Helga sighed and looked forward for just a moment. Holding her breath and scared to peep a single word. She had loved Arnold for so long. It was breaking her heart to think about what needed to be said. She ran a hand over her soft, freshly washed hair. Trying to take her time and stall over what she was about to say.

"Helga?" Phoebe asked again, the concern in her voice could clearly be heard.

'Screw it.' Helga thought to herself as she looked over at her friend. Phoebe could clearly see tears glistening in the moonlight in her friend's crystal blue eyes.

"What is the one thing we have learned about writing essays this year, Phoebe?" Helga asked again, hoping her smart friend could put the pieces together herself.

Fortunately for Helga, she did.

"To always write what you are passionate about." Phoebe answered almost instantly." To always write about what's on our minds. How does that relate to Arnold's paper?" Phoebe said, still looking confused.

"Pheebs." Helga said looking away from her friend and back the pale moonlight shining in the window. The FTI incident happened seven years ago."

"Yeah." Phoebe said, still looking confused." But how does that…" Her eyes suddenly grew wide. She looked at Helga with a shocked expression on her face.

"I asked Arnold to write about why the crime in our city had increased." Helga said, still looking forward to the window. She licked her lips and sucked in a breath. The cool air froze her lips so she licked them again to keep them warm.

"He wrote about the crime in the city, sure he did." Helga continued, sounding depressed as ever." But if you pay attention, he said Von Scheck's name over 12 times throughout the whole essay. He wrote about how Scheck had the police force wrapped around thumb. He wrote about all the new buildings Scheck had built instead of using his money for the better of the city. Hell Pheebs, he is basically calling Scheck out on his control over the city."

Helga took a deep breath, trying to hold it together at this point." And my dad works the man. That stupid son of a bitch works for Scheck and t-there's nothing I c-can do about it." Helga replied, her voice breaking from the tears rolling down her face.

Helga wiped at her face and tried to continue. But she couldn't, words couldn't come out right. She hiccuped like a newborn baby crying for the first time before feeling a warm embrace over take her.

"It's okay, Helga." Phoebe said as she hugged her best friend tight." Just calm down, we'll talk more later."

"T-thank you." Helga managed to get out as another sob escaped her. She didn't even care if she was crying in front of someone. She just needed to cry. Cry for a very long time.

…

"Wait a second, you guys are actually serious about this, aren't you?" Arnold asked as he looked at his friends in disbelief. Harold and Sid both had huge grins on their faces. To his left Stinky just shrugged and looked to the ground.

"Come on, Arnold." Sid replied, taking hand to straighten his green cap." Think about it. This could be huge for us. Maybe we could even get out of this shitty neighborhood and start a new life!"

Arnold just continued to look at Sid in disbelief. He still couldn't believe what he was hearing. Sure, he and his friends had done some crazy stuff, but they had never resorted to robbing people before. Especially a whole bank!

"I can't." Arnold said, backing up and shaking his head. He had to think about what was important." My grandparents, they're counting on me guys. My job at the wiggly piggly. It doesn't help much, but it's honest work."

"This is honest work." Harold replied back as he crossed his arms across his chest and glared at Arnold. He flared his nostrils and rolled his eyes," And besides, since when did you care about how honest our work is?"

"Well I-" Arnold tried to get out before he was rudely interrupted by Sid.

"Well." Sid said as he pointed at Harold." He does have a pretty good point there, Arnold. When was the last time anything that happened in this city was fair? I can't think of one time in the past seven years anything fair has gone our way!"

Arnold started to lose hope at this point, frantically, he looked to Stinky, who was looking at the ground in disgust.

"Stinky." Arnold said, hoping to get anything out of the lanky country boy." You can't tell me that you are okay with this?!"

The room got quiet. All eyes turned to Stinky. Harold and Sid crossed their arms and glared at the boys. Arnold just stared in disbelief.' There's no way Stinky would be up for this. Not with his dad in the condition he's in.'

Stinky just sighed as he shrugged. He looked up at Arnold with a grim look on his face. He didn't want to do this, but he knew what needed to be said.

"Arnold." Stinky said as he inhaled a sigh. He quickly exhaled the sigh and cleared his voice." I got to do this. My paw is gettin' worse everyday. I got to help him out some way, Arnold."

"That's my boy." Sid said with a wink as he turned back to glare at Arnold." At least one of us is loyal to the group."

"Stinky." Arnold said, a little taken back." There are more honest ways to make money. Just think about it man, this isn't right."

"Shut it, Arnold." Sid barked, crossing his arms as he continued to glare at Arnold." He made his decision, now leave him be."

Arnold took his eyes away from Stinky and glared at Sid. His eyes locked onto him. The two boys stared for just a moment. Sid raised a brow, almost like he was asking Arnold to say something.

"What's the problem, Arnold?" Sid asked in a snarky tone. The tone in his voice peaked his attention. It was almost like Sid was trying to threaten him.

"I don't have a problem." Arnold replied in a calm voice, raising his hands defensively in front of him. He knew there was no stopping them. They had been developing this plan for weeks now. It was just a matter of time before something like this was bound to happen.

Sid crossed his arms across his chest and glared at Arnold." Good." He replied, his breath steady. Keeping his nerve, he took a breath." Because like it or not, you are going to be a part of this job."

Furrowing his brows, Arnold looked up at Sid with a glare." I can not do this Sid." Arnold said in a calm, collective manner. He took a breath and licked his lips, trying to calm himself and not make a huge scene." I have my grandparents to look out for. It's too risky, man."

Harold crossed his arms and glared at Arnold now." Come on, Arnold, you're acting like this job is just going to ruin our lives."

"Harold." Arnold replied as he crossed his arms across his chest. He stood tall and firm, trying to hide the fact that his heart was sinking rapidly in his chest." We never agreed to be criminals! When this city went to shit all those years ago, we agreed to help fight the crime in this city. We swore on an oath to help keep the crime around here to a minimum!"

Arnold turned around and rubbed a sweaty palm across his face." But look at us now." He said with a sigh. His voice slowly dropping." Turning into the criminals we fear every single day."

"Oh shut up Arnold!" Sid argued back as he leaned down on the table." Scheck owns all of the banks in the city! If anything, we're just sticking to the original plan! Fighting and hurting the man that put all of this on us! Fighting the man that ruined our lives!"

Arnold sighed, he continued to face away from the group of boys. He looked up at the ceiling and closed his eyes. His heart was still sinking and losing hope by the second.

"You know." Arnold said with a strong huff." I never thought I'd say this. To any of you guys." Arnold said, his breath a bit shaky now." But I gotta walk away from this."

He took a step forward, but before he couldn't get any closer to the stairwell he heard a swift motion and clicking noise behind him.

Stinky looked up from the ground for just a second to look at the scene in front of him. His mouth hung open as he looked at the long, black pistol resting in Sid's hand. Harold just looked over and grunted a short laugh as he looked back to a frozen Arnold.

Arnold froze in his tracks not daring to move a muscle. Living this life as long as he had now, he knew that sound from anywhere. The smooth sound of a hammer clicking into place on a pistol.

"Don't walk away from me now, Arnold." Sid said, his tone as cool and calm as it always was.

…

Bob Pataki drove home in his wife's blue sadan. They had kept that same car over all the years. For years, Miriam had begged Bon to get them a new car. However, Bob just always found it too expensive to go look at all the new cars in the lot.

'Damn things are too expensive to buy.' Bob thought to himself as she scratched the itchy, grey stubble starting to grow on his neck." Damn." He said to himself." I hate shaving, but I guess I gotta look professional for the cell phone company."

Not long after the big incident, Scheck and Bob started to run the beeper empire together. Not long after, the beeper business was starting to see the end of the line. Nobody wanted to buy beepers anymore. It was all about the new and almighty cell phone.

So, against all Bob's wishes, Scheck turned the store into a cell phone empire. And not only that. There was even more. Laptops, gaming PCs, and other new and evolving pieces of technology started to head out of doors of the Pataki empire.

Bob snorted a laugh as he stopped at a red light." It isn't my empire anymore. Scheck had to take it from me and turn it into that damned mall he has now. Damn place isn't good for anything but attracting attention."

Bob sucked in a breath and held it for a second. He looked up at the red light and watched the light burn. Cars continued to cross the road in front of him. People trying to get home from their late jobs.

"I guess it's a good thing that it attracts attention though." Bob continued to speak to himself, his tone as blunt and short as ever." One thing I can say about Scheck is that he's one hell of a businessman."

He stopped at another red light before he felt a vibration in his pants pocket. He grunted as he picked up his phone to see "Bossman" as the caller ID.

"Criminy." Bob muttered to himself as he slid across the screen and answered the phone.

" Hey, Bossman." Bob said as he bit his tongue. He really misses being his own boss.

"Hey, Pataki." A familiar snake-like tone could be heard through the phone." Do you have a moment? Our work for the night isn't quite finished."

"Yeah sure." Bob responded with a grunt." What do you need?"

"A client of ours borrowed some money from us a few weeks back, and he hasn't taken the time to pay us back yet. Now, me being the loan shark that I am, I need to send you out to his place to… motivate him to pay us back." Scheck said with humor in his tone.

"Yeah, I know the deal." Bob responded with a laugh." Don't worry, I'll be over there right away."

"Good man." Scheck responded with a chuckle through the phone." He is located across town, down in the slums. Forty fifth street to be exact. You'll know it when you see it, an old, green, run down house."

"Got it. See you soon." Bob responded as he hung up the phone with a huff.

…

"Helga." Phoebe said as she patted her best friend's shoulder. She looked at Helga who was leaning down over the bed, face buried in a mess of her own hands and fingers.

"It's getting late." Phoebe said as she swallowed the lump in her throat." If you need to say something. You might want to start talking."

"Are you saying you want me to leave?" Helga asked bluntly. She didn't move a muscle to look at her worried best friend.

"No." Phoebe responded, calm as ever." I just want to talk, that's it."

"Okay." Helga said as she finally lifted her head to look at a worried Phoebe.

Phoebe saw the puffiness below her eyes and dark circles forming small crescents under her eyes. Phoebe sighed and spoke softly." Helga, just because your dad works for Mr. Scheck, doesn't mean that Arnold would get himself killed."

"You don't know that Pheebs!" Helga replied a little harshly. She really needed to tone it down. She saw the depressed look in Phoebe's eyes. One that said she was getting ready to give up talking to her.

"You don't know that." She said again, in a much nicer and lighter tone. She saw the look in Phoebe's eyes lighten up just a bit.

"Well Helga." Phoebe said as she pushed her glasses up on her nose again." Me and Gerald have spent a lot of time around Arnold recently. And sure he's still just as bold as ever. But, I don't think he would ever take the risk of getting himself killed over someone as powerful as Scheck."

Helga looked away from Phoebe for a moment to chew on her bottom lip.' Maybe she's right.' Her mind wandered.' Arnold is a bold kid, but he isn't that bold. At least I hope not. You know what, screw it. I'm tired of talking about it.'

"You know what, Pheebs." Helga replied, giving her friend a smile." Maybe you're right." She saw her friend's face light up with joy as she smiled at her. That's why Phoebe was her best friend.

"Of course I'm right, Helga." Phoebe said with a smile." Do you feel better now?"

"Yes." Helga replied with a nod." Yes I do." It was a half lie. She was feeling better now that she talked to someone. She still wasn't sure about Arnold, however.

Helga yawned and stretched out her shoulders. She rubbed her tired eyes and grunted.

"I'm tired, Pheebs." Helga said with a smirk." You think your parents will care if I stay the night here?"

"Of course not." Phoebe replied with a grin. It made her night to see her best friend at least half way happy again." Come on, I'll help you get a bed ready on the couch."

"Thank's Phoebe." Helga said as she sat up from the bed and inhaled a huge yawn.

…

"Sid." Arnold said as calmly as he could. He held his hands high above his head. Trying his best not to prod the bull in the room." Drop the gun."

"I will." Sid said in a snarky tone. He gripped the pistol tightly in his hand. " As soon as you agree to do the bank job with us."

"I- I can't." Arnold replied, the calmness in his tone starting to fade." Seriously Sid, my grandparents are depending on me. You know my grandmother is sick."

"Then this is the perfect opportunity for you." Sid said, his tone less snarky this time. Instead, his tone had more of a hopeful sound to it." Just think about it, Arnold. We make it big off of this job, you can afford all kind of medical bills for your grandma."

"Come on, Arnold." Harold said with a sigh." We've scoped out this job for weeks now, nothing is going to go wrong."

"As much as I hate to say it." Stinky said as he sighed as well." This job is going to work, Arnold. I know it. It's a very low security bank."

Arnold gritted his teeth.' They aren't going to listen to me.' He thought to himself.' So, maybe. Just maybe! If I go with them, I can stop them if anything gets out of hand.'

Arnold sighed and turned around with his hands still in the air." Okay." He said calmly. He tried to catch his breath as he nervously swallowed the lump lodged deep in his throat." I'll help you guys."

"Good boy." Sid said with a nod as he finally lowered his gun. He decocked the hammer back in place and laid it on the table before him.

Arnold looked over at Stinky and saw his friend staring at the ground, a look of disgust written all over his face.

"Now." Sid said as he clapped his hands together." Let's go over the plan, shall we?"

…

Bob Pataki closed the door to the sadan behind him and looked up at the green house before him. A small light could be seen through one of the windows down by the door, a small sheet trying to block its path. The green paint had started to peel from the sides of the large house.

"This is the place." Bob said to himself as he smiled and walked up the stoop ever since slowly. He gripped his large brown coat tightly with his hand. A chill ran down his spine from the cold night wind. He approached the door slowly and knocked on the door.

A few seconds later, a man opened the door. A small, frail, Caucasian man to be exact, with a huge mustache that dropped down to his chin.

He looked up at Bob and immediately tried to slam the door shut. However, Bob caught the door with a strong arm and held it open.

"You owe me and my business partner some money." Bob said with a serious look on his face." Now pay up, or else."

The man quit trying to close the door and looked up at Bob, petrified." Please, man." He said as he swallowed a nervous lump in his throat." I've been working day and night at the pizza place down the road. It's the only job I can get, man! Please just give me-"

Bob suddenly grabbed the man by the collar of his blue shirt and drug him outside. Bob slammed the door shut, picked the poor man up by his shirt, and slammed him against the door of his house.

"You borrowed money from Mr. Scheck, and your time is up!" Bob growled as he looked into the wide, scared eyes of the man." Now, where is the money Mr…"

"Thomas!" The man barely got out. He grabbed Bob's arms, trying to get away from him, but it was no use, Bob was much stronger than him." Mr. Thomas! Now please, sir! I-I don't have your money!"

Bob suddenly leaned back and punched the man in the face. The man's head recoiled to the left and he looked back at Bob with terror on his face. Blood was now seeping from Mr. Thomas's nose.

"Tell me where the money is!" Bob yelled at him, his face just inches from the terrified man. Mr. Thomas continued to struggle against Bob's grip but finally, gave up,

"Okay, okay." Mr. Thomas said with a depressed tone." All the money I have is stashed in my couch cushions. Just inside my living room."

Bob threw the man to the side and opened the door to the home.

"Stay here." He said with a grunt as he entered the home. Mr. Thompson just nodded his head rapidly and as he laid on the ground and watched.

A few moments later, Bob opened the door to the home with a wad of bills in his hand. He chuckled and looked at the man on the ground, who was currently crying.

"Looks like you were lying." Bob said as he grinned." Things could've gotten uglier for you if you hadn't spoken up."

Mr. Thompson just looked up at Bob with tears in his eyes."Y-your a sick man sir." He got out with a stutter.

"I've been called worse before." Bob replied with a shrug as he shoved the wad of bills in his brown coat.

"Have a good night sir." Bob said with a nod as she walked back to the blue sadan.

Mr. Thompson just watched as Bob Pataki drove away and left him in the dust. He let out a small sob as the car slowly faded from his view.

Author's note:

Hey guys! Back with another chapter update! And another note from me! I just wanted to take the time and say thank you so much for all the support from the last chapter! It mean so much to me that all of you stayed here for my return, and it was a very warm and comforting welcome back into the community. So, thank you for that!

Anyways, I hold you all enjoy the chapter! I'll be back soon with more updates!