Martin stared down at his computer in utter rage. Every one of his recent clients was now arrested and in jail. Every. Single. One. Not only were they all in jail but he hadn't seen a fucking cent from their crimes. Martin was the underground car dealer you needed wheels for a crime you came to him and until recently his record had been spotless! All of his clients were happy and he was rolling in the green, but now that had all come to a screeching stop! With all these robberies going belly up it was only a matter of time before those punks squealed. Knowing this many of his men had abandoned his sinking ship.

The only workers he had left were those who had no idea of his underworld dealings. As Martin lamented his turn of fortune a knock drew his attention. He looked up and broke into a small smile the one good reason he had to smile right now was his daughter. Marie stood in his doorway in camo shorts and a black t-shirt with blue and white sneakers. Marie had started spending more time with him over the last few weeks and even with everything going on he couldn't help, but thank God he could spend time with her. Martin regretted nothing more in his life than missing out on Marie's.

She was his baby girl and he wanted to see her grow up but he just couldn't let go of his life of crime and it had cost him. Marie had transformed from a small blue-haired infant to a grown woman in what felt like to him a blink of an eye. "Hey, Dad," Marie said as she sat on the other side of his desk before looking around and seeing a major deficit of manpower in her father's shop. "Slow day?" She asked as Martin sat back and sighed.

"Something like that I've lost a lot of repeat customers recently, fewer customers means less money, and less money means fewer mechanics." He said shaking his head. With his side business he'd been able to pay his men far more than most mechanic shops, but with that drying up there had been some pay cuts so of course, his guys started leaving left and right. One of the many reasons they had done so. As they sat there talking Martine heard the garage door open loudly. He stood up and looked out the office window seeing a short man walk in before shutting the door.

This man wasn't one of his workers. "Marie, stay here." He said walking out of his office and snagging a tire iron as he did so. "Look pal we're closed so come back tomorrow." He said as the smaller man gave Martin a large smile. Martin looked over the shorter male. His dark blue hair was slicked back and his eyes were hidden behind thick shades. The boy was dressed in a button-down gray shirt and black jeans with some freshly bought sneakers completing his attire.

"I suggest you put that down Marty you don't want things to get ugly for your daughter do you?" He asked as Marie let out a short scream. Martin whirled around seeing a giant holding his daughter in a choke hold physically lifting the smaller girl off her feet. This new threat was tall dressed in a red and white hoodie a black T-shirt that stretched across his muscular chest and jeans and heavy boots adorning his feet. Martin could see the strength in the man's frame even if he could attack the figure he wasn't sure he could win the fight.

"Now then let's all calm down and talk." The shorter one spoke as he hopped onto a nearby stool. "You're in trouble Marty plain and simple. Your boys have left you, your side job is drying up after all those failed robberies. Every thug and purse snatcher knows the cops are hot on your trail. It won't be long before they kick in your door and haul your ass away. They might snatch up your little girl too because who's going to believe she didn't know what the fuck you were up to."

Martin grit his teeth as he dropped the tire iron and pulled the gun from his waistband aiming it straight at the short man in front of him. "Shut your fucking mouth! Tell Mongo over there to drop my daughter before I open another air hole in your head!" Martin shouted as the shorter man just sighed. Martin heard a wheeze from behind him and turned to see Marie being squeezed by the giant.

"Feel free to shoot me Martin hell feel free to shoot both of us, but before you do just know that our boss is expecting a call from us in a designated amount of time. If we don't answer he'll dump all the evidence we have on you at the cop's doorstep. Now how do you think that's going to go down? They show up at your place of business and find two freshly killed bodies. You'll be on the run for the rest of your life if you're lucky. If not you'll be gunned down in front of your daughter like a rabid dog." The short man explained and even though he'd love to blow the fucker's head off Martin could not deny his logic. He'd be dragging Marie into his manhunt or she'd see his gunned-down corpse on the news.

"But it doesn't have to be that way, Martin. My employer can get this entire shit show wrapped up nice and clean." Martin lowered his gun hearing Marie catch her breath as the large man lessened his grip. Martin turned around to the shorter man and glared at him but made no other move. "Good, you're listening because you're smart. Now instead of being gunned down like a sitting duck, you can give us your business. Sign over this place to your lovely daughter and I'll tell you where a clean car is parked. In that car, you will find a bag of money a nice severance package if you will."

Martin's eyes widened at this proposal. This can't be real can it? He asked himself. No way they're not gonna just kill me or set the cops on me as soon as I start driving. From where he sat the short man smirked.

"I can see the wheels spinning in your head my guy and true we could do just what you're thinking and take the whole pot. Personally, I think that's the better idea rather than giving you the chance to show up and be a pain in our ass down the road, but this is the way my employer wants it to be. We could also just wait for the cops to kick in your door and haul your ass away to prison and then buy this place off the market for cheap. Either way, you're out of the picture so what's it gonna be?" Martin looked back at Marie in the large man's hands and then at his shorter partner.

The writing was clear as day. "You guys botched all those heists didn't you?" He asked though he already knew the answer. The short guy shrugged.

"Maybe we did, maybe we didn't but that's in the past this is your future." He said. Martin just shook his head.

"Fuck it you win." He said turning and heading into the office where he got the deed of ownership of this building. He signed his name on the X and he couldn't help, but think this was all too similar to those stories of folks selling their souls to the devil. He looked up into the reflective shades of the shorter fella and swore he saw a deep glow behind them as he smiled at Martin. Martin walked into the office and snatched the deed out of a drawer before signing his name to the paper and tossing the deed to the floor between him and the short guy.

"There, now where's this car?" He asked as he was tossed a phone and a key fob with an address punched in and ready to navigate him there.

"I'd hurry that phone's only at like ten percent before it dies." Shades said as Martin looked down seeing the red battery. He moved towards the door casting his eyes at Marie before looking back. "You better not hurt my fucking daughter or the deals off!" He shouted as the short man picked up the deed smacking it a couple of times to remove any dust from it.

"Don't worry as soon as jailbait over there signs the deed she's free to go as long as she keeps her fucking mouth shut she'll never hear from us again." Martin stared down shades before bounding through the door. He'd abandoned his daughter again, but at least this time he did it for a good reason. She was better off without him. He'd rather never see his daughter again and know she's safe than put her in danger and see her every day. Guys like him didn't deserve a family.

Martin ran down the sidewalks crossing several city blocks before coming to a white sedan. He unlocked the car and slid into the driver's seat. Looking over he saw a bag on the passenger floorboards. Martin tore open the bag seeing several thick stacks of money piled into the bag. Even in this situation he couldn't help but smile. He cranked the car seeing it roar to life and saw that the gas needle was nearly on E. "Gee, don't treat me too nice guys." He said before pulling out of the parking lot and onto the street heading for the city limits.


Eddy stood at the window with his phone propped up using the camera to watch Martin leave. "That was really good acting Eddy," Ed said laughing before Eddy held up a finger and hissed at him to be quiet.

"We can't be sure he's actually leaving Ed." He said before Eddy's phone's speaker came alive with Double D's voice.

"He's in the car and heading away I'll let you know if he doubles back." Double D said as he sat in front of his computer watching a red dot drive through the city. What they had neglected to tell Martin was that there was a tracker placed on the car with a range of two hundred miles. If Martin or more specifically that car entered the city limits within the next six months Double D would be alerted.

"Let me go already you lummox!" Marie shouted jerking herself out of Ed's grip before rubbing her neck. "Did you have to be so damn rough!? We were just acting!" Marie shouted as Eddy scoffed.

"Bitch please it's not like Ed's the first guy to choke you. Mad because he got to do it for free? How much does a hoe like you usually charge a guy to choke you?" Eddy teased her before another voice spoke over his phone speaker.

"Remember that's my sister you're talking to Eddy and I don't like what you're saying," Lee said as Eddy scoffed.

"Bite me, Lee. Anyway, Sockhead are you getting a good view of what we're working with?" Eddy asked as he panned his phone's camera around the auto shop. Double D looked as the image scrolled across the screen as he brought up the city's blueprints of the building.

"I'd say it's more than suitable to our needs or at least I would if I knew what our needs were. What are we going to do in this place, Eddy?" Double D asked having not been able to figure out Eddy's scheme. Eddy laughed.

"So glad you asked Sockhead," Eddy said pushing the rolling chair across the shop until he was sitting at Marie's side sliding her the Deed. "Now that daddy's little girl owns the place we're going to pick up where he left off. We're going to offer premier gear to criminals from all walks of life. From thieves to if we're lucky hitmen." Eddy said as he smiled like a madman

Double D scratched his head. "Well, there's plenty of space for a workshop so I don't see any problems. I'll head over now and take a look around with my own eyes and see if any renovations need to be made." Eddy looked at Ed.

"You think you can handle renovations monobrow?" Eddy asked as Ed gave a thumbs up.

"No problem Eddy construction is my thing." He said as he grabbed a nearby screwdriver and twirled it between his fingers. Ed had spent nearly every year since dropping out of school on construction sites. Tearing down and building up houses. The work was easy and after a while, he found he had a talent for it. Eddy smirked.

"Nice, we'll see you when you get here Double D," Eddy said before hanging up. "Better head over to city hall Marie needs to beat the rush." Marie looked at Eddy and stood up. "Alright, but don't think you can order me around." She said as she left. Ed watched her leave before looking at Eddy.

"Say Eddy why did you tell Marie's dad you had a boss were you talking about Double D?" He asked as Eddy laughed.

"Don't get me wrong Ed Double D is definitely the brains of this operation, but I'm the head, but ol' Martin didn't need to know that. If he thinks me and you are simple runners then he's less likely to come after us. If he does happen to come back and wants revenge he'll be hunting after someone who doesn't exist. I heard this in a movie once, the only thing worse than no information is misinformation. Ed smiled at Eddy's clever plan.

"Nice going Eddy," Ed said as he sat down on a workbench. "So what are we going to do with Martin's legit workers not to mention all the cars that still need to be worked on?" Eddy rubbed his chin and then shrugged. "Eh, we'll have them finish as quickly as possible. Let's have them compete for it. Whoever finishes the work on the most cars gets a bonus and then we fire them." Eddy said as Ed raised a brow.

"We could do that, but why not hire some of them instead? I mean Double D is smart, but he's still only one guy. He can't do all the work by himself. This isn't the cul-de-sac where we had a small customer base. If you want us to get as big as you think we can we're going to need more hands." Ed said as he dropped the screwdriver onto the table. Eddy thought about what his friend said and nodded.

"You've got a point Ed I think we should have ourselves a little job fair," Eddy said with a smirk.


Double D arrived within half an hour on his moped. He climbed off the small machine and walked into the auto shop. Ed was standing over the engine of a car with his phone on. He was watching it intently before turning to Double D. "Hey Double D." He said turning off his phone and walking over.

"Hi Ed what were you doing?" Ed scratched his head.

"Nothing really messing around with this clunker apparently the owner's left it here for too long. Martin was going to scrap it, so I figured I'd fool around with it. Maybe get it going again." Double looked quizzically at Ed.

"Why Ed we have enough money for you to buy a brand new car if you wanted. There no need for you to try and get a heap like that up and running." Ed nodded at Double D's words.

"Yeah I know, but I mean you and Eddy both have your own things that you're good at, and well aside from manual labor, I'm not all that skilled. Move this, lift that I want to be something more than a forklift, so I figured I'd take a crack at this. I mean I can't make it any worse now can I?" Ed asked as Double D looked at his friend.

It was true that Ed was not the brightest of the three and growing up he was often relegated to the heavy lifting of their schemes. Still, Ed was probably the most sensitive of the three. He really cared for Eddy and Double D. Double D smiled.

"You know what Ed that's a good hobby to take up. I think I have some books on vehicle maintenance I can give you." Ed smiled at his friend.

"Thanks, Double D, oh Eddy's out doing some house calls and Marie went to city hall to get everything switched over to her, so it's just me and you. What do think?" Double D looked around as measurements flew across his eyes.

"I think three long workbenches as well as that wall dedicated to tools. The good thing is we have all the tools from Martin's trade so that's a good jump start. I'm more concerned with security I'll have to install a system." Double D walked into the office looked at the setup there and shook his head. "This will not do either." He said taking out a notebook and writing things down. Ed went back over to the junker and pulled out his phone to begin working on the absolute wreck of a vehicle.

Over the next month, the Eds began their renovation of the auto shop. Slowly but surely the cars were pushed out and replaced with work benches littered with blueprints. Several shelves of tools ran along the back wall. Double D himself installed the security system with cameras around the exterior of the building. Motion sensors adorned the inside as well as a few well-placed cameras. This all led to a central hub in the office. From there anyone could watch the entire building without hardly having to turn their head.

While Double D worked on the building's function it was up to Eddy to work on its fashion. No way were he and his boys working out of some shit-faced place. Eddy enlisted the Kankers to help with this as they gave the place a new coat of paint the windows were given one-sided glass allowing them to see out but no one to see in. Then there was the final touch. Eddy had commissioned a neon sign to be made, and with Ed's help, he was able to get it into place.

After a long month of hard work, the building was finished. On the outside deep green paint swept across the bottom of the building ending at the bottom of the windows and transitioning into stark white, but the crown jewel of the shop was the neon sign. The Eds and Kankers stood across the street from the shop as Eddy pressed a button. The sign sparked to life drenching the street in its neon glow. The sign was an outline of Ed, Edd, and Eddy each smiling and beneath it read Ed's Tech services. Ed's eyes widened in.

"Oh, boy Eddy that's awesome!" The large man said through his massive grin. Double D also gave a small smile seeing himself outlined in bright neon.

"I must admit Eddy as impractical as it is the sign does bring the whole place together." Double D gave a nod before hearing the loud pop of a champagne cork.

"Fuck yeah it is. I promised you we'd make it big boys and it doesn't get any bigger than this!
He shouted pouring six glasses of champagne. "A toast to me and the boys!" He shouted raising his glass quickly followed by the other five members of this cabal. Everyone knocked theirs back giving a hard sigh as the alcohol seared their throats. "Alright only one drink, for now, this is the grand opening and we have quite the crowd coming. I've worked my ass off to get these fuckers here and I can't have us getting sauced before we start." He said walking into the shop.

Gone were the grease and oil stains replaced with clean tile. The tools glinted with fresh polish under the fluorescent light but the star attraction was the center table. It had four sets of the noise machines Double D had created or Screechers, as Eddy called them. Piled around them, were the light spheres nicknamed Ravers also by Eddy. "These babies will be our openers but Double D has plenty of other gadgets ready for sale, but they don't need to know that. I'm thinking we unveil a new invention every month to start off. After all, if you're not on the cutting edge of crime you're on the edge of getting arrested."

Eddy smiled at his cohorts before swinging over to Lee and his sisters. "How about giving the customers a little eye candy after all it'd be a shame to not show off the new drip, and nothing sells product more than a sexy lady holding it." He cackled. Lee swept a lock of her hair back from her eye and looked down at Eddy before winking.

"I think me and the girls can handle that. Come on girls let's get ready." She said walking and swinging her hips to the backroom to change.

"That goes for us too boys we need to clean up pronto," Eddy said as he jumped slinging his arms around his friends' necks and moving them towards the central office before slamming the door behind them.


Carl Santino pulled up to Martin's former place of business. He'd liked Martin the guy who did good work, but then he'd started fucking up and Carl had to withdraw his business. Martin had been too hot to work with he was sure most of the other bosses felt the same way, but now there was this new crew on the street. One of Carl's boys had been approached by some shorty with word of a new business about to hit the streets. Carl was a cautious man and that caution had insisted he'd get a good look at these youngsters. He stepped out of his car accompanied by two of his guys.

Carl was dressed in a deep purple shirt and black slacks with the cleanest boots. As Carl shut his car door other cars began to arrive. He knew each of the arrivals if not personally then by reputation. Out of a black Yukon exited a black man with thick dreadlocks. He wore a jacket outside of a grey button-down shirt decorated with a skull pattern. He too was accompanied by two of his enforcers. Jackson Storm or as he was known on the street Dreadnaught. Jackson looked at Carl and gave a smirk displaying one of his gold teeth.

Out of the next car, a green jeep jumped a red-haired man, the youngest of the three Samuel Stone, Irish. Music blared from the jeep as three other youngsters jumped out whooping and hollering like madmen. Carl just shook his head as Jackson laughed at the youths. Lucky Sam and his boys had been running amok through the city for more than a year now snatching up territory for themselves. Sam and his gang were the reason that Carl felt he needed to be more cautious. Carl had overlooked them when they first came onto the scene thinking they'd fizzle out without causing him any trouble, now they'd almost risen to his and Jackson's level.

Carl couldn't allow that to happen a second time with these Eds. After the three biggest players in the city arrived was a plethora of crumb snatchers hardly worth mentioning. As they began to group outside the shop one of the bay doors was opened and there stood three young men. Carl wouldn't place them any older than twenty-five. The shortest of the three young men was dressed in a black suit with a golden pattern throughout. His deep blue hair was swept back the telltale sheen of gel in his hair.

The man of average height was dressed in a suit as well in the breast pocket were an assortment of pens. His suit was deep blue with white vertical stripes. His blonde hair was swept back away from his face held in place by a beanie the seemingly incongruent piece of clothing strangely didn't seem out of place on the young man. The final was a tall man even taller than Jackson. He wore a suit as well that strained around his considerable bulk. His long deep orange hair flowed down to his shoulders like a burning river.

Despite their youth, the three boys held themselves with distinct professionalism. "Gentlemen, sorry for the wait, please come in and see what we have in store for you at Ed's Tech Service!" Eddy shouted ushering the gang bosses into their place of business. Tonight was the night everything hinged on this.