Shadow Games

Chapter 4 – The Job

When Friday morning finally arrived, Ryan could just feel the electricity in the air. Tonight was the night of his first contract. Sunset would find him at the designated spot behind the old textile mill to pick up his assignment. He hoped everything would go smoothly. Vince paid out a lot of money to his drivers. It was the only reason Ryan went to him for work in the first place. Another job or two and Ryan would have enough money to take care of himself for a while. The thought of leaving Chino even crossed his mind again. But there was no use daydreaming just yet. The job still had to be pulled off and any good car boost knows that anything can go wrong at any time…the money wasn't his yet…

Walking down the busted up sidewalk, Ryan surveyed the old building through the rusty chain-link fence. The mill was a strange place. It was definitely not a place you wanted to be caught in after dark. It had been shut down several years earlier, leaving nearly four thousand workers without jobs. Being one of the biggest plants around, its demise practically paralyzed its surrounding community and it was particularly devastating to Chino.

Now people just used the grounds to work out their frustrations. They'd abandon their unwanted cars and trash there. The gangs roamed the building as it if were their own. It was no longer a shock to learn a body had been discovered on the premises. And prostitutes used the unsecured building as a free hotel. If the mill could talk, the stories it could tell would be staggering.

When Ryan rounded the corner, he spotted Vince and another guy near the middle of the block. Wisely he kept his head down and kept walking.

As Ryan neared his employer, his heart pounded. Sure he'd stolen cars before but they were always for fun, just because there was nothing else to do. But this was different. This was a job and he had people to answer to. Not to mention there was money on the line…a lot of money, and Ryan wanted it so bad he could almost taste it.

"Now see Jimmy, here's a guy here," Vince pretended, incase they were being watched. "I bet this guy doesn't have a care in the world, do you buddy?"

Ryan smirked at the game being played. "Nope. Not me. Just looking for a cold beer and a game of pool."

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Vince laughed. Raising his hand, he offered a macho hand lock with Ryan as he walked by. "You have yourself a good night my man." Vince gave Ryan a knowing look when he let go of his hand.

Continuing down the sidewalk, Ryan shoved his hands in the front pockets of his jeans, secretly cupping a slip of paper in his hand. A sneer formed on Ryan's lips…the clock was now running.

Back in Trey's apartment, the brothers heartily devoured their dinner. Trey was pleased to see Ryan eating a second helping of food. He never did that. Then again, there wasn't anything that Dawn ever cooked that warranted a second helping.

As the meal was coming to a close, "What?" Ryan asked, noticing his brother was staring him.

"Nothing. Just be careful tonight man. You're the only little brother I got." A quick smile flickered across Trey's face but disappeared just as quickly.

Ryan was caught off guard by his brother's protectiveness. He could see Trey was concerned about the evening's plans.

"I'll be fine. It's not like I haven't…"

"Don't give me that Ry. You've been working cons long enough to know to expect the unexpected. Anything can go wrong at any time. There's always one element of the game you can't control. Just watch your back tonight."

"I'll be fine," Ryan reiterated with a bit of cockiness behind it. Rising from the table he took his dish to the sink, his confidence momentarily unnerved by Trey's comment. He glanced at his brother, still sitting at the table, and couldn't help but question his motivation for making such a comment. Letting his eyes search the counter, Ryan had to admit to himself that his brother was right…and he hoped, again, the night would go off without a hitch.

It was around three a.m. when Ryan located his contract. An electric blue Camaro Z28. Granted it was an older model but the owner had kept it in tip-top shape. It would be worth quite a bit in the underground market of stolen cars.

Ryan stood in the shadows, monitoring his surroundings. There was a dog in the next yard on the left and the people in the house on the right were still awake in their living room, curtains and windows wide open. He'd have to be really careful not to draw any attention.

Reaching into his back pocket, he retrieved his gloves, a screwdriver and his knife…tools of the trade. Keeping an eye on the dog he slowly walked up the driveway and hunched down next to the front tire of the car. Reaching under the wheel well, he felt along for the wires controlling the cars alarm system. Once he found them, he pulled against them with his knife, disarming the car.

A door slamming followed by voices and laughter forced Ryan to drop against the pavement. Casting a glance at the dog, he was relieved to see he was still undetected by the animal. Ryan was smart enough to know even if the dog hadn't physically caught sight of him yet, he knew Ryan was there just by his scent. It was only a matter of time before the dog would be set off, barking.

The car owner's home remained dark and quiet. No problems there. Lying on his stomach, Ryan looked under the belly of the car and uncovered the source of the distraction. People leaving the house next door were saying their goodbyes and piling into their cars.

"Doesn't anyone in this town sleep at night?" Ryan muttered to himself, aggravated by the set back.

He was thankful when the cars drove away in the opposite direction. Peering around the front of the car, Ryan watched as the owner next door drew his curtains and shut off his lights.

Deciding he'd wasted enough time Ryan went back to work and gained access into the car. Stripping the steering column as his brother taught him, Ryan prepared the car to be driven without a key. With the driveway on a slight incline, Ryan eased the car into reverse and let it roll slowly out onto the street. With a crank or two of the steering wheel, the car was poised to take off down the road once he got the engine running. This was it. One more step and the first part of the job would be done. The car would be his. Forcing the screwdriver into the ignition, Ryan held his breath and turned it…and the car rumbled to life. Dropping it into gear Ryan drove away. He'd pulled it off without so much as making the dog bark.

On the other side of Chino, Ryan put his feelers out again as he reached the drop point. He hadn't passed a single police car on his way here, which he thought was odd. Not that Chino had a grand police force, but still. Chino was a city that more alive at night than during the day and the night hours usually kept the police department jumping.

Pulling to the curbside roughly a block away from the entrance to the rail yard, Ryan put the car in 'park' and turned off his lights…and just watched. It took several minutes before he noticed a car coming at him. Suddenly the headlights went out and the car meandered through the gates to the rail yard. It must have been one of the other contracts. Rolling his car forward, Ryan pulled closer to the entrance where he could get a better look at the drivers, or see if any of the guys were leaving the rail yard. Trey had told him to watch his back and that's exactly what he was doing.

Ryan stole a peek at the car's clock, it was nearing four-thirty in the morning. When he looked up there was a half a dozen guys pouring through the gate of the rail yard, several running in his direction. Immediately Ryan shut off the car and pulled his screwdriver out of the ignition. When he looked up again Vince was one of the guys running towards him.

"Ryan! Run! It's a sting! Leave the car! Leave it!"

Expect the unexpected…and here it was. Bolting from the car, Ryan took off in a separate direction from the pack of guys that just went running by. When it came to avoiding the police, there was not safety in numbers.

Cutting through the houses, Ryan tripped over fences and ran into swing sets. Finding a nook behind a broken down old shed, he paused for a minute to catch his breath. He could hear the engine of a police car being gunned as it came down the road and then paused on the adjoining street. A white searchlight scattered through the bushes, dancing dangerously close to Ryan's hiding spot. He didn't so much as flinch until he heard the cop car speed away. The area was hot. He had to get out of here as fast as possible.

Listening carefully, he made his move and bolted from behind the shed. He rounded the counter of the house only to be clotheslined by a waiting police officer.

"Hold up kid! Stop fighting!" the cop demanded trying to hold Ryan down. "Stop resisting!"

Ryan on the other hand wasn't going down that easily. He wrestled against the officer as hard as he could. If he could just get his legs free, he could get some momentum. But before he was able to get the upper hand, additional officers arrived on the scene and it didn't take long before they had him pinned to the ground.

"Easy kid, easy. Let's not do this the hard way," one of the officers said, trying to calm Ryan down.

Defeated, Ryan stopped fighting. He knew he was strong but against four officers? No way. It couldn't be done.

"What's your name kid?" the quiet officer asked.

Ryan only glared at him, adrenaline coursing through his veins. Right now, consequences of the boost weren't running through his mind…the money he lost was running through his mind. Ryan inhaled deeply with each breath, trying to control his frustration.

"I'm going to find out anyway, may as well cooperate," the officer pressed.

Knowing damn well they'd find out who he was when they got to the station, through previous arrests and fingerprinting, Ryan decided to cooperate for the time being, if for no other reason, than to get all these people off of him.

"Ryan…Ryan Atwood," he admitted.

"Ryan, okay that's a start. Now Ryan if we let you get up, you're not going to do anything stupid are you?"

"No, I just want everyone to get the hell off of me," Ryan versed, pissed off.

The officer eyed Ryan a moment, trying to feel out the truth. "Alright guys, let him up."

One by one the officers stood up but kept close proximity to Ryan just incase he got any bad ideas. Once they had Ryan on his feet, they turned him around and slapped some cuffs on his wrists and read him his rights. Ryan stood quietly fuming the entire time.

The officer walked Ryan over to his squad car and bent him over the hood. A quick search turned up the screwdriver and his blade.

"Out joy riding tonight kid?" he interrogated.

"No."

"You run with a crew?"

"No."

"You sure about that?" the officer pressed.

"Yep."

"What were you running for?"

"Late for bible study."

The smartass remark got a good chuckle out of the officer.

"Somehow I don't think that's true. Sure you weren't out boosting tonight?"

"Yep."

Not convinced, the officer could see he wasn't going to get much out of Ryan at the moment. Maybe he'd have better luck at the station with this kid.

"Okay kid, in the car. Behave yourself."

Moving Ryan into the back seat of his patrol car, the officer walked over to confer with the other officers.

"Anything?" one of the officers asked.

"No. He's not talking."

"What's his name?" another officer asked, just joining the discussion.

"Atwood, Ryan Atwood."

"Ryan? I know that kid. Let me talk to him."

Opening the back door to the patrol car, Ryan rolled his eyes at the familiar officer.

"Ryan man what are you doing? I thought we made a deal last time I saw you."

Ryan turned only his eyes and his eyebrows pressed down angrily. "Just do me favor Tommy and get my blade back for me. Don't let them trash it."

"Ryan every time I give you that blade back, you go off and do something you promised me you wouldn't do anymore. Maybe I can help you man, tell me something. Anything."

Closing his eyes, Ryan let his head drop down. Tommy had known Ryan for years and he knew in 'Ryan-speak' that gesture meant he'd done 'something'.

"Is it your Mom? Is she…too much right now?"

The remark generated a mild reaction from Ryan. Nothing but the slight opening of his mouth and a deep breath before returning to silence and grinding his teeth.

"Okay so…" Tommy continued to put the story together himself. "Your Mom is going through one of her major benders and you needed money to take care of yourself. Someone offered you money to pick up a car and you took the contract. Am I right?"

Ryan could only raise his eyes to Tommy's. Rule number one for a con: Never admit to anything…ever.

"Alright Ryan. I'll see what I can do but you're in a lot of shit on this one. They found a Camaro a few streets over. It's not showing on the hot list just yet but if your prints come up on…"

"They won't," Ryan interrupted, looking at Tommy again.

"Alright. Let's get to the station. We have to call your Mom."

Closing his eyes again, Ryan let his head fall against the back seat. His Mom. The one person in the world he wanted to be the farthest away from, now he was about to go head to head with her. When she heard about this, he knew she'd go ballistic.

Ryan sat in the fish tank, the nickname given to the holding room for Juveniles because it was reinforced glass on three sides. Sitting on the bench he had full view of the front counter. He was there over an hour before he noticed his mother arriving, bursting through the doors with her mouth going a hundred miles an hour and her arms flapping away angrily. He couldn't hear her but even the officer at the front desk kept putting his hand out defensively in an attempt to calm her down. Ryan could only sigh heavily and shake his head.

Walking Ryan down the hallway, the officer paused at the door to the interviewing room and removed his handcuffs. "You've got fifteen minutes with your Mom kid."

Entering the small room, Ryan found his mother pacing wildly inside.

"Stealing cars Ryan? Now you steal cars? How many have you stolen? Huh? Was this your first one?"

Ryan's eyes trailed to the right and he reminded himself that he was being watched through the one-way glass.

Infuriated by his lack of an answer, his mother put her hands on his shoulders and shoved him back against the wall as hard as she could.

"Answer me Ryan!"

"Mrs. Atwood, please do not touch him. You're at the police station," a voice warned over the intercom.

"Oh shut up!" she screamed at the fogged glass. "You want to grow up to be a loser? You're going down the same path as your Father. Is that what you want? Is it?" she raged.

"Right. Like I've got such a great fucking role model! Just how much coke did you do yesterday? You're clearly jacked up. And do you think you can make it to lunch before you pull out that bottle of Jack? You're talking about me being a loser? Where the fuck do you think I'm learning it from!"

That was the last straw. Whether it was true or not, his Mother didn't want to hear it and she let her fists fly. Over and over she pelted him. She was so wrapped up in her anger she hadn't noticed the officers rush in.

It took several officers and a lot of struggling and shouting to get the two Atwoods separated. Dawn was pressed up against one wall with her hands held behind her and Ryan stood facing her, his hands cuffed again. When they tried to remove Dawn from the room, she just had to get one more shot in.

"You're a thief Ryan! A fucking thief! My son is a thief!" she screamed at him.

With his left cheekbone starting to feel a bit numb from one of her wallops and the taste of blood on his lips and tongue from another one of her contacts, he leaned forward, pulling against the officer's gasp and gave his Mother exactly what she deserved.

"I'd rather be a thief than be your son."

Ryan's cold and even tone pierced the room. Even the officers in the small room stared at him in silence. He was frighteningly serious and the rage behind his eyes was barely being contained. His Mother could only stand before him, expressionless.

Ryan turned his back on his Mother as they led her from the room.

When Officer McGhee re-entered the holding room where Ryan was being held, he could see the boy was weary.

Sighing heavily, "How about we take these cuffs off for a little bit and talk, just you and me?"

"And them…right?" Ryan corrected nodding at the fogged glass.

"Yes, and them. After what just happened in here you think you're not gonna be watched like a hawk now? Here, I brought something that should help you calm down a bit." Extending his arm, he offered Ryan his pack of cigarettes that had been confiscated during his arrest.

"I'm underage and you're a cop…offering me cigarettes…" Ryan acknowledged.

"What can I say Ryan? We're in Chino and we both know the normal rules don't apply here. I need you to calm down and I know this will help. Now do you want one or not?"

With his body desperately craving the nicotine, under the circumstances, Ryan grabbed the pack along with the lighter and sat down. Lighting one smoke he sat down and rested his forehead on his folded hands.

"There ya go buddy. Just relax a minute."

"Tommy, I'm not going back there. I'm not going home with her."

"Ryan, it's not that simple."

"Put me in Juvie, put me in a State Ward, put me in foster care, I don't give a fuck what you do with me, just keep her away from me."

"Ryan…"

"Is anyone even saying anything to her, about the hitting, or about the drinking, the drugs…the neglect? I've been taking care of myself a lot longer than you guys are away of. I don't need her."

"You're only sixteen Ryan."

Laughing sarcastically, "Right. And because of that, it makes it all okay. Tell me something Tommy, what would it take for me to stay in Juvie? If I stand up right now and punch you in front of the 'window people' will they let me stay? Exactly what does a kid have to do to make someone understand that I think going to Juvie is better than living with her? What does it take?"

From behind the one-way glass, tears rolled down Dawn's face. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her son was begging to go to Juvie rather than go home with her. The news was devastating.

"Mrs. Atwood?" Tommy greeted dryly upon entering the viewing room behind the glass. "Look, this is going to be hard, but I think you should let him spend the night here. I've known Ryan a long time and he's quite…agitated…with you right now. I fear he may do something stupid to avoid you if I let him leave here tonight. Let him stay and cool off. I'm sure things will be different in the morning."

Dawn's mind was in a haze. She couldn't believe she had to leave her son at the station for no other reason than the fact that he didn't want to come home with her. Finally she nodded. "Can I say goodbye to him?"

"I don't think that would be wise, Mrs. Atwood. We finally got him to calm down."

"Could you just ask him?"

Against his better judgment, Tommy went back into the holding room with Dawn's question as cargo to present to Ryan, knowing full well what Ryan's reaction would be.

"Okay Ryan, here's the deal. You can spend the night here tonight…well, not 'here', you'll be transported over to the Juvie Center and then we'll see what tomorrow brings. Your Mom…your Mom wants to say goodbye to you…"

"Unfuckingbelievable!" Ryan growled. "Go ahead, send her in. Keep your boys handy, you might need their help again."

When Dawn entered the room she positioned herself close to the door, mindful to keep her distance from her simmering son.

"Are you sure this is what you want Ryan? To stay?"

"I'm sure. You can go. I'll get a jumpsuit, a good night's rest and three meals in one day. That's more than I get from you so I'll be just fine." Ryan never so much as glanced at his Mom. Leaning forward he pulled another cigarette from the pack and lit up.

"Ryan I'm sorr…"

"Don't…say that to me. Just go."

"Okay. I'll do it how you want it Ryan. I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?" she sniffled, trying to end on a positive note.

"We'll see," Ryan snarled back, flicking his ashes in the ashtray and letting the smoke seep through his lips as he spoke. Still he wouldn't acknowledge her. "Tommy, can we go…now?"

"Finish your cigarette. I'll walk your Mom out and give her some instructions. Just sit tight a little longer."

In the hallway near the front door, Dawn paused while Tommy explained what would happen from that point on.

"I really think you did the right thing Mrs. Atwood. Sometimes the kids just need a little time to cool off. He'll be different tomorrow."

Still sniffling, "No, he won't. Not my Ryan. When Ryan makes up his mind about something, that's it. He ah…he doesn't want me anymore," she whispered, choking back the tears.

"Mrs. Atwood, if I may be blunt for a moment…he's sixteen and let's face it, you don't exactly provide the best home life for him. He's frustrated, he's angry and he's trying to gain some control on the situation. He needs a little space and little help from all of us before this turns into something that really ruins his future. Just give him some time, that's really all tonight is about. He needs some space."

"Space, right. Okay. Maybe he will be better tomorrow. Maybe."

"It's now six a.m., be at the Juvenile Center at one o'clock in the afternoon. That gives the center time to give him a bunk, he can get some rest, maybe get a meal or two in him. Then we'll see how he's doing. In the meantime, go home and get some rest. Oh Mrs. Atwood, whatever you do, don't miss that appointment…and make sure your sober when you arrive."

Embarrassed, Dawn put her head down and nodded. Flashing her eyes one more time against the door leading to Ryan, she turned and walked out of the station.

TBC…