Blake sped through town, zipping by yellow lights and eventually the dealership, paying no attention to it for the meantime. She had just left the metropolitan center of the city, heading towards its fringes and the home when her phone rang. She looked at the lit-up screen, it was Cinder. She tapped the answer button, speaking into the hardware, "Anything else you need me to do, like maybe a day off?"

"You'll have plenty of days off when I'm through with you, you bitch!" her boss hissed.

"Whoa, take it easy, what's wrong with you?"

"Don't talk to me like that! Where's the bike?"

"Sun was supposed to tell you we couldn't find it, Cinder. We didn't have the information we needed to track it down."

"Oh, cut the bullshit! Sun told me everything, you stole the bike! After I poured my heart out to you by making you Employee of the Month and even opened the table to negotiation, this is how you repay me!?"

"What? Cinder, that's not true! What happened..."

"I don't want to hear it, Blake. Just get into that house, get me that car, and bring it back without a speck of dirt, then I'll consider listening to the lie you've woven."

The call abruptly ended there, Blake slammed the phone onto the floor of the passenger seat. She was sick of getting cut off, especially when so many important events hung in the balance. She was breaking into that goddamn house, come hell or high water. Minutes passed, her car ride was silent, only the horns in the distance and cars zooming by forming the noise she blocked out. She pulled up a steep hill, the house on the right-hand side of the road, surrounded by a fence and automatic gate, too bad she didn't have whatever it required to get in. She pulled to the curb and observed the home and its obstacles. It was a Hispanic-inspired mansion, the walls seemingly made of yellow stone, the roof covered by bright-red stone thatches, interlocking with one another. The fence out front was surrounded by tall brush to the left, broken only by a metal gate door in the middle. She left her car behind, instinctively locking it behind her, though she found out personally that never really deterred anyone from robbing a car. She crept to the door, checking all around for people walking by before pressing into it. The door held firm. "Fuck, locked."

She checked her surroundings once more, not a single person or even a car was around. She hurdled over the door in a single bound, landing down and nearly leaping back over in fright, a man was no more than 10 feet in front of her. Fortunately, he had the leaf blower blaring and a pair of noise-canceling headphones. He was tapping his foot rhythmically to whatever played through the headset, even breaking from work to imitate the guitar solo of the song on his tool. Blake sighed with relief before hunching down, creeping towards the lawn care man. He was no danger, but he could see her and get her busted. This job was her last shot, she couldn't take any chances. She reached behind her back and brought forward a section of black ribbon in her hand, cautiously moving ever closer to the man. Finally, she was right behind him, her face level with his knees. She sprung up, wrapping the ribbon around his neck, instantly tightening the pressure and dragging him to the ground. The man clawed and gasped for air, his weak calls inaudible under the idle putter of the leaf blower. Seconds passed, his eyes beginning to bulge out, tears flowing before his eyes shut. Blake ceased her assault at once, not seeking to kill him. She horrified herself by what she had just done, never had she come so close to taking a man's life with her own hands. The dispute on Valerian Beach was self defense, pure and simple. No one could prove Sun pulled the gun first, but he only shot because the man would have shot first. But this, this was too much. Part of her didn't want to stop, and she almost didn't. The man's neck swelled, a deep purple ring forming around the site of the choking. Exhaling involuntarily, she made her way to the front door, creeping around the perimeter of the elevated garden she had choked the man out behind, and found a set of two doors made mostly of stained glass. She stopped before setting a foot on the first step. This was too easy, that door had to be either locked or someone could see her come in. Another horrifying thought occurred to her when she had her previous revelation, what if she had been seen? The cops would come, no doubt, and explaining attempted murder would not be justified by the need to repossess a car. Better yet, what if this person took the law into their own hands? What if they sat at the other side of the door, a shotgun ready to blow apart the stranger who entered. She stepped back, looking around the front of the house for another entry. Nothing, no open windows, hell, not even a chimney to drop down through. She looked at the garage to her left, able to see through the windows on the door, making out the top of the hybrid. She turned her attention to the right, finding a truck parked under a cement overhand forming an outdoor, open garage. Above the structure she was her opening, one of the windows was left open. Smirking at her break in misfortune, she dashed for the truck, ducking low to reduce her chances of being seen. She climbed up into the bed of the pickup and then to the top of the cabin, her ascent being halted by the bickering inside, one familiar to her and the other completely, both belonging to women. The familiar one said, "Well, if you're going to judge my life, why don't you take a look in the mirror? Those anti-psychotics have only made you more water-retaining!"

"Oh, you're so dead! MOM! Penny said...I'm not fat, you bitch, I'm just bloating, it's called a period! You wouldn't understand since you aren't a real person!"

Blake crawled up onto the roof of the garage and peered in through the open window sill. She saw a girl in a pink skirt and a corset-like top of black, white, gray, and metal storm out of a room just beyond the bathroom she was next to, ducking down until the footsteps cluttering down the stairs ceased. Once all fell silent, Blake slid through the opening, creeping through the bathroom and looking into the room the girl had exited. The Penny girl she had encountered earlier sat in her bed, looking at a controller in her lap, tears cascading down her emotionless face. Blake wanted more than anything to comfort this girl, to be able to just reassure her she was more human than her sister and play whatever game she was playing on the massive TV in her room. She shook her head rapidly, trying to clear those thoughts and regain her focus on her job. She made her way for the stairs, tip-toeing her way down the brick steps to the sounds of voices down below, one man and one woman. "Well, Mr. Rose, you're forehand has really become your strong suit, but I'd love to see your work on your backhand." the woman said.

"Whoa, easy. My wife's home, the last thing she needs to know is I'm screwing my tennis instructor."

"Oh, come on, you have an entire tennis court that she doesn't use or go near, let's just sneak out there for a bit."

Then, things went silent except for the sounds of footsteps and a wood-framed glass door slamming. She crept down to the first floor, making a left towards the kitchen and darting down the next brief hall, finding her way into the garage. She peered into the car, a red cape lying piled-up in the back, but the keys were still in the ignition and the garage and gate opener were on the visor. Too easy. She didn't care if it was, she flung the door open and plunged into the seat, opening the door and driving out of the home and then off the property. As she cruised a safe distance from the house, she dialed her phone, putting it to here ear again as the pick-up tone sounded, "Cinder, I've got the car, I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Just make sure you actually bring the merchandise this time, Blake. Don't even think if you did anything I asked you to do with that car will make any of this go away." her boss growled.

Blake ended the call there, putting the phone into the cup holder, unwilling to deal with another moment of her employer's comments. Just as she reached her first red light, no more than 10 minutes from the dealership, she checked her phone. 8:30. She had time, negotiation wasn't an option, but keeping her job was at this point. Her thoughts were broken by the sound of a gun cocking right behind her, a woman's voice instantly following it up, "That's a nine millimeter semi-automatic Beretta pushed against the back of your skull."

Blake's flesh chilled as she felt the cold metal press into the back-right corner of her head. She looked in the rear mirror once more, her breath leaving her lungs upon seeing the woman from the beach, her hair let free to hang and flow now. "Ah, don't look around, just keep driving to wherever you're going."

"Easy ma'am, that Penny was just behind on her payments..."

"Oh, don't give me that shit. She bought the car today, how the fuck does that work?"

The truth slammed into Blake's chest, knocking the wind from her. The business was a fraud this whole time. They were ripping people off. The whole thing was a scam, and she and Sun fell for it as legitimate. "And, by guess of how you're doing this, this is some sort of credit fraud." the woman continued.

"L-look, Miss, I just went by what my boss told me. I just wanted to get a better hourly wage, this job was the only way that would be available."

"I appreciate a kid who follows orders without taking responsibility. Maybe we can grab a drink and I'll explain how the world really works."

"I'm only 17."

"Oh, underage drinking is immoral to you, but stealing my disassociative daughter's car, which she bought all by herself to impress me and prove she was grown up, is alright with you?"

Blake fell silent, the shame of being tricked engulfing her. "Who pays you to do this? Where do you work?"

"I work for Cinder Fall, she's the businesswoman of the whole thing."

"Did this chick ever seem anything less than one-hundred percent legit to you?"

"Look, I just do this job to pay my insurance, my half of the phone bill, and save up to get out of my crazy aunt's house. Don't kill me, this is between your daughter and Cinder."

"Oh, don't worry, I'm going to pay Miss Fall a nice visit. Stop, right here. That the dealership you were talking about?"

Blake pulled by the curb, looking to the dealership and darted her eyes back to her steering wheel. "Yes."

"Alright, drive into it, through that big window right there. Do it, or I'll put two bullets in your fucking brain, and do it myself."

"You can't be serious..."

"Do I sound like I'm fucking joking?"

Blake shook her head before switching back into drive, slamming on the gas and screeching for the dealership, weaving through traffic until she reach the parking lot. The hybrid smashed through the thick display glass, shards large and small spraying all over the show room. The hybrid's front end crumpled, smoke billowed out of the hood of the car as it hissed with relief from the overheating engine. Cinder stormed over to the site of the crash, her hands clasped to her head as her face radiated pure shock and despair. Blake stumbled out of the driver's seat, the woman behind her casually exiting the car and slamming the door behind her. "Blake, what the fuck are you doing!?"

"Miss Fall, it's not what it looks like..."

"What the fuck is it supposed to be then?!"

"I always trump big for a job well done." the woman said, handing Blake a few hundred dollars, "Now, get out of here. Oh, and get your car away from my house or I'll blow it up."

"You got it." Blake said, sprinting out of the dealership.

"You motherfucker!" Cinder cried.

Ruby cracked her neck as Cinder approached, her eyes glowing in fury. Ruby refused to move, not even bringing her arms up to defend herself. Cinder threw the first punch, lunging at Ruby to drive her fist into her mouth, a spectacle of rose petals was all that remained. But, in an instant, Ruby was gone, she swung at empty air and nearly lost her balance. She spun around, finding Ruby behind her, arms still beside her. Cinder growled in frustration before spinning around with a right hook, but Ruby disappeared once more, another set of petals floated to the floor. Cinder looked behind her once more, only to see Ruby come sailing at her, crashing both feet into the crooked woman's face. Cinder went sailing back into the hybrid, shattering the already weakened windshield. Dazed and bleeding profusely from her broken nose, she was unable to resist as Ruby dragged her from the hood of the car, locking her in a headlock and dragging her towards the open door. Ruby placed her between the door and the jamb, leaving her there as she pushed against the door with full force. Cinder's skull cracked from the blow, further dazing and bloodying the battered woman. Ruby opened the door again, kneeling down beside Cinder and whispering, "Does this car look like it's worth five grand a month?"

Cinder only made guttural moans and incoherent noises, Ruby quickly grew frustrated and threw the door over Cinder's head once more. "This thing is gonna need a lot of body work before it's worth five fucking grand a month! Now, you're going to do two things for me. One, give me back every cent my daughter paid for this car. Two, tell me where that contract is. I'm destroying it and I'm gonna write down a number on it. You're going to call that number and tell my daughter there were issues with the car, none of which were her fault, and you're going to say you're sending that money back, at which point I'll come into her room and say that it came for her. Got it?"

Cinder laughed at the proposal, barely able to mutter, "I'd rather die than give you that deal."

"Alright, suit yourself." Ruby said, bringing the door back again.

"Wait, stop! Please, no more! The contract is in on my desk in the "In" folder, the money's enclosed with it! Please, just stop!" the woman cried.

"Now was that so hard?" Ruby asked, strolling into the office and grabbing the contract, scatting as she shredded the bottom half and wrote Penny's number on the back of the unharmed portion.

Ruby came out with the remainder of the contract and the money in hand, throwing the paper at Cinder, yelling over her shoulder as she exited, "That call better come through by tomorrow. If it doesn't, you'll be seeing me. If I see one payment notice or even hear of you afterward, I'll be back. And you will not like that."

"You sexist..." Cinder muttered.

Ruby ignored her comment, stepping through the shattered window and heading back to her home, wading through the parting crowd that had gathered to watch.