Chapter Seven

The Job

"Gabrielle, would you like to join us?" Annie asked her.

"No, I'm good. I can hear perfectly fine from here."

"Please?"

With an aggravated breath, Gabrielle got up off the sofa and walked back to them.

"That man was Hector Ramos," Annie began. "He and his wife, MarМa, own a small Mom and Pop grocery store a few miles from here. And they've recently had problems with four or five of the local teenagers. They think they need to prove how bad they are to the Muerta Roja┘."

"What the hell is that?" Xena interrupted.

"It's the name of the gang who controls that particular neighborhood. It's Spanish for Red Death."

"Ooooh, scary!" Xena said in her most sarcastic voice.

"Anyway, these kids are trying to show the gang that they're tough enough and bad enough to be asked to join. Mr. Ramos said he's known these kids all their lives, and they're not bad kids, just going down the wrong path. And he wanted to know if we could look things over and maybe figure out some way to help keep them from doing something they may regret."

"Why not just call the police on them?" Gabrielle asked.

"Because jail time would make them even more attractive to the gang."

"So you want us to go down there and kick some ass." Xena said with a grin on her face.

"No, I want you two to look things over. Get a sense of the neighborhood. Check out the other stores. Maybe talk to some of the shop owners, and see how they feel about things. Basically, it's reconnaissance."

"Sounds pretty boring to me."

"That's what detective work is -- 99% boring and 1% not. Do you want to do it, or not?"

"I'm in," Gabrielle said.

"Okay," Xena agreed. "I guess it's better than sitting around this place all day."

"One more thing -- Mr. Ramos said he has a couple of surveillance cameras, so I think you and Gabrielle need to wear some kind of disguise."

"Why would we do that?" Xena asked.

"Have you forgotten that you're both still wanted by the police?"

"Oh, yeah. I know, I'll dress up like Anthrax. You remember, when Aphrodite put the love spell on that warlord's son? But since Aphrodite's not here, Gabrielle can be the wife. What was her name? Spitupium?"

"Spitoonia," Gabrielle corrected her.

"Right, we can be Anthrax and Spitoonia."

All four of them chuckled, and kind of bonded, at the memory.

"I don't think it has to be that drastic. Just cover your hair, pin it up, wear a hat. And you'll have to dress down, nothing as fancy as Anthrax and Spitoonia. This is a poor neighborhood and you want to blend in, not stand out."

"We've got some things here," Mattie said. "So we shouldn't have to send Harry back home."

"He could grab some beer while he's out," Xena suggested.

"No he couldn't," Annie countered. "The sooner you two get started, the better it'll be. I don't want you down there after the sun sets. These neighborhood gangs seem to come alive after dark."

"Maybe that's when we need to be there," Gabrielle said. "If that's when the trouble starts."

"If it was the old days, I would agree with you. But today, people don't think twice about pulling a gun and start shooting. And women are just as much a target as men are."

Xena stood up. "We'll just have to see how it goes. If I'm -- we're, going to this job, then you can't put shackles on us."

"Okay," Annie said, her voice sounding a little doubtful. But inside she liked what she heard. Xena was starting to sound like the old Xena. "But I'd rather you left the Chakram here. I don't want you to start throwing it around just because you think you need to."

"I'm not leaving the damn Chakram! If the neighborhood is that unsafe, I'm not taking Gabrielle down there and we have no protection."

She didn't say anything, but Gabrielle was more pleased with Xena right then than at any time since she broke her out of jail.

"We'll be all right," Gabrielle told her. "We'll look around, ask a few questions, watch the people, and report back to you."

Xena rolled her eyes and let out an audible breath.

"Won't we, Xena?"

"Oh, sure we will. But on the bright side, I'm sure somebody there sells beer."

Annie ignored her. "Mr. Ramos may not recognize you. He probably will, but just in case he doesn't, let him know who you are, just so there won't be any problems with you two hanging around like┘"

"Like a couple of homeless bums?" Xena interrupted.

"Well, basically yes. So, any questions?"

"How will we get there?" Gabrielle asked.

"Harry will drop you off a few blocks away from the neighborhood. And I'll give you a cell phone so you can call us when you're ready to go. You do know how to use one, don't you?"

"Kind of," Gabrielle answered. "But a little instruction couldn't hurt."

Mattie got one of the spare phones from her desk, turned it on and showed them both the basics, emphasizing its speed dial capability.

"Maybe we both should have one," Xena said. "Just in case we get separated, or it breaks, or we lose it. You never know."

Annie and Mattie exchanged glances. "Okay," Annie said. "We'll give you each one. But try not to lose them, they're not cheap."

After giving Gabrielle the second phone, Mattie took them to the closet where the extra clothes were kept. Thirty minutes later, they were ready. Xena was still wearing her jeans, but had put on a worn, faded green sweatshirt. She had put her hair up and held it in place with an old baseball cap turned backward. The Chakram was still tucked into the waistband in the small of her back.

Gabrielle was wearing a blue bandana to cover her hair. She had put on a pair of very used jeans with ragged tears over both knees and a dark blue windbreaker with some of the shoulder seams coming apart.

"That should do it," Annie said as she looked them both over. "You might want to put a few smudges on your face, and dirty your hands a bit."

"I know how to go undercover," Xena replied. "Anything else?"

"Just be careful. Don't start any trouble, and don't call attention to yourselves."

"You might want to stay away from those cameras," Mattie suggested. "Just to be on the safe side."

Annie called Harry in from his office and told him where to take them. He left to get the car.

Before Annie could say anything to her, Xena said, "Don't worry, we'll be fine."

Annie nodded. Just then they heard Harry honk the horn. And before they moved to leave, on impulse, Mattie hugged Gabrielle and whispered for her to be careful and come back in one piece. Both Annie and Xena watched them, then looked at each other. Neither made a move but there was a look between them.

Harry honked again, and Xena and Gabrielle got into the car. Annie and Mattie watched it drive off.

"They'll be fine," Mattie said. "I know they will."

Annie nodded, hoping for the best. She put an arm around Mattie's shoulder and they went back inside.