Chapter 10: Unpaid debts
Max
Monday morning. Max sits in the classroom, awaiting class to begin. She looks out of the window, thinking about yesterday, especially yesterday evening as Kate returned.
Her weekend was kind of lonely, because except their training sessions she spent not so much time with Chloe. She didn't want to make Kate even more jealous than necessary. So, she mostly watched some movies, played some games, meditated and waited for her girlfriend to return.
At 5 pm Kate finally arrived back at Blackwell. Max had to hold it all together to not jump on her girl and give her a thousand kisses in an instant. Both had to play it cool and discrete. Kate waited some minutes, then walked over to Max's room and knocked at her door. Max opened, both gave each other a friendly hug, exchanged some words and as soon as the door closed they engaged in wild and passionate kissing, and again, Max had to stop it before it went out of control. They spent the rest of the evening with talking, kissing, an ordered Pizza and some Sci-Fi-movies.
Just thinking about Kate paints a wide smile on the Max's face; especially the thought about spending her next complete weekend with her. It took Max by surprise as Kate told her that they going to spend the weekend at her parent's house. Dana takes her seat beside her and smiles. Since both girls agreed to be friends, Dana made it a habit to sit next to Max, who normally kept for herself, sitting alone during classes. It doesn't annoy her, no; actually she enjoyed the cheerleader's company from time to time.
"Hi Max, how was your weekend?" she asks.
The black-haired girl shrugs. "Hi D! Okay, I guess. Well, missed Katie a lot."
"Got you there, girl. But now you have her back and can cuddle her again." she says in a low voice with a wink.
Max wants to answer her as someone suddenly stops in front of her table, cleaning his throat. "Uhm…hi! You're Max, right?"
Raising her head, she looks into the brown eyes of a brown-haired boy, who wears a blue T-shirt depicting Schroedinger's cat in a funny way. But Max isn't laughing; she's rather slightly annoyed, because he disturbed her conversation with Dana. She looks at him with a stern gaze. "Maybe, and you are…?"
His voice is filled with nervousness. "Uhm...r-right…I'm Warren…uhm…"
'Great, now please don't tell me that this dipshit wants to make a move on me.' Max rolls with her eyes and sighs. "Okay, hello Warren. Whaddya want? And please, stop saying 'uhm'!" she says to him in an agitated sound, making Warren even more nervous.
"O-okay, r-right to the point. I-I saw you reading s-some Sci-Fi-books lately a-and I wanted to ask, i-if you wanna join me f-for a 'Back-to-the-Future'-Marathon at the new Drive-In." Sweat runs down his forehead and he seems to be happy that he finally got rid of this load of words.
"Did you just ask me out?" the freckled girl asks with one raised eyebrow and the unbelief written all over her face. Dana just tries to focus on a book in front of her, but couldn't suppress a chuckle. 'Oh fucking hell, why do I always have to be right? Hopefully he'll get the gist and fucks off.' Max sighs. "Listen, Warren, you seem to be a nice and descent guy, but I have to decline your invitation."
"Why?" he responds, with some anger in his voice.
'What the fuck?!' Getting such a backtalk and faced with stubbornness, not to mention that she couldn't stand boys, fury builds up inside of Max. She needs to control it or else little Warren would fly through the room. Her anger is dripping with each and every word she hisses to him. "Listen, dude, just accept my answer and move the fuck on!"
Dana's hand touches the black-haired girl's arm, trying to calm her down. "Hey Warren, it's rude to backtalk to a girl like that. You asked her, she gave you an answer and now move along, okay?" she says in a sweet voice. She's experienced with boys and had to decline a lot of interests during her love-life.
"O-okay. But how about we don't see it as a date a-and just go as friends?" he addresses to Max with a little hope.
Max scoffs and Dana chuckles again, looking at her friend, asking for permission to tell him why he'll never have a chance and the black-haired girl gives a slight nod. "I don't think you get the point here. We all know that you don't want to stay just 'friends' with her, but you're barking at the wrong tree here, Warren."
"What?" he says, clearly not understanding her hint.
Burying her face in her hands, Max sighs 'Is he cereal? How much obvious can you make it?' and Dana nearly falls from her chair, getting hit by this question, but she takes a hold of herself and continues. "Warren, you're fishing in foreign waters. You're searching at the wrong side of the river. Got it?"
He shakes his head and so does Dana, who sighs and gives up. Now, Max stands up, fury burning in her eyes as she looks at him. "Okay, now listen closely!" She purses her lips. "You wanna kiss these?" Warren gives her a slight nod. She touches her breasts. "You wanna touch these?" Again, he nods. And then, she touches herself between her legs. "You wanna stick your tiny thing in here?" Now, he looks away, blushing deep-red, but Max grabs his chin and turns his head back. "Answer me!" she commands and he nods slowly. "Well you can start to bury these wet dreams of yours, 'cause all of this…" she lets her hands slide over her body "…is for girls only! No boys allowed! Got it now, hotshot?"
His eyes widen and he quickly nods as realization settles in his brain, telling him that he never had a chance here; that Max is not interested in him or any other boys. And now the whole class knows, because they all overheard this conversation. But Max doesn't care if whole Arcadia Bay knows about her sexuality. It was no secret, but Katie was one and she would do anything to keep it this way, until Kate decides for herself to come out.
Warren finally backs off, saying a quiet "S-sorry.", and Max sits down again, clearly satisfied.
"For a moment, I thought you would kick his ass around Blackwell." Dana says with a wry smile, unsure if this is mend to be a joke or if it's close to reality. Max was her friend, but still she didn't know much about her.
Thinking about kicking Warrens butt, makes Max smile and she scoffs. "Yeah, it was a close call. But he really seems to be a nice guy. He'll find a nice girl someday, but not me."
"Hey! I was thinking, maybe you, me and Kate should go out one night. Y'know, have some drinks, talk about girl-stuff and enjoy a good time."
Max thinks a few seconds about it. 'Hmm, this could be a good chance to get Chloe to meet Kate and Dana.' "Sounds great, D! But can I bring Chloe, too?"
"Sure thing! The more the merrier. How about tomorrow?"
"Nope, planned a surprise for my Katie." Max answers in a low voice with a wide smile.
Dana nearly melts away and could sigh in awe as she hears that Kate will probably be surprised in a romantic way. "That's so cute! What is it?"
Smiling at the brunette, the freckled girl shakes her head. "Can't tell ya! The risk is too high that something's spilled, but it's gonna blow her mind!"
"Please be gentle to her!"
The black-haired girl gives her friend a slight push on the shoulder. "Always! But Thursday would be great!" Suddenly Max's phone vibrates and she takes it out of her pocket to look at it.
Chloe: i am in deepshit trouble. need help!
Max: What happened?
Chloe: meet me at the parking lot.
Max: Chlo, I have classes.
Chloe: then i am as good as dead. pls, i am not fooling around
Max: On my way.
"Shit!" Max sighs, packs her stuff and stands up.
"What's up, Max?" Dana asks with a worried voice.
"It's Chloe. She's in trouble and needs help. Can you cover for me?"
The brunette girl shrugs. "Sure. Should I tell Kate?"
"No, I should be back before lunch. We'll meet in the cafeteria. See ya, D!" she says, grabs her bag and heads towards the Blackwell parking lot in a fast pace.
Chloe
Since she started her training, Chloe's daily routine has changed completely. Max had trained her meditation and some basic moves during the weekend and told her to practice them every day. And that was something she planned to pull through.
So, the first thing the bluenette does, after the alarm of her phone wakes her from her sleep at 8 am, is to jump out of bed, do her moves and after that some meditation. 'Shit, this stuff really works even better than weed. Normally, I woke up and was all groggy and in a bad mood, but now I'm as calm as fuck. Thanks Maximus, I owe you more than one!' she thought with a smile. 'Okay, let's hit the shower, grab some cash from the bank and pay my dues to Frank!'
After the shower and eating the breakfast her mom has left her, Chloe gets in her truck and drives to her first destination, the bank. She cashes the check and heads to the beach, where Frank's RV is parked. On her way she writes a message to him.
Chloe: hey frank, got ur money. on my way 2 u now
Frank: hey bulldog, we need to talk
Chloe: be there in 10
'Maybe he wants to apologize. That would be a new one. Well, we'll see.'
The blue-haired girl parks her truck near the RV and walks toward it. She knocks on the door and seconds later Frank opens. He wears the same cloths as ever, except that his right arm is bandaged and hanging in a sling. "Hey, Price!"
Chloe takes out an envelope and reaches it to Frank. "Here's your cash, plus a little interest." she cheers with a big smile.
But Frank doesn't think about touching the money. He scratches the back of his head and gazes at his feet. "Yeah…uhm…listen, Chloe, there's been some problems. I…uh…I can't take the money."
Raising one eyebrow, Chloe looks at him with a puzzled expression. "What? Why? Don't tell me you grew a conscience and became a Samaritan."
"What? No…hell no! Listen, I already gave your debts to my supplier."
The punk girl almost drops the envelope. "You're shitting me, right?" Frank shakes his head. "Dude, it's not even been a week and you gave me two. Why?"
The tall blonde man sighs. "Last week I got a call and the guy on the line told me that he iced my old supplier and took over. He wanted ten grand in advance for the new batch of drugs. Even in a good month I don't have that quantity of cash, otherwise I wouldn't live in this old piece of crap behind me. I had to gather every bit of cash and debts to pay the guy. Sorry." he says plainly.
"SORRY? YOU ARE SORRY?" Chloe yells, followed by a fist that hits him right in the face, sending him to the ground. "You stupid asshole gave my fucking address to a killer, who iced your previous supplier and you're sorry?"
Holding his jaw, Franks slowly gets up again. "He would've killed me too, if I hadn't given him the money."
"Oh boo hoo, a single fucking tear falls from my eye…not! Why haven't you told me, before giving him my debts?"
"He told me not to. He also told me that if someone came to me with the money, I should call him."
"And you did?"
"No." Franks says, shaking his head. "I wanted to tell you first and then suggest to him that you may give me the cash and I give it to him. That way, you won't have anything to do with this maniac. That's the least I can do." he continues with guilt in his voice.
The bluenette sighs. 'That's just fucking great. Why is this shit always happen to me? Ugh, live sucks!' "Alright, call him."
Frank gets out his phone and dials a number. "Yeah, Bowers here…I've got Bulldog here, she has the cash. Can she…That won't be necessary…but…" His eyes are radiating pity as he hands his phone over to Chloe. "He wants to talk with you."
"What?! No fucking way!" she says with a quiet voice, but Frank insists that she takes the phone; his expression showing her that there is no room for an argument. The bluenette girl sighs and takes the phone. "Hello? Yeah, this is Bulldog…WHAT?! Are you shitting me? That's a hundred percent more...Where should I get that much money in 30 minutes?...Fine…Yeah, I know where the old harbor is…later." Anger and desperation dwells inside of her as she takes down the phone. "FUUUUCK!" she screams and throws it against the RV.
But Frank doesn't even mind that his phone is busted now. "I'm sorry, Chloe. Listen, I'll get you the best stuff."
Her deep blue eyes pierce right through him, as her gaze falls onto him. "I don't want your fucking drugs anymore. I'm done with this shit! We're done, Frank. I'll be lucky, if I survive this fucking day." she says and leaves him standing there.
She gets in her truck and slams the door shut with a loud thud. 'Damndamndamn! Why? Why is it always shit like this?' A sob of desperation escapes her mouth. 'Okay, Price. Calm down, you need a clear head right now.' The punk thought and takes in a deep breath. 'I should text Max. She has some more money, maybe she can help with the negotiation.' She takes out her phone and starts typing a message to Max. 'I'm sorry that I have to drag you into this, but you're my only friend and I need some support right now.'
Victoria
If you are a student at Blackwell Academy, you have to be prepared for a lot of stress. An insane lot of homework, tests on a daily basis and a high level of knowledge. Everyone has his or her own method to deal with it. Some people make yoga, some do sports and there are students like Victoria, who smoke weed to overcome their stress. Unfortunately, weed and all other drugs are strictly forbidden on campus. So, the stoners of Blackwell have to search for safe places to avoid Blackwell-Security's eyes.
Victoria stands in one of those places, right behind the Prescott dormitories. The spot is perfect and often used by her, because not everyone knows about it and it's close to her room. For emergencies she has her vaporizer, but sometimes she needs the real stuff, especially when she needs to think. This is one of those moments. Courtney sent her a message on Saturday that she finally had found the perfect target for her to hurt Max Caulfield.
She takes another deep draft as she waits for Courtney to finally meet with her here. 'This damn moron is always late. I bet she wasn't able to get her lazy, fat ass up in time. At least she's proven to be useful, so I won't go all ballistic on her.'
Fast steps are closing in and a rather breathless Courtney arrives.
"You're late." the blonde says in an agitated voice.
"S-sorry, Vicky. B-but…" Courtney answers her.
Waving with her hand, Victoria signs her to shut up. "I don't want to hear your stupid excuses. Now, gimme the news!"
The black-haired lackey gives her the details of what she eavesdropped in the restroom on Saturday. With every word the vicious grin gets wider and wider. A plan starts to form inside of her head; a plan to hurt her enemy; a plan to make Caulfield and Marsh her bitches for lifetime. 'They both are gonna be sorry to have fucked with me!'
"So, what do you say?" Courtney says in an anticipating voice.
Victoria, still in deep thoughts, just hums.
"That's all?"
Glaring at her with angry eyes, the blonde snips at her minion. "What else do you want? Should I pet your head or lick your ass!? Have you finished the essay?" With a fast nodding, Courtney hands her over a flashdrive. 'The essay isn't due till Friday, but I need to make some major changes to cover that I haven't wrote it. Last time, Mark nearly caught me. Just because I said that we worked together, because Courtney wasn't good at writing, convinced him.' "I hope this time it has more than ten pages!"
Another series of nods are answering the blonde. "Uhm…Vicky…uhm…"
"Stop stuttering and spit it out!"
"Y-you said that you wanted to take me to one of your parent's soirees, if I showed to be worthy. So…"
Victoria cuts her off again. "Yeah, yeah, I know." 'Ugh, I don't want to take her with me. She really thinks that she could fuck with some old art-fart and become famous overnight. It doesn't work, I tried it, but she should find out for herself.' the pixie thought and sighs. "Okay. There's a soiree in three weeks. I'll take you with me and you have the chance to make some connections. But after that, you'll do everything I want! Deal?"
Again, the black-haired girl nods eagerly. "I'll do everything!"
'As if you aren't doing it already, you idiot!' Victoria thought, takes a last draft, hands the joint over to Courtney and walks pass her, without another word. 'I have a plan to destroy this ugly bitch Caulfield. But firstly, I have to check on some things, before executing it.'
Chloe & Max
As Chloe's truck arrives at the parking lot, Max wastes no time, hops in and both are on their way to the old harbor.
"Okay, Chlo, what's going on?" Max asks slightly agitated, but also with a bit worry in her voice, looking at her friend.
The bluenette glances at her shortly, before paying her attention on the road again. "Frank already gave my debts to his supplier."
"So what? Then give him the money. Where's the problem?" the black-haired girl says with a shrug.
A sigh escapes the punk's mouth. "Yeah, I wish it would be that easy, but this asshole wants 6,000 bucks instead of 3,000. And even with all the money you gave me, I'm still two grand short. You don't have some spare money in your pockets, do you?"
"What the fuck?! Is this asshole insane? When do we meet with him?"
Chloe looks at her phone and sighs again. "In 15 minutes."
"How should we get 2 grand in 15 minutes? Haven't you even tried to negotiate?"
Looking at the smaller girl, Chloe could only scoff. "Dude, he said to me that if I'm not at the old harbor right on time, he'll hunt me down and I believed this sick fucker, 'cause he already killed Frank's old supplier; plus he had a Russian accent and that crept me completely out."
"Wait! Russian accent you say?" Max says, radiating a bit of hope.
Upon how her friend said her last words, she gazes at her in surprise. "Yeah, why?"
"I think today is your lucky day!" she answers with a wry smile.
Infected by her smile, Chloe goes in for a little mock. "Lucky day, huh? So, you finally decided to have sex with me?"
Max's face darkens in a split second. "Are you fucking cereal?!" she yells at her in anger.
The bluenette almost jumps back as the small girl's words hit her with full force. "S-sorry, Max! It was just…"
"What? A joke?" she cuts her mid-sentence and glances at her with fury eyes. "Kate and I have a serious relationship going on; a relationship built on trust and love! And I'll do anything to keep it that way! No one, not even you, will ever bring us apart! And if you ever try anything stupid, I'm gonna…"
"N-no! I would never…I'm sorry, okay? I…" the punk girl stutters.
Max breaks the gaze with Chloe and looks down at her lap. "I already lost one girlfriend, 'cause I fucked up and I won't let this happen ever again! Never! I promised that to me…to her."
The truck stops and Chloe turns off the engine as they arrive at the old harbor. She looks at Max and sees that a tear flows down her cheek. Wrapping her arms around the smaller girl, she takes her in for a hug. "I'm sorry, Max. I didn't mean to hurt you or make you feel bad. I promise you that I'll never try to bring you two apart!" She breaks the hug and wipes the tear away with her thumb. "You're my best and only friend and I already hurt you too much. I know that I still have feelings for you, but…" She sighs. "…Kate is a sweet girl and you two belong together. In future, I'll keep my stupid mocks to myself, 'kay?"
Max gives her a slight smile and shakes her head. "No, your mocks make you special and I actually like them, just stop hitting on me all the time and we're fine."
"Promised!" Chloe replies with a nod and a warm smile. Then she changes the topic. "So, what's your plan?"
The black-haired girl's face turns stern again as she looks deeply into Chloe's deep-blue eyes. "Chlo, you have to promise me one more thing. Whatever you're gonna hear, don't judge me on that." And bluenette answers with a stern nod. Max takes out her phone and dials a number. "Hi Dimitri, its Max…No, just Max, never Maxine…Stop bitchin' around, asshole and give me Alexei, I can hear him in the background…I know that you're a professional, but you never kill without an assignment…Thanks…Hi Alexei, it's me, Max…Super Max…ugh, you're Queen of the cage…No, I don't like this name…I know that it sounds like Queen of the Blades, but the cage makes it sound like I'm a dominatrix…Fine…Listen, I need a favor…Do you know who runs the drug supplies in Oregon now?...One of your guys?...Okay, here's the thing; a friend owned the local dealer money, but he gave the debt to your guy, but this fucker doubled the amount…Yes, she has the money, but only the original debt…She doesn't have that much…C'mon, dude…Ugh, fine…Okay…Yeah…Thanks, you're the best…bye!" She puts her phone back into her pocket and looks at Chloe. "Okay, this is how it's gonna be; you talk with this guy, find out what he wants and if things go ugly I'll jump in. I know his boss, so he won't dare making a move on us or he'll be dead, understood?"
Chloe nods, but looks at her uneasily. "Understood!" She pauses to take a deep breath and then leaves the truck and Max does the same.
The fresh and salty air of the sea embraces them. They're surrounded by old buildings. Once, the proud of the old Arcadia Bay fishing industry the remaining buildings and docks of the old harbor are crumbling under the pressure of time. As industrialization finally hit Arcadia Bay in the late nineteen-forties, the old harbor was too small to house all the factories, warehouses and masses of boats, needed to fulfill the investors hunger for more fish and therefor more money. So, the new harbor was built in parallel use with the old one. But as the fish became fewer the decision was made to abandon the old docks and to stick with new, more modern harbor.
'Five more minutes to wait.' Both girls are leaning against the front of Chloe's truck, the wind brushes through Max's hair as she looks at her friend, who has her nervous gaze locked on the horizon in front of her. "Chloe?"
"Hmm?"
"Are the debts you have to pay completely yours or is a part of them Rachel's fault?" Max asks, knowing that she just entered unsafe territory with this question. But against all her expectations, Chloe doesn't freak, she still stares at the horizon.
"Yeah, most of it."
"You know that your mom's right about her?"
The bluenette nods and sighs, still averting Max's gaze. "I know." But finally she turns towards her with misty eyes. "Since you two mentioned her, I thought about all this fucking shit she's done; thought about how she fucking used me." Her fist hits the hood. "Damn, I was so stupid. I should've dumped her ass, but instead…" She sighs again. "…It doesn't matter anymore. She's gone somewhere else and I think that it was a good thing. It helped me getting rid of her and now, I don't want to think about her anymore."
As soon as she'd finished her sentence, a black van appears between two buildings and drives towards them. It stops 30 feet in front of them. The doors open and three men get out of the car. Two big, burly, muscled men, armed with AKs and a smaller, bald man with a leather trench coat.
'Showtime!' Max thought.
Sean Prescott
Monday mornings are busy mornings, because over the weekend a lot of things can happen. Like accidents, crashing at the stock market or the passing of deadlines for the next payment.
Sean Prescott waited for this day. Finally he could buy 44 Cedar Avenue underprice from the bank. No negotiations, no stress, only pure pleasure. Soon, whole Cedar Avenue will belong to the Prescott Foundation; the old houses will be leveled and replaced with new ones. Of course, the rent will be much higher and the houses will only be given to privileged people.
He looks at his watch. '10 am. Time, to collect the reward.' Sean Prescott thought with a grin and dials the number of his bank consultant. "Yeah, morning John, Sean here…Family's fine and yours?...Good to hear. Now listen, John, the mortgage for 44 Cedar Avenue has to be overdue by now and I want to buy this house right now…What? When?...How is this possible? They had no money…What, a check? Who gave them the money?...I don't give a shit that it is bank policy to keep the name secret…Caulfield you say?...No…Yeah, bye." He ends the call and throws his phone against the wall. 'This damn bitch interfered again. Okay, seems like she didn't understand my warnings, so I have to get personal here.'
Browsing through his e-Mails, he opens one that was sent to him a few days ago. This Mail contains files; files about Maxine Caulfield; files that were confidential. 'Let's see. Her school record is clean, as well as her medical record. Hmm…police files about an incident in June this year…she beat up 5 people, but it was self-defense, so nothing to hold against her. Shit, nothing, nothing, nothing.' He sighs and rubs his temple. 'What should I expect from an 18-years-old girl? Wait, what is this?' He opens the last file that is attached to the Mail. 'A note from Homeland-Security?' An evil smile rushes over his lips. 'Bingo!'
Kate
Her Algebra-class had started 20 minutes ago. Math was never Kate's strongest side, but she pulled through, had her As and here and there a B. Normally it wasn't hard for her to follow the teacher, but today she was distracted. Since the class had started she had a bad feeling; a feeling like something's going to happen, but not to her, no; to somebody else. 'Maybe it's just the weather or my longing for Max, but it makes me feel uneasy. Max! Maybe she's in trouble? No, Kate! Not this again! Last time we almost fought about my jealousy and frankly, I really trust her, but this strange feeling…' The blonde girl sighs and takes a look at her phone. 'Of course she hasn't texted me. She's in class, like I am. But still…I'll write her a subtle message. Just asking her how she's doing and that I'm bored.' She starts to type under the table.
Kate: Hey Max, how're you doing? I'm so bored by math. Thinking about you.
'That should do it.' she thought and waits for an answer, but even after 10 minutes she received nothing. 'Okay, Kate. Don't freak! Maybe she turned her phone off. No, she never did that. Or maybe the battery died? No, she always loads it overnight. Curses! What should I do? This bad feeling's killing me. Dana! She has classes with Dana!'
Kate: Hi D! Is Max with you?
Dana: Yes.
Kate: Why isn't she replying my message?
Dana: Battery's down.
Kate's eyes widen. 'Did Dana just lie to me? Something's wrong here!'
Kate: D, please don't lie to me!
Dana: Sorry, she left before class to help Chloe with some problems.
The Christian girl's face turns red as anger starts to rise inside of her. 'Chloe again!'
"Miss Marsh, is everything alright?" the Algebra-teacher, Mr. Peterson, asks her.
She looks at him, startled. "Y-yes? What?" All eyes are locked onto her, some giggling and whispering is going through the students, obviously making fun of her.
"I asked if everything is alright with you, because you weren't paying any attention."
"I-I don't feel that well. C-can I go, please?" she says.
Mr. Peterson sighs. "Miss Marsh, I don't think that you feel that unwell, if you can still play with your phone under the desk. Now pay attention or I will send you to detention."
The anger inside of her rises even more. Kate doesn't know where it comes from or why she's doing what she's about to do. The blonde girl just grabs her stuff, stands up and heads for the door.
"Miss Marsh, what are you doing?"
She turns towards Mr. Peterson one last time, before leaving the room. "I'm leaving, we see us in detention!" she says, slams the door shut and heads for the dormitories. 'I'll wait for Max in the dormitories and then I'll have a serious talk with her!' With every step towards the dorms, her anger fades more and more and is replaced with concern. 'I just hope that she's alright.'
Max
While the three Russians walk towards the two girls, Chloe leans towards Max. "Okay, Maximus, be honest with me! Where these two gorillas with the machineguns part of your plan?" Her voice clearly filled with worry.
"No." the freckled girl answers plainly, still looking at the criminals sternly. She turns her head to Chloe. "Listen, just talk with baldy, give him the money as a down payment and tell him that he will get the rest tomorrow."
"And what if he doesn't agree?"
"Then I'll take over and you will stand back." Max sighs and looks deeply into her friend's blue eyes. "Chlo, if something happens to me, I want you to jump into your truck and bail! Hide and try to get to Seattle, find my dad, he can protect you."
Chloe's eyes widen. "What? I won't leave you here to die!"
With a wry smile, the black-haired girl pokes the bluenettes shoulder. "Don't worry, everything's gonna be fine. Nobody's gonna die here!"
"Which of you is Bulldog?" a deep voice with Russian accent disturbs the two girls conversation.
Max nods slightly at her and Chloe puts her gaze towards the bald man. "That would be me." she says, still very nervous.
"Why aren't you alone? Who's this?" he asks with an aggressive voice, pointing at Max.
"S-she's just a friend and you never mentioned that I should come alone."
The Russian's head turns deep-red as anger starts to rise inside of him. "Don't ever tell me what I might have said or what not, bitch! Now, where's the money?"
Chloe hands him an envelope, containing the 4,000 dollars. "Here, these are 4,000 dollars as a down payment; you'll get the rest tomorrow."
He throws the money to the ground and starts to rage. "This is not what we agreed on the phone!"
"Dude, we didn't agree to anything. You just told me to bring you the fucking money and I told you that I can't get it in 30 minutes! And you didn't say shit about coming alone. And what are these two guys with the guns are here for? Did you really think that I would bring a gun and try to blast your ugly ass, or what? How stupid are you? Even I know how to pull something like this, but you…" she yells at the Russian mobster, not realizing that his hand's already moving inside his coat to draw a gun.
Max readies herself to interfere, already scanning the situation. 'Shit, here we go. Baldy is completely focused on Chloe. His gorillas don't see us as a threat, 'cause they're not paying any attention. One is even staring at the ocean. Good chances!'
She focuses, time slows down. Before the bald guy even could react, he has her elbow in his face, sending him to the ground. Next, she grabs the AK47 of the one gorilla, who was still watching the argument, rips it out of his hand and swings it like a baseball bat. The wooden stock hits the face of the broad, unarmed guard. Blood spills out of his nose and raptured lip and he goes down.
The second guard now finally realizes what's going and tries to ready his assault rifle. Max continues the swing and throws the AK at him. It hits him right in the crotch, letting him bend over. The fighting girl now jumps over their boss, knee first and plants it right onto the second gorilla's temple, sending him unconscious to the ground.
Suddenly Max's phone chimes inside of her pocket, distracting her. It's Kate's melody. 'Katie!'
"MAX, BEHIND YOU!" Chloe screams.
Max turns around, looking down the barrel of a Makarov pistol with widened eyes. She can hear as the hammer is released with a click, sending it towards the firing pin. There's nothing she could do to prevent the shot.