Summary: The Fake AH Crew learns a little about improvisation and whole lot about never letting Gavin run a job. Ever.

Chapter 7

"Nice scarf, do they make it for me?"

"Ray!" Geoff snapped. "Quit beating that guy up and get in your damn fire truck!"

"He hit me first!" Ray said defensively, kicking the body one last time before doing as instructed. The fire trucks had been parked on the ramp near the gas station and Gavin had squawked indignantly when Ryan pulled up in his ambulance. Ryan overrode him with the objection that he could serve as a backup getaway for the entire crew if the plan failed. After parking the trucks, they returned to the construction area and covered Michael tanker trucks with 27 sticky bombs. (Gavin the heist master was the one who didn't have enough sticky bombs.) Jack parked the bike in the alley before taking a spot on the roof of the convenience store with a bird's eye view of the gas pumps that would soon be reduced to rubble.

"All right, are we ready?" Jack ask, aiming the scope of his sniper rifle at the pumps for a clear view. "I have an amazing view of the explosion." This probably wouldn't work, but it was a huge tribute to Geoff's faith in them that he was letting this heist proceed. No one could say he didn't believe in his gang after letting Gavin of all people run a job.

"Can I just say I appreciate the dumbass who left the AH mobile right in my fucking way!" Michael shouted, his voice raised to carry over the sound of beeping coming from the tons of sticky bombs stuck to his truck. The ominous beeping was doing nothing for his nerves nor was the sheer ludicrousness of the plan. He just hoped he wouldn't get shot full of holes on his frenzied flight to Jack's motorcycle. God damn Geoff for letting Gavin take the lead on this one. If anything happens to me, Geoff will be the first one I take the fuck out.

Geoff gripped the steering wheel of his fire truck, trying to ignore the way his hands shook and his palms sweated. It wasn't that he was afraid—he was terrified and it had little do with how desperate their situation was in the Syndicate and everything to do with how stupid Gavin could be and how many things could go wrong with his plan. But, as Ryan pointed out, it was time to stop thinking of each other as fuck ups and start working as a team. Everyone had a Kevlar vest on this time and Ryan swore he had no plans to betray anyone. Geoff tried hard to stow his doubts.

Ryan also had no faith in the plan, but it was worth a shot. It was kinda fun for him to do something crazy like this, what with the yellow outfits and stolen emergency vehicles. It was right up his street. He also figured now was as good a chance as any to try to get along with the rest of the gang. They saw him as such a freak that they had left him out in harm's way without protection last time. Maybe a show of faith was in order.

Ray just wanted to live. He wasn't optimistic about his chances as he rode shotgun in the fire truck piloted by Gavin, whose crazy enthusiasm was starting to take over.

Gavin didn't think much of anything. The plan to him was solid. They would be fine. I am so smart. Go me!

"All right, what's our go word?" Ran asked Gavin through the earpiece.

"Um…" Gavin thought for a minute. "Hegurkhurgurk!" he shouted, making a strangled sort of choking noise.

Geoff hit his head on his steering wheel. "So I blow it now right?" he asked sarcastically.

"NO!" shouted the Crew.

"Remember," Gavin said as Michael began to drive. "When you hear the explosion, or Jack sees it, sirens all the way."

Michael drove through the streets of Los Santos with extreme care, his heart thudding in his throat as night fell around them. He did not feel safe hauling this giant stick of dynamite, but there was nothing to be done. The poor clerk in the gas station wouldn't know what hit him.

"I see the truck," Jack said quietly from his perch on the wall as Michael pulled ever so slowly into view. "God damn, it is glowing with sticky bombs. It's like Christmas down there"

Michael carefully pulled into the gas station, right in between two pumps, and anxious eye on the amount of space between the bomb-covered sides of the truck and the gas pumps. He pulled in almost perfectly and carefully, casually exited the vehicle.

"All right," Michael whispered as he strolled up to the glowing storefront. "I'm heading in."

"Michael," Gavin said, quiet as the others. "Make sure you kill the clerk. Let Geoff know when he should blow."

Ryan swore loudly causing Michael to pause with one hand on the door. "We didn't recon the store!" he said frantically. "Is anyone in there?"

Michael took a deep breath and pushed the door open, giving the clerk a friendly nod. He wandered down the beer aisle, looking carefully over the fully stocked shelves. "All clear," he whispered. "No one in the store." Michael turned and walked up to the counter.

"All right boys…here we go." Michael reached into his coat and pulled out the AK that he had carefully concealed with his bulky jacket. The clerk didn't even hesitate, he raised one hand and smashed open the cash register with the other. "Give me the money!" Michael shouted.

"I hear alarms," Jack said as the shriek of sirens sounded over the headsets.

"Michael as soon as you have the money, tell Geoff to detonate." Geoff, in the rear fire truck, pulled out the detonator, his breathing and heartbeat both erratic as he prepared to blow the place to kingdom come.

This cashier was even more frightened than the one Geoff and Gavin had encountered. The others could hear Michael shouting at the man and swearing every time he fumbled. Coins rolled behind the counter and bills fluttered to the ground making Michael growl in frustration.

"We have to blow it," Ryan snapped. "Before there's cops!"

"Wait!" Michael roared. "Just wait one second! Get the fucking money, you asshole!"

"Oh shit there's cops," Jack shouted. "Oh man, there's cops."

Michael barely had time to turn and look when the shop front exploded in a shower of glass and a battering ram hit him the chest. He stumbled, trying to keep his gun on the cashier but another slug caught him in the shoulder. He stumbled again just as the cashier flung the money at him. "I'm getting shot! I'm getting shot! God damn it!" Michael steadied his arm and pulled the trigger and the cashier clutched his throat, choking on his own blood as he died. Michael scooped up the money and ducked behind a shelf. "I've got the money!" he screamed at Geoff. "Blow it, blow it!"

Geoff slammed his fist down on the detonator, ears perked for the explosion…but nothing happened.

"Geoff blow it!" Gavin screeched.

'"I'm trying!" Geoff said, hammering the button. "It's not working!"

"Ah shit," Jack shouted. "The lights on the bombs went off!"

"Fucking hell!" Gavin said. "We gotta get to Michael!"

"Solution!" Jack yelled. He grabbed the last of the sticky bombs he had and stood, a clear target for the cops who were shouting to each other about his appearance on the roof. Jack took his one shot and threw the sticky bombs as hard as he could at the truck.

If the explosions from his effort on Geoff's job had been bad than this was hell on earth. Cop cars, cops, bits of sidewalk, gasoline, glass, metal, and fire all rocketed up into the sky, the heat searing everything in proximity. Jack fell, scrambling away from the blaze of heat and soot that crashed into his face as an inferno erupted around him.

Michael had seen the arc of the sticky bomb and hit the ground flat just as all of the windows exploded from their frames. Bits of glass rained down, slicing his face and hands, but he ignored the pain. There was a moment of deafening silence before his ear piece erupted in frantic shouts and triumphant yells as more sirens rang out into the night.

"Gavin!" Michael shouted. "Geoff, Ryan, Ray, get the fuck over here!" He looked at the flames outside, wondering how on earth he would escape without being burned. "Jack are you ok?"

"I'm fine," Jack said immediately. "I'm on the bike waiting for you, go, go, go!"

An ambulance raced into the parking lot and slammed on its breaks, whipping around and crushing two newly arrived cops. Michael was confused until he saw the Rasta Fire-man jump out of the door and start firing into the burning wastelands as more police tried to swarm them "Michael I'm here! Go!"

The "firemen" were on the move, Gavin leading the charge. Ray gripped the edge of his seat as Gavin slammed onto the accelerator, racing up the ramp and into the road, the deafening siren blasting above his head. Gavin let out a triumphant shout as they raced around the corner, the blaze of the gas station coming into view.

"Gavin!" Ray shouted, leaning forward and pointing out the window. "Gavin break, you'll hit the gas pump!"

"Shit!" Gavin said, slamming the breaks as the fire truck bounced the curb. It was no use. His reaction was too slow and they had been going too fast.

"God damn it!" Ray shouted. He threw his door open and grabbed Gavin by the collar. "You fucking idiot!" Ray shouted before diving out of the speeding fire truck and pulling Gavin along with him.

Michael and Ryan both stared in horror as Gavin's fire truck careened into the gas pump. The force knocked the pump askew, sending gas into the air and that was all that was needed. There was another huge explosion and the fire truck went up in flames, adding to the chaos around them.

"Gavin!" Michael screamed. "Secret Gavin!"

"Ray, no!" Ryan shouted. "Oh god damn it. God damn it!"

Geoff swung around the corner in his own fire trucks just in time to see Gavin and Ray go up in flames. He didn't shout for them as the other did, knowing it was useless. Worse it was his fault. He knew the plan was shaky at best but he'd had let it happen and for what? Some whim that they would magically pull together and not be the worst gang ever?

"Geoff," Jack shouted in his ear. "Help Ryan and Michael."

Geoff shook himself of his guilt. He could feel guilty for the rest of his life but now he had to focus. Flipping the switch on the dash, he sent a rocket of water into the flames and cops which fell before him. "I'm here. Who needs a ride?"

"Secret Michael I have it!" Jack yelled. "I have the bike, come on!"

"Go, Michael! Geoff and I will covered you," Ryan added, ducking back behind his ambulance as a rain of gunfire flew at him. The flames were starting to die down some thanks to Geoff's efforts, but it was allowing the cops to get closer. Ryan crouched behind his ambulance, raining gunfire into the approaching police. He could see several policemen go down in splash of water from Geoff. It wasn't enough though. They had needed the help that would be provided by Ray and Gavin but…well.

Michael ran out of the gas station following the route that Gavin had laid out, or at least kinda followed it. Instead of running around the carwash, he ran through it, taking advantage of the momentary protection from the gunfire flying on all sides. He sprinted out of the carwash and made the cheeky U-turn and flew up the stairs. Well actually he just went up the stairs, stairs are very hard to run up and damn his legs were burning. The fence was in front of him and he tossed his gun and bag over it before hauling himself up and over. "I'm here Jack!"

Jack wasted no time. As soon as he felt Michael's hand on the bike, he revved the engine and shot off, hoping Michael had actually made it onto the bike. (He did.)

"Cheese it!" Ryan yelled. He heard Geoff and Michael and Ryan yelling as the money got away and Geoff continued trying to back Ryan up. Ryan was too exposed where he was and now was the time to get away. He fired one last clip into the fray before flinging open the ambulance door. He was tempted to check the wreckage for any sign of Ray or Gavin, but it was too late at that point, medical equipment on hand or no. It was time to make a break for it. They were going to get out of this and pay the cops back in blood for Gavin and Ray.

Granted, it was Gavin's fault they died, but that wasn't the point.

Ryan reversed and executed a sharp turn to make a clean getaway. He was golden, the path was clear and Geoff was already moving out. He was gonna make it!

The roar of a shotgun changed everything.

Geoff, Michael, and Jack all flinched as the echoing boom sounded in their ears and Ryan's yelp was abruptly cut off. Then there was nothing besides the sound of police pursuit behind them,

"We lost Secret Ryan!" Jack shouted in frustration. "Damnit!

"What happened to Ryan?" Geoff shouted, trying to see behind him, but the gas station was long gone as he raced for the pier.

Jack ignored the question as every cop in the world fell in behind him and Michael. "Oh shit…" he said through gritted teeth. "Oh shit! Oh there's bullets—secret bullets."

"Oh crap!" Michael added, pulling his gun and firing at the cars behind him.

"Heading to the secret highway," Jack said as the sound of a police chopper suddenly broke through the rest of the noise. "Oh man, we have a secret helicopter."

"It's not that secret!" Michael snapped.

"So we really lost Ryan?" Geoff asked as he made his way through the streets of Los Santos for the pier.

"I think we're all that's left," Michael said. "Or at least all that's left that we know of."

"We don't have a cargobob!" Geoff shouted, reviewing the plan and trying to figure out the next step. "We got nothing."

"What do we do?" Michael asked.

Geoff swung around a corner, the pier in his sights. "We stick with as much of the plan as possible. We'll improvise."

"We're headed to the beach," Jack confirmed. "We—oh shit!"

Suddenly they entered an underpass and found the road crawling with cops. One cop car swung out of his lane into theirs and Jack just barely managed to dodge him by jumping behind him and crossing over into another lane. "Shit, I didn't even see that!"

"Oh we're fucked," Michael moaned, trying to shoot straight as they swerved. "Why do we always have the getaway vehicle be a motorcycle?!" Cop car after cop car cut them off and tried to ram them as Jack swerved and cursed and Michael tried to shoot out tires. God damn it, hadn't he just been in this situation with Ray?

On a motorcycle with Ray fleeing from the cops….oh fuck. Michael knew how this was going to end!

"Jack no!" Michael shouted as he heard the rev of an engine right behind them, just like before. They roared out of the underpass and for split second, everything slowed to the movement of the bike, the gun in his hand, and the roar of the enemy behind him. Were they going to make it, were they going to be ok?

Nope.

The car hit them from behind. Jack let out a horrible strangled yell as he flew off the bike, bounced along the pavement, and disappeared over the high way wall. Michael also flew through the air, but managed to land better and struggle to his feet. "Oh I'm dead!" He shouted as cops converged on him. "Oh I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm—"

"Stay alive!" Geoff shouted, but he heard the sounds of police gun fire before his headset went dead. He parked hastily on the pier and scrambled down from his fire truck. There were whimpering sounds he didn't understand until he realized it was him.

"Why is it so quiet!" he shouted, racing down the pier, unnerved by the silence and the lack of confirmation of his gang's status. "Where is everyone? Where's the money?"

The RWBY jet skis were in the water at the end of the pier so Geoff didn't break stride. Instead he put on an extra burst of speed and flung himself over the edge into the water. "Ow!" he shouted as the water smacked him in the face. He struggled upward as water filled his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, but his hands met something hard blocking his way. I'm gonna drown!

He pushed against it, hard, and the barrier drowning him shifted and he surfaced, sputtering and coughing. He hauled himself up on the yellow Jet Ski that had nearly drowned him and ignited the engine. He left the pier and shore behind and sliced his way through the waves.

"God damn it," he muttered. "All my friends are dead…and I'm broke!"

Geoff wound his way through the water for an hour, making sure the heat fully died down. Once the coast was clear, he'd head back to the office and try to convince Burnie no to kill him. Then he'd bury the idiots who had blindly followed him. God damn it.

Geoff trudged into the conference room where they had planned that last fateful heist. His plan was to burn all the evidence. Starting with those selfies. Then he'd go beg for his life.

He had just pulled down the last of the selfies when shouting came from the hall way.

"GAVIN! You were useful for like 8 seconds! What happened?"

Michael?

"He drove into a gas pump and blew me up!"

Ray!

"I went in with the intention of extinguishing and created and even bigger fireball."

Gavin!

"We noticed!"

And Ryan and Jack!

The door swung open and sure enough the Fake AH Crew trooped in, burned, scraped, bloody and livid. Jack immediately fixed Geoff with glare. "You triggered the C$ and all the damn lights went off!" he shouted, at the end of his rope. "I had to chuck a grenade from the roof. You're lucky I hit it!"

"And can we not take a damn motorcycle as a getaway vehicle?" Michael added, rubbing his shoulder where he had been both shot and flung to the road. "We all almost died!"

Geoff couldn't help but grin, equally pleased and exasperated with his crew. "I'd like to point out that I lived," he said cheekily.

Everyone glared except Gavin, who slumped down at the table and covered his face wearily with his hands.

"Everything about that went wrong," he moaned.

"Shocking," Ray said bitterly.