Summary: In which Gavin kinda fucks everyone again and Geoff becomes a hero for five seconds.

Chapter 25

Ryan felt Ray's sniper round whiz past him before the clerk's head snapped back and she crumpled to the floor. He hadn't even ducked, trusting Ray's impeccable aim.

"She's dead," Ray confirmed, jumping back into the Dubsta. Ryan immediately withdrew some C4, wedged it between the register and the safe that was just below it and ran back out the door where he ducked and pushed the detonator.

The door and windows exploded, raining glass down on Ryan, but he was already up and moving. The cash register and safe had been blown back a few feet and were twisted ruins but the money was safe miraculously. The register drawer was still clinging to the bills and the deposit in the safe was tightly packed in a bag so it was the work of a moment for Ryan to grab it and leg it back out of the store.

A cop across the street who had seen the explosion came running towards Ryan, drawing his gun and Ryan didn't even hesitate. He swung his duffle bag into the cop's head, knocking the officer down before flinging himself into the Dubsta.

"Good take but we have one cop!" Ryan shouted as Geoff gunned it.

"You can lose him before we hit the next store," Michael pointed out.

Geoff tore off down the streets and managed to hide in a parking garage as several police cars raced by sirens shrieking. The car had no license plates and the cop Ryan had hit hadn't gotten a look at anything besides the color red and an eagle face so it was likely they were clear.

"That lady didn't stand a chance," Ray said with a grin as Geoff backed out of the garage.

"No she did not," Ryan agreed. "Her fucking brain matter is on the back of that wall."

"Hi Jack!" Gavin chirped suddenly as the cargobob drifted into his view. "I can see you!"

"Hi Gavin," Jack said with half a smile. Gavin could be unflappable sometimes. "This is your bomb I'm holding."

"Oh so should I blow it now?" Gavin asked jokingly. "I could make a really cool firework."

"No!" shouted everyone.

"All right, next location!" Geoff said, hitting the breaks and stopping in front of a very familiar Suburban. "They may remember us as the guys who were just here."

Ryan swung the door open and ducked when someone went screaming past him. The shop clerk, having seen a car full of masked men pull up, was already making a run for it. Ryan debated tripping her but trusted Ray to do his job. Sure enough, he had barely set the C4 when the girl's screams cut off abruptly and something heavy hit the ground outside the window.

"No witnesses," Ray said simply, returning to his perch in the Dubsta.

Ryan had to set a few charges here as they had three registers and three safes, but it was worth it as it appeared that the former clerk stupidly hadn't taken any deposits or money into the bank today. Ryan stuffed a ridiculous amount of cash into his bag.

"We are someone in the area of 20 grand now!" Ryan said excitedly running back to Geoff.

"Holy shit!" Geoff said, amazed. They were doing it. They were actually doing it!

"Her dead body, her dead body!" Ray yelled to Ryan.

Ryan drew up at the Dubsta confused. Her body—oh right! He threw a bit of C4 at the dead clerk and detonated it, erasing the clerk in a puff of smoke and bits of bone and flesh.

"I meant take her money, but you can blow her up," Ray muttered as Geoff sped off.

"Done," Ryan said gleefully.

Gavin's phone went off in his hand. It was a text from Kerry back at the office. Apparently Simeon didn't appreciate that they had commandeered two of his vehicles as bombs and was demanding they be returned. Gavin scoffed. "Piss of Simeon, you bald bitch!"

"Response times in this area are terrible," Ryan observed as nary a cop appeared to be on to them.

"They're probably arriving at the first store now," Michael joked.

"Ok we are en route to the third location," Geoff announced.

Ryan and Ray leaped out of the Dubsta moments later. Ryan ran for the door to the Ammu-Nation they had just shopped at and Ray crouched behind a gold sedan in the parking lot. They had to be quick here. It was not easy to rob a place that specialized in items that can kill robbers. Ryan paused with his hand on the door, waiting for Ray to signal him.

"Now!" Ray said, aiming carefully.

Ryan yanked open the door and held it, his back to the burly, tattooed cashier behind the register.

"CROUCH!"

Ryan ducked and the cashier's head exploded.

Ray swore and ran back to the Dubsta as Ryan set and blew C4. Ryan would never know how close he had come to dying right there. The clerk almost immediately pulled a gun while Ryan faced away from him and would have shot Ryan dead right there. Ray felt dread flood him, but kept his head on…barely. He pulled the trigger, just managing to shout the warning to Ryan. Had Ryan hesitated even just a nanosecond longer after Ray shouted, the sniper round would have imbedded itself in his forehead. Ray slumped against the cold metal of the truck breathing hard as his heart rate returned to normal. Thank God he had held steady and thank God Ryan had no idea how close he had come.

Geoff watched the whole thing in horrified silence and chose not to say anything as Ryan ran excitedly back to them. Ray was one hell of a shot and had definitely brought his A game today. Ryan didn't need to know.

Ryan was giddy. It turns out that Ammu-Nation was a little too confident in their stock's ability to protect them from thieves. They hadn't taken deposits into a bank in at least a week, though the cash register had small tills. They made another getaway, hiding from pursuing law enforcement under some apartment complex's stairs.

Geoff pulled up to the final location and Ray and Ryan jumped from the still moving vehicle to get into position.

"WHY?!" Ray shouted, making Ryan jump and whip around.

A jeep speeding down the other side of the road did not see Ray and clipped him with his mirror. Ray did a funny sort of pirouette in the street, which Ryan caught sight of, and fell in the street.

"Fuck that guy!" Ryan yelled, going for his gun.

"NO!" shouted the Crew.

"Stay on target!" Ray snapped, getting to his feet. His shoulder hurt where he had been hit but he was still able to hold his rifle steady so he was fine.

Ryan hesitated but realized they were too close to blow it now. He pulled open the door of the tattoo parlor and found it empty but for the cashier. The cashier however took one look at Ryan's mask and vaulted over the counter, sprinting through the door before Ryan even had a chance to react.

"Oh he's running!" Ryan said, turning and trying in vain to grab for the guy.

"I'll get him," Ray said, dropping his rifle and switching to the machine gun slung over his back. He raised the gun and didn't even have to aim as he pulled the trigger and unloaded into the poor guy.

Ryan blew the registers and safes one final time and came up with a measly couple grand. Damn responsible shopkeepers. He exited the tattoo parlor and caught sight of a Vinewood tour bus parked just outside.

"Let's go ahead and leave a little calling card," Ryan said with a grin as he tossed a bundle of C4 at the van and detonated it.

Unfortunately, the cops had finally wised up to what was going on and no sooner had Ryan got back in the Dubsta than three police cars came gunning down the street after them.

"All right, the Popo is on us!" Geoff yelled, slamming on the accelerator.

Now the real heist had begun.

Geoff plowed through the first cop car, grateful for their vehicle's superior size as it shoved the squad car back. "Just collided with the cops, we're heading into the alley. It's happening boys, this is it!"

Ray hung on for dear life as Geoff sped up, taking turns on two wheels and nearly flinging Ray off the back. "I will be the first to go down because I am completely exposed!" he announced, reminding Geoff that he was back there.

The alley was just ahead and Geoff charged in, scraping against dumpsters and dodging homeless people.

"When am I blocking it?" Gavin asked, looking wildly around through his mask.

Geoff saw Gavin's truck appear in his head lights and he yanked the wheel sharply to the right. Unfortunately the big vehicle turned widely so they slammed into the wall instead. Ray would have been throw into the cab's back window had he not been hanging on and as it was his arms screamed in protest at their abusive treatment.

"Oh shit we forgot how wide the turn radius is!" Ryan lamented, levering himself back off of the dashboard where he had been tossed and rubbing his freshly bruised forehead.

"We're fine," Geoff snapped. He reversed and managed to maneuver them into the alley.

"Block it, block it!" Ryan, Ray, and Geoff all shouted to Gavin. Gavin accelerated forward and successfully sealed off the alley.

"Get up the ladder!" Geoff shouted, stopping the Dubsta and grabbing his gun as he jumped out. Ray and Ryan were already at the ladder and Geoff caught sight of Gavin hauling himself over the front end of the truck that was now blocking the alley. He looked back and saw the other truck they had planted was gone, likely stolen or towed. So much for the death funnel. Still as long as they could get in the chopper and get airborne with the tank they'd be safe..ish.

Ryan was already on the roof and was covering the others. Ray, who had one hand on the ladder, backed off when Geoff reached him and gestured for Geoff to go while he provided cover. Gavin was also aiming at their exposed side, waiting for Geoff to go first.

Geoff frowned as he scurried up the ladder. Why did they wait for me to go first?

Meanwhile, three squad cars drove into Jack's line of sight and turned into the parking lot. Jack steered the chopper over them and his hand hovered on the hook release button. "Gavin, get ready!"

Gavin stopped at the base of the ladder and fumbled for the detonator in his pocket. "Ready!"

Jack released the car and Gavin waited a beat before hitting the detonator. The car blew up. Jack kept his eyes on the ground waiting to see how much damage they had caused.

"Shit, we missed the cop!" Jack swore.

"What a waste!" Gavin cried in frustration.

"Get your second bomb," Ryan replied. Geoff reached the roof and Ryan immediately backed off the ladder. Instead he sprinted to the faintly glowing black car Michael had covered in sticky bombs and waited as Jack lowered the hook into position. With the ease of what was now copious amounts of practice, he secured the hook to the car and Jack lifted it easily. He struggled turning the chopper as the cops below aimed towards him and the flashes of Ryan and Geoff and Gavin that they could see on the roof. Ryan and Geoff moved to the low wall at the edge of the roof and crouched behind it, raising up to fire at the police and give Jack enough time to drop the other car bomb.

"Blow it!" Ryan shouted to Jack as bullets smashed into the concrete around him. "Come on Jack!"

"Where am I dropping it?" he asked. He was right over the cops and couldn't see the bombs or where it would land.

"On the cops!" Geoff shouted back angrily.

"Look down, drop it where there's people!" Michael shouted.

Jack glared. "All right, fine!" He released the car. "It's loose!"

Michael pushed the button on his own detonator and the car blew up. "Blew it!"

This bomb was more successful, landing on a cluster of policemen and blowing them sky high along with their car. Ryan yanked Geoff down behind the low wall on the roof as shrapnel flew past.

"All right everyone in the chopper!' Geoff ordered. Jack moved over them and landed, the wind from the spinning blades pushing at them as they converged on the cargobob. Ryan, Ray, and Gavin fell back a bit, ensuring Geoff got in first. No sooner had Geoff hauled himself up next to Jack than the first police helicopter flew into range. Ryan, Ray, and Gavin turned their guns up and backed toward the chopper.

"We got helicopters!" Michael announced unnecessarily just as Gavin's gun clicked on empty. He reached down for the duffle bag of weapons and closed on empty air. He had left his weapons and ammo in the truck!

"I've got no ammo for God's sake!" he shouted angrily. He was ignored.

Ray reached the cargobob just after Geoff and yanked on the hook that had pooled on the ground next to the cargobob. He ran over to the tank and secured the hook around it. Ryan dropped his empty assault rifle and followed Ray, pulling out his rocket launcher as Gavin ran for the cargobob. Ryan aimed carefully and launched the missile, which hit the chopper dead on.

"Everyone in!" Geoff ordered. Thanks to Ryan they now had a brief window to get in and get off the ground before the next chopper came in.

"Nice shot!" Ray yelled, running past Ryan and diving into the cargobob. Ryan followed, flinging himself up behind Gavin and switching to another gun.

The second chopper flew in just as Jack lifted off of the ground, bullets from the machine gun bouncing off the armored side of the cargo bob. They had to move higher to lift Michael, but the chopper was right on them.

"Shoot him, Michael!" Ryan yelled.

"I can't you're right on top of him!" Michael replied, trying to move his gun around them. "Back up, back up!"

Jack reversed the cargobob slowly and had barely moved out of range when Michael fired. The police helicopter was obliterated. "I got him! Go, go, go!"

Jack pushed the controls forward and the cargobob moved with surprising agility. They moved forward and upward. There was a moment of resistance as the hook's line stretched to its full extended length and a brief shudder. The engines revved slightly and then Michael felt the tank swing forward slowly as the armored vehicle left the rooftop to cheers from him and the rest of the crew.

"Let's heist!" he cried triumphantly as he manned the gunner controls.

"To the airport boys!" Geoff shouted gleefully. "To the airport! To glory! To freedom!"

The tank appeared to be swinging gently below them but to Michael inside it was a dizzying ride. He wasn't prone to motion sickness, but the weightless ups and downs were making him a little woozy. He tried to turn the gun around but with the absence of the ground, he found the controls did not readily respond to him for some reason. "I'm just gonna shoot randomly because I can't target anything!" he announced before launching several rounds. "Operation Rain Down Chaos!" He laughed maniacally as he shot, relieved when after a moment he was able to get the gun around to face behind them.

"Oh my God," Jack said with an incredulous laugh as the police choppers struggled to keep up with them and their disco ball of death. "How is this working?"

Michael looked up at his display and saw their pursuers falling further behind. "Holy shit we're getting away!" he laughed.

Suddenly the closest police chopper accelerated somehow and swung in close. Jack and the others shouted out as Jack swerved to avoid collision. "On the left, the left!" he called back to the others, who aimed for the chopper besieging them.

"Shoot him Michael!" Gavin said.

"I'm trying!" Michael snapped back as he fought gravity and the swinging. He managed to lower his gun and the cross hair lit up around his target. He fired.

The police helicopter blew up and the Crew cheered uproariously.

"I got him!" Michael yelled ecstatically.

"Here come two of them," Ryan warned as more helicopters came into sight.

"I see the airport!" Jack announced as the runway lights appeared before them.

"Boom!" Michael crowed as he lit up one of the choppers behind them. The Crew barely had time to react before he blew up the other one. Again and again, choppers came at them and again and again, Michael destroyed them with deadly accuracy.

"Michael, this is amazing!" Geoff said. "You beautiful bastard!"

"We're closing in on the airport heading towards the hangar," Jack announced. They started to sink lower and lower and Ryan, hanging halfway out of the chopper could see police swarming on the ground gunning for the airport and them. The choppers wouldn't be a threat much longer. As soon as they landed and had to exit the helicopter, that was when they would be the most vulnerable. That is when they were most likely to die.

Ray must have been thinking along the same lines because he leaned out and looked below before asking. "Can you drop Michael from this high?"

"Not yet," Michael said. The choppers were falling back. Now he had to focus on ground forces. He needed to be cut loose. "If you can get me into the airport and drop me, I can start firing from the ground." They sank lower and Michael fastened his seat belt, backing off from the gun. They were descending at too steep of angle for him to safely shoot now

Jack flew lower to the ground, his jaw clenched as two choppers took advantage of their low altitude and Michael's inability to shoot to fly right over him. On the ground, SWAT cars with machine guns were trained on them and bullets were starting to rain down on them. Sparks flew from the engines as they were hit. They didn't have long.

"We're coming in hot," Ryan said nervously. They were close now. They could drop Michael in just a second. The thought had just crossed his mind when a loud clank came from the engine on his side of the cargobob. The engine began belching billowing black clouds of smoke. "We're smoking Jack! You gotta get us on the ground."

They were still a little high but Michael would have to risk it. They were dead if he didn't. "All right let me go Jack!"

Jack hesitated but Geoff didn't. He knocked Jack's hand aside and smashed the hook release.

"Bye Michael!" Jack yelled in warning.

Michael felt his stomach enter his throat as the tank dropped. He hit the ground with a tremendous crash that he felt in his bones and felt the back end of the tank bounce upward, nearly sending him vertical. The back crashed back down, levering the front side up and the tank rocked and bounced a few more times before settling heavily on the ground. Michael's entire body ached where he had been jerked against his restraints, but he didn't have time to worry about it, he had to cover the others. He floored the gas and swung his gun up to take out the pursuant choppers.

Jack fought the failing engine and very ungracefully thumped down onto the ground. The chopper wheels touched down and Jack hit the brake hard as a concrete wall came barreling towards them.

"OH NO!" Ray shouted. Panicking slightly Ray, Gavin, and Ryan all leaped out of the still moving cargobob. Geoff and Jack screamed as it collided with the wall. After a second, they realized that they hadn't blown up and looked rather embarrassed at their screaming. They didn't have time to dwell. The ground forces, SWAT and police, were racing towards them and they had to make it to the Titan.

"Gavin, get in first!" Geoff said, sprinting for the giant plane. Gavin luckily was already racing inside and strapping himself in the pilot's seat. Geoff was hot on his heels and raced up the stairs into the large cargo area. Jack stumbled in a few moments later

"Everyone get in!" Gavin shouted.

Ryan and Ray were almost to the Titan when gunfire sprayed through the hangar. They dove aside, Ray rolling away from the Titan and Ryan towards it. There was a chopper right above the hangar that was using Michael's distraction with police and SWAT cars to rain hell.

"There's one right above the hangar!" Ryan yelled to Michael.

Michael rolled the tank over a SWAT van and turned the gun on the offending chopper. "THESE ARE MY SKIES MOTHERFUCKER!" he screamed as he took out the chopper.

Ray tried to move for the Titan but the police were swarming them. He took cover, firing as Michael and the tank fought to get to the Titan. Ryan was standing on the stairs, covering them both and screaming for Michael and Ray to get in.

"I'm coming!" Michael said, rolling into the hangar. Now was the moment where he had to stop fighting back and run for his life to get in the Titan. The tank rolled to a stop as he unstrapped himself and he shoved the top open and levered his way out. "I'm making a break for it!"

Ray knew the time had come for him to also make a break for it, but Michael was surrounded. Ray knew the only way Michael would make it in was if someone covered him. Ryan was good, but not that good. Ray had to cover them both.

His palms broke out in a nervous sweat as he realized what he was thinking. It was just like that time with the jet on Power Street. Every other member of the Crew had shit to live for, families and children and futures. He didn't have as much. It was why he routinely took the fall for the others.

Fuck it. He'd take an honorable death.

"Ray, come on!" Ryan shouted as Ray dropped his gun and switched to his grenade launcher. He ducked as shrapnel flew and Ray lit into the police with abandon. He knew what this was. He recognized it. "Ray don't!"

"Go now!" Ray shouted back. "Go!"

Michael flew past Ryan and into the cargobob. "RAY!"

"Go without me!" he shouted as a SWAT van raced for him and screeched to a stop. A heavily armored officer jumped out and leveled his weapon at Ray.

"RAY!" shouted Geoff as the entire Crew yelled for him to move.

"GO WITHOUT ME-!"Ray yelled again as the SWAT man opened-fire.

"NO!" Ryan roared as he let go of the Titan. He wouldn't do this again. He wouldn't watch, he would-.

Something smashed into him and he stumbled back towards the plane. Looking up, a red blur was running towards Ray.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING GEOFF?!" Jack roared.

Geoff wasn't going to do this again, he wasn't going to watch Ray sacrifice himself and watch Ryan throw away his life in revenge. He was god damn sick of it. They were too close and he wasn't losing anyone, not this time, not when they had come so far. He was already moving before Ray shouted his last sentence and he barreled past Ryan as Ray fell. The Crew watched as their leader shot as he ran, achieving an accuracy he never had and probably never would achieve again. He ran towards Ray, felling the cops that had converged on him. Geoff grabbed Ray's limp form under the arm and hauled him up with strength he didn't know he had. He crouched, flung the skinny boy over his shoulder and raced back to the Titan. The Crew watched in shock as Geoff somehow miraculously made it back to the Titan and inside with Ray over his shoulder.

"Gavin, go!" Geoff shouted, dropping Ray. Ryan rolled Ray out and began looking into first aid and Jack moved up to help him. Gavin was already moving the Titan. They rolled out of the hangar, surprisingly quickly, and Gavin gunned the engine.

"Start rolling, move it!" Ryan added.

"Get off the ground!" Jack shouted as bullets hit the sides of the Titan. Gavin twitched nervously and began to lift the plane off the ground.

Suddenly Geoff was in Gavin's ear. "TAKE OFF!"

Gavin yanked the controls back instinctively and began to lift off just as a police helicopter apparently threw caution to the wind and dove straight for them.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Gavin shrieked as he closed his eyes and lifted the plane off the ground. At the very last second, the chopper swung away and the Titan flew away.

'We are airborne!" Jack shouted triumphantly to cheers from the Crew before refocusing on Ray, who was starting to move. It looked like he had been hit in the vest, but nothing had broken through, the impact had knocked him down and out.

Ryan grinned, relieved. "Let's take a moment to thank Ray for his sacrifice!"

"Ray, I'm gonna pour one out for you buddy, a Capri Sun!" Geoff joked.

Ray groaned. "Not…dead…yet."

"Get us some altitude," Jack instructed. "There's choppers right behind us."

"There was a chopper as we took off that nose-dived for our backs," Gavin said, his throat raw from the screaming he'd done.

"Can anyone shoot out?" Ryan asked. There was no door on the side, the only one being the large opening on the back end that would be disastrous to have open. They couldn't cover their own escape.

"No," Geoff said nervously. This was something they hadn't counted on.

"Just keep gaining altitude," Ryan said after a moment.

"How the hell are we gonna take care of these choppers?" Michael asked, nervously. There were no windows in the back of the plane, all they could hear was a random ping of bullets and thee buzz of choppers over the Titan's engines. Gavin kept climbing though and soon they were high above the city. "What do we do when we get to Chiliad?"

"We become mountain men," Geoff joked half-heartedly. "Make sure your chutes are nearby."

The Crew did as they were bid, except Gavin, who had chucked a chute in the seat next to him for easy access, and Michael who was sitting just underneath one strapped to the wall where he could easily grab it. Jack and Geoff immediately put theirs on as they continued to climb higher into the sky.

Behind Geoff, Ryan finally got to his feet and breathed a sigh of relief as Ray sat up, groaning. He had a nasty bump on his head and looked a little unsteady but otherwise seemed unharmed. He got to his feet and stripped off his tattered jacket and shirt to remove his now useless bulletproof vest. Ryan shoved him into one of the few jump seats next to Michael and pressed a parachute into his hands. He grimaced and put his shirt back on followed by the parachute and his hoodie. Ryan pulled his own parachute on and came up behind Geoff to stare out the window with him.

Suddenly the plane shook, jostling them all and Geoff saw the helicopters slowly receding below them. What was going on? Were they too high?

"Gavin?" Geoff asked nervously.

"We're fine," Gavin replied snappishly.

The sound of bullets was fading. "We're losing them, keep climbing," Jack said, coming up beside Ryan and grabbing some of the cargo netting in the wall to maintain his balance. "We need to get away, they are still shooting us."

"That's not the cops," Geoff said as the Titan wobbled again. "I think it's the altitude."

"Or the pilot," Ryan muttered.

"We're fine," Gavin snapped. "I can do this."

Geoff frowned as they wobbled again. The dials and readouts on the Titan were practically straining as they reached their highest numbers. Geoff didn't know much about planes, but they seemed too high and too unstable. The Titan lurched again and he nearly fell into Gavin's lap. "GAVIN!" he snapped as an alarm went off. "Lower the plane!"

"It's fine!" Gavin yelled but now he wasn't sure. He eased off the controls just a little and the plane leveled. "See? We're fi-."

Suddenly the engines sputtered and died with a loud clank and the lights and controls went dark. The dials and readouts swung to zero and the plane seemed to freeze in mid-air for a moment as everyone exchanged horrified looks.

Then Geoff remembered the choppers below just as the Titan began to fall.

"No…"

How could this happen? It had been going so well. They had pulled off the mission, escaped with their take, and nearly evaded the helicopters that had pursued them. The flying tank of doom had worked perfectly. They had almost lost Ray, but had pulled him to safety at the last minute. They should have been clear, they should have been safe. But as he lunged for the controls in what felt like slow motion, Geoff remembered three things.

One: Never relax before the mission is complete.

Two: Never let Gavin pilot the plane.

Three: Never forget that they were without a doubt the unluckiest, suckiest, horriblest, worst gang in the history of Los Santos.

And with that all of their hopes died, as usual, with the roar of a police chopper and a deafening crash.

The police chopper had tried to evade the Titan as it began to fall, but had not been fast enough. The pilot screamed as the chopper slammed into the Titan's tail.

The plane didn't shudder this time or swerve, or dive. It exploded. Pieces of the tail and engines ripped free, a few crashing into other police choppers that also exploded and crashed. The sky was on fire.

As soon as they hit, Geoff felt himself being thrown forward into the cockpit, slamming into the control panel as something heavy hit him just as hard. He could smell blood as pain bloomed in his chest and ribs and the am that had been pinned beneath him. He tried to get his bearings but the world was spinning and his friends were screaming. Alarms whistled and sirens shrieked as the Titan plummeted downward.

"Geoff!" Suddenly the weight behind him lifted and Jack's face was in front of him, blood covering half of it. The heavy thing that had pinned Geoff turned out to be Ryan, who was slumped against the wall of the cockpit, a jagged piece of metal glinting in his arm. Gavin was folded over the console, a terrifying amount of blood running from his side where it looked like a lever of some kind had stabbed him. Michael was still strapped into the jump seat next to Ray, beating flames off of his coat as Ray screamed, flames visible on his leg. It was like a horror movie, a sick horror movie that Geoff couldn't have possibly been living.

The next thing Geoff knew, he was hauled upright and swung out of the plane, dangling in the open, rushing air as Jack gripped his parachute strap. Geoff looked up at his friend and saw Jack say something, something important.

Then Jack let go.

The plane streaked downward as Geoff seemed to float momentarily in mid-air, but then he dimly realized that he too was falling, just slower because he was less heavy. Then he realized what Jack had yelled.

Pull your chute.

Jack had gotten him out in a crazy attempt to save him. Geoff would be touched if he wasn't falling to his death. He raised one arm, trying to raise both but his left only went so far before he got dizzy. He managed to grip the ripcord and yank. He jerked bodily as his descent was stopped abruptly, or at least slowed. After that he let the wind take him as he dipped in and out of consciousness. He could just float here forever…

NO!

Geoff's head jerked up. He couldn't just float. He had to land, he had to find out what happened to the rest of his crew. How could they survive the crash-no. Don't think like that. Geoff drifted over trees and buildings, twisting to see the remains of the Titan, keeping an eye out for chutes. He could see the wreckage streaking toward Chiliad but there were no sign of parachutes yet. He remembered the blood and the flames and Jack's dead-eyed face as he threw Geoff out of the chopper. Geoff should have been with his Crew, whatever the outcome. Why had Jack flung him free?

Geoff noticed that his descent was speeding up. A small neighborhood on a hill rushed up to meet him and he shifted his weight slightly, aiming for a backyard. He hit the ground, stumbled and fell to his knees, catching himself on his hands before he hit the ground. His left arm buckled and he hit the ground anyway, breathing in the sharp scent of grass.

He had to move.

He struggled with the parachute, lead-like arms and clumsy fingers working against him. His head was spinning from what he dimly registered to be a bad concussion but he finally managed to free himself from the confines of the parachute and he got to his feet, cradling his aching arm. A fence in front of him showed the dim outline of a gate and he fumbled with it, creaking it open and stumbling into a side yard. The distant echo of sirens reminded him that he couldn't linger long so he crept his way around the dark house before him, ears pricked for any sign of pursuit, but the street was quiet.

He darted across the road and through another backyard, bolder when there was no sign of cops. He stepped out of another gate, stumbled around the side of another house and almost made it to the street before flashlights hit him in the face.

"FREEZE!"

Geoff threw his good hand up to shield his eyes as flashlights and shouts slammed into him. Cops rushed out of the surrounding yards, all armed and all intent on him. All he could see was bright white light, black shadowy figures, and the flash of light bouncing off of metal badges and matte black guns

"On the ground!"

Geoff winced and fell to his knees, squinting through the bright lights. The cop in front of him couldn't be more than 21, an over eager nervous type that Geoff knew he probably couldn't bribe. His gun was on Geoff's head and Geoff knew that if he moved, he'd be blown away.

"Get down. Now!"

Geoff laid himself flat, wincing as the cop roughly yanked his good arm around and cuffed it. When his other arm got the same treatment, he very nearly cried out, but he was determined not to show weakness and instead bit his lip so hard that blood flowed into his mouth.

"You have the right to remain silent," the cop shouted over the other officers and the fast approaching sirens. "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…"

End Chapter

Author's Note: So Ray does actually die in the heist of course, but I changed it here. Originally Ryan was going to save him but I decided to give Geoff a moment. I love unnecessary drama! Also the jeep that hits Ray in this chapter was actually the Dubsta driven by Geoff in the video. I changed it to show how focused Ryan is on the objective since he didn't go crazy mad on the "jeep."

I didn't realize this until re-watching this video while writing this: Ryan really does almost get mowed down while they are at Ammu-Nation and never notices it. Ray just barely snipes the clerk in time and the shot was crazy close to Ryan's head. I re-watched it a few times, it is a pretty awesome in-game shot by Ray.