Favorite Crime

All the things you did

Friday night

    "All right everybody, quiet down. We have some shit to sort out."

The booming voice that echoed from the tall, burley man seemed to startle many of the people surrounding him. Fifty or so people stood milling around, wondering why they were all there in the first place. A sea of black leather with flashes of green took over the entirety that was the Whyte Wrym. The bar smelled of said leather, sweat, and alcohol, mixed with the overwhelming smell of tobacco. The dark walls littered with various neon signs cast an almost eerie glow upon the room.

The voice from before once again bellowed for everyone to quiet down, the first time obviously not having its desired effect. Everyone had been too busy keeping up with their murmurings of 'why are we here' or 'is this about F.P. and those Blossoms'. A tiny pink haired girl had also been one of those people, thinking those exact same thoughts. Why was everyone called here for an emergency Serpent meeting?

The girl was dawning one of those black leather jackets with a green two headed snake shaped in an 's' on the back, along with the two muscular boys with jet black hair on either side of her. All three of them were silenced from their musings when the gruff voice rang out again from atop the stage near the back of the bar.

    "As you all know, the past month has been nothing but a giant shit show with F.P. being in prison." This statement was met with murmurs of people's agreement, "But tonight we have a plan for that to hopefully end. The Ghoulies have started taking it too far."

The mention of the rival gang caused obvious tension through the crowd. If there's one thing that can wind up the Serpents, it's most definitely the mention of the Ghoulies. The two year long power struggle for turf and proprietorship of the town's drug clientele has been reaching an all time high. Scuffles between the two gangs have increased tenfold as the animosity and hunger for victory grew.

"Not only have they been tagging our buildings, ambushing and harassing our people, destroying our property... Now jingle jangle has made its way into the Southside. They've also started turning our Northside clients onto the hard stuff."

    "Toni, relax." One of the black haired boys whispered in the tiny woman's ear.

Toni Topaz cast her eyes downwards at her hands, balled into tight fists in her lap. She sat on one of the worn down barstools, back resting up against the counter of the bar as she faced the stage. She bit the inside of her cheek, biting back a snide comment. She wanted to remind him she had every right to be angry at the fact hard drugs were making its way back into Riverdale. Their town was slowly being poisoned, and that poison was sneaking its way closer and closer to home.

No, it's not his fault. He knows why you're getting worked up. Get a grip on yourself.

    "Thanks Fangs." Toni whispers back after taking a deep inhale, letting her tense muscles somewhat relax.

Toni was no stranger to being told to relax. The girl may be petite, standing at a whopping five feet three inches tall, but she housed a mighty temper. On more than one occasion she had been the one to pick fights or cause a ruckus with her smart remarks. She credited her strong will to her surroundings. She was one of the few women who made up the Serpents. A gang that was still heavily riddled with misogynistic and prejudiced ways. She had to be loud, be stubborn, be headstrong if she wanted to be taken seriously. She wondered if that would ever change. She'd always hoped that once the older generation of Serpents were gone, the gang would become more inclusive.

She had also hoped that the gang would stay true to its core value, protection. But month by month, year by year it was becoming more and more corrupt. The more the Northside strangled the South, bleeding them dry of work, of pay, of land, the further the Southside was forced to turn to criminal ways to make do. Drug runs, "special" deliveries along the truck route, stealing and pawning were becoming the main sources of income for the people of the Southside. However, there had been a new addition to the ever growing list of criminal offenses the Serpents partake in.