Downtown Browntown

Chapter 10: Ready to Fight?

Ray was tied up in his old room. The guys figured it would bring back some of his sense. Geoff had sent Gavin and Jack to do something....he had forgotten what, exactly, but was glad for the slightly lower volume of voices.

Michael was pacing, muttering nonsense with each step. Ryan just sat on the couch as if everything was perfect.

Of course Ryan would be the one to play down the fact we just kidnapped someone, Geoff mused. He sat on the couch next to Ryan, nursing a glass of bourbon.

"Geoff, I know you drink a lot, but that's your fifth glass of alcohol in the past hour. Slow down. Michael! Stop pacing around like an idiot," Ryan said, nonchalantly, turning on the Xbox.

Michael plopped down beside Geoff, letting a frustrated sigh escape. They sat in silence, Ryan pulling up his messages before opening Peggle 2 (Geoff and Gavin taught him after hours of arguing about what game would be played on the big TV).

"We can't keep him here forever, Ryan! What are we supposed to do? He had an entire city named after him! You really think no one is coming for him?" Michael burst out.

Ryan just calmly clicked the pause button and turned his attention to Michael.

"We took out the Mods he had, so they aren't coming after us anytime soon. I doubt he told anyone about us or where this place is anyway. Besides, we could take anyone who tried to come in to our home."

Michael seemed to relax a little, but his face was still scrunched in thought.

"Ryan, we can't just keep him tied up in his room. If anything, it will make him hate us more."

Geoff downed the last of the bourbon and got up to get another glass. He only noticed the bottle was empty after he turned it and nothing came out.

"Fuck me," Geoff muttered, reaching into the liquor cabinet. The only thing left was a bottle of cheap vodka. He sighed and grabbed the bottle, wondering when the last liquor run was. Probably yesterday, but it didn't really matter because they were out again.

Geoff shuffled back over to the couch, glass forgotten on the counter, and proceeded to take a huge swig. Ryan just let out a long breath, trying to concentrate on where the ball would go in his game.

"Ryan, we can't just not talk about this," Michael tried again.

"Look, if you guys think it's such a bad plan, why did we end up doing it?" Ryan countered.

Michael looked at his feet, unable to come up with a reason. They had all been so caught up in the moment that no one stopped to think about the repercussions. Geoff held out the vodka to him and he took it, taking two huge gulps before coughing, trying not to choke. Geoff just took the bottle and rubbed his back to try and help.

Meanwhile

The stakeout had gone flawlessly, thanks to Gh0st's threats whenever some bickering would start. They had gotten to the outskirts of Los Santos and divided into task forces.

Darezzi had met up with a friend of his, Elite102405, who lived just outside the city. They had gone to recon the AH aparment complex and see if they could locate Ray. Tardis scouted most of the city by car, taking Misaka, Martika, and Skyress to map out the place. They knew where every ammunition store was, along with the airports in case of an extreme emergency. Notray had gone and caused a disturbance to check police response times. He came back with a report of "They're okay, but pretty easy to evade," huge smile plastered on his face.

Gh0st stayed behind with Agent, planning their assault.

Kmzoe rode around the town also, memorizing escape roads. She couldn't shake the dream, it just kept replaying through her mind. All her other nightmares had been forgotten by the time she woke up. It didn't make any sense.

She pulled up on their rendezvous point, the rest of the group already there. Smiles played on lips as their work was near finished, sugary snacks already being opened.

What if the dream actually happens?

The thought weighed on Kmzoe as she walked up to the cheerful group.

"Hey, Zoe! Just in time! Got the routes planned?" Gh0st called.

"Yeah," Kmzoe smiled. "Here, I'll draw them in."

"Awesome! We are ready for the take down, then," Tardis stated.

After looking over the map and plotting some landmarks, Kmzoe drew a few rough lines and explained the contingency plans.

"Okay. So let's go over this plan one more time." Tardis got in front of the group, Gh0st at her side.

"Martika and Skyress will be driving the two cars as getaway vehicles. Kmzoe, your bike will be parked down the block. If worse comes to worse, ditch the bike and hop in a car. With Ray, there will be one full car so there may be a crowding issue. I do not want any bickering, got it?" Gh0st pointedly stared down a few people while Tardis continued.

"Misaka, Darezzi, Agent, and Notray will guard the front and hallways, make sure no unwanted distractions interfere. Me, Gh0st, and Kmzoe will extract Ray."

"Why does Zoe get to go?" Notray complained.

"Because, numb nuts, she's the one who convinced us to do this in the first place!" Gh0st retorted.

"Then why do you get to go?" Notray spat.

"I'm an OG of Browntown!" Gh0st shouted.

"Hey, hey! Guys, quit! If anyone fights, it's me and Zoe, ok?" Agent interjected.

A few stubborn nods of acknowledgement and the group was ready to go.