48 Hours

Chapter Three: Mafia Kinda Man

Chapter Three: Mafia Kinda Man

1:37 p.m. Friday, August 8th

"We need a game plan. Something that will involve the police, keep the convicts at a safe distance, avoid your families from getting themselves mixed up in this entire situation. And return the money to someone, with a clean mind still in tact. Now, do either of you have an idea as to how to do that?" Steven asked. He was leaning forward on his elbows, which were rested on his knees.

I huffed, sending my bangs flying upward out of my eyes. His voice was annoying me. But it wasn't like I was going to say that. He'd probably have some witty come back that would piss me off. Riley, on the other hand was copying his position. I think she's getting way too into this.

Not like I blame her, even though this is a very difficult situation we're in, it sure beats watching How I Met Your Mother for hours on end. Yeah, that's been my summer so far.

I wasn't even sure what to do anymore. It seems like everything I knew has been totally flipped upside down. I mean, a few months ago, Steven was my delinquent ex-boyfriend, Riley was sane, I was happy, and we were not at all involved in theft. Well, the tables sure have turned, haven't they?

"Well, what if we set up the convicts?" Riley suggested. Steven rolled his eyes.

"We don't need to set them up, if they are already being man-hunted. That's kind of redundant." Oooh, big words. Mr. High-and-Mighty knows the word redundant. I can practically feel his old English teachers applauding him vigorously.

"Well, then what do you propose we do?" I asked, sarcasm leaking into my voice as I glared at him. He scowled back, his forehead wrinkling slightly as his mouth twitched a little. I don't know if he was pissed off, or amused. Maybe it was a little of both?

"Intel. We need to get more dirt on these guys. Figure out their habits, what they do on a daily basis, how many there are. You know, military type stuff. If we can figure them out, we have a better shot at getting away with this." Steven said. His face went hard as he looked at me.

Riley sighed and shook her head, mumbling something under her breath. I don't know what it was, but she seemed convinced over something. Whether Steven was an idiot or not, I'd guess.

"You guys are impossible." Riley said. I scoffed but Steven didn't say a word.

"Excuse me, you're the one that got us into this mess, Ms. I-Want-Qdoba-Instead-Of-Mama-Roni's." I glared in her direction, my legs tucked under my body gently as I leaned forward. Riley rolled her eyes.

"As if you're one to talk, you've done nothing but complain about how fattening Mama Roni's pizza is! So technically, it was your problem by default." Riley said. I rolled my eyes and mimicked her in a catty way.

Steven sighed and leaned back in his chair, swinging out his butterfly knife and playing around with it in ways that made me cringe.

"Qdoba isn't much better! You're the one that suggested it, I just said I'd rather have Mama Roni's and you got all catty and complained about the fact that we haven't been to Qdoba in two weeks! That's fattening, my dear." I replied snarkily.

Riley shut up and flipped me off, something I gasped at. She would never curse out loud, but she would flip you the bird when the time was appropriate.

Apparently that time was right now. At me.

Then, I realized how ridiculous this whole thing was. We were arguing over who's fault it was instead of finding a solution.

Weren't we just mature adults...

I pinched the bridge of my nose and took three deep breaths, before sitting back up and facing Riley as calmly as I could.