ʀɪᴅᴇ ᴏʀ ᴅɪᴇ // ʀᴏᴅᴅʏ ʀɪᴄᴄʜ

[3] Falling Apart

"Moe, you the one who asked for us to ride round in this car and chill, so why the hell are you so quiet?" Roddy laughed, sitting in the backseat while Donnell took the wheel. "You got a problem with that?"

"Well I know I do." Lani looked over to Moe shaking her head at him. "You're annoying as hell too. You know we ain't going nowhere, so bring up a convo, will you?"

Karin smiled as she put an arm around Lani. "Since Moe can't do it, I will then." She stuck her tongue out at Moe. "So what do y'all do? I mean, you ain't got no opps to play with."

Roddy chuckled. "Gangs don't just play with opps. They chase bags... Well at least, we do. All the time."

"Correction: you do, Roddy." Lani chuckled while resting her head in her hand. "I had opps, but now I miss them."

Moe sighed loudly. "Sorry to change the topic and shit, but I'm hungry." Everyone turned to look at him when they heard his stomach groan. "What chu looking at?"

"You're gonna have to wait till we get home." Donnell shrugged. "Wait? Oh hell nah, we going home now."

Karin kissed her teeth then laughed at him. "That quick?"

••••

"Roddy, you dumbass. Where did you move our cars to? Another garage?" Lani rolled her eyes at him but he remained silent.

"He didn't take them elsewhere. They were here this morning. And we all went out." Karin shook her head. She looked over to Roddy but he kept his eyes on the ground without saying a word. "Roddy, is there anything wrong?"

"They've been stolen." Roddy nodded his head slowly in disappointment.

"Stolen? Oh shit, this is not good." Moe squeezed his face. "How did whoever they are even find out about us? And what are we gonna do bout this?"

"We need that shit back. We're gonna track them down." Roddy spoke with no emotion in his voice, surprisingly he wasn't angry. "...But we weren't gone for long. How did they do it in such a short period of time?"

Lani rested an arm on Roddy's shoulder, her eyebrows furrowed. "Must be a lotta them."

"We are so lucky we got this SUV. I'm protecting it with my life." Moe nodded. "So where do we start?"

"Let's start with some research. In the deep web." Roddy nodded at Donnell. "Me and Don. Rest of you can chill for a bit."

Donnell and Roddy went upstairs and everyone else split. Karin went to room and laid back in her bed.

Lani had gotten her a phone, and she wasn't used to it yet as she hadn't used one in years, and the one she brought with her at sixteen was long broken and lost.

"...How do you... Oh, right." Lani previously set it up for her, because she knew it would be a struggle. Karin was just exploring some features she forgot about when she received a call from an unknown number.

"Uh?" She answered called, unsure of who could be calling her. "Who's this?"

They answered in a deep unnatural voice, which sounded like they were using a voice changer. "Listen."

"Bro, get rid of that voice changer. It sounds dumb." Karin laughed but his voice caught her off guard. "We stole from you. Don't listen and you'll regret it."

"So it was you? What do you want?" She asked and her face changed to more confused and concerned. "I want you to meet me in the alley you were found in. Tell anyone and you're six feet under."

"You... How did you know about that...?" Karin shivered and he chuckled. "We know everything. Six am. Meet me there."

Karin was about to speak, but he hung up immediately. She was alone. She couldn't say anything.

••••

"Karin?" She turned her head at the mention of her name. "Karin, where are you going? At this time?" It was Lani, she looked at Karin confused.

"I... I'm just gonna stroll around." Karin made a story on the spot. Surprisingly, Lani responded with more understanding than usual. "...Hey, I could join you." Lani smiled but Karin shook her head.

"No, uh... I just need some time to myself, you know?" She flashed a smile at Lani and she hugged her. "If you say so! Stay safe."

"Of course I will." She turned away gritting her teeth because she was unsure of her own words.

••••

She entered the alley feeling uncomfortable, especially because no one was there. She checked her phone to see that it was six, the exact time she was asked to come.

She almost fainted when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Karin turned see a man, about six foot, with a lit up mask. She was startled by him, but she put on an assertive face.

"Get in the car." He spoke in a deep voice, and it sounded the same as when they spoke on the phone. He took a step closer to her which caused her to flinch. "...What?"

He pointed to a car at the end of the alley. "Get in the car." She shook her head, backing away from him. She had to get out of there, but that seemed impossible. "No... I can't do that... Uh..." Karin began shaking and he cocked his head to the side.

"Are you trying to die?" He started chuckling. "Maybe I should lead the way." He picked her up with ease, then carried her over his shoulder. She screamed in order to get attention, but no one seemed to be out yet.

"What do you need me for? I don't have any information, I don't have anything to tell you!" Karin yelled as she was sat in the car alongside other members of the gang wearing the same lit up mask.

"We don't need information from you." One spoke with the same deep voice. The car started and they blindfolded Karin so that she wouldn't know the way to their hideout. Then, they sped off.

••••

"Hey, y'all seen Karin?" Roddy asked as he entered the living room. "Nah, I was wondering the same thing."

Lani felt uncomfortable at the mention of Karin's name because she felt responsible for her disappearance. "Guys... I, well... I let her go for a stroll, alone, at six am." She sighed.

"She never came back, I guess." Roddy held his breath. "Oh shit. We gotta find her."

"How? We don't have any information on where they are located." Moe shook his head. "We're just gonna have to wonder round, then." Roddy replied.

••••

They'd been out for half an hour, but nothing came out of it. "What now?" Lani sighed. "Hey... Who's that?" Donnell pointed to a man with an unlit mask.

"...Could be our target."

•🏙•