"Woah there, lightweight," Keiko said, chuckling. "Take a moment to get your bearings first. They make those lemonades strong here, it's nothing like that weak bottled shit."

"Yeah, that was my bad," Crystal said. "I forgot about how that might hit someone without any tolerance."

"At least it's just a simple delivery," Robbie said, dropping a hundred on the table. Ashe's jaw nearly dropped when Crystal then did the same. "We should be able to offload the goods, get the payment and be gone in just a few minutes."

"Please don't jinx us," Keiko whined. "You know Alejandro likes to meet people personally when requests like this come in."

"Which is why I will meet with him if he insists," Robbie said. "Ashe, you'll stay in the van with Keiko."

"Yes, mom," Ashe said, but wasn't inclined to disagree.

"Oh, please be a sassy drunk," Keiko said, grinning. "Those are so much fun to fuck with."

"Can we just get this job done?" Crystal said with a groan. "Ashe does need to be home before it gets dark."

Keiko snorted. "Huh, hey Ashe, you were wrong. I'm not your mommy, Crystal is."

"Don't even start," Crystal growled.

"I'm surrounded by children," Robbie said with a sigh. "Ashe, please be another responsible one. I need the backup wrangling these two sometimes."

"Ugh," Ashe said, glancing at Crystal. "I can try, but no promises. Crystal can be intense at times and…"

"You like it when she is," he finished.

Ashe felt her cheeks warm, but she didn't disagree. The group left the bar, one of the bouncers nodding to them on their way out. She had to admit, it felt weird to be part of a group that gang members recognized with some amount of respect. It felt good, even if she was the unknown among them.

That would change if she ended up running with them long term. She liked Crystal, and Robbie was agreeable enough. Keiko was a pain, but the rest of the group seemed to tolerate her with the fondness of an annoying sibling. She knew Keiko used to date Crystal, but that wasn't the case any longer, and the pair remained friends despite that. She'd need to get the story sometime, but for now she would roll with it.

Crystal popped the rear door of the van and helped Ashe inside. The world was still a bit floaty but it was getting better with food on her stomach. The sight of the duffle bags full of drugs gave Ashe some pause, but only for a moment. She expected it, even if she didn't like it.

She took a seat on the bench and took a deep breath. She was about to involve herself in yet another crime, one that was far harder to justify than the previous. Running drugs was something she never expected to do, and yet she was going along with it anyway. It felt wrong, but what else could she do?

Backing out wasn't an option, not without souring her to the group that could help stick it to the fascists. She needed them, much as she hated to admit it. Crystal sat down beside her, and pulled out two bandanas, one red, one blue, and passed the red one over.

"To hide the faded stripe in your hair," Crystal said, tying her own over her hair, obscuring her haircut in the process. "Robbie, got some spare sunglasses and masks?"

"Always," he said.

Two pairs of glasses and black masks were passed back and Crystal quickly divided them up. "You don't have to put them on yet, I know how uncomfortable those can be."

"Hey, I actually wore mine during the plagues, thank you," Ashe said. "Just admit you'd rather see my smile instead."

Crystal started to speak, but it sputtered out as she looked away. Ashe smirked, finally she managed to turn the tables on the outgoing woman.

"She's also big on eye contact," Keiko said from the front seat. "You've got nice eyes, abuse that."

"Hey!" Crystal squawked. "No giving her advice."

"I just want to see my best friend happy," Keiko said, shrugging. "You've been miserable this past year, and she's finally got you smiling again. I missed seeing you glow."

"Fucking sap," Crystal muttered.

Ashe couldn't let that go. "I make you smile?"

"Yes," Crystal said, sitting back with a sigh. "I don't have many bright spots in my life aside from my little brother. Meeting you, I won't say it was pleasant, but I'm still glad, shitty as that sounds. You didn't treat me like some pariah, or worse, a scion. You just treated me like a normal girl, and I latched onto that."

Ashe could certainly relate to that, given Crystal hadn't once treated her like anything other than a girl, even after hearing her old voice. She wasn't used to that, and if people gave Crystal shit because her father was a senator, that would certainly explain a few things. Ashe leaned over, resting her head on Crystal's shoulder. Neither spoke, but they did relax into casual contact.

"Masks on," Robbie said, snapping Ashe out of what must have been a comfortable doze. She rubbed her eyes, cottonmouth greeting her as she yawned. Glancing at Robbie, she could see the frown through the mirror. "Shit, Alejandro brought his entourage."

"Fuck all the ducks," Keiko said. "They must really want this shipment then."

"Or they're planning to take it by force," Crystal added, her tone growing worried. "Ashe, we'll need you to look intimidating. Don't speak unless spoken to, and whatever you do, do not come across as unsure."

"Is this going to turn into a fight?" Ashe asked, swallowing heavily.

"It might," Robbie said. "Hopefully it's all posturing, but Alejandro is a bit of a wild card when he gets a stick up his ass."

"A bit?" Keiko said, chuckling darkly. "Give him a line of coke and he's a goddamn monster. He killed three of his own guys because they didn't laugh just right at one of his shitty jokes."

"Didn't someone spike it with LSD and a few other hallucinogens?" Crystal asked. "Then again, him being interested in a laced shipment doesn't bode will for his current mental state."

"I feel like I should be reconsidering my life choices," Ashe muttered, securing her mask. "Like, why did we agree to this?"

"Because as crazy as he can be, we work with the Viuda," Robbie said. "Even he isn't insane enough to risk provoking every other gang in the alliance by attacking an affiliate."

Keiko snorted and Crystal just shook her head. He didn't sound as sure of himself as he probably hoped. She'd heard enough horror stories about the man from her parents, which made the hesitation and uncertainty among the others hit all the worse.

Everyone had their identity concealed well enough that someone wouldn't be able to identify them without being familiar with who they were. Honestly, they looked intimidating, and Ashe imagined she did too. She certainly would try to avoid them if she happened to see their group on the streets.

"Gun check," Crystal said.

Ashe pulled the Beretta from her waistband and confirmed once again that there was one in the chamber. She watched Crystal disable the safety before she returned her SIG to the holster. Ashe did the same, but lacked a holster for it, so she tucked it back into her waistband under her jacket. It was shit gun safety, but if things went pear shaped, she would rather be ready.

The van came to a stop, Robbie putting it in park as three people approached. Each was dressed in suits, looking like any other security for a prominent individual. What wasn't standard were the ARs they carried. Robbie stepped out, moving over to speak with the one person not in a suit, which she could only assume was Alejandro.

Crystal stood and began to gather the duffels. "Get your gun out and just sit there looking imposing."

Ashe frowned under her mask, but pulled the gun back out regardless and leaned forward, gun loosely in hand. It was a bitch and a half to hold, so she propped it on her knee to keep her hand from trembling. The rear doors opened, two of the suits stood waiting. Crystal nodded to them and slid a duffel over for them to inspect. One of them started to pull the white bricks out, but made no effort to open them. He nodded to the other.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"It's legit, boss," the one on the right said.

"Excellent!" a lanky man with oily hair said as he ran a finger along one of the bricks. "See that they get their payment… Well hello."

It took Ashe a moment to realize he was staring directly at her. His skin was extremely tanned, to the point it looked almost sprayed on. One eye was dead, a cut across it leaving it milky and scarred. His arms were also covered in scars, dozens of what looked to be knife wounds long since healed ran all the way up to his sleeveless tank top.

Ashe's skin crawled under that lecherous gaze but she refused to let it show. She raised an eyebrow but made no other effort to acknowledge him.

"Ah, playing hard to get," the man, who could only be Alejandro, said. "I like a challenge."

He hopped into the van, the suspension rocking under the weight as he took a quick step and stood over her. Crystal tensed, but didn't move to act and Ashe understood that she was being tested. He reached out, hand moving deliberately towards her. There was no mistaking where he was going to touch her.

His hand barely brushed her clothes when she sprung to her feet, pressed in close to the man as she jammed her Beretta deep into his chin. Both guards had their guns up in an instant and Ashe knew full well that her life was now hanging on the whims of an insane drug lord. Still, she refused to just sit there and take whatever he wanted to do to her.

Deep, reverberating laughter cut through the tension, her gun vibrated with it, the rumbling trailing up her arm as Alejandro's laughter grew from mild to raucous. Ashe could feel her hand trembling, struggling to keep hold of her gun as sweat ran down her neck.

"Shit, the cajones on this chick!" he exclaimed. "Where did you find this one?"

"Punching a fascist in the face," Crystal answered.

He barked even louder. "I like her. Rodrigo, pay up, they earned it."

Through all of it, she hadn't lowered her gun or broken eye contact with the slimy bastard. That didn't seem to phase him in the slightest even as he continued to direct his men. The two suits still had their guns on her and she wasn't about to take the risk by backing down. A case was handed to Robbie who checked it thoroughly before he nodded to Crystal. She slid the remaining duffels over which were also checked by some of Alejandro's men.

"You know, senorita," Alejandro said softly. "I could use someone with a spine, and I can promise I pay better than these clowns."

"Sorry," Ashe said. "I don't work for snakes. Not interested in them either for that matter so put yours away before I remove it."

"So feisty," he said, gesturing with one hand. The suits lowered their guns so she did the same, taking a step back and away as she did. "The offer stands. You've got spunk, and I like my girls to have some fire." He then winked with his dead eye and hopped out the back of the van. "Come on putas, get your asses in gear. We got some shit to distribute to some fine, upstanding Americanos!"

Ashe let out a heavy breath, her heart thundering in her chest as her legs went wobbly. She sat back in the bench seat, her tailbone twinging from the impact but she didn't care. The gun in her hand fell slack from loose fingers, shuddering breaths following as she fought against the spike of adrenaline that was already ebbing away.

"Holy shit," she said in a breathy whisper.

Crystal eyed the door and nodded to Robbie who slammed the door shut. Crystal then sat beside her and pulled Ashe into a one armed hug. Ashe leaned into it, a slightly manic chuckle escaping as she did.

"That was bad ass," Keiko said with a breathless chuckle. "Never do anything like that again. You almost got yourself merked."

"Left an impression though," Ashe said. "Can't have anyone thinking I'm a pushover."

"No chance of that," Crystal said, nodding. "Between throwing hands at gunpoint and this, I'm starting to think you're going to be one hell of a storm once you get going."

"Wonder what her street name will end up being?" Keiko pondered, finger to her chin. "I mean, Riptide is hard to top, but you earned that shit."

"Damn right I did," Crystal said with a grin.

Street names? She'd heard a few of those when her mom was talking about someone wanted, or about recent arrests mentioning them, but she never actually met someone who had one. Or at least, not knowingly until Crystal. There were the occasional TV specials made about some of the big ones, like Silver Cross. Riptide made sense knowing the story behind it, even if it was a bit morbid. That did make her curious however.

"What about you and Robbie?" she asked. "Got any badass names for yourselves?"

"Robbie does," Keiko said. "He decapitated one of the fascists and mailed their head to their brother. Made the news and got him crowned 'Headhunter'. Doesn't get much more badass than that."

Oh fuck. Ashe remembered that story a few years back. The carrier caught a ton of flack for not catching it in transit. Now she was on a first name basis with the brutal fucker who carried it out. Worse, she kinda liked the bastard. Still, Keiko wasn't as forthcoming about her own name, if she even had one.

Crystal was nearly vibrating with repressed laughter. "What, not gonna fill her in on your own? Can I have the honors? Pretty please?"

"Fuck off," Keiko said with a huff, spinning in her seat and crossing her arms. "It's Hanabi."

Crystal's laughter spilled out as she doubled over, but Ashe didn't get it. She recognized that the word was Japanese, but not much more than that. Actually, someone had mentioned it when they were at the bar, hadn't they?

"She promised a massive explosion," Crystal said between shuddering breaths as tears streamed and giggles bubbled forth. "What happened was barely a firecracker, so she got the name. We keep her far from the explosives because of it."

"I hate you," Keiko grumbled.

Crystal shook her head, wiping her eyes. "Love you too, Hanabi."

Keiko groaned and Ashe found herself chuckling along with the girl that was falling apart beside her. Obviously there was more to the story that made it so funny, or one just had to be there, but Ashe was content to just enjoy the moment.

Robbie's door opened and the Headhunter himself hopped in, passing the case over to Keiko as he did. The tension proved sobering enough to get Crystal back to her professional self. He put the van in reverse and quickly pulled away and got them back on a proper road. Only then did he relax.

"I hate that prick," he said. "Everything about that scumbag. Fuck him with an un-lubed cactus."

"Agreed," Ashe muttered. "Thought he was gonna grope me there."

"He was," Crystal said with a shudder. "As tense as that was, I can't fault you for doing it."

"Probably for the best," Robbie agreed. "He respects you, and worse, he has expectations now. Best not disappoint the man. He tends to have disappointments drowned."

Right. Much as she might like the people around her, they were still criminals. Not that Ashe was any different now, but there were still lines she hadn't crossed that everyone else clearly had. She couldn't help but wonder how much longer those would last.

"And on that cheery note," Keiko interjected. "We should celebrate. Who wants to hit up the mall? I could use some new clothes."

"With shopping habits like those, you're lucky to have escaped getting Barbie as your street name," Crystal said with a grin.

Keiko flipped her off.