Krowe sat in the front of the van, one hand on the wheel as the other rested on the open window with the wind blowing through. The road was bumpy and cracked due to years of neglect by the government, who were too focused on the tourism to care. Krowe and the other Rattlesnakes were set up in the slum side of Nul, which was so packed full of buildings that they were essentially climbing over one another. Even the road had buildings above it because they had to go outwards from their intended size.
Peacock was sitting in the passenger seat with a small handgun, no bigger than a game controller. It's body was a pure black, with a hastily painted blue stripe down both sides of the barrel. She pulled the hammer back and grinned to herself "I gotta say Krowe, it's pretty ballsy to go for Darov. But that's fine, we all love the danger" she said as she put the gun back into her holster that she had underneath her long coat that only an insane person would wear in the heat.
Krowe rolled his eyes and pushed his foot harder on the pedal, he wanted to get to the Business fast "I know the risks, but even Darov wouldn't storm the warehouses. We have too many people there and we actually know the area" he spoke, his accent as thick as ever.
The van hit a big pothole, causing the people in the back of the van to fall over, and Peacock nearly hit the ceiling.
She glared at him and poked his cheek hard "Watch it man! I coulda' went through the roof!"
He chuckled and looked at her through the corner of his vision "Could have. Then we would have been a lot lighter and get there faster".
Peacock simply puffed up her small cheeks and turned away from him "You're a meanie" she said with a higher than usual tone of voice.
But just as it seemed that things were going to be quiet for the trip, Krowe's phone began to ring. He picked it up within a few seconds of it going off and pressed it to his ear "Hello? Krowe here".
Immediately the voice was panting, it was a female's voice "Kestrel here. We've secured the armored cars from the factory. There was a pretty big group of guys but we got them all..Two of our guys are in the vans being bandaged, and another got his leg crushed when they shot an old crane's cable that was still holding a container... But no deaths at least".
Krowe nodded and pressed the phone between his ear and shoulder as he reached down to the side buckets on the inside of the door, before taking out a chocolate bar and opening it with his mouth "Good work Kestrel. Take the cars back to the warehouse. Try to not be seen, it'll be a lot easier if they think it's another gang doing this until we make a move. Spray paint some small gangs symbol if you need".
"Alright. Got it, I'll see you back at home" and with that she hung up.
Peacock glanced over her shoulder at him "Kestrel got the cars?" she asked curiously, to which Krowe gave a simple nod and focused on driving.
Giving him a small sigh, she looked out the window and at the slums around them. Poor people were forced into cramped apartments, and the gang violence made them scared to go out. Of course this is what the Rattlesnakes liked to see. They didn't see the need to help others out. If they aren't one of their own, they're on their own. Krowe made that apparent when he charged through a burning building to save Vulture, who would become one of his most loyal members alongside Kestrel and Peacock. Even today the burns on his back remind everyone what Krowe would do for them, and in turn they would do the same for him.
One of the men in the back reached over the seat to tap Krowe's shoulder, who glanced back to them for a brief moment and asked "What's up?".
The Rattlesnake glanced down at his phone and then back up to Krowe "Apparently there's gonna be a big dinner party at Darov's mansion in the hills in a few days. That'll be a good chance to try take him out won't it?"
Pondering for a moment, Krowe nodded "Yeah, it would. He doesn't know we're trying to get him so I can just dress up all fancy, get into his private little lounge and poison him or something".
Peacock seemed concerned however "Don't you think a guy like that would have made himself resistant to that? Y'know, like you Krowe" she scoffed and poked him, back to her normal self "If someone as thick-headed as you knows about that then I will bet my legs and arms that Darov has too".
Pouting, Krowe nodded "Then I'll walk up to him and blow his fuckin' brains out then. Is that better?".
"Hmmm, you might miss. You're a pretty bad shot".
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"I am literally the number one person on the leaderboard for our gun range".
"I think you forged that".
"Peacock I'm about to slap you with my c-..."
She smirked "No, no. Go ahead, finish that word please. I'm sure it rhymed with my name".
He sighed and rolled his eyes "You're so annoying".
"But you still loooove me~".
Krowe held the side of his head and then looked down at the small girl "I can take you back to that sewer pipe".
She gasped and held the side of her cheeks jokingly "Really?! I'd finally find something that smells better than you!".
Krowe's eye twitched, but he sighed and let it go. He had never won an argument against Peacock, and that definitely wasn't going to happen any time soon.
The drive went as normal, and soon they came to an alleyway behind a gun-store. They pulled up and climbed out of the van, with Krowe leading the way down the path, which was only lit up by a flickering street lamp that had been cracked. Probably by someone throwing something at it.
Peacock looked up to the sky, or at least she would have if it weren't for the giant mega-highway that shadowed them. It was made of a special kind of concrete, and hanging walkways for maintenance swayed gently in the breeze.
Up ahead was a trio of black vans parked adjacent to each other, their doors opened and wide tables folded out of them with a lot of different weaponry across them. A small group of hooded men were standing around it all.
Krowe made his way over, glancing at the tables with a hint of jealousy in his eyes, but he shrugged it off and looked to one of the men, this one in particular was lacking a hood, and over on of his eyes was a metal box with what looked like a scope and a few other gadgets attached to it.
Krowe lifted his hand up to high five the man, which was gladly returned "Bizz, you son of a bitch" he said.
The metal eyed man known as Bizz grinned as they began to arm wrestle in the air. He was struggling, and Krowe was all too eager to point it out.
"What's wrong? Writing too many receipts?"
Bizz sighed and let go, losing to Krowe "Aw dun' be like da'" he spoke, his voice surprisingly high pitched for a broad and gruff man, and his accent was...
Well, it was something.
Krowe smirked "I'd love to catch up but, got a little bit of a war coming up".
This was music to Bizz's ears. A war meant people needed guns, and people needing guns meant money in his pocket.
"Ah, guns guns guns? Well, ye came to tha' right place" he said, walking over to the van "Whatchya' lookin' fo'? Ah' got big guns, small guns, big fuckin' explosive guns. Ah' got shit I ain't never even seen".
Krowe, interested in his selection, walked over to the table and looked to the biggest piece in the set. It took up two tables. It was a giant machine gun, it's barrel square with its end cut diagonally. The handle was meaty and strong to support its immense recoil, and the box of ammo attached to its side was about the size of a small fridge.
He pointed to it "What's the story with this little guy?" he asked.
Bizz looked to it and placed his hands together and rubbing them "Oh, this beaut'? Ah' call 'er Backspace. Cuz ye' hover over what ye' want, pull the trigger, and it ain't there no more" he said with a hearty belly laugh.
Krowe nodded "I'll take it. I'll take it all".
Bizz's laugh was cut short, as he looked up at him and narrowed his eyes "Ye' sure about da'?" he asked, tilting his head "Das' a lotta money I'm askin' fo'".
Krowe just held up a blue card with a black line down the back of it, to which Bizz's eyes widened "Das' one of them' big bank people cards. How'd you get tha'?" he asked, puzzled. Then he frowned "...Hey, tha' means you really didn't need those discounts ah' gave ye'".
Krowe smirked "Well, you're a business man. You know saving money's important".
He sighed and nodded "Fine fine, shut yer trap... Boys get these here vans to tha' Rattlesnakes warehouses"
The other men nodded and got into the vans, starting their engines as the tables folded away, and they began to drive off down the alley.
Bizz sighed and kicked over a can "Yer a real' asswipe Krowe. But goddamn ah' can't get enough of chu'" he said, giving him one last high five.
Krowe nodded and waved "I know. See you around Bizz" he waved, walking back to the others in his group, who just stood there in surprise.
Peacock looked to him as he walked past and placed her hands on her petite hips "Okay. Cool, big gun. Where you gonna put that? Cause I ain't keeping it in my room"