Be Gay Do Crime

“Fuck yeah!” Keiko cheered even as half the bar shouted their own expletives.

The ‘black guy’ as Keiko had called him, turned out to be a six time title holder facing off against a rookie with barely a win to his name, and was an open Patriot supporter to top it off.  The fight was brutal, and it was increasingly clear that he was stringing it along all to extend the whelp’s pain. 

Now Keiko had won the pot, but would they allow her to collect? 

Before that argument could get underway, the rear door opened and Crystal, still wearing her full Riptide ensemble, exited the room with Silver Cross trailing behind her and wearing a frown on his face.  He’d affected nothing but aloof amusement since he laid eyes on the group, but he now seemed to be troubled. 

Granted, he just learned that Riptide, one of the most wanted criminals in Jericho, was Crystal Ellington, daughter of Theodore Ellington.  That revelation was probably a kick in the teeth, but Ashe couldn’t help but feel there was more to it than that. 

“We’re leaving,” Crystal said.  “Hanabi, stop antagonizing the pricks.” 

Ashe turned, not surprised in the least that Keiko had a knife out while eyeing the pile of cash that was the betting pool.  It wasn’t even that much, maybe two hundred dollars, but that was still money she was taking from fascists… 

“She gets her winnings,” Ashe said sharply, the challenge clear. 

Silver Cross seemed to snap out of whatever funk he was in at her sharp declaration, and nodded in agreement.  Keiko snapped up the pile of cash, made a show of straightening it out, then pocketed the wad.  She then mimed tipping her hat and fell in step with them. 

“I am sorry,” Silver Cross said as they reached the door.  Crystal didn’t turn, not fully, but she did give him the courtesy of her attention.  “That you feel this is necessary.  I may not understand, but I do respect your decision.” 

“I meant what I said,” Crystal almost growled.  “I trust you won’t sink to those same depths.” 

“My honor would not allow it,” he said with a polite nod. 

Ashe barely caught Crystal’s muttered response, barely coming across as a whisper.  “Honor among Nazis, what a joke.” 

On that note, Crystal exited the Eagle’s landing, with Ashe following behind her, not once did Ashe dare present her back to those assembled within.  She didn’t trust any of them in the slightest to not put a bullet in her back the moment she turned it.  They were all back in the van shortly after that, Jessica putting the vehicle into drive and pulling away before the doors were fully closed. 

The silence was almost deafening, and Ashe was more than a little curious as to what had been said between them to prompt such a conversation as they left.  She obviously knew the man, Crystal spoke of him with a level of familiarity that scared her.  Ashe knew she shouldn’t be surprised, given who her father was and what she likely grew up surrounded by. 

“So, what the fuck?” Keiko asked.

They were nearly ten minutes into the drive when the silence was finally broken, and Ashe was thankful that it hadn’t been left up to her.  Crystal had been staring at her clenched fists the whole way, sitting just far enough removed from either of them that it would have taken effort to reach out to her. 

Crystal sighed, wrenching her fists for a moment before looking up and pulling her mask off.  “I don’t suppose we could skip this?” 

“Afraid not,” Ashe said softly.  “I know you don’t like your family in general, or what they represent, but you just unmasked to someone unknown to us.  At the very least, we need to understand what’s going on.” 

Crystal’s head dropped, and Ashe wanted to reach out, to pull her into a hug.  So, she got up from her seat, sat down next to Crystal, and did exactly that.  Her friend leaned into the contact, resting her head on her shoulder as she did.  They sat there for a few moments, Ashe making sure that Keiko understood that Crystal got to speak when she was ready, that she wasn’t to be pressured. 

“That man was Edward Ellington,” Crystal said, her voice wobbling a bit.  “He is my great uncle and sworn godfather, and the former leader of the Storm Guard, the precursor to the Iron Patriots back in the seventies to late nineties.” 

“Holy shit,” Keiko breathed out.  “The fucking Storm Guard?  Who led them was always a mystery, their leader was a fucking ghost though it was always assumed that one of the lieutenants was the actual leader.” 

“That assumption was correct,” Crystal said.  “Silver Cross was one of the seven, and the head of the council.  He stepped down when my father proved the Iron Patriots could present a better front for their ideals and goals.  That was when the organizations were merged and the Storm Front was supposedly dissolved.” 

“Sounds like a blatant lie to me,” Jessica said.  “Weren’t the Storm Front literal Nazis?” 

Crystal nodded.  “They were all descendants of Nazis that escaped from Germany before the end of World War Two.  Two u-boats made landfall in forty-four, bringing enough gold that they could found a city, which became Jericho.” 

Ashe’s eyes widened.  That was not what they taught them in history class. 

“This city was founded by literal Nazis?” Jessica asked, then laughed almost manically.  “Color me surprised…  Not.  That explains so much about…  well, everything in this cesspit.” 

“That’s not a rumor?” Keiko asked.  “You always hear whispers of it, like a ghost story told to children to spook them.” 

“You have to go back six generations now,” Crystal said softly, the truth of what she spoke paining her deeply.  “He changed his name when he set the roots of the settlement that grew into Jericho.  Early trade with allies in Argentina helped forge Jericho into a shipping empire, and the town grew and prospered.  All because of the inner circle that fled.” 

“Please tell me the plot twist isn’t that your family’s former last name was Hitler,” Ashe whispered. 

She wasn’t sure how she would take it if that was the truth.  Would that be enough to make her think less of Crystal?  To drive a wedge between them?  She would like to think it wasn’t, but Ashe didn’t trust herself to not hold it against her.  If her friend shared blood relations with one of history’s greatest monsters, she just knew she would. 

“I don’t know,” Crystal said.  “The subject of his lineage was sworn to secrecy, assuming he got out at all, or someone smuggled a secret kid out.  I think they expected some of the groups that fled to be captured and exposed.  If Adolf was among them, they kept that secret close to the chest, always said that it was indeed him that died in the bunker.” 

“You don’t buy that, do you?” Ashe asked, pulling Crystal tighter against her, trying to offer reassurance to her best friend that she was there for her.  “You’re afraid you’re related to him.” 

“Terrified,” she admitted.  “That monster would have seen me killed, hell, my father tried!  Conversion fucking therapy, disguised as a damn horse camp for rich brats.  I was fifteen, almost sixteen, and he shipped me off for the summer.  I worked as a counselor for the other kids, but in reality it was a warning, fall in line or I’d be the one in the chair being shocked.  That’s why I ran away the first time, he told me I was going back.  I met Keiko that same night and fell in with the Viuda not long after.  It was a place where I could be myself, the first group that just accepted me.” 

“And you embraced them,” Ashe said softly.  

She understood that all too easily, because she could honestly say the same thing happened to her.  Crystal came into her life like a storm, upended most everything she believed, and gave her a path forward to right the world.  Things hadn’t gone as planned, but her course was still the same. 

“Yeah,” Crystal said.  “Though, it didn’t take Preston long to track me down, drag me back to my father.” 

“That was the butler, right?” Ashe asked. 

Crystal snorted.  “Butler, right.  He was the best enforcer that the Storm Guard ever fielded.  He was only ever known as Geist and he continued to work under my father long enough that he ‘retired’ as our butler.  It was a perfect cover for the man, who is now my family’s personal bodyguard.” 

Keiko had begun to cough in the middle of that explanation, and Ashe wasn’t quite sure why.  She had a feeling that the reason would just fill her with further dread, but there was nothing she could do about that.  Not really, at least. 

“The fucking ghost?” Keiko barely managed to say.  “You hear stories from the old heads about that shit.  How he would clear out entire cells without a sound.” 

“Yeah, and Silver Cross ran with him sometimes, despite being in charge,” Crystal said.  “The old guard were fucking terrifying, and most of them are still around.” 

Ashe swallowed, the implications clear.  “If they were that bad before, how many people like that do they still have that are active?” 

“Enough,” was all she said. 

The van made the rest of its journey in silence, back to Sutton and their shared apartment complex that served as an operations base.  Turning onto the street, Jessica sucked in a sharp breath. 

“Dammit!  The girls weren’t supposed to go back out tonight.” 

Ashe sat up, reaching for her mask. 

“Wait, I know that one,” Jessica said, hands in a white knuckle grip on the wheel.  “That’s Brie’s little boy toy.” 

Ashe leaned forward, looking over the front seats and across the way to where three of her girls were being questioned by an officer, his car not far from their usual corner.  His partner was still in the cruiser, whoever it was.  Ashe noted the car number, just to be safe, adding it to their message app.  Brie was already out there, helping deal with the officer.

“If you’re sure,” Ashe said.  “I think we should just let her handle it.” 

Jessica bit her lip, then nodded before she pulled the van into the apartment’s parking lot and parked.  Ashe hopped out, her mask in place as she looked across the way.  The second officer was getting out of their vehicle while Brie talked to the man that had to be her frequent customer. 

Was he just there to check up on her under the guise of investigating, or was something else going on?  She couldn’t just walk over, not without risking anything from a shootout to a full scale raid on the entire block just because she was nearby.  Plus, she wanted to keep a lid on things as much as possible when it came to their current base of operations.  It was bad enough that Lily had a physical address there, but the cops hadn’t come knocking as far as she knew. 

Was anything actually registered in her name?  Was there anything for someone investigating her to find?  Just what had she left behind aside from memories of those that knew her?  Brie was right, girls like her were all too often forgotten. 

Not Lily. 

“What did you learn about our target?” Ashe asked, settling in so she had a clear view of the ongoing conversation.  “Please tell me it was worth revealing yourself to your Uncle.” 

“It was worth it,” Crystal said.  “It bought us a reprieve with the IP, if nothing else.  They won’t target us unless we move against them again.” 

“Nepotism, how quaint,” Ashe said with a sigh.  She didn’t miss how Crystal flinched at that statement, and she bit her tongue for stepping on that landmine.  “Disturbing as that is, I’ll take it, now out with the details.” 

“He’s working security for my father,” Crystal said softly.  “He’s got a watch on the house too, and I imagine you aren’t having much luck with your duck either.” 

That last bit she’d directed to Jessica, who had just locked the van and was scowling at her phone before she looked up when addressed. 

“Nope, he’s playing coy, fishing for more tit pics,” Jessica said.  “Hate to say it, but I think that lead’s a wash.  Tempted to send him mine then try to submit him to the feds.” 

“Wouldn’t do much good,” Ashe said.  “Slap on the wrist given you’re almost eighteen, and no trying to rope any of the younger girls into it either.” 

“Had no intention,” Jessica said, her hands up in surrender. 

She better not have.  Ashe was adamant about not subjecting anyone underage to that shit.  The conversation across the way was continuing without anything violent, or even agitated.  The officers were composing themselves surprisingly well, all things considered.  That alone was something worth looking into. 

“You’re sure Silver Cross isn’t setting a trap for us?” Ashe asked. 

Crystal shook her head.  “If you’d have asked, it would be.  If he sets a trap for me…  Well, he’d best hope it sticks.  Like it or not, I’m still an Ellington, I got the same training my brother is getting.” 

The idea of having to fight a bunch of retired Nazi badasses didn’t sit well with her, she knew full well not to underestimate the elderly.  They had little to lose, and loved to show the younger generations just what they could still do.  Watching a decrepit Navy man pummel an attempted purse snatcher as a kid hammered that lesson home. 

The last thing she wanted was to be thrust into the plot of a bad fanfic of a good action movie, so she’d avoid poking that for a bit longer, and maybe silently plead with any listening extra dimensional beings to maybe let one or two of them die of old age or something.  She didn’t expect to get that lucky, but a girl could dream. 

It was a wonder that none of these boogiemen had come for them already after multiple high profile hits over the last few months.  It made Ashe wonder if Crystal’s identity as Riptide wasn’t as ironclad as she hoped. 

Scary questions aside, Ashe needed a plan of action.  If he was working security for Senator Ellington, then the best way to get close to him might just lie within the fucking rally he was hosting in the afternoon.  That would be dangerous as all hell, and she had almost no time to actually plan an infiltration. 

Unfortunately, extracting him probably wasn’t an option given how many people would be swarming the place.  The message was more important than the means, so she just needed to figure out what would best accomplish putting a bullet into the man. 

Brie giggled at something, and the main officer shook his head, stepping away and taking his partner with him.  The other man didn’t seem all that happy about it, but was leaving without doing something monumentally stupid, so she would take the win. 

Just as the main officer was getting in the car, he looked her way, and she was almost certain their eyes met just as the realization clicked for him that three of Jericho’s most wanted had been keeping an eye on him.  More so, she recognized him as the creepy guy from the picnic. 

Small world. 

May Brie take him for every last cent.  She turned to head back inside as the car pulled away.  That realization had given her an idea, but she wouldn’t dare attempt it without running it by the others.  If it worked, however, it would certainly send the message that she wanted. 

Don’t fuck with her girls.

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