Be Gay Do Crime

The news played back the report, and Ashe had to wince at just how much they were showing.  Several burned bodies were being wheeled out, all covered, as the newscaster decried the senseless violence of the criminal elements behind it.  There was no mention of the drugs they left behind, or the ties to the Patriots that were easy enough to locate.

There was one advantage to such a production however, Jessica’s little vigil was thoroughly pushed from the spotlight, barely getting a thirty second blurb on the evening news before returning to something related to the theatrics she was employing. 

Ashe knew it had been far too easy, that Brie’s intervention had worked so damn well.  It wasn’t much of a storehouse if she could just walk up to the front door and fucking knock.  No doorman, no sentries, nothing. 

Also, who the fuck actually fell for a shouted ‘pizza delivery’ anyway? 

She couldn’t shake the suspicion that she was being played by Yessina, she just couldn’t see the angle.  It was always the knife one didn’t see coming that did the most damage, and she was not looking forward to when this one would strike true. 

Shaking her head, Ashe left the others to watch the broadcast.  Brie seemed detached about the whole thing, but reaching out to her didn’t feel right.  Caralina was talking to her in hushed tones, so she would just have to trust that things were well in hand. 

No, Ashe needed to focus on figuring out what games were being played, and how her people might end up involved in things to come.  She knew her crew was now neck deep in the city’s politics, and all the major players were aware they were on the board.  She understood the Viuda well enough, but it was the Patriots and their history that she struggled to grasp. 

The Silver Cross, the name was only passingly familiar when she heard it in the bar, but she’d taken the time to look him up, and she now understood why the man was feared, and how he continued to command respect among his people. 

Theodore Ellington might command the Iron Patriots now, but Edward Ellington forged their soul in fire.  She hated having to respect a fucking Nazi, but if any of them had earned it, that man would qualify.  She didn’t respect him as a person, but she respected what he had accomplished, fucked as it was.  

He built an empire with fire, blood and cold iron, because the Storm Guard didn’t even try to hide their origins as a Nazi group.  They embraced it, flaunted it, and from their inception in the fifties, to the civil war of the seventies, all the way to the nineties, they stood as the sole criminal element within Jericho worth mentioning. 

Everyone assumed that when the Guard collapsed, many of their members simply joined the Iron Patriots for a more legitimate front.  It wasn’t even a changing of the guard, heh, it was just a new coat of paint over the same rotten foundations.  She wasn’t surprised, and Ashe was far too jaded to be disappointed. 

That didn’t explain why other groups had been allowed in following that.  The Cartels would have never managed to set up shop under the old regime, yet, Yessina and Alejandro were thriving.  A dozen other small operations popped up across the city, all backed by outside interests.  Those were always mercilessly snuffed out under the Silver Cross, but not under Ellington. 

Why would he give up so much?  Was the pursuit of the Presidency worth risking his claim to Jericho?  He’d begun his political career when he was barely out of college, moving up the ladder bit by bit.  He was a nationally known figure, a businessman and investor, and now he was making a bid for the highest seat of power the country had. 

There had to be a reason he would risk such scrutiny pointed at his family.  Ashe knew she needed to find some sort of proof that she could show others, prove his family’s Nazi origins.  Crystal’s word wouldn’t be enough, but what else could she find?  That was just another thing to add to what seemed to be a never ending pile of shit she needed to deal with. 

“You’re brooding,” Crystal said, stepping over to the couch she had claimed and offered her a cup.  

Much like Ashe herself, she was still wearing her gear, though she had swapped the themed face mask for a cloth one.  They were more comfortable, and didn’t completely preclude eating and drinking. 

Ashe accepted the drink with a smile as her girlfriend took a seat beside her and scooted close.  The warmth helped ground her, pull her out of the spiraling thoughts that sometimes threatened to consume her completely.  Ashe let her head rest on Crystal’s shoulder, a hum of contentment escaping her as some of the tension melted away. 

“That’s better,” Crystal said, taking a sip of her own drink.  “Worried about how that all shook out?” 

Ashe nodded, staring into her own cup.  It smelled vaguely alcoholic, not that Ashe minded, she would just need to be moderate about it now that she was back to attending classes.  Prom was close, and that was the last event she cared about.  Once that was done, she would be able to leave that chapter of her life behind for good. 

“Yeah,” she said, downing half the contents of her cup.  The burn was becoming familiar, something her parents wouldn’t approve of for sure.  “That felt a bit too clean for my tastes.” 

“Agreed,” Crystal said.  “We’re out of the loop, and something doesn’t smell right.  No way Robbie’s dead, but I just can’t tell if he skipped town, or if someone has him and Yessina is keeping that to herself.” 

Ashe nodded, swirling her cup for a moment.  “Then there’s Alejandro who told us to keep out of it.  Not to mention the Patriots.  We still don’t have a proper clue for who is behind these trafficking fronts.” 

“Unfortunately,” Crystal said, knocking back her whole cup with practiced ease.  “Jason did deliver a message reminding me that I can reach out to our uncle if need be.” 

Ashe raised an eyebrow at that.  “What are the odds that Silver Cross is just playing us right now?” 

“Damn well guaranteed,” Crystal said with a heavy sigh.  “I’m fairly certain he sees us as an opportunity, I’ve had the impression that he and my donor don’t see eye to eye.” 

Ashe wasn’t surprised to hear that.  “Infighting would be good for us if we could manage to stoke that animosity.” 

“That won’t be easy.  Silver held the Guard together during a civil war that lasted years.  Even if you do manage to get them pointed at one another, this isn’t the Guard, my donor has completely reformed the entire organization into his image.  He owns the Patriots outright.” 

“Fair,” Ashe said.  She wasn’t expecting it to work, just an idle thought that would serve her own purposes.  She glanced at the TV, saw that it was almost midnight and groaned.  “I should probably turn in soon.” 

Crystal chuckled, tilting her head as she raised the pitch of her voice.  “Aww, little cutie needs her rest for school.” 

The heat that rushed up her neck was well familiar, but she still relished it.  How someone as amazing and beautiful as Crystal could end up with someone like her…  Well, she knew the how of it, it was just learning to accept it as reality that was proving to be a struggle for her. 

That was when a crazy thought struck her, coming from a source of confidence that was still very much new to her.  Ashe Hamilton might not be the most confident person, but that didn’t stop her from channeling some of Inferno’s.

“Care to join me?” Ashe asked, smirking under the red cloth when her voice didn’t waver and came out with all the confidence she hoped it would. 

Crystal snorted, then laughed.  “Oh my god, did you just use your Inferno voice on me?” 

Well, that backfired.  Ashe tried not to pout, not that it would have been obvious under her mask, but it was the principle of the matter!  She started to stick her tongue out, only to taste cloth as once again the mask prevented any proper retort. 

“Did it work?” she asked, hating how petulant she sounded. 

So, of course Crystal just laughed harder.  At that point, she’d drawn the attention of most of the others, which was just perfect.  Keiko would be savage with her teasing, nevermind what Brie might cook up now that she was part of the core group.  Not that the girl had ever been afraid to speak her mind, but knowing what Ashe was like behind the mask had definitely given her more ammunition. 

“You’re lucky you’re cute,” Crystal said, lowering her mask just enough to peck Ashe on the forehead.  “Also, do we actually have a room here, or do we need to go home first?” 

“Technically this is our room,” Ashe said, looking around the crowded living room and kitchen combo space.  “Why didn’t we have this meeting in Caralina or Brie’s apartment again?” 

Crystal looked across the room, eyes falling on Brie.  “Ghosts.” 

Right, everyone was convinced that the lady that died in there and left the best apartment in the building vacant was haunting the place.  Not that it seemed to bother Brie one bit, Ashe hadn’t heard a single complaint out of her about the accommodations. 

“And Caralina?” Ashe asked. 

“It’s too small, chika,” Caralina said.  “I picked a smaller place so I wouldn’t need to worry as much about keeping it clean.” 

Ashe rolled her eyes, but that made sense.  “Then I’m kicking everyone out.  Feel free to take any of the pizza on your way.” 

One of the younger girls, too young to work the streets, giggled.  Ashe didn’t know all of them that well, but she recognized this girl from one of the prior meetings about drug distribution.  Not everyone liked her rules, but at least they were past arguing with her over them.

People slowly filed out, saying their goodbyes.  Even Keiko had her own place in the building now, though she mostly kept it as a temporary safehouse if needed.  Funny enough, the apartment building might be one of the safest buildings in the city given all the occupants were her people, and she made sure all of them were armed. 

She didn’t want to test how a siege of the building might go, as the best idea she could come up with was to buy everyone a foam dart gun and see how it went.  She just didn’t want to see what would happen if she supplied a bunch of teen girls with the means to casually shoot one another without lasting harm. 

Plus, she feared she would be finding darts in random places for years to come if she unleashed that upon the building.  Maybe she should get them all well acquainted with paintball, see how that went instead.  Tactical training wouldn’t hurt, and she was still working on ideas for poaching her Krav Maga trainers. 

Something to consider. 

It took a few minutes, but they were soon alone in the apartment getting ready for bed.  It wasn’t homey, there were no personal touches, unlike Crystal’s home.  This was Inferno and Riptide’s safehouse, not Ashe and Crystal’s dwelling.  No matter how often she thought about that, it sent a thrill of warmth through her.  

Her parents weren’t even objecting, probably because her eighteenth birthday was almost upon them.  That still felt weird to consider, that she would soon be a legal adult, free to leave the city that had taken so much from her.  Yet, she wasn’t even considering it anymore.  It wasn’t like she couldn’t just hang it all up and walk away either.  She could easily pay each girl enough that walking away would be largely guilt free, but there would always be that worry. 

Because she was on the radar of too many dangerous people, and it would be all too easy for them to send someone to have her or Crystal killed in some random mugging gone wrong.  If she was going to live with that fear each and every day, she was better off staying where she had a support network built in.

Knowing that they were essentially living together and had been for weeks now, she still struggled with some aspects of it.  Self consciousness was a bitch like that, and she still wasn’t comfortable being too underdressed around her girlfriend.  She got ready for bed in the privacy of the bathroom following her shower, while Crystal did the same in the bedroom, having already showered before her.  

Ashe slipped into a pair of flannel sleeping pants, baggy enough that a certain part of her wasn’t obvious at a glance, and a tank top over it, to help keep cool in the less than ideal air conditioning of the apartments.  A gentle knock at the door saw Crystal coming back in, a pair of bags with their toothbrushes secured inside.

They avoided leaving anything personal in the apartment in the odd chance that the police searched it.  No point leaving something that could easily be tested for DNA behind for them to collect.  Ashe smiled, accepting her purple toothbrush while Crystal grabbed her own green one.  Together, they shared the mirror as they brushed, bumping hips and trying not to giggle as they did.  

Ashe knew she had done terrible things just hours prior, that she shouldn’t be feeling happy and giddy.  She didn’t care.  If she allowed herself to get down and fall into a spiral of self reflection and loathing each and every time she did something reprehensible, she would never pull herself out. 

So, she smiled, genuinely.  Sticking her tongue out at her girlfriend as they allowed themselves to just be silly with one another.  Did that make her a monster?  Probably, but it would take a monster to fight the other monsters lurking within Jericho.  She’d known that on some level when she first started out on this journey.

The scars from that first ambush in the back alley stood out on her skin, and new wounds were set to join them.  Despite all that, she felt oddly proud of them, they were a part of her story, markers of what she had survived.  Each one was proof that she was alive, ugly reminders of what had taken a swing at her and failed.  

There was a thought of getting tattoos, integrate the scars into them, but Ashe wasn’t sure she wanted to take away from what they represented.  A warm hand traced over her shoulder, and she shivered.  Crystal was gazing at the same scar she had been examining in the mirror, a complicated expression on her face as her fingers traced the bullet wounds along her arm. 

Crystal’s mood was dropping, Ashe could see that clear as day, and she refused to let that happen.  She reached out, cupping her girlfriend’s cheek with her still numb hand, meeting her shimmering jade orbs as she did.  She held her gaze just long enough to break the spiral, then dove in for a searing kiss. 

It was heavy and passionate, dueling tongues driving them further along.  Ashe broke the kiss, biting her lip as she did.  Crystal stood just as breathless as she was, her side cut tousled and absently Ashe noticed the blonde roots showing through.  Her nose piercing was back in, glimmering in the shitty bathroom light.  It just made her all the more breathtaking. 

“Come on,” Ashe said, taking Crystal’s hand in her own.  “We should get to bed.” 

A soft chuckle followed.  

“To sleep, right?”  Ashe just grinned at her girlfriend, pulling her along.  “Ashe?  What are—” 

She cut her off again with another kiss. 

Because if there was one thing she realized over the last few weeks, it was that there was no promise of tomorrow.  So, she would instead live today, and each day after, as if it might be her last.  She might not be ready to show Crystal all of herself, but she could still take another step towards that day.

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