"Alright," Huck said, nodding.
And I knew that he was sold.
Remy didn't seem to be showing any signs of discomfort either. And West gave Sass a nod and said it sounded like she knew what she was talking about.
"Get out of your head, and get on board," Sass demanded, giving me a long, hard look.
"I don't like it."
"No one is asking you to like it," she said, shrugging. "We are all dependent upon you to do it, though. And do it right."
"I won't fuck it up," I said. If for no other reason, then I had to protect her.
"Now, we just need to see what kind of car Seeley and McCoy can find," she said, sounding excited.
Another couple hours after that, we'd all eaten, showered, and gone over the plan several more times.
Then Seeley and McCoy were walking in, tossing keys at Sass, and handing our burner phones to the rest of us.
"Come on, hand 'em over," Gus declared, waiting for all our usual phones. "There will be lots of texts and calls from these phones at this very location," she said, waving at the penthouse. "Since, you know, you were here all night."
Crimes were getting harder and harder to commit with literal tracking devices in your pockets. But you could get away with damn near anything when you had ride-or-die women in your corner who were willing to protect you at all costs.
Gus and Ayanna would make calls for the hours when we were busy committing crimes across town, giving us alibis in case the cops ever got wind of us being involved.
True, there were many ways they could prove it was us that didn't involve our phones, but it was one more layer of protection.
Arty was on another one, working on scrambling and jamming the security cameras in the area, making sure our faces wouldn't be seen.
It wasn't perfect.
No crime ever truly was.
But with people like Sass and Arty and Ayanna and Gus in your corner, you could get really fucking close.
"Are you nervous?" Sass asked as we went down to the garage to inspect the car Seeley had managed to secure.
"No."
"Oh, come on," she said, shooting me a look before turning her attention back to the engine.
"We've been busy the last few years," I told her. "After a while, you don't get nervous anymore. I'm worried about you, though," I admitted.
"You won't need to. This thing is no Huracan," she said, pressing a hand to her chest over the loss of that beauty of a car. "But it is good. Light. Well taken care of. Seeley did a good job with this one. I need to drive it, though."
With that, she did, climbing out after and declaring it was perfect for the job.
So we all gathered upstairs again, caffeinating, going over the plan, setting the watches Teddy had found for all of us, just waiting for the right time to head out.
"Che," she said, standing in the garage, not having to head out just yet, giving us all a chance to get in position.
"Yeah?"
"Be careful, okay?" she asked, looking a little glassy-eyed. Realizing that herself, she blinked the tears furiously back.
"Worried about me, huh?" I asked, slipping a hand behind her back, pulling her close.
"Maybe. A little. And only because I still need you to fix my problem after you handle your own," she added, not the least bit convincingly.
"Yeah, that must be it," I agreed, snagging her chin with my free hand, pressing a kiss to her lips. Quick, but deep. "You be careful too," I demanded.
Then, before I could talk myself out of it, I made my way out, knowing the others were already several minutes ahead of me, as per the plan.
It was a particularly sticky night, with no wind at all to help cool us down. I didn't know about the others, but I was dripping sweat by the time I got to the top of my building, getting into position, working any kinks loose before I saw Seeley moving in the shadows behind the building, an all-black figure—ski mask and all, despite the heat.
Then for one blinding moment as he lit the Molotov cocktails, he was stunningly clear, before he hurled the flaming bottles into the windows, and made a run for it.
It didn't take long.
The doors flew open.
Men in various stages of dress rushed out, panic clear on their half-asleep faces.
I don't know who took the first shot, I just knew that the second they did, we all followed, picking off human beings like characters in a video game, their bodies hitting the ground in rapid succession.
I watched as Seeley rushed in through the back, still in his mask, trying to block some of the smoke as he went in to look for any stragglers, anyone who saw their comrades falling, and decided the fire was safer.