Things were going quite well, if Dixie said so herself. This was the first time she had applied to be lead on a job. It earned one a ten percent bonus for taking the responsibility of seeing that the score was delivered to the local Syndicate depot. The rest of her crew were out front sweeping loose diamonds off tables and displays and into duffel bags. The diamonds were small and of mediocre quality, but the sheer quantity of them would net a decent profit. Because things were going so well, Dixie was in the back office, cracking their wall safe. She didn\u2019t expect to find anything worthwhile, but she had the time and cracking safes was what she did.<\/p>\n
At the last tumbler falling into place, she turned the handle and yanked open the door. A stack of bills sat on top of some official looking papers. She snatched the bills out and put them in her jacket pocket: a tip on top of her lead bonus! This job was turning out real well.<\/p>\n
Until the gunshots sounded out front.
\n
\nIt was not common to fire one\u2019s gun during a Syndicate job after the initial civilian scare. Even if the police showed up, they usually did not interfere directly as it could endanger civilians. The occasional hero cop might try to thin a crew\u2019s ranks with an opportunistic shot sometimes, but for the most part the agreement the Syndicate had with law enforcement kept gunplay to a minimum.<\/p>\n
The shots fired out on the sales floor were therefore cause for concern. Dixie drew her revolver from its holster and peeked around the door frame.<\/p>\n
Two of her crewmates, Selznick and Mallard, had with their weapons fixed on two other people in Guy Fawkes masks who were pointing their own guns at them. Her third crewmate, Fontaine, was curled up in a ball in the middle of this stand-off, whimpering, gasping for breath, and bleeding all over the floor. The three civilians lying in a neat row on the floor along the back wall shook in fear and hid their heads under their arms.<\/p>\n
Dixie crept out of the office, staying low to sneak behind the display cases. Joining her crew out there would tip the scales in their favor over\u2026 whoever these guys were, but if she could manage to sneak up on the one who was standing closest\u2026<\/p>\n
What Dixie lacked in height and might, she made up for by carrying a massive firearm. The Ursa Striking Bear revolver was five pounds and ten inches of intimidation, a fact this V for Vendetta<\/em> cosplayer realized when Dixie jammed its barrel into his back.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy don\u2019t you set that gun down, sweetie?\u201d Dixie said, prodding him with her own. \u201cNice and easy, don\u2019t want it to go off.\u201d He bent down slowly and set his assault rifle at his feet.<\/p>\n \u201cMallard, come get this,\u201d Dixie said. Mallard came over to collect the weapon, never once taking his eyes or his own weapon off the other guy.<\/p>\n Once Mallard and her hostage\u2019s weapon were out of reach and the odds were significantly back in the Syndicate agents\u2019 favor, Dixie shoved her hostage. He stumbled and fell. She kept her gun pointed at him. When he turned over, she asked, \u201cAre y\u2019all\u2026 protesting<\/em> the robbery?\u201d She gestured around at the scene with her free hand. \u201cThe fuck is this?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThese guys just burst in here and shot Fontaine,\u201d Selznick said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy\u2019dya do that?\u201d Dixie asked her hostage.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were gonna steal your take. Billy says it\u2019s easy to steal from Syndicate crews \u2019cause they\u2019re not real robbers.\u201d<\/p>\n Dixie rolled her eyes. She figured that much.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, honey, why did you shoot Fontaine,\u201d she clarified.<\/p>\n He seemed reluctant to answer so she pulled the hammer back on her revolver to convey her impatience.<\/p>\n \u201cBilly always shoots a civilian first off,\u201d he spat out. \u201cSo they know he\u2019ll shoot any of them if they act up.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShut up, Charlie!\u201d Billy said, shifting his aim off Selznick and on to Dixie. Selznick jumped on the opportunity and fired his shotgun at Billy, hitting him in the gut. Billy reflexively fired his rifle as he fell, and the bullet clipped Dixie\u2019s ear. Dixie\u2019s hand darted up to hold her stinging ear and she swore loudly. Charlie saw the opening and made a motion to get up, but Dixie trained her gun back on him to get him to stay down.<\/p>\n Selznick darted forward and snatched up Billy\u2019s rifle from where it lay next to him.<\/p>\n \u201cOkay, good hustle, Selz-y, but one inch over and I would be dead,\u201d Dixie pointed out.<\/p>\n \u201cSorry, ma\u2019am,\u201d Selznick said.<\/p>\n Dixie gingerly prodded her ear and hissed.<\/p>\n \u201cGod, there\u2019s, like, a chunk missing. That\u2019s gonna heal up pretty.\u201d But no matter. \u201cAll right, you two,\u201d she directed Selznick and Mallard, \u201cGet Fontaine into the van. You,\u201d she said, pointing at Charlie. \u201cYou are now in my crew.\u201d She waved her gun at him in a pope-like blessing. \u201cSo start loading these bags in the van.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOr what?\u201d Charlie said defiantly. It surprised Dixie, as Charlie had come off pretty passive this whole time. It was annoying, given the obviousness of Or What.<\/p>\n \u201cOr I will shoot you,\u201d she ground out, \u201cand your buddy Billy there, and I won\u2019t miss<\/em> like Selznick did,\u201d she said. \u201cChop chop, motherfucker.\u201d<\/p>\n Charlie begrudgingly got up and picked up a pair of duffel bags. He followed behind the rest of the crew as they carried Fontaine as gently as they could.<\/p>\n Dixie huffed at the ceiling and reached up to poke at the missing chunk of her ear again.<\/p>\n This story was part of my 2019 TRL event.<\/p>\n Me again, this time seeing how one of the ladies handles without the other. Specifically, Dixie is hitting a diamond exchange with a crew of Syndicate randoms. But as they\u2019re about to start, a non-Syndicate crew, starts their own robbery, and they\u2019re definitely more vicious than Syndicate. You don\u2019t have to make this before Dixie met Cleo, but definitely have her as MVP. Maybe getting shit on for credit in pulling the job through, but still.<\/p>\n \u2013 Paupers Run<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Things were going quite well, if Dixie said so herself. This was the first time she had applied to be lead on a job. It earned one a ten percent bonus for taking the responsibility of seeing that the score was delivered to the local Syndicate depot. The rest of her crew were out front sweeping loose diamonds off tables and displays and into duffel bags. The diamonds were small and of mediocre quality, but the sheer quantity of them would net a decent profit. Because things were going so well, Dixie was in the back office, cracking their wall safe. She didn\u2019t expect to find anything worthwhile, but she had the time and cracking safes was what she did. At the last tumbler falling into place, she turned the handle and yanked open the door. A stack of bills sat on top of some official looking papers. She snatched […]<\/p>\n