Short Story - Crossfire

CHAPTER 1

“Right you know what to do. Point the gun get the money and run. You’ve messed this up too many times Mel it is either this or you’re out.”

Melanie whispered in Mike’s ear threateningly, “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, I know, I know you just get those hands of yours on that wheel ready to go…okay”

Melanie stepped out of a small white rusty car holding seven largely built hoodlums, men she had come to call her friends. She tucked her gun into the front of her trousers preparing herself for the unexpected and as she walked towards the jewellery store her dark lengthy hair flowed away from her neck with her drawn-out leather coat trailing behind her. She flung open the store door with immense conviction and standing in the doorway for a few seconds as if captured in a moment of heroism she eyed the merchandise in the store and continued to peruse. Her footsteps echoed in the shop as she trampled the varnished floor boards.

The darkness of her eyes widened in the reflection of the finely crafted ornaments and her sullen face shifted in the light. Her beauty when she was pacing in the store was as eye-catching as the rare objects she found behind the glass, gifts she could not come by in ordinary life. Her beautifulness made her seem as if she were another trinket in the store and as she walked around, a  dim lamp centered on the low-ceiling of the shop tinted the corner of her darkened eyes. Shying her head away from the blindness she had settled within herself her decision.  The storeowner gave Melanie a disconcerted look, gathered his thoughts and spoke,

“Miss? Are you looking for something in particular?” He did not perceive her making a purchase and became disgruntled by her pacing.

 “I would advise you to leave if you are not planning on purchasing anything.”

“Oh I’m sorry…” she said calmly, “…I’ll go,” Melanie shied at him slightly and slowly approached the storeowner’s counter.

“All I’m trying to say young lady, is that I want you to leave now.”

“Fine. Though before I go. I have to get what I came for,” she said seductively. She leaned on the counter and placed her two soft white palms on the glass, and eased her shoulders inward. The storeowner was puzzled and stepped back. She grabbed a screwdriver from the glass counter, drew her tightly gripped hand across the surface and smashed the glass in front of him, dazzling his sight. Hastily Melanie seized the storeowner’s jewellery, the storeowner paced backwards in fright and pressing the alarm behind the counter conveniently deadening her escape.

“What the hell are you doing!” The storeowner began to cry horrified by the smashed glass, “you have a perfectly good life in front of you! You don’t need to do all this! I’m sure you’re a lovely person...” Melanie grew impatient.

“Look gramps, Shut up! I have had enough!” She drew the gun from her trousers ferociously and aimed directly at the storeowner looking at him fearlessly and with his face an inch away from the tip of the gun, he began to shake. One of her crewmembers shouted from the packed car outside.

“Mel! Come on you have everything! Just leave the bloke to piss himself and lets blow!”

Melanie turned her head and still holding the gun to the storeowner she had the gun twisted out of her hand and claimed. Melanie slowly turned her head back round to face the storeowner with great dejection. She was never very good at using her pistol and for that matter scaring people.

“Right you teenage waste of space, drop the jewellery and get out! Get out!” He said quivering in his shoes and his knees knocking together. The storeowner directed to her the door. Melanie’s face dramatically changed and it was as if she a little girl once again and with her tenuous expression she enwrapped herself in her drawn-out leather coat, ran out of the store, hurling herself in to the window of the packed white car that drove off in haste, bullets firing from the storeowner and Mel’s legs kicking out of the side of the speeding vehicle.

Mike, a crew member, grabbed Mel’s face, “You’ve messed this up too many times Mel, for us to withstand. We ain’t take’in any more of your crap! So we’ve u-nan-i-mous-ly decided we don’t want you with us anymore and to let you know that you are just not for this game, so see you around!” Mike forced a kiss onto Mel’s lips and pushed her out of the side of the car as it manoeuvred round a corner.

CHAPTER 2

“Why do you always disappoint us like this, we give you a second chance and you throw it back in our faces.” Candice’s mum waved her arms in front of her face as though her hands had been cut off with a chainsaw and she was pleading for help.

“What chances? I try to take advantages of chances but they’re never there! When I do something wrong instead of you giving me a chance you tell me, ‘right you can’t see Ryan and you can’t go out tonight…’”

Candice’s dad interrupted their conversation, “Okay, now then Candy, there’s no need for you to get worked up over nothing, if we just calm the whole thing down we’ll have no problems whatsoever.”

Candice and her mum stood silent staring at him, contemplating on how pathetic he could really be in a serious situation. Her father’s attempts to solve matters was feeble and not appreciated by her mum. Candice broke their silence.

 “Why’m I getting blamed for this anyway? It’s not even my fault someone planted the stolen cars there.”

Candy’s dad being more annoying spoke, “Well Candice I don’t think those cars just drove in to that garage by a mysterious one legged man, eh?” He said to her profoundly.

“Precisely, how could you be so stupid, stealing cars and being even more stupid by parking them in a garage two blocks down our road? If you were going to steal cars, you might as well have done it properly and planted the cars somewhere else.”

Candice knew her mum had cornered her. She knew it was an idiotic thing to do but she couldn’t’t back down against her parents for it would have been too weak of her to have agreed. Her pale freckled face blushed slightly as she combed her thin blonde round her ears like she always did when she had to really think in tough situations and she thought and recovered her ignorant mistake, trying for a text book reply. 

“Oh so I’m stupid now am I? You have a stupid daughter, whoopee! So finally, now I know you wanted a boy, it’s too late now isn’t it…?”

She once again was interrupted in a passionate and planned speech.

 “Do we really want to go through that argument again?” Candy’s mum now grew tired of the raised voices.

“If we have to, Yeah!”

Candice’s dad tried once more to sort out the argument.

 “Well we don’t. You know we have just about had enough with all the rubbish you give us so we’re going to send you to the Oxford Mental Institution, the OMI, where you would receive best treatment…”

“Wha – wha – wha - what! I am not mental!”

Candice’s mum comforted Candy. “But darling you are.”

“I am not mental! Why do you think I’m mental, my councillor said I need to get my mental aggression out. Now I don’t know what that means but- but-”

Candice hyperventilating and trying to talk as if she were a brain surgeon diagnosing symptoms said, “It doesn’t mean I’m actually mental,‘Cos mental means mind, yeah that’s it, so when you’re mentally-something it means you’re mindly-something, if that’s really a word. So when people talk about your mentality they mean your ability to use your mind – I think. Which is umm… a very good skill, used by brainiacs and geniuses and stuff? So really I’m just, just, umm… why do I have a councilor? You are not sending me to the OMI. She lifted her hands in question.

Candy’s mum for the second time comforted Candy, “Because you’re mental dear.”

“I’m not mental!” She replied.

“Don’t even think of shooting your mouth off like that again. You’re only a child don’t forget.”

“I’m sixteen! And anyway, so what, I stole a few cars, that doesn’t mean I’m mental does it, when Mickey thought she was a chocolate bar, that was mental.”

“That was the drugs, she was hooked on and you know she’s in rehab now.”Candice’s dad paused, trying to think of the more consoling way to tell her their final decision.

“The truth is we don’t really want you around…that is for a couple of months at least.”

“So you don’t want me around any more, you’re just going to give me up just like that.”

“It’s not a matter of not wanting you darling it’s more of a break for all of us.”

“Then why don’t you guys piss off to the mental home and send me to Ibiza.”

Candice’s mum had tolerated all she could; her face began to boil red with rage. Candice knew the signs that she had succeeded in making her parents lose their calm, and she knew it was coming, she knew…

“Right that’s it! I’ve had enough of your big mouth young lady! Out! Just out! Candice paused for a second.

“Fine to hell with guys I’m gone, I’m totally gone, go have your fucking boy!” Candy pushed her way past her parents and flew the front door of her house open as she was so used to doing after battling with them. Just before walking out she got something off her chest which she wanted to do for the whole of their argument.

 “And dad…why the one legged man? What’s that to mean anyway, is he your friend? Do you know him or something!!? One legged man. How could you steal a car with only one leg?

Candy’s mum infuriated launched a bag full of Candy’s things, and caused her to fall out of the doorway, humiliating her by slamming the door in her face.

“Damn it! Where the hell am I going to go now?

She paused again.

“First things first,” she thought, “food. ”

CHAPTER 3

Melanie sat on a random wall, she pulled out a lighter and lit a cigarette as she did so she began to gather her thoughts, it was a type of thinking she was used to, she would kick her legs for no apparent reason as if to reach the ground, and easily could by standing up, however would defeat her enjoyment of kicking inadvertently. Melanie abruptly stopped kicking the wall, she could hear a police siren. A squad car gradually pulled up towards her. She carefully vaulted herself off the wall nimbly, and sped in to the local supermarket, having the police follow her in suspicion.

Melanie ran down an isle and turned back down another, returning to a cash till. She realised she had to think fast otherwise it would have been the end for her because of her previous involvements. She grabbed the first person she came across, a confused freckle faced blonde and shoved her into an alarm. An unsettling shrill rose within the store and almost instantly everyone stormed out of the building.

Melanie cunningly emerged from the hectic stampede, keeping herself from harm. This left only the cashiers at their tills; a few old ladies whom couldn’t’t hear the blaring alarm and a single elderly woman who slowly advanced towards the exit, squeaking the wheel from her Zimmerframe.        

Candice left in some distress on the floor and was found by the Police officers. 

“Wanter hand luv?”Not knowing whom the officer was Candice raised her hand, in gratitude.

 “Cheers.”She picked herself up off the floor and dusted herself off. The officer began to think, he had a slightly constipated frown on his face, as if it were difficult for him to think.

“Aye! ‘Old on, I know oou you are,” He pulled her face closer to his. Another stressed frown emerged from his face, “your one of doze car fiefs ain’t ya? I remember you ‘dare, we ‘auled a lot of yoose last week. Dough we didn’t find some of the cars… Right I’m takin’ yer down to the station, we got some questions to ask ya.” At that moment, Candice spoke under her breath,

“Damn it.”

Candice began to ponder; she curled her thin blonde hair round her ear as she was used to doing when she was in trouble and asked,

“But, I – I can tell you some stuff now if you like, what do ya want to know?

The officer was baffled but went along with what she was trying to say. Her pretty face made it hard for him to not at least give her a chance.

 “Well, okay…” He said questionably but still continued, “err… I’ll arks all da udder stuff later at da station, but just ter give me a little head start… When’s da next feft goin’ to be?”

Candice paused for a moment and gave a brief exhale of a being who was all-knowledgeable and all-powerful but also girl in desperation wanting to be let go.

“At the Holiday Inn car lot, tonight.” She exclaimed proudly.

“O - kay…” The officer began handcuffing Candice, she thought fast, and acted faster. She took hold of the end she was to be cuffed and fiercely cuffed the officer’s hands together. Hastily, she gave a filthy blow with her knee to the officer’s crotch, and with all her might hurled the helpless man across the isle. Ultimately the officer lost balanced and bowled over the elderly lady still trying to exit the store on her zimmerframe, with an endless struggle on the floor, he was unable to get up.

Candy dashed away and ran out of the store down the street to the left down the nearest alley she was able to find escape. She breathed heavily as though it were her last breaths and slowly calmed them down. She kept silent in order to recover from the adrenaline rush, a long deep sighing silence.

As she did this she became aware of someone else breathing. She too was bent over breathing heavily and she uneasily turned her head to the right and had full view of Melanie’s slender figure. Candice took a step back in caution, “Who are you?”

“Mel…pleased to meet you” She raised an arm to shake her hand still bent over catching her breath. She was reluctant to respond.

“Hold on, you’re the girl that pushed me in to the alarm belt. What’s up with that? I nearly got caught by that dodgy officer, ya know?”

“Look, firstly I pushed you not to get caught myself, alright! Your dodgy officer was after me after all. I just pegged it when all the other shoppers pegged it out. Who are you anyway?” She asked with glum suspicion.

“Candice, my name is Candice and my parents chucked me out of my house. They were goin’ to send me to the crazy house, for stealing some cars.”

Melanie got slightly worried and stared questionably at her.

“Well are you?”

“What?”

“Crazy.”

“I’m not Crazy!” She exclaimed profusely.

“Yes… well obviously not.” Mel said briskly raising an eyebrow at her.

“What! What is it?” Candice grew impatient at Melanie’s look of concern.

“Okay fine. What did the police want with you though?

“He wanted to know about the next heist but of course I’m not with that lot anymore.”

“Same here, I’m not with my lot either. My guys kicked me out of the gang.”

“Yeah… on me own now…but err… why are you on the run?”

“I robbed a jewellery store.”

Candice became quite bemused and gave the same stare Melanie gave her previously, looking her up and down.

“So, where’s all the dosh, the money, the goods, you know. Shouldn’t you be, like, living up north in some mansion or something by now?”

“Yeah, well, it wasn’t that easy, I kinda left it all in the store.”

“So it’s only attempted Robbery then?” Mel blushed embarrassed by the truth.

“Err…yeah” she said flirtatiously. Candice burst into hysterics only to be cut off,

“Yeah well I’m not the one who’s bein’ called mental hey? So you can stop laughing.”

Candice agreed mutually and they both ceased their laughter,

“Fine.”

Melanie abruptly changed the subject.

“It’s getting dark, do you have anywhere to stay?”

“I’m not sure what I’m going to do.”

“Ere, don’t worry, you can come with me, you know sought of team up, since we both have no-one else. We could sought of have each others backs, yeah?”

“Yep! Fine with me.” She agreed.

“Alright, I live at a warehouse and it is all the way at the end of this high street.” Mel pointed in the direction of the road.”

“Better get movin’ then, ‘aye?”

Candice moved out of the shadow of the alley and began to walk with Melanie down the street.

CHAPTER 4

“Hey, Mel, what's for breky then?” Candice voiced in a deep grunt, she murmured half lost in her dreams, squashed against her bag. Her eyes opened up to the morning light as it shone through the panes of the warehouse, kindling the whole wall opposite her. She lifted her head prepared to start the day.

“Hello Candice.” Said a voice murmuring and cold,

Candice was given a morning greeting, a gun pressured to her head. She looked at the gun and slowly gazed upward and at the end of the barrel was a small stubby character in his twenties wearing a chunky gold medallion, he stared demandingly at Candice.

Candice sighed and got up from the lifeless corner she slept in.

“Charlie…what do you want? She said softly wiping the sleet from her eyes.

A deep solemn voice spoke again.

“You were talking to the cops weren't ya? I lost three of my men last night to them.“ “Why?” She said arrogantly. Charlie grabbed Candice’s hair, causing her wail.

 “'Cos you grassed us in, just to save your own bloody self! Well, sorry Candice, 'cos you probably 'ave got yourself in to even more of a mess now! Charlie shouldered Candice in to the middle of the warehouse, Candice was unsettled and shivered, Charlie and four other men surrounded her.

"Where's Mel?" She asked hesitantly.

Candice was uneasy about her question, she bellowed and coiled her body. Charlie instructed one of the larger men to fetch Melanie. She entered the middle of the warehouse; her face was half beaten though she still gave an assuring grin to Candice. The built man who had half of his right ear missing gripped Mel and forced a pistol to her head. Charlie spoke once more.

“Right! Candice, tell me where you planted the cars we nicked, the other night. We've checked every warehouse and we can't find'em. I donno where you hid'em - underground or something, ‘cos I've got to give it to you, you hid them well.”

Charlie walked up to Candice clutched her face and said gravely. “Look, if you don't tell me, you know what's gonna happen to your knew friend,” He let go of her face, “She paints this floor red!” He blared. Something had to be done.

Candice and Melanie now were held by each of Charlie's men, both facing each other, surrounded in a circle. Candice gave a look to Melanie enlarging her eyes to its maximum. Melanie and Candice scrambled behind a dilapidated Beetle situated on the side of the sun-lit wall. Charlie and the remaining crew packed the revealing side of the car with gun-fire. The pelting of shots then ceased. Charlie attempted to persuade the defenceless girls to accept a defeat.

“Candice, where ya gonna go now!? Just tell me where ya planted the cars. The quicker ya do and the quicker I’ll blow your brains out, so just tell me where the cars are, kay.”

Melanie whispered to Candice,

“So what we do now?” She said nervously,

“Donno…” She said worried.

“Just tell’im where the cars are, at least you’ll be able make a run for it. Melanie nudged Candice softly. “Where are the cars anyway?

Candice giggled under her breath,

“They’re near a garage by my home.” She said quietly and excited.

“Yer sure you ain’t crazy?” Said Melanie.

“I’m pretty sure I‘m not crazy.” Said Candice.

A puddle lay dangerously dormant under a flow of petroleum escaping from a pinhole leak in the dilapidated car.

“Right I’ve got an idea.” Mel said with urgency.

Candy listened intently.

“When I say, ‘leg it to the fire exit. You move.”

“Don’t worry, not a hair will be harmed on your body. Just run. Melanie squeezed her lips against Candice’s and kissed her,

 “Trust me.” She said.

Candy peered round the car, all four men began to approach.

“Right Melanie it’s now or never.”

“Okay.”

Mel took her lighter out of her pocket and used it to light the pool of petrol by the car. The whole car rose into roaring flames. The four men began to shoot aimlessly at the car again. As the flames grew the heat activated the emergency sprinklers. The flames had grown so immense the fire could not be extinguished by the rain. The entire warehouse was a haze of smoke, steam and dust. Now was the time.

“Now! Go!” Shouted Mel.

“But what about you…!”

“Just bloody go or we’ll both get killed!” 

Candice ran full pelt to the fire exit door; she opened it unwillingly, looked back on all the confusion and ran outside. As she kept running a huge explosion deafened her ears and her emotions.

Chapter 5

Candice stood silent, to see if Melanie would emerge from the flames.  She turned round to examine the damage. Remaining flames continued to attack the run down building, the resonance of the wreckage gave short rushes of water extinguishing the flames of the explosion.

Candice surveyed the ruins and life no longer appeared to exist inside the warehouse– Melanie no longer existed. Candice doubled back hanging her head slowly pacing forward in respect of her dead friend. Her salty tears steadily fell off her cheek, each tear a thought which raced in her mind as confusion, question, and guilt. Melanie was so nice to her and she killed her. Melanie did not have to go so soon, she had just met her. She should not have got Melanie involved, it was not her fault!

Candice thoughts stopped. Everything she was doing stopped. Candice no longer walked down the alley from the warehouse. She lay on it, lifeless, her face smashed and impaired by the impact of a fall. Her once golden hair was damaged and now stained, and choked in her blood. Candy’s body slept on the harsh cobbled stones of the alley and a figure appeared, entailing a fine black pistol in hand. The figure kneeled next to the body, and checked the pulse near the neck.

“Dead, perfect. I Didn’t want to waste all my bullets on you did I? You know you were all right at times, though I didn’t appreciate you thinking you better than me. I may be shit at thieving, but not at knowing when there’s a lot of expensive goods involved, even when it is cars.” The figure stood up and continued down the alley, its dark lengthy hair flowed away from its neck, and its drawn-out leather coat trailing in its wake.