Rats [Caleb]

[Ru Fukui]

Bro, we gotta talk

Ru sent a quick text message as he stood outside the door of one of their gun caches. He had taken a couple of the rookies out on a few collection missions, real simple stuff. It was low risk, they weren't likely to screw things up, and they wouldn't get hurt doing it. He felt at least two of this new batch needed to go right now. They wouldn't be able to handle even half the things that they would be asked.

The others had potential. There was ambition enough to get through the obstacles they would face. They would want to work their way up the ranks and hopefully, one day, see themselves in a position of trust with Caleb. The good thing about the grunts of the group was they hadn't learned how important secrecy was yet. That meant they liked to talk.

Standing outside the door like this, letting them think the big, bad gangster had taken off allowed him to listen to what gossip was stirring the pot. It was like listening in on a sewing circle. He shook his head at the thought. Caleb and he could be such children, but he didn't think they were like this. However, how could he bitch when he sometimes depended on getting information like this?

There was talk about at least one of the guys talking about some other gang. If he could remember correctly, the guy they were talking about had been about two or three batches of newbs so he had time to move up a couple of ranks. Research did have to be done, but it was important enough to bring to Caleb's attention. He knew they both cared too much for this crew to even let some small shit-talking go unchecked. Even those posturing just to make themselves look better in front of the rest had to be looked into a little.

It could be just that, a little "I would do this if it were my crew." That was all well and fine, but they just had to be sure it was all it was going to be. Plans on how to get the information started to wander through his mind as he waited to hear back from Caleb.

[Caleb Sinclair]

» What's up, man?

That had been his first text for the day, a simple, short reply to the simple, short message Hikaru had sent him. It came a couple of minutes late, but Caleb was pretty certain he couldn't be entirely blamed for that. He didn't check his phone every second, and he had been a little busy being punched in the face. You know, nothing incredibly interesting, but something that needed his attention all the same.

Damn, but some of the girls had a hard right hook on them. It seemed they could be far too touchy too. It wasn't like he'd even asked or done anything unreasonable! Rochelle had said he could borrow her phone to double check a number! So how was he supposed to know there were rules to that? She hadn't told him to wait until she fetched it, or ordered him to not touch her fucking purse, son.

Christ, she was acting like he'd never seen tampons before and that she was the only woman who used them...

Caleb sulked over the whole thing, tilting his head back as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Thankfully, nothing was broken. His nose was bleeding, though. His face might have felt a little tender too, but he was going to hope that any bruising that might form was light. It wouldn't be very gang leader of him if he came up with a black eye over something like this. Rochelle was also nice enough to fetch ice for his face. She was a doll like that. She took care of the boys she injured.

While she fussed over him without an apology, Caleb sent a second text a couple of seconds after the first. He felt the need to clarify something after what had just happened.

» I haven't done shit today. So don't look at me if something's already broke.

[Ru Fukui]

Hikaru finally took a couple of steps away from the door, actually going for his car this time. Yeah, he had to get a new one and it didn't quite feel like his yet. It didn't have half an arsenal hidden away in it and the seat hadn't been properly broken in. He had weeks to go before it was a proper Fukui car.

At least everything else had survived the fire fight and the proceeding incidents. He looked down at his phone as it finally went off. He knew Caleb was a busy man being the boss and all so it wasn't a big deal that it had taken him a little while to respond. He took one last glance back at where the rookies were still standing around and was ready to answer. He just needed the right words.

Considering that they were wanted men, it was wise for him to keep his words as mild as possible. "Hey, we got a mole in the gang, heard it from the guys after picking up all those guns," didn't exactly scream innocence. That was just begging for him to get picked up again and he would fight tooth and nail for that to never happen again.

Need to clean the house. Thought I saw rodents.

That seemed innocent yet conveyed what he was trying to say. A rodent wasn't something you wanted in any fashion so cleaning house was a good analogy. They did have to pick the right ways to clean though. If the two of them or any of the other higher ups just went in demanding answers all the kids would just clam up and nothing would get accomplished. They wouldn't even figure out if there was someone behind a possible problem.

Meet you at your place.

With that, Hikaru climbed into his car and started off. This was a discussion best had face to face. It was partly for the privacy bit, but he felt it would be more productive for them to try and work through this if they weren't waiting for replies to come through.

[Caleb Sinclair]

Caleb arched an eyebrow at the next message. Really. Rats? Now there was something that could raise his hackles. Not many things could, but the thought that someone wanted to dismantle the gang was enough to make him feel distinctly pissed off. Also murderous. Whoever was involved should feel proud; they should also be damn scared.

» Aright.

» Seeya in a bit.

He wasn't at his place right now, so he had his own drive ahead of him. No sweat. And now that he was armed with an icepack for his face and the phone number he was after, he could tell Rochelle he'd see her later and take his leave. It seemed like he and Hikaru would have some serious talks ahead of them. Also head hunting.

So, with an absent wave over his shoulder, he headed out the door and down the stairs, to the car parked out front. Admittedly, his personal car wasn't the most discreet thing, but the cops never pulled him up for it. It was probably because pulling someone over 'cause their car was a stylish combination of black and purple would make a damn stupid report.

And as amusing as that thought was, it didn't take from the storm beneath the calm. He had to meet Hikaru so the two could talk about the newest problem. Thankfully it was only a short drive to his personal pad from here, so he wouldn't keep his friend waiting. In fact, it seemed luck meant they arrived at near enough the same time. Good for them.

"We should get inside first, huh?" Caleb asked as he climbed out the car. He would've had nothing against talking about murder on the streets, but he supposed some manner of care was needed. Just because he hadn't been arrested yet, didn't mean possible jail time wasn't in his future, and he already taunted authority enough. He'd also had to ask that around his icepack, because Goddamn did his face still hurt.

[Ru Fukui]

Thankfully Star City offered quite a few places to store their things. That meant that some of these places were actually pretty close to some personal homes. Caleb's place wasn't very far and he was able to be there with minimal speeding. He frowned a little as he pulled up, seeing Caleb doing the same. Where had he been?

No, the better question was what had he been doing? Cale, talk, He said simply, not bothering to answer his friend. He stared at the ice pack, tempted to pull it from his friend's face to inspect why he needed it. He tried to get as close as possible to examine the other man regardless of them walking toward the place Caleb called home.

Yep, all thoughts of the rats had been pushed from his mind. While he had no doubt that Caleb could handle himself, he didn't like that his best friend had been hurt. He would love to know the story just so he knew if there was something that he could do about this. They had been in this business together for to long for him not to care like that. He had seen Caleb rise through the ranks and seen this guy go from someone uncomfortable handling a gun to a man that could take on cops and gangs alike without batting an eyelash.

Hikaru bit his lip a little, wondering if there was one more thing for them to worry about. He hoped not just for the fact that he would like to focus on keeping the crew clean of scum trying to tear their little empire down. So, some of the guys were saying that there was some punk talking about some other gang, He started off once they his Caleb's door. He could just be being a stupid kid, but the gossip didn't sound like it was just someone talkin' a big game.

Ru's brow furrowed a little as he tried to remember if there was a name dropped. He settled himself on the couch, pulling his phone so he could go through his contacts. Since nothing just came to mind, he had to hope something would ring a bell while he scrolled through his contacts so he had more than rumor to give to Caleb.

[Caleb Sinclair]

He'd expected the conversation to skip pleasantries and head straight to seriousville. Caleb wanted it to, in fact. He could play when he wanted, but both he and Hikaru knew how serious rats were, and they both took good care of the gang. And the conversation did start serious just like he thought it would. Why was he the one who needed to talk, though?

Caleb blinked, admittedly dumbly. "Talk about what now?" He had no idea, at least until he noticed how his friend eyes his icepack. Oh. That. He had thought so little of it, that he hadn't been the least bit prepared for Hikaru to notice. "You mean this?" He shifted the icepack against his face, and gave the side a tap with his finger. "It's an icepack." 

That was rather obvious, and he was pretty sure Hikaru realised that. His friend must want to know what it was for. Caleb couldn't help but grin, even when the expression tugged at the light bruising on his face. "You worry way too easily, man. My nose isn't even broken." He had no doubt that Rochelle could have broken his nose if she wanted to, though; that right hook was nothing to scoff at. "Rochelle slugged me for going through her purse."

Well, technically he'd searched through her purse without permission, and stumbled across the lady things that guys weren't meant to touch or something. He didn't know how it worked. All he knew was that his face felt tender, and that she'd given him a good talking to about it. He considered it a lesson learnt. 

At the same time he didn't consider it much to worry about, especially when there was more important things to find concerning. Rats, for instance. Rats were definitely a concern and something to take a gun to. So he was glad the conversation had turned to that once they were up the stairs and inside. "Talk of the other gangs is always gonna happen, but I'm guessing there's more to it than that, right? " Had to be. 

"Thought it'd been a bit too quiet recently."

[Ru Fukui]

Hikaru was about to get real snarky with Caleb. An ice pack? Really? He couldn't tell. Now with the thought that there were going to be other issues he was going to start being on high alert. Hell, he might even go behind Caleb's back to make sure someone was watching him at all times. Hopefully most of them would be surreptitious about it and Caleb wouldn't notice that he was being tailed everywhere by his own crew.

If it was just Rochelle though, that was less of a concern. Haven't you learned to mess with a woman's things? He said with a small laugh. It was better than Caleb getting caught by a rival gang. Rochelle understood the importance of Caleb and his face. She knew not to really give him a proper punch in the face. Hikaru had been on the receiving end of a punch to his arm and that had bruised pretty bad. That woman knew how to fight and she had held back a lot today.

Now that he could put this little hiccup in conversation behind them, he could really focus on the big problems. He would need to do a little more snooping, but he didn't think this was the time to wait and see if things got worse. He couldn't sit on this until something bad happened and then feel guilty. He would much rather jump the gun and take care of business now than have something worse come at them later.

Word is that he was talking to someone from another gang. He had been talking about some of his runs with us. Very detailed apparently, Hikaru started, still scrolling through his contacts. Damn there were a lot of names. His name ... was ... It started with an r. He scowled at his phone, displeased with the fact that this was the only detail he could recall right now.

Ru's attention drifted up from the screen as Caleb spoke. Too quiet, perhaps, but that was a good thing in some respects. I'm all for teaching another gang a lesson, but they could have picked a better way to take us on, He sneered. This gangster liked a head on attack much better than trying to sneak around. Whoever these people were should just grow a pair and come at them. This was a coward's way to try and take them out.

[Caleb Sinclair]

Caleb smirked behind his icepack, and gave his friend the finger. He hadn't expected sympathy once Hikaru knew what happened to his face, and, to be honest, he liked it that way. He didn't take the punch seriously, and he was the one with the bruised face, so he certainly didn't want others to take it seriously. Everyone knew Rochelle, and knew she was a doll deep down, underneath how she didn't favour tomfoolery.

He really hadn't meant to make her mad that time, though. He really had just been there to see her and to double check a number. He just hadn't waited for her to fetch her phone, and instead went looking for it himself. He had to remember that women, or at least Rochelle, really wasn't cool with that.

Ah well, a lesson to keep in mind for another time-- or he might ignore it. It really depended on how Caleb felt at the time and who he was with. His usual shenanigans had to be set aside for the moment, however, because right now he was with Hikaru and feeling pissed off. He might have looked the picture of cool calm, but there was a storm brewing beneath and Caleb could, despite his habits and the shenanigans he involved himself in, be an incredibly dangerous man.

"Ah, lovely. He's one of those." Caleb set his icepack aside, so he could slip his hands into his pockets. He was a picture of casual while he mulled over what little they knew, and hoped Hikaru might remember the name. That would certainly be useful and would give them a lead they could do something with-- or it might lead them to a possibly guilty man. In that case they could shoot the bastard in the head and then be about their merry way.

Caleb rolled his shoulders. "At least we know we have them scared? Either that or they think they're being clever. There's no other reason they'd play this kind of game." He supposed he could understand how such tactics could be used, but that didn't mean he liked them. Even the times when an operation had needed a certain level of stealth or undercover work, Caleb didn't mind putting himself in the hot spot. He didn't risk his crew just for a leg up. He was careful with them. 

[Ru Fukui]

Hikaru spared his friend a grin as he got flipped off. That was normal between them and perhaps deep down they considered it something like showing affection. They were assholes to each other in the kindest of ways. It did spread out to others, but he didn't think that half the things they did to each other would be acceptable with most of the others. Rochelle certainly wouldn't be having any of their nonsense.

At least they knew everyone could get down to business when ti was called for. Despite all the ridiculous things this gang went through, they knew when to be serious. It was something he was so proud of this crew for. They could count on each other to really be there when it mattered most. Of course, issues with the children did happen and people had to be cut loose or taught lessons, but they were good people.

Finally! Remy, the thief. That's the guy the rookies are talking about, He said somewhat triumphantly. It had taken him freaking long enough. He really had to try and clean out his contact list. Some of these people were probably dead or no longer with their gang. They really needed a crew directory or something so he could figure out who everyone was. With a gang this big, it was hard remembering names and faces.

He brushed the thought off, pleased enough that he could remember such an important detail. He looked up at Caleb, settling back on the couch. Somehow, if he's giving detailed reports, these people think were a joke. He couldn't say he liked that thought all that much. This gang would not be where they were if they were just clowns running around stealing guns and cars. They were far from that.

This guy probably sees half the things we get caught up in and thinks we can't be serious so how can we be a real threat? I think he's being careless since he doesn't see us as a problem, He said, getting grumpy over the fact that someone would dare think of them as a sub-par gang. They had worked too long and too hard to get where they were. The antics were mostly happenstance and them just enjoying life. They would soon find out just what kind of people they were really messing with.

[Caleb Sinclair]

While Hikaru scrolled through his phone in search of a name, or a prompt that would help him remember a name, Caleb moved to sink down into one of his arms chairs, bracing his arms against his knees as he leant forward. He didn't have to wait long. All too soon the two had a name to work with, and it was one that made Caleb snort. Remy the thief. There was a winner. 

"Oh, we're using titles?" He understood that titles were common fair on the streets, especially where it came to the thug life, but that didn't mean Caleb wouldn't poke fun where fun was to be had. "If that's the case everyone should call me the Boss." Yep. Just the Boss. He would also accept being addressed as the Crowned Prince of Awesome and the King of Everything Badarse.

Still, despite his jokes and making fun of someone who must think himself quite clever, Caleb frowned when Hikaru brought up his own theories about how those punks must view them. He liked his ideas better, just because they didn't piss him off as much, but he could see how his friend could have it right. He grimaced. He couldn't scoff at something like that and say they'd learn soon enough. Instead they needed to have their lesson as soon as damn possible. 

"Seems we need to educate the little shit, don't we?" Caleb shifted, leaning back in his seat as he folded his arms across his chest, and scuffed his shoe against the wooden floorboards. "We just have to track him down." They had to track him down, speak to him, and, if he had any say, end the lesson with a bullet to each knee cap before a final one to the head. That should cheer him up and send a clear message to their rivals. 

Everyone needed to remember they were dangerous, that each and every member of the gang wasn't to be messed with, and, most importantly, they needed to learn respect. Caleb might seem like a funny choice to give such a lesson, considering how he could act, and how, at first, he appeared to have little respect for others. Those that thought that just didn't bother to know him. They also didn't bother to realise that a whole lot more people would be dead if he didn't have any respect.

[Ru Fukui]

Hikaru's eyes were now glued to his phone's screen. He had managed to remember who the problem was so he was now free to do other things. He wasn't idlely looking through things on the device. He planned on being quite productive now that they had something to formulate a plan with. He paused, looking up at Caleb when he tried to make fun of Remy.

Sure thing, princess. Like you need to announce your specialty, He scoffed, smirking at his friend. He would never allow Caleb's ego to get quite that big. He would stubbornly refuse to call him "Boss" all the time. Yes, that's what he was, but someone needed to be there to keep the man humble. After all it wouldn't do for him to get so big for his britches that he thought he really was invincible.

His attention went back to his phone, still scrolling through various screens. What he had hoped to find was virtually nonexistent. How irritating. He planned on helping out with ruining Remy's day but he wanted to be creative about it. Clearly this was not going to be as simple as it sounded. His grand plan on teaching this guy a lesson was quickly dissolving into another pouting session.

He let out a sigh, refining the search on his phone to wander through other ideas that would still give him a little enjoyment. Track him down? He thinks he's part of the crew, man, Ru pointed out, shaking his head a little. The little rat was getting cocky and thought he could talk to whoever put him up to this without worrying about the other guys around him. He didn't realize that the newer members gossiped and that someone was always listening.

His ignorance was their gain. I'll tell the newbs that there's a heist and we need some good guys for the job. He'll come to us. Ru exited the application and pulled up a new message screen, adding several numbers for the lower ranking members. They would be exerting quite enough energy teaching this guy his lesson, they didn't need to waste more actually going out to find him.

[Caleb Sinclair]

Caleb snorted, amused. Well, it looked like occasionally calling him princess had become a thing. "I can work with that too, man. Its still a royal title." It was also one that sort of implied he needed looking after, but he was gonna ignore that detail. He was no Princess Peach, thank you very much. He was a Goddamn gangland princess.

While Hikaru scrolled through his phone, Caleb leant back, so he could slouch in his seat. He would have been fine with getting right to it and asking around, just to track the little bastard down, but it seemed Hikaru would rather make him come to them. That worked too. It also saved on time and petrol. He had to be honest and say he found sitting on his arse boring, though. 

"I know, man, but I don't have a beeper on everyone. So some tracking would be required if we went with that." He shrugged. "Getting him to come to us is perfectly fine, though." Just boring. Especially when he now wanted to shoot something. Why couldn't the rats ever be thoughtful and come and tell him what they had planned? Then he could shoot them right there and save everyone some trouble. 

Caleb shifted his weight, so he could practically lounge in his arm chair. It would be a little wait before they were ready to move, and he wanted to be comfortable for it. "Can we plan a heist after he's taken care of? We deserve the fun after this bullshit." There was nothing bad about new swag, either. It'd remind their rivals that they were here and they weren't quiet, either.

[Ru Fukui]

Hikaru shook his head a little. Every once in a while it would be nice to ruffle Caleb's feathers a little easier. While he was still the tough gang leader, being able to push his buttons verbal would make it a little more fun for him. Ru went back to his frustrating search, little to nothing turning up. This was really going to put a wrinkle in his plans for this guy.

He would just have to find something similar to what he wanted which actually didn't sit well with him. He had reasons for needing specific information. This was going to make for a very cranky Ru. At least they had a target that he could take it out on. Good for him, terrible for Remy. This poor guy would be begging for death once they were done with him. He just had to show up first.

If you're bored, play your Angry Birds, Hikaru said, glancing over at his friend. One of the benefits of being together so long was that they were able to read each other so well. Hikaru found another added benefit was that he knew how to fix most of Caleb's problems if it was just them. Caleb was annoyed, shoot someone. Caleb was bored, play games. Caleb was getting cranky, feed him. Caleb was getting sassy with people, well, you get the idea. This was one of those things that made him a fantastic second.

The gangster gave a small smile. Oh, a real heist. Maybe they could tantalize the kids with details of a real job that they would never go on. Oooh, a heist in true Seraph style. Should we break out the masks or no? He asked, eager to plan something so fun. The masks were a bit of a double edged sword this time around though. They would hide their identities, not that that would help all that much, but it would also make others continue to think them clowns.

Well, it would be their bit of fun regardless. Either way they would prove themselves just as dangerous as ever. I'll get Perry to get us some good explosives. Ideas on where you wanna hit?

[Caleb Sinclair]

Once Caleb had made himself perfectly comfortable in his armchair-- which seemed to involve not sitting in the damn thing properly at all, and instead lounging across it-- he cast another glance towards Hikaru, watching as his friend returned to scrolling through his phone. It was a fine plan, but how his friend could favour waiting over hopping in the car and tracking the guy down, Caleb would never know. 

He snorted at the suggestion Hikaru made, but had already reached into his pocket for his phone, so he could scroll through his own apps. "I have more games on here than just Angry Birds." He shrugged, and pulled one of those games up so he could lazily tap at the screen. There wasn't a lot he could do right now, not until they were face to face with their possible traitor.

Once they were face to face with him, however? That was when things would become a deal more interesting. They had to keep in mind that this was heresy until they got to the bottom of it, that they were looking into rumours from the new kids, but if it was legit? Well, that was when they could get down to business and remind the little shit that their gang wasn't to be messed with. 

A heist would also be fun. Very, very fun. It was also the perfect way to mess someone's day up and challenge yourself, depending on the target you picked. And he had an idea for a rather suitable target! First, though, they had to talk about masks. "Do you even gotta ask? Masks are a part of the fun." They also hid the ol' identity. Kind of. Mostly they were just fun, though. Explosives were also fun.

Now, back to the subject of where they should hit. "How 'bout Star Labs?" The place seemed to have damn fine security, so it would be fun proving that ineffective. They might have a decent amount of cash there or a couple of gun too-- and computers, of course. Everything else? The scientists could keep it. He wasn't interested in that kind of technology. He mostly just wanted to mess with everyone who talked the place up to be so special.

[Ru Fukui]

Ru gave a small shrug at Caleb. Angry Birds was just about the only game he noticed Caleb playing. It wasn't to say that there weren't others, it was just the most recognizable to him. So sue him if he found other ways to occupy himself with his phone. He was also taking time to get back in tune with the things his mother had tried to teach him growing up.

Granted, getting out of this life would be the thing she would want for him the most, but he didn't know how to do anything else. She had taken him away from Japan in the first place to keep him out of this kind of trouble yet here he was. However, if she just looked at how far he had gotten and how not dead he was, she should just be proud. At least he was going to find small ways to get back to her old traditions so that he wasn't a complete disappointment. Family honor was a big thing after all.

Maybe eventually his mother would see things his way. Pushing such thoughts away, he refocused on the tasks at hand. He exited the apps open on his phone and looked over at his friend. I call the cat head, He announced, picking his mask first. This gang was crazy enough to use just strange costumes in their work that they had multiple masks just laying around waiting to be used. The last time he had used a different mask during a heist so he wanted to change things up.

Star Labs was definitely a change as well. There wasn't a whole lot that he thought they could use if it was just your typical lab. If there was, he wasn't sure they would be able to figure out what they would use them for. Ru wouldn't even know what half the shit was unless it was labeled in plain English. I'm so taking some computers and note books. I wanna mess with the nerds, He chuckled. He didn't think that would actually hurt anything, but it would make the scientists lives hell for a while. They would have to completely reformulate all their equations and whatnot. He was so mean to the poor things. And hey, they would get new computers out of the deal.