Be Gay Do Crime

Ashe hated ducking out like she had, but seeing not only Senator Ellington there, but also the Mayor and his hell-spawn Gray only made it worse.  Add in how on edge she was after hearing her dead name, even if it wasn’t used maliciously, not to mention the whole conversation that guy saved her from?  Ashe was just done with the public for the day.  Regardless, it would have been dangerous for her to stay, risked bringing up an unreported assault in a sea of police, or sparked another altercation. 

None of those were things she wanted to deal with, and thankfully Crystal was done checking out the apartments and was on her way back.  The creepy guy hitting on her had been a bit much too, but she could handle that.  At least he had backed down once he learned she wasn’t of age, though that wouldn’t stop him from trying again if given the opportunity.  She was all too aware of nice guys like him that were a decade older and would promise to wait for a girl to turn eighteen, because she was worth it. 

She wasn’t interested in guys in the first place, let alone one that clearly didn’t care much about his appearance.  It all added up to more than enough of a reason to head out, and her parents would at least understand. 

That was when she caught sight of Gray again.  He looked even rougher up close, despite having weeks to recover from the beating she had given him.  He was caught up in a conversation, but she couldn’t tell with whom.  Something about the set of his face set off warning bells in her mind.  

Unfortunately, she couldn’t hear what was being said.  Too many others were milling about between them and she didn’t want to risk getting closer and tipping him off that she was there.  So, she blended in with a group of officers discussing current gun laws, barely paying them any mind as she scoped out the far more interesting conversation.

She watched them for what felt like five minutes before they finally broke apart.  She had to make a choice, and picked the safer option.  She approached the plain clothed officer that had been speaking with him instead, slipping in beside him as he walked towards the refreshment tables.  

“Well, that looked ominous,” she said casually.  

The guy jerked, looking at her at first with surprise, then with recognition.  “You’re the Hamilton brat, right?” 

“That’s me,” she said cheerfully, gesturing to the note he was still holding.  “You’re acting like he just dropped a bomb threat in your lap or something.” 

The officer huffed, shaking his head.  “Nothing so serious, just worried about potential gang activity at his school on Wednesday.  Asked if we could keep a car or two close to keep an eye on things.” 

Ominous indeed.  “Gangs at Halsey High?  That’s a laugh.” 

He chuckled, tossing the note into a nearby trash can.  “That’s what I said, but he insisted I hear him out and that it was a legitimate concern.” 

“Well, it’s not like he pays your check,” Ashe said, shaking her head.  “Pass it along to my mother I suppose, maybe someone will get a cushy gig for the day just hanging out by a school full of stuck up brats.” 

“Too true,” he said.  “Hell, maybe I’ll luck out and pull the posting myself, then I can watch Ellington’s stream.” 

“That’s the spirit,” she said with a grin, intentionally avoiding the thought of what that stream meant about the man.  It did give her an avenue to keep things rolling though.  “Bad enough I have to sit through the classes there, so who knows, maybe some Viuda fucker will roll up like he says and you get an easy arrest and the rest of my classes are canned for the day.” 

“Oh if only we could get so lucky,” he said in agreement.  “Anyway, I’ve got a few more bosses to suck up to, you take care.” 

“Same to you,” she said in acknowledgment, watching him walk off.  Once she was sure he was far enough away, she went over to the trash can and winced, the note was floating in a half drank soda.  “Fucking figures.” 

She fished it out regardless and carefully unwadded the message.  All that was on the note was a time, just after lunch, but before the afternoon classes began.  Not a bad time to stage something, and the alert to the authorities would make it difficult to head it off before it began.  That it overlapped with Gray’s first week back at school only set off further alarm bells in her head. 

Ashe wanted to groan, because she had far too much going on at the moment and not enough time to deal with it all.  Worse, she still lacked the manpower to delegate things beyond a few basic touches.  At the very least, she would warn Rachel and Jessica.  Crystal was a given, but she would be needed to keep an eye on the damn Rally setup.

She needed a dozen people working for her, and she needed them yesterday.

Sighing, Ashe made her way to the parking lot and settled in, hoping that nothing else came up that would require her attention and require more hours of devotion than she had to spare.

When Crystal pulled up, she couldn’t help but run up to her with a wide grin.  “You are a sight for sore eyes.” 

Crystal chuckled.  “That bad?” 

“You have no idea,” Ashe said, running a hand through her ponytail.  “Between some creep hitting on me, and your donor making an appearance and apparently hosting a rally soon, and Gray making some ominous reports to a random officer?  I’ve had my fill of law enforcement saber rattling for the day.” 

Crystal winced at the mention of her genetic donor, then snorted at her comment.  “Well, bullshit aside, I can officially say that we are now the proud owner of a shit hole apartment building, so that’s something.” 

“He actually sold it to the shell company?” Ashe asked, blinking in surprise.  She’d been sure that he would want too much for that option. 

“Jumped right on it,” she said.  “Told me that the ‘Chinaman can have the cesspit, let him try to fix that bitch up’.  It was good for a laugh at least.” 

“I hadn’t even considered posing as a Chinese investor,” Ashe said, shaking her head.  “We’ll have to remember that one the next time we need to pick up some piece of property.” 

“Oh yeah,” Crystal said.  “Now, what’s this about a rally?” 

“Gray made a report that gangs would try something at the school during the rally, or at least that’s what I inferred.  Need to look it up first.” 

If she were to be honest, she wanted nothing more than to just curl up on Crystal’s couch and watch a cheesy movie, but knowing her girls were likely out there picking up strange men to establish themselves?  She couldn’t just sit still, Ashe needed to be out there doing something productive with her time. 

“We can do that back at the safehouse,” Crystal said.  “We need to start thinking about bringing the girls over before long, lest Mercedes start asking us when we plan to vacate.” 

Ashe nodded solemnly.  “Yeah, that works.  I doubt we’ll do anything about the rally, but it won’t hurt to look into the venue a bit, maybe send some of the girls to pick up some people that might have heard something useful.” 

Crystal leaned to the side, eyes wide.  “I’m surprised to hear you suggest that.” 

“Much as it pains me, it needs to be done,” she said with a shrug.  “Not that I expect them to learn much.  Our girls are too dark for those types to say much around.”  

“Unfortunate, but don’t underestimate their ability to get guys to brag,” Crystal said.  “Now, how much did you fill up on cheap barbecue?” 

“Have something in mind?” Ashe asked, pulling on her helmet. 

“Milkshakes,” Crystal said with a resolute nod.  “We’re two blocks from the best shake shack in town, like hell I’m missing out.” 

Grinning, Ashe could only agree to go along for the ride.

 

---

 

The rally site was the Jericho stadium, which was hardly a small venue.  Even days out from the actual event, it was swarming with private security and work crews.  They couldn’t do much more than a quick drive by while Ashe carefully propped up her phone to record things.  Someone might take note of that, but plenty of people were doing the same so it wouldn’t stand out. 

Already there were people standing around on the sidewalks holding up signs, they ranged from Bible verses to some of his more popular rhetoric about how the gays were grooming kids, or how anyone not white enough should be deported.  It was sickening just how many people bought into raw hate.  

The man was disgustingly popular, and there wasn’t much that would actually be able to sink his reputation.  Anything incriminating would be spun as a smear campaign or intentional sabotage by his political opponents.  He would point fingers, say it was someone else’s fault and the country would move on, accepting his word as the truth of it all. 

The gullibility of people made her sick sometimes. 

At least the milkshakes had been absolutely sinful, and it let her kill some time and work through some of the frustrations she had following the picnic.  Even with the obvious transphobia some exhibited, she never felt that uncomfortable before.  Then again, she wasn’t hiding felonies either.  She probably wouldn’t feel safe around the police ever again with those kinds of secrets looming.

Arriving at the safe house, Ashe and Crystal masked up and knocked twice.  Jessica opened the door, and sighed in relief. 

“Caralina took some of the girls out to Sutton,” she said as Ashe stepped inside.  “They wanted to start to establish themselves.” 

To establish—  Oh, they were looking for clients.  Shit, they didn’t need the money, so why did they feel the need to rush off like that?  Hell, that sort of work was dangerous!  What if they got arrested, or another gang decided to do something about them?  Ashe took a steadying breath.  No, she couldn’t allow herself to overreact.  They were all adults, hopefully… 

“I trust they kept to my rules?” Ashe asked. 

Jessica nodded, glancing aside nervously.  “The girls that aren’t eighteen yet are upstairs.  Some weren’t happy being left out, but it isn’t like they need the money to survive anymore.” 

That was good.  At least Caralina was respecting that.

“They just want to help out,” Crystal supplied, shutting the door behind her.  “Believe me, I get it.  We’ll figure out things for them to do.” 

“Having them as receptionists for the new apartments could work,” Ashe mused.  She would need to train them as private security as well in the event some other gang came knocking.  “Speaking of, we’ll need everyone back soon so we can go inspect the building.  I’d like to get moved out of here and into there within the next few days if possible.” 

“I’ll text everyone,” Jessica said, already tapping away on her phone.  “Caralina’s keeping an eye on everyone, but I’ve got a few things on order to help with keeping contact with the girls while they’re on the job.” 

“That’s good,” Ashe said, glad that Jessica was actually putting in the initiative.  She knew her former bully was struggling to adjust after everything she went through, yet she wasn’t letting that slow her down, much as Ashe herself wasn’t letting her own issues get in the way of things.  “Try to make it as secure as possible, I don’t want to lose anyone.” 

She knew it was inevitable, but she didn’t want it to happen so damn soon.  She didn’t want to become one of those people that only saw the world as a numbers game.  She intended to support her people no matter what came their way. 

“Oh good, Brie just got back from her…session,” Jessica said, awkwardly.  “I can grab everyone and we can meet them there?” 

“Sounds good,” Ashe said. 

Jessica nodded enthusiastically, her pink hair bobbing as she did.  “Caralina and the others are waiting on the corner of Weaving and Fifteenth.” 

“Got it,” Crystal said, opening her GPS.  “Huh, that’s right across from the apartment building.” 

“Coincidence or small world?” Ashe asked. 

Crystal shrugged.  “No idea, but it does mean we won’t waste much daylight picking them up.” 

Content with that, Ashe began checking the room for anything they might not want to leave behind.  Thankfully there weren’t piles of clothes or anything laying about, just the odd food or drink container that she threw out.  Mercedes had been nice enough to let them use the place for weeks, the least she could do was make sure everything was as close as it could be to how it was on arrival. 

The girls came down the stairs together, most chattering away in Spanish as they did, though Sandra at the rear instead had her nose in a book.  The sight of that brought a smile to her face in a time when few things did.  Each of the girls had their bags which did appear to be packed and ready.

“Will we be coming back?” 

Ashe turned to the young girl who asked.  “Let’s see the apartments before deciding that, but I’m not planning to tell anyone we’re done with the place for another few days regardless, just to be safe.” 

“Yeah, Brie might still have a vibrator tucked somewhere,” Donna said, rolling her eyes. 

Jessica winced.  “If only it was just the one.  I’ve seen at least four since that first night Inferno brought us here.” 

Yeah, Ashe didn’t want to think about that.  “Alright, everyone in the van, we’ll head on over.  Jessica, you’ve got the address, we’ll meet you there.” 

Jessica nodded and began to herd the girls outside, explaining things as she went.  Ashe could only shake her head as she watched them leave, happy to see the girls excited for something.  She’d been seeing a lot of that, ever since she took them out to the salon and then clothes shopping. 

“You’ve done good,” Crystal said, stepping up beside her.  “I’ve seen a lot of girls over the last few years that went through shit like that.  Most don’t bounce back like that.” 

“They’ve got each other,” Ashe said simply. 

Crystal snorted.  “Oh yeah, that helps, but don’t think that you haven’t had an impact in their lives.  Almost all of them look up to you, and even Caralina respects what you’re trying to do for them all.” 

“Still doesn’t feel like enough,” Ashe muttered. 

“Probably never will,” Crystal said with a shrug.  “Doesn’t change the fact that you’re trying.  They all see that, and as long as you keep showing them that you care, they will return the favor when it counts.” 

“Yeah,” Ashe said, moving to follow after them, “that’s what I’m afraid of.” 

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