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Ratio(91)

By:Nick Stephenson & Kay Hadashi




Story Length: 12,000 words, approx. 46 print pages.





CHAPTER ONE





After a U-turn in the dead end street, a car parked at the curb with the wheels angled out. Three men quietly sat inside until a luxury sedan parked at a house down the block. They watched the driver intently as she unbuckled two little girls’ seat belts.

“Nice car,” the driver said.

“Nice ass,” said the large man seated in the back seat.

“And we’re not here for either one,” said the front passenger.

They watched as the woman disabled the home alarm system and led the little girls into the house, kicking the door closed behind them.

“I keep telling you, we should get that alarm code,” said the man slouched in the back seat. He was the biggest, uncomfortably packed into the small car.

“It’ll be fine,” the front seat passenger said back authoritatively. “With any luck, the alarm system will be turned off. If not, we go to Plan B.”

“Which is kick in the door and rush them,” the driver offered, grinning.

“And we want to avoid that at all costs. That kind of shit would only bring attention to the house,” replied the front seat passenger, the man in charge. “Everything calm and relaxed. And most of all, we need to keep those little brats quiet.”

“Smack ‘em if they cry. That’ll shut them up,” said the man in back. “The woman too.”

“Shut up, idiot,” said the front seat passenger. It was clear he was the one in charge. “Try to remember these women ain’t stupid. And the last thing we need is some woman freakin’ out.”

“Who are they again?” the driver asked.

“The one that just went in is some classy fashion model. Owns a clothing company also. She’s the one with money.”

The driver snorted a laugh. “Fashion model? How bright can she be?”

“She didn’t get rich by being dumb. And the sister is some sort of doctor. She won’t be dumb either.”

“A lady doctor? Book smart but not street wise.”

An old brown Toyota parking in the driveway got their attention.

“That’s the sister, the brats’ aunt. She’s the one that lives there. The mom’s the one with the money.”

“She’s a doctor? And she drives that old piece of junk? I’m telling you, neither of ‘ems too bright. This is gonna be easy,” the man in the back seat said, rubbing his hands on his pants.

The one in charge finally heard enough. “And I’m telling both of you to keep your word holes clamped.”

The woman slammed the car door shut and went into the house with a grocery bag.

“What are they, twins?” one asked.

“Yeah.”

“How do we tell them apart?”

The one in the front seat, the planner of the scheme, rolled his eyes. He had planned it out on his own, picking up some help along the way from a couple cons he knew in the joint. “Like I told you before, we wait until the mother is gone. We use the kids to work on the sister, to get what we need. Once we’re in the house, all you have to do is follow my lead, do what I tell ya.”

“How’d you hear about these babes again?” asked the driver.

“Look, I got from a reliable source that the mother is going out of town this weekend and is leaving the kids with the sister. She has a big house in Orange County and just got a home safe installed, stuffed full of cash.”

“If the cash is there, why are we here?” Neat and tidy, the driver was the slimmest of the three. He was also the most edgy.

The one in charge explained the plan again. “It’s a surprise job, just like we talked. We knock on the door, rush the sister when she answers, and tie her up. At first, we ignore the kids, but don’t let them run off. I don’t want any of that female hysterical shit. Then we call the mother and demand the combo to the safe. When she hears her little brats bawling their heads off on the phone, she’d spread her legs three times, if we wanted it.”

“I’ll take your share, if you don’t want it.”

The one in the back seat stuck a cigarette in his mouth and was about to light up.

“Hey!” said the man in front, looking back at him. “What’d I tell you about smokin’? No real names, no food, and no butts till the job is done. Take everything out of your pockets except what we need. No evidence. And I do all the talkin’.”

The cigarette was reluctantly put away.

“Where’d you hear about the safe?” the driver asked.

“A dude I know monitors alarm calls at a security company, and the woman is a customer of his company. On the side, he sells customer info for pocket money.”