Chapter 3
I wasn't supposed to be out of bed, but I had no choice. A day had already passed, and I haven't stopped thinking about the threat my parents placed. This was low, but still not surprising. They would do anything to get their way. When the sky darkened, I grabbed some crutches, snuck out of my room, and swiftly passed security. I chose to use the staircase in case there was anyone still using the elevators.
I gripped onto the handrail with one hand and the crutches with another. I could hear every footstep I made echoing through the staircase. Slowly but surely, one step after another, I made my way to the first-floor side exit. Thankfully, when I opened the door, no alarm came off. Although, when I stepped outside, the door clicked shut. Since my carelessness from the fight, I had come up with a plan previously with 228 possible solutions to 76 possible problems. Luckily, the door locking wasn't serious.
I called a taxi that took around ten minutes to arrive. Of course, it was almost midnight so I didn't have high expectations.
"Take me as close as you can to this address," I showed him a piece of paper with the address of the headquarters of the Lilac Gang. "I only have fifteen dollars. Would that cover the fare?" I told him while climbing onto the back of the car.
The driver took a quick glance at the address, "are you sure you want to go there? There's been a dramatic increase in gang activity around the area." he asked worriedly, sounding a little uncertain.
"Of course. I guarantee you won't be harmed in any way." I confirmed calmly, "but, if you're not willing to risk it, you can just drop me off wherever you feel comfortable and reduce payment." I hoped it was the first option, time is ticking, and I wanted to take care of all the work regarding the gang.
"I'll try to drop you off as near as I can get to the place," he answered. "I'll be only taking ten dollars as an apology. I'm just not willing to risk everything."
"Okay. I understand."
-
A few years ago, my parents wanted to send me overseas and live alone, with a housekeeper occasionally coming to help clean. When I had refused and insisted to stay with them, they were furious. I didn't see the problem, and I still don't. It's normal for a child in elementary school to feel attached to their parents, right?
After my answer, they started going on more and more business trips, sometimes leaving me alone for months. They leave my piles and piles of work to complete, and if I got an answer wrong, they would throw the whole pile away and make me restart. During that time, I had forgotten how to smile.
We never meet each other outside from dinner, but sometimes they skip that as well. Since our house was humongous, I often felt alone. My mom always compares myself my siblings, who had achieved much more than me; now operating their own companies. My dad claims I should be more independent and focused on my future. Both of them clearly dislike me.
I guess joining the Lilac Gang was a way to release myself from my enslavement. Slowly, I started opening up. I was still a focused and emotionless child at home, but I could be who I truly was with the Lilac Gang. They seemed more like a family than mine ever was. After climbing to the top, gaining full control over the gang, and becoming the most powerful one in the region, I would now have to demolish everything we worked for?
It seemed unfair.
I felt my heart sink, and for the second time this year, I let my emotions show. Tears streamed down my face, splattering on my pants. I buried my face in my hands and quietly broke down on the back seat of the taxi.
What would I do now?
I felt that leading the Lilac Gang was my only purpose. Now that the purpose's been ripped out of my grasp, what will become of my future?
What would become of the people who were once a part of the gang?
Ava, Cecilia, Luke, Noah, Ian, and all the others.
What would they're future's be like? How could I break the news?
"We're here," the taxi driver said, stopping the car in front of a sidewalk. "Safe travels, I wish you the best of luck."
"Thank you," I replied earnestly, hoping my voice wouldn't be too shaken because of my crying.
"Here's your payment," I added, handing him two five-dollar bills.
He thanked me before making a turn and driving off. Now, it was just me, my crutches, and a five dollar bill shoved in my pocket.
I sighed, hoisted myself up with the crutches, and started making my way down the familiar path. I passed my many gang markings, bloodstains, and homeless people daring enough to camp near this area. The dirty sidewalk was littered with cigarette butts, weeds, and broken glass shards. The area was mostly made up of abandoned buildings.
To my right was a vast neighbourhood of houses which all looked identical. Rows and rows of two-story bright yellow brick houses with maroon shillings. The garages were all shut and painted gray, with no vehicles parked in front. Every single curtain was drawn. Because everything was so eerily similar, it was fairly easy to get yourself lost, especially at night. To my right was a collection of large warehouses, some vacant, some not. Outside of their large doors were dust-covered boxes, newspapers, and other pieces of vintage junk. Usually, a gang leader wouldn't be so stupid as to put their base located right in front of the neighbourhood. Any proper leader would surround itself with houses so the base would look inconspicuous.
I walked towards the neighbourhood of houses and stopped at the very first one. It faced both streets, the one running between the warehouses and the neighbourhood, and the one running through the neighbourhood and the street leading towards the area.
It was the first house you see.
Propped on the crutch, I punched in the code to the garage. The door noisily opened, revealing a dusty and old garage littered with old plastic wrappers and leaves. There were two cars parked inside, both looking like they were found abandoned in a junkyard, in other words, terrible shape. Before stepping into the once-blue Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, I closed the garage door.
I sat there, in the dirty leather chair with rips revealing the cushion underneath, until the automatic light on the ceiling flickered off. After waiting a few more seconds in dead silence, I felt around for the bright-red seatbelt and clicked it in. Hearing for the familiar soft tick, I pressed on the steering wheel and the accelerator pedal at the same time on cue, then pulled of the gearshift lever.
Everything was silent.
A key popped out from a secret compartment, and as I've done so many times, I pressed it right onto the revealed cushion of the seat. Immediately after, a whirring sound was made from under the seat, followed by a hissing sound. The sound of the clunking gears and levers came from under the car slowly rose up to sound more clear. A cloud of smoke was released, filling up the small space.
The floor retracted, giving way to a long metal tunnel, lighted by round lights installed to the sides. The chair, which was attached to the bottom, started to fall at a steady pace. I remembered to grab the magazine that lied on the other chair before I fell.
The entrance on the bottom of the car closed up as if nothing had happened at all. I calmly skimmed through the magazine as I fell, thinking that we should replace it with a new one.
Oh, wait. That wouldn't be necessary anymore now, would it?
Thinking about disbanding made all the happy thoughts in my head evaporated. I was only here to arrange that. Nothing more. Sooner or later, this place would be abandoned and unused.
The seat reached the bottom and I stepped off, leaving the magazine on the chair. I typed in the password to open the door to the base, which slid open once I pressed enter. The space it opened into was large, with multiple connected rooms of maps of territory, training grounds, and computer labs.
The Lilac Gang never really robbed anyone, we just raided the gangs who were causing trouble, and if they dared to ask for a fight. The police were always on our tail, though, oblivious to the good deeds we had done. Nonetheless, I decided the first thing to do was secure everyone's future. Pulling up a list of witnesses on the computer, I called them up and silenced them one by one. Then, I split up the money in the bank's vault evenly with all the members.
Dealing with the territory we've acquired was a weight in my mind, but I just figured leaving it alone was the best choice. Sooner or later, other gangs will have caught on and start feuding for the territory again.
Finally, the last thing to do was the government files and all the other websites talking about the Lilac Gang. Having learned computer coding and hacking at a very young age, the usual websites was going to be a piece of cake. After a while, all the sources of the internet that talk about the Gang was down and wiped clean. This took me some time, but I managed to finish within three hours. All was left were the FBI files. This clearly wasn't going to be as easy as the rest.
My cell phone was left here, fully charged, before the recent fight. I did what I had to do, and dialled Kai, the only one with a chance of getting in. He picked up on the third call.
"What the fuck, Olivia?" He grumbled, clearly lacking sleep and frustrated, "It's 4 am. I've pulled six all-nighters, and I want my bloody sleep."
I didn't bother correcting the name. "I need your help. Get your ass over here and you can sleep after you figure this out." It was harsh, a tone I usually don't speak in, but I really needed his help this time.
"Why should I help you?" He hissed in a whisper, careful not to wake up his roommates. Kai was in university, one of the older people in the gang. He had lots of experience with computers, and was usually more mild-mannered, although he never really stopped swearing. "You're supposed to be in the hospital, right? Why the hell would you need help?"
"I'm not in the hospital. I'm in the base." I confessed, mumbling with my words. "Edna visited, it's over. I need you to access FBI files and wipe our slate clean."
"Holy shit, Olivia." His tone sounded more apologetic and soft. Kai knew me personally before the gang, and also knew about my parents. He understood the lengths they would go to. "Sorry about that. I'm just sleep-deprived a hell. What did Edna say?"
"She's pulling the plug. We're going to disband, or else everyone associated with the gang dies." I managed to choke the words through. Mentioning it still hurt.
Kai was silent for a good ten seconds.
"I can't believe it's over."
"Yeah. Me too."
"See you soon." He sighed, then hanged up.