|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2010 10:25 pm
The cover of darkness always helped steel his nerves. Not that he needed much help in that area, but it was nice all the same. Darkness meant obscurity, anonymity. He was safer, of course, in the darkness. After all, a man his age had absolutely no business walking down at street, with those tools in his pocket, looking for that car.
But there Anthony Darrow was, and there the tools were. And there it was.
Smirking, he moved to the car, knowing it had no alarm system. He smoothed his gloved hand over the hood, then along its side, before he moved to the door, inserting his trusty metal sliver and a pick into the lock and jimmying it until it popped up. Door unlocked, he opened opened it and moved to sit down in the driver's seat.
He couldn't believe he was doing this again. Last time had been a success: he had reminded himself that he could still break into and hot wire a car. Usually that was enough for a while, a few months, maybe a year if nothing pressing came up. But recently he seemed to be having more impulses than usual. He had ignored it for a while, but now he was giving in more regularly. Every couple of months. And now within a few weeks of the last time.
Breaking the law was increasing in addictiveness as he aged? That just sounded lame.
Grinning, he successfully found what he was looking for, reaching under the dash and feeling around blind. A few moments later and he had the car purring. It was a louder engine than he had expected, but that wouldn't matter.
All there was left to do was pull away from the curb and drive it around the block a couple of times, just to savor the thrill and bask in the triumph of a job well done.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2010 8:55 pm
Sydney Martin was sixteen and with a driver’s license, proud of it too. Her brothers constantly teased that silly Sydney, their lovable, annoying sister, wouldn’t have the skills to pass the driving test. Their teasing and jokes had been so irksome and grating that the terrified looks on their faces when they saw her driver’s license was still starkly imprinted in her mind. “Our crazy sister will be rampaging the roads, oh God!”
Unfortunately, she didn’t have as many opportunities to drive as she had hoped. She was supposed to share a car with her older brother, but he was always hogging it for himself! At least Sydney didn’t particularly mind that much, she still had her skateboard. Even so, the redhead found herself occasionally staring at the silver car with a longing gaze. If only she could drive it more often!
She strolled along the sidewalk, taking her sweet time. Unusually, Sydney was without her skateboard this time, as she had only needed to walk down a few houses to babysit a family friend’s child. He was only five, but quiet and easy to care for. It was an easy five bucks an hour. Quietly moving towards her house, she wondered if her older brother was home. She hoped so. That would mean the car was free and ready to be taken for a quick drive.
Her gaze flickered toward the car and she was surprised to find someone fiddling with the vehicle. Keeping her steps silent, Sydney strode over to stand behind the man. Eyes alight with vague curiosity and interest she cocked her head to the side and watched the stranger to their magic. Catching his face in the car mirror, she recognized him as the librarian. This caught her attention.
Eyebrows raised, she calmly spoke above the hum of the car. “I didn’t know librarians liked to break the law in their free time.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2010 9:25 pm
"Good heavens!" Tony yelped in surprise, looking back to see a girl standing in the street. He had forgotten to close the passenger side door, or just hadn't gotten around to it, so he had easily heard her speaking to him. He turned bright red, though it was masked by the darkness.
The librarian didn't look quite himself. He had his hair slicked back and an earring in one ear. He was wearing a very worn brown leather jacket and, despite the dress code he always stuck to at the library, jeans. Normal, slightly frayed and well used jeans. He stared at her for a very long moment, absolutely lost. What was he supposed to do know? She had seen him breaking into this car, and recognized him.
He would have to remember to wear a mask next time.
"That's not it at all. I-I just saw this car with it's light's on and I thought I'd get it running s-so I could... turn them off... the battery would have... g-gone dead."
Totally believable.
He moved to get out of the car, letting the wires disconnect. The engine turned once more then fell silent, and Tony stood by the open door, his back against it, as he stared at the girl. If he took off running she wouldn't be able to catch him. And without proof it would be her word against a respectable librarian.
With a criminal record from his youth, but come on. He hadn't been caught doing anything for ten years. They would have to believe he was reformed. Even if he wasn't.
But he didn't run, instead just staring at her, wide eyed and very tense.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2010 8:18 pm
Hearing him say such a lame exclamation made Sydney want to laugh, but that didn’t seem very appropriate at the moment. Instead she smiled and raised an eyebrow at him. “Funny, this is the first time I’ve seen a librarian break the law. I didn’t think these things happened,” she noted with an amused grin.
She took a lazy step forward and playfully leaned forward, hands twined together and behind her back. Inside the car was dimmer than Sydney thought, but she could still clearly see the stunned expression on the adult’s face. Looking him up and down, it was surprising that the girl was able to identify him despite the noticeable differences in appearance. It was almost as if he was a completely different person, but had the same face as the man she had met not so long ago. Would it be like this if she met one of her teachers outside of school, she wondered. Not in the same exact situation, of course.
As he began to explain himself, Sydney maintained an attentive face as she casually leaned against the car, feeling the warm metal against her skin. “Really? I guess you saved us the hassle of jumpstarting a car. I’ll need to tell my brother to be careful, then,” she replied after a moment of thinking. Her gaze flickered to his face, wondering if that would set something off in him. “Of course, you’re not expecting me to believe that lame excuse, are you?”
She wormed her way into the passenger seat of the vehicle, lips pulled into a contemplative line. “I guess I should probably be reporting this to the police, but I don’t know . . . ” Sydney grinned slyly.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2010 8:45 pm
Tony opened his mouth to reply, then realized she was teasing him by telling him she would inform her brother to be careful. He had so wanted her to believe him, it was rather crushing that she didn't, despite how stupid it had been. He just wanted to get out of there without smudging his record, further, but how was he going to accomplish that now?
Besides the running and telling everyone she was a bratty liar thing if she tried to pin it on him.
"I half expected you to," he confessed, when she asked him. He looked down at his feet. "I wanted you to, anyway. Ah... so... you recognized me, then."
He debated taking a page from his conversation with Ray and telling her that he was the 'evil' twin. Apparently his goatee made him look so, though it wouldn't explain why both he and his 'library brother' would both have one now. He also reminded himself that he had just all but confessed to her about it.
Instinctively leaning back, though there wasn't much space for him to. He watched her as she examined him, also noting her curious expression as she smiled. Her tone made him bristle. "You... don't know?" he said, trying not to sound hopeful, "look, I wasn't doing any harm. It's an easy fix, I didn't break anything, and I was just going to ride it around the block before parking it again. Harmless. I'll pay for the fix, if you'd like."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 7:15 pm
Sydney nodded her head, or at least tried to. Her head was crammed against the roof of the small car. She slid into her seat as far as she could and tilted her head to stare at Mr. Darrow. Note to self: When the time comes for it, buy a car with a high roof. “You’re being unexpectedly honest, I’m pleasantly surprised. I would’ve thought that an adult like you would’ve denied lying,” she noted with a blank shrug. Then she shrugged and nodded a second time. “It took a little while at first. You’re really different outside of work.”
She shifted in her seat. Woah. Being casual with an adult. Woahhhhh. So weird!
Had he decided to switch to the evil twin explanation, Sydney wouldn’t have believed one bit of it. She liked to be silly and act stupid yes, but she at least had some brain cells to use. Not like it’d stop her from jokingly playing a long, at least.
The redhead laughed and crossed her arms, amused with the change of tone in his voice. “Yeah, I’m not sure. I mean, you seem like a nice enough librarian, I think.” She glanced at the work that he did to the car, eyes brimming with mischief. “Okay, if you pay for the repairs, drive me around with you, and give me Hotwiring 101, this will be our dirty little secret.” Cue the American Rejects song.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 8:13 pm
"I... I'm a terrible liar," Tony said, continuing his truthful streak. He looked rather miserable, watching her. He fully expected to end up in jail after all this, at the whim of some young kid who wanted to tease him first. Like he needed to feel worse about getting caught.
He was rather different outside of work. Or he was on the off nights when he did something like this. So he couldn't argue that point with her. Of course, he hadn't been arguing anything, just agreeing and babbling uselessly for the most part.
"You... want to know how to hot wire a car?" he asked, looking a bit stunned. "And you won't tell the police if I do? You won't hold it over my head or try to blackmail me with it?" He had to be sure on that part: he would rather just go spend a night in jail and then get himself out of the charges before he would waste time being blackmailed.
After tonight, she couldn't have a hold on him.
"Alright," he said slowly, thinking things out, "I'll give you a ride around the block. I'm not sure I like having to teach you something like this. Don't you have the internet? I don't want to be responsible for furthering the delinquency in this generation's youth. You guys are bad enough already."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 9:52 pm
Sydney nodded her head. “It’s always good to try something at least once, I think,” she explained after noticing his shocked face. Indeed, she had tried numerous things in her life now, ranging from food to different activities. She’d had the unfortunate luck of trying a habanero pepper, and could recall the time she had temporarily been fascinated with yoga. If one waved something in her face, Sydney was bound to try it out within the next few days.
Hot wiring was no exception.
She furiously shook her head. “Because you wouldn’t show me otherwise, right?” Sydney sighed at his questions, sinking even lower in her seat if it was at all possible, her knees cramming against the dashboard. “I won’t hold it over your head nor blackmail you with it. Actually, I do believe that this is making a wonderful bonding experience, don’t you agree?”
A grin and she pulled herself up. It’d been a while since she’d been in this particular car; curse her brother and his possessive ways! Then Sydney frowned at him, staring at him with an odd look. “Do you really expect me to properly learn anything through reading? You’re funny!”
She slammed the door shut and slipped on her seat belt, glancing in the side mirror. “No matter. Let’s just have a quick drive first and work out the other details later!”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2010 8:56 pm
This was not a situation he had mentally prepared for. Generally he knew what to do if someone caught him (punch them, run. But she was a young girl, which were two big no-no's), or if the cops came. This, however, was strange and new. No one, after all, had ever talked to him about his crimes before, while he had been committing them, and no one had ever asked to join him once they caught him.
These were not the kind of new experiences he felt he needed at this stage in his life.
"I... don't believe we need to bond at all," Tony pointed out sharply, but he found himself settling back down into the driver's seat, hand on the still ajar door. He regarded her critically, wondering what her motive was in this. She had agreed not to hold it over his head, but he wasn't sure how much he could trust her.
"Fine then," he said slowly, shutting the door. He looked at her, still skeptical, then reached under the dash to get the car purring again. Once the engine was reengaged he pulled out into the road, as normally as if he owned the car, constantly glancing over at her.
He eventually relented and started to explain, in very basic terms, what steps he took to hot wire the car. He was a good teacher, it seemed, as he spoke well and tried to make things clear on instinct, though he had to remind himself that he was teaching her to do something illegal, so he left out some key information just in case.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Apr 28, 2010 9:06 pm
Sydney knew that she wasn’t exactly the most normal person out there. Who in their right mind would strike up such a proposition? (Her) At least Anthony was giving her any weird looks, any obvious ones, anyways.
She faked a heartbroken expression, a hand dramatically flying up to cover where her heart was. “Are you saying you don’t want to be friends with me? Mr. Darrow, I-I’m devastated!” She choked out the best fake sob she could, turning her head away to sullenly stare out the car window. Wondering if that disastrous acting was overkill, she decided to leave a few seconds of silence to let the librarian pipe in whatever response he had.
Letting a wide, amused grin pull on her lips, she eventually faced forward again, looking pleased with herself. “But really, Mr. Darrow. Compared to the other adults I know, you’re pretty chill (since any adult who hot wires a car is pretty chill in my eyes). I may just need to hang out at the library more (to bug you)!” she explained, looking gleeful as he finally shut the door and the car buzzed to life.
She leaned as far back into the seat as she could, trying to make herself comfortable in the car. Perhaps for her brother it was somewhat awkward to be in here, but for Sydney it was incredibly annoying, another reason why she didn’t drive that often. Eventually giving up, she plopped down in a neutral sitting position and stayed still, fighting the urge to move and adjust herself.
Hearing the watered down directions of how to hot wire a car, Sydney softly smiled. She didn’t think it was the full picture of it, but at least if the need ever arose she could try and not end up electrocuting herself. After his explanation, she would occasionally point out a house or shop as it passed by them.
“—they make really good pancakes. Oh, that’s Miss Johnson’s house. She’s nice. She makes yummy lemon squares,” she softly said.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 10:27 am
"You, ah, seem to know everyone around here," Tony said quietly, looking around as she pointed places out, since there wasn't much on the road to keep an eye out for. He was a careful driver, particularly in things he had stolen, or 'borrowed', but at the moment there wasn't much need for over-caution.
Noting that she knew everyone in the area was important. More reason not to come back here looking for any kind of target, he imagined. She recognized him, after all, and promised to bug him at the library. Two things that weren't conducive to him coming back to this area for anything.
"Though, most of your observations seem to be based on sweets or food of some kind," he chuckled at that, eying her. Pancakes, lemon squares. Her neighbors didn't seem to have personalities, just kitchens.
He turned the corner once more and eased the car to a stop, disconnecting the wires and letting the engine fall silent. It was right back where they had gotten it, and he looked at her, considering the next thing he was going to say for a long moment before relenting.
"Was that a good enough drive? I think it best if I get out of here before anyone else notices... I don't usually take this long, anyway..." he frowned. He shouldn't have said usually, because that implied that this was more of a recurring habit than he wanted to admit. It wasn't, he told himself, and it wouldn't be any more.
This had to be treated like a wake up call.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed May 05, 2010 3:54 pm
Sydney smiled softly. “I like to move, so I always wander from place to place. You can ask me how to get to just about any place in this town and I can give you the directions just like that!” She snapped her fingers to prove her point.
She scoffed at his keen observation. “I’m a growing teenager with a bottomless stomach! I happen to think of food fifty percent of the time, if not more,” she answered with a smirk. “If you ever need to find a good restaurant for something – like you snagged yourself a date hmmm? – you can always ask me. Or if you just wanna try, like, Mexican food I can give you the addresses of some good places.” Glancing out the window again, Sydney later added, “I also know other stores, like arts and crafts ones, sports goods ones, and all that.”
Her house came into view and she wasn’t surprised when the car eased to a stop. She let out a content sigh, pushing the door open and eagerly stretching out her legs. “Ahhhh. Well, wasn’t that a soothing car ride?” remarked Sydney as she hopped out of her seat and onto the sidewalk, as if she had been dropped off by a friend rather than just finished taking a ride with an adult she barely knew in a hot wired car.
She shrugged at his worries. “There isn’t anyone around here at the moment; it’s been a pretty quiet day today. If you insist, though.” Slipping her hands into the pockets of her jacket, she hopped up the concrete steps that led to the front door of her house. Sydney turned around and briefly waved at him. “Later, Mr. Darrow! We’ll be seeing each other more after this, I’m sure.” She grinned before sliding inside, the door closing with a soft click.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
