Chapter 4: The Big Release
The spunky redhead was excited as ever as her release date drew to only a couple days away,"So this is your van?!" She asked, bouncing a little on her springy cot as she looked at the picture of a plain black van with a spray painted skull design.
He nodded at her with a small smile. "Yep." Being Ironclad Prince had its perks. Most inmates didn't have access to a printer, much less a computer.
Jesseye nodded vigorously,"Yes! I love it! This'll be a cinch. Jazzebella knows all about cars." she said as she scribbled an address in her journal then ripped it out and handed it to him,"Meet me here after you get out, kay?" she snickered enthusiastically. He put the paper in his pocket and nodded. She couldn't believe everything was falling into place.
*&^%$*&^%$*&%$^*
Jazza was just about as excited as her ginger sister. But while Jesseye sat in her cell, this chick was scrambling clean shop. "Tones! Pass me the towel, will ya?!" She shouted from the kitchen across shop to her humble workshop.
Shaking his head, Tony stood from wiping the garage door and sauntered over to her. He handed her the filthy rag with a light chuckle. She looked at it and tossed it in the back, not far off from the laundry pile, "I meant a *clean* towel."
He placed his hands in his pockets and shrugged.
Before she could call him some sort of flirty nickname, one of his little siblings shouted, "I got chu!" Tumbled to his feet, snatched up a fresh towel, then ran over.
With a kind smile she ruffled the little black boy's curly mane and cooed her thanks. He snickered then scurried off to annoy his sister and wipe some more stuff down.
Jazza returned to work with her second in command by her side. "Wish I had some way ta repay ya." It was strange having a whole army helping, but she could admit how much she liked it.
"No need, they love you Jazz." The softness of Tony's voice seemed to convey that they weren't the *only* ones.
She looked up and smiled, "Still." The eldest dark skin woman leaned over to peck his cheek, "I appreciate it."
"Oo~!" One of his little siblings squealed. "Tony's gotta girlfriend~, Tony's gotta girlfriend~" the young African American girl sang, clearly mocking him.
Instead of denying it, both Tony and Jazzebella looked away with dark, flushed faces. The words 'Jess isn't the *only* one with her eyes on someone.' Resounded in his mind.
All of the little girls rolled over, snickering. "How bout we grab some chow?!" The next to oldest, a scrappy sixteen year old male, saved them both from embarrassment.
All the little raskles gasped, "Yas!"
Jazza glanced to her second in command and shook her head as they all rushed to her in the kitchen. "Ah ah!" She jabbed her finger out with such authority. "Out ya little rats!"
"Yeah, yeah." The teen agreed with a smug smirk, imperially crossing his arms.
They shrank back at her scoff, "I ain't ya mama," she furthered with a sassy hand on her hip. They looked to Tony so she shook her head again, "He aint neitha!"
He chuckled at her stubborn insistance,"Actually." He began to correct, sneaking an arm around her shoulders, "They *are* my responsibility today."
She huffed and rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She walked away from him towards the garage, "Let's get some lunch."
After piling in, they grabbed some grub at a cheap Chinese buffet and finished cleaning her shop/home for Jess' return. "Thanks, Tones," she had to say again through his family's van window.
He waved her off, "It's nothing."
"It isn't tho," she insisted some more,"By myself, this would've taken me a week. If there's anything I can do ta repay you," she glanced shyly to the back of the large vehicle and cleared her throat, "Them, please, just tell me."
He nodded for her sake then kicked his van into reverse. "Sure. Cya later?"
*&^%$*&^%$*&%$^*
"Hey! Don't get beat up while I'm gone!" She shouted jokingly at the yard as the guards escorted her out of the prison.
He shook his head and flipped her off. "Fuck off." She snickered and ran off.
As soon as she hopped in Jazza's car, she started ranting all about Shane, "Yeah!" Jazzy smiled as she continued driving towards Jess' favorite lunch place her, "So I found a guy!"
"So you tell me," her African American friend said, throwing her a quick smirk before glancing back to the road. "Golden eyes?"
"Yeah!" Jesseye gasped, "How'd you know?!"
"Letters, Jess."
Her face quickly warmed red. She had completely forgotten about that, "But yeah," She started again, glancing out of the window to hide her embarrassment, "Lil quiet," she described as she herself was now speaking in a lower tone, "But he's really smart. Y'know Richmond Manor? He said that he hit it before. Got caught buttt it's just cuz they picked a crappy day."
Jazzy shook her head, "Cuz weather affects theivin skills." she said with a scoff before getting a bit more serious. "He got street cred?"
The red headed woman gave her a smug look,"Get this. His dad is the head hancho of... drum roll please," she said while patting her legs to create it,"Ironclads."
"For real?!" surprise made expert driver Jazzebella swerve into the other lane. She had read that in her letter, but never thought it could be true. The Jess *she* knew often stretched the truth or exaggerated, "Siss! That's crazy!" She shouted then asked the question Jess knew she was begging to ask, "How the hell did you get him on the train?"
Jesseye grinned nervously and fiddled with her scarlet ponytail,"Well ya see..." she cleared her throat before finishing, "He's kinda not yet?" the other woman gave her a look that read 'Seriously?' before shaking her head and looking back to the road,"But but, we made a deal! We jus gotta get his van back. Gave me a couple pics of it, it'll be easy."
Her negro friend laughed and nodded though she was only once again reminded how very innocent her friend was, "You're lucky this is my cuppa tea, Jess."
The redhead laughed nervously, but her word proved to be true. They two girls tracked down Shane's van and drove it home only an hour before the man himself showed. "Heeyy!" Jesseye greeted her friend excitedly, strangling him in a bear hug,"You made it!"
He slowly pushed her off and laughed lightly. "I mean yeah." He said with a shrug. "Where else was I supposed to go?"
Her eyes sparkled with joy as she shrugged,"I dunno." she admitted, rocking back and forth on her heels. She couldn't stop grinning. It had only been a few days, but she missed him more than she'd admit.
"You got my van, right?" He asked, his time a bit more serious this time.
"Course I did!" Jesseye chimed with a grin.
He nodded and started to glance around the place for it, "K, where is it?" After this whole ordeal was over, he'd hit the road. Maybe travel the world, y'know experience the something other than the most shitty of the Earth. Ironclad had already given him more than enough of that. Research concluded that he'd need a vehicle to escape this tiny town. And money, but that'd come from whatever job they were doing.
Jazza shook her head and walked around the building to it, popping the back doors open for him."Easy as pie." she snickered lightly then moved aside for him. "And Jess said it'd be hard."
She threw up her hands on defense. "That's what he told me!"
He smiled at them and looked in the back. A disaster, of course. He sighed and decided to ignore it for the moment. "Was it not?" He asked a little confused as he checked the front seat then the glove box. Shane thought for sure that it'd be laying somewhere, crushed in a junkyard. "That's kinda weird." He frowned lightly. Of course the spare gun was gone. His bitch of a father probably stole everything that could remote connect them together.
The African American woman shook her head with her arms crossed,"Maybe for an amateur," she said with a small smirk.
Shane nodded and climbed in the back of the trashed van. "He definitely searched it good, that's for damn sure." He said, running his hand through his hair. In all honesty, what did he expect? Brunt men didn't exactly clean up after themselves. And his father knew what he was doing. The thrown shelves, broken boxes, scattered recipes, misplaced bed, and emptied trash -- it all sent a message. Micah didn't care what happened to him anymore. This mess was his twisted form of mercy, "Now I gotta clean all this crap up."
"Can I help?!" Jesseye asked excitedly, jumping in around him.
He shrugged, "Sure I guess." He groaned as together they began moved his mattress from its vertical position on the side to where it was meant to be on the floor by the left blacked out window. She helped him find the sheets, straighten them on the bed then tuck them under the mattress. He sat down on his thick, grey comforter and sighed deeply at the disheveled bookshelf next to him. That piece of furniture alone would take hours to reorganize.
"Can we--?!" The enthusiastic girl started to speak and Jazzebella placed her hand on her shoulder.
"Jess, he just got here. Let the man rest," she ordered her like a mother would.
"But--" Jesseye huffed as the only slightly older woman shook her head,"Fffiiinnnee," she hopped out of the van with a groan. "But I'm not waiting till he's ready for dinner!" She shouted in obstinance before running off towards Jazza's mechanical garage/apartment.
Her black friend chuckled,"She's something else, isn't she?"
Shane chuckled lightly, but nodded. "Yeah. I was skeptical to join your little group." With another, lighter groan he stood and walked to her across the van.
She was rather skeptical about him too. He seemed nice, but his reputation made her wary. An ironclad wasn't meant to be messed with, "She's got a good heart," Jazzebella shrugged as she leaned against one of his open back doors.
He nodded and held a hand out to the woman. "Shane, by the way," He said with a small smile.
"Jazzebella Dechant," she pronounced formally, giving his hand one solid shake before releasing it, "Call me whatever ya care ta."
"You've got a good shop here." He said glancing around the door to look at the large metal building.
She smiled,"Thanks," she spoke before walking off to make sure her girl wasn't making too much of a mess. "Beware, she'll start pestering you again first thing tomorrow," she said over her shoulder, her hands in her pockets as she walked.
He chuckled and shook his head lightly. Smiling a bit, he thought as he continued cleaning his living space up. He expected nothing less. She was one of a kind. But was him being here, helping Spunky, a good choice? He'd only be bringing trouble. Ironclad never truly let go. His kind daddio would call him up eventually. He sighed while tying off a full trash sack. It was only a matter of time. He needed to be gone before that happened.
It was nice that Jesseye had missed him though. Why had they grown to be friends in the first place? He wasn't sure. She was so different from anyone else he'd met. Spunky, sweet, surprising, independent... Maybe that's why? He hoped leaving wouldn't hurt her. This arrangement was such a mess, but she found the van, so he had to atleast stay for the first job.
Then, he'd go. The gang had ruined his life, he couldn't let it ruin hers too. He grabbed a book from the pile scattered on his floor and laid down on his bed. It was safer this way. He sighed as his mind relaxed into his book. A kid's book, simple, light, refreshing -- all while someone keeping his attention. He couldn't express how good it felt to be out of that concrete room.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Gracieblack
Gracieblack I hope you enjoyed! Have a great day!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone