Chapter Text
Shiver, Frye, and Big Man. It had always been just the three of them. Since that fateful day in middle school when they had first met, they swore that life would never tear them apart. Deep Cut, the premier bandits of their city, would always be a villainous trio. Though if you asked them, they would vehemently insist they were not villains, but vigilantes. They stole from the rich and gave to the poor Robin Hood style, so them being “villains” was just plain untrue.
Like what they were doing now. They had caught the midnight bus out of their city for their biggest heist yet. They were going to break into the penthouse of the Houzuki heiress- what was her name, Pearl? Yep, they would break into Pearl Houzuki’s penthouse, clear out whatever she had stashed, whether it was cash, jewelry, or otherwise, and hightail it back to their own turf. That was the plan, whether Frye liked it or not.
“Shiv, are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, I know we’re the best of the best, but this seems a little crazy even for us.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, dear. This is an excellent idea, and we are well prepared. We will be in and out, a few hours maximum, much richer when the job is through. Plus, we already sunk money into this when we bought the bus tickets, so there’s no going back now.”
“Ay, don’t say that so loud, Shiver! People might hear us.”
Shiver turned to face Big Man, a little bit of surprise on her face. She smoothed down her blue hair and fixed the bang over her right eye.
“You mean the bus driver with a headset on and the drunk man passed out five seats away?”
Yeah, Frye had to agree with Shiver on that one. There was no one even slightly in earshot to hear them bicker over their heist.
“Now, let’s go over the plan one last time. We go into the alley, change into our disguises, and split up from there. Big Man will enter the lobby while invisible, find the security room, and disable the cameras. Preferably, he could scrub them, but only if time permits. At the same time, Frye, you and I will be ascending the outside of the building. You will climb, and I will-”
“Piggyback on me in case of rain, princess?” Frye interrupted, much to Shiver’s chagrin.
“What did I tell you about interrupting me? Ugh… I will hold onto you, in case of rain. We can’t have the building being too slick for you to scale, so I’ll draw out any water resting along the sides. Then, we will break the window leading into Houzuki's penthouse, ransack all of her valuables, tag a wall somewhere, and leave.”
As if on cue, the spray paint cans in Shiver's backpack clacked slightly as they rattled against each other- black, white, grey, blue, and yellow. Frye adjusted her glasses, the thick lenses catching the light.
“Okay, are you *sure* about the tagging part, Shiv?”
“Do you think it's in poor taste? Because I certainly do not.”
“Hey, I'm not saying that. It's just… We'd save some time if we didn't tag the penthouse, yeah?”
“Ah, yeah… It would save ten to twenty minutes, Shiver.”
“Big Man, Frye, we're tagging it. How else are we going to let that pompous heiress princess know she's been robbed by none other than Deep Cut?”
“Do we *have* to let her know, though? Isn't the whole point of banditing to not get caught?”
“Frye, dear, we won't get caught.”
The bus chimed and ground to a halt. The mechanical announcer crackled over the speakers.
“Now stopping at Yvette Circle. The next stop is at North Center Street.”
Shiver sighed and adjusted her backpack. Frye could smell the food trucks stopped nearby and took an unconscious step forwards. Shiver grabbed her by the arm.
“Not our stop, dear. Focus.”
“Right. Sorry, Shiv.”
“It's alright, dear.”
Shiver adjusted the band Frye's glasses were attached to, tightening them a little. Her lips just barely grazed the outside of Frye's ear.
“Are you ready to go through with this?”
Frye's throat went dry, flustered even when Shiver was barely doing anything. She managed a nod, and Shiver smiled, her pointed teeth on full display. The bus stopped one more time.
“Now stopping at North Center Street. This is the final stop.”
“Frye, Big Man, let's go.”
“Roger that, princess.”
“Ah, me too.”
As they disembarked the bus and beheld the massive skyscraper they were about to rob, Deep Cut couldn't help but break into a grin. This was going to be a great heist.