Chapter Text
They'd been planning this heist for a while now. They'd done hundreds before it, there was nothing different about this one. They'd be going a little bit flashy this time, because really, being thousands of feet above Los Santos in stolen military jets with all his boys is something Jack couldn't help thinking about.
But nothing was different. Everything beforehand was fine. In the week of planning ahead, they continued on like normal. Gavin and Ray got to go out on a date alone for once and nearly got kidnapped, they had a pizza party off the money they pulled when Michael decided to rob a convenience store for the hell of it, and then Gavin proceeded to accidentally trip Ryan into the TV and break it. Frustrating, but normal.
And yet every time Jack hovered over the shoulders of his boys, passing out plates of pizza well Ray and Michael cackled over a joke they refused to share with the others, or helped wrap up Gavin's leg when he nearly broke it, he felt uneasy. He was naturally worrying, being lovingly referred to as the 'mother hen' a lot, but things just felt wrong.
Gavin and Ray tended to deal with attempted kidnapping in an absurd amount. This time, Jack felt like it was no joking matter. He wanted to scream about how they should value their lives more, about how any minute they could run out of luck. (Ironic, considering they pulled off bank robberies and assassinations without a hitch. Well. Gavin had driven the firetruck through the wall that one time) Geoff had noticed, and reassured him, but it was merely a passing 'you shouldn't worry so much, your plan is foolproof' that left Jack even more unsettled then before.
He couldn't call off the heist. But no matter how hard he tried to ignore it, the feelings still crept up. Jack was leading them into a death trap, and he had planned it all.
If this failed, everything was going to be his fault.
_________________________________
Geoff breaks out the good wine about an hour before they set the plan in action. Ray heads off to get a Coke(apparently Gavin drank the last easy to find one, so he has to go searching pretty deep to find it and he's gone for nearly twenty minutes)
Michael and Gavin both take a large amount, but Jack warns them away from any more. As much of a klutz as Gavin is, he still trusts him to handle the jets when drunk. Michael and Geoff, not so much. He declines some himself. If something goes wrong, he needs to be aware to fix it.
Everyone has picked up on his nervousness at this point, but no one is commenting. Gavin, slightly tipsy, sprawls across Michael's lap on the couch, giggling violently. Ray comes in and falls on top of him, completing the Lad pile as Michael protests from underneath both of them.
Ryan and Geoff are whispering quietly to each other, and have been doing so since Ray left. Like everything they seem to do lately it makes Jack nervous. Maybe Ryan was planning to back stab them? He'd done it as a joke before, but he's been growing away from the group lately. Or maybe Jack was just getting paranoid. Yeah. He was being paranoid.
"Alright," Jack says abruptly, standing up and clearing his throat. Michael finally hauls the other two Lads off his lap, dumping them to the side. Gavin grumbles quietly, but it only lasts a second as they all start to get into the serious energy of the heist.
They run through the usuals. A final walkthrough of the heist, making sure everyone knows the plan, locations and codenames. The police have never tapped their microphones before(Jack doubts they know how) but they're careful about it anyway.
Finally, he ushers them all out. Geoff stays back and wraps an arm around his shoulder, pulling him close. He figured Jack was just nervous because he was planning a heist for once. "Everything is fine, Jack. You'll see." He winks and walks ahead.
Ray seems to have picked up a rather ridiculous white top hat and is dancing like a cheesy guy with a cane. Gavin runs up and steals it off his head, taking off down the sidewalk with a victorious laugh. Ray follows, yelling for him to give it back, neither of them caring that they're crashing into people.
The bitter smile that crosses Jack's face is something he doesn't expect. He wants to laugh, but can't.
______________________________________
The ride to the store is chaotic, and Jack is left wishing they'd gone shopping before the heist so he wouldn't have to deal with the pounding headache he now has. The yelling in the backseat was bad enough, but then Michael decided to park by crashing. Nothing more then minor bruises on all of them(Michael insisted he was controlling the crash and it was just a 'stylish entrance')but still, he was sure he had a migraine by now. The fluorescent lights of the store hurt.
Shopping is the worst. Gavin and Ray have some sort of hat war with Ray's top hat and a fishing hat Gavin finds in the corner. Jack wonders why those two in particular are acting out tonight. Maybe it had something to do with the conversation in the car, Gavin nervously proposing bets and Ray's 'I think the jet plan is going to go a little wonky.' Maybe they were picking up on it too and trying to lighten the mood. However, it was only succeeding in making Jack's headache worse.
By the time they finally emerge in mostly matching outfits, Jack is relieved to be out in the dark once again. Not for long though, as the sun begins to peek over the horizon. He'd almost forgotten how early it was, and how lucky they were to find a store open at this late(or early?) of an hour.
Ray has a problem with his outfit and Jack stops to help him out, giving him a small kiss first. He watches a civilian pass them, busy on his phone, but stopping to give them confused looks that eventually turns into a sort of disgust. He tries to hurry on, out of Jack's view before he hears Michael ask, "what are you looking at?" and a confusion of movement behind him. Unconcerned, he busies himself with helping Ray, never turning around.
By the time he's done, Ray is looking faintly smug. He hears Michael snarl, "you piece of shit!" and he turns around to the sight of his hot tempered boyfriend repeatedly stabbing the idiot on the ground. It's a stupid decision to do it with people around, but Jack feels a little bit proud. He'd gotten what he deserved, for looking at them like that.
His look of infuriation fading, Michael stabs the guy one last time. It only takes him a second to remember that the others are still there, and then realize they've been watching them the entire time. He gives them a chilling smile, wiping his face in a way that leaves a smear of blood across his cheek.
"Michael, my boy!" Gavin coos, quite literally skipping over. He kicks the body on his way past without sympathy, and kisses the smear away. "That was bloody top! Although, I would have liked to join you." The brief frown on his face is dark, the bloodstained grin that follows perfectly matching Michael's. People across the street are pointing. Jack loves his boys, he really does, but sometimes he wonders.