Chapter Text
On October 20, several members of the Payday Gang relaxed at the safehouse, enjoying the autumn breeze which blew through the many broken windows. All with their blazers hanging on a coat rack, they had rolled-up sleeves as they did various activities and enjoyed their day off. The day before, they had completed a flawless bank heist, so on this day, they reveled in their success.
Chains and Houston were in the kitchen area, trying to fix the sink. Houston was half inside a cabinet on his back and Chains loomed overhead. “Okay, try it now,” said Houston, trying to seal the pipes beneath the sink.
Chains turned the faucet and let water spill down the pipes. He shut it off, then asked if Houston’s attempt had worked. Houston crawled from the cabinet and scrambled to his feet. He was covered in water, his skin showing through his white button-up shirt.
Wolf was across the room, smoking on an old couch with Hoxton. He choked back laughs at the sight of Houston. Hoxton looked up from his magazine and smiled. “Wooo! Any other contenders for the wet tee-shirt contest?” He whistled.
Houston rolled his eyes and dried off with a dish rag Chains had handed him.
The floor suddenly slid open beside the Lady Justice statue at the center of the mainroom. Dallas and Sokol tramped up the metal steps from the basement and stepped onto the main floor. “I think those new drill upgrades are going to work great,” said Dallas to his Russian partner. Wolf’s ears perked up. As the technician of the crew, he was excited to add a new skill to his repertoire.
“Will the damn drills stop breaking now?!” Chains called from the kitchen, handing Houston a wrench.
“Less often,” grinned Sokol. Chains squinted. This was promising, but he knew “those piece of shit drills” would still break as per his luck.
The phone on the kitchen counter suddenly rang.
“Back to work, fellas!” Hoxton said excitedly, throwing his magazine on the coffee table and jumping up towards the phone. Everyone gathered around the kitchen counter as Hoxton answered the call and set it to speaker.
“Bain! Miss us already? I thought we’d have a break after yesterday’s job,” Hox said.
“Don’t worry your pretty little head, Hox, you actually get an extended vacation. This job is for the end of the month,” Bain replied.
“What kind of job?” Wolf asked, finishing his cigarette and putting it out in a glass ashtray on the counter.
“I got word that an FBI higher-up has some files that need to mysteriously disappear,” said Bain.
“Where do we come in?” asked Sokol, hoping to get a chance to see his improved drills put to use.
“Instead of sneaking in under the cover of night, there’s going to be a party you can infiltrate instead.”
“Seems risky,” remarked Dallas. “No masks- could be footage of the whole mission.”
“I never said no masks,” replied Bain.
The crew looked at each other in question, but Wolf had a twinkle in his eye as he suddenly burst into a smile and became jittery. He knew what this mission meant. He let out a quick yip of excitement then clapped his hands over his mouth.
“That’s right, Wolf: Halloween night.”