whitetwoguns | But I ain't no madman.

[Excuse him for walking with a hand tucked in his coat. How else would he fire immediately if he so much as saw anything that needed to neutralized.]

Are we cool to head home?

[Without being followed.]

Yeah we're cool. I saw him leave.

[That doesn't mean he couldn't have come back but Freddy's pretty sure Blonde's not the type to stick around and spy. They would have gotten into a brawl already if Blonde wanted to get him. Get him today anyway. He's not sure about tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, or any other time. He's been here a month with no other sighting though, how the fuck does that work?

Also excuse him for walking close to the old man's side.]

[No one knows how the fuck this is supposed to work. Blonde is a psycho. Larry's starting to get the idea that Joe had no idea how far this bad streak ran. It wasn't just crime, it was against everyone but himself. Men like White and Orange who have their own allies on either sides know the value of other people.

If Joe had only known, if he could have been there, Larry knows that Blonde wouldn't have made it out of the jewelry store.]

Tell me everything.

[Cool or not, he'll keep a hand in his coat all the same. Freddy may have to keep on carrying the groceries all on his own.]

[He's carrying he's carrying.] I ran into him inside. We talked about this place, his roommate. He told me he works for a weird lady.

[Larry already knows who that weird lady is.]

Fuckin' joked about unicorns and lasers. [There's that sick feeling again.] He never laid a hand on me, told me to tell you hi.

Hi.

[He shakes his head.]

Fucking bullshit. [Dick move if he ever heard of one. Why expect anything else. It is an innocent thing to do really. Why wouldn't he because they're acquaintances.

Or it could be a I see what you're doing sort of a wink and wave.]

Didn't ask any fishy questions or nothing? Ask where you worked?

[So that Freddy would have to evade.]

No. He didn't ask me shit, Larry. Nothin' personal.

[Shaking his head. Maybe that's the part that scares him the most, how incapable he is of doing anything because Blonde hasn't done a thing to warrant retaliation. But they know what he's like, they know he's the reason the heist turned into a bullet festival. And he's the reason they had to change plans that left White holding Orange's hand in a bloody backseat.]

[I'll kill him, I'll fucking kill him is what Larry wants to say. That is not going to do them any good at all. Get to the apartment for now, being out in the open air doesn't feel safe. It's the panic.

Fucking shit. That could be all he wants. Like some goddamn snot nosed kid he wants to tie tin cans to a cat's tail because he bloody well can.]

Who's the girl?

[And why was she worth talking about?]

I don't know but she's got a sweet tooth. He had a bag full of sugar shit.

[Shit a Newendyke would eat, really, but not Mr. Blonde. That would just make Freddy feel worse, knowing the guy has the same palate as himself. That would be fucking cruel. He's wondering the same thing too, if Blonde just wants to see him sweat but if he's the guy who went crazy in the shop, in the warehouse, then he doubts tying tin cans to his tail is where he'll stop. Not if he's already been shot back home. Who can tell though?]

I couldn't tell, you know? If he's... [Dead. Alive. Something.]

[It starts with tin cans before it's a stone to the head. Well, back in the day anyway. They give the kid's bb guns.]

You woulda if you could touch him. At least that's what they say.

[Perish the motherfucking thought. Mr. White puts a hand at Freddy's back as they near crossing at the intersection just as he had when they were making a run for it. There aren't any dead cops in their wake here.]

So he's got himself a girlfriend that might be a hostage or accomplice.

[Both are. Delightful.]

I don't want to touch him. [Freddy says almost too quickly, defensively.] Yeah. Somethin' like that.

[The kid affirms without any real sense of confidence. That guy sort of stole it, like all Blonde had to do was breathe in the air around him to make Freddy sweat. He held his own pretty well, all things considered, but he's still a little shaken up from the experience.]

Hey. [From back to shoulder and holding on tight.] I know. [He wouldn't want Freddy to. Not if he doesn't have to and certainly if that fucker isn't unconscious.

Their apartment is just ahead. Sooner in, the sooner they can get a drink.]

You did good.

[Sticking his ground, waiting until it was safe to get the old man around. That's worth repeating.]

[He doesn't edge away from those touches. Really those touches are a goddamn godsend.]

Thanks...

[Freddy says because he's not sure how else to respond to that. He wishes he could have done better for both of them, somehow.]

[Rubbing, touching, squeezing because he feels like that's all he can do before they get home.

They should roll a blunt too.]

It's true.

[It didn't end in a shoot out. See, in someways that makes Blonde a lesser because for all his cool and calm, he still shot up a whole goddamn place because something in him went off the rocker. Well, he wasn't on it to begin with.

Getting a clear cut positive right now outside of they're unharmed is kinda hard to find.

Okay. They've made it safe to their building.]

[Once they're inside the building he nudges the old man.]

Larry.

[Take the bag. No really, take the bag Dimick, because this kid is quickly going to find his way into a semi-secluded corner to lose the most recent snack he had.]

[Bag in his hand now. He's got to let Freddy slip from his grip.]

Jesus Christ.

[Spoken softly. Larry clears his throat and keeps some distance. Give the poor guy some air.]

Let it all out.

[There's not much to spill out. No meal. It's just whatever he had to drink and a couple donuts. The kid coughs and heaves, bent over and holding onto a corner, the wall, whatever he can that'll keep him from giving in and settling on his knees. He won't give Blonde that satisfaction, nevermind how the bastard wouldn't know. It's a confidence thing. Cough cough.]

Shit man...

[He's so glad for the distance, the air, yet Lawrence Dimick is still just an arm away and that's comforting too.]

[The old man can't be away long. Freddy needs him. And he's not sure if keeping his head down like that is gonna help him feel better, all that blood rushing thataway. He keeps the groceries in the other hand while he paws on the man to help him be upright. Larry will drag him to the apartment if he has to.]

We can stop whenever you need to.

[In their apartment. Hey. They pay the cleaning staff for a reason. Why else would they pay so fucking much for rent?]

[Just wiping his mouth now...yeah don't even look at him if your name ain't Mr. White. The smaller one will just look right back with a colder stare, nothing super cool about it. Just super frigid. Only Larry gets to see him so fucking vulnerable.]

I'm fine.

[Freddy insists, more so with regards to his physical health than his emotional health. He's able to walk the rest of the way with Lawrence Dimick, up into an empty elevator because he doesn't want to take the stairs.]

I fuckin' let'im scare me. [He argues, green eyes looking bright at brown ones.]

[One hot, blazing stare with that cold one. Anybody so much as gives the kid even a portion of bullshit is gonna get more than their fair share of trouble from two angry fists. They better be grateful that it won't be two guns.]

Kid, you were blindsided. [Damn lucky it was out in the open.] You didn't know what to expect.

[Elevator it is. And hopefully for a smooth ride on up.]

We knew he was around. What the fuck do we do if he just...just shows up again?

[This is not the conversation to be having in the elevator but Freddy can't help it. He can't even reach for his smokes without shaking.]

Yeah. We did. Where we live crazy shit happens about every day, that don't mean we can't be taken aback by it or still have a hard time going about normal.

[Technically though, Blonde is their normal reality. That is the world they've come from. Larry keeps a close watch on Freddy trying to gauge where he is.]

We gotta act easy goin' we dunno shit yet.

[He licks his lips. He's been hesitant to even talk like this but now that it's in the realm of possibility, they cant' take too many chances.]

....somehow we can try and arrage that the both of us are never alone.

[Not quite a body guard but...an escort?]

That doesn't happen every day.

[He waves a hand harshly even though there's not Blonde (that) to point at. Freddy shakes his head, temper rising then falling. It's not Larry's fault, Larry just happens to be the closest living target.]

And how the fuck do you think we'll manage?

[Never being alone. It sounds impossible. More than that it sounds downright uncomfortable. The kid doesn't want to have to rearrange their lives for that motherfucker. He doesn't deserve that power. Ding! Their floor.]

[Walking off he tries to focus on the relief that they're almost there. Then they can really name names and give details. Except details to what? A plan? The old man is feeling severely lacking. He is supposed to have something up his sleeve.]

The fucking best we can.

[That's all that they have. He's digging for the key.]

[He's making a face that shows he's not really buying what the old man is saying. The fucking best we can? That's it? No. That's not it. But he waits, he waits and waits and waits until they've got the door open so he can push their way inside. Shut it. Lock it up. Be safe.]

Shit we don't even know if he has a game!

[Okay what's the point of waiting to be inside if you're just going to be irate and loud inside, Newendyke?]

[Shut. Locked. Deadbolted for that matter.]

If he does, I'd say it'd be to shake us up and get us all worked up and nutso.

[Wouldn't be too far off. Ahem. He's got the bags so he'll go to the kitchen to at least put them on the counter. And prep a drink. This calls for Jack Daniel's on the rocks.]

He woulda tried something.

[Ice and drink in two glasses.]

He had you right there, right?

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