[IC] You Get What You Give

[Jones Sparrow]

It was a wet night in New York City. It had just rained, and on a Tuesday night, not many people were out in the lower side of the island. An expensive car drove down the silent street, being masked in the pale yellow lights of the streetlights. "Yeah, I'm fine, just... A long day at work... Cold dinner is fine... I love you too, see you soon." The driver of the nice car kept driving, hanging up his phone as he let out a low sigh. He was Carl Finnigan, the CEO of Healthy Future Industries, a business that was about giving the nation healthier foods, and programs, and in doing so, taking out or buying the smaller organic food stores locally, or anything else that tried to compete in their business. The police turned an eye at this sort of thing... He had men who would force businesses to close, or force them to team up... It wasn't anything personal, he just enjoyed money! He took a different route home after seeing a "closed road" sign on the one he usually drives on... It has been a long time since he's seen this part of town, he could see bonfires lit in alleyways, broken windows on some buildings, it wasn't a total dump, just somewhere that people were obviously struggling...

POP!

One of his tires blew out! He swerved and slammed on the brakes, hitting the sidewalk. The man gasped for air, he wasn't expecting that! He pulled out his phone, and was about to call for help until he jumped at the sound of a tap on his window.

He rolled the window down and looked up in confusion, then in fear. A man stood in front of him, a hood over his head, and a handkerchief over his mouth. His dark green eyes were youthful, giving a sense of mischief in them as well. "Good evening Mr. Finnigan, I'm sure you've heard of me... and also know why I am here." Robin Hood said casually as if talking to an old friend, reaching inside the car and pulling out his keys. "Y-y-you're--"

"Taller in person, dashingly handsome, even under the mask 'you'll never get away from this! I have friends! they will have your head!'" Robin said the last part in a mocking old man voice, shaking his fist. "Yeah, I get these all the time..." He bent down and then held up an arrow. "Huh, weird... this was stuck in your tire... would explain a lot of things." He said, putting the arrow back in to the quiver on his back. He then pulled out a blade, "Would you kindly take off your rings-- except your wedding band, of course, hand over your wallet, and give me the passcode to your corporate accounts. Don't worry, we don't take all of the money, we don't want to leave you like you do to others, right?" Robin asked that not expecting an answer, and somewhat coldly.

Minutes later Robin had a bag full of goodies, from his credit card, his college ring, to his silver clip tie. He wasn't going to ruin this guy's life. He wasn't going to take valuables like his wedding ring, or his personal account, or things like that. If he did that, he would be just as bad as the businesses he was trying to take down. "Steal from the rich, give to the poor." But he did take out the man's battery so he couldn't call anyone in warning to shut down accounts... By morning, that money will be distributed in to unmarked bills, and in to charities in New York...

---

"Carl Finnigan was robbed last night by the Merry Men, claiming that his robber was in fact the leader, Robin Hood. Sources also say that 3.5 million dollars have been stolen from Healthy Future Industries. In other news Charities all over New York have been received generous donations earlier this morning, all claiming to be from the Merry Men. The police are doing everything in their power to hunt after them, but they are still at large, and winning the hearts of the citizens of New York."

The radio played softly in the small apartment as Robert Locksley tried to sleep. He spent all night with some of the Merry Men to get those money transfers to the charities... He was glad he was unemployed, but he had to get up. He was sure someone would barge on his door, and he had to go on his morning route, and get a donut from a certain very attractive woman...

He climbed out of bed, running a hand through his brown hair. His apartment was small, but cozy. He used very little of the Merry Men money to make this place look average for a guy who keeps getting laid off work.. But he also bought the two apartments above his for HeadQuarters, with high tech computers, and gear for them to use. It wasn't a life of luxury for him, but he felt like he was helping... and someday, they will eventually take down the biggest target: Mayor John Lyons.

[Qdkowboy]

A solid rasp on the old wooden door caused the eyebrows to raise of all four men setting around the table. The Three Kings of drug distribution in New York State sat staring at the door silently waiting for another knock, all of them confused and on edge. When the second one came, the two Aryan brotherhood members and the Tejanos motorcycle club president turned to look at their host.

"Lil John's pizza, I've got a delivery." A young southern voice sang through the door, sounding seemingly legitimate. Jacob Newdale, the ranking member of the AB in New York angrily stood up and his goon sitting opposite did the same trying to look intimidating.

"What the fuck is this, Leshaun? Some kinda coon trick?!" The large bald men barked causing visible anger at the homeowner, Leshaun, the leader of the 7th street ogs. Before anyone could respond and as the young AB member marched toward the door at his bosses que and a shotgun blast of buckshot eradicating the center of the door and dropping the lackey in his tracks set the men into motion.

"You're dead!" Leshaun Marcus screamed as he and Tito Castillo rose with their partner simultaneously as all three of the kings drew glocks of different sizes and calibers and drew down on the door.

Rather than the expected raid team, a silver object was flung through the door. The concussion grenade had been cooked and cut the criminals off guard when it went off. John Firestone kicked open the door and through the haze fired two shots out of his Colt. Two guns hit the ground and Tito and Jacob shrieked as they grabbed their new nubs.

"Mornin' boys! We got some business to discuss. Y'all been feedin' at the public trough a long time, and even though he's busy resting up, me, Robin Hood, and the rest of the Merry Men think it's time the heroin and meth stop and the people get some of that paper. Leshaun if you'll drop the gun we can discuss our terms." John said with an eerily cool tone as he walked in and stepped over the man he shot with his Remington.

John held his pistol with two hands the whole time zeroed in on Leshauns throat while the,gangster composed himself, bit still responded by raising his gun and starting an inevitable Mexican standoff.

[EasilyAmused]

Some people were out fighting crime; righting the wrongs in the massive city known as Manhattan and others… others were sleeping in their beds. Marian Anderson was neither fighting nor sleeping. She was sitting on her couch, curled up in a ball from 3am to 6am when her alarm would normally go off typing away on her computer at lightning speed! Information flew across her screen in massive portions and she catalogued everything into her nearly photographic memory. Tonight’s topic; these so called ‘Merry Men’. A group of men and women doing what they can to make the city a better place; while she didn’t agree much with the idea of robbing people… she could understand the logic behind robbing those who are robbing others.

Shutting her computer, the blonde haired girl rubbed her blue eyes roughly. She didn’t like when she’d get hit with insomnia but her father would kill her if he found her out and about the streets of Manhattan in the evenings. So her best bet to explore the city was one of the few ‘down times’ it had, and that was early in the mornings, when the night owls crashed and the day birds were just waking up. Sliding her laptop off of her lap, the blonde moved herself through her flat and began to start her morning routine for the second time today, except she didn’t linger in the shower this time.

Dressed in her work clothes, a pencil knee length black skirt and a dark blue blouse with a black jacket; the blonde left her flat locking it tightly behind her with the security code and normal dead bolt. She did always hope that she had nothing worth the Merry Men trying to steal but you could never be too safe; they weren’t the only people out there and not all of them have reasonable intentions.

It did suck driving in the city, but Marian shot her way through the streets in her little white MX-5 Miata 11 as her fellow early birds rose for their morning… whatevers. Marian, however, had her beloved morning routine and it always began with a hearty breakfast of freebee sized pancakes, a pile of eggs, couple pieces of toast and a massive amount of syrup with coffee and Splenda from her favorite 60s themed diner by her old school friend Aria. Boarding school was bore but their friendship made it tolerable. And their friendly debates always made things more interesting.

“Morning!” Her voice carried through the nearly empty diner as she slid herself into one of the booths and tossed her purse on the other side as she picked up the menu; like she was actually going to change what she was going to eat. She knew what she wanted already and was interested in discussing the news that echoed through her radio about more actions of the Merry Men, maybe Aria heard more than what Marian had heard. She was always full of information that she couldn’t find… somehow. A mental shrug pushed it off the thought as she skimmed over the menu wondering how many people would wonder in this fine morning.

[Mistress Dizzy]

Jin couldn't believe what she had seen last night. She almost didn't believe it herself- she would have thought it some kind of hallucination, but she didn't use. Now in the morning, it was all over the news, and she was an actual witness.

Robin Hood! She'd heard the rumors, but she hadn't thought the Merry Men were real. But the man in the hood had robbed that rich bastard like it was nothing. It was like a scene from a movie, only better, because she'd been in it. No one believed her though. They were all convinced she was tweaked, and had imagined the whole scene. She hadn't, she knew it! Even after a week of insomnia, she had never had such an awesome hallucination.

"Man... I wonder if they hire people." She spoke aloud as she walked the backstreets, her long t-shirt hiding her feminine body, her loose pants stuffed with other people's money, and her faithful toolbox at her side. "I'd love to rob some rich idiots." A loud noise startled her into dropping into an alley into a crouch. Something was going down. She heard gunshots, too close, coming from an open door. Moving in a crouch, she headed toward it. Silently she opened her toolbox and pulled out her largest pipe wrench. Slowly, she peeked around the corner, her dark eyes taking in the scene. Two men in suits on the ground, a third pointing a gun at a guy dressed casual.

Well, there were three reasons any man in a three piece suit would ever hang out around this part of the city. Drugs, whores, or murder. She didn't know which of the three these suited fools were about, but she did know they didn't belong in her part of town. She crept forward, placing her weight on her feet to move silently. Even though the good guy had two guns, if the other suited goons woke up, he'd be in trouble. Moving just within range, she shouted and rose in one motion.

"Hey asshole!"

The man in the suit turned in response, and she clubbed him as hard as she could across the face. There was an audible crunch as his nose broke, and a nasty pop of the gun going off. Jin felt searing pain across her arm and went pale. "No way... the one time I do somethin' nice and I get shot for it... Ffff-" She felt her ears ringing, felt her vision going weird. Was she really going to die, the one time she stuck out her neck and helped someone?

[Rowdyruff]

Aria wasn't an insomniac, she just didn't like sleep. It also wasn't that she never slept in the entirety of her life, in fact, when she did feel like sleeping she embraced it willingly. She'd wake up feeling fresh and awake - but it wasn't like she felt like that without sleeping anyway. She had originally waited on a banking firm's website for any corporate assholes trying to sign in so that she could nab their passwords and "accidentally" withdraw all of their savings to her address. But as she sat on the end of her bed in complete darkness aside from the bright laptop screen she was huddled around as if it was the only campfire in Antarctica, she was notified by Robert that he was going to make a move on Carl Flanagan. Aria had kept tabs on Mr Flanagan, he never put his phone down normally. Flanagan sure enjoyed to multitask at the wheel, sometimes he'd smoke, sometimes he'd intoxicate himself, and sometimes he was ringing girls that were half of his age asking them if they wanted a "slice of Flanagan". She knew all of this, because she heard it. Aria didn't bother informing Robert of Flanagan's activities whilst driving, it wasn't appropriate and she sometimes did enjoy keeping her information a secret. However, she did tell Robert the route that Flanagan was assumed to be taking - and she gave him a rough idea of where would be the best spot to intervene his "leisurely drive". She made sure to keep the lights dimmed on that road so no one could see (not like the neighborhood in that area of town really cared). Then she left him to it, normally she'd talk it through with them via an earpiece but she knew this wasn't going to be a hard robbery. Flanagan could only ever be described as an absolute buffoon.

Aria always had quite an early shift in the diner, because then it made it easier for her to hide the fact that she was associating herself with the "normal" and the "abnormal" like her father called them. The morning's were usually empty, not that it was a problem. It gave Aria time to sit back and pretend she wasn't working with a group of people who steal more than millions from corporations every month. Her will to pretense didn't mean that she didn't enjoy being part of the Merry Men, she just needed to ensure she felt that way. Marian Anderson came to the diner usually every morning for breakfast, there wasn't an exact time but Aria knew exactly what Marian would like and already had the cooks prepare it. As Aria settled herself down into one of the booths in the corner of the restaurant, the door let out a trademark squeak - which you could only ever hear in the mornings, the rest of the day it was too loud - that signified Marian's arrival.
"Morning!" echoed through the diner and Aria hopped up to her feet.

She was dressed in a red and white sleeveless sleeveless top and a black skirt that hung just above the knees. She was surprised that Marian had never questioned the fact that Aria worked in a diner that her father nor mother would be satisfied with, but maybe Marian just kept it to herself. Marian's father had met Aria's family numerous times, that was one of the main reasons that they met after private school.
"You're uh, food's already being cooked, Marian! How was your evening?" She called out into the diner as she hastily made her way towards the kitchen, she didn't bother trying to figure which booth Marian was in because 1. she already knew and 2. she was the only one here. She pushed through into the kitchen and still listened intently for Marian's reply as she received the meal that Marian always wanted from the two quite vertically challenged cooks. Aria worked fast and was already by Marian's side with the plate and a drink of water in hand.
"Voila. Your meal has arrived, madame." She set the food and drink in front of Marian and joined her in the booth, sitting across from her.

[Phloem]

Allan was not a morning person. He hated the inevitable moment when he finally had to get up, leaving behind the warm sheets and blankets of his bed for an icy floor and rooms just that side of too cold. Long practice let him roll out of bed, a blanket still wrapped around his shoulders, as he hurried towards the bathroom. He needed to piss, he needed coffee, and if there was anything edible in the fridge, he needed to grab something for breakfast.

Kicking at the door, Allan headed straight for the toilet to do his business. All this time, his eyes were closed, sticky at the corners, and he rubbed at them with the back of his hand. To put it gently, he looked like death. But hey, it was so early in the morning and he just woke up, no one could really blame him. A loud grumble emanating from his stomach reminded him of his next destination, and he made his way to the kitchen.

Inevitably, it was a disaster zone. The counter was cluttered with all sorts of cutlery, and the takeout cartons from last night piled up on top of the trashcan. Grimacing when he walked right through something sticky, Allan flipped open the lid of the coffeemaker and removed the old grounds. The thought of a hot, steaming mug of coffee was more than enough to cheer him up, as he rummaged through the pantry for something he could make it with. But alas, his heart sank when he remembered that he ran out of coffee powder just the night before. Letting out an exaggerated sigh, Allan realised he was going to have to go out and get some instead. He contemplated braving the fridge, but to be honest, he wasn’t sure if it was worth it.

On one hand, he was hungry. On the other hand, he had to be really hungry to face the furred something that lurked at the back of his fridge. Allan knew it probably used to be rice, but at this point, it resembled a ball of green fluff. Which was cool, but also really fucking gross and he’s not sure if he’s up to looking inside. In the end, he decided the risk wasn’t worth the consequences, and that having his breakfast somewhere else would probably be a better option.

A quick teeth-brushing and ice-cold shower later, Allan felt a little less shitty. The young man pulled on some fresh clothes; just a white t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans. It was nothing special, really, but that was the point. To be a successful pickpocket, one had to look as inconspicuous and unremarkable as possible. Ignoring the fact that he’d been caught once, Allan considered himself one of the best at what he did. Unlike the so-called leader of their little band of criminals, he didn’t often discriminate between financial status. More often than not, he does try to keep to their creed of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, but sometimes, his sticky fingers seemed to have a will of their own.

Allan was out the door and on the streets after he shrugged on his favourite leather jacket. He already had his destination in mind. There was a diner just a few blocks away, and he’d been there too many times to count. Mostly because of their pancakes, of course, he didn’t know what they put in them, but they were to die for. The fact that a member of the ‘Merry Men’ worked there was only an added bonus. It probably wasn’t the healthiest thing; subsisting on nothing but chow mein and pancakes, but hey, he still hasn’t gotten a heart attack so far.

It only took Allan ten minutes to walk to the aforementioned diner, but he’d bumped into at least fifteen people on the way there. But then again, when were the streets not filled with people. He had plenty of opportunity to pick a few pockets, but he wanted to wait until after he got himself a cup of joe to do so. Pushing the door to the diner open, he quickly slipped inside.

“Morning, Aria! Morning, Marian!” Allan greeted cheerily, noticing two familiar faces sitting in a booth together. “Really hope I’m not interrupting something here. Should I just help myself?” He punctuated this sentence with a quick gesture towards the kitchen, a joking grin on his face. He wasn’t serious, of course. In fact, letting him anywhere near an open flame was a disaster waiting to happen. Allan was probably one of the worst cooks in the entire world. He didn’t know how, but one time, he even managed to set a pot of water on fire. For him to cook up a stack of pancakes, well, that was way beyond his area of expertise.

[Qdkowboy]

"You kill me, and the 7th street drops everyone in your crew. You know that/ Whatchu doin' here?" LeShaun said in a calm tone, appraising the situation for what it was. It was obviously not a hit or Little John would of dropped all three of them when he had the chance, Leshaun had heard stories about him and that .45.

"Yes sir, and I apologize for the way I entered your home. I know if anyone else did this they'd get dropped, and I'd appreciate an audience if you'll take me." John explained diplomatically, attempting to salvage the situation best he could never dropping his gun sights from the OG's throat. Leshaun face spoke with a skeptical tone.

"How 'bout we put the guns down, and we talk." John said as he dropped one hand from his gun stance.

"Bull shit! Kill this hillbilly son of a bitch! He shot off my goddamn hand and killed my guy LeShaun!" Jacob bellowed as he held his arm in pain. Titto just stared at John menacingly.

"So you bust a shell through my door, shoot two shot callers in the hand, raise a gun to my throat, to politely ask me and my partners for an audience?" Leshaun edged out slowly syllable by syllable as his finger inched closer to the trigger. Then it happened. John new Leshaun was bluffing, and he was gonna drop the piece. That's all he needed to get the three men to actually talk to him. He knew the brazen act he committed would garner some respect. But then it fucking happened.

A petite black woman came through the back door that was opened from the concision grenade, and swung a wrench at Leshaun. Not being near the first time he'd been jumped, his instincts heard the wrench swinging through the air and turned firing once into her stomach. Little john drew his 22 pistol from his boot during the confusion loaded with tranquilizer darts and put a round into each of the three mens throats, causing Leshaun to drop in his tracks.

"We need to get you to the Merry Ment's doctor or a hospital right now, your choice. What the hell were you thinkin? You realize you just broke the biggest gang banger in New Yorks nose.." John asked irritated as his plan to negotiate had been derailed, but he was more concerned about the girl.

[Banba]

Moe stretched, sitting up in bed as she did. Hearing a clank, she opened her eyes, looking over the edge of the bed. A guitar lay there, having been on her lap the night before. Smirking, she threw her legs over the side, standing up and stretching again.
“I’ve got to stop night practising.” She muttered, moving to the kitchen. Flicking on the radio, she went amid her morning routine of wondering what to have for breakfast, until deciding against having breakfast at all. Instead, she picked up the flute from the countertop, doing her best to play along with the songs playing through the waves. it wasn’t long before the news came on, the radio man explaining the newest actions of the friendly neighborhood do gooder.
“Robin hood strikes again!” Moe called triumphantly, fist pumping. “Gonna use a string instrument today, just for that. Not that anyone would know that.”
Moe’s living room was cluttered, almost like an old lady’s, except where there would normally be cat figurines, there were instruments of all shapes and sizes. She had an entire bookcase that was filled to bursting with various percussion accessories. Leaning against the bookcase were a pair of didgeridoos, accompanied by two guitars and a violin. And that was only the corner of the room. Picking up the violin and playing a few random notes, Moe nodded, looking down at herself. She hadn’t changed out of yesterday’s clothes, but they still smelled and looked clean. With her violin in hand, the musician left the apartment, walking down the street as she played. She didn’t want to stay in one spot, looking to earn some money, she just wanted to let people listen. Bright up their day. She stopped at a playground, some of the kids rushing to the fence to greet her, urging her to play popular songs.
“I don’t know about those songs today, but check this one out. the artist’s pretty cool.” Leaning her back on the fence, she started to play a higer pitched version of this song. Before she was even done, a police officer came up to her, shouting.
“Hey! You can’t play here!”
“Why not, mate? I’m just playin’.” Moe raised a brow, hearing the children walk away, uninterested in the man in uniform.
“you can’t pander for money here. Its illegal.”
“What? I’m not asking for money, I’m playin’ a song on my violin for those who want to listen.” Moe stated a disbelieving smile on her face. “But I’ll go if you so wish. I’m gone, see?”
“I don’t want to see you play here again.”
“Cool it, man, I get it. No fun area.” she turned, starting to play again as she walked down the street, headed for the diner. She entered, still playing, to see people already inside. She grinned, finally putting down the instrument.
“So that robin hood, eh? I don’t think they’re ever gonna catch the bugger.” She commented, looking around proudly.

[EasilyAmused]

The echo of her friend’s ‘good morning’ brought a large smile across the blonde’s full red lips. Her white teeth spreading across her face as she pretended there was something actually interesting on the menu. Sure, she could probably repeat the whole thing by heart with how often she comes in, but it may surprise her one of these days. “Same old, same old.” She called out, responding to the question about her evening. “Another sleepless night and typing away on my laptop but what’s to be expected of me anymore? I practically live on a keyboard.” There was a hint of disappointment in her voice. Anyone who knew her well enough knew that she wanted to be on the police force and help prevent a lot of crime in the city but… well, thanks dad.

Placing down her menu, she pushed it off to the side and took up the water. “Cheers to the perfect waitress!” She said in a chipper voice. The conversation of why Aria chose to be a waitress instead of working for her parents was a conversation they never had. Plus Aria was very intelligent in the technology side of things, she could do so, so much but instead, she waits tables. Maybe the tips are good, who knows. It wasn’t Marian’s place to pry and she wasn’t going to ask questions that her friend may not want to answer.

After placing down her glass she began to doctor up her coffee before the door opened and her head turned to look to see who entered. It was Allan, an acquaintance she had met through Aria and an interesting guy at that… interesting meaning; she would never want to be on his bad side. But he seemed like a laid back quirky sort of fella as long as there was no tension. His mention of going into the kitchen caused her gaze to move back to Aria’s in a quick motion, blue eyes wide in horror as she dumped a bit more sugar into her coffee. “Please, I don’t want to die in a kitchen fire. If he’s that desperate for food that he’s willing to cook, just put it onto my tab.”

Her attention than moved back to Allan as she gave him a little wave of ‘come here’. “If you’re hungry I can spot you for a breakfast.”

Another door opened and another person entered as Marian stirred the sugar and creamer into the coffee, turning it a caramel brown color. The music entered the diner giving off a love feeling to the 60’s atmosphere and Marian found her head rocking gently to the music before it stopped. This time when she turned to see who entered, the young girl commented loudly about Robin Hood’s adventure that had been plastered on the television and the radio this morning. Of course, she read about it as soon as Mister Flanagan went to the police about it at 3:36am so it wasn’t that new of news to her but she still let out a small sigh. “As much as I can see his reasoning behind his actions, I hope he doesn’t get himself into something he can’t handle… then again Flanagan was a creep…” Just talking about it sent a shiver up her spine and her whole body shuddered. “Just thinking about him makes me feel sick.”

She shook her head, her blonde hair flying around her face before settling back down on her back and shoulders as she took up her fork and knife and began to cut into her syrup covered pancakes. “Though I hope, if Robin Hood ever does get caught, that I’m the stenographer who gets the job!” Maybe, just maybe, her fan-girl crush isn’t all that healthy; especially considering her father is the main person who wants Robin and the Merry Men behind bars.

[Jones Sparrow]

Robert made himself a small breakfast as he turned on his TV. He also got his laptop out, checking his emails. Sure, when you are the most wanted man in New York you probably should be concerned about what you talk about online, or just not do it at all, but thanks to Aria the Merry Men had their own safe little secure network, where their phones, laptops, and other devices could talk freely to each other... As the news covered Robin Hood and the band of outlaws, it slowly started to talk about other events. Robert often thought of his life of instead of being a vigilante, he got back up as a lawyer, showing them he wouldn't go down easily, and no matter what is thrown at him, helping the people who couldn't afford a good lawyer, being a defender of the common man... But he knew those chances were never going to happen. He was a joke, his own father even said so publically when Robert's "scandal" was released. Why wouldn't his own parents stick up for their own son?? He did nothing wrong!

Again he knew that answer: Lyons has this place locked tight. Anyone who went against his say so would be beaten to a pulp, and never have a job again, just like him... He didn't dare make a call to them. Although he didn't fully blame them, he was still hurt that they gave him nothing to help. Now that he wore the hood, he wasn't going to stand by and let people lose everything... Man, he was bumming himself out! He finished his breakfast, turned off the TV, now was the time of day where he gave to the needy, dressed as his personal favorite character to play.

Robert opened up his closet, and at first glance, it would have been a normal one... take a second look, and you'll find an assortment of suits, flannels, t-shirts... then there was the dress, a military outfit, an assortment of wigs and hats of all shapes and sizes, an eyepatch, and his handy dandy Robin Hood gear! Robin gave a smile as he pulled out a small worn jacket.

---

An old man limped down the sidewalk, a cane in one hand and an aluminum can in the other. The tattered jean jacket was full of stains, and the jeans and boots matched. He wore a hood, and a red worn hat over that, and his beard was black, but mostly gray now. "Money for the poor... Anything helps..." The old man said, his voice strained as he kept walking, putting his can out in front of people as they walked by. The old man then saw a family of three, parents and a baby. "Why, what a cutie..." The old man laughed, smiling down at the couple sitting on the street. "Gets it from her mother." He said jokingly with an other laugh, shaking a bit as he did so. The parents laughed a bit. "Thank you.. Her name is Allison." The mother said with a smile, searching her pockets for something.

"Ah, a beautiful name to match a beautiful baby girl. You have a place to stay, right?" The old man asked. The parents looked at each other. "We have our house for a few more weeks. I was... laid off." The man said, his head down. The woman pulled out a few dollar bills, putting it in the old man's can. "Here, for your kind words." She said with a smile, holding her baby tight. The old man simply laughed, looking up at them with eyes full of youth. "That's very kind of you, ma'am, but you need this more than me with your young one." The old man no longer sounded old, but a assuring and kind voice. Inside his coat pocket he pulled out a hand full of bills, handing it to them. "Courtesy of the Merry Men and Mister Finnagan." Robin said with a smile, lifting up his hat to show that he was in fact young. Their eyes went wide with shock. "We heard the stories... But we never thought... Thank you...!"

"No need to thank me. Keep your chins up, we're doing what we can, but don't give up hope." Robin whispered, giving them winks and a grin before going back in to character, asking passerby's for money. He made his way past the 60's diner that Aria worked, seeing a few of his own members in there, he gave a small smile and wave as he walked by the window, keeping his act up for the people inside who had no idea who he was, he had to make it to the front of the courthouse. Sure it was dangerous for him to be there, he could be detected... but he's been doing it every morning for a while now, it was safe to say that none of them would see past his little performance!

[Mistress Dizzy]

Jin started to breathe rapidly. She'd been shot! That's what she got for being nosy. And the guy had the nerve to be pissed off at her. "I was... I was trying to help you... asshole.." Being shot didn't hurt as much as she thought it would. There was burning in her arm (and a neat hole in her old sweatshirt) and her stomach hurt, but it didn't feel like she was dying.

Wasn't that something, though? She'd been through hell and lived, but now she actually was going to die and didn't feel as bad.

"Tch. T-thought... you were in trouble... Men dress like that around here and... they mess shit up. Leave the rest of us to... nngh... clean up like the damn maid." She touched her stomach where it hurt, and came back with bloodied fingers. Deep red blood, like paint, except it was warm, and...

She dropped into a different state, then. She wasn't unconscious, though she wouldn't remember much of things later. But the sharp eyed teen was gone, her dark eyes going from world weary, to wide and frightened.

"Oww..." Her voice was pitched high and sweet, nothing like the sharp tone ten seconds ago. "My tummy hurts. Help..." She looked up at the only adult that wasn't asleep. "C-can you help me, mister? I... I don't feel good." Now she seemed to be losing a bit of color in her face.

"My daddy's a please officer. He says... he says I should ask for help if I get in trouble..." She tipped her head slightly, questioning him. "...you don't look like one, but you got a gun so... help?"

[Qdkowboy]

John took the large blunt Leshaun and rolled and lit it.

"Shit. A cops daughter. Shit. Look my name is Jake. My doctor is faster and better than tne er and he has a sterile room. Do you want to go there or do you want to be dropped of at the hospital." John lied as he averted his eyes. He was gpooimg to help the girl but the damsal in distress thing tended to get him in trouble. John puffed heavily at the marijuana rolled up missing his homegrown.

[Rowdyruff]

“Same old, same old. Another sleepless night and typing away on my laptop but what’s to be expected of me anymore? I practically live on a keyboard.”
Aria nodded with a smirk on her face - if only Marian was aware of how similarly they spent their evenings. For all Marian knew Aria was an active party-goer or a street-racer at nights, once again Marian had never seemed to find it necessary to ask. That wasn't a problem, in fact, it made Aria's life a whole bunch easier. It meant she didn't have to lie as much, Aria didn't enjoy lying, well, not to friends, anyway. The door swung open a second time and she used the table to push herself up to peer at who their new customer was.
“Morning, Aria! Morning, Marian!" Another friendly face, Aria smiled wider that she already was. She enjoyed Allan's company, he was friendly and an overall pleasure to be around. He was also a 'Merry Man' alongside her, so it was good to know whereabouts he was if she needed him. When he asked if he could help himself, she burst into laughter by Marian's reply.
"Yeah, she's right. I'll get you something. What're you fancying this morning good sir?" She mock curtsied as she elevated to her feet and started to proceed towards the kitchen door and press her back against it. Marian offered him a seat at her table, and she nodded. "That's a good idea, go sit with her. It'll make you look less like a loser." She wriggled her eyes playfully. "And it also means that I don't have to navigate between two different tables and have two separate conversations." Her hands went back against the metal kitchen door to help the back of her body push it open. She escaped into the kitchen and looked at more waiters and waitresses starting to appear in the kitchen and she smiled; she'd secretly manipulated their shifts on her boss' computer so that they came in roughly at the time that Marian and co. had entered. One of the main reasons Aria worked the diner was because of the amount of information that she could receive from it. If it involved speaking to Marian or just overhearing conversations, the more co-workers present meant the less work Aria had to do; did the others ever question it? No, of course not. They didn't dare challenge Aria Pendleton, the daughter of the man that ran the most powerful Technology company in the USA. Aria would never actually punish or disagree with them if they did ever confront her, however, she wasn't cruel. It was just better for her if they were too worried to question it.

[Mistress Dizzy]

Qdkowboy said
John took the large blunt Leshaun and rolled and lit it."Shit. A cops daughter. Shit. Look my name is Jake. My doctor is faster and better than tne er and he has a sterile room. Do you want to go there or do you want to be dropped of at the hospital." John lied as he averted his eyes. He was gpooimg to help the girl but the damsal in distress thing tended to get him in trouble. John puffed heavily at the marijuana rolled up missing his homegrown.

Jin shook her head vigorously, looking rather terrified. "No! I hate hospitals. They smell bad and there's too much beepy noises." The young woman seemed to be retreating, the adult hiding behind a child's eyes. Let's go to the nice doctor." She wrinkled her nose at the smoke, and frowned. "My daddy says smoking's bad for you. But he smokes, so I think he's making me hate it. It smells yucky..." Blinking several times, her chin slowly dropped toward her chest.

"I'm... sleepy..."

[Qdkowboy]

"Shit." John swept up the small girl after holstering his guns shook her face.

"You need to stay awake darling. If you go to my doctor its going to be robin hoods decision of what happens to you. Is that alright?"

[Mistress Dizzy]

Jin's head jerked up as she was jostled. She smiled, but it was a half aware look. It was clear she wasn't fully conscious anymore. "That's... silly, mister Jake. Robin Hood is just... a movie story. Like Cinderella. Or Batman..." Her head started to drop again, her eyes going blank. "Or... Powerpuff... girls.."

[Phloem]

“Mmm, I dunno,” Allan drawled, palms facing upward in an exaggerated shrug. There was literally zero chance of him ever cooking something successfully, but it was actually kind of fun to mess with Marian like this. The look on her face when he first mentioned making something himself was so priceless, and he couldn’t help but try to elicit another similar response from her. Some good-natured teasing never hurt anybody, right? “I’ve actually been watching the cooking channel a lot and I’m pretty sure I could make one of those fancy-schmancy soufflés if I really tried.”

Just a few seconds later, Allan burst into a fit of thoroughly unmanly giggles. Yes, he was that kind of guy. The kind who laughed so hard at his own jokes he couldn’t ever finish telling it. The thought of himself making a soufflé was so improbable, so absurd, that he just had to laugh. He didn’t want to look too crazy, though, so he stifled his laughter the best he could, and crossed the room to Aria in a few long strides. Clapping his hands together in what he hoped was an apologetic gesture, Allan flashed her an endearingly lopsided smile.

“I’d love a short stack, and maybe a black coffee to go with it, if you’d be so kind. You’re the best, Aria.” Allan said, that smile on his face morphing into a shit-eating grin. However, his expression turned into one of mock indignation when Aria said he looked like a loser. He placed a hand over his heart, as if overcome with emotion. Two could play at that game, and Allan never was the one to back down from a challenge. Well… this wasn’t really a challenge, but his ego demanded he respond in kind.“That really hurts, Aria. I’m the coolest kid around! Everyone knows that! You know what? I take it back. You are not, in fact, the best.”

In spite of all this, Allan still made his way over to the booth where Marian was sitting. It was starting to get busy, the rest of the diner’s staff slowly but surely streaming in. He smoothly slipped into the booth, hands resting on the table, fingers steepled. Allan listened to her talk about the Finnigan job with an eyebrow raised. Of course, he’d heard about it. But that was Robert’s shtick, and intel-gathering wasn’t really his job. All Allan could do was hope that their glorious leader didn’t fuck things up, because if he did, it would no doubt be disastrous. Speaking of the devil, there he was right outside, throwing a slight wave their way. Allan returned the gesture, arching an eyebrow at his slightly ridiculous disguise.

“You’re right, he was a creep. But he got what was coming to him.” Allan spoke up suddenly, deciding to make some small-talk as he turned back to Marian. Mindless chatter was his forte, after all. Talking about someone they just robbed was not the most exciting subject though, and he was more than glad when Marian changed the subject. Her stenographer comment brought Allan flashbacks of high school. Passing notes in class, slipping a love letter into your the star quarterback’s locker when no one was looking… Ah, teenage love. “Ooh, now I’m interested. A crush? Don’t be afraid, you can tell Papa Allan everything.”

[EasilyAmused]

“Coolest kid my ass.” Marian muttered playfully under her breathe as he started over to her. She watched Aria disappear into the kitchen to get Allan his food before she began to eat softly. She loved coming here because the mornings were always interesting. Whether it was just a chit chatting time with Aria or it was bombarded with people, it was never boring. Then again have you met Aria and Allan? They are anything but boring people.

Something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention and her gaze moved from her food to the window to notice a limping beggar walking by. A small look of pity moved across her face even though she failed to realize it was her donut friend who normally was outside the courthouse. She felt bad for the amount of homeless people in Manhattan and the city’s idea of either ignoring them or throwing them into prison was anything but good. A small sigh left Marian after she finished her food as she watched the man limp onward. The poor guy.

Allan had made his way in front of her and sat down by the time she snapped out of her mental pity party she was throwing for the beggar and her attention turned back to him. His whole mannerisms changed when he seemed to put two and two together that Marian was having a school girl/fan girl crush on Robin Hood. “What? Me? No. No no no no no no…” She responded as quick as she could, praying that his food would show up sooner than she would need to explain herself. In an attempt to keep herself from blabbering any more she shoved her mouth full of food and chewed, watching Allan out of the corner of her eyes seeing he still seemed interested in the topic of her fan girl crush.

“Look.” She said dabbing her mouth with the napkin, well aware that she wouldn’t get away from the topic with Allen, “I admire what he does and yeah, maybe the heroics can get to a girl from time to time but… well it’s dangerous too. So I’d call it more of a fan girl crush than really anything else. Kind of one of those, ‘Oh wow that could be really amazing but very dangerous at the same time.’” She spoke mocking a valley girl dreaming style voice before returning to her normal one and giving him a shrug. “Logic and reason says a girl shouldn’t but the dreaming side always holds a slight bit of hope but let’s face it. It’s not going to happen.” She said with a giggle to herself more than anything else before she went back to eating in hopes that her answer would be enough to satisfy his curiosity.

[rush99999]

Friar Tyrone Tuck was awoken by the sound of his alarm clock playing his favorite hymn. Tuck's job required him to get up at ungodly hours in order to make preparations for the day ahead. Friar Tuck sang along to the hymn briefly, before hitting the stop button on his alarm clock. Friar Tuck then got out of his bed and walked out of the small bedroom that he slept in on the upper levels of the church. Friar Tuck had some breakfast, he then brushed his teeth and washed his hair before he changed from his night clothes to his day clothes and then descended to the ground floor of the church. Friar Tuck checked the poor box and found that it only had a few dollars inside, Friar Tuck hadn't yet heard the news about Carl Finnigan getting robbed by the notorious Robin Hood, so he didn't expect that Robin was coming any time soon. Friar Tuck then set about performing his daily routine around the church.

[Phloem]

The corners of Allan's lips turned up into a knowing smirk as he listened to Marian speak. Leaning in ever so slightly, he raised an eyebrow in amusement at her explanation. Try as she might to defend herself, he saw right through her. He didn't quite know why, but he always had a knack for this kind of thing. Unfortunately for Allan, it was a pretty useless skill to have now that he was no longer an obnoxious, gossipy teenager in high school. He could still be obnoxious most of the time, but that was besides the point. The fact was, he always knew a crush when he saw one. Maybe it wasn't a full-blown 'oh-my-god-let-me-kiss-the-ground-you-walk-on' just yet (he really doubted it'd ever get to that point), but he could practically see Cupid's arrow lodged in her back. Allan wasn't sure if Robert felt the same way, so he quickly filed a mental note to wheedle it out of him later.

"Oh no no no, Marian. You can't hide it from me, I can see it in your eyes." Allan nodded sagely, as if he were the world's greatest love expert... though the effect was largely ruined by the mischievous smile on his face. This was too much fun, he almost forgot how hungry he was and how he was still in desperate need of a coffee. At least Marian wasn't trying to hide her crush, since she'd probably only dig an even deeper grave if she tried. Just then, a metaphorical lightbulb lit up in the recesses of Allan's mind. What if, just what if, he brought them two together? Some would say to just let destiny take its course, but Allan had never been a patient man. "Marian, you are so deeply in love with this man I am actually a little embarrassed on your behalf. You know... I could arrange an introduction of sorts. I'm sure you crazy kids already know each other, but a date wouldn't hurt, don't you think?"