nothing gold can stay

Ricky threw back the rest of his drink and careened over the side of the bar to pluck up a gleaming, heavy pen with the hotel’s logo emblazoned on the grip. “End your texts with a double ellipses or something to let me know that it’s you. I don’t want to get caught up because some kid on the street picked up your phone.” Taking Penny’s hand, he flipped it over to sloppily scrawl a series of numbers down her wrist. “I also accept nudes.”

Penelope flinched slightly, when he grabbed her hand, but she forced herself to stay still, as he wrote down the numbers. She had to study them a bit to understand them, wondering if his handwriting was always this terrible or if he was just drunk. At his nudes comment, she rolled her eyes, pulling her hand away from his.

“I hope you’ll manage to stay sober for this,” she said, deciding to just ignore the comment. “I don’t want to get caught up because you decided to drink yourself half to death before heading to my father’s. This is my life in your hands. Please take this seriously.” She couldn’t believe she’d gotten to the point where she was trusting Richard Reed of all people, but she didn’t really have any other options.

Ricky looked surprised by the admission, frowning thoughtfully at Penelope as he flipped his phone in his hands. “Duly noted. But that’s going to be a problem when I’m lurking in your father’s office. You should get a burner and ditch it after we’re done. If he finds it, at least it’ll corroborate your sighting.” He dug into his pockets for his wallet, offering her a wad of folded bills. He had no idea how much burners cost. “Get a few if you’re paranoid. You can text me from a different phone every time.”

Penelope looked down at the wad of cash now suddenly in her hand. She quickly slipped it into her purse before anyone could notice it, knowing it was a good idea for them to have some form of communication between them during this heist. “I don’t have your number,” she realized after he told her she could text him. She felt like she’d known it back in high school (hadn’t they traded insults or had some sort of banter over text a few times?) but she doubted he’d have the same number now as he had back then.

Jesse wasn’t so sure about that. Even if her father didn’t come after her, the fear of being haunted by him would rob her of her peace of mind. And who’s to say that her father wouldn’t suspect that she was behind getting him locked up? Something that would surely only make him more vengeful. 

“Is it?” He asked. “Or is it more like a band-aid? Like an off-brand kind, the ones that never really stick.”

Jesse had a point, but Penelope wasn’t entirely sure what to do about it. She sighed, reaching up to adjust her hat, fiddling with the sunglasses in her hands. Her leg ached. She’d only just gotten off the crutches but still needed to wear a boot and brace, and it served to remind her how helpless she was if someone were to come after her.

“I don’t know what else to do,” she admitted softly. “If you have a better idea, please share it with me.” She lifted her hand to the side in invitation.

Ricky scoffed and looked away, disappointed with himself that he wasn’t doing a more convincing job of pulling it off. He was clearly out of practice. “I’m concerned about me. Your dad’s a dangerous man, and I don’t intend on getting caught while I’m snooping around in the belly of the beast. I don’t have the luxury of hiding like you do.” He waved a hand at the name emblazoned behind the counter, Reed Bar. 

“So be careful is all I’m saying. For my sake, at least.” Ricky picked up his drink and fished out his phone, but didn’t turn it on. “I’ll let you know when I set an appointment with Daddy Dearest.”

Ricky’s words both made sense and yet didn’t completely dissuade Penelope from believing Ricky was actually concerned about her, for some reason. “Don’t worry,” she told him. “I’ll be discreet.” She glanced at his phone, biting her lip gently. “I don’t have a cell phone, but I’m staying at the motel. Room 2-05.” She’d made it a habit to no longer keep a phone on her. They were too easy to trace.

Jesse figured that was a good call. Muddy Waters cops wouldn’t even know what to do with someone like Penny’s dad probably. He was suspicious of why Ricky would be trying to help her, doubting that even he would go to such lengths just because Penny was cute. Ricky wasn’t really the type who was raised to work hard for things that he wanted.

“You have to stop calling him Richard.” He insisted glibly. “And are you sure you’d be safe even with him behind bars? You know at worst he’s probably gonna get some white collar sentence.”

Penelope blinked, as Jesse said that she had to stop calling Ricky “Richard.” She’d always called him “Richard,” back in school, not liking to call him “Ricky” as that seemed overly familiar for what they were. They had a business arrangement, after all. They weren’t friends.

“I’ll be safer than with him out of prison,” she said with a helpless shrug. “I don’t know what else to do, Jesse. At least putting him in prison is doing something other than running. It’s a step in the right direction, isn’t it?”

Ricky looked surprised, and was surprised to feel a flicker of concern. Unnerved, he turned to grab his newly delivered drink, abandoning the straw in favor of gulping it down. “Sounds good.” He bit into the lime and sucked on the wedge, hoping that the sour taste would set him straight. “You should find someone else to send in the tip. A stranger, if you can, and somewhere close enough that he’ll want to check for himself.” Ricky hesitated before adding, “Don’t give him too much info.”

Penelope watched his display of hasty drinking and lime sucking, thinking that move seemed rather desperate. Tilting her head slightly, she listened to his advice, noticing the hesitation, as well. Being able to read people had always helped her in the past, but now it just made her that much more confused about the enigma that was Richard Reed.

“Wow, Richard, if I didn’t know any better I’d say you sounded a bit concerned about me,” she said lightly, though her eyes were keen as she watched him for his reaction. She’d never known Ricky to think about anyone but himself, so the fact that he seemed at least somewhat worried for her safety had her on edge. She didn’t know what to make of that.

It took Jesse a few moments to realize who the fuck she meant by Richard, refraining from laughing about the name just because this was serious. He nodded thoughtfully, trying to stay focused on the rest of what she was saying.

“What’s the plan?” He asked curiously, wondering if she really trusted Ricky to be that helpful. Then again, she was here talking to him too so maybe Penny was just really optimistic. “You’re trying to get him locked up or…?”

Penelope nodded. “If we can gather enough evidence against him, I’m planning on going to the police,” she said, before pausing. “The Chicago police, not Muddy Waters.” She knew it wasn’t the MWPD’s jurisdiction anyway, but the thought of giving them evidence that could make or break her future was honestly terrifying. With all the mismanagement going on there, she wouldn’t trust them with a simple burglary, let alone a case of this importance.

“I’m going to get Richard into my dad’s office somehow, so he can steal incriminating files. I honestly don’t know why he’s so eager to help me, but ever since we ran into each other he’s been wanting information on my dad to help me put him away.”

Jesse shook his head, his brow furrowing for a moment before his expression cleared again. “Not what I meant.” He assured her, hesitating before continuing. “I just meant like, have you ever thought of a longer-term plan? Like moving to Italy, or, ya know, assassination.” 

Penelope hugged her arms closer around herself, glancing around briefly before turning back towards him. “Richard and I may have a plan. I’ve . . . asked him to look into my father. Find something on him that we can use as evidence to build a case against him. Now that we’re both in Chicago . . . we may be able to pull it off.” It was risky, and she was honestly terrified, but it was a risk she’d have to take if she wanted to be free of her father, short of assassinating him.

Ricky drummed his fingers at the end of the bar, catching the bartender’s attention long enough to wave his empty mojito at him. He slanted a look at Penelope with a grin, batting wide eyes at her with exaggerated innocence. “No time at all. I won’t need a story, I’ll just walk in as myself.” There was no way that a seasoned criminal like her father would trust him enough to let slip that he was involved in any illegal activities; not unless he knew he was dealing with another criminal.

“I’ll need him to cut the meeting short, though. Think you can get him out of the office for an hour?”

Penelope bit her lip, chewing on it for a moment in thought. An idea came to her, but she hesitated to speak it aloud. She didn’t like it, it put too much at risk, but at the same time she knew that they wouldn’t accomplish much if they didn’t include some risk.

“I can send in an anonymous tip that I’ve been spotted somewhere. I’m sure he’ll want to see for himself if it’s really me.” She tilted her head. “Do you think that would give you enough time?”

Jesse hesitated, glancing towards someone who was entering the rec room. “Nobody is gonna ask me that.” He reached for her sleeve, catching the edge of it and pulling her towards the other side of the room. 

“Look,” He started, leaning against the wall near the window that looked out towards the small pool. “Living in fear of your dad is no way to live. When does it end?”

Penelope frowned at his question, crossing her arms over her chest in both a protective and defensive stance. “Jesse, he tried to have me killed. I think my fear is warranted.” She shook her head at him, having thought he of all people would know what it was like to be in fear for one’s life.

Ricky sat up when he recognized Penny’s voice, expression intrigued as he tore his gaze from his phone. He looked amused by her proposition, and more than interested by the prospects of breaking and entering into a dangerous man’s office. “First off, we should probably talk somewhere more private,” he suggested, snatching his drink from the counter. He sipped his mojito, the straw making a conspicuous sound to indicate that his glass was empty.

“And second, do you know anything about his office? Security measures, authorized personnel, working hours? From what I gather, you can’t just waltz right in, can you?” Ricky had done his research, because as horrible as he was as a person, he was exceptional at his job. He straightened as an idea struck him, tilting his head towards the bar at the other end of the lobby.

“But I probably can,” he mused. “You think his office would want to meet Richard Reed?” A stupid question; of course they did.

Penelope slipped the sunglasses back on, once he recognized her and mentioned talking somewhere more private. She followed him toward a secluded corner of the lobby, biting her lip gently as he asked her questions. Of course she knew things about her dad’s office, though as he continued listing things she realized she might not know the finer details.

“You’re right,” she hated to admit. “Name dropping yourself would work, probably.” She sighed. “My father will go for any chance he can to going into business with another wealthy family. How much time do you need to come up with a story to sell him?”

The snort of derision that exited her lips was almost involuntary. Lately, any mention of Ash warranted this very reaction. “Ash doesn’t give a fuck.” she replied, turning her back to unpack some of her things. It was note-worthy that she spoke with such coldness in her tone. It had come to a certain point that she no longer cared about sugarcoating certain issues – particularly the Rascals.

The second-in-command had to bite her tongue to stop from further spilling the truth that had been silenced long enough. Perhaps it was easier to drop tiny bombs of information, rather than doing it all in one go. Instead, she merely added, “I wouldn’t expect him to shell out anything at all, to be honest.”

Penelope frowned. “Isn’t the point of being the leader of a gang to take care of the members of that gang? I mean, what’s to stop people from leaving if there’s no incentive to stay?” Though she supposed Ash could be threatening their lives, in which case that was a whole different kettle of bad fish, and she hoped Ash wasn’t threatening Eva’s life.

It was bittersweet being home, considering the fact that he couldn’t actually go home. There had to be some irony to the fact that despite the buildings that boasted his name, he couldn’t step foot into the one he’d grown up in. Which left him manically terrorizing the staff at the resort, daring anyone at all to contradict him. 

After shooing away the concierge and stealing his jacket, Ricky took up post behind the desk with a tall mint mojito. The name tag on his chest read ‘Alejandro,’ but the deep navy jacket fit him very well. It was a small price to pay to look this good. He continued sipping his drink as a shadow fell over him, allowing whoever had approached a nice long look. “Can I help you?”

“Yes, actually,” Penelope replied, lowering her large sunglasses from her face. She kept the large floppy hat on, however, her signature red hair tucked up underneath it in an attempt to further hide her identity. “You said you needed proof of my father’s misdeeds to get him off my back. I can take you to his office. I already know you know how to steal important documents from offices. You can take whatever else you want from it too, as payment.” She bit her lip, hoping that would be enough for him.

Jesse shook his head, turning to face her. He could tell she was uncomfortable, though nobody in this room looked like they’d be a threat to anyone who wasn’t a human-sized bottle of Jack Daniels.

“I’m staying across town. With Ricky. In his family’s ritz.” He admitted, feeling that was a pertinent detail since she knew the other guy. “Why? Is somebody here being weird?”

Ricky was staying at the resort? Why wouldn’t he be staying with his family? Penelope once more realized how little she actually knew of what had happened to Ricky after high school. She shook that out of her head for now, though.

“No, not . . . weird. I’m just paranoid, probably,” she admitted, chewing on the tip of the sunglasses’ earpiece. “My father might still be looking for me. If he finds out I’m back in Chicago . . .” She hesitated, not wanting to speak the words aloud. She knew Jesse would understand, though. “I guess I just wanted your help keeping an eye out. If anyone asks you if you know Penelope Davenport you don’t, okay?”

It came to no surprise, as Penny opened the door, that they weren’t given much to work with. Having had worked at the GoldRush Motel before it shut down, Eva was all but expected the small living space. After all, Muddy certainly wasn’t paying big bucks for their living situation. 

Following behind the redhead, the blonde headed in, shutting the door behind them. At least there was two beds in the room. “Not at all.” she said, passing by in favour of the room nearest the window. She always did like having the sun in her eyes in the morning. 

Dropping her duffel bag on the bed and parking the luggage by the foot of it, she then straightened up, briefly looking around. “Why am I not surprised? Of course we’re in the same dump as Muddy.” Her voice was evidently devoid of humour. “We’re in the freaking city and we get the shittiest place to stay in. Typical.” Eva couldn’t resist rolling her eyes at the predictability of it all.

“If you asked, do you think Ash would set you up at the Resort? I mean, wouldn’t you two out of anyone have the money for it?” Penelope asked curiously, not sure why Eva was stuck in this dump with a penniless vagabond like herself, when she could be styling it up at the Resort. Then again, maybe the Rascals weren’t as well off as they liked to come across as. In which case, Penelope hoped that Eva rooming with her wasn’t a ploy to somehow get at her father’s money. Nobody but Jesse (and Ricky) knew who she really was, but what if one of them had told someone?

She knew this was just her paranoia, but it made her regard Eva somewhat suspiciously. They’d hit it off well at the carnival, and she thought they may become friends, but could she trust her?

Her large suitcase and duffel bag sat plainly by the door frame, as did she. Thankfully, her second floor apartment wasn’t devastated by the floods, but it did turn it into an island. The lack of access meant that everything else she owned (what little of it was left) would be safe in the time being. After all, this wasn’t her big departure yet. 

Eva turned at the sound of the voice, catching sight of her red-headed roomie. Hopefully, this whole thing would only bring them closer, perhaps even as friends. “Apparently so, yeah.” she said, before holding out their lone room key. “Here, you keep this. I think you might be a better keeper of it.” 

With that, she picked up her duffel bag and held onto her suitcase’s handle. “Shall we go in?” the blonde asked, poised and ready to see what hellhole they were potentially moved into.

Penelope honestly wasn’t expecting much from the hotel room. Having lived in a tiny apartment in Muddy Waters, and having lived in a trailer before that, she was used to going without. She took the room key from Eva with a small smile, using it to open the door and step inside.

As she suspected, it was small, though thankfully with enough room for two beds. She pulled her suitcase over to the one by the door, her paranoia high enough to not want to be over by the window. Plus, being closer to the door meant it’d be easier to bolt in the middle of the night if she needed to.

“I hope you don’t mind me taking this bed,” she said then, realizing she hadn’t consulted with her roommate beforehand.

Room 2-05. The room Eva would be forced to call ‘home’ for the next few weeks, much to her dismay. When she said that she wanted to leave Muddy, she meant leaving everyone behind, not taking them all with her. Unfortunately, fate was such a fickle thing. 

There, she was to be roomed with Penny Waters. Heck, it was the only good thing to come out of this whole rooming situation. If it wasn’t for her, Eva would probably still be pissed that she wasn’t with Judah. But then again, that matter could easily be sorted. 

Heading to her room, the blonde sought it best to wait for Penny outside the room. They could enter the room together, at least. This would be her shot at being nice.

Having moved around a lot in the past few years, Penelope knew how to pack light and pack quickly. She didn’t own very many things to begin with, so when she approached the room she’d be sharing with Evanessence Reid, she was rolling behind her a single bag. She had her purse over her shoulder, of course, but it wasn’t very big. Still, she knew it’d be enough from experience, even if it wasn’t very fun to wear the same things over and over again.

“Hey,” she said with a brief smile, as she saw Eva hanging outside the room. “I guess . . . this is us?” It didn’t look like much, but then again Penelope hadn’t been expecting much.