Chapter 2
Natasha sighed as she looked at her two children. They had fallen asleep, cuddled close last night. She smiled, loving how close they were. She had heard tales of sibling rivalries and hate between children, and shuddered at the thought. Her two babies were as close as could be, and for that, Natasha was extremley greatful.
Now all she had to do was wake them. Some connections in California had recently leaked to her a tale of the perfect con. Though she hated having to shoo her babies out so quickly, this was too good of an oppurtunity to pass up. Hopefully, they would understand. Even if they were skeptical about leaving so soon, they would absolutley say yes when Natasha would tell them that they would be leaving together. That would brighten up the mood, she was sure about it.
Knowing her children were very stubborn when it came to waking in the morning, Natasha began to work her way into the kitchen. One sure way to wake them was to good a nice, big, delicious smelling breakfast. This was also a plus because she would then tell them about the job over eating. So, while humming a cheerful tune, Natasha began to mix batter for some blueberry pancakes, fry some bacon and sausage, flip some eggs, and toast some bread.
As the breakfast began to develop, Bryce came into the kitchen. There was a bounce in his step as he walked over and kissed his mother on the cheek. "Wow, Ma. You're really going all out for breakfast this morning. Whats the occasion?"
"Oh, I guess just a little celebration. We're all home now and I am just in a cooking mood."
Bryce nodded. "Want me to wake up Ri?"
"Sure, sweetie. Good luck, though." Natasha chuckled as her son walked into the living room where his sister was sprawled out on the couch.
Waking Arianna up was a tough job, unless you were experianced and knew how to do it. Bryce was an expert, so he had no troubles. "OH MY GOD!" He screamed. Arianna groaned and rolled over to face the cushion. "RI, YOU NEED TO GET UP! THERE'S A FIRE IN THE KITCHEN AND THE HOUSE IS BURNING DOWN!"
Immediatley, Arianna shot up and looked around the house. After realizing that there was no smoke and no fire, she stod up and punched her brother playfully. "Bry, you're such a jerkoff."
"Ha, you know it, baby." Bryce smacked her but before following her into the kitchen.
Without a word being said, the entire family of three began to set the table and finish cooking. It was like old times, when they would not have to worry about how much money they would recieve and how they would plan out there next job. The situation was kind of relaxing, knowing they were all home and that for now they could be like a regular family.
There home was not too flashy, but it did show off their riches a bit. It sat on the egde of the beach, over looking the Atlantic Ocean. There were two stories to the house- not including the large basement and attic. Each member of the household had their own bedroom, all the size of a regular master bedroom and each with their own walk-in closet and bathroom. Also on the upper level was a computer/office room, a bathroom with jacuzzi, and a guest bedroom. The lower level consisted of a family room with a piano, a large living room with a TV and VCR along with stereo, a kitchen overlooking the ocean, a dining room right beside it, and of course a bathroom.
The basement decor was Bryce's idea. They all picked their favorite movies and they bought the ad posters to line the walls with. Their were 3 theatre seats put in, sitting right in front of a big flat screen. A DVD player was at easy access, along with millions of DVD on hand. It was like their own little personal movie theatre. The attic was Arianna's favorite part of the house. Their were no chairs in the average sized room, only beanbag sitting things. There was a stereo, yet no rap, rock, or hip hop CD's allowed in the area. Only easy listening, R&B, slow tunes, Doo-Wop and all of the relaxing kinds of music. There was a balcony so they could sit and watch the waves if they wanted to. It was the most relaxing part of the house.
Now it was back to the quiet breakfast the Anderson family was having that cool March morning. Each of the three members were pleased with the large breakfast, once in a while looking up at one another and smiling. One who would watch this family from afar would never guess that they were such criminals. Normal life for them was just that- normal. But when they were put to work, you would never tell they were humble and happy at home.
"So, Arianna, why don't you tell us about the last job?" Natasha asked after finishing a glass of milk.
Arianna smiled at the oppurtunity, and wiped her face with a napkin before beginning. "Well, he was a doctor, as you already know. Very very dedicated to his work, which made it easy for me to lift a few things. Never once said did he say no when I asked him to buy me something, and always let me borrow money. But life there was pretty boring. Plus- the sex was horrible."
All 3 laughed, for that was one thing a family member could joke about. Good sex was always a plus when working on somebody, and the ones who gave good sex came few and far between.
"So do you think you're ready to get back to work on another job?" Natasha added, trying to not make it obvious what she was hinting at. Maybe if she lessened the blow a bit, Arianna would agree quicker.
"Mom, I need some time home for another job. I always do. I want to spend time with you and Bryce and be kind of normal without having to steal shit." Arianna replied, biting a piece of bacon in the process. "I need a break from being a beautiful hoe."
Natasha frowned. This was not going to be easy. But this was too good of an oppurtunity to pass up. Connections were a wonderful thing, and sometimes the scenario would leak to somebody else, and it was a race to the con. So action needed to be taken immediatley. Now all Natasha had to do was figure out a way to make it sound interesting. "Well, sweetie, picture this for me. California- home of stars, sex, fame, and tons of money. Now imagine this- a lonley popstar who has just lost his musical career. He sits alone in his home, heartbroken about a recent breakup and with his friends living cross country on the east coast. The poor boy loves in a big house and has no way to spend his money. What does that sound like to you?"
"To me," she began as Bryce looked on interested. "It sounds like the perfect case scenario, but of course probably already taken. A con like that is perfect mom, how would I know if somebody had already gotten to him?"
"Connections my dear, connections!" Natasha was excited about the fact that Arianna hadn't immediatley said no. Since she agreed that it was a perfect job, her mother thought about the possibility that she may actually want to go. "You remember that woman who stayed with us a week last year, right? My good friend in the business? Maria?" Bryce set his silverwear down to fully focus on the conversation. "Isn't she the like, latin lady who is really 49 and looks alot older?"
Natasha glared at his son. "You know better. But, I guess you remember her. Anyways, she retired and moved out to California-"
"Hey, I bet the old bag couldn't get any more jobs cuz she is so old and wrink-"
"One more word young man and I will see to it your pretty face isn't so pretty anymore." Bryce knew his mother would never do that, but it was a warning that something would happen if he didn't shut up soon. Natahsa grinned and continued as Arianna giggled at Bryce childishly. "Anyways, as I was saying, she lives in California a block away from this man. Now she has connections that say his girlfriend of 2 years was cheating on him and left, and that he is in terrible condition. Think about it- he is a former pop star, a horrible judge of character with all of the fake people around him!"
"Yeah, but what does it have to do with anything?" Arianna wasn't getting the picture. Her mother gave her the look and she realized what was going on, "You mean you want me to go and play around with some frilly gay singer boy? What the fuck, mom?"
Bryce was laughing hysterically. Natasha was dissapointed. "First of all, Arianna, never say fuck at my table. Second of all, we know for a fact that this guy isn't gay. He is worth over 10 million dollars, Arianna! How could you even pass this up? Maria is going to help you out and then-"
"Ha ha Arianna has to stay with the old bag out in California!" Bryce laughed, acting more and more like an 8 year old boy by the minute.
"Don't you be laughing, Bryce, because you are going too."
The room was silent for a moment. Bryce looked with his blue eyes towards his mother, then at his sister. The siblings looked at each other quickly before breaking out in smiles. "You mean," Arianna said mostly to herself than anybody else. "We get to go out on an assignment together? It'll be just like old times, then."
"Well then I guess you're taking the job?" Natasha assumed as she rose with her dirty dishes in hand. The two siblings didn't answer, but only rushed upstairs to pack their things. Their mother smiled, proud of herself, and proud of her two children.
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Bryce looked at his sister and smiled. It was the next morning, and they were already at the airport waiting for takeoff. Their mother had called Maria and briefed her, then explained the plan to her children. The two would be portraying brother and sister (which wasn't to hard of a role), and Bryce would make friends with the popstar before Arianna came into the picture. Then, after knowing him for a bit, he would introduce Arianna who would use her natural Anderson charm. Then they would go in for a kill.
A tradition for when the two went together for cons was to portray their job like a movie. This time around, they would be playing Harmony and Toby Higgins, two siblings who moved from a small town in Maine across country to California. To play the part better, Arianna lightened her hair and kept her blue eyes. Bryce added brown low-lights to his naturally light blond hair and also kept his blue eyes. Now, they were ready to go to California to play their parts.
Their mother did not travel with them. They simply said their good-byes at home. It was easier and it didn't pull them off their mind frame. Though Arianna was upset about not getting to spend much time home, she was also excited about going on another job with her brother. They were the Dynamic Duo, and were absolutley unstoppable when they were younger. There was no doubt that this time around, it would be no different.
Plus, this job was gonna be alot more fun.
Chapter 3
Love Is Such A Crime
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