Ivy and Jon stood in the dark alleyway, hunting their next victim. In her late twenties, Ivy stood at 5'9, while Jon was a measly 5'6. Both had blonde hair, but hers was brighter, more vibrant than his dirty, near brown shade.
They watched a woman stride past in sleek workout gear, an MP3 player clipped to one hip, a brand-new cellphone on the other, a diamond flashing on her finger. She wore the best labels and flaunted their logos with each step.
Ivy met Jon’s eyes and nodded. He grinned and cracked his knuckles in preparation. Together, they crept toward the woman as she jogged in place, waiting for the light to turn.
They waited at the edge of the alley, peering out at their prey. Ivy held Jon’s shoulder, restraining him from their task.
"Remember, quick and clean. No one gets hurt," Ivy said.
"I know, I know," Jon replied, anxious.
"Go then," Ivy said, releasing her grip on him. Jon ran, closing the distance between him and the woman. Before she could figure out what was happening, he had the phone and the MP3 player in his hands. She flailed at him, screeching as she did. Jon took a slap to the face, and Ivy giggled at the scene.
"Bitch," he said, trying to grab her hand while she kept slapping with the other. "Give me that ring!"
The woman’s foot slammed into Jon’s groin, doubling him over. Kicking him with her running shoes, the woman became enraged. She connected with his ribs over and over until Ivy tackled her to the sidewalk. A group of onlookers gathered around to watch the scene.
"Let go!" the woman said, as Ivy did her best to wrestle the rock from her finger.
"Give me the damn ring," Ivy said through grunts.
"Come on," Jon said, grabbing Ivy's shoulder. "We've gotta go!"
"Ha!" Ivy said, pulling the ring from the woman’s finger.
"You bitch!" the woman screamed, while trying to punch her attacker. Ivy jumped to her feet, dodging the quick attack and darted towards the alleyway.
"Give me back my ring!" the woman screamed with tears in her eyes.
"Holy shit!" Ivy said, running through the alley. "What happened back there?"
"What do you mean?" Jon asked, panting.
"You got your ass kicked by a girl.”
"She was a full-grown woman!" Jon said. "You said we couldn't hurt her!"
"Who knew she would fight back so much," Ivy replied. "Those Upper East Side bitches usually fold; no problem."
Around the corner, they slowed and slipped toward an open manhole tucked in the shadows. Scanning the area, Ivy let Jon go first, then climbed down a few rungs. She strained to pull the cover back over the hole, grunting as she slid it across the pavement. Jon was waiting for her at the bottom, flashlight in hand.
"You really should let me do that," he said, as she stepped down.
“I don’t need you to do anything for me,” she said, shooting him a look. “Come on, we need to get back.”
With Jon lighting the way, they walked through the long, empty passages of the damp sewer system. Arm-thick conduits lined the ceiling, water echoing somewhere ahead. They followed a set of small white chalk marks, but they didn’t look up for them. The little indicators were written at the tops of each corner they needed to take, but they had the path memorized.
"How much do you think we could get for this stuff?" Jon asked.
"I don't know," she said. "A couple hundred each, maybe."
"That’s it?" he asked. “The stone is huge!”
“Yeah, but who’s going to pay us what it’s worth?” she asked. “A fence like O’Toole will have trouble getting rid of it.”
“That sucks,” Jon said.
“That’s just not the way it works. That diamond could be worth millions and O’Toole would only give us a fraction of that. Look at the bright side, we’ll eat like kings tonight. All of us.”
As the words left her lips, they stepped into an abandoned train terminal. Shanties and tents sprawled across the tiled floor, ragged figures drifting through their makeshift lives. They passed a group of men, huddling over a burn barrel, talking about the “good old days”. A harsh stench of burning plastic hit them. Ivy stopped in her tracks.
“The rules are simple, Peter,” she said, to the man nearest her, gritting her teeth as the words came out. “We can’t burn plastic and other harmful things. You’re poisoning everyone here!”
“I’m cold!” he replied, holding his hands over the blue-green flames.
“Yeah, we’re cold!” said the other two.
“No– you’re a junkie. All of you are. The only reason you’re here is Eddy and his mercy,” she snapped, jabbing a finger at them.
“We all play a part,” Peter said, sneering at her.
“For now,” Jon said, leering at Peter as he turned and walked off.
“Ivy!” said a young girl, running up to them. “You’ve gotta come see.”
“What is it, Emily?” she asked.
“Eddy and them found something deeper in the sewers,” Emily said, her voice rising with excitement. “It's some kind of monster caught in one of the tunnels!”
