Phase Two

Seeing everyone still panicking, I opened the front door of the ballroom, and to my relief I found Kenneth waiting.

I met Kenneth at a bar one day. He was casually flirting with the various young girls around him, convincing them to come home with him, and it looked seemingly that the girls were vying for a one night stand with him. He was a born leader, but he lurked in the shadows, taking none of the credit for himself, letting others take the credit, and sometimes the fall as well. He was smart, suave, and quick. I liked him before I even talked to him.

I got to know him better after that, and we thought of the "business" together: He would go in, and plant himself in the crowd. One of us would create a scene, I would go and provide an alternate solution, and he would second that opinion. That was all that was needed for the crowd to agree. There was usually one bonehead who had a loud voice and could lead the mob to do something completely unnecessary, like search the basement, or the ceiling, or the underneath the tables.

That was our cue to swipe as many valuables and vehicles as possible. We did make a tidy sum. And we did enjoy ourselves tremendously.

Doing so, we did make a name for ourselves, and soon we were in more and more dangerous as we pulled off more jobs. Even getting some of our friends to work with us in our "venture" wasn't enough. So we had to wear disguises. So no one could tell it was us. I was an expert at that. I had my share of running away from the authorities, so I was an expert at creating a completely new identity for myself. So I taught Ken how to do the same, and he picked it up quickly. He was my fastest friend, my closest pal. I'd trust him with my life.

So why was he pointing a gun at me, right now?

Part 2 of 3

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