ASTRA HART had murder on her mind. Her hating the man was a daily occurrence, a mutual feeling. But never once in her life had Astra wanted to kill Enzo fucking Clarke in all of his goddamn glory, more than she did in that moment.

Not only had he obnoxiously laughed in her face when he saw her wearing one of her many ( because, aside from paying for her grandpa's hospital fees, Astra Hart had nothing else to spend her money on — Kai owned her apartment, after all, so designer clothes it was! ) miu miu mini skirts — "a bit desperate are you, Astra?" — he'd followed it up with his most heinous act to date ( if his murder sprees were ignored, that is ), Enzo Clarke had scoffed down her breakfast bar and she was hellbent on revenge.

As she watched him savour every bite of her granola bar with a smug look on his face, Astra was planning three different ( but all equally impossible ) ways to get him back. She could easily snatch up one of the unpacked rifles before her, but the noise would attract unwanted attention. Stealing his Glock would be no trouble whatsoever, but no one would ever believe he'd shot himself. Though, there was always. . .

"You want my bagel?" Phoenix had interrupted her quickly spiralling thoughts, upon noticing her breakfast bar wrapper crumpled where Enzo sat.

"You're too sweet," Astra split it in half, only to sigh at its contents. "Cream cheese again, really?"

With flushed cheeks, Phoenix replied, "what else can you put in a bagel?"

"Something that doesn't taste like cheesy shit." She deadpanned, "still, thanks for offering." Astra went back to formulating the revenge plan in her mind, convinced she'd found a flaw-proof way of murdering the forty something year old, when Kai Walker made an unexpectedly early entrance, glowering at the group.

Picking up the empty black duffel bag on the metal table, before slamming it down with a much force as he could muster, Kai bellowed, "why the fuck are you assholes sitting here, doing nothing, when you're meant to, oh, I don't know! Be packing up the fucking guns? The ones you're going to shoot people with."

"On it, boss." The snarky tone in Enzo's voice didn't go unnoticed. Oh shit. Astra thought to herself the second the words left his mouth, maybe she wouldn't be the one to kill him, after all.

Kai's hands bashed against the table, Phoenix's bagel jolting off of it upon impact like it had just been possessed.

"How the fuck did you just speak to me?" Kai dared Enzo to utter another word, laughing when he shrunk his head in response — it would take a good month for him to get back the hard earned fear the was sure he'd instilled within Astra and Phoenix ( they just saw him as a crazy bitch )."Thought so."

"Star, honey," again with that fucking nickname, "make sure the bag is fully packed. I can't trust Enzo with anything, these days." In spite of her initial annoyance, she couldn't help but snicker. Seeing Enzo Clarke be put in his place was one of the few sources of entertainment in Astra's peculiar life.

She was no idiot, and so did as their leader said, counting the guns Enzo placed into the bag and then reorganising them ( the man couldn't pack anything neatly for the life of him ), ignoring Enzo's glares. Not being able to snap at her was clearly painful for the man. But he knew better than to speak out of line after Kai's outbreak. He didn't feel like getting the shit beaten out of him at nine in the morning.

It wasn't long after when Astra received the call; "Is this Miss Hart that I'm speaking to?" Dylan's voice was palpable.

"Yes, it is." Astra was under the watchful eyes of everyone in the room, observing with caution as she conversed with their mole. She must have said "I see," at least ten times before the call finally ended with an, "okay, I'll be there in twenty minutes, thank you very much, Mr Mack."

Kai's laugh bounced off of the walls of the scarcely decorated room. "Who's ready to be multi-millionaires in the next half hour?" As vehemently she would deny it, Astra was sure that there was a small — terrible, awful and evil, but small — part of her which liked the life she led. Perhaps it was unwilling, at first, maybe she only signed up because Kai Walker had a hold over, using an elderly man to rope her into his schemes. But for all she could tell, it was reasonable that she had just used that as an excuse, a justification to lead an immoral existence. Because no part of Astra Hart could deny the bolt of joy that overcame her when he said the word millionaire ( as if she wasn't already one ).

Though, that wasn't to say that Astra was a monster. Of course she felt bad for the bodies that were sure to drop by Enzo's hands, the victims families, and hell, even the cops that had to clean up the mess the Black Wolves made. If she had it her way, there would be no useless death. But Astra was twenty two and held little power in the group, so there was nothing she could do but sit back and listen to the screams of innocent civilians; cattle ready for slaughter.

Well, she supposed that she didn't technically have to listen. So long as she had her headphones in, that was.

"Ready to go?" Phoenix questioned the blonde girl, who was leant up against the side of her car, watching as the men threw duffle bags in the back seat.

"Hey don't scratch the leather!" Ordering Enzo around was a whole new level of enjoyment for Astra. "Sorry," she turned back to Phoenix, "yeah I'm ready."

"How's my Star?" Kai asked, shooting Phoenix a look that meant take your electronics and leave. And so, he made his way into the vehicle alongside the bag of guns, his computer and Enzo.

"Ready as ever." Her voice may have been shaky, but she was determined.

"If it happens, you know what to do, yeah?" Ah, it, the reason behind Kai's foul mood that morning. It had all happened, just like he'd said it would.

She replied with a grin and, "I'll see you when I see you."

He smiled back, with his cruel, sadistic, comforting smile. "You do this well and I'll let you leave the states with that grandpa of yours." Liar, Astra thought. If she did well, he'd never let her go. But at least the elderly man would be safe, even under Kai's watchful eye, and she supposed it would be better than her rotting in a prison cell — where she would end up if Enzo kept having his way.

She paused for a moment, contemplating her next words — she couldn't speak the truth, he needed to trust her in such a crucial situation. "Why would I ever want to leave?"

"That's my Star," his arm dropped across her shoulder as he rubbed her upper arm — an odd, quite awkward act, she won't lie — but from it Astra knew that she had chosen the right words. "Best be off then."

With her seatbelt buckled, headphones in and a quick flick through her third heist playlist, Astra's eyes lay on the road ahead; paying careful mind to drive cautiously on her way to the bank — she didn't want any unwanted attention, after all.

"What's todays song, Astra?" Phoenix asked from the backseat, like he always did, as if it were some kind of ritual to ensure the heist went well.

"I haven't decided yet," she hummed, "I'm thinking Dog Days are Over, though."

"Florence and the Machine are shit." Enzo remarked. Maybe he didn't actually think that, but there was an opportunity to piss of Astra, so he took it.

"I'd be careful if I was you, Enzo," he'd led himself straight into that one, "don't want Kai scolding you like a little bitch again, do you?"

He could have replied had he the time to think through a flaw-proof response that held no room for mockery, but they'd arrived at the bank before he'd had the chance to.

"Right then," Enzo announced with the kind of assertiveness he hoped would make everyone forget the mornings escapades. "Time to do what we do best." His hand slapped a very spaced-out Phoenix Carter's back. "Well come on, then. We haven't got all goddamn day."

Astra observed Enzo Clarke as he walked up to the bank, wolf mask intact ( because Kai was more than pissed at the mans clown stunt the week prior ) and duffle bags in hand. She wondered what he was thinking, if he knew that he was walking into a death trap designed perfectly for him.

She turned her music up to full volume, blasting it in her eardrums to drown out the screams — the biggest downside of her job — as she thought over Kai's plan. She could always trust that Enzo would execute it flawlessly — Kai just knew too much about him, they had too much history. The mouthy FBI agent that they had planted was sure to be just the person that Enzo would take his early morning anger out on.

10:04 am. Things needed to go to plan. Astra didn't want to end up in prison two months down the line. In one minute, oh, she spoke to soon. Because there they were, The Black Wolves in all of their glory, fleeing from the bank with money stuffed bags and Dylan Mack, their hostage.

She hastily unlocked the door, preparing herself for the most convincing act of her life. From the looks of it, Phoenix Carter was too shocked to be aware of Kai's plan. Something Astra hadn't anticipated.

Foot on the gas pedal and hands anxiously tapping against the steering wheel, Astra gasped. Dylan's carmine stained skin and Enzo's wide eyes and strangely pallid complexion told her everything she needed to know. "Enzo shot an FBI agent.". . .

. . . Well shit, she thought, everything went according to plan.

authors note.
oo plot change