Freedom Riders
The Freedom Riders are the notorious Hover Board gang that took the world by storm, stealing from three of the most heavily defended banks in the world without leaving one thing out of place. None of the eight members were ever convicted, none proven guilty, no evidence to support any court claims. They all got away scotch free, and are now supposedly retired with the billions they stole as a cushion. We join the CIA agent Juniper Thompson to hear the true story of how eight teenage kids could possibly do this, with one of their surviving members able to tell the story without anyone else hearing a word.
Prologue - Drunken Laughs Don't Last
Jake rode up in a limo to a hotel, smiling while having a bottle of wine in his hand and two beautiful women next to him. He laughed at a comment before he walked into the main lobby, where a woman wearing a suit and shades was waiting from him. The woman waiting didn't know what she was expecting from the famous criminal who stole billions as just a child, but she knew it wasn't this. Such careful vigilance as a child, and he showed none of it now. Amazing what liquor can do to a person. She got up from her seat as he approached the counter. While walking towards him, she noticed something off about his swagger. It was at that moment she knew, he wasn't drunk at all, just pretending for the ladies around him. She smiled, now impressed with the man she saw.
As she approached, his head turned back. "Oh hey lady," Jake started towards her, "would you like to join us at my penthouse? The more the merrier!" He said with the brightest fake drunk smile she has ever seen. "I would actually like to speak to you alone, Mr. Jake Jones, my friends at the CIA sent me to talk to you." She retorted with a smile. She saw his eye twitch, but everything else seemed unwavering. "I swear to god I paid my taxes on time." He told her, voice still tinged with drunk humor. The girls giggled beside him. "I am sorry lady, but can you have him after we take our turn? I am sure you won't mind, right?" One of them said with an overly joyful tone and smile. Those two were obviously drunk.
"No, no. I think I should give the suit lady what she wants, I will meet up with you gals later." Jake says with his drunken bravado. They let out a disappointed noise, "But Jakey, I thought we were going to have a good time tonight?" "We will, just let him deal with this gal first and then we will play, okay?" He tells them, losing his fake drunken tone a bit. "Alright! We will wait down here for you!" They said in a happy tone. He waved away to them and went into an elevator with the CIA agent closely behind him. "Some wine, milady?" He offers her while moving the bottle towards her. "You can cut the act." She told him plainly. "Ugh, you're no fun." Jake said in a normal voice as he let out a sigh. "I don't suppose you want to talk the same way those ladies did." "Not at all." She answered. "Well then, I don't think this night will be as fun as I planned it to be." Jake told her with a slight smile.
They arrived at the penthouse and walked out the elevator. Jake ignored her for a bit after they opened the door and he sprawled himself on the black leather couches only after placing the wine bottle on a nearby coffee table. "I assume you know why I am here?" She asks him before sitting down and putting down a briefcase she was carrying. "I could only imagine a few things, remind me which one you want to know." Jake says while looking at the ceiling. "The year 2038, you broke into a bank and stole over a billion dollars in gold in New York City, do you deny this?" She asks him while bringing folders out of the briefcase and taking out a notepad. "I could've sworn I went to court about this stuff three years ago, and I was founded not guilty." Jake told her while bringing his vision down to examine her. She had long black hair, black eyes, soft features, and no makeup on. Even without makeup though, she was still extremely beautiful in most cases.
"That is correct, you were found not guilty. However, I am not here on the behalf of the CIA, as much as another employer." She tells him while bringing out a fancy pen and writing something on the notepad. "Oh? And how do I know that is true?" Jake questions while smiling a bit at her. "You don't, but if it makes you feel any better," She starts while bringing out a recording device that has been on the entire time, "I could destroy this. Would that prove my point? My word alone would not find you guilty in any way, shape, or form." She says before playing it. "I assume you know why I am here?" It started as he scowled at it. Before Jake could answer, she dropped the recorder to her feet and smashed it. "Happy?" She asks with a menacing grin. "The memory stick can still be recovered." He said before getting an umbrella from a nearby bucket and smashing the memory stick. "Now I'm happy." He says with a smile.
The agent smiled back. "Good, now I would like you to answer something that my employer wants to know. Something only you could answer at this current moment." Jake shifted his position a bit, seeming uncomfortable. "And that would be?" Jake asks in a smug voice. "How you managed to steal from three of the most secure banks in the world before the age of 23." She tells him with little doubt that her accusations were false. "And how do you know I was in any of those heists?" He asked her while bringing one leg over the other. "There was no photographic proof, no video recorded, no witnesses other than the people involved. How can you accuse me of doing any of the heists everyone blames me for?" Jake says with a smile after putting the umbrella back in the black plastic bucket.
"I may not have proof that this reality would believe, but I have something else. If I were to show you, I might get in some trouble, so I'd rather not. It all depends on your experiences, and how they sound to me. If you tell me exactly what happened, I can assure you amnesty from the CIA. As you said, I have no proof that you ever did those three crimes. Especially not with a gang of eight with the name of 'Freedom Riders'." Jake froze at the last two words. "We never told anyone our gang name, even when we became such famous criminals. They always called us the 'Rider Robbers' or the 'Hover Board Bandits'. How do you know our gang name?" Jake asked her in horror. "Like I said, I know more than you might think, all I want to know is the full story." She tells him while clicking the top of her pen and putting it down. "You know, that might take a while, right?" Jake warned her. "I was counting on it." She says to him with a slight smile. "Fine, but let me figure out where to start." Jake tells her while thinking.
She waited patiently, looking at the time on her wrist. It was currently 9:52 PM. "Alright, I think I got it. Just one thing before I start, what is your name?" Jake asks. "Juniper." She answered plainly. "No last name?" "You never asked for one, and even if you did I would likely never tell it." Juniper says. "Harsh, and here I was about to spew everything to you." He says with a smile while reaching for an empty glass cup he used last night for wine. "Thompson." She says while he fills up the glass. "That's better." He says after taking a sip of wine. "Alright Juniper Thompson, let me tell you my story, starting from when I was making my way home to our old orphanage. This was the day before our first heist, I was about fifteen years old at the time." Jake starts with the wine in his hand.
As she approached, his head turned back. "Oh hey lady," Jake started towards her, "would you like to join us at my penthouse? The more the merrier!" He said with the brightest fake drunk smile she has ever seen. "I would actually like to speak to you alone, Mr. Jake Jones, my friends at the CIA sent me to talk to you." She retorted with a smile. She saw his eye twitch, but everything else seemed unwavering. "I swear to god I paid my taxes on time." He told her, voice still tinged with drunk humor. The girls giggled beside him. "I am sorry lady, but can you have him after we take our turn? I am sure you won't mind, right?" One of them said with an overly joyful tone and smile. Those two were obviously drunk.
"No, no. I think I should give the suit lady what she wants, I will meet up with you gals later." Jake says with his drunken bravado. They let out a disappointed noise, "But Jakey, I thought we were going to have a good time tonight?" "We will, just let him deal with this gal first and then we will play, okay?" He tells them, losing his fake drunken tone a bit. "Alright! We will wait down here for you!" They said in a happy tone. He waved away to them and went into an elevator with the CIA agent closely behind him. "Some wine, milady?" He offers her while moving the bottle towards her. "You can cut the act." She told him plainly. "Ugh, you're no fun." Jake said in a normal voice as he let out a sigh. "I don't suppose you want to talk the same way those ladies did." "Not at all." She answered. "Well then, I don't think this night will be as fun as I planned it to be." Jake told her with a slight smile.
They arrived at the penthouse and walked out the elevator. Jake ignored her for a bit after they opened the door and he sprawled himself on the black leather couches only after placing the wine bottle on a nearby coffee table. "I assume you know why I am here?" She asks him before sitting down and putting down a briefcase she was carrying. "I could only imagine a few things, remind me which one you want to know." Jake says while looking at the ceiling. "The year 2038, you broke into a bank and stole over a billion dollars in gold in New York City, do you deny this?" She asks him while bringing folders out of the briefcase and taking out a notepad. "I could've sworn I went to court about this stuff three years ago, and I was founded not guilty." Jake told her while bringing his vision down to examine her. She had long black hair, black eyes, soft features, and no makeup on. Even without makeup though, she was still extremely beautiful in most cases.
"That is correct, you were found not guilty. However, I am not here on the behalf of the CIA, as much as another employer." She tells him while bringing out a fancy pen and writing something on the notepad. "Oh? And how do I know that is true?" Jake questions while smiling a bit at her. "You don't, but if it makes you feel any better," She starts while bringing out a recording device that has been on the entire time, "I could destroy this. Would that prove my point? My word alone would not find you guilty in any way, shape, or form." She says before playing it. "I assume you know why I am here?" It started as he scowled at it. Before Jake could answer, she dropped the recorder to her feet and smashed it. "Happy?" She asks with a menacing grin. "The memory stick can still be recovered." He said before getting an umbrella from a nearby bucket and smashing the memory stick. "Now I'm happy." He says with a smile.
The agent smiled back. "Good, now I would like you to answer something that my employer wants to know. Something only you could answer at this current moment." Jake shifted his position a bit, seeming uncomfortable. "And that would be?" Jake asks in a smug voice. "How you managed to steal from three of the most secure banks in the world before the age of 23." She tells him with little doubt that her accusations were false. "And how do you know I was in any of those heists?" He asked her while bringing one leg over the other. "There was no photographic proof, no video recorded, no witnesses other than the people involved. How can you accuse me of doing any of the heists everyone blames me for?" Jake says with a smile after putting the umbrella back in the black plastic bucket.
"I may not have proof that this reality would believe, but I have something else. If I were to show you, I might get in some trouble, so I'd rather not. It all depends on your experiences, and how they sound to me. If you tell me exactly what happened, I can assure you amnesty from the CIA. As you said, I have no proof that you ever did those three crimes. Especially not with a gang of eight with the name of 'Freedom Riders'." Jake froze at the last two words. "We never told anyone our gang name, even when we became such famous criminals. They always called us the 'Rider Robbers' or the 'Hover Board Bandits'. How do you know our gang name?" Jake asked her in horror. "Like I said, I know more than you might think, all I want to know is the full story." She tells him while clicking the top of her pen and putting it down. "You know, that might take a while, right?" Jake warned her. "I was counting on it." She says to him with a slight smile. "Fine, but let me figure out where to start." Jake tells her while thinking.
She waited patiently, looking at the time on her wrist. It was currently 9:52 PM. "Alright, I think I got it. Just one thing before I start, what is your name?" Jake asks. "Juniper." She answered plainly. "No last name?" "You never asked for one, and even if you did I would likely never tell it." Juniper says. "Harsh, and here I was about to spew everything to you." He says with a smile while reaching for an empty glass cup he used last night for wine. "Thompson." She says while he fills up the glass. "That's better." He says after taking a sip of wine. "Alright Juniper Thompson, let me tell you my story, starting from when I was making my way home to our old orphanage. This was the day before our first heist, I was about fifteen years old at the time." Jake starts with the wine in his hand.
Chapter One - An Introduction Is In Order
I flew by traffic with my hover board, avoiding getting hit narrowly by some of the cars. People screamed at me from open windows as I made my way to an old stone brick building that seemed abandoned for a few years. I dismounted my hover board quick and easily, then held my hand out to attach the board to my magnetic glove. I knocked on the door of the abandoned building, knowing a friend would answer it. The area around here was full of litter and unkind people, but it was the only place I have ever called home. I didn't look too different from the people that dared to walk the sidewalk either though, wearing a hat under a hooded jacket and torn jeans covering his legs. The only thing of any value I had was my hover board, and it was an old model. Still took a fortune to get, even if it was an out dated model.
After knocking for about five seconds, I heard a familiar voice scream at me. "GOD DAMN!! SHUT UP ALREADY! I'm coming!" exclaimed a young woman from the upstairs area of the building. I heard foot steps and a slight curse as I heard her stumble. My friend Tristy answered the door, her blond hair attempting to cover her tan face. "Just cause the door bell doesn't work anymore, Jake, doesn't mean that knocking a million times is going to be just as effective." Tristy tells him with a scowl. She was wearing a red beanie, a white shirt, and had the most recent pair of tattered jeans she could find. It looked like she fell off her hover board again.
"Did you get what we needed?" She asked me with a look of disdain. "No, Justin and Frank said they could handle it." I told her as I walked up the two steps and pushed her slightly out of my way to get inside. She huffed, "You know that Justin is not the most reliable of us all." "Yes, but Frank is probably better than you and me combined, so just relax and wait for the parts that we need. I am sure that if Justin messes up again, Frank will be able to pull his weight." I countered as I rummaged through the fridge. We were down to two colas, five bags of chips, and about two gallons of water. Oh how I loved poverty.
I took out a cola as Tristy closed the door and locked it. She looked at me and frowned. "I thought we promised to save what we had left for dinner." She said with a tired voice. "I hope you got something more than just five bags of chips, or else it won't exactly be the feast we imagined for our last dinner." I told her as I was about to open the cola, but before I could she put her hand on mine to stop me. "It was all I could manage this morning, the cops were relentless even after I lost them. I couldn't come back until I knew for a fact they wouldn't find me coming here." Tristy says as she took the cola away from me and put it back in the fridge. "If Lucy and Tony come back with more food, I think we could manage a slight feast, otherwise all we will have is this." Tristy tells me as she closes the fridge.
She sighed deeply, and I put my hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry Trist, by this time tomorrow we will be rich." I told her with a smile. Tristy smiled back, "That or arrested." she reminded me. "We haven't been caught yet." I countered. "We haven't done something this stupid before either, your point?" Trist asks as she prepares to walk away. "My point being, we have a flawless record, that is more than most criminals can say." I say before she turns toward the stairs. "That is because most criminals get caught right after they say that." she says grimly while going upstairs.
I mulled over her words until she got upstairs and closed the door to her room. The of the door closing woke me from my thinking, and I put my hover board down between the fridge and the wall. After, I sat down on our tattered couch and clicked on our old busted satellite TV. The thing had nothing on it other than the buzzing of the black and white lines, which was exactly why we used the open wavelengths reserved for these TVs to transfer messages. All the Freedom Riders did it around the city, it was how we let everyone know what was happening.
Together there were eight of us, all living in the old orphanage. Frank was the leader and the oldest, he was eighteen and the brains of the whole gang. His dad used to be a technical guy, he learned how to fix electronics from him. Then there was Tony, his family used to be rich before a mafia killed his parents and sister. The only things he has that shows his old wealth is his top of the line hover board and his pure gold necklace with diamonds in it. Despite how desperate we were for money, he refused to sell it because it used to be his mom's. He still had some old contacts under his belt too, which is what we used him for.
Jimmy was our mechanic, fixing our hover boards was what we used him for. He never failed us when we needed him, and even upgraded them when we needed it. The parts were the only hard part for him, we mostly got those by stealing from nearby repair shops. We never could get money, so stealing was always the next best options. The person who helped him most was Frank, him being our technical guy and all. Then we had Justin, which was our hacker and programmer. He programmed anything we needed for the hover boards, which included a variety of things. He was also how we got past the technology things, at least...he was the reason how we got most of the times. There were other times where he got incapacitated, for lack of a better term.
The person who helped Jimmy and Frank with the hover board management was CJ, our magnetic specialist. We didn't know much about him at the time, all we knew is he had extensive knowledge on magnetism, and we didn't question what we didn't need to. We were fools at the time. Even so, we liked CJ enough to trust him, he was one of those people you could never hate even if he slapped you or punched the wind out of you. He had this glow around him that said "be my friend", and the fact he always carried a music player that seemed to match the mood perfectly didn't help. If he hurt you in any way, it seemed like your fault more than anything.
The last member of our group was Lucy, she was one of our riders. We had four main riders, and four main technicians. Lucy was our second best rider, Frank being the best; but Frank usually worked with the techies. Lucy was always the one managing me, Tristy, and Tony; she was sort of like the second in command. Lucy was very confident, hiding her past with extreme precision, and more of a show boat than me and CJ combined; which was saying something. The only one who knew Lucy that well was Frank, but that was mostly because they were the ones who started the entire group.
Together, us eight were unstoppable, living in the abandoned orphanage as our base of operations. We all had this dream, you see, a dream that would drive us all to do what we did. Nothing would stop us, not the cops, the SWAT, the FBI, the CIA, or even the passive NATO. That dream was simple and easy to remember. The dream to become the richest in the world, just to give it all back. We wanted nothing more than to help the world, by getting the money to do something about it. Of course, we were stupid kids at the time, so we didn't exactly follow up on that. When we got the money, we used it more on personal pleasure than anything else. Those were the good days though, the ones that we didn't have to worry about much. Amazing how much things can change after getting a billion dollars.
After knocking for about five seconds, I heard a familiar voice scream at me. "GOD DAMN!! SHUT UP ALREADY! I'm coming!" exclaimed a young woman from the upstairs area of the building. I heard foot steps and a slight curse as I heard her stumble. My friend Tristy answered the door, her blond hair attempting to cover her tan face. "Just cause the door bell doesn't work anymore, Jake, doesn't mean that knocking a million times is going to be just as effective." Tristy tells him with a scowl. She was wearing a red beanie, a white shirt, and had the most recent pair of tattered jeans she could find. It looked like she fell off her hover board again.
"Did you get what we needed?" She asked me with a look of disdain. "No, Justin and Frank said they could handle it." I told her as I walked up the two steps and pushed her slightly out of my way to get inside. She huffed, "You know that Justin is not the most reliable of us all." "Yes, but Frank is probably better than you and me combined, so just relax and wait for the parts that we need. I am sure that if Justin messes up again, Frank will be able to pull his weight." I countered as I rummaged through the fridge. We were down to two colas, five bags of chips, and about two gallons of water. Oh how I loved poverty.
I took out a cola as Tristy closed the door and locked it. She looked at me and frowned. "I thought we promised to save what we had left for dinner." She said with a tired voice. "I hope you got something more than just five bags of chips, or else it won't exactly be the feast we imagined for our last dinner." I told her as I was about to open the cola, but before I could she put her hand on mine to stop me. "It was all I could manage this morning, the cops were relentless even after I lost them. I couldn't come back until I knew for a fact they wouldn't find me coming here." Tristy says as she took the cola away from me and put it back in the fridge. "If Lucy and Tony come back with more food, I think we could manage a slight feast, otherwise all we will have is this." Tristy tells me as she closes the fridge.
She sighed deeply, and I put my hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry Trist, by this time tomorrow we will be rich." I told her with a smile. Tristy smiled back, "That or arrested." she reminded me. "We haven't been caught yet." I countered. "We haven't done something this stupid before either, your point?" Trist asks as she prepares to walk away. "My point being, we have a flawless record, that is more than most criminals can say." I say before she turns toward the stairs. "That is because most criminals get caught right after they say that." she says grimly while going upstairs.
I mulled over her words until she got upstairs and closed the door to her room. The of the door closing woke me from my thinking, and I put my hover board down between the fridge and the wall. After, I sat down on our tattered couch and clicked on our old busted satellite TV. The thing had nothing on it other than the buzzing of the black and white lines, which was exactly why we used the open wavelengths reserved for these TVs to transfer messages. All the Freedom Riders did it around the city, it was how we let everyone know what was happening.
Together there were eight of us, all living in the old orphanage. Frank was the leader and the oldest, he was eighteen and the brains of the whole gang. His dad used to be a technical guy, he learned how to fix electronics from him. Then there was Tony, his family used to be rich before a mafia killed his parents and sister. The only things he has that shows his old wealth is his top of the line hover board and his pure gold necklace with diamonds in it. Despite how desperate we were for money, he refused to sell it because it used to be his mom's. He still had some old contacts under his belt too, which is what we used him for.
Jimmy was our mechanic, fixing our hover boards was what we used him for. He never failed us when we needed him, and even upgraded them when we needed it. The parts were the only hard part for him, we mostly got those by stealing from nearby repair shops. We never could get money, so stealing was always the next best options. The person who helped him most was Frank, him being our technical guy and all. Then we had Justin, which was our hacker and programmer. He programmed anything we needed for the hover boards, which included a variety of things. He was also how we got past the technology things, at least...he was the reason how we got most of the times. There were other times where he got incapacitated, for lack of a better term.
The person who helped Jimmy and Frank with the hover board management was CJ, our magnetic specialist. We didn't know much about him at the time, all we knew is he had extensive knowledge on magnetism, and we didn't question what we didn't need to. We were fools at the time. Even so, we liked CJ enough to trust him, he was one of those people you could never hate even if he slapped you or punched the wind out of you. He had this glow around him that said "be my friend", and the fact he always carried a music player that seemed to match the mood perfectly didn't help. If he hurt you in any way, it seemed like your fault more than anything.
The last member of our group was Lucy, she was one of our riders. We had four main riders, and four main technicians. Lucy was our second best rider, Frank being the best; but Frank usually worked with the techies. Lucy was always the one managing me, Tristy, and Tony; she was sort of like the second in command. Lucy was very confident, hiding her past with extreme precision, and more of a show boat than me and CJ combined; which was saying something. The only one who knew Lucy that well was Frank, but that was mostly because they were the ones who started the entire group.
Together, us eight were unstoppable, living in the abandoned orphanage as our base of operations. We all had this dream, you see, a dream that would drive us all to do what we did. Nothing would stop us, not the cops, the SWAT, the FBI, the CIA, or even the passive NATO. That dream was simple and easy to remember. The dream to become the richest in the world, just to give it all back. We wanted nothing more than to help the world, by getting the money to do something about it. Of course, we were stupid kids at the time, so we didn't exactly follow up on that. When we got the money, we used it more on personal pleasure than anything else. Those were the good days though, the ones that we didn't have to worry about much. Amazing how much things can change after getting a billion dollars.