"I'm not just going to hand over so much money without a guarantee I'll get my phone back at the same time. The moment I hand the cash over you have no real reason to complete your part of the hand off. It's the same for you. I'm sure you've thought that we could run if you give me the phone before you get what you want." Jon was being cautious. He needed to draw out the exchange as long as he could.
Once the transaction was complete Athena and her group would have no reason to stay, and bolt from the school as soon as possible. Once they were gone everyone else he'd gathered would have no reason to stay either. Some may be too slow to avoid the swap, but he owed it to Athena to make sure she didn't have to spend a third day like this.
"So what do you suggest we do then?" Barb casually replied, still smug as ever.
"Why ya listenin to 'im?" Athena slurred, getting angry at her daughter. " We don't get the cash we follow through on the plan. That simple."
"He doesn't want to get screwed over any more than us. He's not saying no to the exchange, just making sure he gets what he wants without any extra strings." Allison explained, her tone dismissive. "And keep it down. We don't want to attract too much attention."
The group was getting some looks. It was odd enough to see someone like Athena in the school. The fact this trashy woman was with two delinquents, and talking with an honor student like Jon would be hot gossip. It was in Barb's group's best interest to make this quick and join in with the crowd to disappear fast.
"Why don't you and Jon hand things off at the same time. You get the money the same time he gets the phone?" Tiffany held up a bag she'd been carrying. It had the money her mother had marked . They'd put it in an ordinary gym bag so they wouldn't draw unnecessary attention.
"Fine, let's hurry thi up." Barb grumbled.
Jon took the bag from Tiffany and ave her a reassuring smile. He walked as slowly as he could to meet Barb, hoping she wouldn't notice him stalling.
"Move your ass Jon. We don't have all day." Allison complained at his pace.
He felt there was still too much time. He didn't know how long was still left, but once Athena and the girls left the school their chances of swapping would go down. Being inside the school building had much better odds than just being on school grounds.
Officer Chase had made it in and noticed the odd exchange. Athena was a regular at the station, so easy to pick out. She stayed behind a corner and listened in, hearing about a cash exchange. It would be easier to make a bust once the money changed hands. Catching Athena and her proteges with the money in hand would go a long way to making charges stick.
"What are they doing Nadine? I don't like how this is going." Mallory nervously looked out from the crowd. Jon was approaching Barb, but she couldn't help imagining the worst.
"He's just making the hand off. As long as he gets the phone back we can proceed from there. Tiffany's mom marked the money, so even if Jon doesn't get the phone there will be proof Barb and the others stole from them in some way." Nadine explained, keeping an eye on the younger girls to keep them from running in.
"Jon! I'm so happy we managed to get here before you left! Want to walk home from school?" Sarah cheerfully as she made her way through the crowd. She finally noticed the scary punk girl walking toward him, and realized this was him trying to get his phone. She moved in front of Susan to hide her younger sister, realizing she had messed up.
"The fuck is this Jon?" Allison demanded.
"Yer backup is a scrawny kid? Shoulda guessed ya slant eyeds would flock together." Athena said derisively.
"What is this Jon? I told you just you and Tiffany." Barb seemed furious, slowly backing away.
"I didn't tell her to come. I couldn't have contacted a middle schooler without my phone, and I wouldn't involve someone so young in something like this." Jon yelled back. Barb looked ready to flee.
"There you are Jon. Let's sort things out and get something to eat. I bet you'd be happy seeing mama and I nice and full." Jon turned around to see Marie walking toward him with Zoe in tow.
"What's going on here? Seems we walked in on something interesting." Zoe observed the situation, thinking it looked like a standoff from one of her books.
"Oh shit, this isn't looking good Karyn!" Aisha was losing her composure.
"We have to get in there and help!" Karyn quickly began running toward Jon and Tiffany for support.
Ann stood frozen in the hall, unsure what action to take. This was way more than the poor student council member expected.
Linda, who had snuck away from practice for a moment, watched things unfold. Jon was in desperate need of help, and there were others involved too. She hesitated, knwoing that going to him now would be admitting she cared about him in some way. She weighed her options as she looked on.
"Jon, what do we do?" Tiffany was panicking as she watched.
The confusion was eating away the time. All these people were assembled because of him. He just never expected things to go this way. He prayed that the swap would happen soon. Once that was done he could assess what to do based on who these girls became. He hoped the older women were included.
Could he stall any longer? What else could he do? Questions plagued his mind as things felt like they were movng in slow motion.
