Pathfinder
One
The bright Florida sun shone down unpleasantly, there was no breeze, just humid air and harsh sunlight. It was a slow weekend, apparently there was nothing to do for all those young teenagers, all their parents were at work. Pinellas County was an odd area, not necessarily a terrible place to live, but that didn't mean it didn't have it's ups and downs. Up sides was that it had fairly decent schools, some better then other areas with teachers that actually cared about how your students did in school. There were no 'dirty' cops, some a bit more sassy then others, but in no way terrible. It was rumored that Pinellas County was the number one pill county, that goes for selling pills and taking them. One thing that was new was unregistered tattoo shops and tattoo artists working on minors.
Pathfinder was the number one wanted shop, cops were dying to try and bust the place. It was underground and you needed a password to get in, they didn't even know who ran it or where it was. The place might as well have not even existed. Regardless, when kids would come home with a new tattoo that their parents didn't approve of they'd try to report the place.
Surprisingly enough Pathfinder was incredibly famous. Touring bands that were playing at venues not too far from the area would stop by and get one done. Be warned, the owners would tell their customers, not everything is sanitary. All their supplies are 'ghetto' as some may call it. You have two options when it comes to tattoos, Poke and Pull or the Pencil Sharpener. Piercings were also done in the shop. Two cops, Johnathon Keen and Frank Anders, were on the case to find the mysterious shop and take them down.
Keen was an older man with dark hair and a big mustache, he meant business at all times of the day. He'd been part of the Force for twenty three years now, he liked to serve for his community and would like nothing more then to find these tattooing hooligans and bring them down. Anders was much younger, he just joined the force. For years he thought he was going to be an artist, he had plans of moving to New York and having his work displayed in galleries all around the world. Reality hit him in the face when he was seventeen and his dad sent him to Boot Camp. While he was there they shaved off his ratty dark hair, took away his sketch books, and gave him a pair of combat boots. Once he graduated he became a cop just like his dad.
These two had been trying to find the shop for nearly five months now. Just the thought of these creeps tattooing underage children, to tattoo at all without a license, it disgusted Keen. Anders on the other hand was curious, how could one shop stay hidden for so long? All he knew was that the place wasn't registered, used unsterilized equipment, and were tattooing minors. The dirty equipment made him uneasy, how bad was it? Thoughts of pre-teens with butterfly tattoos that were infected plagued his mind. Then he'd think about how they'd all get Gangrene, which made him think of his old Iguana that died from Gangrene, then he'd get quiet and try not to cry.
They'd been looking months for the shop. Little did they know all they had to do was drive by an elementary school, find the house on the corner, and check the patio in the backyard. There they would find two girls, Lulu Mao and Eleanor Pesci (thought she prefers to just be called Pesci), one of them would be smoking a bowl and the other working on someone new. Oh, of course you couldn't forget Gammy Jiao, Lulu's grandmother. The name itself means delicate, tender, beautiful, which she might have been back in her twenties. Now Gammy settles for screaming like a mad woman at Lulu, constantly cooking for their customers, and sharing cigarettes with Pesci.
She was an unforgettable woman.
"Ugh, dude," Lulu groaned. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and shook her head, "It's too fucking hot out here... Dude?"
She turned her head to look at her best friend of five years and glared. Pesci was asleep on the lawn chair with sunglasses covering her eyes. Her mouth was open and her arms were lying at an awkward angle. Lulu nudged her in an attempt to wake her.
"Pesci, c'mon, you got an appointment in like, ten minutes."
Dead asleep.
"ELEANORE!"
Immediately Pesci stood up, the crossword puzzle that had been lying on her stomach slid off, "Is my mom here?!" Quickly she scrambled to straighten herself out, "Oh my God, my mom's gonna beat me. Damnit, Luie, why didn't you warn me?"
The short girl with the Minni Mouse sunglasses grabbed the half Chinese girl and shook her violently. "She's gonna cut me off!"
Finally Lulu grabbed Pesci firmly, "Dude, she's not here. Calm down."
"Oh thank God."
"But you do have an appointment really fucking soon."
Pesci felt relieved, she was still able to get her inheritance and she was going to make some more money very quickly. "Alright, set up for me, I'm gonna go tell Gammy so she doesn't grab the shotgun when someone knocks on the door."
A couple months ago the girls had forgotten to inform Gammy Jiao that a customer was coming over. He seemed like a normal guy, but Gammy didn't trust just anyone. She answered the door and cocked the shotgun and had it pointed at the guy's balls. Luckily for them, and the guy's genitals, Pesci had been grabbing a bowl of miso soup that Gammy had made when she saw them. That's why they stopped walk-ins, you always had to call ahead of time.
"Hey Gammy," Pesci said cheerfully. The old Chinese woman looked up at her and smiled, "You want?" She asked, handing the younger girl the rest of her cigarette. There was a bit of lipstick smeared on the filter, it'd blend in perfectly with Pesci's watermelon lip gloss. "Sure, thanks." She took the cigarette and cracked her knuckles, "I thought we weren't allowed to smoke in the house anymore?"
Gammy Jiao shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, normally she was very uptight about getting smoke inside. "Too hot outside," she said simply.
"Before I forget, we have someone coming over very soon. Don't shoot them."
The old Chinese woman laughed, it sounded like she'd been smoking a pack a day her entire life. "If they come inside with their shoes on I'll have to."
It was just another ordinary day at Pathfinder.
Pathfinder was the number one wanted shop, cops were dying to try and bust the place. It was underground and you needed a password to get in, they didn't even know who ran it or where it was. The place might as well have not even existed. Regardless, when kids would come home with a new tattoo that their parents didn't approve of they'd try to report the place.
Surprisingly enough Pathfinder was incredibly famous. Touring bands that were playing at venues not too far from the area would stop by and get one done. Be warned, the owners would tell their customers, not everything is sanitary. All their supplies are 'ghetto' as some may call it. You have two options when it comes to tattoos, Poke and Pull or the Pencil Sharpener. Piercings were also done in the shop. Two cops, Johnathon Keen and Frank Anders, were on the case to find the mysterious shop and take them down.
Keen was an older man with dark hair and a big mustache, he meant business at all times of the day. He'd been part of the Force for twenty three years now, he liked to serve for his community and would like nothing more then to find these tattooing hooligans and bring them down. Anders was much younger, he just joined the force. For years he thought he was going to be an artist, he had plans of moving to New York and having his work displayed in galleries all around the world. Reality hit him in the face when he was seventeen and his dad sent him to Boot Camp. While he was there they shaved off his ratty dark hair, took away his sketch books, and gave him a pair of combat boots. Once he graduated he became a cop just like his dad.
These two had been trying to find the shop for nearly five months now. Just the thought of these creeps tattooing underage children, to tattoo at all without a license, it disgusted Keen. Anders on the other hand was curious, how could one shop stay hidden for so long? All he knew was that the place wasn't registered, used unsterilized equipment, and were tattooing minors. The dirty equipment made him uneasy, how bad was it? Thoughts of pre-teens with butterfly tattoos that were infected plagued his mind. Then he'd think about how they'd all get Gangrene, which made him think of his old Iguana that died from Gangrene, then he'd get quiet and try not to cry.
They'd been looking months for the shop. Little did they know all they had to do was drive by an elementary school, find the house on the corner, and check the patio in the backyard. There they would find two girls, Lulu Mao and Eleanor Pesci (thought she prefers to just be called Pesci), one of them would be smoking a bowl and the other working on someone new. Oh, of course you couldn't forget Gammy Jiao, Lulu's grandmother. The name itself means delicate, tender, beautiful, which she might have been back in her twenties. Now Gammy settles for screaming like a mad woman at Lulu, constantly cooking for their customers, and sharing cigarettes with Pesci.
She was an unforgettable woman.
"Ugh, dude," Lulu groaned. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and shook her head, "It's too fucking hot out here... Dude?"
She turned her head to look at her best friend of five years and glared. Pesci was asleep on the lawn chair with sunglasses covering her eyes. Her mouth was open and her arms were lying at an awkward angle. Lulu nudged her in an attempt to wake her.
"Pesci, c'mon, you got an appointment in like, ten minutes."
Dead asleep.
"ELEANORE!"
Immediately Pesci stood up, the crossword puzzle that had been lying on her stomach slid off, "Is my mom here?!" Quickly she scrambled to straighten herself out, "Oh my God, my mom's gonna beat me. Damnit, Luie, why didn't you warn me?"
The short girl with the Minni Mouse sunglasses grabbed the half Chinese girl and shook her violently. "She's gonna cut me off!"
Finally Lulu grabbed Pesci firmly, "Dude, she's not here. Calm down."
"Oh thank God."
"But you do have an appointment really fucking soon."
Pesci felt relieved, she was still able to get her inheritance and she was going to make some more money very quickly. "Alright, set up for me, I'm gonna go tell Gammy so she doesn't grab the shotgun when someone knocks on the door."
A couple months ago the girls had forgotten to inform Gammy Jiao that a customer was coming over. He seemed like a normal guy, but Gammy didn't trust just anyone. She answered the door and cocked the shotgun and had it pointed at the guy's balls. Luckily for them, and the guy's genitals, Pesci had been grabbing a bowl of miso soup that Gammy had made when she saw them. That's why they stopped walk-ins, you always had to call ahead of time.
"Hey Gammy," Pesci said cheerfully. The old Chinese woman looked up at her and smiled, "You want?" She asked, handing the younger girl the rest of her cigarette. There was a bit of lipstick smeared on the filter, it'd blend in perfectly with Pesci's watermelon lip gloss. "Sure, thanks." She took the cigarette and cracked her knuckles, "I thought we weren't allowed to smoke in the house anymore?"
Gammy Jiao shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, normally she was very uptight about getting smoke inside. "Too hot outside," she said simply.
"Before I forget, we have someone coming over very soon. Don't shoot them."
The old Chinese woman laughed, it sounded like she'd been smoking a pack a day her entire life. "If they come inside with their shoes on I'll have to."
It was just another ordinary day at Pathfinder.