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=  F.U.C.K. - Fucked Up College Kids - Born Jan. 24th, 1993 - F.U.C.K.  = 
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                               1994 
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        Just above the mountains to the east, the sun had  
almost gone down enough to see clearly. Driving home this way  
was always hell at this time of the day. He adjusted his  
sunglasses a little, and tried to pull the sunshade down  
enough to block the rest of the sun so he could see ahead of  
him. The driver cursed silently after realizing he couldn't  
quite block it. No big thing for him, he was used to driving  
home facing the glaring ball of light. 
        Traffic was bad like usual. The road he was on was  
soon to be 6 lanes providing effecient passage between areas  
of town. Right now, it was only two lanes wide. Cars backed up  
almost a mile behind him, and he imagined there were another  
mile of cars in front of him. That was the routine though,  
looking around, he recognized a few vehicles since he saw them  
each night when he went home. Life seemed to be at a perfect  
standstill right now since the cars had stopped moving five  
minutes ago. Probably another small wreck causing hundreds of  
people to sit in the 90 degree weather. 
        On days like this, Nick liked to drop by the local  
video rental place and grab a movie to watch that night. Not  
much else to do since all he did was work, sleep, and drive to  
and from. It was a good thirty, maybe forty minutes before he  
reached the rental place. Pulling into a parking place, he  
inched up and parked a few inches from a BMW in front of him.  
Nick quickly rolled up the window, jumped out, and locked the  
door. It always felt good to stretch his legs after a long  
ride from work. 
        Nick was pretty tall. About 6'4" or so, and weighed  
around 190 pounds. Although he wasn't muscular really, he was  
quite strong, and could use his leverage quite well. He had  
studied a few forms of fighting in his past, but he relied on  
common sense these days in a fight. His quiet demeanor, and  
his constant vigilance on things around him made him good when 
he did fight. 'Reserved' is how he was described on most occasions,  
but that usually meant 'He knows what is going on'. Nick  
didn't miss much. 
        The place was busy. Quite busy in fact. Must be a  
Friday night he thought. No other night would be this busy.  
Days meant little to Nick since he worked day after day, the  
same shift. Once a month he took a day off to catch up on  
stuff around his pad and run errands. Walking in, he passed  
the CDs and tapes, and went into the rental section. A small  
sigh and he headed toward the new releases even though it  
looked as if most of the movies had been rented. Such was life  
when you worked til 6:30 each night. 
        A small grin crossed his face and he reached toward  
a new action flick that had the potential of being pretty good.  
Leaning over to get it, he bumped the man next to him. He  
mentally damned himself for not watching out, knowing what  
this would lead to. Nick muttered a quick apology and turned  
to look at who he had bumped. Great, just who he wanted to  
have problems with tonight, a Dane. The Dane's were one of the  
hundred local 'gangs' that claimed control of this area,  
although none of the gangs had more than 15 members. 
        The Dane turned a little more and shoved Nick  
backwards mouthing off to him. Nick nodded once and apologized  
again. It usually ended up in a fight, but Nick always gave a  
chance at avoiding it when he could. An employee came over and  
pointed outside, so the Dane pushed Nick toward the door. As  
they walked out, Nick studied the boy in front of him. He  
couldn't have been more than 17 years old, and he carried one  
knife in his back pocket, and another in boot. Nick didn't see  
any other weapons so he went on outside.  
        If the boy had been carrying a gun, that would have been 
a different story. Of course, he couldn't have been or the 
detectors at the store entrance would have picked it up when he 
entered. Over 98% of the stores in the country were now equipped 
with the devices. Any gun or large knife would be detected and  
store personell would be alerted. This usually meant that the  
person was escorted out or asked to leave his weapons in his  
car. Law was passed 5 months ago, allowing any fight between  
consenting adults, and that was it. Police had no right to  
interfere with a struggle between two willing people. So that  
was the way it was these days, if you had a gripe with someone,  
you shut the hell up, or fight if you thought it was warranted.  
It was common place to fight and was accepted in all walks of life  
now, from the homeless, to the yuppies in the rich areas. 
        The Dane left the front door and walked out into the  
parking lot, and turned to face his opponent. Nick walked out,  
removed his jacket and nodded once before he took a defensive  
stance. Seconds later the boy pulled his first knife out of  
his back pocket. Before it had come in front of the boy, Nick  
had determined that it was a butterfly knife, and that the kid  
didn't know shit about knife fighting. That would make this  
all the quicker though. With a quick kick in front of him,  
Nick hit the boys wrist and both watched as the knife flew 20  
feet behind him and skidded under a car. 
        Mumbling to himself, the Dane quickly pulled his boot  
knife and promised Nick a quick but painful death. Almost  
bored with the whole incident, Nick decided to let the boy  
make the first move this time. It was only seconds before the  
knife came diving in at Nick's heart, almost deathly slow. A  
fast block with his left arm sent the boy's arm out wide, and 
another quick movement with his right cause the Dane to reel  
back, blood gushing from his nose. Another clumsy attack came,  
and a stinging blow to the left eye resulted. A third swipe  
came in chest level, and resulted in a flurry of movement from  
Nick. Not even Nick knew how many hits landed, but 6.3 seconds  
later, the Dane was sprawled out on the asphalt bleeding from  
several places on his face and sporting two broken arms. 
        Picking up his jacket and the boot knife, he nodded  
once more to the fallen Dane, and went back inside to get the  
movie he had reached for. Lets see, that made two fights for  
the day, and nine for the week. Each fight picked by the other  
person, each fight ended by Nick. In the trunk of his car was  
a book box full of miscellaneous weapons he had picked up from  
his fights. He was lucky he hadn't run into any guns in just  
over two weeks. It was considered cowardly, even from a gang's  
standpoint, to use a gun to kill a rival. No challenge, no honor, 
no previous experience required when pulling a trigger. 
        It was just after 7:00 when Nick arrived at his pad.  
His 'pad' consisted of a two room apartment with a closet and  
a bathroom. Despite the small space he lived in, it was  
furnished quite nicely. He had never wanted more room, just  
more things in his room to make life a little better.  
        He grabbed a root beer from the fridge, and a chocolate 
bar, and sat down on the cough to watch the show. He kicked his 
shoes off, and propped them up on a stack of magazines and hit 
play. Nick watched the movie in silence, and at the end though 
about the movie a little. 
        Standing up, Nick hit the rewind on the remote and  
picked up his empty bottle and wrapper from a Little Debbie  
snack. He deposited them in the trash and headed into his  
bedroom to change out of his work clothes. It was almost 10:00  
but the night was barely starting in his eyes. He was quite  
active during the late night, and had adjusted his sleeping  
schedule to accomodate that. 
        After the past few nights, and little sleep, he decided          
that he would finish a couple of things, and then crash early. 
After all, he had to work in the morning. After a quick trip to 
the car, he came back in his place with the box of weapons he  
had accumulated. He set the box down next to the 'puter and turned 
it on. Loading a program, he started typing in the weapons he had  
collected and sorted them. An hour passed quickly and he wrapped  
things up. Tommorow he would go to a pawn shop and stand to earn 
a little over three thousand for the various weapons. From the  
serial numbers, he laughed to himself as the computer made him 
aware that he had picked up one of the guns for the 8th time  
this year. Such was gang warfare.  
         
        The wrist watch on the table beeped three times and Nick 
snapped awake. Glancing over at the clock nearby he layed back  
down and caught his breath. Two hours to get ready and get to  
work, no problem. Shit, shower, shave, and dress. He walked out 
into the general room and powered up the 'puter. No new mail  
this morning, not that he had expected any, but he always  
checked in case a bill came in or something. 
        50 minutes this time, he swore that he had been  
driving the speed limit, but if that were true, he would have  
been here 20 minutes from now. Oh well. No enforcers had  
pulled him over so it wasn't a big deal. Nick climbed out and  
locked his door and headed into the store he worked at. Half  
an hour of bullshit paperwork, half an hour of cleaning up and  
he pulled the front gate open to allow customers in, not that  
there were any waiting or anything. Slowly, other stores  
around his pulled their gates opened, and the mall began to  
come to life. 
        Lesse, bad rentals last night meant Friday night,  
meaning this was Saturday probably. If so, that was fine by  
him. That just meant the day would go by quickly since all the  
gang-bangers would be out of school and hanging out in the  
mall. This wasn't the most popular clothing store for most  
people, but it catered to teenagers mostly. That was where the  
money was. Nick also knew the area so he made sure never to  
order red merchandise. That alone would start a fight in the  
store sometimes. This was a 'Crip' mall, and all smart  
managers kept red out of their store. 
        Of course, this early in the morning only the elderly  
mall walkers were out, and a few serious shoppers, but no one  
worth paying attention to. It was always well past noon before  
the real customers began shopping. Nick began to change a  
nearby display, taking off the popular striped shirt that had  
sold so well, and replaced it with a new blue striped, hooded  
sweatshirt. Size 40 Guess pants below it, and the display was  
done. Those two pieces of clothing in the window guaranteed him  
a little over 800 dollars in sales alone. 
        Time passed quickly while doing little things here and  
there. An occasional sale here, a friend or two there and it  
was noon. Jo-el came in just before noon to help out with the  
noon rush that was sure to come. More and more people began  
coming through the door to look for new clothes. Each 'Crip'  
that entered the store left with a bag and the outfit that had  
been displayed in the window. It was always easy selling to  
the gang-bangers. They weren't that bright, and very open to 
suggestion. 
        The afternoon passed quickly and it was almost time  
for Nick to take a break when two guys walked through the  
door. The Detectors indicated neither were carrying guns, but  
that wasn't what bothered Nick. As one turned to the other,  
Nick caught a glimps of a red shirt under the jacket of one of  
the guys. Cursing to himself, he signaled to Jo-el to let him  
handle these guys. Maybe they wouldn't say anything today,  
maybe they would just look around and then leave....who the  
fuck was he kidding? 
        Before he could greet them, one turned to the display,  
made a quick gesture with his hand indicating the gang he hung  
with, and pushed the display over. Not a good idea. Before the  
display hit the ground, 3 'Crips' had moved in behind Nick and  
2 more stopped at the entrance to the store, both waiting  
there in case they were needed. Nick held up his hand  
motioning for everyone to stop. Gang signs flashed once more  
and everyone knew where everyone else stood...almost. Both  
groups looked to Nick wondering if he would choose sides. 
        Nick warned all of them to back up and stay cool and  
then motioned with his left hand while countering it with his  
right. A simple gesture but it told everyone nearby that he 
didn't give a shit either way, and that he didn't hang with 
either gang. He played it safe in times like this, making sure you  
weren't aligned helped keep your store in one piece. The  
'Blood' in front of him began bitching about the display and  
warned Nick that if he should align with the 'Crips', he  
wouldn't see next week.  
        What a bland threat. 'Bloods' had no imagination. Either 
way, Nick made sure that word got around he didn't align with  
any group. He just worked there. 
 
        The rest of the day passed without incident, and sales  
had been really good. Like usual, after a really good day he  
offered to buy drinks for his workers after they were done  
cleaning the place. This put everyone in a good mood so the  
work went all the faster. 
        The group of four climbed in Nick's car, and they took  
off toward Club Crash for beer and maybe dancing. Jo-el  
climbed in the front seat, with Corey and Amber in the back.  
It was no secret that Corey like Amber so everyone else always  
gave him the chance to be with her. Of course, that never  
really helped since Corey wasn't that outgoing. 
        Music boomed out into the parking lot as they pulled  
up, each pulling out IDs and some money to get in the place.  
This was the spot to be at on Saturday nights, and the music  
was always good. The group of four waited in the line and  
slowly approached the building. Val, the doorguard nodded to  
Nick and motioned to put away his ID. A few greetings and  
small talk and the four were through the door without losing a  
dime. Nick had the right friends it seemed. 
        Nick smiled as he walked in, and that was rare. His  
workers smiled in return knowing that Nick was enjoying  
himself if he smiled like that. A couple of beers later, and  
they were all dancing. Jo-el and Nick danced together,  
silently celebrating being number one in the district for the  
first time. Since both managed the store, a nice bonus would  
be included on their next paycheck for the sales they had had  
earlier today. As soon as the two had hit the dance floor, Amber  
grabbed Corey's hand and pulled him up to dance. Corey smiled. 
        Things were going great tonight, and everyone was  
having a good time. Doubt lingered in the back of Nick's mind  
though, as he knew that something would happen before the  
night was over. It always did, and tonight was no exception. 
        _Obumbratta_ finished up, and the Dj began to mix in  
the next song when it happened. Nick felt two hands pull him  
back and watched as someone stepped in front of him to dance  
with Jo-el. Regardless of what happened, it always happened to  
Nick. Disregarding any polite conversation or formalities, a  
kidney punch and a kick to the heel brought the guy down. A  
gesture to a bouncer, and the guy was out of the club before  
he realized what happened. With a breath of relief, Jo-el  
continued dancing, glad that the whole thing was over. Nick  
knew better. So did Corey. 
        Both of them had been coming here on Saturday nights  
for three months now. Both knew the people, and both knew what  
to expect. Corey just kept out of it when at all possible. 
Nick looked around for the friends of the guy that just got  
thrown out. He knew they were around. No doubt one of them had  
sent the guy to do exactly what he did to gauge Nick's  
response. Minutes passed and Nick calmed down and began to  
dance again. 
        _TimeBomb_ began and all of them danced faster. Nick  
liked this song in paticular and he had often borrowed the CD  
with this song from Corey. One little incident wasn't enough  
to take the smile away from his face so he danced until he was  
tired. One by one they walked off the dance floor to the  
table, and ordered a new drink. It was always a good sensation  
dancing like that only to come back to a cool beer afterwards. 
        Leaving the club laughing and talking about the good  
time, Nick glanced over and noticed the worried expression on  
Corey's face. Nick didn't have to look over to know what was  
up, but he did anyway. Five guys sat on or around Nick's car,  
all waiting for him. It wasn't until 30 feet away that Nick  
saw the guy that had been thrown out. Lewd comments and  
obscene gestures accompanied threats toward the small group. 
        Nick removed his jacket and handed it to Jo-el. He  
warned her to stand back and that it would only take a few  
minutes. Moving away from the car the group circled Nick and  
made sure to cut him off from any help from Corey. That was  
fine by all of them. The first guy moved in on Nick and threw  
a few wild punches, all of which missed horribly. Two  
resounding cracks later, blood covered the guys face and  
Nick's fists. Nick pivoted to the next one and gestured that  
it was his turn. 
        Both fighters took a defensive stance, and  
immediately, Nick knew that this boy had been schooled in  
Karate. Both prepared themselves mentally and began a volley  
of punches and kicks at each other. Few landed, and what did  
land was just small hits or grazes, none of which mattered to  
either. For two minutes the fighting continued, and as Nick  
began to re-approach, a figure behind him moved slightly and  
produced a knife from his pocket.  
        One step toward Nick, and he fell face down, hitting  
the ground with an audible thump. Corey stepped back and  
prepared another hit if needed. One hit to the base of the  
neck, and weapons were kept out of the fight. Jo-el sighed and  
leaned back against the car waiting for the whole thing to be  
over with. She had watched Nick fight, and knew that these  
gangbangers weren't going to touch him at all. 
        Minutes passed and Nick finished his opponent with a  
snap kick to the chin and two jabs to the nose. Barely winded,  
Nick turned to the next. Not a second passed before the guy  
made the sign that the fight was over. Nick nodded, took his  
jacket, and they moved over to the car. Instead of helping  
their friends, the remaining two just shook their heads and  
walked on. Such was gang loyalty. 
 
        It was almost 2 in the morning before they got back to  
the mall parking lot. Nick pulled up to the three cars of his  
friends and parked. Climbing out, Nick left his door open and  
began talking with everyone. No work tommorow so no hurry in  
getting home. Standing around in the almost empty parking lot,  
talking under the stars had become a weekly thing as much as  
the dancing. The fresh air did them all good. A rather  
uneventful day for a Saturday, but Nick knew that everything  
would begin again on Monday when he opened the store. It always 
did.... 
 
 
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