II. Top Secret Information

Lucky carried Ivory into the hospital room and had her tilt her head forward and held a cloth to her nose. They stayed that way for about five minutes, and Lucky gently pressed his thumb onto her nose.

Ivory flinched.

"It isn't broken, but it might swell," Lucky said.

Lucky then stopped Ivory's nosebleed and then bandaged her nose.

"Thank you."

"Anytime," Lucky frowned. "Do me a favor, please stay away from Blue."

Ivory nodded. "I will."

Lucky hugged her.

"What happened to you?"

The two turned to see Harley with crossed arms.

"Did you get into a fight?"

Ivory looked at Lucky and glanced at Harley, who was waiting for an answer.

"Blue — " Ivory began, "Blue threw me onto his bed, had me pinned down, and — "

Harley's eyes narrowed, "Don't say anything else. I'll talk to him."

"What if Blue hurts you?"

Harley laughed. "I'll be fine. Worry about yourself."

The older woman disappeared.

"I always thought that Harley was bad."

Lucky shook her head. "No, but she makes bad choices. Harley and Lily's lives were difficult. Sometimes you have to make bad choices to survive. If Harley does something bad to you, it's for a reason."

Suddenly, Rover and Spike walked past the door, talking about Fox, Birdie, and Swindle H. Spike had told Rover that the three hadn't been around and Rover said that they hadn't finished moving into their new place yet. The two members then exited the hallway, talking about Swindle H.

"I don't trust Fox's workers that much," Lucky said.

"Oh, you feel that too?" Ivory asked. "I thought I was the only one."

"Did Swindle H ever tell you the story of her friend?" Lucky asked.

Ivory nodded.

"Swindle H always kept her distance after that. Roxie's betrayal was unexpected, but I think that Swindle H is up to something. She's not as sneaky as she thinks she is."

"If Blue finds her behavior suspicious, then I think he'll follow her," Ivory shrugged.

"No, Blue will have Harley do that because she's a spy."

Ivory's eyes widened. "Lucky, was she the one that was at the orphanage? I remember walking outside one night and seeing a figure hiding behind the bushes."

Lucky shook his head, "That was Hawks. Hawks was told by Blue to spy on you that night."

Ivory's mouth was stuck open.

"Blue needs you for something. I don't know what, but I would say that almost raping you must mean that he wants you as an assistant."

"I don't understand what that means."

"All gang leaders have private assistants, or well, most of them, anyway," Lucky explained. "You had to have been in the city one day while Blue was searching for a woman, and maybe he saw you. Sometimes, they have other workers do it. When a mafia leader finds a woman that meets the criteria, he has her kidnapped."

"I'm not sure why he'd choose me over Viper or any other girl," Ivory interjected.

"You do realize that you're attractive, right?"

"Yes, I know that. I don't see why it would be an issue."

"Men like Blue perceive women like you as objects."

Ivory's eyes widened. "Oh no, that isn't good."

"Also, to do their basic jobs like laundry and stuff, but you get what I mean. The gang leaders always choose prettier women because they're so rare that they become a commodity. It's saying, 'I have an attractive girl, and no one else does.' It's a competition thing that men have, and quite frankly, it's gross. Guys like Blue don't respect anyone, especially women."

"That's because he doesn't have self-respect," Ivory concluded, "Ms. Campbell told me that's a common reason to why people don't respect others."

"Not in Blue's case. Blue's evil; he only cares about himself. People are commodities to him. Listen, Blue doesn't need to keep his distance anymore since Viper is gone. Remember that Hawks' loyalty is always with Blue, so if Blue tells him to leave you alone, he will."

"I understand."

"If I had known, I wouldn't have helped Hawks kidnap you."

"What do you mean?"

"When you turned 18, Hawks and I were supposed to kidnap you from the orphanage. That's why Hawks was spying on you. Hawks told me some lady named Ms. Campbell came out and sent you to bed and then he left."

"Wow, that's scary," Ivory said, chills ran down her spine.

"Yes, the world is scary," Lucky said quietly.

Ivory couldn't wrap her mind over everything she had just been told. The young woman wondered what else Blue wasn't telling her, and she didn't understand why Lucky had openly told her confidential information. Ivory wondered if the information was because Lucky felt that Ivory's assault was worth explaining or if his snitching held a more sinister reason. Ivory had enough closure and decided that she should stay in her room.

"No, come with me," Lucky said, "Hang out in my room until we find Hawks."

Ivory smiled and followed Lucky, feeling content. So far, everything was unraveling, and things were starting to make more sense; everything was starting to connect. Ivory hated Blue's guts and wasn't too sure how to face him later during the week, but she'd see what would take place.

***

Angry wasn't the right word for Harley's extreme wrath. Harley stared down the Blue Dragons Leader as he held a tissue to his bloody nose while Hawks was on the floor, holding onto his arm and wincing.

"Hawks let me help you," Harley said.

"No, I'm all right."

Hawks then groaned and left the room.

"What were you thinking?" Harley shouted.

"It's not a big deal," Blue said carelessly.

"Blue, don't pull that!" Harley sneered. "You held Ivory down and punched her. How could you even attempt trying to rape her?"

"Why would you assume that? Come on, don't be ridiculous. Ivory's too tense; someone needed to loosen her up."

"Why would it matter whether or not you were joking, Blue? She's not even half your size! She's the smallest woman here."

"She kicked me, but I bet she didn't tell you that."

"You held her down, Blue; she was defending herself."

"Come on, all I did was throw her onto the bed and hold her down. It was a joke," the leader laughed. "Get a grip, Harley."

"It doesn't matter if you were joking, Blue, you don't do something like that to a woman as small as her, and then hold her down and not expect her to defend herself."

Blue thought for a moment. "I see your point."

The door opened, revealing Red, who narrowed his eyes. "What's going on? Ivory's nose is all bandaged up, Hawks' arm is dislocated, and Lucky is talking about beating you up."

Harley sneered at Blue, "You're lucky it wasn't Lily, Blue."

Harley then pushed past Red and walked down the staircase, hearing Lucky screaming that he would kill Blue. Harley then told Lucky to calm down and to take the day off. When Lucky and Ivory disappeared, Harley wasn't sure of what she should think.