I. Caught in The Act

Ivory stared through the dark window, wondering why Hawks would be out so late. What if his errand didn't hold good intentions? Ivory knew that Hawks' mission would turn out badly, and she wondered where Viper was. She hadn't seen her best friend since dinner. Ivory went to visit Viper, but Blue told her to sit back down. Defeated, Ivory sat back down, sulking.

"Blue," Spike entered the kitchen, "Everything's going to plan," Spike glanced at Ivory.

"Did Hawks leave?"

"Yes, he left twenty minutes ago."

Blue smirked. "All right then, mission partly affirmative."

Ivory saw him glance at her. Ivory put the puzzle pieces together: Viper obviously wasn't in the base, and Hawks had left a while ago.

Ivory got off the couch, looking at the leader, who was sitting at a black table. She looked at Blue, who narrowed his eyes at her through his cigarette smoke.

"Blue, is Hawks eavesdropping on Viper?"

"My dear, where did you get an idea like that?" Blue asked in a mimicking tone.

"Well, Viper surely isn't here, and Hawks' errand was never mentioned," Ivory turned to Lucky, "Is he following Viper?"

Lucky glanced at Blue. "Go on, Lucky, tell her. It's not like she'll be able to leave. There are four men in this room," the leader said, eyeing Ivory.

"Don't underestimate my strength just because you're a male."

"I underestimate your strength when you are surrounded by three endomorphs. Do you think a petite thing like you stands a chance?"

"I'll still fight you," Ivory warned, glaring at Blue.

All Blue did was grin evilly.

"We can have Lucky sit on you. It'll have the same effect," Red added.

Ivory ignored Red and granted Lucky her undivided attention. "What were you going to say?"

"Viper's been acting strange, so Blue had Hawks do some work for the gang. That's all."

"No, you don't realize how bad that'll turn out!" Ivory shouted.

"Don't get too loud, Little Lady," Lucky put a hand on her shoulder. "Roxie has been sneaking around with her. Obviously, keeping you busy hasn't stopped you from sniffing your nose into other people's business."

"Keeping me busy? You planned this whole thing?"

"We're New York's most dangerous gang. What did you expect?"

"I'd say that by Ivory's reaction, something is up," Spike sneered. "You better not have any involvement if Hawks finds something. "

"I've had my eyes on her," Blue said, "Ivory knows better."

Ivory saw a flash of purple and turned to see Harley joining the conversation.

"What's wrong, Harley?" Blue asked.

"Fox is here," she said, "Do you want me to let him in?"

"That's odd, we weren't expecting him," Red said.

Blue nodded, and the older girl left.

"What if there isn't anything going on?" Ivory asked. "What if you're all paranoid?"

"Paranoid?" Red scoffed. "You can't think that, dear."

"Well, it's obvious you guys dislike her."

"You're correct," Spike said. "However, that doesn't mean we're paranoid."

"There is always something going on with Viper," Blue added. He went back to typing away on his blue laptop. It was strange. Blue was either unusually calm or extremely savage. "You should know her more than that, Ivory, but you obviously don't pay enough attention. Besides, you haven't been active; there's a lot that you don't know."

"Well, would you mind telling me?"

"Tell her, Spike, let's see what Ivory comes up with," Blue smirked.

"Fox's security system wasn't working, so Rover and I went over there to see that Roxie had somehow hacked into the system and turned everything off. Then, Rover found that the two had been sending emails: Roxie was sending emails on the computer while Viper was using her phone. The two set up to meet at midnight, and that Roxie would pick her up," Spike said. "So, you tell me, honey, what do you think?"

Ivory sighed. "I need to stop them."

"Stop them?" Spike asked.

"I don't know what she's doing, but I need to stop Hawks and Viper."

"Oh, I don't think so," Spike grabbed her arm, "So, Viper is up to something."

"Spike, that's enough," Red said. "Hawks will tell us. We know where his loyalty lies," He turned to Ivory. "Hawks' so loyal to Blue, he'd kill your friend for him. You better make sure that she isn't going to the police station."

Ivory sent Red a challenging look. "Not if I can stop him."

"I'd like to see you try," Spike warned.

Ivory couldn't remove Spike's hand from her arm; she kicked his leg, but the man only laughed.

He picked her up and pinned her against the wall, "Try that again, Doll."

Ivory realized that she could hurt herself, so she stopped.

Spike removed his grip as Blue grabbed her arm and forced her into the chair next to him.

All of a sudden, Fox barged in while Harley was shaking her head at Ivory. Ivory felt that Harley was warning her.

"Fox, what another pleasant surprise," Red said in a careless tone.

Fox glanced at Blue, "I need to talk to you about Roxie."

Fox sat down across from Blue.

"Where's Leech?" Blue asked, noticing that the younger man wasn't around.

"Leech told me that he had something to do. He left a few days ago. I haven't seen him since."

Ivory wondered if she was the only one that felt Leech was planning something; then again, they could tell that Viper was sneaking around. It seemed that Blue was pretending to be oblivious.

"Fox, what's with Roxie?" Blue asked, impatiently changing the topic.

"I don't know. She's not herself. She's been sneaking around like Viper. Not just that, she argued with me all day!"

"Roxie, argue? Now, that's a first," Blue said.

"Well, you did check my security system; I can't believe that Viper persuaded Roxie into helping her with whatever scheme she's committing."

"That's Roxie's fault," Red raised an eyebrow, "Roxie knows how we handle our business."

Fox looked around, "Where's Hawks? He's usually up this late."

"He wasn't feeling well, so he went to bed early. That's why Lucky is watching Ivory," Blue fibbed.

Fox sighed. "I want to know why those two are sneaking around."

Blue smiled, crossed his arms, and leaned back. "All in good time, Fox."

"Did you just smile?" Ivory asked, rather uncomfortably.

Blue chuckled, "Yes, I'm nice when I feel like being nice."

Spike and Red laughed, but Lucky and Fox were unusually silent.

Ivory wished that Viper wasn't going to the police station; however, she would never admit that she wanted Viper to get caught; it was the only way Viper would learn to mind her business and appreciate what's given to her. Not just that, it would be a lesson in being heedful of whom she screwed over. The problem was if Hawks brought Viper back, what would happen?

***

Twenty minutes after midnight, a car stopped in front of a police station, and two passengers got out. The street lamps lit the area as the police station's exterior design added edginess. The air was cold as the passengers' hair blew out, flowing the opposite direction of the trees and bushes.

"Here you are, Viper," Roxie said. "Now go."

Viper took her first step toward the building but stopped. She turned around. "Roxie, why did you decide to help me?"

"Those reasons aren't important, just know that you cannot walk out once you step in. Blue has people everywhere. Be careful with who you trust."

"What will happen to you?"

"I don't know, they might murder me, Viper," Roxie said as Viper stiffened. "If they do, it's all worth it. You and Ivory aren't fit for the gang life. The only way they'll succeed in finding you and attempting to kidnap you a second time is if they kill me first. I won't let them lay a hand on Ivory, Viper, you can count on it."

The younger girl smiled, feeling tears form in her eyes. "Thank you, Roxie. I appreciate that, and I thank you for helping me."

Viper got a good look at the red-head. The wind blew Roxie's bouncy hair as she sported a guilty countenance: She looked sad and looked ashamed. Roxie also looked like an angel.

Roxie smiled back. "It's my pleasure. You don't want to be a criminal. It isn't a blessing, it's a sin. The only place it'll get you is in jail or killed. I should know, I was once a thief, and at the tender age of fourteen, I became a stupid prostitute, and it haunts me today. The sin follows me everywhere," she looked away in shame. "I wish I could take it all back."

Viper gasped and grabbed her arm, "Don't worry, Roxie, everything will be okay," Viper then remembered something. "Can you tell me more about this Leech guy?"

"Leech? I don't know much about him, but I don't trust him — I have to go. Good luck."

The two hugged, and Roxie quickly drove off. Viper looked around the too quiet area and slowly began to walk up the stairs. Viper stared at the door, knowing that the other side was where freedom was waiting. She heard the door calling her name. Viper slowly stepped closer, shaking in nervousness.

Before she could make it to the top, someone grabbed her savagely by the waist and put their hand over her mouth. Viper has begun kicking, thrashing, and trying to scream with the large hand over her mouth. The person carried her down the stairs and by the end of the block. Viper saw that she saw being taken toward some tall buildings that were out of business. Then, the mysterious released her.

Viper turned around, seeing the culprit was the one and only Hawks.