[auntslappy282]

The bar tender laughed. "You took the cigarette right out of his mouth? I'm surprise he didn't kill you right then and there!" He laughed and then was slightly surprised as Hiikai talked to him through telepathy, but took nothing of it. "Its no problem little bro. No need to fret." He smiled and cleaned a glass.

I heard the conversation I chuckled slightly. "You should be happy I didn't kill ya right on the spot." I continued to play. Maybe I should tell them a scary story to freak them out. That would be a good one.

[Atoli01]

"Ah, she has a lot of nerve. I've been way more surprised of other things she's done. She's more dangerous than me. And always in more danger than me, too. I swear, she must be cat - although, I think she's on her fiftieth life now," Solty said with a sigh. I laughed a little, replying, "Oh, you mean like taking out that group of four guys myself? I don't care if they had guns, they were a piece of cake!" I laughed some more at seeing her shake her head.

"Or the time you fell off that bridge. You almost died, you know," Solty said, raising an eyebrow. Why did she always hafta bring up embarrassing stuff like that? I mean, I still took three of the people there out before that! I went back to eating my sandwich, glancing back at Slick.

{{Alice: 9; Solty: 9}}

[auntslappy282]

The bartender snickered. "Sounds like you kids have gone through a lot of stuff." He smiled and then continued cleaning the glass he had. "You know, it might be hard to see, but Slick was once a defenseless little kid who was taken in by the world. He's had it ridiculously hard his whole life. Try not to be so hard on him okay?" He grinned slightly.

I over heard the talk. I stopped playing, my shift was over anyways. I got up and walked up behind the kids. The bartender looked at me and turned to put the glass he was cleaning away. "Yeah I would expect that most kids around here would have gone through hard times. I'd be no exception." I grabbed another cigarette from my pack and lit it. "Lets go kids. It's getting late." I dropped a $50 on the bar and walked out the door, not caring if the kids followed me or not.

[Atoli01]

"He was defenseless?" I joked around, a smile on my face; I knew everyone was a kid at some point, it was almost hard to believe Slick was. Solty laughed a little as well, a small smile coming across her face. Solty took the last bite of her sandwich just as Slick came over. I guess it was time to go; I grabbed the other half of my sandwich before jumping out of my seat, Hiikai following suit.

"Bye bye~ Thank you!" I yelled out behind me, following Slick. Behind me I heard a thank you come from Solty. 'Bye Mr. Bartender.' Hiikai turned back into her Ballama form and landed on Solty's head.

{{Alice: 10; Solty: 10}}

[auntslappy282]

The bartender waved his last farewell. The sun was setting over the now less cloudy sky. The clouds turned a beautiful orange and pink. The water shimmered off of the stands. The streets seemed to be glowing. I tapped my cigarette, letting some of the ash fall to the ground. Their wasn't anything to exciting that I wanted to talk about. I just made my way down the streets silently.

But... Curiosity won. "So you guys are parent less?" I said. I didn't want to do anything to make them cry, but these kids seemed more mature than I initially thought they would be. Maybe they have seen things that have made them mature. I wouldn't be surprised.

[Atoli01]

I looked over at Slick when he started talking; Solty nodded at me to go first, so I did. "Yeah. My parents were involved in the mafia before I was even born. And then, well, things happened and they had me. After I had turned 9, they finally had enough of it, and didn't want me to be brought up in that kind of life. So they tried to back out, but others got angry and burned the house down. I somehow survived, but just barely. But they found that out soon enough and I still have people trying to kill me even now," I said with a solemn face. It definitely wasn't the life I would choose for myself if I really had a choice.

"As for me, my parents are technically still alive. Or at least they were when I ran away four years ago. The thing is though, I wouldn't exactly have called them parents; having a child doesn't make you a parent. They were always so... abusive. I found the streets more my home than being with my actual family. One day I ran out and found Alice there. I wasn't planning on returning to that place anyways, so I just stayed with her. Besides, she was just a kid back then."

Like Hiikai always did when she wanted to comfort me, she flew over to my shoulder and nudged my cheek affectionately. 'I've always been with Solty. She found me when she was only 5, yup.' I smiled at the little Ballama, softly stroking her head with my finger.

{{Alice: 11; Solty: 11}}

[auntslappy282]

A smirk played on my face. I took a sip of my cigarette and then let the smoke bellow out of my mouth. "I understand how you feel. My parents died and were abusive. Though I have to say I never really felt any sort of love for the horrid beasts." I laughed. "So people are after ya eh? Sounds like an adventure waiting to happen."

I smirked. I laid my hand on my nifty deck of cards I kept in my coat pocket. I pulled them out and shuffled it. "What would you say to a mission involving getting those certain people who are after you murdered? I can do it silently. I'm a Member of the Midnight Crew. Hell, I'm the boss." I smirked. This was going to get interesting.

[Atoli01]

Both of us could sympathize with him in some way. My parents died, but I grew up pampered for the most part. But Solty's parents were abusive and to her, they might as well be dead. I mean, she's always saying how she never wants to go back there and see them again. So facts stated, I think the closest case to Slick's would certainly be Solty's.

When Slick started talking again, however, both of us looked up at him. Get those people... killed? "It is an idea, but ya see, those people usually end up finding me, haha. Me and Solty have tried to find them before they've caused too much trouble, but it never seems to work that way for us," I said with a sigh. But I truly was quite intrigued.

{{Alice: 12; Solty: 12}}

[auntslappy282]

The smirk grew across my face. "They find you eh? Would they want to kill you themselves?" A plan was already forming in my head. I puffed on my cigarette and then dropped it on the floor smooshing it into the wet ground. I have 3 other members on my team, plus a hot chick who was a total jerk, but it would make the perfect plan. The absolute perfect one.

I went through all the possibilities  in my mind. If I "kidnapped" her and then they wanted to kill her then that would be a liable solution. Just get Snowman to pass the word along the grape vine and it was sure to eventually find them. Then their was the possibility that we could get them to find them. Even if that involved staying in one place for a ridiculously long period of time, I'd do it. These kids needed help and I could see it.

[Atoli01]

"Mmhmm. They still hold me responsible for what my parents did, I think," I said, frowning. If I was to die, they wouldn't go after Solty, Nadie, or Peppermint. In fact, Nadie and Peppermint split away from me and Solty for a couple days to test just that - if it was really just me that attracted them. If they just didn't get involved with me, they probably wouldn't have to deal with all of this.

But what could Slick be thinking? Of course, if I were to stick with him for a day or two longer, he would definitely get some action. It didn't really matter who I was or wasn't with - they would come at me either way, and either way, they all just ended up dropping like flies.

{{Alice: 13; Solty: 13}}

[auntslappy282]

A ghastly smile played along my face. "So, you willing to work with me to get these guys killed?" I laughed. This was going to be fun. First, I needed to talk to the rest of the Midnight Crew. Peace of cake. Talking to Snowman? Not so easy.

I scratched the back of my head. I looked at the closet hotel. It was a rather nice hotel for the Slums. "How about staying here? I'll get you a room, but don't be surprised if you don't sleep a lot tonight. We have plans to make and people to kill." I laughed and smiled.

[Atoli01]

Solty placed a hand on my shoulder and nodded, "It'd be best to get these guys taken care of as soon as possible. I don't like staying in a place for too long." I agreed with her; although we needed to take at least some people out while we were at a particular place, it started to get dangerous if we stayed there too long. Although, I had to admit that I did feel much safer with Slick around.

When he mentioned the hotel, I smiled a little. Probably one of the nicest hotels you would see in this area. I had to admit that I had stayed in places much more lavish, but it would definitely do, considering the area we were in. "Its fine with me. And I don't mind the lack of sleep. As long as I get an hour or two of sleep each night, I'm fine. Trust me, I've gone on that much sleep for a whole week. I'll be fine," I insisted with a smile.

{{Alice: 14; Solty: 14}}

[auntslappy282]

I laughed. "Glad to hear your strong. Nice to know not all kids are pampered little brats. And I understand your feeling about not wanting to stay in one place to long. Kids like you don't need to. Wander around and explore the world before settlin' down in a certain town." I smiled back at them and walked into the hotel.

I walked up to the front counter and said, "I'd like to reserve two rooms please." The man at the desk nodded and then looked on his computer. "Here's your key. Your room 309 and 310 on the 3rd floor. Thanks for picking us." "Not like theirs much choice." I laughed to myself and then grabbed the keys and walked toward the elevator.

[Atoli01]

"Eh, well,  its not so much before settling down in a place as it is just trying to... narrow down the vermin, I should say?" I replied. It definitely wouldn't be all that great to have the same thing happen to me as what happened to my parents. And I should also say what happened to me. And even after a few more years of traveling the world, it still probably won't be safe for someone like me.

I nodded at the man at the counter, both me and Solty giving him a thanks, and Slick one right after. Both of us followed Slick into the elevator, really having no clue on what floor we were going to. I was assuming he knew though, so everything would turn out good in the end, I was sure.

{{Alice: 15; Solty: 15}}

[auntslappy282]

I laughed. "Yeah I understand what you mean. And hey, if you ever need a place to stay, or a group to join, or whatever, you can always find me here in the Slums or the other Midnight Crew members." I pressed the number three on the elevator and it groaned and started to make its journey upwards.

I smiled to myself. The Midnight Crew could stand for a few more members. Were old men in a gang of four fighting against a gang of new children that have 16 members. It was amusing to say the least.