Man, I'm so lazy it hurts. I'm finally back from the writer's block grave and ready to rumbleeee.

Much thanks to Cheeselover25 for waving this in my face again. ;) always there for me, mate.

Enjoy what follows.

Chapter Four – Trow

My hand clutched the hisser. In the foreign wasteland of the Southern City, it was the only thing I had that gave me a glimpse of my real life.

A good word to describe the area was misty. A thick shadow seemed to clog every crevice like fog, thanks to the towering might of hundreds of hundreds of skyscrapers. In the Northern City, the buildings spun and flared through and within each other, letting light in the cracks. These Southern monsters stood straight up-and-down, rendering the walk space in between them a dark, dangerous place to be.

Despite larger main roadways, the paths I traveled were narrower and spookier. Crates and other trash appeared from the shadows in sporadic piles, and each had its own stench I tried not to think about.

I had very little idea of what I was supposed to do. Wandering the silence of the alien maze, I began to ponder just how unprepared I really was. The Director and her affiliates were usually clean cut with their jobs, leaving no room for improvisation, and definitely not mistakes. Mine was thrust in my face and I was hurled out of my usual routine with… urgency?

Did they want to get rid of me? Was I not meeting their standards, so they decided to send my on a suicide mission and then claim my death to be a tragic accident? Is that was they did to my father?

Stop.

Timekeepers are wise, especially Timekeeper Directors. They're the boss of bosses, and just because I was scared and lost didn't mean I could question their ultimate loyalties.

Sharp pricks of cold begin to tickle my neck and arms. I realized the cloudy overcast had begun to leak, and knew I had to find cover before I got drenched. Our City, but North and South, was famous for its rain.

I scampered down the alley, finding nothing but rotting piles of trash. I had to step lightly, as the rain began to shift caked mud where I stepped. Underneath the filth, shards of glass lay hidden, ready to draw blood from my bare feet. I rounded a corner onto a wide roadway, a two-way street, and took cover under the lid of a nearby dumpster. I propped of the lid with a piece of rotting wood, and huddled in my shack for warmth as the downpour really began.

Where were all the people? The streets were empty, save for a few stray cats. This was city. City meant people, criminal or not.

I ran through the targets in my mind. The woman with curly brown hair, named Elisias, married to Marlow, the blonde man with bright blue eyes. The mission is quick and simple. Find the family and tell the hisser their names. Then you're out of here, back to your home.

Suddenly, a shrill whistle pierced the thrum of rain. I froze, unable to see past the sheets of water to where the noise was created. A lumpy outline appeared in the entrance to one of the alleyways, leaning against a lamppost.

"Hey, kid," the figure called. The voice sounded feminine. "Need some help?"

Yes, I wanted to say. Can you kill these people for me? Then I'll be on my way.

The outline vanished into the downpour. My heart raced. I knew the woman was real, flesh-and-blood, not a ghost, but the way she just disappeared made me nervous. She could be anywhere, ready to jump out and atta –

Suddenly, the collar of my shirt became taught. I struggled for breath, feeling the woman's hot breath as she roughly dragged me out from under the dumpster. I fought against the iron grip, managing a feeble, "Let… go…" as the woman choked the life out of me.

She did. I collapsed into the rain, gasping.

"What your name, kid?"

"Hham… Awhhs…" I wheezed.

The woman- girl, it seemed - knelt down to eye level. She had long, matted blonde hair and unmistakable Crim clothing. She looked… young, my age, even.

"Kamin," I told her hoarsely. "Kamin Austas."

Kamin Austas, she mouthed, nodding. "Nice ring to it."

I had nothing else to say. So I lay there, on the ground in the pouring rain, in foreign clothes in a foreign city, with a strange Crim girl under my humble abode of the Dumpster.

An uplifting picture.

"Well, I'm Trow Dalen," said the girl, giving a smirky smile. "Where ya headed? There could be North cops sniffing around these outer parts."

Screwed. I'm so screwed.

"My – my parents," I muttered. Stop stuttering! "They're…"

A sudden sympathetic look crossed her features for a fleeting second. "Mine too, Cumin," she interrupted. "Somethin' all of us Crim children have to deal with at some point in another. Those nasty Timekeepers think they're so high and mighty as they kill all our parents."

"They don't just ki- "

I snapped my mouth shut.

Trow looked suddenly interested. "Don't what, Cumin? Don't just what?"

"It's Kamin," I mumbled. I slowly scooted backwards as Trow got uncomfortably closer to me. "What… what I meant to say was…"

My mouth opened and closed silently, like a fish out of water. I was not the street-thinker type, and it took awhile for me to sort through all the possible things I could say as an excuse.

Trow stood above me, leaning in close to my face. Hot, fleshy breath blew into my face. "Forgot what you're gonna say? Or maybe you're a cop? A Timekeeper maybe, lying to get in with us Crims? A rat?"

No. No. No. She's bluffing. No. No.

"No, please!" I pleaded. It came out louder an expected, more like a shout. "No way! Please! My parents are gone; I'm just looking for a strayer! Please!"

Trow laughed suddenly, leaning her head towards the sky and backing off. I took a shaky breath and realized she'd just been playing me.

"Calm down, Cumin, I know you're pretty shaken from the wipe," Trow said. "Just breathe! I don't actually think you're a Timekeeper rat! Ya know, we get that time-to-time but usually they're older. Man, Cumin… you're a big guy. How tall are you?"

Shaken was a huge understatement. I thought my life was being threatened, and I had no idea what Crims go through, but losing our lives is usually not part of the job description of a Timekeeper.

But, after all, I was an infiltrator. I was in enemy territory, scoping it out, looking for targets. really, I had just been assaulted by a strange criminal girl under a dumpster in the pouring in of enemy territory. I couldn't exactly feel safe whether or not my life was being directly threatened.

It took a moment for Trow's question to register. "Uh. Uh… six foot, maybe?" I stammered. My head was spinning with adrenaline and confusion. The storm befuddled me even more and I could barely keep my thoughts and Trow's words apart from one another.

"Six foot? Really? Lemmee see this," said Trow.

She watched me closely as I slowly stood up, obviously testing the waters, making sure I was what I claimed to be. Even though her accusation was supposed to be a joke, I was sure Trow was using the height question as a cover-up to her real motive - eying me for dangers.

Even though she was suspicious, the girl kept a friendly posture and a lurking smile. Her moves were genuine and she seemed comfortably interested about me.

This girl was clever, and extremely likeable. Not that I liked her… after all, she was a Crim, a backstabbing criminal artist, but I could tell that she was probably a strayer. Strayers find orphans and bring them back to Crim couples. They've got to be smart and friendly, or else they'd never earn an orphan's trust.

This could potentially be the key to Elisias and Marlow - following Trow back to her guardians and using my inside ticket to weasel out another duo.

The rain began to ease slightly. The slanted sheets gave way to friendlier drizzles as Trow and I stood in edgy silence.

"You want to come home with me?" Trow asked. "My parents are awfully nice. Well, they're more like my adoptive parents. Mine are dead same as yours, and Elisias and Marlow take care of me and some other kids. They're always happy to invite someone new to the family."

Elisias. Marlow.

Adoptive parents.

This was it! Trow was a victim of the Crim couple I was hunting. The mission would be much easier than I thought.

"Yes!" I said. My doubt and fear tumbled out in a flood of relief, making the single word sound surprisingly true. "Please. I'd love that."

Trow smiled. It was toothy but open. "Right this way, then, Cumin."

I followed her as she began to trot through the mazelike alleyways. My hand fingered to niche on my hisser as it sat within its compartment in my shirt, itching to say the word I'd soon know. I just wanted to go home, and I was so close I could taste it.