Smooth Criminals

We were still in the car driving to Chris's house. Michael had his arm around me casually and I quite enjoyed it. Everyone was rather quiet until Kishaya spoke up.

She looked over Donatello at Michael and me. "Would you like to explain why the hell you took me and made me think you actually liked me?"

Johnny turned his head slightly to look at her. "If you did you'd probably jump right out of this car."

Michael looked at Johnny and then at Kishaya. "I don't think she would, Johnny." He looked at Kishaya. "We took you because we need as a sort of leverage to get to Frank."

Her expression relaxed quite a bit. She became bitter. "And you of all people are working with this no good bloody man?" She slapped the back of Chris's head and his hat flew off. Michael reached up and grabbed it before it flew completely away.

Michael creased his forehead and put the hat on his lap. "I didn't think you two were going to be that bad being put together." He casually began pulling his hair out from under his hat. The curly blackish brown hair fell around his shoulders. He tied it back like he had it before.

Chris turned around and looked at Michael. "You see, man? She's evil. She probably belongs with those so called mobsters. They're just as evil as she is!"

Kishaya slapped the back of his head again. Chris turned to try to look at her. "Slap me again, woman. I dare you."

"Chris," Michael said. "Please just drive the car and get us to your house before one of us ends up dead because of the two of you."

Kishaya leaned back and Chris slowly relaxed and focused on the road. A few seconds later Kishaya looked over Donatello and at me. "And may I ask who you are? I mean, being a pretty little girl with two infamous men and this lousy excuse of a man, you must be something special too."

Michael looked down at me and then at Kishaya with a grin on his face. "She's special."

"She's the Masked Ghost," Johnny said turning around and looking at her.

Kishaya looked at me with a scared and surprised look on her face. "But you're a woman."

I nodded. "Yes, I am. But it just so happens that a woman is capable of dressing up like a man and then acting like a man by stopping lousy criminals and in the process becoming a bigger criminal myself and I will later redeem myself and be known as a hero to almost all." I ended with a smirk. Johnny laughed a little. Michael smiled.

Kishaya looked at me and then up at Donatello who was drooling and almost smiling as the wind blew into his face. "So, I'm assuming this is the Black Horse?"

I nodded. I gave a straight face. "He's not exactly a horse, but he is black. I'm not able to ride him, however."

"Does that make Chris a Black Horse then?" Johnny asked.

All the men laughed. I tried to hold back a smile, but it slipped out. "Hey, man," Chris said, "that's wrong." Kishaya gave us all a dirty look and folded her arms and leaned back into the seat.

Johnny looked back at her. "Oh come on, darling, have a sense of humor."

"How am I supposed to laugh when I've just been kidnapped by the man that is an enemy to Frank Gagliano, who I am supposed to be allied with?" she said.

Michael looked over at her. "Once we have Frank where we want him, you can go and do whatever you want to do."

"And how can I help make that happen faster?" Kishaya asked.

Michael sighed. "Call Frank, tell him where you are, but lie and tell him where we want to meet him. Then tell him who you're with."

Chris pulled up a dirt driveway, which I realized was his own. We came up to his house and everyone got out of the car. Johnny came around and escorted Kishaya out of the car and up the drive and into the house. Chris followed them. Michael and I stayed behind. Donatello disappeared into the field behind Chris's house.

Michael looked down at me. "Lets take a walk."

I nodded and we began to walk slowly around the house.

"Can I ask you something, Michael?" I asked.

"Sure," he said.

"Alright, so I know that you don't like Frank, but why exactly does he not like you?"

He smiled and gave a little laugh. "You know, I was waiting for someone to ask that question. Not a single person has ever asked me that. I'm glad you were the first."

"So, what's the answer to the unasked question?" I said.

"Well," he said. "I guess I can start by stating something simple. The mafia, including Frank, have never liked me because I am apparently more talented than them and I 'steal' their spotlight in the media."

"Well, you truly are more talented," I interrupted.

He smiled. "I think you are almost as talented as me. Maybe in different fields, but we're both talented. I mean, you have to have talent to get away with being a woman dressed as a man doing criminal work."

I smiled. "Well, I appreciate that, but I think you have much more talent than me."

"Stop doubting yourself, Alyssa," he said. "From what I can tell, you're an incredible human being. Johnny and Chris seem to think so too."

I scrunched my face and looked up at him. "Really?"

He nodded.

"Anyways," I said, "back to the story."

"Alright, well," he said as we kept walking. "I'm not a perfect person, no one is. So, me being imperfect, I did something really terrible to make Frank hate me."

"What?" I asked almost in a whisper.

"I killed his dogs," he said as he creased his forehead.

I raised my eyebrows. "You killed his dogs?" I said it like I thought it was pathetic. "That's what made him hate you?"

Michael looked down at me. "They weren't just ordinary dogs. The were his fighting dogs, they were his life. I know it sounds weird, but if you think about it, it's kind of terrible. I mean, wouldn't you hate me if I killed Donatello on purpose?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I guess I would."

"I mean, I've never had a dog that I truly loved, but I've seen people with them and I've seen how they are so happy. Like you and Donatello." He paused. "Frank wasn't a mean man when he was with his dogs, he was almost chipper."

"So," I said, "why did you kill them?"

"Well," he said, "after I had the incident with Annie and all that, I wanted revenge. I followed Frank for a while and then I realized how much he loved those dogs. So, I stuck into the room where he kept his dogs and I fed them steak with cyanide capsules in them. I got out of there and then I guess one of his men saw me and told him who did it."

"So," I said, "therefore, you were enemies?"

He nodded. "Yeah, but I hate him for one other reason, and so does Johnny. Frank killed Johnny's brother, Danny."

I looked up at Michael with a puzzled look on my face.

"Danny was kind of like a best friend to both of us and also a brother to both of us." Michael said. "Frank killed him as another act of revenge."

"So, that's why Johnny wants to kill Frank?" I asked.

Michael nodded. "Yeah. The funny thing is, before I got involved with Frank, I wasn't even known for being a criminal. I was just known for singing and dancing. That's what I really love."

"Michael, you are an incredible human being," I said.

He smiled. "Is that your way of trying to make me appreciate having you here?"

I shook my head. "No," I paused. "It's my way of telling you how fast I'm falling for you."

And it was true. I was falling for Michael. He was such an amazing soul. All I wanted was to stay with him for as long as I could.

Michael's expression straightened and he looked down at me. We stopped walking. I turned to him and I looked up at him. I wanted to kiss him so badly. Eh, why not just go for it?

I came closer to him and I reached up to his face with my neck. He began breathing heavier through his mouth. He closed the space between us and placed his lips on mine. We kissed each other passionately for several long seconds. We released our lips. Michael wrapped his arms around me and hugged me to his chest. I put my arms around him and held him to me. My head rested on his shoulder.

"Michael," I said.

"What?" he asked softly.

"I want to stay with you," I said.

He smiled casually. "I want the same thing."