Smooth Criminals

John didn't pay any attention to the one word I said. Instead, he was looking at his fingers turning them over so he can examine them. I looked at him with my mouth open.

He looked up at me. "What?"

I was shocked. "Michael?!"

He stood up quickly and walked over to me. "Right. You hear gunshots and assume he is the one being shot," he said calmly. "Well, little missy, think again. Michael is an expert. No doubt those shots came from him himself."

I closed my mouth and looked up at him. Everyone in the room was looking at John. He smiled and walked back over to the wall. He began fiddling with his fingers again.

"Give him thirty seconds more or so," he said not looking up.

I folded my arms over the white men's shirt. My lips pursed as I became more anxious. The gunshots and screams continued.

No less than twenty more seconds the door at the top of the stairs swung open. The door shut again with a thud. All of our heads besides John's turned to look at who was coming down the stairs. Michael jumped around me and landed in between all of us with a stern look on his face.

Michael looked at John. I unfolded my arms and let them hang at my sides.

"Well?" John asked straightening up and putting his hands in his pockets.

Michael tilted his white hat back and looked at me, then Diana, then Donatello who was being pet by Diana, and rested his eyes on Annie. He straightened his back and gave a half smile at her.

I looked at them. Annie looked away from his gaze and pulled out a fan from her red dress and began fanning her face.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't little Annie Alanen," Michael said. "Not the first time I've had to save you."

"What do you mean?" I asked aloud breaking their little moment. Or Michael's moment, rather.

Michael turned and looked at me. "Come, Alyssa. We have to go. All of us. There's about a hundred men on our tails."

I looked around the small basement that didn't have any windows or any other doors to escape through. Michael gracefully moved to the corner of the room and began feeling along the brick wall. We all looked at what he was doing. He quickly found what he was looking for and pulled a loose brick from the wall. He tossed it away and began pulling the bricks around the new hole and tossing them away as well. Once there was a hole big enough for someone to crawl through, he stood up for an instant and looked at us.

"Go through here quickly. It will lead to my temporary underground home," he said home almost as if he wanted to take the word back.

Diana looked through the hole and looked back up at me. "These men can't make me go through that dirty hole."

I frowned. "Maybe not, but I sure as hell can. Listen to what they tell you. Do you want to get out of here or not?"

Diana groaned and got up from her seat on the sofa and got down on her hands and knees in front of the hole. She groaned one last time and began crawling through the big hole. I looked at Annie with a frown on my face.

"I'm going," she said.

She got down as well and followed Diana into the darkness. Michael looked back at me and then at Donatello. "Ladies first," he said ushering me towards the hole. Donatello got on his feet and quickly waltzed over and into the hole behind Annie and Diana.

"Or dogs," John said.

I walked over to the hole, pulled up the trousers, and got on all fours. I looked into the hole at Donatello. He turned his head around and looked at me. He barked once.

"Be quiet, Don," I said lowly. He whimpered and began walking again.

I looked up at Michael. "What? Are you going to complain too?"

I smiled. "Don't be expecting negativity from me to you. I'm not like other women."

John laughed and Michael smiled. "So, I've noticed," Michael said. "And I'm not like other men so, we're squared."

I grinned and pushed my fedora down and began crawling through the hole. John came in behind me and Michael behind him. I heard footsteps above our heads as the men who were searching for us stomped around in the whore house looking for two men and a woman dressed in men's clothing.

I looked straight forward into the dark hole knowing I was in the middle of our little crawling parade. Several things were on my mind and I couldn't help but asking since the silence was overbearing.

"So," I said, "are they the police or some other bad guys?"

Michael answered immediately. "They're called the destroyers, but the truth is they only want to destroy us because we basically have gambled them until they could be gambled no more."

"They go after anyone. Good, bad, poor, rich, doesn't matter," John added. "They just want to destroy so that they'll have respect."

"So, why do they want you dead so badly?" I asked. I squinted my eyes to see how far Donatello was from me. Several feet, it looked like.

"Well," John started.

"They want us dead because we are professionals and have earned respect from most people. We're infamous and yet people respect us because they know we are dangerous," Michael finished.

I smiled in the dark. "Strong words for a man who has a face of innocence."

Michael gave a small laugh. "It doesn't matter what a man looks like outside. It's what's on the inside that counts. Hasn't your mother ever taught you that?"

I nodded even though I knew no one would see it. "Something along that boundary."

"Why didn't you listen to your mother, then?" John asked teasingly.

"If I had never listened to my mother, I wouldn't be where I am today," I replied.

"So, if you don't mind my asking," Michael said, "what made the infamous Masked Ghost be a criminal in the first place?"

I sighed. "Well, my mother would always tell me that you have to be something bigger than the world. Something that counted to you even if it didn't to other people. That to me appeared to be someone with violence, disguise, intimacy, and without mercy. So, from the day she died I vowed to become what she always told me to become. I became a criminal. one of the only women criminals in the world. The world is my oyster and to them I am the Masked Ghost."

"Strong words for a woman in man's clothing," John said.

I sighed. I wanted to tell them that they were one of the major reasons I was so good at what I did. I was a perfectionist and after hearing their work on the news, I wanted to be as good as them. So, from that day on, I practiced and went out every night searching for a victim I could prey on with my advancing skills. Now, I was what Michael had said. Professionals. Here we were, three professional criminals crawling through a dark hole running away from people who wanted us dead with a dog and two other women who were proven not to be fit for this lifestyle. And all at once we had our own secrets.

Annie and Michael apparently knew each other from earlier encounters and may have had some bond or something between each other. John was a man that appeared to be not so open about his past only revealing something more. Diana obviously was into her job if she was almost "the queen of the whores". And well, I couldn't speak for Don. I knew his story. His story was my story except for the fact that I have been able to grow more than five feet. Unlike him where he is stuck at his 2.8 feet tall and looking at people's behinds all the time. Definitely not something I'd trade with a dog.

It was quiet for some time and then Michael spoke up. "Alyssa, I see you more of a woman hiding from something rather than living up to your mother's expectations."

I kept crawling. "It's all a matter of perspective, I suppose."

"Alyssa," Michael said, "that's what someone would say if they were trying to deny it."

"I'd rather not discuss it now, Michael. I barely know you and might I point out the fact that we are indeed crawling through a tunnel like a pack of rats?" I replied.

Michael hesitated. "Alright then. Fair enough. Some other time, then?"

I nodded and then shook my head feeling foolish for doing it. "Some other time," I agreed.

"How revolting!" I heard either Annie or Diana shout from up ahead. It sounded like Diana.

"What is it?" John called up to her.

"Uh! The ground is all soft and squishy!" Diana called back.

"We're here," Michael said.

Michael began crawling past John and came up beside me. There was a small space between us and I knew because the cuffs of our sleeves brushed. I could see the faint silhouette of his hat and his perfectly aligned face.

"I suppose it's only fair for you to ask some questions about me as well," Michael said in his soprano voice.

"Yes, it would be only fair," I replied.

He gave a short little giggle. "When we settle then?"

I nodded. "When we settle."

I could see him nod slightly before he began crawling up through the tunnel again past me. John came up beside me.

"Did I not tell you he was mysterious?"

I smiled. "I knew it before you even told me. I've heard you on the news quite often."

"Oh, you have?" he said sarcastically as if knowing he would be heard on the news.

I rolled my eyes.

"I'm being facetious, you know," he said.

"I know."

We stopped our conversation and I didn't know what we were waiting for the keep moving. I felt a breeze come through the tunnel behind me and I got chills. I felt insecure without having anyone behind me. The dark almost seemed cruel to me without my knowing of what was behind me even if I knew there was nothing. I felt a need for John or Michael to be behind me once more so I could feel secure again. I wasn't going to ask John to do so for it would make me seem somewhat of a coward.

"Alright, come on," I heard Michael say to the girls.

"Come on," John said to me quietly.

I saw a flash of light ahead of us and I saw the girls' brief features. I looked over at John and his face was almost glowing in the faint light in the tunnel. I started crawling again and came up behind Donatello quickly. The girls disappeared down the side of the end of the tunnel. Donatello stood at the edge whimpering. I came up beside him and looked over the edge.

There was a ladder propped up against the side of the dirt wall which led down to a rather wide opening in the ground. The drop from the tunnel I was in was about four feet.

I looked at Don who started backing up from the edge. "Come on, Don. You've jumped farther before and survived. You surely can do it now."

Michael came to the end of the ladder and looked up at Don and me. "What's wrong?"

"He won't jump," I said.

Michael smiled. His teeth were the same white of his suit. I could see his blueish brown eyes sparkle from the faint light of several lanterns around the room.

"Come on, Don," Michael called up to him. "I'll catch you."

I looked back at Don who was at my side. He looked at me and whimpered. "You can trust him, Don."

Don took one step back hesitantly and then leaped off of the edge. I looked over the edge and saw Michael catch him in both of his arms. He held Donatello to his chest for a moment and then set him on the ground. Michael bent down and looked at Donatello in his eyes. He began petting his head. Donatello barked and began licking Michael's hand. His tail swished back and forth vigorously.

"I told you, you can trust me, Don," Michael said to him.

I smiled and turned my body so that my legs hung off of the side of the hole. I grabbed the edges of the ladder with my hands on either side and positioned my feet on the edges as well. I quickly let go of my grip and let myself slide down the ladder. My feet hit the ground quickly and I let go of the ladder. I brushed my sleeves down and walked over to Michael and Donatello.

Michael stood up and looked at me. "Are you trying to impress me?" he asked with a smile.

I smiled. "It depends, did it work?"

He smiled even more. "Rather well actually."

John went down the ladder normally and walked over to us. Annie and Diana came over as well from the other side of the room. Michael's smile slowly faded, as did mine. He began looking me up and down again with his eyes.

"Now," he said, "we have to do something about those clothes." He took a moment to think. "Lets give the media something to talk about with your first real appearance."

Michael disappeared around a bend in the big room and we could hear him shuffling around for something. He came out not five minutes later with a scarlet dress that had mild ruffles on the bottom and a pair of two inch heels that matched the dress. He came over to me and handed me the clothes.

"I hope this suites your fancy," he said with a smile.

I pursed my lips and looked at the dress. "Definitely a change from the clothes I have on, but...," His smile started to fade. I paused just to make him anxious, "it suites me perfectly fine." His smile came back. "Where do I change?"

Michael turned and pointed to the bend he had went around. I quickly went and changed and came back out with a small strut just for looks. Michael and John were talking and quickly turned around when Annie and Diana looked at me.

They both smiled. The dress had fit me perfectly and so had the shoes. The dress gave me room to move around and it wasn't hard to walk in. It was almost perfect. I had taken my hat off and piled my hair on top of my head with a clip I had found in the little room he had me change in. Several strands of hair fell down upon my cheeks and I didn't find it a problem. There was a small mirror in the room and I found myself looking rather dangerous. It basically fit my personality and standings.

Michael walked up to me gracefully and slowly. John right behind him. "You look rather smashing, darling," Michael said.

"You're looking rather dapper yourself," I said trying to seem at ease.

"So, this is the new Masked Ghost," John said with a smile. "Of course, that will mean you'll still have to wear the bandanna as a trademark."

"Why yes," I said, "it would only seem to fit proper."

John quickly dashed past us and around the bend coming back with my bandanna and my white gloves. He handed them to me and I slipped the gloves on my hands. I began putting on the bandanna and Michael stopped me.

"Here, let me," he said.

He turned me around and took the ends of the bandanna and tied them together so that the bandanna was right over my nose. I turned back around and looked at him.

"Perfect," he smiled.

"Weapons?" John asked.

Michael didn't stop looking at me. "We'll take care of them in the morning. Right now, I think we all need some rest."

He finally turned around. I looked over at Annie and Diana. They weren't looking at me. Annie was fanning her face again and Diana had her chin stuck out at the men.

Michael started talking again. "I believe we'll all discuss the situation between Annie and I in the morning." He paused and turned to me again. "In the meantime," he looked at Annie and Diana again, "you two will sleep in the bedroom around the same bend." He pointed to it. "John and I will sleep close to the opening just to be sure there are no intruders." He looked at me again. "And you and Don may sleep where ever you like." I smiled at him for his kindness.

So, Don and I ended up sleeping several yards away from where the men slept. My head was propped up on Don's hard stomach and he lay sprawled out on the large mat John provided us. My high heels were off of my feet and they lay several feet away from my feet. I was in the under part of the dress since I didn't want to sleep in the dress I've had for twenty minutes.

I couldn't help but lay awake looking at the Dynamic Duo sleep with Michael's hat over his eyes and John curled up in a ball facing the opposite way from me. The light from the one lantern lit shown on their faces slightly giving a shadowy look to both of them.

"You know," Michael said, "staring at people while they're trying to sleep is considered rude in countries like China."

I flipped myself on my back. "Sorry."

He laughed. "I'm kidding." Michael tilted his hat back so I could see his eyes and most of his forehead. I looked over at him with my head turned.

"Can't sleep, can you?" Michael stated.

I shook my head. "A little overwhelmed, that's all."

He smiled. "This never was a full time job for you, was it?"

I shook my head again. "Only at night." I shivered from the brief coldness of the cave.

Michael stood up and walked over to me with his white jacket in his hand. "Here," he said lying the jacket over me. I pulled it up to my chin and I instantly felt the heat that was still in it from his body.

"Sweet dreams, Alyssa," Michael said. "You'll get use to it soon enough. Well, not living in a cave, but our lifestyle. It's either our way or you eventually end up exposed or thrown in jail." He smiled. "I hope you stay with us."

I smiled back. Michael began walking back to his place. "Good night, Michael," I said to him.

"Good night, darling."