***.

It was cold in the house, coupled with what had happened the night before Isa wasn't having the most comfortable morning, all he wanted was a good days sleep after the hour he had last night. Mila had told him he'd have to wait up for Shortie, she wanted the money he had earned, also apparently she liked to check in on her new recruits.

The sun was nearly up, it's rays focused on eliminating the chill that spread over the city, Isa admired the workers here, not hindered by rain, hail, shine and other shit like that. These people knew how to work. They were coming in at all times, some even worked for days at a time, coming back tired and sore. A sure sign of a good worker.

He sat on his bed, not daring to lie down on it's smooth sheet and moth eaten pillows, sleep would come all too easy and Shortie would kill him. Seriously. Mila had told him stories about Shortie and her temper, the kids that had to be punished. One story going through his mind kept him wide eyed trying to stay awake, the poor girl and her brush with 'death'. She stupidly decided to keep a fair amount of her earnings, much more than was standard with Shortie. The guess is she just didn't know. Last thing heard she had two broken legs, a cracked rib and various shades of black and blue all over. Her pretty blue eyes swollen and red. No one has heard from her since, Shortie had contacts that could help remove the problem for good. Now this was what has scared Isa.

A strong jolt at the door made Isa yelp, thankful he now had something else on his mind, soon he would be sleeping soundly. He ran the small distance to answer the door.

"I hear you had a good night Isa," Shortie rushed in, no hello, greeting of any kind. "I'm in a hurry, so I have to be quick, tell me how things went in five minutes or less," She hurried on, her face covered with dark, moist hair.

"Well Mila took me to a place not too far, it was crowded. Someone wanted me and Mila sorted it out for me, then he took me for a drive, then he paid me," Isa finished with a grin, his eyes shining, proud of his pay. He continued smiling on through the silence that followed, Shortie stared at him with one eyebrow raised. his smile went dead, his thoughts turned dark.

"Money?" Was all she said, the corner of her mouth twitched up and she coughed. Her hand put up waiting for her money.

He fumbled in his pocket for the cash, hoping to get it quick and he handed it to her. "That's it I swear," He pleaded, handing over the crisp hundred dollar bill. At this Shortie had to smile.

"I believe you, I know how much you got." She opened up the top of the intimidating cane she always carried and pulled out a bundle of notes from the hand hold. She counted out his share and handed it to him, twenty five dollars for all his good work. "Now, before I go, the man you helped out, did he use protection?" Her words sounded grave, as if he might be ruined, that one small thing like that was all the reason she needed to get in contact with her contacts.

His mind raced, looking back to the moment in the car, but he couldn't be sure. He didn't even take notice, why the hell didn't anyone tell him? "Is it... that bad if he didn't?" He muttered sounding like a child in deep shit. Knowing the answer he hung his head, resigned himself to go back on the street.

Shortie snapped the head of her cane closed, her money brilliantly encased, her eyes softened as her head came back up. this was a woman of steel but anyone could tell she had her soft spots. "No Isa, not yet. It can be handled, you're on leave until I let you know what will happen." She gave him a tired smile and let out, "Good job Isa." Then she swept out of the room, smacking her cane on the door frame and shutting the door with necessary force. Isa listened as the thumping of the cane on the grimy floor faded down the hall, on her way to another newcomer probably.

The bed creaked as he lay down, again not daring to close his eyes, the ceiling held some interest for his eyes while his mind was racing. Thoughts directed at Mila and why she couldn't have made sure with the man, that's what she came along with him for right? He lay there feeling betrayed by one of the people he thought he could trust and now he could have a bigger problem. There was heaps of shit you could get from not using a condom, he could die. Shortie would help though, fix him up and he will be working in no time, just like the rest of the kids in this house. He was learning to look up to them.