Of Thieves And Do Gooders

I must have awoken several hours later, but it seemed like it had only been a few minutes ago that I had been hit in the back of the head. My head was obviously thinking the same thing, because it was pounding nonstop.

I opened my eyes with a groan and sat up groggily. What in the hell had that been about? I help that little rat escape when he gets lost and he knocks me on the head? What kind of shit was that? My head whipped around at this thought, taking in my surroundings. I was a little jumpy when it came being blindsided by some cheeky, hot thief that was way too precise when it came to anything.

I thought we were on good terms, since I helped him escape, and he sold me out...if anything I think I should've been the one hitting him. Since, I had probable cause, unlike him. Crazy bastard thinks his looks give him the means to knock people out. If he were still around I’d teach him otherwise…

With another moment of observation, I recognized my living room and relaxed, he had taken me back home...how'd he know where I lived? I was never consistent where I stayed, and when I stayed somewhere I didn’t stay long. I shuddered at the thought and pushed it out of my mind.

Wondering how long I had been out, I leaned over the couch to see into the small kitchen, where there was a clock on the wall. It flashed the time at eight twenty-one in the morning. So I hadn't gotten much sleep, despite being knocked out.

I got up quickly, a little too quickly and stumbled slightly, but kept my balance. I yawned as I walked into the kitchen, I was starving. Break-ins always seemed to exhaust me, which might have had something to do with an adrenaline rush from the moments in which I was almost caught. Almost.

But I was up, so I wasn't planning on going back to sleep, so I figured I’d at least make some food.

I made up a quick sandwich, ate it and then I was out the door. I didn't bother changing out of my clothes, they were comfortable and I wasn't going anywhere fancy. My pocket was feeling a little light, so I figured I'd go ahead and pick up some cash. I would hit up one of my usual spots. When I reached into my pocket something touched my fingertips, and for a moment, I thought I had left trash in my pocket, you know a wrapper or something.

However, when I pulled the object out of my pocket I realized it was the diamond-heart necklace I had found the night before. A-ha! I hadn't come out of that house empty-handed! I couldn't help but smile at this thought. But that smile soon faded at the thought of necklaces when I realized that I had lost my necklace.

That was a bit of a downer, but I shrugged it off for the moment. I would just break into the old man's house some other time to find it, now that that one annoying guy wouldn't be there to interfere...and now that I knew there were more than two dogs...

I pocketed the necklace. I'd take a look at it later, maybe drop it off at a pawn shop for some easy cash.

I continued in the direction I was heading, if I headed to the central area of town I'd be sure to find someone with an obese wallet. Since, wallets with weight problems were a thief's best friend. Not the other way around.

When I arrived in front of a popular restaurant, several people filed past me and very casually stumbled forward and hit an older man with my shoulder. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" I stated apologetically, putting one hand on his shoulder in a friendly gesture, while my other hand dipped into his coat pocket and then back out just as quickly.

The man smiled back at me, sending a jolt of guilt down my spine. "It's alright, these are clumsy times," he joked good-naturedly and he continued on his way.

I flipped open the wallet I had received and pulled out what ever money had been in it, then folded it again. As a young girl passed me I stopped her, "Hey! Wait a second, you wanna do me a favor?" I asked the little girl in a child-like tone.

The girl nodded her head vigorously, how cute she was. "Sure." She smiled and looked very attentive.

"Take this," I handed the wallet to her, "And give it to that man in the green jacket. Okay?"

The girl's mother suddenly noticed me and grabbed her daughter's arm, pulling her away from me with a vicious glare. "Okay," the girl replied just as happily as she had been before, and I saw her dart away from her mother.

With that taken care of I headed off in the opposite direction with my hands in my pockets. Luckily for me the guy had one hundred and fifty dollars, so I was content for the moment, at least I could get some groceries now.

I hadn't walked more than a block when someone stopped me, "Hey! Wait a minute." Someone put their hand on my shoulder, and I paused.

It was a teenager, maybe, he could've been in his early twenties also. His hair was crimson colored and just barely long enough to cover his ears, while his eyes were an intriguing blue color. As for height he was several inches taller than me, but that was expected since he was a guy, and he had a slim and yet fairly muscular figure, he was a guy that probably didn’t get in fights often. Mostly because he was pretty big, as in to the point where if you bumped into him you would apologize and hope he didn’t pound your face into the ground. He smiled at me when I turned and I merely watched him carefully. what did he want? I didn't know him...he didn't even look familiar.

"What?" I asked aloud.

"I've been looking for you. Your name's Raymond right?" He moved around to the side of me, "How's your head? I heard," he put his hand on the back of my head where I had been hit, and I pulled away from him.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked sharply, what kind of guy was this? Touching people he didn't even know...

...Wait, did he call me Raymond? I stiffened at this information.

"Oh, sorry, I was just curious how your head was, since I heard Hayden whacked you pretty good." He smiled at me, and I cocked an eyebrow in his direction.

...Hayden?...Who the hell was Hayden?

Hmm, let's see here...the latest person to hit me in the head was that cheeky thief so...That might be Hayden?

"Who are you?" I inquired suspiciously. If this guy was friends with that cheeky asshole of a theif, then he sure as hell wasn't any friend of mine.

"Hmm? Oh, sorry, my name's Leon," he pointed to himself energetically. "It's nice to meet ya, Raymond." He held out his hand and I grabbed it, trying to give myself a manly handshake.

Apparently I failed because Leon said with a laugh, "Wow, you got a girly handshake don't you?" He smiled at my glare. "Just kidding! Just kidding! But seriously now, I've been looking for you." Leon looked up at the sky momentarily, "Uhh, what was your last name again?" He looked at me expectantly.

Last name...? I hesitated and blinked furiously as I attempted to think, only coming up with the internal response of: Oh crap! I don't know!

"I-I, umm, my last, name? It's uhh..." I trailed off not sure what name to come up with. Of all of the worst moment to draw a blank.

"Frost!" Leon exclaimed suddenly with a snap of his fingers. "Raymond Frost, right?" he asked with a triumphant grin.

I felt something cold run up my spine. How'd he know my last name? As in my real last name, the name I kept from anyone at all costs. Something about the name made me feel sick, I didn't feel right using it as my own.

"Anyway, we can talk later, I've got orders to take you somewhere. But, I need you to close your eyes." Leon smiled at me again, he was filled with so much energy it was overwhelming. And if he kept smiling like that I felt that I was going to have to hit him in the face. Not that it was an unpleasant smile or anything to that effect, but no one should have that much enthusiasm over nothing.

"What? Screw that! I don't even know you," I replied hastily, my "rape alert" sounding off in my head instantly. My rape alert was one of my few girly habits. Paranoia that anything with a penis will try and rape you? Check.

I saw part of the energy in Leon's eyes die a bit but he still held onto his persistent smile. "You'll just have to trust me, I guess. I mean, you trusted Hayden, didn't you?"

"No I didn't," I spat instantaneously. I was appalled if that was what he was telling people. The day I trusted him was surely the same day that pigs came flying out of a gaping frozen hole in the ground entitled "Hell".

"I specifically remember hearing that you cooperated with him."

"You heard wrong."

"I thought I heard right."

"You were mistaken."

"I'm pretty sure you went along with him."

"I beg to differ."

Leon watched me with a smirk instead of a smile now, like his smile was dying. "You know, I could just knock you out like Hayden did, then this whole ordeal will be a lot easier."

"Thanks for the heads up," I replied, taking a step away from him, so he was no where near the back of my head. Being knocked out twice by quite possibly people from the same strange organization would just be downright embarrassing. Not to mention dangerous.

Leon reached into his pocket and pulled out a thick headband and handed it to me, and I took it hesitantly. "If you won't close your eyes, just put that on," he offered as a compromise.

"How's this any better than closing my eyes?" I asked incredulously.

"What?” Leon sounded thoroughly perplexed, and then supplied, “It just is."

"No it's not," I argued with a snort.

"Yes it is."

"No it's not."

"Yes it is."

"No it's not, I can do this all day," I warned him fairly.

Leon sighed, "Well then, I guess you'll just have to follow me with your eyes open."

I handed the headband back to him, since there was no way in hell I was putting that over my eyes. Leon took it back casually and stuffed it back in his pocket.

"Why should I follow you? I have things to do you know. I can't be following random guys around, do I look like a blonde?" I asked, feeling dumb the moment later since I was indeed a blonde, just a dark blonde.

"Come on, just help me out here? I'm gonna fail if you don't come along," Leon whined slightly, making him seem a tad cuter for a vague moment, but I shook the thought away, remembering at that moment I was a guy a straight guy, well at least if I was a guy I'd be a straight one.

"Ugh, fine, I'll follow you. But you better not try anything funny. If you turn out to be anything like Buffalo Bill I'm gonna be pissed." Leon smiled again and turned around gesturing for me to follow him. “And what the hell do you mean you’re going to fail?” I added as a second thought. Who the hell graded people on talking to someone they don’t even know? Some sort of “Socially Awkward Management” clinic?

Leon ignored my question and we walked on in silence. The first alley we came to he walked in and I paused at the entrance. "Oh hell no," I stated, waiting patiently at the start of the alley. Leon turned around curiously, throwing an innocent look in my direction. "First rule about random guys: No dark, smelly alleys," I stated firmly, eyeing the alley suspiciously as if spikes were supposed to shoot out and kill me.

Leon didn't answer and I looked at him sharply, he was standing in the alley with that same smile on his face. But now...it seemed more forced. I jumped at the sound of a rock being moved, I attempted to pivot on my right foot but, something struck me in the exact same spot that I had been hit the night before. I exhaled painfully and stumbled forward before actually falling to the ground.

"You...bastard..." I muttered, my last words before that all-too familiar darkness enveloped me.

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Leon's Point of View

The moment I walked not even half way down the alley I heard Raymond behind me, "Oh hell no," he stated firmly and I turned around to look at him with a mock curious look on my expression.

"First rule about random guys: No dark, smelly alleys," Raymond said with a defiant tone to his voice.

Well at least he has some sense to him, since dark alleys are the best places for murders.

If he hadn't been so focused on me, he might've heard Damion sneaking up behind him. I smiled, trying to reassure him so we could get this thing over with. But apparently my smile didn't work so well, because Raymond suddenly tried to throw himself around in the other direction almost too quickly for Damion to reach him. Luckily Damion was able to hit him in the back of the head before he could even see him.

Raymond stumbled forward slightly, and then fell to the ground muttering something that sounded like, "new ass lard."

...Nah, that couldn't have been right.

I walked over to Damion who smiled triumphantly as he stood next to Raymond's body. "Nice one," I called in an entertained fashion and gave him a high five, just for the hell of it.

An old lady peaked her head around the corner of the alley suspiciously. I could tell from the look on her face that she was one of those overly curious old ladies that wanted to know everything that went on around her. "Hi," I called, giving Damion the heads up that the old woman was there.

Damion turned around casually and gestured to Raymond. "Our buddy here's been hitting the booze pretty hard," he explained quickly, not even missing a beat. "His girlfriend just broke up with him and his dad just died last week," Damion feigned a sympathetic tone, lying comfortably and confidently.

The old lady snorted, clearly disapproving of Raymond drinking himself stupid at such a young age. If he were really drunk anyway. Pulling her purse up close to her face so that she could adjust her large round glasses, she muttered, "Young'uns..." With that said, she shook her head and shuffled on her merry way whilst muttering to herself.

"Good cover." I replied, giving him another high five and kneeling beside Raymond. He was definitely out like a light, good thing I had a partner for this mission otherwise this might've been way more annoying.

"Hmph, looks like Hayden wasn't kiddin' when he said this guy wouldn't go so easily," Damion commented with a smirk, squatting down beside me.

"Yeah, well, he seems like a careful bastard, that was the only issue though,” I paused and then said, “come on lets get him back.” I grabbed Raymond's waist and hoisted him over my shoulder with ease. He was light as hell, must not have had much muscle or fat on his entire body.

"Yeah, alright," Damion agreed, following behind me as I continued down the alley.

__________________________________________________________

Raymond’s Point Of View

I heard a groan, and jumped upward into a sitting position, soon after realizing that it was myself that had groaned. What had happened again? I thought it had something to do with cheese at first, oh right I'd had a sandwich with cheese on it earlier that day...wait...no that wasn't it...

It snapped back to me abruptly. Leon! That son of a bitch! He hit me from behind! Well not him physically, but he distracted me! Curse him! No wonder he knew Hay...something, Hayrod? Hay...ben? No...

Hayden! That was it. I guess sneak attacks were their thing, pretty low down and dirty if you ask me.

I peered around me...wait a minute...I wasn't at home like I was last time...I was somewhere completely new...This wasn't good.