Wally had been following the back roads and alley ways at every possible point without risking his life. He knew which street corners to avoid unless he wanted to be gutted, and which passages between buildings where most of the drug dealers and call ladies lurked. He wasn't born to this life, but he had caught on quicker than he had ever wanted to.

He was also keenly aware that he was being followed.

He had tried to bolt and hide three different times now, swerved and flitted every which way he knew. He couldn't get caught, he wouldn't get caught, but it unnerved him that he couldn't dodge this follower. They'd been on his tail since about five minutes away from the bus terminal. They never approached him, which meant they were supposed to keep an eye on him, probably to report back to someone.

The question was, who?

Nightwing was the obvious choice, considering how Wally had treated him not too long ago and the man's horrible reputation for exacting his brand of justice when needed. Hence why leaving the state was a good decision. But it could also be someone sent from him, and as much as Wally was ready to pee his pants at the idea of the dark vigilante catching him, if he found him, it would be worse.

Much worse.

I just need to get to the library. He pulled the ragged and dirty jacket around him more tightly as a frosty breeze ran through, making him shiver violently. Worse case scenario, I lose them inside and have to find a different hiding spot. His heart was beating violently in his chest. He'd have thought four months living on the streets in Gotham would have hardened him to this, but it didn't.

A glass bottle was kicked not too far behind him, and his breathing spiked again. Before he knew it, he was running, dashing and turning and leaping over trash bins as fast as he could. He couldn't believe he had let the tail get that close- that was too close. And when all was said and done, he was a ten year old kid who didn't want to die. What would happen to his goal? To uncle Len? He cried out involuntarily as his too-quick feet didn't completely jump a short trash can and sent him crashing to earth. Breathing heavily, he froze, intent on listening for his pursuer. Maybe he had finally shaken him? Gotta find a safe spot, gotta find a safe spot…
"W-Who's there?"

Wally's head shot up at the sound of someone not behind him, but in front of him. And it was a girl by the sound of it. Sure enough, as his eyes finally settled, he saw that it was indeed a girl, probably just barely an adult by her height. She looked terrified, her orange hair a little wild and drooping. Judging by the clothes, she had been out clubbing.

"If you don't answer, I'll pepper spray you." She threatened the dark shadows, whipping out the canister so Wally knew she meant business. Oh boy, being half blind would definitely slow him down.

"Sorry." He mumbled, loud enough so she would hear, but not so much that it would carry. He gingerly picked himself up and slowly came into the light. The woman visibly relaxed at the sight of him, her eyes gleaming briefly with something, but Wally didn't know what.

"Geez, you're just a kid!"

"Yeah well, your just a girl." He snipped back.

She raised an eyebrow superiorly, but there was a hint of laughter in her eyes. "A lady with pepper spray aimed at you."

Oh yeah. "Please don't?" He tried to keep his breathing even and casual, he tried to keep everything casual. "I just tripped, I didn't mean to scare you."

"Well, you made quite a lot of noise." Her brow furrowed, and he realized he wasn't acting casual enough when she asked. "Were you running from something? Are you okay?"

"Um," that's right, he had a tail he needed to loose, and sitting still wasn't going to make that happen. "Fine, sorry again for scaring you…" He edged away from her, slinking towards the darker part of the street so he could take off again and be done with the whole encounter.

"Kid…" He saw from under the street light her face morph to one he never liked- pity. "Listen- uh, I'm not the best role model here or anything, but- look, you shouldn't be wandering like this on these streets, there's all kinds of characters out here. And, well, I'm a bit nervous myself. Could we," her posture turned inward, like she felt silly for asking, "walk together?"

That stopped Wally in his tracks. "What? Why?"

The red head rolled her eyes, the dark lipstick contrasting with her skin. "Aside from the fact that something is obviously wrong and I don't want to leave you alone like this, I'd feel better with a second pair of eyes too."

His green eyes flashed in irritation. "I can take care of myself!"

"Fine, fine!" The red head made a placating gesture, looking unsure again. "But… I'm sorry, I really am scared here. My group was too drunk and the party was getting crazy and this guy-" she was rambling and didn't seem to notice. "And I just… I don't want to walk these streets alone."

He should have left right then. Given her a gruff 'tough, you're in Gotham' and been on his way. He didn't like walking the streets alone either, and he lived on them. But she really did look scared, and he could tell from her accent Gotham wasn't her town. Her blue eyes were literally pleading with him, and that plus the red hair gleaming in the lamp light-

"Go, Wally!"

"I don't wanna!" The little boy grasped at his mother's arm as she made to move away. "I'm scared! You promised you'd keep me safe! You and daddy promised!"

The curly red head gleamed under the growing fire light, and Wally could see that she was crying now. "Wallace Rudolph West, I said go." Wally's grip slackened in shock enough that she tugged out of his grip and shoved him towards the street. "Go." She whispered, still crying, as she turned and ran for the burning building.

"Okay."

The younger girl looked relieved, her shoulders relaxing from their tense position slightly. "Really?"

He shrugged, trying to will the flashback away. "Nobody should be alone when their scared."

"Aha," she walked up to him, taking the lead on where they needed to go. "Just don't tell my friends that I was scared enough to ask a six year old for help, okay?" She teased, better now that she had company.

"Hey! I'm ten!" He hurried up to walk alongside her, still keeping his voice low in case.

"You're short for ten." She returned with a smile.

"I'm just the size I should be." Her pretty hair was getting to him, it wasn't the same length, or even the same amount of curls, but the color and her voice… No, he scanned the street quickly as an excuse to look away. Stop thinking about her, about them. You have a job to do. "You have to do something for me."

The girl looked down at him, surprised. She blinked a few times before slowly answering with, "Well, I guess that's fair. What can I help you with?"

"I need a ride." Wally could still feel the sense of someone following them. "It won't be a long one; I just need to get closure to a different part of town." Or farther from the shadow that was one foot. "It's a fair trade."

The girl laughed lightly, but he noticed her looking over her shoulder apprehensively. "Yeah, that's a decent trade. Heck, I'm fine with taking you anywhere at this point."

"Mommy, are you scared?"

"Of course not sweetie." She stroked his cheek as he leaned against her in the back seat. "Are you?"

"… uh huh." He snuggled closer to her side, holding tightly to her warm clothes.

"Well you don't need to be," she said reassuringly, "me and your dad will keep you safe, always." He looked up and saw her smiling down at his little head. He believed her.

He noticed the girl's hand was shaking and instinctively grabbed it. She looked down, surprised again, but didn't seem to mind the grubby hand, and in fact gave a small squeeze back. "Don't worry," Wally smiled up at her, like his mom had all those years ago. "I'll keep you safe."

X-X-X-X

From high above, a shadowed figure watched as the pair made their way towards a sparse parking lot, several streets behind them a flighty form dogging their steps. He frowned at the sight. His gloved hands moved to his ear piece. "We have a possible interceptor of the package approaching. Move the plan forward, time to catch our runner."