AN: I'm disappointed in this chapter, mostly because it's so darn short. It could be longer but I wanted to end it off right here and now. Thanks everyone for your reviews, you're awesome!

Chapter Three

The paper in her hands shook as she read it. Her eyes were wide with horror when she realized that Nikki wasn't the only missing child in the city.

"At least five children between the ages of thirteen and twenty have been reported missing," the paper read. "According to reporter Dan Harris, the mothers of these children are distraught and desperately seeking their children."

Alice dropped the paper when she heard a knock on the door. She was sitting at the kitchen table, reading the Morning Call as she usually did every Sunday.

Jack answered the door for her when Dana shouted down the stairs. Alice rolled her eyes when she saw the scowl on Jack's face. He wasn't much of a morning person, and usually slept in until noon every weekday.

The only reason he was awake now was because he had helped Mason move Greg's body back to his room. Everyone was afraid the man would wake up and start hollering that they were the reason behind his recent headache.

"Greg isn't awake yet, sorry ma'am." Alice looked up when she saw a woman standing in front of the door.

"I wasn't looking for the property's owner," the woman explained.

Surprise flared within Alice when she recognized the woman. She was the same woman Alice had seen at the park the day before. Jack looked more intimidated than ever when the woman stared him down.

"Strangers aren't allowed in the place," Jack said in a stern voice.

"I'm here to see if there are any children missing." The woman's words caught Alice by surprise, and she tried slumping down her seat in order to avoid any curious looks.

"Are you an investigator?"

"You could say that." Alice listened carefully as she thought of what she should tell the woman. She had already talked with her the day before. "Actually I'm here to investigate the power outages as well," the woman suddenly added.

She can't know about what happened already, Alice thought. Her hands were still trembling when she thought of everything that had happened in the past few days.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to let you in," Jack muttered. "Just don't tell Greg it was me who let you in."

He added the last part with a shrug as the woman stepped inside. Alice hid behind the paper and watched in amusement as the woman raised an eyebrow in surprise.

The living room was a small space with a shaggy, outdated carpet. Stains from previous tenants could be made out in the old carpet. Alice had no doubt there were blood stains there as well, but she realized it was better not to think about something like that.

"You all live here?" The woman's voice was filled with surprise, and something else that made Alice look up from the paper.

"There's about twelve of us living here," Jack explained. "Some of us have lived here all of our lives."

"Can't you find your own place?" The woman was pacing now, looking around for any evidence of the missing children.

"This is an orphanage." Alice blinked in surprise when she said the words. The woman whirled around and stared at Alice in disbelief.

"Most of us were abandoned by our parents when we were little." Jack's voice suddenly became bitter and angry when he spoke.

Alice looked at him in surprise. Jack had never gotten over being abandoned by his mother. His father had been killed in the army, and when he was born shortly after, his mother had given him up because he looked too much like his father.

"I'm sorry to hear that." The woman looked around warily before sighing in defeat. "If there's anything you need, give me a call."

Without warning she tossed a card with a number onto the kitchen table. Alice studied the card carefully and saw the name, "Natalie Rushman" written across it. Jack muttered something under his breath as he showed her the way out.

"Glad that's over," he muttered after slamming the door shut.

"Maybe she could've helped us," Alice murmured when she put the card in her pocket.

"Helped us with what? Shut the only home we have down?" His words came out in a snarl, and Alice lowered her gaze when she realized she had hit a sore spot.

"Sorry I said anything." Slowly she rose from her seat, wary he might threaten her again.

Once she was far enough away from Jack she walked up the stairs and made a point to avoid him for the next few days. For some reason he was in a bad mood, and angering him would only make things worse.

. . .

"She lives in an orphanage." Natasha's voice was cold as ice as she paced around the hotel room. The room itself was stingy at best, but it would do for their mission. Clint sat on the second bed, studying the paper she had picked up.

"You mean the kid you spoke to at the park?"

"She wasn't like the other kids. She was skinny, and something was wrong with her," she explained after sighing in annoyance.

"Nat, you know we have a mission to worry about," Clint told her. "We shouldn't be focusing on some random outsider."

Natasha shook her head in frustration. "You don't know what I saw," she snapped.

"So what do you suggest we do?" Clint's question caught her by surprise. Natasha whirled around to stare at him before pinching the bridge of her nose.

One thought had crossed her mind, but she quickly pushed it aside as soon as it came. It would take too much time, not to mention Fury would likely kill them. Besides, even if they did adopt a child it would mean putting the kid's life at risk.

"We could always watch her." The words came out quickly and almost forcefully. They were spies after all, it was in their training to watch over anyone they deemed suspicious.

"You mean we'd have two jobs?" Clint raised an eyebrow in surprise, than shook his head in frustration.

"Why not? We're already on one case, we might as well take another." Natasha added the last part in a shrug, dropping her voice to a whisper. Anyone overhearing them would likely have already called security or the cops.

Clint let out a sigh of frustration once more as Natasha began pacing again. She almost always paced when she was frustrated, and it helped her think when she needed to.

"Fine," Clint finally muttered after seconds of silence passed between them. Natasha glanced at him in surprise when he stood up. "But if Fury gets any word of this, it's on you."

Relief washed over Natasha's shoulders when she realized what this meant. Maybe the guilt she had felt after leaving that building would go away. She knew there was more to that girl than meets the eye. And she wanted to know why that was.

AN: So yeah, I ended it off there. And yes, Natasha is using her other name. For reasons to be explained later on ;)