North was apparently killed shortly after Jeremy left the scene that night.

Jeremy spent the next two days shakily recovering. He was able to eventually remove the blood stains from his shirt with soap and elbow grease, but the bloody images still stained his mind. It was almost as if Jeremy could still feel the warm blood on his knuckles, the sickening sound of shattering North's nose with one blow, and the adrenaline pumping through his veins.

Although he ended up drowning his anxieties with booze and cigarettes, it was still a lot to take in. He had been placed on such thin ice to skate on; one wrong move and he could be the one being beat to death in the alleyway behind the building next time.

Then again, this new role in society was surely going to be his demise one day, yet he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride about working with the real masterminds of the city. Plus after a quick chat with Fransisco that night, Jeremy had already gotten a pay raise, which had already helped Jeremy out financially.

Maybe it'll be like Fransisco said: if he plays by the rules, he could be living in luxury within a few months. It would certainly be a nice upgrade from the roach-infested apartment he calls "home" right now.

Jeremy settled down into his chair fairly quickly and set his wrapped up sandwich on the desk in front of him. He lit a cigarette and threw the rest of the carton on the desk as well.

He felt as if he should be getting more work from Fransisco. Aside from the short talk he had with Fransisco to discuss the specifics of Jeremy's new role, it was as if nothing out of the ordinary happened and Jeremy was still just a security guard. Maybe if he was lucky it would stay this way.

There was a yellow sticky note sitting on the phone. Jeremy pulled it off and read it. 'Left you a voicemail' it said.

Jeremy did what the sticky note said and pressed the button to view the voicemail left on the machine. After being greeted by the automatic female voice saying it had one new message, a familiar voice chimed in.

"Hey hey, champ! Look who's finally part of the family! Trust me, this whole gang stuff is not as bad as it sounds. I actually think Fransisco really likes you, so being here should be a walk in the park for you. Just don't be like James, heh heh.

"So I, uh, decided to leave you a message for you to help you avoid getting into serious trouble. Um, if you ever see a really tall woman with lots of clown makeup and fancy clothes with a mask on her face, it's pretty hard to miss her, that's, uh, Maggie. Though lately most of us have started calling her 'Mangle'. She's one of the higher up gang members, but she's locked herself away for a while after a little… incident, so that's why you never saw her.

Look, if she ever runs into you or comes in your office, please don't get hostile with her. I know you're temper can be kind of… short, but you gotta trust me on this one. This isn't like your first time meeting Ben; Mangle can and will kill you on the spot. She has loads of, uh, mental problems, and when she snaps she really snaps. Just be nice to her and stay calm. B-Besides, she doesn't wanna really hurt anybody- she's just... really affectionate.

"I, uh, thinks that's it. Just be nice and don't hurt her and your eyes should stay in your head. H-Have a good night!"

The end tone sounded a few seconds after Payton stopped talking. Jeremy sat back in the swivel chair to marinate in Payton's advice. A woman with clown makeup and fancy clothes certainly produced an exotic mental image.

'This place seems to be full of loons,' he thought, taking a long drag of his cigarette.

Three hours passed without incident. All of Jeremy's sandwich had been consumed and he had just finished his cigarette, which he roughly squished on the ashtray.

After finishing his cigarette, he momentarily left the office to take a quick piss break and splash himself with the sink water to perk up. Just as he was wiping his hands on his slacks while heading back to his office, he heard a loud crash coming from the kitchen.

Jeremy ran over to the kitchen to find that the door hand been opened. He cautiously stuck his head in and switched on the light. It seemed that only a pan had been knocked down from the rack above the stove.

He set the pan back to its original spot and turned the light back off on his way out. He heard a quiet giggle (no doubt the giggle of a child) come from somewhere nearby, despite the hall being completely deserted.

'Fransisco… doesn't have children… right?' he thought, clutching the taser in his pocket. Now there was faint whispering echoing through the hall, no doubt more than one person now. With careful steps, he advanced toward the source of the voices.

Even though Jeremy's eyes had adjusted to the dark by now, Jeremy still had a hard time seeing. He had no idea what was waiting him around the corner, but he sucked it up and slowly turned it. The voices immediately stopped.

There was a figure kneeling at the end of the hallway, but Jeremy could not make it out too well. His throat felt as dry as a desert, but child or not, Jeremy had to stand his ground.

"S-Show yourself!" he commanded, "I am armed and not afraid to use it!"

The figure stood up after several seconds of silence and began walking towards Jeremy, heels clicking softly. Before Jeremy had realized it, the figure had come into full view and was holding his face.

Before him stood a woman, who was at least several inches taller than Jeremy. She had red curly hair, a long sleeve-shirt, a corset, a flowing skirt, and at least a dozen necklaces and rings. But what caught Jeremy's attention the most was the masquerade mask that covered her eyes and her thick application of white makeup, along with deep red lipstick.

"Oh my stars," Cooed the woman in a sing-song voice, "Ben said you were good-looking, but you're simply adorable! You're cute enough to eat~"

Jeremy didn't take long to realize who this was and immediately put down his defenses. Though that didn't stop his heart from racing.

"You… you're Mangle… right?" Jeremy said, making sure to choose his words very carefully, "I-I mean, Maggie."

Mangle pulled her hands away from Jeremy's face and laughed. "Oh, you're too kind~ I don't mind if you call me that name. Ben started calling me that just a few days ago; isn't he just the funniest guy?"

'Well, Payton was right about the sick in the head part,' Jeremy thought.

"So, Mangle, was… anyone else here?" he inquired, trying not to sound unfazed by the eerie feeling of something being very off this woman was giving him, "Specifically a child."

Mangle grinned, flashing her white, too white, teeth in the darkness. "Oh, that was…" Her voice trailed off before she could finish and her smiled momentarily faded. "No children here~"

Jeremy raised an eyebrow. She was either fibbing or making up things, but Jeremy didn't want to risk arguing with her.

"Cheyenne told me about you," Mangle said, "Were you really a police office~?"

"Y-Yes," Jeremy replied, "Yes I was." It made him wonder what else Cheyenne had to say about him.

"Oh, how simply adorable~! No wonder you look so good in blue!"

"And you're, uh, one of Fransisco's 'friends'?" Jeremy asked.

"Why yes, we're quite close," Mangle replied, "He took me under his wing and lets me live if this beautiful building while he goes off and does his work. And I don't even have to pay rent~"

Jeremy nodded. He scanned the room as Mangle was having a giggle fit over her apparently hilarious joke. Despite nobody being around, he felt as if something else was in the area with him and Mangled, silently spying on them. A chill went up Jeremy's nerves.

Suddenly Jeremy's hand was grabbed and held up. "My goodness, what a beautiful watch you have!" Mangle exclaimed, "It shines so beautifully. It must've cost you a fortune~"

'Yeah, $34.99 is a fortune to me,' Jeremy thought. He noticed that every piece of gold and silver jewelry Mangle was wearing was striking real-looking. Maybe Fransisco was her sugar daddy who loaded her up with gifts. Though that was unlikely, seeing as how mentally unstable she was just by looking at her. But maybe Fransisco was into that stuff.

Jeremy slipped his hand out of Mangle's grasp. "Look," he said with forced calmness, "I have to get back to my job. Cameras aren't gonna watch themselves, y'know?"

Mangle frowned. "Aw, you have to leave me so soon?" she said. It took her a second before her smile returned. "Well… I suppose I will see you another night."

She leaned down and held Jeremy's chin with one hand as she placed a firm grandma kiss on his cheek. Jeremy considered wiping it off, but decided to wait until he was away from Mangled to avoid hurting her feelings.

"See you another time, mister police officer~" Mangle hummed playfully, waving with her ring-covered hand and turning around to do some sort of walk that resembled a skip with her high-heeled boots.

Jeremy waited until Mangle was out of sight to turn around and quickstep to the bathroom. He roughly wiped his cheek and looked at himself in the mirror. A crimson smear had been stained on his face and on his hand. He groaned and used a paper towels to forcibly get rid of the kiss mark.

The rest of the night went back to being calm and quiet. Six o' clock rolled around before Jeremy even knew it and caught him off guard. Jeremy was resting his head on his elbow trying to doze off as he was greeted by the swinging open of the office door.

"Mooooring, Jer-bear!" Fritz called out in a perky voice. There was coffee in one hand and her plump purse in another.

Jeremy jumped and audibly groaned as he rubbed his eyes. He turned around in his swivel chair.

"Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" He groused.

Fritz laughed. "Uh, duh, this is my workspace too, not your bedroom. Now get up and get out lazy bones."

Jeremy reluctantly got up and shoved his cigarette box into his pocket. It was way too early to get Fritz's overly-happy shit right in his face. But just as he was getting ready to walk out, he suddenly remembered something he needed to ask Fritz. He stopped in his tracks and looked back as Fritz was setting her things down.

"Hey, you uh… wanna get coffee?" Jeremy asked, "I mean, after your shift. Same place as last time?"

Frtiz glanced over at Jeremy and thought for a moment. "Sure," she replied, not sounded as peppy as Jeremy expected, "Be there at noon."