This is the second re-write of Chapter 2...And thank goodness for it that I went on a long, boring vacation, because I got one great idea!

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, and I have never been part of a gang, good or evil.

Of Rivets and Angels

Chapter 2: A Broken Heart

"Fools!" the Boss yelled. "Imbeciles! How could you, Rivets, lose to a couple of child Angels?! And one of them a girl!"

"Sorry boss…" the three muttered.

The leader took a deep breath, then looked up. "What is it?!" the Boss shouted.

"If you'll please, sir, I believe I know a way to return our honor." he said, and smiled a bit in excitement. "That boy…I followed him. He walked the girl we'd jumped home. And…I could see it." he stepped forward. "He has feelings for her. If we…"

"Stop!" snapped the leader, and he quieted. The Boss was working it out in his head. "I know what you're saying…We get the girl, and the Angel comes running, is that right?"

"Exactly, sir!" the man was excited. "Then shall we?"

"Yes…" the boss laughed to himself. "We shall…"

~ * ~ * ~

T.K. sighed. He sat on a roof, but it wasn't one of the apartment buildings around them. It was an old police storage site, empty, with about six rooms in it, one of the places the Angels used for shelter.

Even though the Angels weren't officially part of the police, and weren't on their payroll, or ever, ever mentioned in the police reports, the local station appreciated them greatly. They let the Angels stay at old warehouses or sheds whenever they were in the area, and donated bread when food was low.

Even though, the Angels almost never got paid and practically never had enough to eat, but it was alright. The Angels weren't in this gig for rewards, they were in it for the feeling, and for a meaning to their lives.

Each and every Angel was a runaway, or an orphan, homeless, or abused. Some were adolescent, some adult, but all had gone through the training and had the same mission: to protect people from the Rivets.

Mia's father had been a drug addict, and she'd had six younger brothers and sisters. It finally got to where her folks didn't have enough money to take care of her, and she'd been set out on the streets to fend for herself at eleven. T.K. didn't like to think about his past or family, and talked about it even less.

He sighed, leaning back on the slanted roof. Right now, he and Mia were the only ones staying at this location, but the roof was still the only place he could escape, and even then, just for a moment.

He reached into the inside breast pocket of his jacket and pulled out a picture. It was a wonderful memory, him and Kari, in New York. She was smiling, he was giving the peace-sign wave and, although you couldn't see it, he had his arm around her, mainly to make Davis mad. But it was still such a sweet memory…yet, so hurtful…

"What 'cha got there?"

T.K. jumped a foot and stuffed the picture back into his pocket. Mia had snuck up on him, and no matter how fast he'd been, she'd seen the picture and knew what was happening.

"So, it is your neighborhood, after all!" she cried triumphantly. "And that girl we saved today…no wonder you were so shy!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" T.K. snapped, turning pink.

"Okay, T.K., 'fess up." Mia grabbed him. "Who is she? A friend? Or more?"

"Mia…" T.K. growled warningly. "Drop it."

He turned away. But when Mia got onto something, she was relentless until she got what she wanted.

"Something I always wondered about you, T.K.…" she said, approaching from another angle. "Is why you ran away in the first place. You always said it had to do with your parent's split and your brother being so busy and all…but there had to be more."

She grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him around. "It had something to do with that girl, didn't it?" she demanded. "What happened? What's going on?"

"Just drop it!" T.K. snapped, and turned stubbornly away again.

Mia's head dropped. "T.K.…You know you can tell me…" she whispered, but he didn't answer. Then she worked it out, and her face lit up.

"She broke your heart, didn't she?!" she squeaked. T.K. refused to answer, but she'd figured it out. "She did! You fell in love, and she rejected you!"

"Mia, would you just SHUT UP!!" T.K. shouted.

Mia fell silent. Her friend almost never screamed, and never at her. She'd rubbed a real sore spot. "I'm sorry…" she whispered.

T.K. took a deep breath. "I didn't mean to yell." he said, as calmly as he could. "It's just…You wouldn't understand."

"Try me." Mia whispered.

T.K. shook his head. "No."

Finally, Mia dropped it. The two of them sat on the roof, watching the sun set, not talking, not moving, not looking at each other, just watching the sun go down as the sky turned a brilliant orange.

"T.K.?" Mia asked quietly.

He turned. "Yeah?"

She grabbed the collar of his shirt and yanked him to her. She pressed her lips to his and held them there. T.K. was so shocked he couldn't even move, just stared at her wildly.

Suddenly, she let go. She was smiling and turning a very pale shade of pink. "Gotta go." she whispered, then leapt down from the roof and ran to start her shift.

~ * ~ * ~

"Kari!" Yolei called, "Are you coming or what?!"

"I'm coming…"

Kari picked up her bag and slid it over her shoulders. She and Yolei were heading home from school together. Both were dressed in the Odiva Jr. High uniform: Green skirt, long-sleeved green shirt, a white sailor's collar, and a navy bow in front.

"Sorry 'bout that, Yolei…" she muttered. "I was just thinking…"

"You've been awfully spaced lately, Kari." Yolei gave her friend a worried look. "Somethin' the matter?"

"Oh…kinda." Kari sighed. "It's weird…I mean, I don't even know him…"

"Who?" she'd got Yolei's interest. "A new crush? It's about time! You haven't had a date since you and Davis broke up!"

Kari blushed. She should never have opened her big mouth. She and Davis had broken up after a year and a half. They were still friends, but not lovingly close.

"Well?" Yolei prompted. "Who is it?"

"Just…Just some guy…" Kari muttered. "It was a couple of days ago…I nearly got mugged on the way home from your store…"

"You've got a crush on a mugger?"

"No!" Kari snapped. "It was…Well, these two kids dropped outta nowhere and cashed them off! It was amazing!"

"Ah…" Yolei grinned. "So which hero was it?"

"There was only one guy…" she continued. "The other was…"

"Sounds like he's already got a girlfriend." Yolei waved a warning finger.

"Oh, but he said that she's just his partner!" Kari insisted. "She made him walk me home…Poor kid, he was so shy! Barely looked at me the whole time! Said they were part of a team called Angels, and she was his assigned partner, and…"

"Take it easy! Take it easy!" Yolei waved her arms around. "I didn't ask for a play-by-play! Just tell me…What's he like?"

"Well…" Kari had a dreaming looked in her eyes. "He was really sweet…And cute…And he had the best voice…"

"Hair/eyes/height?" Yolei prompted.

"Blonde. But I couldn't see his eyes, there were these black sunglasses that covered them up. And he must have been about six foot three…he was almost taller than my brother!"

"Mm-hm…" Yolei had a very strange look on her face. "I see…"

"To tell the truth…" Kari pulled a picture out of her pocket and fingered it quietly. "He sortta reminded me of someone…"

Yolei glanced at the picture. "Who? T.K.?"

Kari blushed and stuffed the New York picture back into her pocket. It was true. He had reminded her of T.K., but…He was gone, now. He'd run away years ago. But still…

"There's Ken!" she said quickly, drawing attention away from herself.

Yolei quickly straitened her hair and adjusted her glasses to meet her boyfriend. They two had been going out for about two years now, and she always looked forward to seeing him after school. He always looked the best, she insisted, in the black slacks, navy blue jacket, white shirt and black tie required of the Tamachi High male students.

Kari felt a pang of jealousy as she greeted her boyfriend with a hug and was returned with a kiss. She remembered longingly what it was like to have someone to be close to…she desperately wanted one again. Maybe that boy…As if. She'd probably never see him again. It would do no good to dwell on him forever.

With a screech, a black car suddenly came screeching up to the curve, spewing up a cloud of dust the covered Kari for a moment. The door crashed open, and several men in black jackets, filled with holes, leapt out.

"Okay, sister, in the car." one growled, grabbing Kari by the wrist.

"Hey…Leggo!" Kari squirmed, but the other two started forcing her into the back of the car. "Yolei! Ken! Help!"

Ken was on the run in an instant. "Put her down!" he shouted, throwing a punch at the guy's face.

But these men were well trained. He grabbed Ken's fist in one hand, then forcefully kneed him in the stomach. Ken doubled over and hit his knees, gasping for breath.

"Ken!" Yolei cried, running to his side.

The men threw Kari into the back of the car, jumped in, and slammed the door. Kari pressed her hands against the glass as the car speed away, her two friends watching helplessly as it disappeared down the street.