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Chapter Nine

Owen's form was no more than a shadow against the darkness of the night as he moved with only the silent ease of an experienced vampire. He effortlessly tracked the guy down, his abilities with the Plane making it that much easier as he disappeared and reappeared whenever the time arose. It was funny. He had been less than pleased and a little thrown off when thy guy suddenly just turned the corner. It all just seemed a little bit too…convenient…

Nevertheless, he was never one to argue with fate, especially when fate proved useful….

Timothy James Cummings

Born: September 2, 1974

POB: Springfield, Colorado

Height: 5'7"

Weight: 132 lbs

Eye Color: Brown

Hair Color: Blond

Is Charged for the Evasion of Arrest for his crimes against Humanities Rights Law #362

Owen grinned. He was never one to forget faces, especially when regarding bounties, but this guy's face, for one, was a hard one to forget. A rather large birthmark inhabited the left side of his face making him instantly recognizable. Starting from the center of his forehead, it crescented outwards and over the boy's left eye before dwindling to nothing as it curved back to meet the guy's mouth corner. To say that it made him stand out was an understatement if there ever was one. However, Owen couldn't help but wonder as to how he was able to evade the authorities when he sported such a clear identity marker.

'He must have been helped…but by whom?'

Suddenly, in the alley before him, the boy stopped, pausing as he looked around. Hissing lightly, Owen narrowly avoided being spotted as the boy turned to check his surroundings. Luckily, by the time the guy had turned in his direction, he was safely hidden amongst the shadows of the surrounding building. Nevertheless, he chided himself.

'Too close!'

Owen took this opportunity to finally look around at his surroundings as well. He couldn't help but grow puzzled as to why the guy had chosen to stop here, of all places. Garbage spewed the narrow alleyway, that and the nearby dumpster making the alleyway prudent with smells definitely less than pleasant. Owen couldn't help but feel the slightest bit nauseous (Not even the sewers smelt this bad…), but he knew he couldn't dwell on it now.

No, he had to focus on the question at hand.

'What is Thomas up to?'

His immediate mind told him to bust the guy now, claim the reward, and go back to the lair while Thomas was just a "sitting duck" open for the taking, but one more look at the guy and he decided against it. The boy was now leant against the nearby wall, his hands in his pockets, his eyes distant.

It was as if he was…waiting…but for what?

The thought of just taking the guy out never left his mind, though, but it subdued with yet the comings of another thought. This guy was small fry, compared to others. A mere two hundred dollars for his capture alone. That's right, capture. Dead, he wouldn't even be worth anything, which meant that this kid would have to be handled differently than the other bounties. His crime was that he had yet to serve his sentence in the Penitentiary, so that was first priority. It was only if he resisted did things get messy…Especially since Owen didn't have his sword with him.

But was it worth it?

His mind told him no.

'Be patient. There is more here than meets the eye.'

Almost as if on cue, a pair of footsteps drew Owen from his thoughts, and with the looks of it, they also drew Thomas from his own thoughts as well. Almost immediately, Thomas stood, calling out and into the shadows in his excitement.

"Sly, what the hell took you so long?"

'Sly?' Owen grinned. Now things were getting interesting…

The figure stepped out of the shadows, his face being only a conformation to what Owen already knew.

Narck Sly

Born: July 3, 1956

POB: Munford, Tennessee

Height: 6'0"

Weight: 215 lbs

Eye Color: Green

Hair Color: Varies

Has Escaped from Vapanese Mental Penitentiary of Manhattan

'Hm, another escape artist. He must be the one helping Thomas…'

"Hey, I'm here, aren't I?"

The one otherwise known as Sly entered the alley then, the smile on his face speaking volumes about his confidence. Definitely bordering cocky…

Owen smiled. He would see how cocky Sly was when he was through…

Sly's head alone was worth a whopping eight thousand dollars, which made Sly mighty desirable to any bounty hunter, not to mention Owen.

If Owen wasn't grinning before, he was definitely grinning now.

Sly's cockiness would be his death sentence…

Owen moved to finally reveal himself from the shadows. His intent: to do what he did best, but once again, his mind held him back, scolding him for his lack of patience.

'There's more…just wait!"

Owen could help but admit a low growl at the thought of just 'waiting.' Definitely one of his weak points…but he would wait. His intuition was never wrong, and he could guess that this was one of those times he should listen to it, despite his indifference towards what it was telling him.

However, as his mind dwelled on what was going on before him, he all but missed the new feeling that melted into the back of his mind.

Little did he know, he was not the only one out spying that night.

He was being watched as well…

Michelangelo leaned down from his perch on the rooftop to get a better view into the alley below.

'What is he doin' down there?'

From where he was standing it didn't look like much. Owen hid in the shadows below while the guy he was "spying" on just…stood there…

Michelangelo frowned.

It had been so weird when Owen just…walked off…like that. His first thought had been that he had said something wrong, which saddened him.

And he had thought that they were getting along so well.

After coming out of the store, it was as if they were "friends," "comrades," "best buds," "Amigos" even. But then, Owen just went all cold on him, pushing him away as if he was just some annoyance. He had to admit…that had hurt.

However, it was not until Owen disappeared around that bend did Mikey finally understand what was really going on. It wasn't Mikey at all; he didn't say anything wrong. Owen just became…sidetracked…for a moment. It was as if he remembered he had something to do….and he knew that that something had to do with that guy as well…

Well, whatever it was, Mikey would get to the bottom of it. It was not as if he could just leave Owen. He was Owen's escort, after all, and for more reasons than one. Yeah, to help Owen find clothing. That was a given. And since Mike was the turtle with the most fashion sense, it had been bluntly obvious that he was the one to ask. But also, it was out of force of habit originating from one of Splinter's old rules. When they were younger, it was his rule that if they had to leave the lair, they must do it in pairs. Safety in numbers; permanent back up, and such. However, nowadays, that rule was barely followed, the turtles being older, wiser, and more skilled. Nevertheless, it was still a good rule to fall back on, especially regarding the newest addition to their home…

And now, it seemed that the rule once again, proved useful. He would not leave Owen; it being his appointed duty to stay with the vampire. That was just the way things were, and had to be for their own protection.

At the new sounds Mike was roused from his thoughts as a new pair of footsteps echoed up to him from the alley below. He tensed, and he watched as Owen did so as well.

There was definitely something going on now, the boy below becoming instantly alert when joined by his larger companion. They exchanged a few words, none of which he could pick up on. However, Owen seemed to have no problem as he moved closer as if to listen, his eye widening slightly as he did.

Mike smiled at the sudden change of events.

He had a feeling that this new "adventure" was just about to get interesting…

Owen couldn't help but lean forward out of anticipation as their voices grew fainter and fainter with their now retreating forms.

"So, you do know where the meeting will be tomorrow?" The younger asked his elder, his hands in his pockets and his eyes to the ground as he did. Idly, he kicked at a pebble on the ground, feeling pleasure as it skidded from its state of rest. Meanwhile, with both of their backs to him now, Owen leapt from one shadow to the other as a way to get closer and to hear their now diminutive voices. It did helped some, the voices were now up a notch, but they still grew dimmer as the pair walked from the narrow alleyway. However, Owen couldn't help but dwell on the kid's question.

'Meeting?…'

"Of course I know where it is." The older one stated defensively. "The ol' Miller's place. Besides, I wouldn't miss it for the world."

The older man walked the alleyway in leisure, his hands up and behind his head. Not a care in the world this guy seemed to have. Meanwhile, the kid next to him seemed to be the exact opposite of his companion. His eyes searched the ground before him nervously, his hand always busy in his pockets, his feet always kicking at whatever's on the ground.

They did prove an odd pair…

"Yeah, they say it's the perfect place for real vamps like us. Not like those AVTech freaks! A real vampire drinks blood, all of the blood. Isn't that right, Sly?" The nervous Thomas looked up enthusiastically, watching the face of his laid-back friend, and at his gaze, the elder nodded.

"Right, Tommy. Right. That's why we have to go to this meeting. They say that somethin' big's about to go down, and then everything's 'll change… and I'm gonna make sure that we're in the mix!" Owen could hear the grin and chuckle in the big man's voice as he attempted to move closer. He was almost on top of them now. He definitely could kill them both now if he wanted too, but he would not attack despite how angry their words had made him. He knew that now he could not, not with all of the information these two held alone. A meeting for all of the enemies of AVTech tomorrow night?

This was big.

And it was at the "ol' Miller's Place," whatever that meant. Meaning that it would be there that everything would 'go down.'

He pursed his lips together, feeling them grow warm from the compressed blood within. It was his duty as a part of AVTech to protect the organization at all costs, it being one of the world's only boundary meant to keep vampires like these at bay. Without AVTech, they would run ramped, probably sparking an international revolution, thus, endangering the entire human species. All from the downfall of AVTech.

Therefore, he knew he could not allow that.

And, he also knew, that he would also have be at this 'meeting'…

He just didn't know how he would pull it off.

But he had to, if only to find out if this was a true threat to the organization or not; if it was a true threat to mankind or not…

However, just as he moved to follow the pair out of the alley in hopes to hear more, his mind picked up on sometime that made him stop. It was a small prick to the back of his brain, but it was there, and it had been growing there for a while…

He was being watched…

Michelangelo began his little "spy" mission in the relative shadows provided by the rooftop, but with the lack of…anything!…he moved from them, not really paying them much mind anymore.

However, it soon proved to be a fatal mistake.

He watched Owen move from shadow to shadow below, visibly trailing the pair. He himself could not hear what they were saying, but it seem that Owen could, his eyes growing more and more anxious with every word. However, it was not until Owen froze did he soon realize that something was wrong.

And then it was not until Owen looked right up at him, did Mike receive the biggest heart attack of his life!

He hastily moved into the shadows as quickly as his ninjitsu-trained body would allow him, but his attempt soon proved futile.

Meanwhile, Owen cursed in a harsh whisper from the alley below.

Mikey gulped.

He had been seen.

'Well, better get this over with.'

He moved back to the edge of the building, peering into the alleyway as he did. He knew that the confrontation was inevitable now. He had been caught spying, which usually proved for hostile conversation, to say the least. However, as he peered into the alley, he soon realized that it was now empty…

Owen was nowhere to be seen.

'What?! Where'd he g-'

"And what the hell do you think you're doing?!" Mike jumped; emitting a rather loud yelp before spinning on his heals, only to come face to face with an enraged Owen.

Uh, oh.

At first he had been too stunned to speak, but as soon as his voice came back the most he could do was state the first thing that came to mind.

"I got lost?…" He meekly asked rather than stated, his voice timidly higher than usual. Owen snarled, his eyes flaming up with an anger that left Mike frightened, despite his familiarity with the vampire. Within those few moments the space between their faces diminished to that of mere inches as Owen snarled again, sending shivers of fear down the turtle's spine as he did.

Brown orbs met black flames with just a hint of gold.

Owen's voice was like venom as he talked, his absolute anger with the turtle coming out in his spitted short speech as well.

"If only you were so lucky, turtle…"

-

Cooler, little cliffy. ('Bout time!) I had fun with this one. I hope you enjoyed it too! R and R.