Closing up consisted of April turning off the register; pocket a few bills of petty cash for snacks and locking the door behind them. Julie was now mentally planning out her route, she would go to the store on the corner pick up snacks then back track to the man hole in the alley between her building and Aprils.

"Jules?" Aprils voiced pulled her from her thoughts

"Hmm?"

" I think I'm gonna stop by Casey's and see if he wants to come with, you ok to get the snacks and stuff alone?"

"Sure no prob A I'll meet you there" She had been expecting this, she got the impression that April had a bit of a crush on Mr. Casey Jones, she would be quite happy for April if it hadn't been for the fact that she was pretty sure that Don had been crushing on her from behind his books.

She started her walk down the block pondering the bizarre loving triangle those three would make while April drove off in the other direction. About half way to her destination she felt a presence behind her, she hoped Mikey had gotten sick of waiting and had come to find her but realistically she knew she hadn't taken long enough closing up for that to happen.

"Well hey there pretty lady, and just where do you think your wondering off to this time of night" a gruff drunk sounding voice from behind her questioned.

Oh god, please let him be a harmless drunk, or a really skinny wussy guy she prayed, she was too afraid to speak so just stepped up her pace and hoped he would pick out a slower target. No such luck! A strong hand grabbed her shoulder and wheeled her around; she came face to face with a drunken thug, a drunken thug about twice her size in fact.

"Now that was just rude, I think for that your gonna have to pay the price" he sneered at her, his stale vodka breath turning her fear into disgust.

"P..Price?" she managed to stammer out. Oh god please don't let him be a horny thug, I don't think there is enough Lysol in the western hemisphere to disinfect me if this guy touches me.

"Yeah sweetheart, hand over your cash.. All of it" he replied with a wicked grin.

There is a god Julie though as she turned her pockets out, a drunken street goon and all he wants is my cash, unfortunately all she had on her was the twenty April had given her for snacks, this was not going to be good.

"That's it?" he questioned "That's all you got? That won't pay the toll around here missy" And with that he balled his meaty hands into fists and punched her square in the jaw, she crumpled to the ground wincing in pain as she felt a trickle of blood roll down her chin.

"Let that be a lesson to ya….. Carry lots of cash …you might get poorer but then I might not have to mess up that pretty face again" he commented smugly and jogged off towards the end of the street.

Julie sat on the sidewalk for several minutes in a daze holding her bleeding lip, slowly she got to her feet, what now she thought should she run back up stairs and clean up then try the whole snack run thing again? She glanced off down the street shivering at the thought of running in to that vodka soaked sack of meat again and decided to make a bee line for the lair; Mikey's stomach was going to have to do without.