My original intent was to write this almost entirely from Kurz' point of view, but as you can see, it's almost impossible to separate the two of them. Anyway, I feel like I should warn you all in advance that I've deliberately taken a few liberties here and there in order to make the story work. Hopefully, I haven't done anything too ourtageously inaccurate.

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Chapter 4: A Little Corner of Hell

The last few months had been very confusing for young Kurz. Somehow, Angie had come up with enough money to get them a small, one-room apartment not far from the alley. It was cramped and filthy, and they had no furniture, but at least it wasn't a cardboard box. The two of them had developed a new routine since the night they had met Kari. Every two or three weeks, Angela would drop him off at Belle's house, where all the girls would take turns playing with him. He would get a really big supper and get to sleep in a real bed! But Angela would never tell him where she went or what she did.

"What were you doing?" he had asked her once early on.

"Something really stupid," she told him. "And if I ever catch you doing it, you'll be in big trouble."

It was the first time that he really understood that his sister was keeping secrets from him.

He had seen her coming in one night. He had snuck out of the little room that Belle had put him in. She was wearing a bright red outfit that didn't seem to cover very much and crazy white, red and black make-up all over her face. She looked really scary. At first, he had thought that they were leaving early that night, but instead, she went upstairs. He saw her a few minutes later, minus the make-up and dressed like the other girls, talking to one of the men who had come to visit. Belle spotted him and shooed him back to his room.

He was even more confused when, one day that winter, Angela took him to a recruiting office. She spoke to an older man behind a beat-up old desk. He missed a lot of the conversation since it wasn't really interesting anyway, but he listened closely when the man started asking her questions about her past. She told the man a story he had never heard before.

"Our mother died about a year ago. In her will, I got custody of my brother. The lawyer made it OK for me to have him on my own at sixteen, but I couldn't find work that paid enough for me to support him, and so we ended up on the street."

"Where's you father now?"

"I don't know who he is. As you can see here," she said, pointing to a piece of paper she had handed him. "He isn't named on my birth certificate. We're not even sure we have the same father."

The man raised an eyebrow at that. "You sure look a lot alike."

"We look like our mother."

The man looked like he didn't quite believe her.

"Do you have any other family?"

"Not that we know of."

"So what made you decide to come here?"

"Before Mom died, this was my dream. I know she would want me to try. Besides, I don't want to raise my brother on the street. He deserves a chance at a real life."

"Well. I don't see why you shouldn't go for it. I'll help you get your GED. Is there a shelter or some other place where I can reach you?"

She shook her head. "No. We stay away from the shelters."

"Why would you do that?"

"They all try to split us up. I promised my mom when she died that I would never leave him."

"I understand. But how can I reach you?"

"I'll come here every afternoon around this time. You can update me then."

"All right, Miss Weber. I'll see you tomorrow then." He stood. Angela followed suit and shook his hand.

"Tomorrow." She looked down at Kurz. "OK, munchkin. Time to go."

Once they were outside, Kurz couldn't keep quiet any longer. "Angie! What was all that? None of that was true!"

She sighed before answering. "I know, Kurz."

"But why did you lie? You could get in big trouble."

"We'll be in even bigger trouble if Father finds us. And if we tell people the truth, he will find us."

He walked silently for a moment, considering what that would mean. "What's a GED?" he asked after a moment.

"It's a test some people take. You can use it as a substitute for a high school diploma."

"But why do you need that? You already have three college degrees."

By then they had reached a small park. Angela led him to a bench where they both sat.

"Do you know what it means to underestimate something?"

He shook his head. "No."

"It means that you think something is less than it really is."

"But why do you want people to think that you're dumber than you really are?"

She gave him a serious look. "If this works, you and I will be out in the open again. We'll be in a place where we'll be easy to find. If we pretend to be less than we are, then it'll be less likely that they'll find us."

"They why don't we just keep doing what we're doing now?"

He felt her tense up. "Not everything I told him was a lie. You and I both deserve better than this, and I'm going to make sure we get it."

Kurz was silent for a long time. He didn't completely understand, but he would play along with his sister's plan. He trusted her completely and knew without any doubt that she always did what she thought was best for them.

True to her word, Angela went back every day to see the old man. Kurz came to like him very much. The old soldier was always nice to him, and, after the first visit, he had taken to giving Kurz a treat when they came in. On the days that Angela had to take tests, the man's wife, would bring him coloring books or toys. She would play with him until Angie was done.

One day, just as spring was returning, he and Angela walked into the office earlier than usual. Angela had been jumpy for days. They were going to find out whether or not her plan was going to work. "Well?" she asked in anticipation as she had every day for the last three. The soldier had offered to have any letters for her come to his house, since she had told him that she didn't have an address.

The man smiled as he handed her a large envelope. Angela tore it open as though it were a Christmas present. She held the letter with trembling hands. Kurz could feel the tension radiating off of her. Suddenly, she cried out. She grabbed Kurz into a bear hug, picked him up and spun him around "We did it!" she cried over and over. She put Kurz down and hugged their friend. "Thank you so much. For everything. We couldn't have done this without your help."

"Thank yourself, Miss Weber. You got yourself into the Air Force Academy. I was just along for the ride."

"Are we going away now?" Kurz asked.

"Not yet, kiddo. I don't start until the fall semester. But don't worry. We'll be out of here before you know it."

"Betty and I will make sure you have everything you need before you go, so make sure you keep coming in."

"Thank you so much. And I will." She looked up at the clock. "We should go now."

"All right. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Right. Tomorrow."

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"Alejandro."

"Yes, Senora?"

"What did you do before you worked for Carlos?"

"This and that."

She looked up at him in exasperation at his cryptic answer. Didn't the man ever want to talk about anything? "What exactly does that mean?"

"I did some odd jobs in many different places."

She should be used to his manner by now. "How did you come to work for my husband?"

"It's a very long story, Senora."

"In other words, you don't want to talk about it. All you had to do was say so."

Angela returned to the book she was reading, The Complete Works of Edgar Allen Poe. She didn't know why, but "The Raven" had always been one of her favorite poems. As she reached the end, she read the last line aloud. "'And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor'…"

"'Shall be lifted nevermore!'"

She looked up at Alejandro once more, stunned that he had spoken. She was rewarded by seeing him start as he realized what he had done. Obviously, he was much more than he appeared. Her initial assessment of him had been completely wrong. After that, she began to observe him much more carefully. It soon became clear that he was far more intelligent than he first appeared. His eyes were always alert as though he were trying to capture every detail around him. She began to wonder at her husband's causal disregard for the treasure that Alejandro now seemed to be. Although, she supposed, she probably shouldn't be surprised, seeing how her own talents were going to waste.

The memory haunted her as she stumbled into Belle's after the fight. For once, the thought of her stalwart friend brought her no comfort. In numb shock, she made her way to the bathroom where she changed before she even knew where she was. She leaned over the sink, unable to form a coherent thought.

Slowly, she raised her head and looked in the mirror. Her reflection looked eerie in the dim light coming from the hall, and she flipped the light switch. She began to tremble at the sight of the dried blood covering her face and chest. She closed her eyes against the sight, but she could only see the man's stunned expression as she sliced open his throat. She collapsed over the toilet and began to retch violently. Even when her stomach was empty, her gut continued to heave.

She heard the door click shut, heard the water running and felt a cool cloth on the back of her neck. Kari's voice was soothing and finally broke down the last barrier to her emotions. She leaned over and sobbed bitterly into Kari's shoulder. She had no idea how long they sat there like that before Belle threw open the door and demanded that she get to work.

"Get cleaned up," Kari said gently when Belle had gone. "There's a very special customer we've been saving for you."

Angela merely nodded, still not trusting her voice. A quick shower and fresh clothes helped restore her to some semblance of normal. The Hell Bitch costume, What a stupid name, went straight into the trash. This was going to be her last fight anyway.

In the reception room, Kari led her to a boy about her own age, looking nervous. "Here she is, Jake," Kari told him brightly.

He started a little. An older man standing behind him laughed harshly. "Go on, boy. I'll be here waiting for you."

Putting her own pain on hold, she smiled seductively at the boy. "Jake, hm? A good strong name." She took his trembling hand in hers. "Come with me."

He hesitated, rooted to the spot. She chuckled softly. "I won't bite unless you ask me to." Slowly, she got him to move and follow her upstairs.

Once in the room, the boy became more nervous, staring at his feet. Angela began to understand what was happening. "The man downstairs is your father?"

He nodded.

Her own father had done the same for each of his three legitimate sons when they had turned eighteen. "What's the occasion?"

"I'm going away to school tomorrow."

"Can I at least get you to look at me?"

He raised his head tentatively and stopped at the level of her chest. He stared, his mouth agape.

Angela rolled her eyes. Even young and innocent, he was still a man. She placed a finger under his chin and raised his face so he could see hers. "I'm up here."

He flushed.

"Any time you interact with a woman, no matter what for, start by looking her in the eye. It'll keep you out of trouble."

He nodded, still a little shaky.

She released him. To his credit, his eyes didn't stray downward. "Do you want to be here, Jake?"

"I…Well. I…"

"Don't be nervous, Jake. We won't do anything you don't want to do."

He began to relax a little bit.

Angela sat down on the bed.

He flushed again.

"If you want to do this, you need to come over here."

Eventually he did. Angela found that she couldn't use her normal tactic of lying back and zoning out. The boy had never been with a woman and didn't know what to do. Slowly, careful not to frighten him, she guided him, even thought she was a little unsure herself. She had rarely participated actively before. He left much more cheerful and relaxed than he was when he came in. Angela still felt empty.

Once the boy was gone, Angela ducked away before Belle could spot her, got dressed and grabbed Kurz. They needed to make sure they were at the recruitment office early so that they could catch their ride to the airport. That thought alone was almost enough to make her forget the rest of the evening.