"Wake up…come on, Gabby…" Spot said frantically.

"She dead?"

"She ain't dead." Spot held Gabby's face gently as he knelt down over her in the highest of hopes that she would awake. Gabby did not move and Spot was beginning to panic. His breathing picked up as his nerves shook violently and he tried shaking her and tapping her face.

"Conlon…" Bolt began to say with uncertainty and worry. "She's not…is she?"

"Shut up, Bolt!" he yelled curtly. "She ain't dead!" Spot took his hands to hold the back of Gabby's neck, situating her to face him. Not a single word came to mind as he watched in anticipation.

The murmurs continued while Gabby began to come back to reality. Lazily and ever so slowly, she opened her eyes and immediately closed them from the blinding sun above her. Her palm came up to her face to block to fierce rays of light until someone moved in front of her. Before her stood several faces of boys, some she recognized as Bolt, Thompson, Glover, and even Ace; but the face that was closest to hers was the most frightened she had ever seen. She looked at Spot and blinked open her eyes completely. His face eased as movement stirred in her.

"Welcome back, kid," Bolt said.

Gabby's eyes traveled all around her slowly as the boys around her moved about slightly as if they had not flinched a muscle for a while. Spot sighed to let out the much-needed breath and brushed the hair away from her face.

"Feelin' all right?" he asked gratefully as he got up to help her to her feet.

Gabby mumbled a positive reply weakly as Spot picked her up with one arm placed at her back and the other behind her knees. Her arm draped over the back of his neck and met the hand of her other. She closed her eyes and rested her light-feeling head against his chest. The noise around her waved in and out of her ears as she felt Spot carry her down the rickety fire escape carefully. When she concentrated hard enough, Gabby could hear the gentle pitter-patter of Spot's heart.

"I don't deserve this," mumbled Gabby almost inaudibly.

"What?"

Realizing her thoughts were accidentally said aloud, Gabby opened her eyes as Spot walked around to the front of the building. He kicked the door open with his foot and adjusted his hold on Gabby as he proceeded up the staircase to the bunkroom. "Nothing," Gabby muttered.

"I'll let ya lay down for a little bit but I'll take ya home afterward," Spot told her. "I don't think you'd wanna stay here with all of us talkin' about Queens and Harlem and shit."

"Mhm…" mumbled Gabby as she was put down on one of the messy beds. Spot sat down next to her and ran his fingers tenderly through her hair.

"Thank you," she told him.

Because Spot had always been uncomfortable saying "you're welcome" after a heroic act, he simply smiled and kissed her on the cheek. "Get some rest. I gotta go talk to some 'a the boys and I'll come back in a couple 'a minutes."

Gabby nodded and waved her feeble hand goodbye as he went back downstairs. She adjusted herself a little to allow more comfort for her sleep and her eyes fluttered to a close. She could not sleep successfully, however; she was afraid that if she fell asleep she would dream of never having gotten involved with Tyce or Spot. Although it had taken her too long to notice it, she needed to accept her reality.

"Hey."

A sharp nudge to Gabby's shoulder woke her instantly. Ace, with an expression of strict concern, sat on the bunk next to her. His brows furrowed harshly into his questioning eyes and his jaw locked into this lips.

"What're ya doin', Gabby?" Ace asked firmly.

"What?" She sat up to lean her back against the bed.

"It ain't that hot out."

"It's not like I planned that…"

"Gabby, 'fess up. I know ya're hidin' somethin'. You ain't nevah held somethin' from me, now I wanna know what's goin' on."

"Ace, please. I just need some sleep, a'right? Jesus…" Gabby lay back down and faced the other direction. She punched her pillow to fluff it up more and dropped her head back down. Just as she angrily closed her eyes, she heard Ace's footsteps make their way from his side of the bed and now to the other. Gabby opened her eyes to see him, arms crossed and sitting on another bunk in front of her.

"Ya know ya gotta tell Tyce now," Ace told her just below a whisper.

"About what?"

Ace rolled his eyes impatiently and scooted closer to her. "That they know. I'se been givin' 'em too much information on my own. They'se startin' to think you ain't doin' nothin' but sleep with Spot. And I wouldn't piss off Tyce if I were you, Gabby."

With her pulse throbbing loudly within her eardrums, Gabby pressed her lips together and thought in consideration. "What're you saying, Ace?"

Ace's face softened slowly as he adjusted his seating. Hesitating to answer, he removed the hat from his head and scratched his sweaty hair. "Just give him somethin' he can use. A'right? This would be perfect."

That's not exactly what Ace was hoping to say, and Gabby knew it. She knew that he wanted her to give this information to save her ass. Understandingly, Gabby nodded and sighed deeply.

Minutes later, while Gabby rested silently and Ace sat watching over her, Spot entered the room again and once he saw Ace, he immediately became annoyed. He sulked to himself and stomped across the floorboards, but then softened his footsteps once he remembered Gabby.

"Hey!" Spot whispered loudly to Ace. "Let 'er sleep."

Ace sat up, looked back at Gabby, and got up quickly. He entered back to his mindset of irritating Spot, and skipped out of the room without apologizing. Spot closed his eyes and clenched his fists at his sides. Eventually, though, when he collected his temper, he knelt in front of Gabby. Gabby smiled weakly as she connected vision with him. His arms, now covered with rolled up sleeves to the elbow, crossed over each other and were placed at the edge of the mattress. He smiled apologetically as his face was but inches from hers.

"Hey you," he whispered while looking up through to the tops of his blue eyes. They were bluer than she had ever seen before now.

Gabby hesitated, wishing he had never said that. She couldn't resist, though. "Hey you."

"Ready to go back and sleep in a real bed?"

She breathed a laugh and nodded as she started to sit back up again. Spot wrapped his arms tightly around her small waist and hoisted her off the bed. He held her in a hug above the ground for several moments until he let her back down again.

"Ya kinda gave me a scare for a couple 'a minutes," Spot told her.

"I'm so sorry…" But for what, exactly, was she apologizing for?

"Don't be sorry. It's not like ya planned it." He wrapped his arm around her lower back so that his hand even held somewhat of her stomach. They slowly made their way downstairs and into the streets. Although everyone around them was hustling around hurriedly, Spot and Gabby walked toward her apartment without haste. Conversation was minimal and it was apparent that Gabby was struggling in her mind to stay okay.

"I really need to work some stuff out back there," Spot said as Gabby plopped down lazily onto her bed. "So I'll stop by later this evening."

"All right. I'll see you later then."

"Bye." He lightly kissed her and was on his way back to the lodging house.

Gabby rolled over and buried her head face down into the pillow. She let out a quick, stress-relieving scream and took a deep breath. She hated this place; she hated the city, she hated the apartment, she even hated the damn pillow. She hated the direction in which her life was taking her and she hated everything about herself now. What she saw in the mirror thoroughly disgusted her, as she could not take being herself any longer.

After several minutes, Gabby rolled over to her side, giving in to falling into a deep sleep. Her mind, a sea of nightmarish dreams, stirred and buzzed constantly. She was walking down the street toward the abandoned factory in which Tyce held occasional meetings. As she entered through its front doors, she found Spot sitting on one of the steps, his right hand cupped over his left fist and rested underneath his chin. Gabby gasped sharply and stepped back upon seeing him.

"No, it's okay, Gabby," Spot told her. He got up and reached out his hand to her.

Gabby hesitated at first but slowly stretched out her hand and laid her fingers on his palms. Startling at first, Spot gripped her hand tightly and quickly pulled her by the arm to walk next to him. The initial motion jerked her as she was not expecting it, and they made their way up the creaking staircase. Spot let go of her hand and moved to walk behind her. Gabby then felt his warm hands on her shoulders, massaging them in the way Tyce had done as he led her further up the infinite staircase.

"Spot, what's going on?"

"Don't worry," he whispered into her ear, "I'm protecting you."

"Okay."

Spot jumped ahead of her and she stopped abruptly, staring directly into his silvery eyes. He then pulled her in suddenly to a tight, almost suffocating embrace. "Nothin's gonna happen to you as long as I'm here."

Gabby said nothing and soon he let go to lead her into a darkened room with only one window. Standing next to the dust-covered window was Tyce, his hands behind his back while staring outside in deep thought. He turned around rapidly on his heels and faced the two of them.

"Hello Gabrielle." Tyce stepped forward closer to Gabby. He took hold of her arm from Spot and yanked her close to him so that her chest was pressed firmly against his stomach. She gasped and started breathing heavily with terror. His charcoal-colored eyes connected with hers and pulled her in with all of their strength. Gabby tried looking away to see if Spot was behind her but she couldn't. Tyce was holding onto her arms with so much force that his hands began to shake and the knuckles turned white. In a fast motion, he lifted her off the ground so that her feet brushed the surface of the wood and threw her hard to the floor.

"Please!" she pleaded. "I'm so sorry!"

Tyce planted his feet where he stood and folded his arms across his chest, staring down at her with a smirk. Spot stepped further into the room and paced about in front of her. Gabby's eyes stained her cheeks with tears and her shoulders shook with sobs as Spot continued to pace before her until he stopped and turned to face her directly. Gabby crawled backward on her hands and feet until her back slammed against the wall.

"Everybody knows, Gabby," Spot said.

"No," she cried, "I'm so sorry, Spot."

He started walking slowly towards her, the sound of his boots connecting to the floor, resonating through the room and bouncing off the walls. Gabby trembled cowardly as she watched Spot advance to her. He knelt down with a smirking, friendly expression, and cupped her cold cheeks in his palms.

"Hey you," he said in a combined voice of delight and disdain.

Gabby choked on the ball in her throat as she sat helplessly, sobbing and crying painfully while the boy she betrayed held her in his hands. "Please forgive me, Spot. I'm so, so sorry. Please…"

"Everybody knows, Gabby."

Tyce then pulled a black pistol from his pocket and held it with a raised arm beside him. A devilish smile took over his face as he began stepping toward them. Gabby began hyperventilating as she watched Tyce point the gun with both hands at her.

"Spot," she panted, "you said you would protect me!"

His hold on her face strengthened as she squirmed around to break free. "People lie, Gabby. People lie and people deceive and people stab ya in the back and people betray."

Tyce stopped just behind Spot as he lowered the gun. Spot took one hand away from Gabby's face and took the pistol in his grasp. With a now locked jaw and hateful gaze, Spot rose slowly to his feet and pointed the gun directly at Gabby's heart.

"Spot, you said nothing would happen to me!" Gabby wept. "Please don't do this!"

"I know, Gabs, but everybody knows now." He cocked the gun. "You betrayed me, Gabby, and now I'm going to betray you."

And he pulled the trigger and Gabby jolted awake to an upright position. Her neck was dampened in a cold sweat as she struggled to catch her breath. Her chest moved in and out quickly as she held her face in her hands. The guilty feeling was stronger than ever.

"Don't cry now, Gabrielle."

Surprised and caught off-guard, Gabby looked up to see Tyce leaning against the doorframe. She jumped off the bed and impulsively began hitting Tyce's chest.

"Why do you fucking do that?" she demanded.

Tyce raised his eyebrows and took hold of her arms to stop her. Gabby came to her senses and immediately stopped. Her arms were bent and positioned in front of her chest as Tyce squinted his eyes at her coldly. Gabby licked her dry lips and apologized inaudibly. He loosened his grip a little and stepped back.

"Anythin' happen, Gabrielle?" Tyce questioned. "Any news to tell me?"

Every fiber of her being begged her to say no and her heart screamed at her to do the same. The right thing to do was to deny any news Tyce was seeking and she even thought she heard her parents telling her the same thing. No, nothing happened in Brooklyn. It was as easy as that. But, Tyce's spine-tingling stare made her shudder like never before and the thought of being hurt at his hands caused her to cower in fear. For, if she did not produce any proof that she was doing more than have dinner with Spot, she was going to be hurt. Badly. By Tyce.

"Yes," she squeaked weakly.

Tyce's eyes seemed to light up with vicious delight and his lips curled into a curious smirk. "And just what new would that be?"

Gabby pressed her lips together and suppressed the knot growing in her throat. With a hushed, guilty voice, she answered, "They know you're going to attack them. They had a spy in Harlem that overheard everything you're planning to do."

Tyce's face lost all emotion and it frightened Gabby. She didn't know how exactly he would react. He let go and let her stumble limply. With a million devious thoughts running around his head, Tyce took a couple of steps around and walked about the apartment. Gabby watched him intently, trying to make out his next move. Suddenly he turned back to her with a pointed finger.

"Good!" he exclaimed with an evil smile and look in his eyes. "I'm so…"

Gabby blinked and, without warning, Tyce grabbed her by the back of the neck and pulled her into a forceful kiss. She let out a childish and silent whimper as his lips pressed against her fiercely. Her arms clenched helplessly at her sides as she fought off the urge to kick him right between the legs. Tyce continued to kiss her deeply with a violent force. Gabby squinted her eyes shut until they watered.

"I'm so happy I have you," he finished. With a smirk and final kiss, he turned and ran out the door.

Gabby fell back against he doorframe and lowered herself to the floor. The brutal truthat had come out: Gabby Lawrence had mastered the art of deception.