"Well this sucks," Kai muttered to himself.

"At least we can see each other," Tala said depressedly.

"Oh, that's great. Why don't we just yell across the hallway all day? And you and Sasquatch over there can discuss the finer points of knitting. This. Really. Bites."

Kai hung his head. Sure, he and Tala had been at each other's throats when they'd had their "reunion," but the years they'd spent in the abbey as fast friends couldn't just be forgotten. Come to think of it, they really had no reason to be angry at each other in the first place. And when it came right down to it, it'd been far too long since they'd seen each other. And now they had. For half an hour. Well, Kai thought as he wrapped his arms around the painted white bars, at least we can see each other. He could be all the way down the hall, though that wouldn't make a whole lot of difference in the current situation. Dammit. Why do these things always have to happen to me?

Tala looked over his shoulder at his cellmate. The man wasn't the hulking, muscle-bound brute seen in every prison movie ever created (not to mention every prison ever created). No, the man was lean, wiry, and on the midget end of average height. Tala stood a good five or six inches above him, and that was being generous. He was nearly as pale as Tala himself, with that sallow tinge to his skin that marked him as eastern european. But it was plain to see Sasquatch wasn't one you messed with. He may have suffered Napolean complex, but then again, so did Napolean and you didn't mess with him either. There wasn't an ounce of fat on that wiry body. Everything about him screamed street fighter. What a wonderful person to have as a roomate. At least there wasn't too much of an age difference. He couldn't be more than twenty.

Sasquatch growled menacingly, probably hoping to frighten his new, younger companion. Tala looked into the muddy brown depths of his eyes, noted the definite mobster glint, and narrowed his own hypnotizing blue eyes. He bared fangs and growled lower, threateningly. The ensuing staredown was tense, and predictably, neither would look away. In the end it was Sasquatch who broke it up by snorting and eyeing Tala contemptuously.

"Cocky little bugger, ain't you?" he said, excercising a bad case of elevator eyes, "And what gives you the right to that arrogance, little boy? What's yer name, Prince Arrogance?"

Tala raised an eyebrow, putting on a slightly haughty face. He looked down his nose at the run-of-the-mill criminal in front of him.

"I see no prince, serf. I am a King."

Ky snickered and Tala shot her a death glare. Kai was attempting to hold in his laughter, loathe to let any of the others know he had a sense of humor. His shoulders shook in silent mirth, though to his credit, he did have a superior poker face. Tala bestowed withering looks upon the two of them, then rolled his eyes. He leaned back against the wall in an uncanny impression of Kai, gazing cooly at Sasquatch.

"The name's Tala. Yours?"

"Jamal. Jamal Riezkoff. And you're…Ivanov, no?" Tala's forehead creased, as if he were trying desperately to figure something out, "I figured. Hate to break it to ya, but yer famous. Course I would know yer name. Ya should be used ta it."

Tala's expression grew detached and he waved his hand dismissively, "No, no, I know I'm famous, whatever. I'm used to it," he said distractedly, then turned back to his cellmate, "Your name's Jamal? What kind of white boy's name is Jamal?"

"You got a problem with it?"

"No, I'm just wondering."

There was a tense silence. Tala leapt onto his bunk and curled up in a bal. To all appearances, he went to sleep. Jamal sighed and shook his head with bemusement. This little kid was certainly something else. He hadn't met anyone willing to face him down in quite a while. Jamal liked that kind of spark in a kid. It promised something bigger one day. Then again, maybe the kid was already doing something bigger, he didn't know for sure. He sighed again, looked around, grew bored, and began doing—

--Pushups. How cliched, Kai thought, And to think, he's not even one of the over-muscled thugs. Maybe they rubbed off on him. And whyis Tala pretending to sleep? I mean, what purpose does it serve? Maybe no one else can tell he isn't, but I know him a little too well. There are some things I may never understand.

"Why is your redheaded friend pretending to sleep?" Kylvren asked.

"Search me."

Ky shook her head slowly. She vaulted onto the top bunk, earning a respectful glance from Kai. She lay catlike on top, hands over the side, in a position very like a panther in a tree. Appraisingly she stared down at Kai and he found himself wondering if he measured up to whatever standards she was judging him against.

It seems like ever since I've met her I've had more self-doubt than ever before, the slate-haired teen thought wryly, Like suddenly I'm an amateur all over again and she's the reigning champ. What's wrong with this? It's like I've been missing out on a whole different world. Even Tala didn't let me in on it.

Speaking of which, there are demons? I know Voltaire created cyborgs—well Tala proves that right enough—but actual changelings? And I'm one of them? How many of us are there? Why didn't I know before? And how did Tala find out anyway? It was bred in? How?

"I can just see the questions zooming around your little head," Ky commented, "Tell me, what are you thinking?"

"There—there are more of us everywhere? How have I never heard of anything like that? I mean, something would've come up, wouldn't it?"

She treated him with one of those are-you-as-stupid-as-you're-making-yourself-seem looks. He continued to exude curiosity, so she figured he hadn't taken the hint, or hadn't gotten it. More than likely the former though.

"Are you really as stupid as you seem? What do you think, we just," she made wild motions in the air with her hands, "everywhere? Hell no. Look, so the government says there's no slavery. There is. Try looking at government files, especially in the U.S. The government knows there's a mafia, they just can't seem to find it, and when they do, they can't prove it. Fly below the radar. Not to mention, it's not like we're everywhere. How many people have bitbeasts? And of them, only a tenth have the ability to become a changeling. Not all of them do. You might not have ever known if we hadn't told you."

It clicked. Come to think of it, everything she'd said was just so obvious. But that still didn't explain why he'd been left in the dark about this whole world, and that there was something…different about him. Everyone else seemed to know without being told, so why didn't he? Kai had a vague feeling coursing through his system that he wasn't up to the mark in brilliance. That was new. The all-knowing Kai Hiwatari not bright enough? Surely not.

"But…why didn't I know about this before? I mean, you and Tala did…"

"Because you never had a reason to, dumbass. If you had, for instance, fallen off a cliff (not that there are many around here but hey, money can make anything happen) some primitive part of your brain would have given you wings. But, much as I hate to admit it, you're skilled enough that you generally keep yourself out of situations like that."

"Ah," was all he could say.

"And of course I knew. I was bitten by another vampire. Hard to miss something like that, you know. Of course, I could see how you could manage that. And naturally Tala knew. Did you ever wonder why there were so many wolves around the abbey? Or why he always snuck out? Or why he likes his steaks rare?"

"Hold on there. How do you know this shit?" Kai asked indignantly, "You were never there. There's no way you would have seen any of this. Been stalking me, freak?"

"As a matter of fact…no. I wouldn't waste my time. Those were just guesses. Amazing how I can bullshit my way through interrogations, eh?"

Well, now he was enlightened. It figured it would have to come from her though. How the hell could she know everything? It just wasn't possible. Damn her.

He opened his mouth to speak again. She shushed him impatiently, motioning him to remain silent. Grudgingly he obeyed, wondering what the deal was. Footsteps, softly coming down the hall in their direction. Softly…too soft to be a guard. Kai sneered, thinking condescendingly of how everyone who worked here stomped down the concrete halls. This was too soft to even be a fellow prisoner. So who…?

Just a rather tall, shaggy man. He was vaguely unkempt, and moved with a smooth grace that marked him as a predatory character. Just the way he executed every movement, silently, smoothly, and with no extra anything spoke more to another professional hitman than anything else. Softly closer, a hundred feet, fifty, thirty, ten…he stopped.

His hand, dark tan and sinewy, reached into the pocket of his tweed coat, returning to the outside world with a small cloth-wrapped package. Cold blue eyes gazed around, catching Kylvren's, Kai's, Jamal's, Tala's. Tala uncurled, slid out of bed with a grace matching the dark-haired man. He stuck a hand out of the bars and caught the thrown bundle.

The man flashed fangs, tossed his uncut hair out of his face, and turned to Kai, crooking a finger for him to come forward. Cautiously the slate-haired boy appoached the bars. Those icy sapphire eyes, a few shades darker than Tala's but with the same crystalline look, watched him come, noting every nuance. Being scrutinized so completely made Kai a little unnerved.The manpointed a finger at the teen and spoke to him in an emotionless, flat voice.

"You, boy? Voltaire's boy, you are. You want a job, come to me. I need a pair of wings," he looked up, past Kai, "I'll warn you once though. Stay away from her. You need me, put one—and I mean one—drop of blood on this."

He thrust his hand toward Kai, who flinched away. The fingertips brushed his left arm and retreated. A burning sensation erupted over the spot, causing Kai to clutch his arm to his chest in pain. The man stepped back, raised a hand, snapped once, and…was gone.

Errr…okay then, Kai thought, I have absolutely no idea what the fuck that was all about…I think Tala and I need to have a little talk when we can…And what did he do to my arm? There's nothing on it, but it hurts like a mother…

There was silence. It lasted for only a few moments after the guy left.

"Tala, was that guy good or evil?" Kylvren asked curiously.

"Depends on how you look at it, really."

"Oh, that's comforting. Who was he, by the way? And what did he give you? That, and how did he know you were here?"

"Tell you later. So, now we got a means, when do we bust outta here?"

"Yer plannin an escape?" Jamal asked in surprise.

"You won't be able to keep up Jamal," Tala responded rather coldly, "Sorry. Best we can offer you is a chance."

Jamal rubbed his hands together eagerly, "That's all I need. Whaddaya say?"

"You got yourself a deal."