Chapter 02

'The Tower' was a place every Rat knew of and no others knew how to get to. The amount of twists and turns through the alleys would often get men lost and land them in some part of the city they didn't know existed. One wrong turn would even land you in front of a police station that was well known for arresting anyone the officers "didn't like the looks of". More than a dozen Rats had been arrested for simply going the wrong way.

But for men like Allen and Timcanpy, getting to 'The Tower' was a walk in the park. Especially if you knew where a ladder to the rooftops was placed and knew what buildings were connected. Walking the roofs made it so much easier to get to your destination, but most Rats avoided it. The few that have tried have either found a weak roof and been arrested for "breaking and entering" while others had just been seen and arrested for suspicion alone. So most Rats took the winding alleys.

'The Tower' was just that. A tower. It had been built years prior as a hotel and was supposed to bring all this money in for the city. And it would have…

...Had they not run out of money while building the place.

The budget had been far too small for such a grand hotel. They didn't even have the money left to tear it down. Slowly, the removal of the building became impossible as the property was still owned - nobody would buy it - and homes and other buildings were built around it. It was the tallest and most useless building in the entire city.

With 'The Tower' demanding attention, the city often would take care of the outside, leaving the inside to rot. Above a certain height, the city would clean, repaint, and replace any blown out lights in the sign simply because they didn't want it to be a total waste of money. Surprisingly, people visited the town simply to stare at 'The Tower' and hear of its sad story - the property owner's mother had died and they couldn't bring themselves to finish it as it was originally their mother's idea and dream; complete bullshit. The abandoned building had become a tourist trap and not, at the same time. All roads leading to the place had been destroyed or covered so nobody could see its ugly base, leaving only the back alleys as a way to get there.

With people unable to get to 'The Tower', many Rats claimed it as their home. It wasn't perfect, but it was better than a cardboard box. It had walls that actually blocked the wind and a roof to block the blazing sun and pouring rain. The only downside was how many Rats wanted it. It seemed like, every other day, there was a turf war of sorts. Rats would come in, trying to claim a small corner to themselves, but the spot would already be claimed and cause a fight. Rats would claim small corners or entire floors and if you so much as stepped a foot in their claim, a fist fight would start in an instant.

Only a few people were allowed in the entire hotel. Every level, every inch was welcome to them. All for one reason. They were strong. All Rats could tell when a person was strong and chose to stay away if they knew the person was stronger. One man, in particular, happened to "own" 'The Tower'. A teenaged boy with white hair, a scar on his face, and a monochrome mask that he was never seen without.

Rats spoke of the masked teen often, usually making claims that the teen was a friend and would back them up should anything happen to them. It was all a lie and nobody ever believed it anymore. Nobody knew who the teen was, how he knew how to get there, or why he was so strong. The few that had fought him or seen him fight would always remember it as a clown that was crowned with strength by God. Crowned Clown.

The teen didn't look like a clown. Rather, he looked like a well-dressed angel with his white suit that never seemed to get dirty, pristine white hair, white and black mask, and light complexion. Nobody had ever seen his eyes but they believed those to be light as well. What made them call the teen a 'clown' was how he moved. He moved with such ease and his balance was always perfect that everyone believed he used to be a clown, especially with the stunts a few had seen him pull off. And the 'crown' was his title. He was strong and like a king to the Rats in terms of strength. He never acted as a ruler, never even talked to the Rats, but he moved with the elegance and authority that was often carried by one wearing a crown.

The one everyone spoke of, the 'Crowned Clown', sat in an open window on the second floor, awaiting his friend. He checked his watch and saw it was nearly eleven like promised, only three minutes 'till. He had to admit, maybe he was a little too ready to do this. He had arrived at the usual spot nearly thirty minutes early. But who could blame him? The Earl and the rest of the family had no clue just how much had been stolen from them. All they knew was that they were being robbed and Allen - correction; Crowned Clown - wanted to end it. He didn't want to sit at one of the warehouses and hope the thieves would visit him while another location was robbed. He wanted to follow them and catch them before they got away with it again.

"Damn it…" He cursed under his breath. "Where is he already?"

"Looking for me?" A smirking voice asked from inside the building, behind the white covered boy. Crowned Clown turned away from his view of rooftops to face the owner of the voice and frowned. His friend was dressed like usual and smirking. But he wasn't standing. Oh, no. He was sitting and leaning against the wall with his legs outstretched and ankles crossed, looking as if he'd been sleeping and just woke up. Tim smirked at his friend as he stood, patting any dust off of his black jeans. "Y'know, if you'd have spoken any time in that half hour, I would have answered."

"Why didn't you!?"

A shrug and a pout, the childlike frown losing its effect with the clear amusement in the owner's golden eye. "I thought you were enjoying the view."

Crowned Clown pinched the bridge of his nose, taking a deep breath and forcing himself to calm down - for now - with the reminder that he needed his friend as a guide to catch the thieves. He'd unknowingly wasted thirty minutes and refused to waste a second more. "Can we just get to what we came here for? Please?" The all white boy asked, stressing the asked word.

Tim rolled his eyes with a smirk. "No need to get your panties in a twist." The sudden drop of amusement left nothing but business in the golden boy before his companion could become any more frustrated. "In all honesty, I've been waiting just like you have. The men you're looking for happen to pass by here every night at around this time. Now, if I had spoken up, you would have been more anxious and missed if they left. So, really, I did you a favor by sitting quietly."

The younger of the two opened his mouth to speak but promptly shut it with an annoyed sigh, knowing his friend to be true. If he had seen his friend sooner, he wouldn't have listened and, when he finally would have, he wouldn't be able to sit still and just... watch. He had been trying to avoid that by going to his friend in the first place. In all, this was actually more preferred. If the thieves had shown up earlier than expected, he would have seen them while waiting for Tim rather than bouncing from one window to the next in hopes of catching sight of his targets.

Not wanting to admit his friend was right, Crowned Clown turned back to the window. To his great relief, he didn't have to sit still long. Movement in an alley, leading away from 'The Tower', drew his attention to the two men he had been waiting for. Keeping his eyes on the men, he turned his head enough to nod to his friend; a silent thanks. With a nod in return, he jumped from the window he was previously occupying to land on a sloped roof a few feet in front of him.

The masked boy kept low on the roofs so as not to be seen but still able to watch his targets. The thought occurred to him that he could simply stop them now, rather than wait and follow. However, his curiosity over how the two men were pulling off the heists had grown to be too large. He deciding following the two would turn out to be something almost educational. Find the issue in security and deal with it. If someone was letting them in, he'd allow the Earl to decide their fate.

Looking the men over, he found them to be quite dull. Not as bad off as some of the Rats he'd seen but not nearly as well off as he. The somewhat tattered clothing, the thin film of dirt and grime on their flesh, and the practically non-existent sense of paranoia made it clear as day that the two hadn't lived on the streets for long. Probably a month or two at most. Rats for such a short amount of time and yet they could easily find 'The Tower' and even make their way into some of the most secure buildings in the city.

Something didn't sit right.

It took months to finally find the only path to 'The Tower' - if you were lucky enough to not get lost and turn up dead or arrested - and even longer to become strong enough to win a spot in 'The Tower' to call home - should you live long enough for that day. There was really only one, very rare, way to live in 'The Tower' so fast and that was by having a connection with someone already living there and willing to share. But that was what made it so rare. Nobody was willing to give up an inch of what they earned. People that claimed entire floors would never allow another person in while people that only had a corner wouldn't share because they barely had space for themselves.

Then that left the security infiltration. The men were clearly amateurs, far too new to this life to have learned any of the manipulation skills necessary to survive on their own as Rats. That put a halt to the idea of them getting in by the same tactics Crowned Clown and Timcanpy often used. The simple analysis easily narrowed down the list of ways to get in. Should there be a hole in any of the buildings, it would have been noticed and repaired long ago. Everything narrowed down to a guard allowing the men in.

As much as he wanted to doubt the idea, it wasn't all that out there. Yes, the guards they hired were well trusted and had been part of the family for years before being allowed their current jobs. That, however, didn't stop a man from looking the other way for a few minutes if it meant a few extra bills in his wallet.

With the sight of a familiar warehouse coming up on him, Crowned Clown forced himself out of his thoughts and back into the present. He took in every detail from the number of guards to the slightest wrinkle in the outfits they usually wore. One thing stood out most to him out of each of the guards.

He didn't recognize one of them.

Each guard the family had was very well trusted and well known to each of the Noah. Even the so-called "Secret Fourteenth" knew all of the most trusted people, though they didn't know him.

The fourteenth executive of the family was hidden by shadows ever since he or she had been brought into the family. The only thing anyone knew was that there was a fourteenth 'Noah'. Most other things 'known' were mostly rumors. Though, everyone in the family had at least the idea that the 'Fourteenth' was strong and previously a Rat. This led most to believe the 'Fourteenth' to be a large, muscular man. The image of a teenage boy no older than sixteen and no taller than five foot, eight and a half inches never occurred to a single person outside of the executive 'Noah'.

To the fourteenth 'Noah', finding someone pretending to be part of the family was infuriating. Watching the man allow the thieves in was even more so.

Before the handle of the door could be reached, a knife had grazed the false guard and stuck itself in the door. The knife was a simple throwing knife with a pure white strip of cloth wrapped around the handle with the end of it tucked through one of the wrappings and allowed to flutter in the slight breeze.

The sound of boots hitting the ground from feet above drew attention away from the knife and to an all white-dressed boy. The boy - with a mask covering his eyes and white hair parted to show a pentacle scar on his forehead - made his way closer to the building, ignoring the guns pointed at him in favor of toying with another of his throwing knives.

Within a second of a guard twitching his finger towards the trigger of his gun, he felt eyes behind a mask on him. "I wouldn't do that. You might just lose your life for it," the masked boy spoke in a voice that meant business. He'd stopped toying with the blade and - though his head was still down and facing the knife in his gloved hands - the guards could all feel his eyes on them.

"Who are you and why are you here?"

The guards were startled by a dark chuckle from the light boy. "Should you really be the one to ask that question?" The boy took a step forward, ignoring the many guns pointed in his direction though none firing. "I don't believe the Earl ever hired you."

At the mention of their boss, the guards lowered their guns though only by a centimeter. "How do you know about the Earl kid?" A rather tall and thin man asked.

Crown Clown recognized the speaker instantly, having met him more than once, and curved the corner of his mouth into a small smile. "Crack," Said man twitched at the mention of his name, causing the boy to smirk a bit. "If I'd known you'd be working right now, I'd have brought Tyki along and some cards. It's really never too late for poker, right?" A shift of eyes behind a mask went unseen as the boy looked to another man holding a gun pointed at him. "The same goes for you, Momo."

Before another question could be asked or another thought spoken, the sound of footsteps running away echoed off alley walls. In an instant, the boy had stopped smirking and was again straight-faced. "I want two of you to go after whoever just left and the rest of you to get back to your patrol."

Two men sprinted off in the direction the sound retreated in. However, the others didn't move an inch. Half a dozen guards were pointing their guns at the two strangers, and the false guard, all keeping a wary eye on the masked boy. "Lower your guns." The masked boy's voice rang out in the silence, startling one of the guards if only a little. "They've tried so hard to get in. So why don't we let them? I feel like being hospitable."

Hesitance was heavy in the atmosphere around the group before weapons were slowly lowered. The masked boy took the few necessary steps towards the door and reclaimed his knife by lightly pulling the hanging strip of cloth. He gripped the handle of the door and pulled it open, allowing his set targets and addition into the building. They took a moment to process what was happening before slowly making their way in, figuring running meant a bullet in their backs.

Once inside, Crown Clown led the three to a room towards the back. Not once did he have to check behind him for the men to see if they were following. Their movements echoed off the walls and told him all three were walking - more like shuffling. He could practically feel their fear, an easy sign that they wouldn't be trying anything even if they made it out of the building alive. How the three grown men acted because of the teenaged boy nearly made the youngest laugh out loud. To an outside party, this scene would more than likely be laughable if not sad. The boy honestly would have laughed had he not been in the middle of a job. Speaking of…

"So," the teen spoke, startling the men by the suddenness of the voice and the large echo. "The two I followed here have been stealing from us for quite a while and I can only presume that's because of the one that thinks he's part of our family. Tell me. How did this all start?" Silence and a cold blade at the teen's throat met the question still lingering in the air.

"Make even the slightest sound for your little guard dogs outside and I'll slit your throat." The false guard spoke into the teen's ear. Had the teen have been less in control of his body, he would have shivered at the grotesque feel and smell of the breath on and in his ear.

The white haired boy took a breath before letting out a sigh. "I'd prefer you not stand so close. Bad things tend to happen to those who get... 'too close for comfort' I suppose you could say."

"The hell's that supposed to mean?" was the intended question. Instead, only the first two words barely made it out before a gloved hand was holding the arm that previously held the knife and twisted sharply. Sickening cracks and pops were heard as the arm bent in a very different angle than it had originally. The man howled in pain and clutched his arm to his chest, glaring daggers at the back of the masked boy's head.

Crowned Clown turned around with a straight face - from what could be seen - and faced the men. Ignoring the glare from the false guard and the shocked looks from the thieves, the boy gave a small and almost kind smile. "Answer my question - or questions - and I promise you won't have to concern yourselves with me harming you."

A fist aimed at his face was his answer. A quick and subtle move of his head had the arm over his shoulder. He grabbed the thieves arm and quickly flipped the older man, watching the man's back hit the concrete flooring at the same moment he ducked to miss a swing from the other thief. He brought his arm forward and forced the forearm into the attacker's stomach, throwing him off balance and causing him to stumble. Standing tall again, he kicked the man in the stomach and into a few crates.

The feeling of a barrel of a gun pressed to his head and the sound of the hammer being pulled back made the teen stop. A split second before the trigger was pulled, the teen let gravity do his work for him as his weight brought him to the ground. A quick spin and kick at the gun wielders legs had the man falling.

The all-white teen stood and, when seeing the gun being raised, threw one of his hidden knives into the man's hand. As the small though sharp metal entered the man's wrist, his hand was forced to let go of the gun in favor of being cradled to his chest.

Crowned Clown glared at the man holding his arm as he picked up the gun from the floor. "See… All I wanted to really know was who you're working with and how you got in. Though, I think I've got it together now." The teen stood up straight, looking over the pistol in his hands. He sent a few glances to the three men, the thieves seemed to be getting over their beating and were getting up. The men were standing for barely a moment before one found a bullet in his thigh and the other a bullet in his knee.

Their screams fell on deaf ears as the teen holding the gun turned back to the false guard. "I'm thinking… It's only you three. And you were the one that stole James' uniform. Having stolen a guards uniform, you told your friends which warehouse you'd be at and allowed them in each night. As long as you got paid in return. Am I correct?" The teen asked, pressing the barrel of the gun between the false guard's eyes.

A glare and spark of fear were all the teen needed before the trigger was pulled. Blood sprayed across the wall and some crates from the back of the man's head before his corpse fell to the ground. The teen watched the blood from the gaping wound in the back of man's head pool and frame his once blonde hair and light skin - quite well in the teen's opinion.

After staring at the corpse for a few moments, he realized the screaming behind him had stopped. The boy turned to face the once screaming men and found them staring at the corpse of their friend in fear and disbelief. Crowned Clown took a few steps towards the frozen men, that being enough to snap the men out of their states and cause them to try and move away. The pain running up the men's legs with each movement made them realize how real this all was. And that made it all the more terrifying.

They were about to be killed by a kid. A kid for Christ's sake!

A familiar gun was raised, followed by the trigger being pulled, then everything went black. And the thieves knew nothing more.

The teen dropped the gun with a sigh and walked away from the three pools of blood flowing from three corpses. He glanced over his white suit as he made his way out of the warehouse, pleased that not a drop had stained the pristine white of his outfit. He met the guards at the door and ordered them to take care of the mess. A few men nodded and walked in through the door he just left, the rest of the guards staying outside and returning to duty so not to anger the boy.

Two men walked up to the all-white boy before he could make his leave. "We're sorry sir, but whoever it was in the alley got away. We checked everywhere and found no signs of another person within the area." One of the guards said, keeping a straight face and standing at attention. He didn't care if the one in front of him was half his age, he refused to anger anyone close to the Earl.

The Noah boy nodded, clearly not satisfied but understanding. You could only do so much and if someone turned down an alley before you ever saw them, then it was almost impossible to find them. "Alright. I'll tell the Earl. If anything happens, if you hear anything, call it in immediately. Understood?"

"Yessir." The two guards spoke in unison.

With his original job done and no lead on the onlooker, Crowned Clown sighed and made his leave to return home. It had been a long night and he had to wake up early in the morning.

There's a poll on my profile regarding the name of this story. I have a few ideas on there but I'm willing to listen to suggestions as well. I like the name but, with what I have planned, it doesn't exactly fit anymore. So there's a poll up. One of the options is to keep the name as is so if you like it, there you go.

So, I've realized, I've been doing a lot more reading than writing lately. Ignoring the fact that my last "fic" was a two-shot some months ago, what made me realize this was rather sad and funny at the same time. In one hour, I found myself wondering when the next update would be. I asked this three times in one hour.

...Then remembered I'm the author and decide when it updates.

Every time I remembered that, I ended up groaning because I planned out something but it's way later and I'm still in the set-up phase. Not even close to the climax - peak, plot twist phase, turnaround, ol' switcheroo, whatever you wanna call it.

I also remembered that I'm not allowed to set dates. I've literally said something would never update, and it got an update six hours later. With this, I promised an update the next day and here it is days later. At least it's out, right?

I feel like the last chapter was a bit disappointing so I'm hoping this makes up for it. See ya.