Chapter 8

Shilo dropped to her knees beside Graverobber who was still curled up writhing in anguish. Shilo rested a hand on his shoulder in a weak attempt to comfort him. He continued to groan and hiss in misery. She looked back to where Amber had vanished into the night and cursed under her breath. She wanted to bash in Amber's face until even her surGENs couldn't put it back together anymore. A wave of shame coursed over her as she related the rage she felt to her father. She pushed the feeling aside for now and returned her attentions to Graverobber. She hated to see him in such pain. Her eyes moved to his tool kit. Amber had taken the Zydrate he'd already collected, but she knew he had a couple of empty vials in there still. Perhaps, she thought, she could take the needle and extract some more for him. She'd never done it before, but she'd watched him enough in one night that it seemed simple enough. Besides, it couldn't be that difficult to do. He'd said so himself hadn't he? All she had to do was find a corpse and smack the needle into its skull and fill the vial. Then all that would be left to do would be to load the Zydrate gun and spark his pain away.

Shilo looked over Graverobbers pathetic form with concern. She'd never seen him so helpless and she was fairly certain that if he could by any chance ignore the pain he'd wander off like a wild animal to lick his wounds in peace. As it was, he didn't seem like he'd be wandering off anywhere anytime soon. Shilo felt slightly embarrassed to witness his weakness like this. She reached out to his tool kit but he stopped her. Graverobber grabbed her wrist lightly. "Forget about it for tonight. We'll get more later," he managed through clenched teeth. He hissed in pain as he slowly stretched out.

Shilo attempted to protest. "But I can get more, just enough to take the pain away."

Graverobber shook his head. "A good dealer never dips into his own product kid, I'll live. Just... gimmie a minute." Graverobber closed his eyes and gritted his teeth and tried to stop the world from spinning. His balls throbbed in agony. He tried to block out the pain, but it was impossible. He'd known that Amber could be a ball buster, but not literally, at least not with him. She'd always been willing to throw herself at his feet.

Well,he thought, at least now I know the new rules she wants to play by. He'd have to make sure he watched his step now. She was making a play for power. She thought she could beat him into submission like a dog, she had another thing coming. He wasn't about to lie down and beg for that skank, that was for damn sure. Still, that made his life a hell of a lot more complicated than he liked. It had been bad enough when Shilo had come into the picture, now not only did he have to keep the two of them from getting caught, he'd have to make sure that they stayed one step ahead of Amber. That particular part of the plan was easier said than done. Graverobber knew, perhaps better than most, that there were camera's all over the city, and every one was linked directly to what had once been Rotti's office in GeneCo's headquarters.

Graverobber had to come up with a way to keep Amber happy without giving her control over him. More than that, he had to figure out a way to keep Shilo out of her hands. Now that Amber suspected that he had feelings for the girl she wouldn't hesitate to use her as collateral to get him to do whatever it was she wanted him for in the first place. His mind wouldn't work at the moment. He couldn't think in this condition. He was glad that Amber had been kind enough to give him enough time to figure out what he would do to get out of this mess, but for now the best course of action would be to take Shilo home and get some rest and use tomorrow to figure things out.

Graverobber grimaced. He wanted to lie there in the dirt until he'd recuperated from his chance encounter, but time wasn't a luxury that he could afford. He squeezed his eyes shut and steeled himself. A new shock of pain jolted through him and he grunted in discomfort as he slowly rose to his feet using Shilo and the surrounding gravestones as to lift himself up. He leaned heavily on Shilo to steady himself. She wrapped an arm around his waist and did her best to help him begin walking. Graverobber hobbled around as best he could, but with each step the pain flared up and returned to a dull throb as they paused, only to flare up once again with the next step.

They hadn't gotten far before Shilo realized that they were never going to get anywhere this way. She wasn't strong enough to hold him up for one thing, and he was obviously in too much pain and discomfort to get very far on his own. She maneuvered him to a darkened crypt and let him slump onto the steps. Shilo tried to think of an alternative plan. They could always spend the night in one of the tombs, she supposed. She'd done it before, and she wouldn't be particularly surprised to find out that Graverobber had too. Still, the thought that Amber and her thugs might still be hanging around bothered her. She'd feel much safer if they just went back to the run down building that Graverobber called home for now. But he could barely walk. Shilo frowned at the situation. As she struggled to think of an alternative solution to the problem Shilo heard the rumble of a trash truck on its way to make a drop off. It sparked an idea. The trucks came and went at all hours, there was bound to be one that was not only heading out, but in the right direction.

Shilo sat next to Graverobber on the steps. She explained her plan to him while he nursed his injury. They would make their way to the exit road and wait for the next truck from the right part of the city to come by. From there all they had to do was hop on the back and hitch a ride back. The plan seemed simple enough and Graverobber agreed that it was their best course of action. It took them a while to reach the exit road and even after they'd made it there it was another hour before the right truck passed by. During that time Shilo jumped at every noise she thought she heard and every shadow she thought she saw, convinced that Amber was toying with them like a cat toys with a mouse. Afraid that the she-bitch would come back and hurt Graverobber. It took her a moment to realize that she was more worried about what Amber would do to Graverobber during their next encounter, than she was of Amber's threat to lock her in a room with Luigi and Pavi. That Graverobber's well being meant more to her than her own said something, especially when she knew what Pavi and Luigi were capable of.

Graverobber jabbed Shilo gently with his elbow to get her attention. She jumped and gave a surprised squeal. He was hunched down beside her against the wall, letting the wall support most of his weight. Beneath the grease paint, Shilo could tell his face was pale with pain, yet he was still more observant out here then she was. "Thats the one," he said as a truck rumbled slowly down the road toward them. Mentally scolding herself for being so skittish and losing focus, she attempted to help him to his feet. She wasn't sure if she was any more useful then a crutch as they half sprinted to the truck. It was harder then it had been the last time they'd had to hop a truck, and Graverobber stumbled and nearly fell as his hand slipped from the hand bar on his first attempt to climb on. He regained his balance and hauled himself up on the second try. He reached out and grabbed Shilo's forearm and helped pull her onto the truck and settled in as comfortably as he could for the ride.

The closer they got to Whitechapel Avenue, the more the truck slowed down. Graverobber stuck his head out of the back and looked around, craning his neck to see as far ahead of them as he could. He couldn't see much, but when a GeneCop entered his sight line he knew the ride was over. He nudged Shilo. "End of the line kid," he said and held out a hand. "Ladies first."

Shilo gave him a puzzled look. "But there's still a few more blocks before we get there."
"I know kid, but we get off here. From what I can see there's GeneCops up ahead. I don't know if there's a road block or a search or what... but personally, after the bang up night we've had so far, I'd rather not be there to find out."

Shilo nodded in silent agreement, scooted to the edge and hopped out. Graverobber patted down his pockets to make sure he hadn't lost anything during their trip and followed rather less than gracefully. As the truck rumbled slowly away he grabbed Shilo and pulled her into the nearest open alleyway. Safely hidden in the shadows Shilo finally spoke up. "You don't really think she's looking for us, do you?" She asked. "I mean, if she really wanted to do anything she could've done it back there in the graveyard. Besides, she wouldn't know where to find you, …. would she?"

Her brow creased with worry, or perhaps it was jealousy. Graverobber couldn't be sure, though he had a feeling that, in light of recent events it was more likely the former than the latter. "I don't know kid. Honestly, her coming out of nowhere and expecting me to be a part of her dirty work was straight outta left field. I don't have a clue what she's up to, but I don't intend to be her bitch either. As for knowing where I hole up, she's never been there and I move a lot, but she's got eyes all over this city and it wouldn't surprise me if she got someone to roll on me."

"Spies?" Shilo questioned.

"Not just spies kid, she's got cameras too. Still, it wouldn't surprise me if she had me followed. Probably wouldn't take much on her part. All she'd have to do is promise to keep the Repo off some poor sods back, or hell, just spread her legs. That's nothing new to her. Like she said, I've been a bit preoccupied lately. Haven't been thinking with the right head. If she got someone stealthy enough to follow me there's a chance I wouldn'ta noticed." Shilo lowered her head apologetically. Graverobber wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they strolled to the far end of the alley. "It's not your fault kid. Come on, lets get home."

"What about the GeneCops?" She was looking around now, searching the shadows for spies, and the facades of buildings for hidden cameras.

Graverobber frowned. The kid had a point. He wasn't too afraid of making it past GeneCo's rent a cop police force, but it'd be a hell of a lot easier if he didn't stand out quite so much. They picked their way slowly through the twisting turning back alley's that would eventually lead them home. The closer they got to their destination the more often Graverobber saw GeneCo patrols.

He looked over at Shilo. Chances were better for her to get by unnoticed than they were for him. He quickly scanned the area and noted that the buildings around them seemed either empty or at very lest quiet. "Stay here and keep a look out. I'll be right back. Make yourself scarce if those bastards wander in here," he said quietly. Shilo watched as he began to ascend the fire escape and look into windows.

Halfway up, he found exactly what he had been looking for. The window looked in on an empty bedroom. There were no curtains on the lone window and the interior of the room was stark and plain. There was no light in the room and, as far as he could tell, the rest of the apartment was empty. He leaned over the railing and looked at Shilo. She was fidgeting nervously and looking anywhere but up. He called to her as loud as he dared and gestured her to join him.

Shilo made one last sweeping glance around before creeping up the rusty fire escape after him. Graverobber possessed an ability to creep around undetected, even when injured, that Shilo did not. Try as she might not to make a sound, she failed and the escape groaned and creaked and rattled with each step she took. He rolled his eyes at her. "Geeze kid, why don't you just tell them where we are?" Shilo responded with a sheepishly apologetic look and attempted to tiptoe as noiselessly as possible the rest of the way up.

Graverobber leaned over the railing and quickly surveyed the area. Satisfied that Shilo's less than stealthy retreat hadn't attracted any unnecessary attention, he pressed a gloved hand to the window and shouldered it open. The window came open easier than he would have expected. But then again, Graverobber thought, it doesn't really seem like whoever lives here has to worry much about thieves. He climbed through the open window with relative ease for a man his size and stature. He stuck his head back out and offered Shilo a hand.

She managed to crawl through without incident and stood at Graverobbers side in the empty room. She looked around uncomfortably. Hanging out in the cemetery was one thing, going to a whore house with a man that she still hardly knew was another. What she was doing now fit into a completely different category in her moralistic view book. Breaking and entering into someone else's private space seemed somehow more wrong than the act of robbing the dead. Shilo pondered this sudden turn of thought for a moment. Hadn't it only been a few days ago that she had been angry with Graverobber for violating her own fathers corpse? And yet, tonight she had gone out and watched him collect, even helped him in some cases. She hadn't worked the needle herself, but wasn't she just as guilty as he was? Shilo hazarded a guess that the GeneCops would think so.

Still, she reasoned, the dead were.... well, dead. What they were doing now, well, they were violating the living. The thought of being in someone else's private sanctuary put a knot in her stomach.

She considered how she would feel if someone were to invade her father's house. Even though she couldn't bear to think of going back there, not yet, the thought of someone going in without her permission and touching her fathers things, looting, bothered her beyond reason. Her mind careened carefully around the fact that Graverobber had done just that. She watched him as he went over to a chest and began rooting through drawers. He shuffled the clothes inside around, every so often taking one item out and unfolding it, only to frown and shove it back unceremoniously.

Graverobber dug through disorganized mounds of clothing, pulling out pants and shorts and tossing then back in again. Nothing here suited his taste. He sighed, annoyed with himself. He wasn't shopping, he was supposed to be looking for a disguise. He pulled a pair of dark colored cargo pants from the drawer and held them up to him. They were a bit on the long side, and looked like they'd be too big in the waist but they'd have to do he decided. He didn't want to stick around here much longer than he had to. That meant there wasn't really enough time to go looking for a vacant apartment with a well stocked closet of clothes that would fit him appropriately. He grimaced in the dark and tossed the pants onto the shabby shadow of the bed.

He moved on to what was, he correctly assumed, the closet. Closet is, perhaps, not quite the appropriate word for it, he thought. In truth, it was more of a hole in the wall with a bent metal bar across it strung with clothes and covered over with a sheet. Graverobber pulled the sheet aside exposing what little bit had not already been visible. He curled his lip in disdain at what he saw. From one side of the closet to the other was a collection of tee shirts. The majority of them were black, though there was occasionally something red or blue in the mix. He pushed a few out of the way and noticed that each shirt was emblazoned with tacky wordplays and sayings, there was even one of those horrible pseudo suit jacket tees.

Graverobber groaned inwardly at his bad luck. Can't I get just one break tonight? He thought. First I get my ass handed to me by that super bitch and now the first empty apartment I come across for clothes happens to be owned by a fashion victim. He sorted through the shirts looking for something that wasn't overly ridiculous to wear. He was met with phrases like Remember my name, you'll be screaming it later, I went to the Genetic Opera and all I got was this crummy shirt, and Buffy staked Edward... the end! The thought of actually having to wear one of those gaudy getups made him cringe but he pawed through none-the-less. Finally he came across one that made him smile. It was no better than the others really, but it was the air of coincidental humor that got him.

He handed it to Shilo and pulled his shirt over his head. She looked at it. I'm one of those people your parents warned you about. He tossed his shirt onto the bed and took the tee from Shilo and put it on. She just stared at him. "You've got to be kidding."

"What's the matter kid, is it too honest?" He let out a low chuckle and smiled his wicked smile. He sat down for a moment and pulled off the heavy steel toed boots he was wearing.

He stood up and turned his back to Shilo and pulled his belt out of the belt loops and tossed it aside. There was the sound of a zipper being undone and Shilo half turned away. She glanced curiously over her shoulder at the half naked Graverobber. The tee shirt hung low and nearly covered his ass but not quite. Shilo mentally scolded herself for staring. His thighs and ass were muscular and well toned and Shilo could only imagine what it would be like to have his thighs pressed between her legs. She watched him as he turned towards the bed to pick up the cargoes he'd tossed there. Shilo could almost swear she seen a tiny bit more before he looked over and caught her peeking.

She quickly avoided eye contact, but he'd seen her looking. The thought that she was checking him out made Graverobber grin. If his groin weren't still throbbing in protest, he would have gone over to her and pressed himself against her back, toyed with her until she was forced to give in to him. He entertained the thought that, had the situation been only slightly different, he would finally break her down and fuck her right here right now in a strangers bed. The thought of taking her made his balls ache in a decidedly unpleasant way and he drove the images, with some difficulty, from his mind before the pain had a chance to renew itself fully. Still, even as he pushed thoughts of her soft supple form from his mind, he wondered if maybe he'd been too soft with her. He'd caught her watching him dress, seen the images that he was sure were running through her mind.

Graverobber made a mental note to himself not to be so gentle with her next time he had a chance and pulled on the cargoes. "I'm decent kid, you can turn around now." Shilo had to stifle a laugh when she saw Graverobber tightening his belt in his new duds. He, however, did not seem so amused. He tossed a dismal stare her way and proceeded to pull his boots back on. "You got a problem kid?"

She swallowed her laughter with some difficulty. "Sorry, but you should see yourself," she smirked. He looked down at himself and scowled. The pants were a couple sizes too big and hung off his frame unflatteringly. The shirt didn't fit badly, but it was difficult to get over the relative corniness of it. "You look like you just crawled out of a dumpster."

He was clearly unamused. "Ha ha kid," he said gravely.

"I'm sorry, but its true."

He sighed. "Alright, that's enough poking fun. Toss my stuff in your bag and lets find our way out of here." No sooner were the words out of his mouth than he headed for the bedroom door while Shilo hastily stuffed his things into her bag and hurried after him. He hadn't gotten very far. She found him in a little bathroom off of the hall. He'd turned the lights on here and was silhouetted by the harsh glare of fluorescent bulbs. Water poured from the faucet in the sink and he wiped the skeletal makeup that he wore from his face with a towel.

In the brilliance of the artificial light she could see the age and weariness in his face. A faint trace of vulnerability showed through the tough guy facade that he put on for the world. Shilo thought she could almost see something else, a glimmer of pain from the past, hope for the future, she wasn't quite sure. For all she knew she could have been imagining that slight change of emotion in his face. Either way, she couldn't remember ever seeing him in this light before. There was something so.... common, so utterly human about him at this moment, that it seemed unreal. She felt suddenly curious about Graverobber's past, about how and why he'd become the man he was and why he did what he did. Watching him there, really seeing the man beneath the mask for the first time, she felt closer to him than ever before. She wanted to go over to him and wrap her arms around his waist and just hold him. She knew that no matter what, she wouldn't let him go. He couldn't force her to. They would figure out a way to get Amber off their backs. Shilo was sure of it. They had to... because she couldn't bear to think of being away from him after tonight.

As soon as Graverobber moved, the spell Shilo seemed to have been under was broken. The makeup was gone but the showman had returned, hiding the spark of vulnerability that she could have sworn she'd just seen. That, compounded with the dead man in the bath tub, quickly drew away from the scene Shilo had just witnessed. "Come on kid, we'd best get going. We must have just missed the Repo Man, but they're sure to be sending a clean up crew." He began walking down the hall like he knew where he was headed already. Shilo couldn't help but wonder if perhaps he did. How often did he wander though the homes of the dead, or the living. She had so many questions about his past, about who he was and what he did and what part she played in his world. He was a puzzle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. She looked back one last time at the dead man and followed Graverobber down the hall.

**********

Once they got outside Graverobber could tell something was wrong. There was a distinct burning smell in the air and the night sky was lit up and filled with billowing clouds. A knot formed in the pit of his stomach as he searched in vain for the origin of the fire. The towering buildings that surrounded the area blocked his view. He ignored the stabbing pain between his legs as he began to run. He grabbed Shilo's arm and pulled her quickly after him. "C'mon kid, hurry up. I got a bad feeling about this."

It took a minute for the smoke and odd flickering light in the sky to register in Shilo's mind. She ran and stumbled and nearly fell on a couple occasions as he dragged her along. Shilo became quickly disoriented as they ducked between buildings, down streets and alleyways, and dodged the watchful eyes of GeneCops. Graverobber seemed to know exactly where he was headed without stopping to get his bearings.

She ran into him as he skidded to an abrupt stop at the end of one of the numerous alley's he'd pulled her down. She was going to scold him for being so rough with her until she saw what had stopped him dead in his tracks. Graverobber muttered a curse. A blazing inferno towered above them eating away at the building before their eyes. The other buildings on the street registered and she gaped with horror. The place that she and Graverobber had called home for the last few days was burning to the ground before their eyes. There were trucks and a crowd of firemen and milling around in front of the blaze keeping it from burning out of control, but otherwise doing nothing to put out the flames licking at the frame. GeneCops performed crowd control and redirected traffic.

They stood there and watched with disbelief as the flames climbed high into the night licking at the sky and illuminating everything for miles. The scene took on a horrible dreamlike quality for Shilo. She no longer heard the roar of the fire or the shouting of fire marshals and police. The flames danced and writhed with a liquid quality as slowly, slowly a disturbing calm settled on her shoulders. She stood in a deafening silence and watched as yet another familiar thing in her life was destroyed and tears, as well as she, slid silently to the ground.

Graverobber watched, his anger mounting, as his temporary home began to crumble. There, standing behind the crowd of people working to keep the fire from raging out of control, a figure stood out from the crowd. A tall woman, flanked on either side by a body guard, watched the blaze. As Graverobber watched, she half turned. Her eyes met his and she smiled. She wasn't Amber Sweet, she was a demon framed by the flames of hell. The rage that had been building inside of him exploded and he bellowed.

Shilo remained transfixed on the ruins of what she'd come to call home as Graverobber kicked the dumpster and dented it. Another glance at Amber, her satisfied smirk, her prim and proper public persona, infuriated Graverobber further and he drove his fist into a brick wall. The sudden explosion of pain in his knuckles sobered him enough to make him stop and take stock of the situation.

Shilo was sitting limply on the sidewalk, staring hypnotically at the red and yellow forked tongues of flame while tears crept down her cheeks. Amber turned with her guards and sauntered away. His hand stung where the brick had lacerated his flesh and blood began to trickle from the wound. He flexed his hand tentatively, sucking in a sharp breath as his joints screamed with pain as he opened and closed his fist. At least it isn't broken, he thought. He paused and pulled himself together, mentally scolding himself for having let the whore get to him and losing his temper. Darker thoughts lodged themselves in his mind. He pushed them aside for the moment. Now was not the time, he'd deal with them later.

He knelt down beside Shilo and rested a hand on her shoulder. "C'mon kid. We gotta go."

Graverobbers low voice in her ear cleared the fog in her mind. She looked up at him and back to the towering inferno. "Go where?"

"One of us still has a home, remember? We'll have to go back to your place kid, at least for the night. Just til I can find us somewhere else ta stay."

A panicked look blanketed her face and she jerked around to look him in the eyes. "No! Please. Can't we go somewhere else, just for a little while longer? I'm not ready to go back yet."

He looked at her wearily. "Sorry kid. We don't have many options its that or.... well, lets just say you wouldn't like the alternative." Her eyes begged him to think of anything that would keep her from facing the demons her father had left behind for just one more day. "There's no way around it kid. Unless you're okay with staying with our badly dressed friend, we've got to go back. Besides, you can't run away forever."

Her face fell and she swallowed hard. "Okay." The single word was little more than a whisper. He took her by the hand and stood, pulling her to her feet. "How do you know that it will even still be there?" She asked

He put his arm around her shoulders and hugged her to him. "I don't, but I hope for both our sakes that it is."

She looked at him. The vulnerability and weariness was glinting though his showman's mask again. He dropped his arm back to his side and began walking down the empty street. Shilo followed him wordlessly.