Author's Note: Okay, short chapter for the sake of suspense. Explanations below. Isn't interesting, 'Kinyago' in Swahili does not only mean clown, joker, and comedian... it also means mask.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans or theRedpath Sugar Refinery.

Chapter 17 - Mibanduko Kinyago

Raven stood beside a furious Victor as Jinx went over all of the security measures in Crystal Court. They had just left her office after proper introductions and overviews, with much murmuring going on under Vic's breath. Whenever he did that, Jinx would roll her eyes and elbow him in the side then murmur something back about being polite.

There they stood, in the centre of the court, surrounded by dozens of display cases, now a different design from the previous ones. They were now solid aluminium pillars coming out of the ground, no more legs to hide little devices. The old visible cameras were also replaced with small pinhead cameras hidden throughout the halls. Some were disguised as bolts, other carefully hidden within the pieces them selves, those had their own separate closed circuit system.

The motion detectors were still the same but now there were reinforcement infrared motion detecting beams throughout the vent system so that any interference would be detected. Raven also allowed them to add touch sensors on each display, there weren't any chances of it being accidentally triggered since the cases were bolted to the ground.

Of course Raven and Vic had heard all of this before and were incredibly bored. Raven didn't even understand why she had to be there, she had nothing to contribute. Though she did enjoy watching Vic turn green with envy over Jinx and Mikron's interaction. Jinx looked awfully friendly towards the kid, though Raven knew it was all a façade. It was all temporary, for the exhibits sake; she would humour the runt just long enough for his approval. Ah, the benefits of looking like a dumb sex kitten.

Raven's eye wandered around and spot Roy Harper and Karen Beecher standing near the entrance. She saw Karen gesture for her to come over. Wonder what they want now. She tapped Victor on the arm, jerked her head towards the entrance and he nodded in return.

"Ahem, excuse Ms. Hagge, I'm afraid I must go. Mr O'Jeneus, it was a pleasure meeting you and I leave you in the very capable hands of Mr. Stone and Ms. Hagge," she blurted out an excuse before hurrying to the two waiting INTERPOL agents.

She stuck out her hand at them, "Agent Beecher, Agent Harper," she nodded at them respectively, shaking their hands, "How may I help you?"

"Actually, Ms. Roth, we're here to help you," said Roy, his eyes and expression hidden behind his glasses.

"Oh? If I may ask, why and how?"

"Well, do you remember the night of the robbery a few nights ago?" Raven sighed and leaned against the cold aluminium wall, how could she forget?

She nodded, "Yes."

"We informed you that your life may be in danger. Miss, that threat is still very real. And now we have reason to believe that the hazard has increased." Karen looked at Raven, whatever colour was in her face was drained. Karen put a hand on Roy's arm asking him to stop.

"Raven, we really don't mean to scare you. But the threat is very real, as you know yourself. So," Karen gazed at Raven, compassionate eyes asking her to relax and cooperate, "We'd like you to pack up a few things and join a family member or a close friend and stay with them for a while."

Karen saw on Raven's face that she had neither, "Or we could put you up in a hotel and monitor you from there, your choice. We just cannot afford you staying alone. Especially during the shipment of the artefacts, that's when you're most vulnerable. And that's when they're most likely to strike if they do, during transport."

Raven's eyes shifted downward, she looked at their feet and thought about it. Wow, they're really serious. How bad could this really be? I've… encountered Kinyago several times and, other than being dangerously flirty, he was no real menace. She hastily debated in her head and decided to go ahead and comply with the two agents. She glanced at her watch before looking up, 7:30? Has it really been all day? She looked out the glass doors behind them. Shit, it is dark outside.

Looking up she said, "I'd be happy to oblige, Karen. I'll take you up on your third offer."

Roy clasped his hands together, "Great, we'll arrange for your accommodations as soon as possible. We'll have everything read for you first thing tomorrow. We suggest you go home tonight and pack for the next few weeks. We also urge you not to tell anyone of these arrangements, just in case." Raven nodded her head in understanding. They exchanged parting words before Raven made her way back to her office to grab her things.

Kinyago gently hopped onto the roof of the old sugar factory. The Redpath Sugar Refinery had been closed since 1981 after 126 of production, making it one of the oldest buildings in Toronto and the first factory in all of Canada. Now it's a mere antique, housing a museum of the history of sugar refining and the Redpath family papers. An extended 'modern' section was build below for offices of the new sugar company using the old factory as its base, for publicities' sake. Although the decrepit building is near forgotten history of the city it still stands, a monument; a disappearing old stain on the face of a modern city.

The climb up as easily enough, all Kinyago had to do was scale the old sugar drop that slanted from the ground to the top. He walked to the southern edge, facing the water, and propped a foot up on the ledge leaning on it.

"Glad to see you could make it Kinyago," The harsh cold voice came from behind him; he turned not removing his foot from the ledge. He saw the medium build silhouette of his 'partner' against the bright lights of the city, "I've noticed you've been quite… busy, lately."

Kinyago spread his hands in an outward motion, "Yep, here I am," he leaned his elbow back on his knee and rested his other hand on the forearm, "So, what is the importance of this meeting?"

He watched as the silhouette crossed his arm behind his back and walked towards the ledge himself, "Kinyago, we have a… business transaction. Quid pro quo, therefore if I fail, as do you. Is that not correct?"

"Yeah," he wasn't sure where this was going but he didn't like the sound of it. Kinyago rubbed his neck remembering how the man didn't hesitate the last time.

"Kinyago, I am no fool. Nor do I appreciate being jerked around like one. I told you to stay away from the girl! You undermined my authority, Kinyago. You lost my trust."

"Authority? I thought this was a collaboration, a partnership," his voice was strong, defiant.

"Yes, indeed it was. I apologize, I've been so rude. Allow me to introduce my friend; you may have heard of him, he goes by 'Mammoth'." The man stretched out his arm to his side and a large figure emerged from the shadow of the single remaining smoke stack. He was massive, about 6 feet tall and well muscled, his posture reminding Kinyago of an over grown mountain ape.

Mammoth cracked his knuckles loudly before the dark figure spoke again, "He is my new associate," he reached behind him and pulled out a gun, a shining silver .44 magnum revolver, and pointed at Kinyago. He chuckled softly, manically, "I'm afraid, due to misconduct on your part, I'm just going to have to let you go. I just don't think we're compatible."

At that moment, time seemed to slow down for Kinyago. He saw the flash of the gun and the figure recoil from the power. His limbs seemed to be made of stone, unable to run away from the slow moving bullet. He moved slowly, as one would in a vat of Jell-O, and he fell backwards of the edge as the bullet hit him. A searing pain went through his left side and he toppled off the edge.

The man casually walked over to the edge where Kinyago had fallen off, Mammoth close behind him. He crossed his arms behind him again, the gun still in hand, and peered over the edge, laughing.

"Look at it this way; at least you can join your museum bitch in Khert-Neter."

Raven slept soundly in the comfort of her bed one last time before she would have to abandon it. Earlier on she had packed away everything she needed for a couple of weeks, now laid in bed fast asleep.

That is until a rustling roused her awake. She sat up, clinging onto the covers under her chin, and listened. She heard loud, brash movement in her living room and despite all commonsense imbedded in her, she decided to get up and check the source. Maybe it was her brave side making an appearance, maybe she was just curious, or maybe… she hoped it was him.

She opened the French windows from her bedroom to the living room and turned to a dark silhouette of a man standing across from her. He was breathing heavily and his body swayed to the rhythm of his breaths.

"Ki-Kinyago?" She called out, wondering why he hadn't said anything. Suddenly, he stepped forward towards her, a small heavy step, and collapsed, his right hand clutching the lower left side of his abdomen.

Raven rushed to him, forgetting that she was only in her nightgown, and sat beside him. She noticed there was a pool of water around him and his clothes were dripping wet and cold. She put a hand on his chest to calm him down, his breathing was shallow and she could hear him gasping for air.

"Let me see," She lifted his shirt to reveal a 3 cm wide bullet wound on his stomach, the shirt was drenched in water and blood, which he was loosing quickly. She quickly removed his gloves and held his hands in hers, trying to keep them warm. They were freezing.

"You're half way frozen," she said, her voice trembling with concern and fear. What the hell was she doing? She was helping a thief that had previously broken into her museum. Why wasn't she calling the cops? Why was she so scared? She heard his breath quicken and the black fabric of his mask rise up and down where his gaping mouth was. She laid a hand on his bare stomach, where there was no blood, and he shivered at her touch.

"Holy shit, holy shit. What the fuck happened?" She watched him cough and gag, he was dying now, he couldn't breathe.

"I'm gunna have to take this off," she hesitantly reached for his mask and he grabbed her hand. His hand on her wrist felt cold and icy. She just stared into what she hoped were his eyes and waited. With slow movement, he released her hand and flopped down on the floor again.

Raven gulped and began to peel off the mask. Slowly revealing his true skin, a bit at a time; first his jaw. Then his mouth, his cheeks, then his nose, his ears. Then she stopped, right before his eyes, and pulled back. Biting back fear she quickly jerked the mask off revealing…

Emerald green eyes. Half closed and fading, but still the same.

"Be-Beecher… call… Bee-"

A/N: Okay, lots of explaining to do. The title 'Mibanduko Kinyago' means 'removing the mask' in Swahili, that's why it was interesting that 'Kinyago' also meant mask.

What the dark figure mentioned, 'Khert-Neter', aldo known as 'Neter-Khertet', is what is described in the Egyptian Book of the Dead asthe "divine place underground" meaning the afterworld.

You may ask how did Kinyago get from the factory to Raven's house in his condition? Well, it is implied that he fell in the water (which is entirely fictional because though the factory may be on the harbour front, it is not close enough to the water that if you fell from the top you'd be in Lake Ontario), after falling the water, he would have swum back onto land. Now Raven's house, as I think I have mentioned, is along King St. Her loft is an actual location (currently occupied) within the St Lawrence Market, which is actually a mere 5 blocks from Redpath. There is actually one road that will take you from the factory to Raven's 'house' which is seldom driven by because it goes under the bridge. So if you bypass the fact the he wouldn't have survived the fall, a shot in the stomach and a 5 block trek is slightly believable.

And finally... YES! I did hear of the official Gar/Rae hook up and have a link to the image and have it posted on my profile. Effin A! I swear whenI read it I squealed for joy. The comic book Gar is SOO HOT!