Chapter 2: Long Time No See.

Nikki leans her neck farther to the side while the stranger's lips continue tracing over it. She looks down at the ground, trying to find a safe way to proceed. Seeing that her options are limited, she decides to go with the hard way. She kicks off the ground and flips over the stranger. When she lands behind him, she holds the gun to his head.

"Who are you and what the hell are you doing?" She snaps and the stranger laughs. She cocks the gun and shoves it harder into his temple. "Don't think I won't do it."

"You wouldn't be able to." The stranger laughs again.

"Oh wouldn't I." Her finger tightens around the trigger, getting ready to pull it.

The stranger stops laughing abruptly. "Nikki… Really girl? You don't know who I am?" The person sounds offended.

Nikki is taken by surprise. How did this person know her name? She never spoke to anyone. "No actually I don't know you." She sounds unsure but continues holding the gun to his head. The boy groans.

"Can I turn around and step into the light? Maybe then you'll know who I am." He suggests.

Nikki contemplates the idea. Figuring she has nothing to lose, she gives in. Keeping the gun close to his face, but not quite touching him she says, "Ok." Very slowly the boy turns around, careful not to make any sudden movement in case Nikki does decide to shoot.

When his dramatic slow-mo circle ends, Nikki's breath catches in her throat. She curses in her head for having let the boy reveal himself to her.

"Now do you remember me?" the boy asks, cautiously taking steps forward into the light.

Nikki knows she knows she can do one of two things now. The first was she could easily lie and say no. Then kill him and run. But no matter how strong and made of stone she pretends to be, she can't fool herself. And she knew she couldn't play the heartless façade to this person of all people. So she decides to go with option two.

She lowers her gun, puts it back in its hidden pouch in her shoe and walks away. She knew he was going to follow before she heard his obnoxious footsteps rushing to catch up with hers. "Get out of here Kyle. I definitely do not need this right now."

Kyle runs to get by her side. Nikki starts walking faster. "Where I'm going you definitely do not want to go with."

"Oh c'mon," he whines. Nikki was expecting that kind of response. He "witnessed" the last time she killed one of the members of the Ricocheting Rogers. Nikki still can't get over a family gang. The Rogers used to be her neighbors before they had a sudden "issue" and they had to leave. The very next day after administering their news, they moved out. The neighbors were suspicious but quickly got over it. After all, the Roger's place had a pool that was now open to the community. Nikki hadn't been home for years. For all she knew, her whole neighborhood was run over by tanks or blown up in a nuclear explosion. Okay maybe not something so dramatic considering she'd see it in the paper but still.

When she had found out by other secret assassins that the Rogers were so close to her path on the way to find Beatrix and that they were ninja like she was, she wasn't surprised. She had known something was suspicious about them, she just wasn't sure what.

In order to disclose the information about assassins that could pose a problem and possibly help out Black Mamba, Nikki had to favors. She was paid a lump sum of money to take out the son, and at the amount she couldn't refuse. Nikki sighs.

That was all her life was since she had done research on her mother. Of course the internet had nothing on the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, so Nikki had to find facts on her own.

"You must let me go with you! I could be like… like your partner in crime! I'll call you batman and you can call me Robin!" He yells enthusiastically.

"Are you suicidal?" Nikki snaps in a stage whisper. "You're going to get us killed. Which just in case you didn't know, is so un-Robin-like." She rolls her eyes at him.

He lowers his voice drastically. Nothing has changed with this one; he has always and would always live to please. "I will be the a better Robin than the original." He vows.

Nikki looks at him and he gives her the puppy dog face. "Oh gosh, you are so not using that one on me." His lip pouts out even further. "You know for seventeen year old, you are really, and I do mean really, obnoxious and annoying."

"Is that a yes?" He smiles eagerly.

"Hmmm…" Nikki pretends to think about it. She puts her finger to her chin and stops walking. When Kyle stops and looks at her with that eager smile, she decides to test him. "Alright prove that you're better than Robin," She starts taking slow steps forward until she's ahead of him, "then catch me!" She yells back and takes off. She uses her speed to run past all the run-down buildings to one with a ladder. She grabs the side and flings herself up the steps to the roof.

At the top she looks down at the street where Kyle is looking after her. "No fair Nik! You know I can't do that!"

"Then hasta la vista baby! You'll never be a good Robin!" She yells back and laughs at his sarcastically hurt expression and runs the length of the roof. At the edge, she jumps off and continues what she had been earlier. She was on her way to the bus station to get a ride to the murderer's doorstep.