So, in case anyone's wondering where that last chapter came from, there's a short scene in the Wizard of Oz right after they meet the tin man where the wicked witch shows up and lights the scarecrow on fire… and that was my take on it. Heh.

This chapter's a bit longer than my usual ones, which is rare, because I usually get lazy and post chapters that slowly shorten over time. So enjoy this one for what it is!

To my reviewers:

obsessive-elphaba: Oops, sorry about your name before. I try to always type names as people write them, but I think spell check fixed that one against my will, haha. And uh… wow. I've never had a #1 fan before! I'm so glad you like my stories! *Feels speshul*

Chalcedony Rivers: Thanks! It just about wrote itself, heheh.

Roger and Angel quickly ducked around a wall just outside of the kitchen. Roger glanced back. "Is that annoying waitress gone yet?"

Angel peeked bravely around the wall. "Yeah, I think so."

"Oh thank God, because I swear, I was about to – hey! Who's that talking to Mark?"

"Hmm?" Angel turned back around. Is that Maureen? What the hell?

"Hey, that's Maureen! Crazy bitch. Why is Mark talking to her?" Roger piped up.

Angel whipped around. "You know her?"

"Yeah, she was a friend of…" His voice trailed off.

Angel remembered how much Maureen had liked April. Oops. Time to change the subject.

"I've been told she's kind of a troublemaker. I wonder what she's up to."

Roger pondered for a moment. "You said you were going to see Benny? Y'know, she really hates him. I wonder if that's why she's following you. She's been out to take him down for ages."

"Huh." Angel couldn't think of a better response.

Roger continued to study the scene before them. "You know, I've been thinking… Mark looks kinda familiar. I've been wondering about that, it's like I've seen him somewhere before. Seeing him next to Maureen like that, you know, I think they've known each other for a long time. I probably met him at some point through April or something."

The two of them watched again. Maureen was scooting closer and closer to Mark.

"Hmm, they do kind of look like a couple." Angel gasped. "You don't think they're working together, do you? What if he's just coming to do something to Benny? He did seem really interested in tagging along after I mentioned going to see him."

"Woah, woah, way to jump to conclusions there. He seems cool to me." Roger cautioned.

"I guess… it's just, he seemed really excited to come along. When I asked him why he needed to talk to Benny in the first place, he got all weird and defensive. It's just suspicious to me." Angel countered.

"Well, you may be right. And besides, what would some regular, innocent guy want with a money-crazy jerk like Benny, anyway?"

"Exactly, sugar!" Angel exclaimed.

"Well look, let's just play it cool." Roger warned quietly. "Act like you don't know what he's up to."

Angel nodded. Play it cool.

She and Roger strolled back to the table, conveniently not noticing Maureen as she slipped out the door.

"Hey Mark." Roger said casually, sliding back into his seat.

Mark jumped slightly, then turned back to face Roger. "Oh, hi."

Angel sat down next to Roger. "Hey look, let's just finish our drinks and get out of here before anything else happens."

Roger felt that she may not just be referring to the soup.

"Sounds good to me." Mark agreed quickly, picking up his drink, which had apparently arrived at some point while he was talking to Maureen.

Angel and Roger exchanged a glance. Why is he in such a hurry now?

They shook it off and drank quickly and mostly in silence. They all had a lot to think about, after all.

Roger finished first. He gulped down the last of his wine and clonked the glass down with a sigh. "Everyone ready?"

"Yeah." Angel replied, sipping up the last drops.

Mark, who suddenly felt like he wanted to be a little drunk at the moment despite not normally liking alcohol much, tipped his glass back and tried to get every drop before looking up and nodding his head at the others.

Angel reached into her pocket and dug around for some cash before finally managing to produce a few crumpled bills. She slammed them down on the table and stood up quickly.

"Well come on, boys, let's get moving!" Angel chirped, doing a little motivational dance to inspire Mark and Roger to move.

"All right, all right, I'm coming." Roger slowly raised himself from his seat, followed by a contemplative Mark.

The crew of friends lumbered outside and took a moment to breathe in the fresh air.

"All right, well, you're going downtown, right? I know a shortcut there, if you're interested."

"Very interested!" Angel exclaimed.

"Come on, down this alley here." Roger took off down a side street and turned sharply into a sleazy-looking alley. "Careful, this area is crawling with drug dealers and muggers and crazies."

"Oh my." Angel mused. Mark gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and they exchanged a quick glance before following Roger down the gravelly road.

He can't possibly be evil… can he? Angel pondered as the walked. She got so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice the man curled up in against a wall whom she proceeded to trip over.

"Oof!" He loosed a tired grunt.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Angel cried quickly, spinning around to face the stranger.

"S'okay." He grunted. He attempted to sit up slowly but coughed a few times and slumped back down. His face caught the light and Angel saw that there was blood dribbling form his lip and one of his eyes was swollen.

I didn't do that! Angel thought worriedly. She bent down to examine him more closely. "You okay honey?"

"I'm afraid so." He grumbled.

"Here, let me help you." Angel rummaged around in her purse for some tissues. "So, what's your name?" She asked as she dabbed at his face.

"I'm Collins. And you are…?"

"I'm Angel."

"Angel." He repeated, looking up. He stifled a gasp when he saw her face. "Well hello Angel."