Cash kept his eyes fixed on the petite, young looking blonde. She was dirty and useless around here, Cash would be doing them a favor by taking her in exchange for some cash. Right now he had a bit over ten thousand with him, give or take and although he wasn't willing to give them that type of cash, he would give a decent amount.

"Had some free time, decided to stop by to see how things have changed here," He said quietly, not looking up at Patch. He heard Ink, the woman he had whistled at just a few minutes ago walk in but still he didn't look up from the child.

"You got a minute, Patch?" He asked. He wasn't going to buy the girl infront of the rest of them, especially Ink. He'd gotten some rich details from an old friend about her. He'd said something along the lines of a tattoo on her about some disease. They'd obviously need money to get her fixed and he wouldn't hurt the kid. Hell, he'd give her back in a few days.

Maybe glared at Rainbow as she ignored her question about her hair and pulled the hood back over her head. She watched Ink prepared to go to work and promised to bring them back dinner. Maybe hoped she was right and wouldn't be back too late.

She stood up and walked over to her area of the alleyway, pulling out two of the ten dollars that she had. Her stomach was hurting and she knew that gingerale usually helped. As she turned back to go buy one she saw Cash walked in. His eyes scanned the group and then were locked on Rainbow. He could see the thick wallet he was holding and sighed. Money really could buy everything. Maybe hated the idea of him taking Rainbow but she felt the slight tension in Patch and Ink after they'd been in the darkness of the alley. She wasn't sure if there really was a relationship going on or if there was a problem.

Putting the two dollars into her pocket, she crossed her arms over her hoodie and walked back over to them. She gave Patch a "I don't really care what happens" type of look and then her eyes flashed to the tiny child with a bit of concern in her eyes. She knew that if Patch did let Cash have her there would be rules atleast and as long as he didn't rape her, Maybe would be content on the outside.

Ink couldn't hold out any longer. She had to do something. Rainbow could not slip between her fingers like sand. Not to Cash.

"Hey..." Ink took a deep breath, whipping a smile over her lips and moving to Rainbow. Her hand covered the entirety of the lighter-colored one of Rainbow's. "How about you come to work with me tonight? They got ch-... showers and everything, I'll make sure you get cleaned up and fed real good." She took the child's hand and laced her fingers in it.

"Maybe I could get you a Henna tattoo too, it'll last until you can get a real one." Xhana was going to do anything. Roll over in her grave if she had to. Cash would not have the girl. She would murder him and sell his body parts for money before he paid Patch for Rainbow. She was only ten. Ten years old. And had already had it roughly- trying to be hardcore.

"Sorry." She said, completely sarcastic as she stood back to full length- her body stationed in a proud and defiant stance. She'd prostitute herself if that was what it took to keep the girls, and even the boys, safe. Cash was a heathen- and though Ink hated no one, she was damn close to hating him.

"You ready to go?" Ink smiled down at Rainbow, tugging her hand.

Cash's dark eyes turned away from the child to look at Ink. They were filled with anger although he kept a calm face on. Bringing the little girl to work with her? To watch her take off her clother for men? He knew it was just an escape so that the little girl wouldn't be given to her.

"I'm not planning on hurting her," He said to Ink, not caring who was listening. "I'm just renting her for three days or so. Pick a price and I'll give it to you right now," He said calmly opening up his wallet and pulling out a handful of bills. He'd heard about the costly disease she might have and was willing to use anything to get the kid.

He stood up straight now, not leaning against the wall. Cash pushed the grey hood off of his head, revealing his short brown hair as he waited for Ink. It was a deal no one could refuse in his opinion. He'd take the kid off their hands for less than a week. He'd feed her and keep her safe and ontop of that he'd give them anywhere from five hundred to two grand per day.

Ink bit her lip hard, until they were pitch red with blood. She wasn't good with her temper. At all. And Cash was just the man to bring it up.

"Get the fuck out of here, now Cash." She growled. Xhana put both hands on Rainbow's shoulders. "I'll sell myself before you put your filthy hands on her, you... you... leproso! Se você tocá-la, eu vou matar você, sem um pensamento para me deter!!" Xhana didn't realize she was yelling in Portuguese until all was said and done.

She bit her lip again, sore now. Ink would not give up.

"You cannot win, just fucking leave." She growled quietly.

Ink stepped closer, putting her hand on Cash's wallet and closing it, pushing it back at him.
"I'll make money myself, if I have to do horrible things, and lower myself further. I will degrade myself until I rot before I let you pay to... to.." Her voice broke and she spat at his feet, looking up.

"Leave."

Smoke had been listening to the entire conversation when Cash walked in. His wallet was full like usual and Smoke noticed his interest in Rainbow. Sure, it was a sad thing to watch a young kid be the target but Cash had some serious money and Smoke knew from experience that if he didn't get what he wanted he would become violent. He'd sold Smoke a nice hand gun a few months back which he ended up having to sell but he did know that Cash wasn't even afraid to shoot a kid. He doubted a child would be any different.

Standing up and adjusting his navy blue bandana, he walked over to where they all stood, positioning himself between Ink and Cash, turning to face Cash. "How much we get if I sell you both of 'em for two days?" Smoke asked. Ink obviously seemed concerned about Rainbow so if she went along with her she could watch out for her and they'd be getting double the money.

Smoke's eyes wandered past the fat wallet down to Cash's pockets. One was full of something that was unknown and in the other he could spot a small gun handle. He was right and he didn't want to watch as Ink was shot to death.

Maybe listened to Smoke's deal with Cash as she reached the end of the alley. It didn't sound that bad, but she probably only thought that because she was not part of the deal. She was pretty sure that Cash would get his way either way, whether it meant getting her now for money, killing someone or kidnapping Rainbow.

She sighed. This was the streets, true freedom like this came at a price. Maybe continued to walk until she reached a corner vender. "One gingerale please," She said quietly as she put the two dollars on the top of his cart. He mumbled something about her stealing and shoved a bottle of Canada Dry gingerale over the counter. Without saying a thanks, Maybe picked up the bottle and a large amount of napkins before she continued down the street, taking small sips of the bottle. It was almost May which meant it was warm at night so Maybe was planning on roaming a bit tonight. She didn't want to watch the whole episode back in the alley with Cash and it was a nice night out.

She walked into Centeral Park. The sky was a reddish orange color, showing that the sun was setting which meant it was probably amost seven, maybe six. There were still many people in the park but not as much as there were on weekends so Maybe sat down infront of one of the large fountains. She pulled off her hoodie and scooped up a bit of water from the fountain, throwing it onto her face. She picked up the napkins and began to wipe her face off until a great deal of dirt were on the napkins. Maybe did this alot in the summer and sometimes late at night she'd quickly bathe in a fountain, although that didn't happen much.

Dropping the napkins onto the ground she cleaned off her hands in the water and picked her hoodie back up, dropped it into the fountain, squeezed the dirty water out of it and dropped it in once more. It didn't clean it fully but once it was dry it was a lot nicer looking than and the white parts actually looked white. After a few minutes she grabbed the hoodie, squeezed the water out one more time and carried it as she continued to walk through the park.

Cash now resorted to ignoring Ink. Her temper would be costing her if she kept this up. His attention was now turned to Smoke, a guy he also liked and he nodded at the thought of having Ink and the child. "Ten thousand for two nights and half a day," He said, gripping his wallet tighter after having it slammed shut by Ink. He was making a generous offer, even in his opinion and it was all that he had on him. For a street kid, ten grand was priceless and Cash knew it.

He noticed Smoke's eyes flash down to the small gun he always carried around. He normally would use it in a case like this but he was friends with Patch and wasn't going to resort to that.. atleast not yet. "Do we have a deal?" He asked as his eyes gazed over to the young girl, Ink, Patch and Smoke.

Patch bristled as Smoke stepped forward, offering to sell Ink and Rainbow to the deviant Cash. He darted forward, grabbing Smoke by the collar and pushing roughly against the brick wall, keeping him there, their faces inches apart, an angry scowl on Patch’s facade. His blue eye was narrowed, even more disgusted with Smoke than with Cash. Smoke was one of them; he should have been looking out for the others, especially the girls, not bargaining with them like they were a high-demand drug or something.

“What the fuck, man?!” he growled, pushing Smoke into the wall again and then letting go of him in disgust. “They’re with us! You look out for them, you sorry son uvah’ bitch, you don’t sell ‘em!”

He turned sharply away from Smoke and walked over to Rainbow, putting an arm in front of her. He looked at Cash with a deadened expression. “Cash, we’re through here.” he said, mouth set into a hard, angry line. “We ain’t got nothin' for you.”

They weren’t in the business of selling people. Sure, they sold drugs and sometimes stolen goods, but they weren’t the black market. These were just street kids, and many of them were quite young. He knew what Cash wanted Rainbow for and he felt faintly sickened. He hoped the other man left without trouble, but if it was a fight he was looking for, it was a fight he would get.

Patch fingered the knife in his jacket pocket, ready for whatever happened. He didn’t want to hurt the other man, who he had known for a long time, but he would if he had to. No one encroached on his gang like that and got away without a fight.

Ink snapped her head towards Smoke and held her breath to keep from the longest string of foreign angry curses one could ever imagine as Patch pushed him back. How dare he offer up them both? She bit her tongue, unable to hold back the headache and the small twitchy feelings taking her over starting at her fingertips and toes. Her lips began to quiver, and her lids began to flutter- but she had turned her head away so no one could see.

Her pupils grew thin, then jumped into a wider form, thinning again. It felt like she were being attacked by the light as her body began to draw and writhe on the inside. What was this? If only Xhana knew. It was on the tip of her tongue.

See... is... Seas... sure... Seas-sure?
Seizure?

Her fingers drew up against her hand and she realized she was crying. The wind against the cool tear streams made it real to her. She tried to move her head, but she couldn't. Slowly, she began to make way onto her knees, head tilting lower, pupils dancing wildly again. She meant to scream, but parting her lips as far as she could only made her come to the point of almost drooling. She tried to cry out for help, but she only made a tiny groan. Where were words?

Where was she?

Xhana watched the ground beneath her become a light white-gray, dusted with minuscule details she would never have before noticed, turning slowly into a dark coal colored pavement that she could barely tell was real.

Seconds later, her fingers stopped twitching, and she felt her sore eyes beginning to slowly focus and unfocus- coming to a point of agreement.

Ink shook her head, coughing quietly and wiping her lips as she stood up. The world spun past her once she was still. Once straight, the world flew right up, and over her head, back to wherever or whatever was behind her. She swirled her eyes, pupils finally settling until she could see the shapes.

Patch.

Some other man who she instantly felt enraged by.

Smoke.

And... And...

Her head turned to the side and Ink knit her thin black brows. Who was this little girl? R... Rachel? Raya? Rebecca? R...Rr....
Her lips formed a tight line and she turned her head back to Patch, with a face that clearly read confusion. Ink looked back at the ten-year old child once more. Who was she?

"Who...?" Ink whispered. She brushed her fingers through the girl's hair, looking down at her for a moment before stepping back.

Her chest throbbed, like a dull muffled screaming telling her to recognize the figure, but she couldn't. Her mind drew a big blank. Who was the little girl?

Xhana turned to the man, and she straightened her face.

"I don't know who you are, but please leave now." She said softly, a stern look upon her.

Cash nodded, calmly at Patch. "So ignorant, Thomas. Still, so ignorant," He said. Him and Patch knew eacother before the stupid nicknames, before the big drugs and big time deals. They used to be friends but then Cash tok his road down to the dollar sign and Patch took his.. Cash wasn't actually sure but he knew it was more innocent than the one he had chosen.

"You don't have any girls for me," He corrected Patch. "But I'm sure as hell positive one of you've got some drugs on you and I've got some cash so spill 'em out," He ordered just as he watched Ink fall to the ground. Heis eyes narrowed and then looked at Patch, hoping he'd take care of her as he walked to the back a few paces, looking inside of Jewel's stash.

Patch shook his head. “I’m not ignorant, Andrew. You’ve changed. You weren’t always like this.”

He turned away from the man that had, at one time, been his closest friend. But they had grown apart. The world was different for them. It was all Patch had ever known- he didn’t think of it as rough or as a challenge; it was just how things were. Cash had gotten colder, crueler, tougher. He had known another way of life and had to become fiercer to make it with no roof over his head.

Patch looked at Ink, who seemed confused and disoriented. Turning back to Cash for a moment, he waved dismissively. “Yeah, sure. Get’cher drugs. Jewel’s got the good stuff.” he said, and put his hand on Ink’s shoulder, looking with a frown down at Rainbow. How could she not recognize Rainbow? The kid was like her shadow. Forgetting him he could understand. But Rainbow?

“Ink… Ink, try to focus. This is Rainbow, remember? You remember Rainbow…”

He shook his head, eyebrows furrowed in consternation, the evening shadows making his face look harder and older. He looked more like a man and less like a teen, especially with the worried look on his face. “Ink, stay with me.” he murmured quietly, soft enough that only she would here. “Ink, please… Xhana?”

Ink looked up at Patch, wondering if his worry were like the muffled scream in her chest. She was supposed to recognize the child. Her deep coffee colored eyes fell down to the child again and she smiled, but she turned away from the girl so that her and Patch could speak, stare, or just stand, without being intruded upon by strange glances.

"Rainbow?" Xhana whispered, chuckling softly. "That's strange, what kind of street kid is named Rainbow?..." Her lips fell into a frown, and she looked back at the girl. "I... I don't... remember." She whispered. Xhana listened to him say her name- a lot better than she would've thought him to be able to.

She pressed her fingers around his wrists, bowing her head a little bit. Her hair fell around her strongly defined cheeks in tendrils that were loose from her ponytail. Her expression was faced away from the setting sun, making her features a deep brown and black, hiding the worry slowly overtaking her.

Again, did Ink flash a glance back at the young girl named Rainbow. Her gaze quickly returned to Patch though.

"What's happening to me?" She whispered, looking up a bit, sorrowfully. Her eyes flicked back to Rainbow and she grinned.

"I know that... I... have a feeling about her, like a maternal instinct, but I don't know... She can't be my daughter, she's not dark-skinned." Xhana gave way to a tiny chuckle, turning her head back to Patch.

She parted her lush bow-shaped lips, staring at the ground again, her fingers sliding slowly from his wrists.

"I need help."

Rainbow watched as the black eye's of a man in a grey sweatshirt were set upon her. He was intimidating looking and she felt fear from just hearing his voice. Ink did not seemed to be scared of him though and the man began to metion money and renting. She wasn't really sure what they were talking about so she kept her eyes on the floor, listening.

She was startled when she heard a new language being spoke - or yelled and she turned her attention to Ink and then to the man who was now speaking to Smoke about herself and Ink. She continued to observe suriously when she saw Patch shove Smoke to the wall. She wanted to yell at him for being so mean but she had a strange feeling that she should stay out of it. And then she realized that this man wanted to buy her.

She began panicking and then watched as Ink fell to the floor. She began to speak and didn't seem to recognize Rainbow, which scared her even more. Jumping up, she ran to her section of the alley and picked up the little amount of belongings that she had. Living with parents that fought a lot would be a lot better than sticking around here. Once she had collected her belongings, she ran down the alleyway, tears filled in her eyes but she wouldn't let them fall. She hoped that Patch or anyone else wouldn't come after her. She didn't need them. Rainbow ran down the now dark street holding a black plastic bag with her belongings in it. She needed to find a train station and some money for a ticket. Not sure of where to go, she sat down on a bench next to a bus stop, waiting for a bus to come. Maybe the driver would let her on for free.

Cash rummaged thorugh the paper bag filled with drugs. He picked up a bag of meth dropping a one hundred dollar bill back into the torn up bag. He shoved the bag of meth into his pocket and looked up, seeing the small child running out of sight. This was his chance.

He burst towards the street and after the child. He followed her about three blocks when he finally spotted the small girl sitting on a bench. Still running, he grabbed the blonde girl by her arm and threw her over his shoulder, noticing that she really was light as a feather. His head turned backwards and he saw no signs of Patch which was a good thing. He had a lead now and would be able to make it.

Running - no, sprinting, led Cash about ten more blocks until he reached the lower class area part of town. It was dimmer over there and he continued to run until he reached a worn apartment building. It looked old and torn apart and it was which made it even better for Cash to live in. He held his hand over the child's mouth and carried her up to his room. Locking the metal lock behind him as he dropped her onto the floor.

Her hands slid away from his wrists, which she had previously been grasping, but her grip was weaker than usual. He put his hands on her shoulders, shaking her a little. He cursed quietly, not knowing what to do. Was he supposed to take her to a hospital or something? He’d never been in one in his life, not even when he lost his eye. His surgery had been done in a back alley like the one they were in, by a hobo who had gone to college and had nothing more than a sharp razor, a bottle of bleach, and a stolen eye patch.

But she needed help. That much was obvious even before she said so. “Xhana… we have to go to the hospital.” he told her, and then reached back blindly for Rainbow, grasping at air, not looking behind him. He was too focused on Ink. “C’mon, we’ll take the kid with us.” he said, and then turned around to get Rainbow, but finding no one there.

“Rainbow?” he asked quietly, his good eye searching the alley. Maybe was gone and so was… Cash. “Rainbow!” he called, feeling a sense of panic rising in him like boiling water about to spill over the brim of a pot. “Rainbow!”

There was no response and he grabbed Ink’s wrist, pulling her out of the alleyway. “Come on, we have to find Rainbow!” he said, looking down the street both ways, looking for any sign of her. He let out a long string of curses and obscenities, lowering his head till his chin hit his chest, mind racing.

Where had she gone? And where was Cash?

He had a bad feeling that he would find them together, and the ten year old was too little and too street-dumb to fight back. She wouldn’t even know what was happening to her until it was too late. Patch’s free hand gripped the blade in his pocket, running his thumb over it’s sharp edge. When he found that rat bastard, he told himself, he was going to settle the score.

But he had to make a choice. Look for Rainbow? Or take Ink to the hospital?

“Hang in there for a while, okay? We gotta find that stupid little brat.” he told Ink, lifting her chin so that her wild eyes would look at him. “I can’t take you to get help right now.”

Ink was listening closely, her eyes lulling shut from perhaps the stress that was slowly taking over her mind like a plague. Slowly, she was beginning to find the girl's face familiar, and Cash was now known too.

But soon, after having offered help, Patch was calling out the girl's name. Ink's eyes shot up. She felt that bad feeling in her gut wrench so hard that it almost made her sick.
Bits and pieces of the conversation from earlier began to sink back in. Faint words. Money. Cash's dark deceptive eyes.

Ink was immediately gazing wildly at Patch's face, his hand under her chin. She then took a deep breath, collecting herself. It was her fault. Rainbow ran because she forgot her. And Cash was going to.. to...

Her eyes grew moist, and her teeth ground together audibly. She gripped Patch's wrist hard, and in seconds, her long tanned and tatted legs were weaving into a streaming race. Her strides were so long and frantic it almost looked like Ink were going to jump hurdles for the Olympics soon.

Her breathing was ragged. Fuck the job. Fuck life. And brain tumors. It was about safety for the people around her. And the death of Cash. She would claw his eyes out when she got to him. No, worse. She'd dissect his testicles and let Jewel hustle them to the homeless for a few nickels.

Ink flicked her eyes back at Patch and her tears ripped over her cheeks as she turned back, feet hitting the ground quickly, heart pounding heavily behind her breast.

It's all my fault, please be safe...

Her long fingered, caramel-brown hand grasped his wrist, pulling him forward through the dusky streets, his worn tennis shoes slipping into the cracks and pot holes in the sidewalk, hardly able to keep up with her erratic pace. He followed her wordlessly, caught in his own sense of panic, not sure where she was leading him.

They left the area that they normally roamed and passed by buildings covered in graffiti and empty lots closed off by tall chain-link fences that were growing with patulous vines. The streets were emptier than the area where the gang of homeless street kids resided. The buildings were spaced farther apart, and men in dark clothing lurked in dim corners with dangerous glittering smiles and women in tight, slinky clothing stood on corners under the glowing, orange street lights, smiling seductively. One woman’s hand reached out, her long-nailed fingers grazing his arm softly as he passed her.

They kept running and the streets seemed to grow dimmer, the street lights smashed in, their glass still littering the asphalt like glittering silver that glimmered in the dim light of the sky. The sun had almost disappeared beyond the horizon and the sky was a light purple toward the west and a darker plum overhead. A dark, abandoned apartment stood before them, torn down in places and deserted, the roof collapsed on one side, the windows smashed in. Police tape was wrapped around the building, but it had been trod over. The cops warning had served no other purpose than a chuckle for the homeless of New York.

Cash was in there, Patch thought. It was a place he frequented, living there for weeks at a time before slipping away and causing mayhem in another part of town. It would be the perfect place to take a kid like Rainbow. No one would hear her cries; or if they did, the people around here weren’t the type to do anything about it.

“Ink.” he said, wrapping his fingers around her wrist and pulling her to a stop. His chest rose and fell quicker than normal, but he was used to running. They all were. Well, except for Rainbow, perhaps. She was too new, too young, too malnourished. She wasn’t used to the streets of New York yet. Patch’s clear, inquisitive blue eye studied Ink seriously, assessing her. The dim light of the night and the black patch over his eye gave the young man a more dangerous appearance that contradicted his nature.

Was Ink in any sort of state to go in there? She had just had one of those shaking fits… What if Cash was too quick for her? He had a gun, which neither of them did. Patch had only his knife, and Ink… He looked quickly over her form with a frown. In what she was wearing, he doubted she’d have been able to hide much.

“You gotta plan?” he asked, voice rough and hard. “’Cause if you don’t, you follow me. I don’t need to look out for Rainbow and you. I don’t need you slowing me down or getting in my way.”

Cash stared down at the child who was now lying on the floor. One foot of his pressed against her stomach so that she wouldn't move. He abrubtly bent over and pulled the small girl up by her hair, raising her so that he could look at her face. A wide grin plastered over his face, taunting her with it. Out of no where, his large hand was slapped across the small face of the child before he dropped her to the floor once more.

Walking a bit, he kicked the child in her stomach and stepped over her to the shattered window. He positioned himself so he could peer out but nothing more than his shadow would be visible to people on the outside and he caught a glimpse of Patch and Ink. Amusement fell over his face once more as he pulled out the gun and made sure it was loaded. Cash knew that they'd come in to try and rescue the little brat but what if she was dead already? The thought made him laugh in his head.

Silently, he made his way back to the child who was still lying where he'd left her. Cash grabbed her by the back of her shirt and held her on the floor. Pulling out the gun he held it to the child's head, hand on the trigger. He wouldn't pull it. Not yet.

Ink was running so fast that it were as though she were never going to stop. But fingers wrapped around her ankle and her body understood. Her long strides halted in front of her and her knees bent, catching her from her momentum.

She snapped her head back. The child named Rainbow was in trouble, and it was her fault. Deep in her chest she knew it was bad. She didn't understand the gut hunch, but it must've been true. Ink stared down Patch in an erratic and desperate fashion, but she took a deep breath at his words.

"I'm..." She stopped. Xhana lurched her hand back and found her wallet, fishing her fingers into the black, brown, and pink subject. In seconds, she withdrew something that glinted in the dim street lights. A small silver rectangle. A razor blade.

"I'm ready." She whispered. Xhana placed the blade on her tongue- the sharp edge faced to her lips. She bit down on the edge of the blade so that she wouldn't cut her mouth, and pushed the dull edge against the top of her mouth. This way, she could keep it from hurting herself- a tactic of rough fighting she had learned from a black chick in Harlem upon her strange travels once.

Again, she had turned to the building Patch had led them to, racing up and inside. She heard a thud, coming from a room on the far left. Perhaps even a whimper, but her mind forbid her from replaying the sound in her mind.

She bolted again, feet lightly tapping the floor inaudibly as she flew through the hall until she found the door from which the noise came from. Light pooled at the bottom crack.

"Patch." She mouthed the word, pointing to the door. His name had been skewed by the fact she was whispering through clenched teeth, the silver line between them spelling out danger behind soft moist lips.