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LONG PART WARNING! Remember to comment and vote!

***
So, now I'm stuck with helping Angel tonight.

I know I should've had the will power to refuse, but my wallet had been starting to run dry. Rusty was my best buddy, the closest one I had, and we'd do anything for each other. I had to do this for him, he'd do the same and I knew it.

"Alright here's the plan." Angel started, pushing his shiny black hair out of his eyes with a grunt. He didn't seem to care that I wasn't Rusty, nor did he even seem to notice."You go over there." I nodded."Then you start sweet talking up that cop. Just ask about something stupid, he'll think you're being considerate."
He turned his back to me and leaned over the wall that hid us from the policeman's sight. "You're Troy, you can't do nothing wrong." He scowled.

He'd always been jealous of me, since my dad could get me out of trouble most times, and he would get caught. It's not like I get in trouble all the time anymore though, I rarely ever do things I'm not supposed to.

"Yeah yeah." I groaned. Why was I helping this convict? Well, if you want a short answer, Rusty.

"Alright, I swear if you screw this up..." He mumbled a string of curses under his breath. "Alright. What I'm going to do is drop this off at that house." He pointed across the street to an old building with a large "for sale" sign out front. He had an old and worn bag in his gloved hand. "You sure you want to go through with this? You won't bail on me will you?" I swallowed hard. It was more of a threat than a question. We shouldn't be doing this, I thought. "Look these guys will kill everyone of y'all if I don't go through with this, so I'm doing this for all of us" he tried to set my worries aside. "On my signal you run. Got it?"

"Wait that's it?" I asked suddenly. I don't know why I did it, but I felt as this was to simple, even for Angel. No scaling a fence like last time? No being chased by crazy hoods while his screams filled with adrenaline echo throughout the barren streets?

Everything would be fine, I decided. I didn't see why I couldn't distract a cop for a few minutes, until I saw him. He was one of my dad's old friends, the one he would brag about me and Robin with. Tall, handsome, and muscular, with fair skin and scraggly beard.

"Hey Rick" I walked around the corner reluctantly, putting on a friendly but tired face, thinking of a good excuse for being out so late. He snapped his head in my direction, but flashed a friendly smile.

"Oh Troy! Whatever you doin' out this late?" He asked, just like I knew he would.

"Just stress keeping me from sleep. You know how it is." I lied through my teeth.

"I sure do. Your old man doin' fine up in New York or what?"

"Yeah he's doin' fine, he keeps dropping bread for us down here so I figure he's doin' good.

"He don't call you?"

"Mom does."

"Well that's sure something. You see, he sure was a quiet guy, but he sure could take down a hoodlum. He easily out ran everybody." Rick sighed smiling. "And your mom?"

"Fine. She's turning 40 real soon, so make sure to call her." I smiled. I'd have to call her too, even though she calls us every week.

"Is she now? Man, it's been quite some time since I've seen them last. They was such a nice couple. Good thing too or you would have turned out like that Hayes. I don't even know why you hang with him. That one sure is something. I can never catch him though, too fast and too smart. Once I was this close, but wham! He curves me and scales a fence. 'Cause of him we built em' higher."

"He's not that bad a guy. Just got some issues." Three high pitched whistles broke the conversation and I knew immediately that it was Angel's signal. "Okay, I've gotta go now before I get jumped by some guys. See yah!"

I sort of skipped around the bend, then broke into a full out sprint when I got out of his sight. Angel was running ahead, laughing his head off, no longer holding the brown bag, but a different one, a black one. I caught up with him slowly, even though I was running at full speed, and breathing heavily.

"Cut left!" He commanded suddenly and we ran into an alleyway where I helped him scale a tall fence at full speed.

"Troy!" He panted,"put this on!" He tossed me a small cloth over the fence which separated us and gestured to my face. I caught it, took a few strides back and leaped as high as I possibly could and pulled myself up the fence. No stopping, keep running, I repeated to myself as we dodged the light beams that were patterned over the otherwise dark and bleak street. I looked over to him, expecting another command at any moment.

His hair was bouncing and his breathing was fast. He had a smile so wide, the same smile he had on years ago, that he soon covered with the black material. I did the same. We ran out into the street and toward the mall, gun shots and shouting in the distance. I swallowed hard and knew I couldn't ask him what he had done or why we were being chased, I just could run along side him like the devil himself was at my heels.

And, to be honest, Angel filled in that spot.

We reached a large building with beautiful hedges surrounding a fountain. I recognized it as the mall. He ran straight into and through the bushes surrounding the mall's fountain plaza, gesturing me to follow. I scaled it, not risking any cuts or scrapes, thinking ahead.

He busted open the doors and bolted inside. I did a double take, but saw red and blue lights flashing in the distance, and quickly got inside with adrenaline pumping through me. I ran right past him into the giant empty plaza. I only turned back when he suddenly yelled "50!"

Angel was ducked under a counter inside of an open store, counting out loud quietly as he flipped through plenty of five dollar bills snickering. He was like a child, smiling and laughing. He also had a ring of keys beside him, which I figured was his way of getting into this place.

"So where next?" I panted quietly with my hands on my knees, anxious to get out and finish this crazy night. We were in a clothing store with leather jackets and hippie clothes evenly divided down the center.

"Huh? Oh yeah" he snapped back, wiping sweat from his lip. "Well, we get outa here." He got up and placed his jacket on a clothes hanger and hung it up behind many duplicates. He started walking calmly toward the back entrance and I followed.

Not in trouble yet. Not in trouble yet.

He leaned his head out of the doors and slowly stepped out, motioning me to follow. The place was virtually untouched, well except for a new leather jacket, and nobody would ever find out. Angel was always pulling these kinds of stunts, but this time was the first time in years he's taken me along. The cops had died down, probably went to stop the madness over at the old abandoned place.

We were off the hook.

"Probably arrested the guys too. And they know better than to rat me out. If they did, they'd have to spill everything and get the electric chair for what they've done past." Angel said cockily. His pearly teeth shown in the moonlight as we walked casually outside, just like regular ol' guys just taking a stroll in the dead of night. Actually, it didn't seem like night anymore, as streaks of gold outlined the dark clouds on the horizon, illuminating a division of light and dark. He punched me in the arm happily and celebrated.

"We did it man! Woah, was that a rush!"

"Sure was." I said sarcastically. "No more of these though, right?" I asked, almost tripping over my own leg. I hadn't run like that in years, and was afraid I'd show it, as I wobbled on my weak legs.

"Man that was a close one!" He added ignoring my question. He was so happy, so lively, and I knew that he wouldn't have had it any other way.

"No more Angel. I know you love doing this kind of thing, but no more. What if you get caught? What if we don't get off the hook next time? We're done."

"Man, what's up with you? You're sounding like I give a —." He sounded annoyed. "Man, we're good. Nothing can touch me." He stopped in his tracks for a moment, seemingly thinking for an excuse or anything to explain himself, then started walking again. "Like, I'm almost eighteen so I gotta make the most of it while I still can. Still gotta live before I stop living. You know?" He looked up from the ground, and I could tell he was trying to be sentimental in his own unique way.

I gave him a disapproving expression and he mumbled a curse at me and dashed toward his house on the south side, not wanting to try to explain himself anymore. So I walked home alone in the opposite direction, silently bumping into some hippies on the way, but luckily, no cops. Just like Angel had said, they'd probably all left for the gunshots, looking for some action on a boring Sunday night. I just about made it home when I noticed Rick sitting on the hood of his cop car, parked on the street...

just outside my house.

I suddenly panicked, as a hundred thoughts clouded my head.
"Hey Rick. What are you up to?" I asked trying to hide my fear and nerves.

"Oh hey Troy. You live here?" He looked over at the largest house in the neighborhood." Still?"

"Yeah-" I began to explain that I hadn't gone off to college, but he cut me off.
"Hey, why are you still out? You really shouldn't have been. Gun fire erupted a ways from here. I'm watching for any suspicious characters around this place. You know how it is."

"Yeah I heard, just got caught up with a buddy of mine. Do you know what had happened?" I asked as curiosity took over.

"Yeah. These big guys were buying drugs from some kid around here." I gulped but nodded trying to tell him to go on. "Yeah. They was saying how he slipped them fakes and made off with the bread. About a clear half thousand. All they had said bout him was that he was short. No way that he could've jumped a fence or something. At least that's what I heard them yelling as they passed me. Yeah they was something. But one good shock with my taser and crack! no more running, no more resisting. Hey you okay kid? You don't look to well."

"I'm fine." I tried to control my nerves. "That must be scary being a cop and all."

"I sure love it." Rick laughed. "Ain't nobody gonna slip under my nose. Neither yours. Maybe you should try out sometime. You'd do just fine."

"I'll think about it." I lied." Just like my old man right?" I started for my door.

"Just like your old man." He chuckled. "Have a good night."

"You too."