Jake DeCharmante raised his saber to strike. He watched in amazement as the saber went flying from his hand. With a flick of his wrist Duke L'Orange placed his saber to Jake's throat. "Better," he said quietly, "but you're still dead." Jake sighed in defeat. "Yeah, well it's not my fault I can't beat you." Jake whined. Duke smiled, putting his saber away. "Number one: Don't whine. Number two: You have to learn to take responsibility for your actions." Duke said calmly. Jake nodded, taking the advice in. Jake stretched, walking to the door, "Well, if the lesson's done for today, then I'm gonna go down to Chase's Place. S'ok?" Duke nodded the approval. Jake smiled and began to walk out the door but stopped, noticing Duke not following suit. "You're not coming?" Jake asked quietly. Duke shook his head, "Not tonight, I'm busy." Jake looked at him curiously, Duke had been more quiet than usual all day long. "Busy doing what?" Jake demanded. Duke didn't reply. Not wanting to be late, Jake abandoned the conversation and walked out the door. Duke watched in silence as he left, pulling on his coat. Ten minutes later, Jake stepped under the canopy outside of Chase's Place. He didn't want to be out too long in a downpour like this. With a wave of his hand Jake walked right past the club bouncers and lines of people waiting to get in. "I love bein' in the BOTB." he murmured happily, walking right up to the specially reserved section of the club. Since Chase's Place was owned by Chase, memebers of the BOTB got special "privelages" offered by the club, such as immeadiate reserved seating, free tab, and no waiting. Chase's Place was one of the hottest spots in Baconus, right on the edge of the Thieve's Market. Anyone was allowed in as long as they could pay for food and drinks, and all Guild members also got special benefits, but not as many as the BOTB. The only people not allowed in was the Black Rose, for obvious reasons, Chase didn't want a fight. There wasn't any hesitation to allow police in since the club was perfectly legal. Even minors could get in. Jake walked up to the table where the Brotherhood was sitting and pulled up a chair. "Hey guys, whuzzup?" "Not much, Kid." said Chase calmly, leaning back in his chair. A waitress came up to the table. "Want any drinks?" she asked casually. Jake slammed his hand down on the table. "Gimmie a beer." he said roughly. The waitress looked at Chase. "He'll have a Coke." Chase said lazily, not looking up. The waitress nodded and walked off to another table. Jake pouted unhappily. He never got away with it. The guys all laughed. "Don't worry, Jake," said Randall,"You'll be 18 SOMEday!" They all laughed again. Dak slurped a chocolate milkshake, engaged in a staring contest with John Paul. Arimus smiled, "Could you possibly drink that thing any louder?" He asked sarcastically. Dak, without looking up, obligingly slurped the entire milkshake in one sip. John Paul was so distracted by this that he blinked. "Dammit! I hate it when you do that!" he yelled. All the guys around him laughed once again as Dak took a bow. Jake spoke, cutting the laughter short. "Hey guys, do any of you know what's wrong with Duke? He's been acting weird all day." Arimus went pale. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about it," Randall said calmly, "happens once every year. Just don't make him mad and it'll be fine." "But why?" Jake insisted, "What's wrong with him?" "Nothing." said Arimus sharply, "Just leave him alone, and that goes for all of you." Jake looked up, shocked. Arimus had never spoken like that before. "Oh, c'mon Arimus, we never annoy him. Besides, even if we tried it'd be just about impossible." Arimus nodded, still looking anxious. "Besides, I really don't see what the big deal is. He always seems to get like this around once a year." Chase said,yawning. Arimus visibly relaxed. About an hour later the guys all walked back to the Brotherhood. Jake went to his room to watch T.V. About a half hour later, Dak walked in. "Hey Jake, you seen Duke anywhere?" Jake looked up. "Not since before I left for Chase's, he said he had some work to do, why?" Dak shrugged, "No reason, just wanted to ask him if he'd fixed that gun yet. Randall sent me to get it." Jake shook his head. "Sorry Man." Dak yawned, walking over to his side of the room. "No prob. Wake me if you see him." Jake nodded, concentrating once again on the television screen. Three hours later, Jake looked up at the clock. It was 11:45 and still no sign of Duke. At the end of the hall, Jake heard a door open. He poked his head out the door, trying to see who it was. Arimus walked out of his room. "Duke," he said quietly, "Where have you been?" "Out." replied Duke bitterly. Arimus sighed and shook his head, "Jake was wondering where you were." Jake peered further around the edge of the doorway to see Duke. He noticed with some confusion that Duke was soaking wet...Jake quietly wondered why he would've spent so long outside in such a storm. "Out." Duke muttered once again, slinking down the hallway. "Some things never change." Arimus said to himself quietly, walking back into his room. Jake crept slowly back into the doorway, confused. Without so much as a thought he shoved Dak off his bed. "OW! What the fuck's wrong with you, tryin' to kill me or something?!" "C'mon." said Jake without apologizing. "Where to?" asked Dak, getting on his feet. "Duke's room. I just saw him come in. Let's go ask him about the gun." Jake said forcefully. Although a lot smaller than the other boy, Jake was the superior one...aka, the leader of the bunch. Dak yawned, tired. "I dunno, it's kinda late..." he said drowsily. Jake cut him off. "So? Let's go." Dak reluctantly followed Jake down the hallway. As he reached the door, Jake began to have second thoughts about bothering Duke, his common sense overriding his curiosity. Jake turned around to go back and froze in his tracks, hearing an impatient voice on the other side of the door. "What do you want?" demanded Duke. Jake and Dak stood silent a moment, frightened. "Well, what is it?" Duke demanded again, more angrily than the first time. "Let's go back." Dak whispered hurriedly. A long silence followed. "You can come in, boys." Duke said, his voice much kinder than before. Jake looked somewhat relieved to hear Duke sounding normal again, and walked in, dragging Dak behind him. Duke didn't look up at them as they entered; he sat on the bed with his head down, making only his profile visible to the boys. "I'm sorry I snapped at you." Duke said apologetically. Jake noticed for the first time that he seemed to be holding a picture frame. Duke placed the picture in an open drawer very gently, as if it was extremely fragile. He closed the drawer, standing to face the boys. "Now what was it that you two wanted?" he asked quietly. "Well," said Dak, "Randall wanted to know if you'd finished working on that D2-44 yet." Duke nodded, "Tell him that I'm not quite finished yet, all right Dak?" Dak nodded, pleased at how extremely easily that had went. Duke turned to look at Jake, smiling, "And you?" Jake thought a moment. "What was that picture you were holding?" he blurted out. Duke went slightly pale. "picture?" he asked. "Yeah," said Jake, "I saw you holding a picture." Duke shook his head, "Sorry Jake, I don't know what you're talking about." "Oh." said Jake confused, "Well, thanks Duke. Later." Dak and Jake walked out of the room and into their own. "Y'know," siad Dak, "It's funny, but I could've sworn Duke was holding a picture too." "Yeah," said Jake thoughtfully yet determined, "I almost believed him." Jake woke up with a shout as the cold water hit him full on. "Good moring, Sunshine." John Paul said sarcastically, putting the empty bucket on the ground. "Time to get up." Jake glared up at him. "What the hell was that for?" he asked angrily. "Just doing my evil deed for the day." He said happily. "C'mon, the others are waitin' outside." Jake walked out behind John Paul, muttering curses all the way. The guys were all gathered around outside the door. "Okay kiddies," said Arimus, "Now that we're all here, it's time for a family outing." "Where are we going?" asked Jake. "To steal some breakfast." said Chase as they all began to walk out. Jake noticed that Duke wasn't there. "Where's Duke?" he asked. "He left earlier." said Arimus quietly. "Y'know," said Jake, "I'm not too hungry right now, I think I'll stay behind." Arimus looked at him suspiciously and nodded his consent slowly. Jake watched as they left. As soon as they were out of sight, he ran into Duke's room. Jake opened the drawer by the bed and pulled out the picture Duke had been looking at. Jake slowly walked back into his room and looked down at the picture. Jake sat down in confusion. Despite the care that Duke seemed to handle the photo with it was in very bad shape, torn and burnt around the edges, and very faded. The picture was of a young couple, probably in their early thirties, maybe twenties...the woman was quite pretty, her hair was pure white and she smiled kindly at the camera. The man she was with looked exactly like Duke, much to Jake's suprise, only with out the white streak in his hair or chip in his beak. He also looked older than Duke, the same age as his female companion. What confused Jake the most was the young boy standing between them, almost an exact replica of the man standing behind him. The only difference was the white streak in the boy's hair..."Just like Duke's..." murmured Jake, staring in wonder at the young boy. Jake guessed that he was probably around six, maybe seven years old. Jake flipped the picture over and read a hand written inscription on the back. "Joseph, Suzette, and Alexander L'Orange. Enfield, Puckworld." Jake thought carefully. Enfield was a small street in the better part of Baconus...Jake had been down that street once or twice. Maybe relatives of Duke's lived there. After all, they had the same last name as he did. Jake shook his head, frustrated, "but I thought Duke didn't have any living relatives." Jake muttered to himself. "He doesn't." Jake turned to hear where the voice was coming from. Arimus stepped out of the doorway. "I knew you were up to something." he said angrily, snatching the picture from Jake. "I'm sorry," said Jake apologetically, "I just had to know what it was. I thought- well, I guess I thought it might have something to do with what's wrong with Duke, that's all." "He's in mourning! There, are you happy now?!" Arimus exploded. Jake looked up at him in amazement. "What?" he whispered. Arimus sighed. "I always get a little edgy when Duke gets like this. I'm still a little worried that sooner or later he'll flip out and do something drastic. I didn't mean to yell." he said quietly. "In mourning?" asked Jake. "Come with me." said Arimus. As they walked down the hallway, Arimus began to talk. "You're his apprentice," he explained, "and I suppose you should know about this. Better you hear it from me than asking Duke." They walked in Arimus' room. "Sit down." Arimus instructed Jake. Jake obediantly sat down on the bed and watched as Arimus sat beside him. Arimus carefully laid Duke's photo out in his hand. He pointed to the man in the photo. "That is Joseph L'Orange. He was a good friend of Talon Karrde, the previous leader of the Brotherhood. Talon asked him to join the BOTB a few times, but he always refused because of her." Arimus pointed to the woman. "Joseph was a small time thief, just trying to pay his bills, but he was good. Suzette didn't want him to join the BOTB because, as you already know, it's very dangerous. Joseph and Suzette were in love, and even thought she never said so, Joseph knew how she felt about him joining. So, he refused, and Talon remained a good friend of Joseph's. After a while, the two got married and had a son, Alexander." Arimus pointed at the boy, "but Joseph never called his son that. He had a nick name for him...'Duke'." Jake looked up. "You mean, THAT's Duke?" Jake said in amazement. Arimus nodded. "Duke's parents were both murdered when he was seven. Yesterday was the anniversary of the day they died. That's why Duke was out so late. He was at the graveyard all night, same as every year." Jake went pale. "Murdered?" he repeated. "On the same night. Suzette was in the hospital with some kind of viral infection, she was going to be released the next day. Duke and his father were taking a shortcut down an alleyway to visit her. Duke heard the gunshot before he saw his father fall. Joseph handed Duke his saber and told him to run, but Duke refused to leave. The one who had shot Joseph in the back walked up. Duke opened the saber and slashed him across his right knuckle, never getting a look at his face. The man dropped his revolver and Duke ran all the way to the hospital, just in time to watch his mother die too. The hospital staff claimed it was a machinery failure, but it was later discovered that she had been poisoned with iocain, an odorless, tasteless powder that dissolves instantly in liquids." Arimus sighed qiuetly and looked down at the picture. Jake stared at the picture, silently wondering why Duke had never told him. "What happened to Duke after that?" He asked gravely. Arimus shook his head, "He was sent to live with his only other relations, his Uncle Atticus, Suzie's brother. In fact, the woman he married, Carmen, was almost as much of a nightmare as he was." "C'mon," said Jake, "They couldn't be that bad." "You've never met them." Arimus continued with a sad smile, "They were both alcoholics, bad ones too. They were always either drunk, or having a hangover. When those two were drunk they tended to get angry very easily and took out their aggresions on Duke. He's got a scar across his stomach where his uncle hit him with a particularily well aimed glass bottle. Duke spent a lot of nights up on the roof. He was actually glad to go to school most of the time." "Well," asked Jake, "Why didn't he tell anyone?" "Oh, he did." explained Arimus, "The police never found enough evidence to form a file against them. Every time the police did come and make an investigation, Atticus and Carmen would beat Duke for the rest of the night for ratting them out. It got to the point that Duke wouldn't tell anyone for fear of his own life." "No wonder he hates it when I drink." Jake murmured. Arimus nodded, "Thanks to those two, Duke's never touched a drop of alcohol in his life." "Well?" asked Jake eagerly,"What happened then?" Arimus continued, "Then one night, about a month or so after he'd arrived, his Uncle and Aunt were really drunk. They were taunting him about something or another, Duke wouldn't tell me what so I assume it was his parents, and Duke finally snapped and told them both off. Atticus gave him a slap right across the jaw that knocked Duke onto a far wall. He managed to drag himself up to his room and barricade the door behind him just as he heard his uncle walk to the gun closet. I don't know how he managed to get the gun closet open, drunk as he was, but he did and Duke heard him cock the rifle and begin to walk up the staircase. That was when Duke decided it was time to leave. He grabbed his father's saber, his backpack, and that picture," Arimus pointed to the picture as he spoke, "and used the grappling hook on the saber to swing out of the window, off a tree and to the ground. Duke ran down the street towards Baconus, never to see his Aunt and Uncle again to this day. Somthing around an hour later, probably around midnight by then, Duke found himself being chased by a police car, which he thought was sent by his guardians to get him." "You mean it wasn't?" asked Jake, "Who else could've sent it after him? No one else knew where he was, and it's not like there was anyone else he was connected with." Arimus paused, deep in thought. After a momant he turned to Jake. "I'm going to back up a minute, and you have to swear that you won't tell anybody, especially Duke, what I'm about to tell you." Jake nodded his promise, eyes wide with curiosity. "This is a part of Duke's past," Arimus said slowly, "that he doesn't know. I've found all of this out by checking records, video surveillance cameras, and certain...encounters...I've had over the years. Duke's parents were both murdered intentionally by the same duck. More over, he had wanted Duke to be witness to it. Have you ever heard of a man by the name of Mako Spince?" Jake shook his head. "A paticularily cruel duck. He had a long standing grudge against Duke's father since they were about, oh, probably 13. Mako had wanted Joseph to join his gang, and when he refused, Mako killed his younger sister. Wrote his name across her stomach with his switch blade. It was written in such a way that it only looked like scratches. According to the police, she fell on some glass and bled to death. Joseph knew who did it, and those two had a grudge ever since. After a time, Mako seemingly dissappeared, he joined the Guild, which Joseph was protected by thanks to Talon. Spince reappeared a few years later, when Duke was around four. Mako didn't do any real damage, but he made his prescence known to Joseph. Then he surfaced once more, two days before Joseph died and threatened not only him, but also his family. He was planning on killing Duke as well as Joseph on that night in the alley." "Why didn't he?" asked Jake. "Well," said Arimus, "It was because he saw Duke pick up his father's saber. Most people can't even swing a saber on their first try and Duke handled it like it was nothing. Mako knows talent when he sees it, and instead of killing him right away, Mako decided to ruin his life instead...and he certainly did succeed." Arimus said softly. "Mako killed Suzie knowing full well about Duke's only other living relations. Mako also disguised himself as a social worker and visited Atticus before Duke's arrival telling them that they would be awarded a large sum of money for taking Duke in." "Which is why they wanted to take Duke in!" exclaimed Jake. "the sum was never paid to them, making Atticus very angry." "and he took it out on Duke." Jake whispered. Arimus nodded. "Mako wanted to drive Duke to running away from them. HE was the one that informed the police that Duke had run away." "But why?" Asked Jake, "I don't understand why he wanted Duke to run away." "Keep your pants on! If at all possible..." Arimus said, looking down at Jake's baggy jeans that sagged almost to his knees, "I was just coming to that. The police chased Duke all the way into Baconus, but he managed to dodge them. He ended up in an alleyway, hiding from the police who were closing in on him, when a man walked up behind him. He had a glove on his right hand only, and wore an old black trenchcoat." Jake looked up. "Mako?" Arimus nodded. "He offered Duke a job working for his gang. What else could he do? It was a choice between accepting Mako's offer or being sent back to his guardians, which was suicide. This was Mako's twisted sense of freedom of choice; Duke freely chose to join his gang. It was total bullshit, of couse. Spince frightened him into it. Duke agreed reluctantly, not understanding why Mako wanted him in his gang anyway. That very night Spince and a few more in his gang, including Duke, went to rob a jewelry store." Arimus paused, flinching in anger, "He sent Duke in to get the gem he wanted. A seven year old boy with no training at all, and that son of a bitch sent HIM in to steal a highly guarded, priceless gem. Mako did it on purpose, of course, for three separate reasons. 1, He wanted the gem so he could fence it through the Guild. 2, He wanted to test Duke's reflexes and potential. 3, Mako wanted to put Duke at his mercy." "Huh?" asked Jake, "I don't get it, how?" Arimus sighed impatiently, "If you'd just shut up I'd tell you!" Jake clammed up and watched Arimus eagerly, waiting for him to continue. "Puckworld's Police Force is quite well organized. They have harsh penalties and even harsher procedures. It was a set rule that as soon as a person comitted a crime they were considered full fledged criminals, meaning that they could be tried for prison, killed, and not given access to hospitals or doctors. Crimes on Puckworld are never forgiven. They're avenged. Once you have a criminal record there's no way to erase it, no way to turn back. It's almost ironic...one of the cop's best ways to prevent crime created one of the greatest thieves that ever lived. Now going back to the story, Duke actually got the jewel and he did a good job of it too. Never tripped a single alarm. Duke was about to make his way out with the gem when the alarm rang. Mako had pulled it from outside. The police saw Duke, and positively identified him. Duke managed to get away with the jewel, but he was a known criminal. Mako had trapped him. If Duke gave himself up, he would either be sent to jail or shot, and Mako could turn him in at any time. Duke had no choice but to stay with Mako's gang, and do whatever Spince told him to. You see Jake, Mako Spince ruined Duke's life by forcing him to become a criminal." Jake nodded, going quite pale. "But if he was with Mako's gang, how did he end up in the Brotherhood?" Arimus glared at him. "Has anyone ever told you that you ask too many questions?" Jake smiled, "Yeah, but I usually just flip 'em off and and keep right on talkin'." "I thought so." Arimus murmured thoughtfully, "Now where was I?" "You were telling me how Duke ended up in the BOTB." Arimus glared at Jake and continued, "Well, Mako didn't want Duke finding out that he had murdered his parents just yet, so he kept the glove on his right hand all the time to conceal the scar Duke had given him from his saber. Duke may not have known who Mako was, but that didn't stop him from not liking him. Duke didn't even stay with that gang for 3 months. Nonetheless, he soon found out that Spince always had a harsh way of dealing with people, especially those that he stole from. His favorite way to rob someone was to go in shooting. Duke had an aversion to murder ever since he'd seen his parents die. No matter how Mako threatened him, Duke refused to shoot at a living target. Once, they were on a smuggling run...a fairly easy one, Mako had planted explosives around the place to send it sky high in five minutes or so, all for the sake of making a scene. Mako had just set the explosives and was about to shoot the store clerk. Duke pulled on his glove to stop him from shooting. The glove came off and the gun fell to the ground. Mako made the mistake when he raised his hand to slap Duke. Duke saw the scar, and it took him less than five seconds to realize who Mako was." "What'd he do?" Jake asked eagerly. "He picked up the gun," Arimus continued quietly, "and shot Mako in the leg. Duke had the gun aimed right at his head; he could have killed him. Instead, he hesitated and put the gun down. Mako tripped, and ran as best he could. Duke got the gun back and shot at him twice more, missing both times. He ran out just as the explosives went off. He didn't see if Mako came out or not." Jake's mouth was gaping open as he listened to Arimus. "Cut that out, would you?" Arimus told him sharply, snapping at Jake, "You look like a codfish." Jake closed his mouth and blushed a little, glaring at Arimus. "Well? What then? So he just walked into the Brotherhood and you let him in?" Arimus glared at him, "One more interruption, and I won't tell you anymore!" Jake closed his mouth quickly, fearing that Arimus would make good his threat. "After that," Arimus said softly, "Duke lived on the streets for about half a year, probably a little closer to a full year, actually. Chase was the one that met him. Back then Chase was a lot different; conceited, arrogant, and very irritating. It's amazing how much he's changed..." Arimus smiled, "And all it took was a smartass eight year old boy. Duke was teasing a cop, stole his gun from him or some such thing, and he was making a real fool out of him. Chase and Randall were watching this with some amusement when Chase got the crazy idea into his head to 'show that little guttersnipe a thing or two about stealing.' You know, I've actually got a tape of the entire thing...back then we had surveillance cameras all around the BOTB. This is a small video I managed to compile on a slow day...would you like to see it?" Jake nodded enthusiastically. They walked down the hallway into a small store room. Arimus pulled out a dusty box of videos and began sifting through them. "Now, I could've sworn it was...ah! Here it is. Come on, I've got a player (Puckworld term for VCR) in my room. Jake walked behind Arimus anxously looking at the video cassette. "Would you cut it out?! Stop hanging over my shoulder!" Jake blushed and stepped away from Arimus, watching as he pushed the tape into the player. *** "Ohhwaaaaaoooo!!!" A hand flashed in front of the screen. "Run for your liiives!!! It's THE HAND!!!" "Randall, get the hell away from the lens! You're supposed to be recording, you fool!" Chase yelled. The screen blurred back into focus to reveal a relatively younger Chase glaring impatiently at Randall. "That's better! C'mon, Man, move it! The sooner we get a good tape of the museum, the sooner Talon will promote me!" "What about me?!" Randall yelled, "I'M the one lugging around this recorder!" "Yeah, well I'M the star!" Chase said haughtily, "Besides, it was my idea." "No it wasn't." Randall muttered, "it was Talon's." "Hey, shut up a sec... look at that!" Chase said with amusement. Randall pointed his camera across the street, focusing on a young boy with a cop chasing him. "You little brat! Give that back!" The boy swung the revolver around on his finger. "Why should I?" he challenged the police man with a heavy Brooklyn accent. "Listen you little street trash, if you don't give that back some one's gonna fry" the cop said threateningly. The boy smiled, "Well, in that case, I smell BACON!!" Chase and Randall laughed, watching the young boy tease the police man. After the copper gave up in disgust, Randall laughed, "Say, he's pretty good." Chase scoffed a bit, "For a dumb kid. He's just showing off." "Well, that's all YOU ever do!" Randall said. "When I want your opinion, I'll give it to you." Chase said angrily, "here, keep the camera rolling...I'm gonna show that little guttersnipe a thing or two about stealing." Chase walked off towards the boy. Randall followed at a distance, musing to himself, "You know Chase, sooner or later you're gonna eat your words...big time." Chase walked up to the boy. "Hey you." The boy turned to look at him, "Yeah, what?" "I saw the way you handled that cop...that was pretty nice work." "Thanks." the kid replied with a smile. " Say, I don't suppose you'd be interested in helping me with a little job, would you." "Sorry, I work alone." the kid said apologetically, beginning to walk away. "Not even if I offer you food?" The boy stopped and turned warily, "I'm listening." "Well, I'm short on cash and I haven't had lunch today, so I'll tell you what. Help me steal a sub and I'll give you half." The boys eyes lit up, "Alright, deal." "Good." replied Chase, "come with me." They walked over to the front of a sandwich vendor's cart. Without warning, Chase began to yell, "THIEF!! THIEF!! THAT KID STOLE MY WALLET!" The vendor quickly began to run after the boy, hitting him with a broom. While the man was distracted, Chase grabbed a sub and walked off behind a building. The kid finally lost the disgruntled vendor and ran behind the building, out of breath. "Nice job, Kid." Chase said with a laugh. "You could've warned me." the boy replied heatedly. "What's the fun in that?" Chase said snidely, "Well, thanks for the free lunch, Kid." Chase walked off. "Hey, hold the fuckin' phone, here! Half of that's mine!" "Sorry kid, I work alone too. Later!" Chase laughed and ran off. "We'll see about that." The boy muttered angrily, following him. A few moments later, Chase had apparently lost the young boy. "How's that for style?" Chase bragged. "Gee Chase, stealing the food out of a poor defenseless kid's mouth, that's style alright." "Oh please!" Chase said angrily, "If that kid was stupid enough to get tricked, then he didn't deserve it." They both walked back to the Brotherhood. Randall put the camera back on it's stand, still playing. John Paul greeted them, "Hey guys, did you check out the museum?" "No," Randall muttered, grabbing a beer, "Chase decided to show off his wonderful talent at being an asshole instead." John Paul sighed, "What'd he do this time?" Randall just shrugged, taking a long sip. Chase walked in. "Hey Johnny! Guess what? I just scored a free lunch!" "Who'd you steal it from this time?" John muttered. "Some kid." Chase replied, sitting down. He laughed, "The stupid little guttersnipe actually tried to follow me at first! But of course, I was too quick for him." Just then, the roof collapsed. The boys all dived behind the furniture and stared. In the center of the room, the pile of rubble and ceiling plaster actually appeared to be moving...the three thieves watched in amazement as a young boy crawled out of it. "Too quick for me, huh?" "YOU!" Chase yelled in amazement. The boy saw the wrapped sub on the ground and grabbed it. He quickly proceeded to climb to the top of an empty bookshelf nearby and sit down crosslegged, glaring down at Chase. The three men all began to yell threats at him, but the boy paid them no mind. He quietly unwrapped the sandwich, picked up one of the halves, and bit into it. "Hey!" Chase yelled, "That's mine! I stole it fair and square! You little imp, give it back or I'll..." "You're right." the boy said meekly, "I'm sorry." Chase nodded, still fuming, "That's better! Well? Give it to me!" One half of the sub came flying down from the bookshelf and landed straight on Chase's head. "There's your half!" The boy yelled angrily. Randall and John Paul looked over at Chase and burst out laughing. Just then, Arimus burst in. "Guys! Stand at attention! Saul Berg just came in to have a 'chat' with us...guess who he brought along with him?" Randall rolled his eyes, Saul was the leader of Tekisi and a notorious bully, "Lemme guess, his guard dogs." Arimus nodded, "I have to attend the meeting...you're all in charge of those two barbarians...and boys, remember, play nice." Arimus ran out. The boy jumped down from the bookshelf, taking another bite out of his sandwich. "So there are more of you? Ugh! This day's going from bad to worse." Chase glared at him, "Listen you little monster-" A voice in the corridor cut him off, "I hope that wasn't addressed to me, Chase, my master wouldn't be pleased if he found out you were slinging mud at us." Two large, burly ducks slinked into the room. Chase, Randall and John Paul quickly stepped in front of the boy, blocking him from view. The one that had spoken stopped in front of the three ducks and folded his arms, waiting for a reply, while the other one walked around the room, looking about. "Not at all DeSoto," Randall said cooly, "If we wanted to sling something at you we certainly wouldn't use mud." DeSoto glared at him, "You all think you're real smart, don't you?" Chase shrugged, "Well, we try not to brag." DeSoto turned to hear a dry laugh from behind Chase, "Really? Could've fooled me." The duck that had been poking around the room grabbed the boy by his shirt collar and dragged him out into the open, "Hey DeSoto, look at what I found." he growled, "they've picked up a stray." The duck laughed darkly and pulled out a gun, picking the boy up off of his feet, "Do you know what I do to strays?" The boy glared at him and punched the duck right in the face. The duck reeled back in pain cursing, while the boy scrambled to his feet. "Why you little-" "Cool it, Roscoe!" John Paul said quickly. Randall grabbed the boy and pulled him back behind them. "You wouldn't want to provoke us, would you?" "Heaven forbid." DeSoto hissed. Outside, a car horn honked. "That's your master." Chase said, "better not keep him waiting." DeSoto and Roscoe began to walk out slowly. "We'll be back." DeSoto snapped. "And when we are, that brat dies." Roscoe added angrily. The boy didn't seem the least impressed by this. The two intruders finally walked out. All three ducks turned and looked at the boy. He quickly scrambled back up to his bookshelf, taking another bite of his sub, which he had kept hold of through this entire ordeal. John Paul actually began to laugh, "You got some guts, Kid. Why don't you come down here?" "Cause if I do I got a bad feeling that my guts might wind up being displayed on that wall over there." Randall and John Paul laughed. "Say, he's a pretty smart boy." Randall said, impressed. Chase, however, was still furious. "I don't care if he IS smart, I'm still gonna beat the crap outta him!" John Paul and Randall held him back, "C'mon, Chase, let it go. He's just a kid." Arimus walked into the room, breaking up the argument. "What's going on?" he asked. "Nothing." Chase snapped angrily. Arimus rolled his eyes, "Well it certainly is good to see you all getting along so well." Arimus paused for a minute, chuckling, "And that reminds me...I saw Roscoe's face. Which one of you gave him the black eye?" "Actually," explained Randall, "It was him." he pointed up at Duke. Arimus peered up, trying to get a good look at the boy, "A boy? Now how on Puckworld did you get in here?" "That guy over there." Duke said angrily, pointing at Chase, "He said he'd gimmie half of his sandwich if I helped him steal it. I did, and that asshole ran out on me so I followed him." Arimus glared at Chase quickly, but soon focused his attention back on the boy, "I can understand why that might upset you, little boy," Arimus said slowly, making sure the kid understood him, "but don't you think it was wrong to follow him home?" "Don't patronize me," the boy snapped, "Sesame Street (There I go humanizing again!) isn't my only source of education you know. You don't have to speak to me like a two year old." Arimus looked up, slightly suprised, "Well, excuse me." Arimus had met many children that were angered by adults treating them in that manner, but never one that retaliated so well. "Not at all," the boy said quietly, "you didn't know. I usually don't get so pushed out of shape about it, but I've had a trying day." John Paul laughed, "Hey Randall, look at that! He's got a bigger vocabulary than you do!" Randall glared at John Paul and stuck his tounge out at him. Arimus moved around the bookshelf, still unable to get a good look at the boy. "That's understandable. Anyone in the same situation would feel the same way. But I should warn you that you're in a very dangerous place." The boy laughed a little, "Oh please. The Brotherhood of the Blade, I'm shaking. Why should I be scared of you when you let a gang of no talent monkeys like Tekisi push you around?" Arimus looked up at him in shock as did the rest of the boys. "I already told you...Sesame Street isn't my only source of education." The kid said quietly, sensing their amazement. "Come down here." Arimus said quietly. The kid hopped down onto the floor, looking up at Arimus. Sitting down in a nearby chair, Arimus went pale. "L'Ora- uh, what's your name?" he asked in a shaky voice. "Duke L'Orange." the boy said quietly. Arimus stared at him. "Arimus?" asked Randall, "You alright?" Arimus nodded slowly, still looking at Duke, "Where do you live?" Duke shrugged, "Name a street." Arimus noticed the saber at his hip, "That's a saber." "Is it really?" Duke asked sarcastically, "Thanks for tellin' me. I was wondering what the hell that thing was." "You're a real smartass." Arimus said with a smile, "I'd be careful if I were you, an attitude like that can get you into trouble." "BIG trouble." Chase muttered. Duke rolled his eyes, "Dammit, would you let it go already?! It was just a sandwich! You can get one more often than I can so if your gonna bitch about it don't do it in front of me." "I don't take orders from street rats." Chase snapped, "Then stay outta the street." Duke replied. "Chase, cut that out." Arimus said quietly. Chase folded his arms and watched the proceedings in a moody silence. "That's a very good saber, too." Arimus continued, "Where did you get it?" Duke looked at the ground, refusing to answer. "Where are your parents?" Arimus noticed that Duke was beginning to shake a little, but he still refused to answer or look up. "How did you know that this was the Brotherhood?" Duke finally looked up, "Logic." he said quietly, "You said that Saul Berg had come to have a chat. Saul Berg is the leader of Tekisi and he certainly wouldn't waste his time to formally talk to a small time gang. Not to mention that this is the heart of BOTB territory, and you couldn't possibly be stupid enough to try and move in right under their beaks." Arimus was smiling as he listened to Duke's explanation. "Is that the end of the interrogation?" Duke asked. Arimus shook his head, "No, but almost. One last question." "Okay, shoot." "Do you know how to use that saber?" Duke nodded, "I'm not the best there is, but yeah, I'm not too terrible at it." Chase shook his head, "He's lying. There's no way anyone under the age of 13 can hold a saber correctly, let alone fight with one." "Bite me." Duke muttered angrily. John Paul and Randall burst out laughing. Smiling, Arimus said, "Well then, let's find out, shall we? Who wants to show the kid how to use a saber?" "I'm not gonna waste my time." Chase snapped, sitting down. Duke smiled at him, "Come over here and say that you two faced jackal." Chase angrily stood up at lunged at the boy before anyone had a chance to stop him. Duke grabbed Chase's hand and flipped him onto his back. After a few moments Chase got up again slowly. Duke hooked his foot under Chase's leg sending him crashing back to the ground again. "Good point," Duke hissed, "That WAS a waste of time!" "That's enough." Arimus snapped, "You have to learn to control your temper, and that goes for you too, Chase." Chase sat up and rubbed the back of his head, thoroughly humiliated. Randall smiled and whispered to John Paul, "Poor Chase. I knew someone would make him eat his words sooner or later, and y'know, this kid just might be it." John Paul smiled, "I see your point." Arimus helped Chase up with a sigh, "Now if you can manage not to kill each other without a babysitter present, I have to go talk to Talon." With that, Arimus walked quickly out of the room. "So Kid, all that for a sandwich?" asked Randall. "I was hungry." Duke muttered. John Paul and Randall laughed. "Know how to pick pockets?" John asked. Duke nodded. "Randall here's the best. He's a real cleptomaniac. Uh, that means that he-" Duke cut him off "-he's compelled to steal, yeah, I know." "That saber all you're armed with, guttersnipe?" Chase asked. Ignoring the title Chase had bestowed upon him, Duke nodded, "Yeah, well guns are kind of annoying to carry around." "Is that so?" Chase said sarcastically, "Or are you just too little to steal one?" Duke promptly held up John Paul's gun for everyone to see. "Does that answer your question?" Duke muttered. John Paul snatched the gun away from him. "If I find my gun missing tonight, you'll find a bullet in your foot, Kid!" he said with a laugh. "How'd ya like to see a REAL saber fight, Kid?" Randall asked. Duke looked up at him eagerly, "Kick ass!" Meanwhile, Arimus walked into Talon's office, which was easily recognizable as Duke's future office. "Talon, we have to talk." Arimus demanded. Talon moaned, "Not now, Arimus! I just spent the last ten minutes being bitched at by Saul Berg. The last thing I need is to be yelled at by you too! I've got a splitting headache." Arimus folded his arms across his chest, "It just so happens I found a sure fire headache cure sitting right on top of one of our shelves." Talon looked up, "Really?" Arimus nodded, "Come with me." Back with the others, Duke was carefully watching John Paul and Randall sparring with two practice sabers. John Paul won. "Damn." muttered Randall, "I owe you a Coke." "So guttersnipe, what'd you think of that?" Chase asked. Duke sighed, at least he was being civil...sort of..."Cool." "Wanna try?" Randall asked. Duke smiled, "Sure." "Well Arimus? Where's this headache cure you promised me?" Arimus stopped Talon at the window to one of the practice rooms. "Talon, look down there and tell me what you see." Talon Karrde walked over to the glass unenthusiastically. His eyes widened as he saw a young boy sparring with John Paul...and winning. "It can't be..." He whispered. Arimus smiled, "His name is Duke L'Orange." Talon looked up at Arimus in disbelief, "Impossible...Joseph's son died with him." Arimus shook his head insistently, "I'm telling you, that's Alexander L'Orange, and he's beating John Paul with his father's saber." "You found him." Talon said quietly, staring down at the young boy. "No," Arimus said with a smile, "He found us." Talon looked up at him, "What?" "Let's just say that one of Chase's pranks finally backfired on him." Talon laughed, sitting down. He looked back down into the practice room, "Where does he live?" Arimus shrugged, sitting beside him, "the street." "How old would he be now...eight?" "No, seven." Talon shook his head, "I've never seen a seven year old win a saber fight before." "Well," Arimus said with a smile, "I never said he was a NORMAL seven year old. He's really pretty clever. Even knows that this is the Brotherhood." Talon nodded, a frown appearing on his face, "Do you think Mako's gotten to him?" Sighing, Arimus stood up again, "I'm sure of it. It's a fact that Joseph never taught him to use that saber, and he certainly didn't learn it on the street." Talon stood and paced about the room restlessly, every once and a while turning his head to watch the fight below. After four more minutes of observation, Duke won. "He IS a natural, isn't he?" Arimus nodded, "The guys seem to like him...and Chase's ego seems to have shrunk four sizes since Duke dropped in. And we DO have a few extra bedrooms..." "Arimus," Talon said cautiously, "Forget it. I know what you're thinking, he's too young." "He's got nowhere to live." Arimus shot back. "He's just a child." "That can fight with a saber." Talon sighed, "I can't do it Arimus, I can't! It would ruin his life." Arimus sat back down again, resting his arms on the back of his chair, "What life?! He's already a known thief thanks to Mako, who, by the way, won't rest until he's dead...or have you forgotten? This isn't a choice between good and bad, Talon, it's the lesser of two evils. You can either take him in and train him as a thief, or leave him out in the street for Mako Spince to find him and kill him!" Talon sighed, "So you're suggesting I take him as my apprentice?" Arimus nodded. Talon walked to the window and looked down at Duke. "Bring him into my office." Talon muttered, "I'll be waiting." Arimus smiled, "By the way, how's your headache?" Talon looked at him as he walked out, "What headache?" "I don't get it." Duke muttered quietly, glancing up at Arimus, "What'd I do wrong?" Arimus put a hand on his shoulder, "Nothing at all my boy, Master Karrde would just like to meet you, that's all." Duke sighed, "If this is about the roof..." Arimus laughed, cutting him off. He had pulled Duke out of the room while the others were planning on teaching him how to shoot a gun blindfolded. Duke was a little hesitant to be pulled away from the lesson, especially when he discovered he was going to meet the leader of the Brotherhood. "Come in." Arimus opened the door to Talon's office and gestured to Duke to enter. As he stepped in, Duke looked around the room carefully. It was neat, with little in the way of furniture save for a desk and three chairs, the third of which was behind the desk. The man in the chair turned to face Duke. "This is the young boy, I presume?" He asked Arimus quietly. Arimus nodded, guiding Duke to one of the chairs. Talon smiled at him, "You're Duke L'Orange?" Duke nodded, "Yes, Master Karrde." Talon raised an eyebrow at him, "Where did you learn to address a master correctly?" "Just lucky, I guess." "I understand you followed one of my thieves here." Duke nodded, "He went back on his word on a little compromise we'd agreed upon." Talon smiled, "Where did you learn to use big words like that?" Rolling his eyes, Duke leaned back in his chair, "I write book reviews on the essays of promising young college professors in the Baconus Gazette...what kind of question is that?!" "Well Arimus, you were right. He certainly is brave." "He's also in the room, if you don't mind." Duke said sarcastically. "That wit of yours is going to get you into trouble someday if you're not careful." Talon said with a smile, "I'd try not to shoot your mouth off so much if I were you." Talon watched Duke carefully, gauging his reaction. Duke simply nodded, "You're probably right." He conceeded. Talon had a small amount of trouble trying to keep his composure. He had entirely expected Duke to blow up at him. Arimus smiled smugly at him...Talon recognized that look as Arimus' own personal way of saying 'I told you so'. "How'd you like to see a trick, Duke?" "Okay." Duke said eagerly. Talon pulled a deck of cards out of his pocket and shuffled them thoroughly. Fanning them out for Duke to see, he said, "Pick one." Duke took one out and looked at it. "Now, don't show it to me. Put it back in the deck." Duke did as he was told. Shuffling the deck carefully, Talon leaned back in his chair. "Is this your card?" He asked, producing the very card Duke had been holding. Duke looked at Talon carefully. "Do it again." He murmured. Talon put the card back and shuffled again. Out of nowhere, Duke quickly grabbed his wrist. Staring directly at Talon, he slowly pulled the same card out of his sleeve. "Nice try." Duke said quietly. Talon glanced at Arimus, who had a startled look on his face. Talon put the deck back in his desk drawer, smiling. "I'm impressed. It's a good thing I didn't take up magic for a living." Duke laughed. After Duke had left a few moments later, Talon pulled the cards back out of his desk and shuffled them. He didn't bother turning around as Arimus walked in. "Are you satisfied?" Talon frowned. The card trick he had employed was one thieves often used on younger people they were considering for jobs. It was supposed to test perception and reflexes. As far as Talon knew, no one had ever passed it in two tries...until now. "He's got a bit of a temper." "Easily fixed." Arimus replied, "Besides, he respects you. You saw the way he took in your advice." Talon sighed, "Yes, I noticed." He laughed a little, "He's clever. I can see why he gave Chase a hard time." "You like him then?" Arimus asked. Talon nodded, "He'd be an exellent thief...and a good leader, with a bit of training, of course." "So you'll take him as your apprentice?" "I don't know yet...I need more time to decide." Arimus sighed with frustration and walked out of his office. Duke walked down the hallway alone, wondering if he knew the way back to the practice room. Someone bumped into him. "Watch it you-" Falcone peered down at him, "Who on Puckworld are you?" "Duke L'Orange." Duke said quietly, "Sorry I ran into you like that. If you'll excuse me..." Falcone blocked his way. "What are you doing here?" "I followed one of the thieves and I was invited to stay for a while. I just came from Master Karrde's office." Falcone looked down at him angrily, "I am Falcone, the next leader of the Brotherhood, so if you want to stay alive, Brat, I suggest you get out of my way." Duke stepped to the side, "Pardon me, your highness." he said sarcastically. "If I were you I'd be very careful...some of us don't take kindly to street trash here." Falcone walked off, pushing Duke aside as he walked past him. Duke watched as he walked away, sensing that they weren't going to get along well..."So there IS someone here who's more of an asshole than Chase..." Duke walked off down the hallway, looking for the practice room. Later on, after he had found it, they resumed teaching him various tricks... "So how was that?" Duke asked, looking up at John Paul. John Paul nodded, "Exellent." Duke had hit the target every single time. "You're a pretty good shot with a revolver." Randall added. "So guttersnipe, where'd you learn how to do all this?" "Used to be in a gang." Duke muttered to Chase. "They taught me all kinds of stuff." Randall nodded, "Now what's another way we can corrupt him, John Paul?" John shrugged in reply. Chase laughed, "Don't you think you've done enough of that?" Randall and John Paul looked at him strangely. "You feeling alright, Chase?" Chase nodded, confused. "Yeah, why?" "You're trying to do something nice...maybe we should check his temperature." Randall said with concern. Chase glared at him, "What?! I just thought you should lay off the guttersnipe, that's all. Stupid kid's head's probably gonna explode from too much knowledge being put into it. You people are all stupid, I'm goin' down to Chase's." Chase began to walk out. When he reached the door he turned back around, "You can come if you want to." "Can we bring the Kid?" John Paul asked. "Yeah, fine. Bring the guttersnipe along." Chase muttered, stepping out. Duke looked up at the two thieves. "Think he likes me?" Randall sighed, "Yeah, well that's the closest to nice we've ever seen him. C'mon, Duke." "Oh wait!" John Paul exclaimed, "We forgot the camera." "You want to take it?" Randall asked. John Paul hoisted it up onto his shoulder, "Why not?" "Fine, but you're carrying it!" Duke followed Randall and John Paul out, running into Arimus. "Hey Arimus, we're going down to Chase's, wanna come?" Arimus looked down at Duke, "You're bringing him?" "Sure!" John Paul said optimistically, "What better place to corrupt a young kid?" Arimus shook his head, "I'm not sure, Tekisi may cause us some trouble tonight...the meeting didn't go too well." Randall shrugged, "Relax Arimus, we'll protect the kid!" They walked off, dragging Duke along with them. Arimus sighed, "That's what I was afraid of." Talon walked down the hallway. "Where are the boys?" Arimus shrugged, "They went to Chase's." Talon looked up at him, "What? If Tekisi tries any action, they'll do it at Chase's Place. Were they armed?" Arimus laughed, "Are you kidding?! You know them, they don't go anywhere without weapons." Talon nodded in relief. "Good." He paused for a minute, "Hey, wait a sec...did they take Duke?" Arimus nodded. Cursing, Talon walked to the door, "Great, just great. Come on, Arimus, we'd better go down and keep an eye on them." Arimus followed Talon out reluctantly, "They said they'd protect him." "They can't protect themselves, let alone him! Besides, I've been meaning to get a drink anyway. Let's go." "HEY CHASE!" "I'm busy Randall, fuck off!" Randall and John Paul walked up to him, Duke still tagging along behind. "Lookit what we brought Chase, your little friend." John Paul lifted Duke up by the back of his shirt and put him on the counter. "I wish you wouldn't do that." Duke murmured. "So do I." Chase said angrily, shoving Duke off and wiping the counter. "You're getting guttersnipe germs all over my counter." Duke glared at Chase, but remained silent. The boys didn't notice Arimus and Talon walk in. They walked past the boys and right up to the Brotherhood's section of the club, taking a seat where they could watch them easily, but out of the camera's range of vision. "Hey guys!" A girl ran up to them. She was fairly pretty, a little overweight, with her hair tied back in a ponytail. "Hey Molly." Randall said with a smile. Chase simply ignored her. "So, who's this?" she asked, looking at Duke. "The kid who followed us home and kicked our asses in just about every form of competition we tried. So we brought him here to corrupt his young mind." John Paul said with a smile. Molly laughed, "Well he certainly is cute!" "Nice ta meetcha." Duke said quietly. "Awww, isn't he sweet?!" Molly kissed Duke on the forehead. Randall and John Paul laughed...even Chase snickered a little. As Molly walked away, Duke wiped off his forehead, "Yuck!" Randall patted him on the back, "Trust me kid, when you grow up you'll miss girls doing that to you!" "The hell I will!" Duke yelled. Randall laughed as he continued, "whaddaya call this place again?" "Chase's Place." Chase said proudly, "I found this old building, and saved up until I had enough to buy and redo it." Duke nodded, looking around. "It's nice." Chase sighed, "It's becoming it bit hard for me to afford...I may have to give it up." Randall and John Paul looked up in shock. "What?! Chase, you can't!" "You think I have a choice?!" Chase snapped. He sat down, continuing "The BOTB's not been doing so well, you know that. If we don't raise money soon, then I'll have to sell Chase's." Duke frowned, "I'm sorry. Bet it means a lot to ya." "Sorta, yeah." Chase said softly, turning his back to all of them. Duke frowned, thoroughly fed up with his attitude, "You remind me of that other guy here...Falcone." Chase looked up at that, "What?" he asked in shock. "You remind me of Falcone. You're both bitter, conceited and VERY rude." Duke muttered, waiting to be screamed at. Chase began to glare at him, but stopped himself. Clearing his throat, Chase stood up, "I'm sorry." Duke, Randall, and John Paul stared at him. "I'm not exactly used to being shown up...especially by someone so young. I'm sorry." He turned to Randall and John Paul, "I mean that for both of you as well. I know I'm not the easiest person to get along with," he smiled slightly, "but I hope I'm better than Falcone." Randall and John Paul smiled good naturedly, "Yeah, sure. Forget about it." Chase nodded, "Well, I got work to do...see ya." Chase walked off, leaving the three boys alone. John Paul shook his head, "Wow...that was amazing!" Randall laughed, "I don't blame him after being compared to Falcone! That could scare anybody!!" They all laughed. "I can't believe that he's gonna be the next leader of the BOTB." "Did he tell you that?" Randall asked Duke with a grin. Duke nodded. "He wishes. Talon hates Falcone as much as the rest of us...we just can't find probable cause to kick him out of the BOTB." "Figures." Duke said with a smile. "Here Kid, we're gonna buy you a drink! You've earned it. Chase's never apologized to anyone for anything in the entire course of his life!" Randall wrote out a note for Duke to give one of the waitresses. "Y'know, if we keep him around long enough, he might even be able to turn Falcone around!" John Paul said with a laugh. Randall frowned, "It's too bad we can't keep him around, isn't it?" John Paul sighed, "He hasn't exactly got anywhere to go...what if we asked Talon to let him stay here for a few days? Hell, he's a good thief, maybe with a few lessons we could get him in the Brotherhood." "That's not a bad idea." Randall said happily, "He'd probably be able to pass the test right now." Duke walked back with three Cokes. "Thanks Kid." said John Paul. Duke climbed up onto one of the high stools by the bar and sipped his Coke. "I should probably leave soon." Duke said, looking down at his Coke. John Paul and Randall glanced at each other. "I'll find a way to pay you guys for the Coke and all, I promise." "Forget it, Kid." Randall said good naturedly, "You know, we wouldn't mind if you hung around a little while longer." "Really?" Duke looked up at them. John Paul nodded, "Sure! Besides, we haven't taught you all about women yet!" Just then, seven large men from Tekisi stepped through the doorway, armed with guns. "This is a hold up. Everyone stay put and you won't get hurt!" One of them yelled. Chase walked over to the others by the counter, cursing fiercely. "Can't you do something?" Duke asked. John Paul shook his head, "Officially, Chase's Place isn't a Smuggler's Guild run building. And since they aren't robbing the Brotherhood PERSONALLY, we aren't allowed to retaliate." Duke quickly looked at each of the men. "But I can." he said quietly. Duke jumped off the chair and quietly made his way over to the seven armed men. "What's he doing?!" Randall whispered fiercely. "Why didn't you stop him?!" Chase whispered to John Paul. "I tried, he's too quick!" "Let's just hope they don't see him." Randall murmured. By now, Duke was right behind the last two men entering the club. After carefully grabbing their guns out of their holsters, Duke tripped them both, sending them crashing to the floor. He quickly ducked out of sight as the rest of the men turned around to see what the commotion was. Duke prayed the BOTB would seize this opportunity. "Quick!" Chase hissed, dashing to the other side of the room. Randall threw him the end of a long piece of clothesline, and they both held it taut. Sure enough, when the first two men turned around and began to walk on, they tripped over the clothesline, sending them crashing right into the other men. The three thieves from the Brotherhood collected the scattered guns that had fallen from their antagonists' hands and hid them behind the counter. Watching this with amusement, Duke had come completely out of his hiding place...and in view of the thieves from Tekisi. Duke felt himself being picked up by the back of his shirt and slammed into the wall, "Well, well, well. If it isn't the stray." Gasping for air, Duke winced, remembering that voice. He struggled in Roscoe's tight grip as he heard the click of the safety catch on a hand gun. Roscoe turned his head to look at Chase, Randall, and John Paul, who watched helplessly. "Say goodbye to your little friend." he growled, putting the gun up to Duke's head. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, a voice called out, "Hold it." Duke breathed a sigh of relief. When Roscoe turned around to see who had ordered him to halt, he found himself face to face with Talon Karrde. Standing behind him were six other members of the Brotherhood (lesser known ones...the only ones we really mention are the inner circle of the BOTB. Altogether there are over twenty members of the Brotherhood at any given time). Roscoe just laughed, "You think that's gonna scare me? I'm not antagonizing your men. By the Guild's law, you can't attack me. So if I were you I'd step aside." Talon smiled coldly at him, "And if I were YOU, you pathetic excuse for a thief, I'd put the boy down this instant." Roscoe simply held Duke by his neck even tighter. Duke struggled as hard as he could, still gasping for air. Laughing, Roscoe turned to face Talon, "And why should I? You can't do anything to me." Talon smiled thinly and raised an eyebrow at him, "Is that so? Gentlemen of Tekisi, I'd like you to meet my apprentice, Duke L'Orange." Roscoe went pale and dropped Duke of the ground. Chase, Randall and John Paul looked at each other first in amazement, and then with evil smiles on their faces. They rolled up their sleeves and gathered around Talon, waiting for orders. "And since you attacked a member of my gang, I don't hesitate in allowing my men to beat the shit out of you! Boys?" Every thief from the Brotherhood that was present ran to join the fight, which Tekisi was losing sorely. Talon quickly made his way over to Duke, who was still on the ground, nearly unconcious at this point, and helped him up off the ground. With one hand firmly gripping Duke's arm to keep him from collapsing, Talon led Duke out of the fight and to a nearby table. Arimus walked out of the kitchen with a pack of ice and handed it to Duke, who gingerly placed it on his head. Duke sat back and watched the fight with a smile. The Brotherhood chased Tekisi right out of the club. Afterwards, they all began to clean up, picking up chairs and tables. Chase, Randall and John Paul walked over to the table where Talon, Arimus and Duke sat. "That felt GOOD!" John Paul said happily. Talon laughed, "I'm glad you enjoyed yourselves." "So, how's the kid holding out?" Randall asked. "I think he can make it back to the Brotherhood, right Duke?" Duke smiled at Arimus, "Yeah." he murmured. Duke carefully turned his already throbbing head to face Talon, "Were you serious?" he asked weakly. Talon nodded, "You've already passed the test to enter the Brotherhood, but the descision to join is yours." "You'd be my teacher?" Talon nodded, "That's right." "If I was your apprentice, it wouldn't mean that I'd lead the Brotherhood after you, would it?" "Only if I nominated you to or I died unexpectedly." Duke closed his eyes, thinking. "Deal." He shook hands with Talon. Talon smiled, "Good. And now I'll explain to you exactly what being my apprentice means." "I don't like the sound of that." Duke muttered. The others all laughed. "First of all," Talon began,"since I'm your master, I'm in charge of you. This is especially true considering that you're not a legal adult yet. That means that from now on you live in the Brotherhood with a room of your own...no more wandering in the street." Duke began to object, but Talon cut him off, "Second, my orders are always to be obeyed, so if you don't listen to me, I'll kill you." Once again Duke tried to speak, but Talon stopped him, "And finally, I'm gonna fix that temper of yours for good!" Duke frowned unhappily, "I've been tricked! This isn't fair!" Talon leaned back, "Awww, don't be sore, I didn't trick you. You just didn't read the fine print of our contract." "What contract? We just shook hands!" Talon paused, "Oh...well, in that case I guess I did trick you, didn't I?" Everyone laughed as Duke stuck his tounge out at Talon. "Come on, let's go home" Arimus said, standing up, "I don't know about all of you, but I've had a long day." Randall smiled, "Well, I guess we don't have to ask Talon to let you in the Brotherhood after all." John Paul laughed, "He's been here less than a day and he already outranks us!" "We'd better get going. Talon and Arimus are leaving with out us." Randall said, walking out. John Paul followed Randall out. Duke tried to get out of the chair, but he was still too dizzy to walk on his own. Duke was about to fall over when Chase grabbed his arm. "So here you are...probably trying to steal silverware while my back was turned." Chase smiled down at him, "C'mon guttersnipe, let's go home." Chase and Duke walked out of Chase's Place, leaving the video camera behind.*** And that's where the video ended. Jake looked over at Arimus, "Cool!" Arimus smiled, "None of the others know I have it, so don't tell." Jake shook his head, "Chase certainly has changed!" Arimus nodded, pulling out the tape. "He certainly has...and we're all VERY glad of it!" Jake laughed. Handing him back the picture, Arimus looked down at Jake, "Now go put this back where you found it before Duke realizes it's missing." Jake was about to run out when Arimus stopped him, "And Jake, don't tell anyone anything I just told you...not even Dak, understood?" Jake nodded, "Arimus? Is Duke gonna be alright?" Arimus smiled, "He's back to his old self by now...probably down at Chase's Place with the others." Jake nodded. "And Arimus?" "Yes Jake?" "Thanks." Jake walked out. After putting the picture back, he went down to Chase's to see if Duke was there. Jake paused at the doorway, seeing Duke, Randall, John Paul and Chase all sitting around the counter, talking. Jake smiled to himself. "Hey Jake! Come here!" Duke called to him. Jake obediantly walked over. "Hi Duke!" Duke smiled at him, "Where've you been all day?" Jake shrugged, "Oh, around." Chase handed him a Coke, "Here you go, Jake." "Thanks Chase." Randall was sitting at the corner, staring at his hand. "Randall? What are you doing?" Randall looked at them all, "IT's...THE HAND!!! oooowaaaooo!" John Paul and Duke looked thoroughly confused, but Chase burst out laughing. Jake supressed his laughter. "I don't get it." Duke muttered. Chase smiled at him, "Well, I'm not gonna waste my time explaining it to you." Duke grinned, "Come over here and say that you two faced jackal." John Paul and Randall laughed as Chase shook his head. "Forget it. I'm not falling for that one again...guttersnipe." Duke just shook his head, "Some things never change." Jake nodded and mused quietly to himself "And I hope they never do." *THE END*
Why don't we find something a bit less depressing?
Back to the Mighty Ducks ALL ACCESS ZONE!
Thieve's Tales
Email: alias_bones@angelfire.com
