Henri's heart was hammering against his chest hard enough to hurt, he gave one more desperate look into the shadows in search of his coat-and-feather-clad patient, but to no avail. The man in the bowler choose to lean against the leftmost wall, observing the other two thieves with a chilled expression. Henri swallowed as the shortest one edged closer with a sneer.

"Looks like payday's come early boss." He spoke in a nasally voice toward Mr. Bowler-Hat. "A richie walkin' 'round the backstreets like 'e was wantin' to be caught."

The young doctor took an uneasy step backward, his right hand clasping around his hindered left one hard enough to make his scars tingle. He didn't carry much currency, as he wasn't one to spend much at all if he could help it. The thing he was more worried about was the fact that they may become violent if they didn't collect the amount they desired. His eyes fluttered shut momentarily.

Lord... please help me!

"Hey! You asleep there fancy?"

Henri's eyes flew open at the address, and he shuffled back another step. A diversion... he needed to stall them.

"A-A-Anything I can h-help you with misters?"He stuttered out.

The man leaning on the wall let out a soft snort, shifting his arms to lay crossed over chest. The man with the scarred shoulders cracked his knuckles.

"You might be able to help us lift a few pounds." He chuckled darkly, moving toward the panicking doctor.

"The doctor is busy; you may have to look for aide elsewhere." A familiar voice challenged.

All heads snapped to the darkest side of the alley, where a hazy silhouette clad in a fathered coat stood. NightOwl took a step nearer to the group, his golden eyes flashing with an unspoken threat as he fingered one of his silver daggers. Henri's mind spun, the vigilante had returned to help.

Thank you Lord!

The men all stepped back in unease, their previous confidence evaporating at the sight of the street-whispered legend. The head man in the bowler eased off the wall, his eyes still trained on the Vigilante as the scarred man spoke.

"Bugger off Nighty-bird. This is none of your concern."

NightOwl huffed, his mouth twitching into a smirk.

"Isn't it though?"

A flash of light darted across Henri's vision just as the shorter man cried out in pain, a shallow cut grazed over his hand as a dagger clattered to the ground. A second flash, and this time the taller one was the recipient of a scratch. The NightOwl toyed with a third dagger, seeming without care.

"Shall I continue Viper? Or will you take your rats somewhere else?"

The man in the bowler, Viper, gave an angry hiss, jerking his head to summon his followers. The trio left the alley, Viper shooting a venomous look over his shoulder.

"Mark my words; I will not be turned aside so easily in the future." His deep, slithery voice warned.

Henri's heart was running a marathon, and the foreboding sentence did nothing to help it. He took a shaky breath in an attempt to calm his mind. NightOwl walked over to him, his feet dragging on the cobblestones as he looked up at Henri with pain-glazed eyes.

"Are you alright?" He asked in a strained voice.

The doctor's fear faded in place of concern as he examined his patient.

"Are you?"

The Vigilante gave a pained grunt in response, clutching his shoulder with clenched teeth.

"I hurt myself when I put my coat on." He said nonchalantly.

Henri swallowed down a scolding lecture on the general self-care of an injured person, instead pulling aside the edge of the coat to peer at the wound. NightOwl let out a hiss of pain, pulling away from the doctor out of reflex. Henri froze, the worst scenarios flashing in his mind.

That wasn't a good sign.

NightOwl recomposed himself till the only sign of his pain was a dull glimmer in his unusual eyes. He looked around at the alley, pointedly not focusing on the doctor.

"We need to leave. There's no telling if Viper will stay away for long."

Henri shook himself from his momentary daze, taking a moment to reevaluate his location before heading back down the street. The Nightowl stumbled after him, his right hand pressed against his wound to still the pain. It had been some time since Henri had traveled this particular way home... for obvious reasons. He almost lost his way twice, but it only took a few minutes before the backdoor of his home was in view, filling him with relief. He fished the key from his pocket, slipping it into the lock and ducking inside, NightOwl close behind. Henri shut the door as fast as he could, locking it and breathing out for what felt like the first time in ages. He motioned for the swaying vigilante to stay in the shadows of the hall while he snuck forward and peeked into the main entrance.

The large room was empty, not even Stetson was present. The maids and staff must have left for the day, and Charles must have retired for the night.

Henri nodded back at NightOwl, informing him it was safe before slipping down the second hall. They ducked into the last room, with a large bookshelf, desk, sitting chair, two couches, and a grandfather clock being its only furnishings. The young doctor let out a taxed breath, his heart just beginning to slow it's frantic hammering.

"That was much more nerve-wracking than I had anticipated." He admitted.

The highwayman let out a noncommittal half-groan, letting himself sink onto the nearest couch like his bones had been liquefied. He threw his right arm over his masked eyes.

"Is this the room?" He asked.

Henri caught a slight note of desperation in his patient's voice. The young doctor rubbed at his eyes, regret and sympathy eating at him as he walked over to the couch, bringing a stool over to sit facing his guest.

"Yes. I'm sorry; I should have been more thoughtful of your condition."

The vigilante let out a grunt, waving the hand over his eyes at the doctor as if to shoo away his worry. The doctor reached over and lit a gas lamp on the side table, his mind not wanting to process anything at the moment. He shut his eyes, taking a deep breath as he listened to the ticking of the clock, letting this thoughts calm to its steady rhythm as he refocused. He reached over and took another look at the injury, NightOwl's teeth clenching in pain as he did so. He pulled the coat aside, and edged the shirt away from the wound. Henri's gut tightened as he saw a slight bloom of red on the bandages. He sucked in a breath.

"You've re-opened the wound... this is going to set your recovery time back quite a bit. It's a good thing you were not wounded in your dominant arm; else you wouldn't have been able to ward off the ruffians with your knives."

The highwayman let out a soft groan, shifting as Henri began to treat his shoulder again.

"I was."

Henri paused in his dressing of the wound, his gaze flicking up at the Vigilante before he made himself refocus on his work.

"You are left handed? Then how did you manage to throw the knives?"

NightOwl gave a one-shouldered shrug.

"I throw them with both." He muttered.

The doctor felt a twinge of guilt. He had thought the NightOwl abandoned him, only to know he injured himself further to help. He finished changing the bandages, glancing up at the vigilante.

"N-NightOwl?" He asked hesitantly.

The injured man opened an eye, peering out from under his arm.

"Hmm?"

The doctor paused, his gaze drifting away from the NightOwl and to the back of the couch.

"Thank you, for risking your health to help me. You were an answer to prayer."

A slight confused expression, mixed with a small smile flickered over the vigilante's face, cooling back to neutral as he shut his eyes.

"You're welcome. It was unusual for the thieves to back down without a fight, and even more strange since it was Viper."

Henri rubbed at his hand again, letting his gaze drift around the room.

"Is Viper a notorious thief then?"

NightOwl let out a grunt, his eyes flickering back open to stare at the ceiling, his gaze distant with something Henri couldn't place.

"He's the head of a gang called the Black Crown. He's ruthless, cunning, and worse than any thief you could dream up."

The young doctor swallowed at the large, dry lump in the back of his throat. There was only one explanation for such an event, God. He was the only one who could make such men flee. Henri gave a second prayer of thanks, adding in a request for his patient's swift recovery before opening his eyes.

"Thank the Lord for what He has done." He said, standing to his feet. He let out a soft sigh. "We were blessed indeed tonight."

The Vigilante didn't comment, his chest rising and falling with the rhythm of sleep. The unexpected confrontation had sucked what little energy he had. Henri gave his patient a sad smile, dipping his head in a nod at the resting man before slipping out into the hall. He turned to head for the main staircase, leading to the upper floors. The face of a young maid, her blonde hair done up in a loose bun with strands of hair framing her face came into view. Henri's eyes widened.

"M-Miss Kay!" He said in surprise. "I thought you had gone home with your sister Erica."

The girl remained frozen to the spot, holding a teacup in a death grip. Her face was as white as a ghost, her brown eyes as wide as the saucer she held.

"H-He's... The NightOwl is.... HERE!" She whispered.

The panic the doctor had thought was gone returned full force.

--------------------

Dragon Bytes:

ANOTHER CLIFF HANGER?!

WHAT AM I DOING TO MY READERS?!

(I blame my brother... he influenced the sudden rise of climactic endings. ;D)