"You can't say no to everything. You're supposed to look like you're sweet, but killer. A sundress is the perfect cover. Your personality more than covers for the killer part." Desire says holding up a dress covered in flowers that looks just as uncomfortable as it does frilly.

"I said no. That means that I will never wear that despite your delusions." I say with a sigh.

Desire groans and puts the dress back. She goes back to searching for anything to pass my tests. "How about the classic jeans and an innocent looking shirt? It'll have flowers, but you have to compromise somewhere."

I groan. "If you show it to me, and I like it, then I'll agree. It's only going to get torn up anyways."

She nods and digs for what I can only guess is a pair of jeans in my size. After what seems like hours, she comes up to me holding a full outfit including the shoes. "Go try it on before you say no."

I stand up and take the clothes from her. "Fine." She points me to a dressing room and I walk into it. I examine the clothes, and nod. The top is a flowy crop top with roses on a cream background. The jeans are a soft blue, and whitewashed, while the shoes are brown wedge boots that hug around the ankle. I have to give it to her. She can pick out an outfit. If I was a seriously girly girl, I'd ask her to do my shopping. Obviously I'm not, and this is so not my thing. Nonetheless, I strip out of my clothes and pull on the ones she provided.

"Come on. You're taking way too long." Desire grumbles from the other side of the door.

Deciding that I've left her hanging for way too long, I step out. "I'll wear this." I say before she can try and argue it to me. Honestly, the crop top is cute, and I love the way it teases by showing a bit of my stomach. I'd never tell her that, but yeah. The kid did good.

Desire squeals. "Good! Now go change out of it so we can buy it!" I sigh as she shoves me back into the dressing room.

"You know, we aren't in a rush. Your brother never gave me a time to be back." I say as she shuts the door.

"You know he's impatient. He is probably furious with us for taking too long." I scoff. Yeah right. He sent me with Desire. He knew this would probably end up being an all day event.

"Alright Desire, I get it. I'll change quickly." Again, I change. Desire reaches over the stall for the clothes we are buying and I hand them to her.

"I'll go buy these while you get dressed. The card please?" I take the card out of the pocket of my jeans and pass it over the door. "Thank you."

Once I'm completely dressed, I step out of the small room. I see Desire in the line and walk over to her. We don't say anything for a minute, and I can tell something is wrong. "Why the glum face?" I ask.

She looks up at me, then back to the line. "How long are you going to be gone?" She says, a hint of sadness in her voice. There aren't many girls around the house, besides the sluts, and I am pretty much her only friend there.

I sigh and pull her into a hug. "I'm not quite sure. It just depends on how long it takes to break him. I'm supposed to be an undercover informant for him though, so I'llbecoming around." She nods and lays her head on my shoulder.

"When you're done, I'll make sure Cutter throws you the biggest party ever." She says, still sad. "That's if you do come back."

I look down at her shocked. "You think I won't come back? Me? Wow, I admire the confidence you have in me." I say with a smirk.

"You know that I have confidence in you, but you'll be completely alone. There will be no back up if something goes completely wrong." Desire fiddles with the shirt in her hand and I nod, knowing what she means.

"Well for now, let's worry about getting my cover perfect. Okay?" I look down at her and she gives me a sad smile.

We get up to the counter and Desire hands the clerk the clothes. "Is she your daughter?" The clerk asks me as she rings up our items. 

"Nah. I am old enough to be, but I'm just a friend of the family." I say rubbing my hand on Desire's arm.

The clerk looks at us with a funny expression. "You look so alike, I thought you may have been sisters at first look. Silly, I know. It was just a thought." She gives me a genuine smile. "Sorry for assuming."

Desire laughs. "We get it a lot more than you may think. She's my brother's best friend. They are so weird the way they act. Sometimes I swear that I'm the one that's not related to them." She lets out another small laugh and she and the clerk smile at each other.

"Alright, well that will be $187.63 please." Desire swipes the card and I cringe at the number. I know it's nothing to Jasper, but it is to me. My account is barely in the double digits. I don't get my own money. It all goes to Jasper, who pays for everything anyone may want or need. He doesn't ask questions when asked for money. He just gives it to us. It is our money.

"Youth. They don't understand the concept that somebody had to earn that money." The clerk laughs as Desire types in the pin.

"I know. She just buys whatever she wants. Doesn't even worry about how much it costs someone else." I smirk making a *tsk* noise at her while shaking my head.

Desire snarls at me before smiling at the clerk and taking the bag. We walk out of the store and she elbows me in the ribs. "You're such a dick. It isn't even legal money, so why should I care how it was earned?"

I laugh at her feeble attempts to hurt me. When we get out to the car, she shoves the bag in the back seat before strapping in. "I was only picking on you Desire, and you know it." She is still pouting, so I turn on her favorite radio station.

She glances at the radio, then stares at the road. "You better be glad I love you." Her head begins to bob, and soon she's singing along with a pop song blasting through the speakers.

To my relief, we pull up to the house and I turn off the car. She jumps out, grabbing the bag. "I'll head inside in a minute. I have to lock up." I say as she waves nonchalantly at me.

I roll my eyes and shake my head before getting out. I feel my phone buzz in my back pocket and pause to answer it. "Enforcer speaking. What do you need?"

"Hey, glad I caught you." Cutter's tired voice ventured through the speaker. "I need you to go deal with some shit out by the tracks on the corner of 16th and Strickland."

"What's going on?" I ask through the phone, already getting back in the car.

"Trevor got into some bullshit, sounded his alarm. I'm not quite sure what you're heading into. I'm sending some other guys out, but I would feel much better about it if you were there." He says.

I nod. "Got you boss. Heading there now. Desire is already at the house."

"Thanks. I'll talk to you when you get back." I hear the phone click off and throw it into the passenger seat.

It takes a total of five minutes before I can hear the gunshots. I park the car a bit away and grab my gun from the glove box before getting out. I see Trevor leaning against a car, holding his arm, and rush to him in a crouched position. "Hey." I get his attention, and he visibly relaxes. "Looks like you're in a bind. Need some help?"

"Fuck yeah. The dumb bastards just attacked me in the middle of the fucking street. My gun wasn't even fully loaded. They saw it and started shooting. I've been stuck like this for a while." He says exasperated. 

I pull his hand off of what I can only assume is a gun wound. He winces, and I mumble an apology as I roll his sleeve up. "It's deep in there. I can't get it out just sitting here. We are sitting ducks." He nods. I take a look over the car, careful not to show my head. There are three guys, each with guns. They look like normal 6-calibers, but I can't be sure. Trevor is starting to shake from the pain and I crouch back down to look at him. "Cutter is sending more guys, and they should be here pretty soon. Just hold up until they show up." He nods, obviously too tired to really talk to me. I watch over the car for any of the men to open themselves up for a shot. One ducks, but shifts from behind his hiding place. I shoot up and fire three bullets at him. I hear him grunt and see as he falls. Quickly, I crouch back down. A rain of bullets tears through the passenger side door of the car. Yup, they now know I'm right here. Great.

I hear the screeching of tires on the asphalt and I silently thank whoever is upstairs. Cutter, Kalvin, Thomas, and Pedro jump out the car, guns blazing. Cutter and Thomas run to Trevor and I. "Damage?" Cutter says loudly, to be heard over the gunshots.

"He's been shot. I couldn't move because he's lost a lot of blood, and I don't know if he's been hit anywhere else." I say. A guy comes around behind Kalvin and I stand up to shoot the man. "Get down!" I yell to Kalvin. Immediately he hits the ground, and I shoot the man once. Directly in between the eyes. 

Pedro pulls the last guy up to Cutter and knocks him down onto his knees. "Who do you work for?"

"Eat shit and die." The guy spits on Cutter's shoe, and Cutter fumes.

I place a hand on his shoulder. "We can beat it out of him later. We have to clean up before the cops get here, and we have to get Trevor home. Call the clean up crew. I'll get Trevor into the car and Thomas and Kalvin can drive him back to the house so the doctor can take the bullet out of his bicep and check him for any other bullet wounds." He nods.

"What would I ever do without you?" He says, motioning for everyone to go through with the plan.

I shrug. "Lose the gang. Probably end up in jail. Call the crew. I'll be back in a few." He nods and I walk over to Thomas who is currently helping Trevor up. "The guy I shot before you got here, where is he?"

Thomas grunts over to his right, and I walk towards the body on the ground. Slowly, I crouch down next to it. "Bitch." He grunts out, obviously struggling.

"What do you know?" I ask, not expecting an answer.

"I know that you are no fighter. You're just another girl with a gun. Someone we should feel guilty to hurt, but we won't. Because you aren't special." He coughs up blood. "You're just a bitch."

Tired of his rambling, I knock him out. He'll die eventually. Probably while we are cleaning up. Looking down at him, I stand back up. His body is twisted in an uncomfortable way. If I had any respect for the man, I may have positioned him to die in a more comfortable state, but he called me a bitch so I might as well let him be right about one thing.

After leaving the man on the ground, I head back over to Cutter. "So, how long until they get here?" I ask leaning against a car. By now Thomas, Kalvin, and Trevor have already gone, and are probably halfway home.

Pedro has already started dragging the first body towards the one I just left. Cutter doesn't acknowledge me at first, but he soon notices my presence and speaks up. "They are going to pack up their things and be on their way as soon as possible. These guys were definitely part of this new gang. I need you to get this information as quickly as you can. You'll be going in tonight. I can't chance them seeing you with us before you are put undercover." He glances at Pedro. "He'll take you, once he's finished, to Thomas. Thomas will beat you up, for the cover. I'm sorry you have to go through this. Honestly, I wish I could take you're place now that I know these men don't care who they kill."

I shake my head. "I'll be fine Cutter. Desire has my clothes. We'll stop by to get them from her before I go to Thomas." I pull him into a hug and he reciprocates. "I'll get any information as quickly as possible, and while I'm there I will try to get them to change their ways. If that is even possible." I say glancing at the man that called me a bitch.

Cutter pulls away and watches as Pedro puts the two bodies in the same pile. "Time to go." Cutter says. "Be safe. Never stand down."

"Never stand down." I say back. For some reason, I feel like that may be the last time I ever say that.

Pedro and I walk to the car I showed up in, and I climb into the passenger seat. "I'm sorry you have to go through this." He says without even glancing at me.

"It's for the family. I'd do anything if asked." It's true. Everyone makes an oath to protect the family, even if it means your life. As a teenager, having a family sounded good. Now, I'm glad I made that decision. They have been the family I always wanted, needed, craved.

Pedro shakes his head. "You always were a crazy one. Then again, that what makes you the best."

"I'm not the best. I'm just not afraid to get the job done." I say correcting him.

"Yeah, that's what makes you the best." He scoffs.

Instead of answering, I turn to look out of the window. Tonight I will be found on this new gang's territory, beat up, resembling a rape victim. This man, whom I do not know, but I do know what he looks like, will "rescue me". I will get whatever this gang is hiding, and return to Cutter and Desire.

We pull up to the house and I get out completely relaxed. "I'll wait in the car." Pedro says.

I nod and walk up the stairs and into the house. Desire's room isn't that far of a walk, and I get there rather quickly. I decide it's just better to knock. Three light taps resound through the hall and the door swings open. "Oh em geee!! You scared the shit out of me. "I'll be up in a few" my ass. What the hell happened? All of the sudden I see Cutter leave his room and all I get is "Enforcer, Trevor, gang up in the street." She stops ranting and looks at me, expecting an explanation.

I sigh and run a hand down my face. "Let's sit down for a minute." I say. She nods and sits down. "Trevor got caught in a shoot out and Cutter called me to go in for back up." Desire doesn't say anything and I go on. "We got one of the guys, and Cutter is going to interrogate him to get information. The thing is, Cutter needs information now, so I'm being put undercover tonight."

Immediately she stands up. "No! You don't even know your cover. You're going in completely blind. You can't go in now!"

I shake my head. "I know what I need to know. If I know too much they may suspect me. I need to go in blind to pull off the innocent charade. All I know is what my mark looks like. That is all I need to know."

Desire pulls me into a hug crying. "You can't. I can't say goodbye. Not to anyone else."

I wrap my arms around Desire's small frame. Quoting John Q, I say "Don't say goodbye. You know I don't like goodbyes. Let's say see you later."

She nods against my chest and a muffled "see you later" comes from her. Without another word, I lay her down and get up. I grab the bag by her bed and head to her door.

"See you later little one." I say as I close the door.