I. Bulletproof

Leech ran down the basement stairs, quickly running down the hallway as he held Ivory, blood seeped through her shirt. Spike saw them and was shocked seeing Ivory all bloody, but he stayed silent and continued walking.

Leech reached the hospital room as Red walked by. Red saw Ivory's bloody shirt and retaliated with, "I'll get Blue," then ran the opposite way. Leech opened one the door and laid her on a bed. Ivory felt hot and tired but said nothing.

"Ivory, don't fall asleep," Leech said.

"I'm tired," she yawned.

He held her face, "Keep your eyes open."

The door opened, revealing Blue, Hawks, and a female nurse.

"Ivory?" Hawks gasped.

"Hawks, we'll finish speaking later," Blue said.

"What happened?" Hawks sneered. "What did you do to her, Leech?"

Red pulled Hawks out of the room and closed the door.

"Don't mind him, Leech," Blue said as the nurse walked over to Ivory, "Hawks can be emotional sometimes."

Leech laughed.

The nurse quickly cut Ivory's shirt sleeve of her shirt, exposing the wound. The nurse numbed Ivory and began removing the bullet.

Blue had asked Leech what happened, and then Leech explained what took place. Ivory fell asleep as the nurse finished removing the bullet. The nurse started an IV and hooked Ivory to a heart monitor.

"Dead, you say?" Blue's eyes sparkled with interest, and he began to momentarily think.

"Yup, Ivory shot him in the chest, and when I came in, I shot him in the head."

"And the wife and child?"

"Their memories were erased. They won't remember the scene."

Blue nodded. "What did she get?" he motioned to Ivory.

Leech began to tell him what Ivory picked to take from the apartment, and how she showed no fear or guilt. Leech said that Ivory did well, but he felt that she was too small and an easy target during home invasions. The man obviously shot Ivory because she was inexperienced and much smaller. Leech apologized and took accountability for having Ivory follow the man to his bedroom.

The nurse finished disinfecting Ivory's wound and bandaged it, pulling the covers up. She then stared at the younger girl before feeling her forehead. She turned to Blue, "She has a fever, as for her arm, it should be fine until tomorrow. I will have to give her stitches."

Blue nodded. "Do what you need too," Then, the nurse left. Blue turned to Ivory, "Leech, I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Leech left, but not before glancing at Ivory, who was sleeping.

Blue walked over to the bed and shook her ankle. Her eyes shot open.

"How are you feeling, kid?"

"Tired," she said groggily.

Blue stared as she tried concealing the pain she had felt. His hand remained on her ankle.

Sometimes, Ivory felt that Blue wasn't human by his appearance and his energy. His dark eyes held a profound secret, something that the gang most likely didn't know. Blue kept staring like he was reading her.

Ivory didn't like that he was staring, and she turned away.

Blue leaned back as if he just discovered a new finding. "A hacker."

She raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You'd be a great hacker," he decided. "Hackers are sneaky, and remain unnoticed, and that's how you seem to appear. I can tell that you hate attention; this job would be great for you. Not to mention that no one else here would ever know what you're doing, or what you're always doing on a computer. Though, you have no choice, anyway. I'm assigning you the position."

Ivory rolled her eyes when Blue left the room. Ivory then began to feel fatigued and fell asleep.

***

Blue entered the living room to see Ginger, Fox, and Red sitting down on the couches silently, not saying a word or looking at each other. Leech wasn't anywhere to be found.

"What happened to Ivory?" Red asked.

Fox told him what happened as Red shook his head.

Blue's eyes narrowed, "Do you realize the danger that she is in now? Even if you were wearing masks, she has to stay inside. Plus, she's injured, and if you didn't make it on time, she could have died."

"Blue—it was an accident. We didn't know what he would shoot her. It doesn't matter, he's dead, and his family won't remember."

"Yes, but they know that the man was into drugs," Blue crossed his arms. "Go back to the house and lock the wife and son in the basement. No one will ever suspect the Blue Dragons, and we aren't going to put our name out there more than it already is."

"The community already blames us for the crimes of other gangs that don't know how to use their heads and like the publicity," Red added.

"We'll go, boss, we're sorry," Ginger said.

"Just make sure it doesn't happen again."

"If you ask me, Ivory was too young for the job," Red said.

"Well, now we know that she's an easy target during home invasions," Blue said. "The man knew that she was a lot smaller than Ginger, Leech, and Fox. She must stay inside."

Fox and Ginger quickly left.

Red turned to Blue. "Well, now what?"

Blue smirked. "Well, we'll get the bratty rich kid and the clueless wife, and we'll continue testing Ivory's skills."

"Why do you keep Viper and her anyway?"

"Ivory is more useful to me than you or anyone else knows."

Red knew that Blue was hiding something, but knew the leader would tell him when it was time. "What are you going to do about her arm?"

"It's late, and Oak isn't on the clock right now. We'll have her come early tomorrow morning and give Ivory stitches — her arm is pretty messed up. Not just that, she has a fever."

Red nodded and started to leave, but Blue stopped him, "Red," he turned to the boss, "make sure Viper isn't up to anything. I sense that she is up to something, she's been extra secretive lately."

"I'll keep her occupied," he winked, and Blue rolled his eyes, but chuckled and watched his second in command disappear.

Blue thought momentarily about Ivory and Viper.