The excitement level of the street seemed to be dying down rather quickly. A few officers had taken off to the surrounding areas, presumably to look for any signs of an escape. They seemed to be all over the surrounding streets, and from where he sat, perched up high in the brush, their body language indicated that they didn’t really expect to find anything. Still, they wandered about waving their flashlights around and stirring the neighbors.

He’d given up on Blood. He could tell that whatever happened in the house, the police were satisfied knowing that it was over. As far as he was concerned, staying put until daylight or the emptying of the street was really his only option. No one was going to look up there for him, and even if they did no one would see him, at least not with the cover of darkness. He needed to move on by morning though. He wouldn’t stand out, but he certainly would be noticeable if someone was looking for him.

Then he saw it. Movement from the window he’d climbed through himself. He stayed as calm and still as he could, but there was definite concern on his face as he watched the dark figure climb to the roof. Once his feet were planted on the shingles it became clear that this man wasn’t a cop, which could mean only one thing: Blood.

Shane had no idea how the man had escaped the house without setting off any kind of concern from the officers, but he could always find out later. For now, he needed to get a signal to Blood that he was up in the tree. He had no interest in moving from his location though, and making any kind of sound wasn’t an option either.

Perhaps hoping Blood would be able to see him was his best option.

The cool air whipped through Vicente’s hair as he made it to the roof of the house. It would not take the police long to know notice that one of their own was missing, and probably even less time to realize that the assassin had crammed the man’s body into that armoire. Unfortunately this meant that he was going to have to move fast. He hoped that Shane had managed to stay put, exactly as he had told him. He could not afford to let the kid escape from his notice, especially not right now when he did not know the kid’s full intentions.

If Shane ran to the police, his identity would be revealed. He used a fake name, yes. But a description was all the police would need to make his time much, much more difficult.

Boots crunched the gravel underfoot with each step as he peered at every single dark corner he managed to come across on the roof. The fool had to be up here somewhere…but where? He spied the expansive roof and saw absolutely no sign of the kid. This was beginning to grow irksome.

“Shane!” he hissed, but not loud enough to carry down to the officers below. “Where are you?”

He growled as he crept down, also straining his ears to see if he could hear any of the officer’s discovering the dead one’s body. So far, thankfully, no one had. But they were quickly running out of time. They needed to go.

The assassin crept to the edge of the building and looked down over the side. He shook his head because he could still see nothing. He had specifically told that little bugger to wait for him! Now he was going to have to hunt the kid down himse—

He blinked.

Looking up at a neighboring tree he tilted his head. Did…did the tree just blink at him? He arched a brow as he leaned closer, mouthing the word..

“Shane…?”

Perhaps he wasn’t as concealed as he’d prided himself on not too long ago. He silently slid down the tree from his high perch reluctantly, careful to make sure not to cause any notable movement in the branches. He wasn’t thrilled with the idea of exposing himself at this point. He’d already convinced himself that the “hiding out until morning” plan was a solid one. He was actually surprised to hear Blood making any kind of calls to him at all, he’d imagined Blood would want them to be a quiet as possible. He slipped out onto the rooftop and, staying as low to the ground as he could manage, approached Blood.

“So, what’s the plan from here then?” He whispered, his head close to Blood’s. He had a sneaking suspicion that there wasn’t one.

Vicente looked at the tree closely, where he thought he spied Shane. He had called out his name, discreetly but just loud enough for the kid to hear. As it began to move Vicente slowly realized that it actually was the kid. He was slinking out of the tree, apparently looking just a tad bit disappointed that he was found out. The assassin said nothing about this but simply looked at the kid with his head tilted until he managed to make it onto the roof and creep up towards him.

Vicente crossed his arms over his massive chest as he watched for Shane to creep closer. Once he did, the mutant listened as he leaned in to whisper…

>> “So, what’s the plan from here then?”[/color]

The older assassin shrugged. “We get out of here, of course. The body is gone, there’s a lot of blood and you left no trace evidence of yourself. You’ll be fine.”

He then turned and casually made it to the edge of the roof, looking down into the backyard. He could still see the passing lights from the flashlights as people were checking the shadows. The backyard, the sides, and the front of the house, apparently, seemed completely out of the question. That only left one option.

He turned and spied a neighboring building. Roof was at the same level as their own. He grinned.

“Come on!” he patted Shane on his shoulder roughly. “Time to end this show.”

Suddenly he let go of Shane’s shoulder as he ran. A growling breath fell from his lips as he charged the edge of the building with all his might. Once he got close enough, Vicente suddenly ran onto the ledge and leapt off. Mid-air, he looked like a warrior staging battle with the shadows. He looked perfectly in his element, even with the vicious, concentrated look on his face. He was truly a warrior.

He landed deftly on the other side, on the opposite ledge of the neighboring building with a grin. It was time to go as soon as Shane joined him.

Shane watched as the man leaped to the neighbouring building’s roof. However, as graceful as the jump was, his large body still landed with a large thud. Fortunately, as quick glance around to the surrounding streets revealed, he didn’t seem to register as anything major to the surrounding officers. Only one or two flashlights seemed to aim in their general area, and neither aimed high enough to spot the fugitives.

He felt quite confident that he wouldn’t be able to make the same jump. Staying low on the roof, he could see that Blood was expecting him to follow, but an alternative route was going to be needed. His tree was actually looking like a viable alternative. It at least placed him closer to the other side where he might be able to pull off a jump. He made another move for the tree, immediately feeling a sense of protection when he felt the bark on his skin. He lingered on the branches for a few moments, debating leaving or not. He could feel Blood’s impatience from where he was, despite never actually taking a glance in his direction.

Finally he started climbing the tree to earn a bit more of a vantage point. He managed to come across a large, long branch extending out in the direction of the roof. He carefully maneuvered himself out onto the barely sturdy twig where he managed to get close enough to extend a limb out to grab the building.

Releasing from the tree was far less graceful.

The thin branch snapped back to attention as his weight was released from it, creating a rustling noise comparable in volume to Blood’s landing. His own thud was marginally softer, enough so that he was far more concerned with the tree then the roof. His eyes quickly found Blood’s and he quickly rushed over to him.

“We should probably get moving.” He spat out, looking around at the dancing beams of light that surrounded them.

Vicente watched with patience as Shane seemed to be unsure of his most current movement. An eyebrow raised he watched as his thin friend suddenly threw himself into a nearby tree and skittered along as if he were some woodland animal made of darkness. At least that’s what Vicente would have assumed he was if it were not for the fact that he fell out of the tree and landed hard on the roof next to him. He would have laughed but he decided against it as soon as he saw the beams from the flashlights down below.

Better to keep the attention away from them as much as possible.

A glance over and he watched as Shane ran up to him. He was obvious that the kid was beginning to freak out over their current circumstances. As much as Vicente wanted to just drop the kid and leave him to his fate, it would not work out well for him. It was better to keep this kid as a friend than as an enemy.

>> “We should probably get moving.”[/color]

He smirked at the kid’s sarcasm. He really was mad. It was almost funny to see how fierce Shane could be.

“Obviously,” Vicente said as he nodded to the roof access door that this building possessed. He walked up to the standing door and pulled a blade from his belt. He twirled it expertly in his hand as he moved closer to the door and suddenly jammed the blade into the crack. A quick twist and the door popped open with ease. He nodded to Shane. “Come on, while their business in that house, we can slip out through the back door of this one. We’re fine.”

As soon as Shane’s eyes landed on the door he was already headed straight for it. He wasn’t exactly in the mood to waste any more time. Fortunately it seemed as though the noise they’d made was being registered as officer related noise to all the people doing the searching. No one really seemed to be heading their way as far as he could tell, not that he was really giving them more the occasional glance.

He grabbed the handle and pulled it open. Staring back at Blood, he shot him a look of impatience. He probably didn’t have the right to feel that way after all this, but he was never one for rushing head first into a place he didn’t know, an activity that he assumed his ally was more experienced in. He stood at the doorway, waiting to be shown where to go next.

Vicente arched a brow at the kid’s indignant looks to him. He could have easily just left Shane in that tree. And while, while he may have still survived and escaped any notice from the cops, but if he wanted to spend his life skittering up trees, that was totally up to him. For now, though, they needed to get out of this place together. If only so Vicente knew exactly what Shane’s thoughts on this issue was. He could not afford to leave loose ends up lying around for no apparent reason.

But he said nothing as he led Shane down through the house. Neighbors were not home, thankfully, so they could freely walk through it without any problems. Another well to do family, pictures of a man, wife and kids on the walls. Probably either living the American dream or they too were somehow attached to the underworld.

Whatever the case they did not matter. Vicente’s only task was to get them out. Therefore he led Shane to the back door of the house and peeked out the back window. Thankfully the cops had not deemed to start sweeping this area just yet. They had time.

He opened the door, quietly, and glanced over his shoulder at Shane. The backyard beckoned to them and called out their freedom. He smirked as he nodded to the kid.

“Congrats. You just got away with being an accessory to murder,” he grinned.

“Congrats. You just got away with being an accessory to murder”

In all the panicking and running around, he’d lost track of why he was in the house in the first place. He’d completely forgotten about the body and the bar, and everything. Adrenaline could have some striking effects, it would seem. It was all he could do to scratch the back of his head and make sense of his night.

“Thanks, I guess.” He mumbled. There was something that still didn’t quite sit right about his scavenging act. Perhaps he had more honour then liked to believe.

Despite the fact that they weren’t completely out of the woods just yet, he couldn’t help be feel secure where he was. It was rare for him to find comfort under a roof, preferring to have a sky over his head. But this time, with all those people out there looking for him, a little shelter seemed like just the thing he needed. He stood in the doorway, jacket pulled up high to cover his face, debating heading out into the cool night air.